The Red Book = Liber Novus

work by Jung

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 19, 2026

Quick Summary

The Red Book, also known as Liber Novus, is a significant work by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. Written between 1914 and 1930, it is a personal record of his "confrontation with the unconscious". The book details Jung's imaginings, fantasies, and induced hallucinations, and includes his own color illustrations. It is considered a profound exploration of his inner world and a key text in understanding his development of analytic psychology.1

It is important to distinguish this work from Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung, commonly known as "The Little Red Book," which is a collection of political statements by Mao Zedong.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Carl Jung
Character of his psychotherapy
…German with English translation as The Red Book = Liber Novus. It was, by Jung’s own description, a record of his “confrontation with the unconscious.” The work contains an account of his imaginings, fantasies, and induced hallucinations and his own colour illustrations.
Read More
…German with English translation as The Red Book = Liber Novus. It was, by Jung’s own description, a record of his “confrontation with the unconscious.” The work contains an account of his imaginings, fantasies, and induced hallucinations and his own colour illustrations.
Read More