The Buddhabrot - The Fractal That Unlocks Carl Jung's Deepest Theory

[Uncle Joe]

Jun 3, 2025
A few months ago, a groundbreaking study was published that linked fractal geometry to Carl Jung's theories. I contacted Dr Harry Shirley, the author of the study, to record a podcast about his findings. The discovery has changed the way I see everything - art, myth, culture, emotions, people - it's all fractals. Numbers are the key to this riddle. Before Carl Jung died, he hypothesized the number was the link between mind and matter, because it is both quantitative to the material world AND symbolic to the psychological realm. Several decades after Carl Jung's death, mathematicians stumbled upon the Buddhabrot set, a beautiful fractal pattern. The shape formed is entirely numerical iteration, derived from a simple mathematical formula , but the image produced looks like a spirit being. Dr Harry Shirley has made an incredible connection, linking the Buddhabrot to Carl Jung's concepts of archetypes and depth psychology. We can see hints of this connection is meaningful art, alchemical images, ancient monuments and religious architecture. I have even been unknowingly summoning the Buddhabrot in my own artwork.

(snip)

Carl Jung (1875–1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. He’s one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, especially when it comes to understanding the human mind, myth, spirituality, and the unconscious.

The Buddhabrot is a mathematical fractal—a stunning visual pattern generated by iterating a simple formula in the complex number plane. It’s related to the famous Mandelbrot set, but rendered in a way that produces an image that eerily resembles a glowing spiritual figure, like a seated Buddha, hence the name.

Dr Harry Shirley has a PhD in organic chemistry and research experience at University of Oxford. Now working as a consultant, he holds a personal passion for Jungian psychology and the interplay of psyche and matter.

[Kid Berwyn]

1. Unus Mundus

Thank you, Uncle Joe. This fascinating information is exactly what this old and troubled soul needs...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. An accidental coincidence. Reading meaning into things that do not have that meaning.

Smart people can be lead astray if they are looking for something. It's seeking confirmation, not the truth. These kinds of "discoveries" pop up on a semi-regular basis. The bogosity is highlighted by the video using an Egyptian pharaohnic image as some kind of "buddha".

I enjoy your posts of Alan Watts lectures and related material, but not this.

[LudwigPastorius]

3. Umm, Buddha brat.

Make me one...with everything.

[Uncle Joe]

6. I tried messing with them but I still can't get the links on the OP to work, however if you go to YouTube and click

on them, they do work.

[bcbink]

4. Thank you. n/t

[usonian]

5. I'm getting the magic number "404" on those links.

May I suggest:

International Journal of Jungian Studies: The Matrix Meets The Da Vinci Code: Peer-Reviewed Study Reveals Mysterious Mathematical Pattern in Art Throughout History
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/international-journal-of-jungian-studies--the-matrix-meets-the-da-vinci-code-peer-reviewed-study-reveals-mysterious-mathematical-pattern-in-art-throughout-history-302437240.html

Preprint:
The Buddhabrot and the Unus Mundus: A Qualitative Exploration of Fractal Patterns and Archetypal Symbols
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/6te7w_v1 (download link at this page)


https://sciety.org/articles/activity/10.31234/osf.io/23fbd_v1
Abstract

The Buddhabrot, a unique rendering of the Mandelbrot set, has long captivated mathematicians and artists alike, yet its deeper symbolic significance remains largely unexplored. This paper introduces the concept of fractosymbolism—the intersection of mathematical fractals and archetypal imagery—and argues that the Buddhabrot serves as both a mathematical and symbolic representation of the Unus Mundus, the primordial unity of psyche and matter. Through Mandelbrot Mapping and Symbolic Amplification (MMSA), we analyze how the Buddhabrot mirrors fundamental archetypes found across mythology, religion, and art.By mapping the Buddhabrot onto the stages of psychological individuation as outlined by Neumann and Jung, we reveal striking parallels between fractal structures and the evolution of consciousness. Each phase of individuation, from the uroboric unconscious to the realization of the Self and beyond, finds a geometric counterpart within the Buddhabrot’s recursive forms. Furthermore, we examine historical symbols—such as the mandala, the winged scarab, and the sacred heart—demonstrating how they share fractosymbolic qualities with the Buddhabrot.Finally, we explore the Buddhabrot’s potential role as a fundamental structure underlying both psyche and cosmos. From its alignment with ancient spiritual traditions to its resemblance to the cosmic microwave background, we propose that the Buddhabrot represents a hidden order that bridges mathematics, myth, and consciousness. If fractals describe the natural world, and symbols encode psychological meaning, then the Buddhabrot may be the missing link—a fractal archetype emerging at the intersection of science and the sacred.

Links to the preprint linked above
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/23fbd_v1
Different path, same preprint.


A different video with Dr. Harry Shirley (and "space music" background)
https://www.bitchute.com/video/uNbs0hTpWAav/

This will take some time to process!!!!

[Uncle Joe]

7. Thanks for the addition usonian