Carl Jung's Vision and the Island of Kos

To Arnim Haemmerli

Dear Colleague, 25 October 1955

Now that the flood of letters on and around my eightieth birthday has abated somewhat, I can at last get down to thanking you for
your card from Kos and your highly appreciated letter of 4.VIII.

Your letter from Kos moved me deeply, since your late brother, who attended me when I had my cardiac infarct in 1944, was associated with Kos in a mysterious way.

In my delirious states the image of your brother appeared to me, framed by the golden Hippocratic wreath, and announced-at that point I was already 2 500 km. away from the earth and was about to enter a rock temple hollowed out of a meteorite-that I had no permission to go any further from the
earth but had to return to it.

From the moment of this vision I feared for the life of your brother, since I had seen him in his primal form as Prince of Kos, which signified his death .

I discovered only afterwards that the great physicians of Kos styled themselves (kings ).

On 4 April 1 944 I was allowed to sit up on the edge of the bed for the first time, and on that day your brother took to his bed, never to rise again .

With warm thanks and best wishes for a speedy recovery from your operation,

Ever sincerely yours,

C.G. Jung ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 273