Thoughts on Synchronicity & Individuation

Imagine reflecting on a personal challenge, seeking clarity, and coming across a book that addresses exactly what you’re struggling with—perhaps even opening it to a page that offers the guidance you need. This is exactly what happened to me the other day.

These synchronistic moments feel too precise to be dismissed as mere chance, and this has me questioning whether there is a deeper principle at work.

My curiosity brings me back to the work of Carl Jung. He describes synchronicity as meaningful coincidences—moments when two events, unconnected by cause and effect, still feel linked because they share a common meaning. These coincidences often resonate deeply, offering insights or affirmations that feel profoundly personal.

Jung saw synchronicity not as random chance but as a phenomenon that reveals the interconnectedness between our inner psyche and the outer world. It challenges the logical, cause-and-effect way we usually understand life, suggesting that events might be connected in ways we can’t immediately see. By attuning us to these moments, synchronicity helps us notice deeper rhythms in our lives, supporting personal growth, aligning us with a greater sense of meaning, and reminding us that life unfolds through more than just logic or chance.

According to Jung, synchronicities play a significant role in individuation by acting as signals or guideposts that help us connect with the deeper wisdom of the Self.

During individuation, we work to integrate both the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche, and synchronicities often emerge when these unconscious aspects are activated, offering insights that guide this integration. These meaningful coincidences can point us toward hidden truths, unresolved aspects of ourselves, or archetypal patterns that need attention.

As we engage with synchronicities, they often prompt us to reflect on deeper aspects of our psyche, nudging us toward greater self-awareness and alignment with the larger, unconscious forces at work.

In this way, synchronicities serve as both signs of progress and tools for navigating the path of individuation, helping us recognize when we are moving in alignment with the Self, or when we need to make adjustments to bring ourselves closer to wholeness. Ultimately, they act as a bridge between the ego and the greater wisdom of the Self, helping us unfold and realize our full potential while embracing the paradoxical nature of existence.

These synchronistic events often occur at critical moments in life, providing symbolic messages or affirmations that help the ego navigate the complexities of the individuation process. Because they point to underlying patterns of connection between the inner world and outer reality, they encourage the individual to trust their intuitive insights and explore deeper layers of meaning. Such moments can then trigger realizations that shift our perception, challenge old patterns, and become catalysts for transformation.

My most significant experiences of synchronicity occurred when I returned to Istanbul, intentionally seeking—like Persephone reclaiming her power in the underworld—to rediscover the pieces of myself I had lost to my abusive marriage.

This wasn’t just a physical return to a city; it was an emotional and spiritual pilgrimage, an intentional step into the unknown to reclaim who I was beyond the pain and patterns of what was now my past. I chose Istanbul because that is where it all happened and going back was my way of confronting the fears and patterns that had imprisoned me in that relationship for too long. He was no longer living there but in London, so it felt safe to return.

I knew intuitively that I had to return, but the challenge was that I had nothing to return with. Leaving him meant leaving everything behind and severing all ties. I had narrowly escaped with my life. In that moment, I made a choice: instead of focusing on what I had lost, I would focus on what I still had. I decided to return to the things I was passionate about and reconnect with the world through the things I loved. The rest, I told myself, would fall into place as long as I moved toward healing and change and focused on rebuilding my life.

It was while I was completely immersed in this that I met someone who offered me a job teaching at a university in Istanbul. I knew intuitively that this was the universe offering me a ticket back to Istanbul to begin my journey. With me, I took a blank journal and a book on the myth of Inanna’s Descent as symbolic resources to help me navigate this journey. The journal was a place for reflection, a space to process the changes I was about to undergo, while the book on Inanna’s Descent served as a guide to remind me of the transformative power of letting go and embracing the unknown.

The synchronicities I encountered on this journey included meeting an amazing woman named Altynai whose name translates to Golden Moon. She helped me find a place to live in the neighborhood of Fener which takes its name from the Greek word “phanari,” meaning “lantern” or “beacon,” reflecting its historical role as a guiding light for ships navigating the Golden Horn. The apartment Altynai found for me was in a small renovated Greek house. The tiny but cosy second-floor studio not only had a pomegranate painted on the front door but the flat was also decorated with pomegranate-themed colours and patterns. For someone on an intentional journey through her underworld, these synchronistic events affirmed what I intuitively knew—that I was on the right path. There was a deeper wisdom supporting my process of healing and transformation.

What I’ve learned from my experience is that synchronicities are not something that we can make happen. We can only become more aware of them happening. They often occur when we are open, present, and in tune with both our inner world and the external world around us. By being more mindful, receptive, and aligned with our deeper self, we create the conditions in which synchronicities are more likely to be noticed.

While we can’t force synchronicity, we can cultivate an environment that synchronicity to unfold by trusting our intuition, engaging with life authentically, and reflecting on the deeper patterns at work in our lives. The more we attune ourselves to these patterns, the more we begin to recognize synchronicities when they arise and we can use them to guide us forward.