Psychology & The Cross

Episode description:

This episode is dedicated to the Jungian hand reader Julius Spier (1887-1942). Until now Spier is most known for being the analyst and lover of brilliant Jewish diarist Etty Hillesum, whose writings before being sent to Auschwitz continue to inspire religious seekers around the world. 

Few people know of Spier’s relationship to C.G Jung, how he developed a psychological study of inquiry combining Jungian psychology with hand reading, and how there were Jungians trained in his technique and practicing it until the late 1900s (Albert Einstein had his hands read by Spier).

Our guest for this episode is Alexandra Nagel (PhD), a Dutch historian of western esotericism and the scholar who singlehandedly is bringing Julius Spier’s important contributions and fascinating life story to public attention. A few years ago she finished her dissertation on Spier at the Institute of Philosophy at Leiden University.


For more information about Julius Spier, I recommend the following papers by Alexandra Nagel.

Jung, Julius Spier, and Palmistry (Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche 14. No. 1 (2020): 65–81.)

The Hands of Albert Einstein: Einstein's Involvement with Hand Readers and a Dutch Psychic

Another must-read are the diaries of Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life the Diaries, 1941-1943