Chapter 2 – The Dark Day: On the Dark Night of the Soul. A Contemporary Interpretation of John of the Cross

Abstract

This chapter examines one of the central misunderstandings surrounding the phenomenon traditionally referred to as the “Dark Night of the Soul”: its frequent reduction to clinical depression. Building on the introductory chapter, the present section develops a differentiated comparison between depressive states and the transformative process described in mystical traditions, particularly in the writings of John of the Cross. The chapter does not deny that both experiences may outwardly overlap in certain symptoms—such as inner emptiness, loss of meaning, emotional exhaustion, withdrawal, sadness, or a sense of abandonment. However, it argues that similar surface phenomena may arise from fundamentally different inner structures and experiential dynamics. Drawing on clinical descriptions of depression, phenomenological observation, personal experience, and mystical literature, the chapter analyzes individual experiential dimensions step by step. Particular attention is given to questions of existential emptiness, perceived divine absence, emotional desolation, loss of orientation, and the distinction between pathological collapse and transformative destabilization. The aim is neither to romanticize suffering nor to pathologize spiritual experience, but to establish a careful conceptual distinction that allows both psychological illness and spiritual transformation to be understood on their own terms. In this sense, the chapter contributes to an interdisciplinary dialogue between psychology, spirituality, mysticism, and existential reflection. This text forms part of a larger serially published book project on the Dark Night of the Soul and its relevance in contemporary contexts.