Math and Metaphor

Math lives in as much as it is metaphorical or symbolic. Lakoff and Turner, in the book "More than Cool Reason", discuss two forms of metaphors called "Image-metaphors" and "image-schema metaphors". Image schemas lack the richness of plain image metaphors, but supply general structures like bounded regions, paths, centers, etc. and spatial senses like in, out, to, from, and along. It is these structures that occur profusely in Math and which it can supply in bountiful quantities. For example, in and out can be related to general existential issues of birth and death, as it is said we "come into " this world when we are born and "go out" or leave this world when we die. Therefore, an equation that describes a starting point and an ending point will be somewhat metaphorical to these two basic existential issues.

Mathematical Structure and Existential Essence

Jung said he "never got his bearings in mathematics" (MDR, p. 28) even though he could calculate properly. Paul Budnik Jr., in his "What is and what will be" talks about this. He says that "mathematical identity is not existential identity" (p. 201 of rough draft) Two objects may have similar properties but their existence in time and space keep them from being identical.
What would it mean to get one's bearings with math? Would it mean seeing structure without it becoming a dead certainty as it does today? Would math then be more a part of dream interpretations and active imagination? To answer that question means looking at how structure lives in the psyche and how it relates to the psyche and symbols.

How does Math fit with Carl Jung's theory of the Psyche?

What is Math when it is not either "pure" or "applied" - that is, when math is played with and forms part of our dreams and inner process? Is it a metaphor (for example sets are metaphors of containers) or a symbol (numbers like 4 are a symbol of psychic wholeness). I will look at some of these issues and others in this blog.
Math can be an important factor in active imagination and play a role during analysis, also. The psyche may speak in mathematical terms and ask us to respond. Some people report dreams where equations are written out by an unseen hand. How would these be interpreted? Certainly, conventional symbolic meanings may offer initial interpretations, but is it possible to go deeper?