Sigmund Freud’s secret committee met in Vienna on a spring afternoon in May 1913.
The psychoanalysis movement which Freud had founded was at a turning point.
His theories about the subconscious were gaining widespread traction and the ranks of his supporters were growing.
But he was also feuding with some of his most important disciples, including Carl Jung, and was anxious about losing control of the discipline he had created.
In Vienna, he summoned five of his closest followers to chart the future of their movement. During the gathering he presented each man with a signet ring containing an ancient gem carved with a scene from Greek mythology.
“Freud was thinking about how to build…