Sabina Spielrein's article, “Die Destruktionals Ursache des Werdens,” originally appeared in 1912. The theoretical sections are here published in English for the first time. The value of Spielrein's work for psychoanalysis and analytical psychology includes her contributions to Jung's archetypes and collective unconscious and to Freud's id and death instinct. The translator's introduction provides a brief biographical sketch of the Russian analyst, an assessment of the article's importance, and commentary on two recent books written about her, by Aldo Carotenuto (1982) and John Kerr (1993), respectively.