Vocation, as distinct from career, is not something one chooses but something to which one is called. Bringing a depth psychological perspective to debates around calling, I argue that surrendering the ego or personal will into a relationship with the unconscious psyche allows one's calling to emerge. Using a hybrid qualitative approach drawing on hermeneutics and incorporating interviews with midlife adults, the research shows how calling can arise through darkness, disruption and trouble, paralleling a process of initiation in traditional cultures. Applications of Jungian concepts including psyche, shadow, persona and individuation are discussed. Vocational research and practice implications are raised.