In less than four years, the giant celestial clock will move us into the Age of Aquarius, leaving behind 2000 years of sunrises in the constellation of Pisces. The rapid social and psychological changes we are experiencing at the end of the millennium relate synchronistically to an apparent archetypal shift as we move from Pisces to Aquarius. The new archetype, Dr. C.G. Jung says, will pose the problem of the union of opposites, will challenge and stretch our ability to contain female and male, good and evil, light and dark. We will look at new images announcing this shift and search old maps to aid us in the crossing. Inanna, the last goddess to embrace the terrible oppositional pulls of nature, will be our guide.
Workshop: Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Using the alchemical process as a model, Jung has described three stages of individuation, all three involving aspects of bringing together opposing forces in the psyche. In this workshop we will review Jung's three stages of individuation and explore in depth the second stage, the union of body and psyche. After separating the aims of the soul and spirit from the tenacious hold of emotion and cravings in the first stage, the second stage involves learning to live with the desires of the body as the soul/spirit couple return to the physical realm. This conjunction of body and psyche epitomizes the problems the culture will confront in the coming millennium and presents a challenge to every individual searching for wholeness.
Betty De Shong Meador, Ph.D. is a Jungian analyst practicing in Berkeley, California. She is a past president of the San Francisco Jung Institute. Her work translating ancient texts of the Sumerian goddess Inanna is contained in her book Uncursing the Dark, and in the forthcoming Inanna: Lady of Largest Heart.