The biblical story of Jacob wrestling an angel brings to mind the question – Why would someone be wrestling an angel in the first place? We gain an understanding when we realize that Jacob has been a trickster most of his life. In fact, Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.” He […]
Puer & Puella: Time to grow up
Peter Pan, in J. M. Barrie’s classic 1904 play, shouted, “I’ll never grow up, I’ll never grow up!” He ventured to Never Neverland for adventures with mermaids and Captain Hook. Interesting to note, the play’s full title was “Peter Pan, or, The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up.” Archetypically, this image of a boy reluctant […]
The Archetypal Wedding – Why are Weddings So Magical?
June is the most popular month for weddings. Perhaps this is due to June being named after Juno, the ancient Roman goddess of marriage. Romans chose to honor this goddess by having their weddings in June and believed they would be showered with luck and good wishes if they did so. Although referring to the […]
The Archetypal Father
Archetypes are unconscious universal forms and ideas that take on meaning within a certain culture. The Father is one of the main psychological archetypes. Images of piercing and penetration such as a phallus, knife, spear, arrow and ray all relate to Father. The sun and rain symbolically represent the masculine principle of the fertilizing forces […]
Persephone & Easter – The Cycle of Life
The Easter story speaks to the archetypal pattern of the Eternal Return or the sacrifice-death-rebirth cycle. We see this cycle in the seasons, in the tides and in the phases of the moon. We sacrifice and consume food to further our lives, eventually returning to the earth our selves. The forty days of Lent leading […]
Meeting Your Inner Trickster
April Fool’s Day invites the receiving of pranks, jokes and being the ‘butt’ of others’ playful ways. However, many times we experience such unsuspecting foolery from our own hands. In these situations, where we are at the mercy of our own misdoings and feel that we have ‘bitten ourselves in the butt,’ the archetypal force […]
