The Archetypal Death Mother as the Nursemaid of Shame

Jungian analyst, Marion Woodman, defined the archetypal Death Mother as the energy that wishes that we, or some part of us, were dead.  This energy can take many different forms. In my previous presentation to this group I discussed infanticide as an expression of Death Mother. In this presentation, I will explore Death Mother in the guise of toxic shame.

Toxic shame says there is something about us which makes us fundamentally flawed, unacceptable, and inferior. It is a deeply painful state of being. It is also a state of being that is shot through with anxiety and fear.

Being toxically shamed is like being caught in the Medusa’s stare: we are paralyzed, petrified and turned to stone.

If we are repeatedly shamed, then Death Mother is internalised and woven into the very fabric of our own psyches and bodies. Before long, our perception is disfigured. We start shaming ourselves; we begin projecting our shame onto others.  We become shame’s new nursemaids.

This presentation will explore both how toxic shame takes hold and how we can break the cycle of shaming.