“Of all the images that make our world, animal images are particularly buried inside us. We feel the pull of them before we know to name them, or how to even fully see them. It is as if they are always waiting, crude sketches of themselves, in the recesses of our bodies.”
-Elena Passarello“From the fact that the Self appears in animal form in the dreams and visions of medicine men and creative individuals, it is clear that it is first perceived as a purely instinctive unconscious force, greater and more powerful than the ego but entirely unconscious. It embodies the complete wisdom of nature yet does not possess the light of human consciousness.”
-Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Patterns in Fairy Tales
This course is a deep dive into the never-ending presence of animals and birds in the human psyche. In each session we will explore the cross-cultural symbolism of animals and birds using Jungian Arts Based Research (JABR) methods. We will look at birds and animals from various standpoints: as navigators of three realms (underworld, earthbound, and sky), as aids to mobility, and as agents of transformation. Class sessions integrate visual arts, ethnography, and literary folk and fairy tale texts with JABR practices. Participants are encouraged to amplify what they learn to deepen their own associations with animals and birds.