BLUEBEARD, FITCHER’S BIRD AND OTHER TALES OF LOVE, POWER AND DESTRUCTION

Fitcher’s Bird, Bluebeard and variants (Mr. Fox, Robber Bridegroom, and others) are some of the most memorably shocking of all the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. Taking time to delve into the murky and often painful place of destructive elemental, vibrational, archetypal forces is to embark on a ‘night-sea’ journey. One can only hope that this is a journey from pathology to wholeness and healing. Questions will arise – what do we do when the destructive force is an actual person in our lives, what is the role of the archetypal demon in psyche, how, can and should this power be transformed? These are just some of the difficult questions we will face together.

Friday evening we will take time to read and discuss the tales and frame the possible themes so that we are ready to dive into experiential work on Saturday. The seminar will offer insights from developmental and archetypal psychology to explore the secretive and often dismembering power in all of us and explore how this might also be the source of transformation and new life.

The safe container of a room together in the flesh will hopefully allow us to re-member ourselves, to bring forth our own power and potential that may have been rejected, neglected, cut off or simply forgotten. This is an in-depth exploration of dismemberment and re-memberment in the bloody chamber and its role in psychological healing and transformation.