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Thursday, April 02, 2020

How Corona-Quarantine is a Descent Motif


I am reminded today that this pivotal moment has archetypal overtones and not just because it reminds us of the Black Death, or the Plague in the middle ages. It brings me back to a class I have taught several times called The Heroine’s Journey – based on Joseph Campbell’s mythological studies of the structure of archetypal stories.

Right now, in 2020, we are experiencing a huge disorientation from the shutdown and fears generated by the global corona virus pandemic. Suddenly we are realizing it’s not going away in a matter of days or weeks, but probably months. Despite watching for clues from the pundits on TV every day, the future remains unclear. We are living with the Unknown every day. We have fallen through the rabbit hole.


In other words, we have stepped into a fairy tale or myth  – we have stepped across a threshold into the unknown, just as the hero or heroine does in myth – they leave the known world and are faced with a new landscape, one in which their bearings are thrown off. Nothing works the way it should. Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Persephone in the Underworld.

For most of us, there is no office to go to, no clients to see, the kids are at home, not in school, there is the prospect of illness and a sense of danger from the virus keeping us on high alert. Even shopping for food has become fraught with danger. Our adrenal glands – the defenders – are on the ready for fight, flight or freeze. Borders have been closed, we can't escape to the country cottage. Some people have family in the hospital – like me - my 89-year-old mother who went in for emergency gall bladder surgery a few days ago, now has pneumonia. We are not sure when or if she can even come home.

So what does the heroine do? She takes a deep breath, and looks for her Allies so she can face her Challengers – but first she must name these challengers – it helps to Name them and Claim them by writing them down. That's where we begin on this quest motif.

Allies: Whimsical bear with Butterfly, Spirit Bear brings Hope 

Check in with yourself. How am I feeling? What is off kilter? Am I sleeping and eating well? Am I getting enough support or do I feel alone and helpless? Are my childhood traumas of not being seen and heard coming to the fore? How am I getting help? Who can I call on, and what are my inner strengths? Who can I count on for help?

In my Heroine’s Journey class, after the students found and named their Allies and Challengers, I had them imagine a deep cave full of crystals which they entered in a visualization, and searched for 3 tools – three aspects or qualities that they could draw on – for example, patience, courage, a brave heart. Or symbols that represented that – a rose, a pot of herbal medicine, a sword.

Do not under estimate the power of your imagination. Our psyche loves to work with images, and uses metaphor and symbol to communicate with our conscious self. You could do this work with painting, drawing or collaging in an art journal.

In our class, we made SoulCollage® cards for our Allies, and our Challengers, using cut out images chosen intuitively from magazines. I also suggested they make a Protector card – to call up an image of their most powerful defender, Warrior Ally or Angel of light they could picture, or maybe a strong animal guide, someone to have on their side, to have their back.

Warrior with Wolf Energy & Medicine Bundle 

Once the allies were found and met, the tools gathered, we began the descent, well equipped and less fearful. The descent to the abyss is never our favorite part of the journey. It may feel like entering a dark night of the soul. But again using imagery, imagine a caterpillar's transformation - first it has to  spin its cocoon and sleep for a while. Did you know that before a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, she actually dissolves into a liquid mass of cells and then regrows into a butterfly with gorgeous wings? That is the transformation and turning point part of the journey.

Where we are at right now in 2020 feels like the cocoon phase, or bug soup of uncertainty – outwardly we are facing the challenges of a new life schedule, or we may have even settled into a kind of rhythm of working, studying or staying at home, and fighting off germs by washing hands frequently and mask wearing. But the inner mood may be dark – we may feel hopelessness setting in. The frequent depressing news reports about the number of deaths, the number of infected, not just in our town or city, our province or state, but in our country, and the whole world – is all a bit staggering.

How do we get through the Bug Soup phase? The quest story tells that we can't fight it, we can only advance by softening, allowing, accepting, and trusting the power of the dark to soothe us and rock us and hold us. And by being grounded in our bodies, in touch with our intuitive knowing. This is the power of the inner Feminine, the earth mother, if you like. Imagine you are being held, soothed, coddled and sung to.

SoulCollage(R) card: Home and Hearth 

Perhaps you are like me and are trying to stick to a routine, or perhaps you are dealing with troubled clients and feeling maxed out like my husband, who is a financial adviser. This is where the wisdom of the feminine comes in – that we can allow ourselves time every day to sink down into our bodies and feel what we feel. That we can breathe into it and allow the allies of Stillness, Surrender, and Simplicity to guide us. That we acknowledge how we feel, and reach for what will truly help us – meditation, soothing music, yoga, stretching, chicken soup, homemade chocolate chip cookies. The main thing is – our old way of keeping busy will no longer work, or it may help for a little while but feels like a temporary fix. Powering through will not help in the long run. We need the soft power of the deep feminine, the inner knowing, a calming Presence to see us through and a lot of self-compassion.

A suggestion for a new way of getting through this challenge on this weird new journey, is to challenge yourself to not Soldier On Through as usual, but find a more yin way – be receptive, gentle, inward, reflective. By rooting ourselves and grounding, moving slowly, taking deep breaths, watching the sky, listening to the birds, keeping true to the rhythm of life, the rhythm of our body which is in need of more sleep, more rest, more exercise (but not strenuous), more self-care. Be gentle in the cocoon phase.

Rest and Self-Care, Comforting Rituals 

I’d like to reassure you that just like in the myths and fairy tales there will be a happy ending. Know that like in every Hero’s Journey, after the descent into the abyss, there is a turning point –a moment of Hallelujah! a moment where your fears and tears turn into hope and jubilation. It may be a small moment, a sick person turning the corner and feeling well, a husband coming out of quarantine to rejoin his family, a collective moment of gratitude for the marvelous generosity of  human beings who are helping us survive in hospitals, clinics, grocery stores and food production as people sing and clap in the streets and on their balconies. Whatever it is, we give thanks for new learning, for new growth, for transformation of hopelessness into Hope.

The Return or end part of the journey involves a return to life; it is a natural part of the cycle, like Spring after Winter; it’s a rebirth or resurrection. A major part of the rebirth or recovery is that you have now been gifted with new knowledge to take home with you, and share with the world. You will receive the gifts of the depth work you have done. Then, in gratitude, you can give thanks for the difficult lessons learned, and the revelation that the inner strength, the courage you needed were there all along; the patience was there too.

When this is all over, how ever many months from now that will be, we will truly give thanks. I know I will appreciate those hugs and kisses, those handshakes and greetings, the physical closeness of my adult children, siblings and friends SO much more. In this time of trials and uncertainty, have faith that the journey will wind around to its conclusion, and then of course, a new beginning, another journey begins.

May we all be a little bit wiser by then, a little more compassionate with ourselves and others, and in the meantime, hold ourselves with love and acceptance during this adventure.

If this speaks to you, here is an exercise you can do: 

In the myth I used as the basis for my class, the Sumerian goddess Inanna, Queen of Heaven decides to go down into the underworld (hers is the first written archetypal descent and rebirth story).  On her way down, at each gate she is stripped bare of every worldly power, all the symbols of her persona as Queen of Heaven – her headdress or crown, her breastplate and armour, her lapis lazuli staff or measuring rod, her jewels and her robe or dress. She arrives down there naked and vulnerable before the eyes of Goddess of the Underworld, her sister Ereshkigal, who looks at her with the eyes of death. Inanna’s corpse hangs on a hook for 3 days until her assistant raises a hue and cry and the gods send some little creatures representing the water and food of life to come and resurrect Inanna.  She rises again with new knowledge, the powers of the Underworld and of Heaven are hers.

Corona Virus Quarantine: Sheltering in Place 

I asked my students, what they needed to let go of on their descent, like Inanna, or what had been stripped from them.

What I had to let go on my descent:

The shitty shoulds – the good girl, the perfectionist, the inner critic voices that tell I am not doing enough, I am never enough. I should be less selfish, be better, help the world more, do more.

Fear of change, of this new thing coming into being, of the unknown future; paralysis.

Impatience – the pressure from my Yang inner masculine side – to be productive at all costs. To not stop. To keep working harder. It’s hard for me to tread water, stay in place, not go anywhere. Everything is on hold.

Doubt and hesitation – second guessing, not trusting my intuition, that inner voice of wisdom. The more I listen, the stronger it gets.

Anxiety about putting everything off till later. I need to accept that I don’t have the head space right now to write a book, research a new project. Patience with myself is required. Deep breaths, my allies are also anti-anxiety herbs….calming tinctures, Tulsi tea, chill pills, cannabis tincture.

Do you  also feel like this is a time of transition that could lead to a transformation?

Name your allies and challengers - make a list.

What do you need to let go of in this descent period? What is being stripped away?

What are some of the hidden gifts you may receive?

I hope putting this into an archetypal journey context has helped you. I may look at offering this course again on-line, once my bug soup phase is ended…

 much peace to you,
jennifer




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