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.
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…
