THE GREAT MOTHER
Course overview:
Over the past 4.000 years we have slowly lost our connection with the feminine principle which is represented in mythology as the Earth Mother Goddess. In this process the sanctity and unity of all life has been devalued, and at times lost.
This weekend consists of a series of teachings, experiential exercises, and sandtrays that support our understanding of the evolution of the Earth Mother in her range of archetypal forms and also support the development of both the inner and outer expression of the Earth Mother Archetype.
Participants will be given the opportunity to discuss their sandtrays (if they wish to do so) and relate their sandtrays to their world view, family, social dynamics, spiritual growth and development.
Course Content:
In traditions where the divine is expressed in masculine language and imagery there is a devaluing and often a suppression of the feminine principle resulting in a lack of balance between the masculine and feminine aspects of our psyche. In a culture where the emphasis is placed on the qualities reason and control the feminine values of feelings, intuition, sensation and spontaneity are not valued. This has major implications for how we relate to each other and the planet.
In order to become a complete human being, the inner masculine and feminine need to come together and embrace in equality as one and the same.
As part of this process the Great Mother Goddess is re-emerging in a new form, not so much as the image of a feminine deity, but as what the image represents a vision of life as a sacred whole in which all life is interconnected and interrelated.
The earliest statues of the Great Mother Goddess so far discovered are 20.000-22.000 years old. There are no statues of men found until many thousands of years later. In Europe the fall of the Earth Mother Goddess started about 7000 BC with the emergence of her son who eventually became the Sky God who is about 1.250 BC was replaced by the one God. Apart from in a relatively few isolated areas this resulted in the end of the European Goddess culture. Fortunately this eclipse of the Mother Goddess did not occur on the Indian sub-continent.
In the west the Goddess eventually became the Fairy Godmother and by the middle ages she was the black witch persecuted by the inquisition.
The two primary characteristics of the primordial Great Mother are her elementary (basic human) mother qualities such as holding, mirroring, nurturing, containing, consistency and her spiritual transformative Goddess qualities summed up as wisdom, compassion and healing.
As the transformative spiritual mother the Goddess manifests as Isis, Tara, Sophia, Mary and also queen, magician, warrior and priestess. As the Goddess of nature she is also the Goddess Fate, plants, and animals, water, food (maize, wheat) and crops generally.
Both these characteristics (elementary and Goddess) have their shadow side that manifests as the terrible mother with the qualities of Kali, the Gorgon, the Siren, the dark witch and the Goddess of death and destruction.
The central symbolism of the Earth Mother is the Jar, the Vessel, the container that holds and stores nurturance (milk, seeds, grains, cereals, fruits and other foods).
Other symbols of the Great Mother are the well, the cave, tunnels, some temples, trees, the earth, forests, rivers and any symbols of holding and nurturing-the body sling, cradle, the hearth, flowers and symbols of procreation and birth.
Course leader: John Daly B.Sc., M.A.(Couns & Psych)., Dipl. Supvn.
After training as a scientist John worked in industry for ten years before moving to the US where he studied counselling and psychology from a transpersonal perspective at JFK University in California. He subsequently worked as a psychotherapist and lecturer in San Francisco and London. John lived in India for several years and travelled extensively throughout the Himalayan regions of Nepal, India and Bhutan, and studied with Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi and Christian Mystics in India and in the West. He designed and taught Masters, Degree and Diploma courses for CCPE, PTUK and Canterbury University and is the founder of the Association of Integrative Sandplay Therapists.
Who should attend:
This course is intended for all those who have an interest in developing an understanding of the Great Mother Goddess Archetype and who have little or no experience of the subject.
Timing & Logistics.
The course consists of one 3 day weekend costing £420, lunch will be provided each day.
Venue and dates will follow soon.