About the Course
Myths are the archetypal language of the soul. Alive with primordial images, motifs, and existential themes, these eternal dramas have guided, shaped, and reflected the human experience the world over, and are as pertinent today as they were in antiquity. If dreams are our personal myths, mythology is our collective dreams!
This theoretical and experiential course explores the psychodynamic and redemptive nature of myth; it invites the participant to consider myth as hero and a civilizing force that liberates us from our inner confusion and its outward manifestations. Based in the mythologically-informed Jungian and archetypal depth psychology, it introduces CG Jung, the man of science and visionary, and key concepts such as archetypes, the shadow, individuation, and the anima mundi, the soul of the world. We draw from The Odyssey and other myths to reflect on our personal and collective odysseys in the 21st century.
Other themes include ritual, rites of passage, and the kairos, or opportune moment as Jung characterized our time in history; with its pervasive mood of universal destruction and renewal, he saw it as an opportune moment for “a changing of the gods,” meaning the fundamental principles and symbols defining a worldview. So much is at stake, as Jung foresaw, and so much depends on the psychological constitution of humankind.
About the Instructor
Sandra del Castillo, PhD, is a teacher, lecturer, ritual artist, and storyteller. She received her doctorate degree in Depth Psychology with a specialization in Jungian and Archetypal Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she teaches adjunct. Born in California, Sandra is of Mexican indigenous descent; she lived in Mexico for 15 years, where she studied Mesoamerican mythology, indigenous medicine, and the arts. She also taught and acted as interpreter for a Liberation Theology retreat center.
As a ritual artist, her art is inspired by dreams, mythology, and active imagination. Sandra has performed and exhibited her art work throughout Mexico. Through scholarship and ritual art, it is her aim to share the wisdom of Mesoamerica and “give birth to the ancient in a new time,” as Jung proposed.