Events Schedule

Workshop: Goddess:

Image, Archetype, and Anima

Facilitator: Author Tim Ward (Savage Breast, Arousing the Goddess, What the Buddha Never Taught)
Length: 3-4 hours

This workshop is an experiential encounter with images of the goddess, from 20,000 BC to the present, and the archetypes of the feminine.

“Every man carries within him the eternal image of woman, not the image of this or that particular woman, but a definite feminine image...an imprint or ‘archetype’ of all the ancestral experiences of the female." -- Carl Jung (from “Marriage as a Psychological Relationship,” The Development of Personality, CW 17, par.338.)

Part 1:
The workshop begins with a series of images of the goddess (from photos taken by author Tim Ward) discovered in Paleolithic caves in France and Neolithic excavations in Turkey, Greece, Malta, and the Balkans, as well as the magnificent frescos of Minoan Crete and the marble sculptures of classical Greece. Ward discusses how his own journey to find and photograph the sacred feminine changed his relationships with flesh and blood women.

Part 2:
Participants are invited to reflect on the significance of the feminine in their lives, and share their responses to these images of goddesses. Ward will also speak about what it means for a man to experience these archetypal images of women in the light of Jung's concept of the anima. He discusses the difference between the operation of anima in men and the anima in women, and why it is difficult for men to become aware of their animas.

Part 3:
Workshop participants are given the opportunity to sculpt in clay a statue of some aspect of the divine feminine evoked by the images they have experienced. In the course of his own research, Ward found it difficult to put into words his true emotional responses to ancient goddess icons. But he discovered he could tap into these feelings by molding clay. No previous artistic experience is required for this...in fact, non-artists will find the exploration most revealing.

Participants should bring a notepad and pen. Clay and molding tools provided.