Blog Post 2

Myth 2: Snakeman Meets the Queen of the Forest

In this oil painting (1997) , I explored a myth in which desires and baser emotions rule , leading to personal suffering and conflict within the personality and within relationships. They are blocks to Jungian individuation,    ( ".. a process of transformation whereby the personal.. unconscious [is] brought into consciousness e.g., by means of dreams, active imagination, or free association,[ or during creation ]" to be assimilated into the whole personality." wikipedia ). In other words the Shadow, the rejected parts of the personality need to be unearthed from the unconscious, owned, transmuted and healed, or they will emerge inappropriately causing personal suffering in the self and conflict in relationships. We project our repressed feelings on one another if we don’t work on ourselves.

In Buddhist philosophy we must not attach ourselves to Earthly desires or emotions or they can overtake us. These desires are symbolized by the snakes that are part of the male figure and which are turning on him. He is a symbol of the unevolved, non committal male with a repressed emotional side, in men considered weak by society, and operates through purely sex in relation to women. The female’s strength, not viewed as “feminine”, is repressed and emerges out of her as uncontrolled anger in relationship to men. They both need to be brave enough, evolved enough to accept all of themselves , including their Shadows, (their repressed, unaccepted parts) in order to become whole, ( individuated), and bringing all of themselves into relationships, have healthier relationships with their partners. Men and women in our society often wage these battles within themselves and in relationships with each other.