She: Understanding Feminine Psychology

She: Understanding Feminine Psychology

Robert A. Johnson's groundbreaking, brilliant, and insightful work on how women transition into being mature and developing their own identity—newly reissued. What does it mean to be a woman? What is the pathway to mature femininity? And what of the masculine components of a woman’s personality? Many scholars and writers have long considered that the ancient myth of Amor and Psyche is really the story of a woman’s task of becoming whole, complete, and individuated.  Here, examining this ancient story in depth and lighting up the details, Robert A. Johnson has produced an arresting and perceptive exploration of what it means to become a woman. You will not read these pages without understanding the important women in your life and a good deal about yourself as a woman.   More important than ever before, She offers a compelling study of women. A revised edition of a landmark work of psychology; the author uses the ancient myth of Amor and Psyche as the springboard for a brilliant, perceptive exploration of how one becomes a mature and complete woman. Robert A. Johnson, a noted lecturer and Jungian analyst, is also the author of He, She, We, Inner Work, Ecstasy, Transformation, and Owning Your Own Shadow. She Understanding Feminine Psychology By Robert A. Johnson HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Robert A. Johnson All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060963972 Chapter One The Birth of Psyche Our tale begins with the line-Once there was a Kingdom. From this we know that we will be given vision and insight into that kingdom, which is our own inner world. If you listen to the old language of the tale you will see into that inner realm, seldom explored by the modern rational mind. A gold mine of information and insight is promised by a few words -- Once there was a Kingdom. The Story Begins There is a king, a queen, and their three daughters. The two eldest are ordinary princesses, not very remarkable. The third daughter is the very embodiment of the inner world and even bears the name Psyche, which means soul. She will take us on a journey to the inner world. She is as much of the mythic king dom as she is of the earthly kingdom. Do you know these three in yourself? Who can be unaware of the ordinary part of ones self and that special unearthly inner self who does so badly in the ordinariness of everyday life? So great was the power of this extraordinary princess that people began saying, "'Here is the new Aphrodite, here is the new goddess who will take the place of the old one, drive her from her temple, and entirely supercede her."' Aphrodite had to bear the insult of seeing the ashes of the sacramental fires in her temples grow cold and the cult of this new slip of a girl take her place. Now, Aphrodite was the goddess of femininity who had reigned since the beginning-no one knew how long. For her to see the rise of a new goddess of femininity was more than she could bear! Her rage and jealousy were apocalyptic and the whole course of our story is determined at this moment. To stir the rage or demand change of a god or goddess is to shake the very foundations of one's inner world! The Mythic Elements The origins of the two goddesses, Aphrodite and Psyche, are interesting. Wielding a sickle, Cronus, the youngest and craftiest son of Uranus, the god of the sky, severed his father's genitals, and flung them into the sea thus fertilizing the water and Aphrodite was born. Aphrodite's birth was immortalized by Botticelli in his magnificent painting, the Birth of Venus: she, in all her feminine majesty, is being born upon a wave, standing on a shell. This is the divine origin of the feminine principle in its archetypal form, which may be vividly contrasted with the human birth of Psyche who was said to have been conceived by dewdrops that fell from the sky. What curious language! But this language is rich in psychological insight if you can hear its archaic, timeless message. The difference between these two births, if properly understood, reveals the different natures of the two feminine principles. Aphrodite is a goddess born of the sea: she is primeval, oceanic in her feminine power. She is from the beginning of time and holds court at the bottom of the sea. In psychological terms, she reigns in the unconscious, symbolized by the waters of the sea. She is scarcely approachable on ordinary conscious terms; one might as well confront a tidal wave. One can admire, worship, or be crushed by such archetypal femininity but it is extremely difficult to relate to it. It is Psyche's task, from her human vantage point, to do just that-to relate and soften the great oceanic, archetypal feminine. This is our myth. Every woman has an Aphrodite in her. She is recognized by her overwhelming femininity and vast, impersonal, unrelatable majesty. There are marvelous stories about Aphrodite and her court. She has a servant who carries a mirror before her so that she may constantly see her