Reflections from Bone:Dying into Life by Marion Woodman
“The secret of staying on earth is embodiment. If the dark goddess can keep her hold on me through embodiment, I do not fall into the paralysis of her death side, and I am therefore not susceptible to the demon lover.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 169-170)
“… having brought that to consciousness [the hold of the dark goddess] yet again on both the deepest and highest ( Earth and Spirit) levels of the spiral, I see the profound connection between passion, creativity, and healing. Reason and judgment will never again shoot me through the heart.“ (Woodman, 2000, p. 170)
“Embodiment: the virgin consciously accepts that she is carrying the Divine Child. Everyday life (matter) is then infused with meaning because it resonates with a symbolic world of the unconscious. Imagination quickens nature.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 170)
“I believe consciousness crucial to the survival of the planet.“ (Woodman, 2000, p. 170)
“My masculinity is now strong enough to protect my feminine values … this connection between spirit ( intelligence) and nature (matter) …” (Woodman, 2000, p. 170)
My reflection:
I am drawn to Marion’s work because I find her work foundational to my own work. I am a depth psychologist with a specialization in ecopscyhology and so the quote “I believe consciousness crucial to the survival of the planet” deeply resonates with me so for this particular reflection I am going to focus on this.
I think that in today’s world of the Corona virus Covid-19 pandemic we are being schooled in exactly this point. We are currently seeing the division between people who are rather cavalier about the situation and those who are gravely concerned. Between people who continue to gather in groups without taking precautions against the spread of the viral organism and people who are sheltering at home in isolation. Perhaps it is a bit self revealing about what side of that division I come down on when I suggest that there is a certain level of unconsciousness at play in those who do not seem to be aware of the enormity of this current situation.
I am struck by the worldwide accounts of the ways in which the natural world is seemingly springing forth new life even as the human species is dying in unprecedented numbers. It seems to me that there are among us many who ARE conscious of the plight of the planet. The pandemic comes as the awareness, the consciousness, of the crisis of the ecological health of the planet looms with great gravity. Despite all the talks and charters and written statements and marches, etc., about the need to change what we as humans are doing to the planet, it has been this simple organism, this covid 19, that has forced us to become aware of what CAN happen if we change our collective way of being in the world.
I do believe that there are many people in the world who are realizing this, but will we be enough, will we have the critical mass required, to ensure that moving forward, we will be able to maintain the consciousness of what is required for the survival of the planet to continue in a way that is sustainable for human life?
I think one of my favorite memes for this time is the one that states “Mother Nature has sent us to our rooms to think about what we have done.” Will we have collectively learned a lesson once we can emerge from those rooms?
“I think that if not more people try to … take back their projections and take the opposites within themselves there will be a total destruction.” – Marie Louise van Franz (YouTube Carl Jung “The world hangs on a thin thread …”, dreamlion, 2013).
You can view the videos here:
Be well, stay safe, engage in social distancing, and wash your hands!
Woodman, M. (2000). Bone: Dying into Life. Penguin Books.
*This reflection was first published in a Facebook Group entitled BodySoul Rhythms – Continuing the Legacy of Marion Woodman
Soul Tending 