Being a warrior is not just about wanting to be one.
This is a true endless battle that will last until
last moment. No one is born a warrior, just like
No one is born an ordinary person. We
make our this or that.
Sensitivity isn't the most imported thing. The most imported thing
the impeccability of a warrior. For a warrior, the most important thing is to find
integrity of oneself.
Carlos Castaneda, "Tales of Power"
Winter is the season of the Warrior archetype. It's a time when nature falls asleep and encourages us to delve deeper, reflect, analyze what's been accomplished in previous stages, listen to our inner selves, and prepare our strength for future actions.
"Many indigenous people associate the Warrior's path with the North, winter, the home of Father Sky, and all birds and winged creatures."
Winter is a season most often associated with the north, a season of mature plans and reinvigoration. While winter doesn't always bring ice and snow, each hemisphere experiences its own winter season of rest. During this time, countries typically complete unfinished business. Winter is a time of reflection and reconciliation. It is considered the best time to prepare for the renewal and healing that occurs in spring (Arrien, 2003, p. 55).
In our region, winter is one of the most mysterious times of the year, when the ground is covered in snow and deep within, a hidden transformation occurs, new life is born, preparing for a completely new stage of development and growth. And, of course, this is a time of various trials—our ancestors had to survive, overcoming the cold, limited resources, and lack of light. Space tends to shrink and collapses into the home. All external processes are focused on what lies within, literally forcing us to go deeper to find resources to cope with the overwhelming external difficulties. Just as the sap of a tree reaches its roots, so we strive to find our inner self to determine who we truly are and that we are moving in the right direction.
The most important tasks facing a Warrior are self-honesty, honesty about one's strengths and limitations, discipline, and the ability to listen to oneself. A Warrior must understand and recognize the causes and consequences of actions taken, not just those taken. This quality of attention is called responsibility, literally from the English word "responsibility"—the ability to respond. The Chinese "Book of Changes" (I-Ching) reminds us that "the event is not important, its echo is important." Responsibility is not only the ability to respond to what comes to us, but also the ability to be aware of our actions and take responsibility for everything we have done or not done. Our honest and impeccable response to events leads us on the path of the Warrior.
This aspect of responsibility is called discipline. Discipline is meeting life head-on and acting without haste or procrastination. The word "disciplin" in Latin means "to be one's own follower." If we follow ourselves, we respect our rhythm and natural movement" (ibid., p. 37).
Winter is a wonderful time to delve within and discover dormant forces striving for self-realization. Contemplating nature, immersed in itself and seemingly frozen for a time, we take this time to align our lives with our inner vision and plan our future actions, following a deep calling. And very soon, a new natural impulse will set our inner juices in motion.
“Many indigenous communities believe that each person has a special magic—a personal power—that exists nowhere else on the planet. No two people possess the same talents or qualities, so when we compare ourselves to others, indigenous people see this as a lack of faith in our personal power. This belief affects not only us; it manifests itself in the world as a whole. To not use personal magic or to not apply our personal power to something means to miss out on the healing benefits that accrue to Mother Nature and all her creatures” (ibid., p. 41).
The myth of Penelope and the shamanic journey into oneself through ritual trance body positions chosen in accordance with the Warrior archetype help us to feel this special time.
Winter Seminar. Penelope
But if she continues to irritate the sons of the Achaeans,
I am proud of the gifts that Pallas Athena
gave her in abundance - mastery in fine works,
bright mind and cunning wit - such as
We don't know even among the ancient Achaeans with lush hair,
Be it Tyrone, Mycenae in a beautiful crown, or Alcmene.
No, none of them could compare to Penelope
in cunning! But now cunning won't help her.
They will eat both your supplies and your livestock until
She persists in the thoughts that the gods put into her breast. For herself, she Maybe
thereby gain great glory... Homer
Penelope is the daughter of the neiad Periboea and King Icarius, and the cousin of Helen of Troy, Odysseus's wife. One of the most boring female characters in Greek mythology, according to the frequent opinion of our seminar participants at the beginning. But not at the end.
We experience the myth of Penelope as a metaphor for the development of matriarchal thought and the formation of the shamanic Warrior archetype. The characteristics of Penelope emphasized in the myth are intelligence, tenacity, cunning, the ability to withstand uncertainty, the ability to hide, to live in anticipation, and to remain silent.
After marrying Odysseus, Penelope leaves her father's palace and moves in with her husband. Icarius walked for a long time behind the chariot, begging his daughter to stay. Odysseus says only: "Either you go to Ithaca of your own free will, or, if your father is dearer to you, stay here, but without me!" Instead of answering, Penelope merely lowered her veil (Graves, 1992, p. 476).
A veil, like a curtain, a drapery, a canopy separating one space from another. At the same time, it is something that can be woven, created by hand. Weaving as feminine magic, the magic of the matriarchal world. “The most important components of early human culture were created by woman and her spirit of invention. Such basic achievements as maintaining fire, preparing food and intoxicating drinks, sewing clothes, spinning and weaving, as well as creating pottery, and so on, are part of women’s primordial territory. Originally, they were not “technical” achievements in the sense in which this term is used by patriarchal consciousness, but rather rituals shrouded in symbolism. They should be called primordial mysteries, since they deal with the mysteries of the unconscious, with symbolic activity, but not yet with mysteries in which knowledge is present” (Neumann 1994, p. 78).
Here, the veil is a precursor to that very shroud, the suitors' veil, for which Penelope is famous for weaving. By lowering the veil, Penelope learns to conceal herself, her thoughts, and her feelings from those she believes don't need to know them. She becomes invisible, unattainable, inaccessible.
“Thinking is a function that seeks to understand the world and adapt to it through intellectual knowledge, that is, through logical inference,” defines Yolanda Jacobi (1996).
Jung speaks of two types of thinking: “definitely directed... verbal thinking... an instrument of culture,” thinking “for others,” associated with speech, and thinking “dream, fantasy...
fantastic-mythological thinking in antiquity... the thinking of children... dream thinking," thinking "for oneself," associated with the flow of images (Jung, 1994, pp. 31–37). In our opinion, Jung's definitely directed thinking is a function of thinking that has reached the patriarchal level of development, and dreamy thinking is a function of thinking at the matriarchal level.
How often do we weave a blanket of daytime meanings and fail to find answers to our questions, and at night, in our sleep, we unravel daytime beliefs to discover image-answers.
Let's return to the myth. After living with Odysseus for several years and giving birth to a son, Penelope is forced to leave her husband. He must fulfill the oath he once made to Helen's father. Furthermore, an oracle declares that without Odysseus, the Trojan War cannot be won. But Odysseus also receives a prophecy: "If you go to Troy, you will return home only after twenty years, alone and poor."
So when Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Palamedes came for Odysseus, he decided to trick them by feigning madness. Wearing a felt peasant's cap shaped like half an egg, Odysseus was plowing his fields with a plow pulled by an ox and a donkey, sowing the field with salt. Palamedes saw through his trick, snatched the baby from Penelope's arms, and placed him on the ground in front of the crew. Odysseus hastened to stop the animals, lest they kill his only son (Graves, 1992, p. 476). It was Penelope who had brought the baby to the field. For what purpose?
It seems to us that the task is that Odysseus must leave, this is the development of thinking: Odysseus, as a symbol of patriarchal thinking, leaves to explore, to conquer – to learn about the world, and Penelope, as a symbol of matriarchal thinking, remains in place, her task is waiting and contemplation.
“The task of the ego at the matriarchal level of consciousness is to wait and see favorable and unfavorable times...” (Neumann, 1994, p. 86).
As long as the war lasts, everything remains in a more or less understandable balance. “We received news of the siege of Troy: sometimes better, sometimes worse... I waited for news of Odysseus. His name was mentioned in songs, and I enjoyed such moments... Troy had fallen... the Greek ships had sailed home. That was all” (Atwood, 2006, pp. 85–86). Odysseus’s return lasted 10 years. 10 years of uncertainty. 10 years of their personal, daily war, his with Poseidon, hers with the suitors.
Believing Odysseus dead, 112 noble youths from the islands under Odysseus's rule began brazenly courting his wife, hoping to marry her and gain the throne. At first, she refused; Odysseus was alive—a reliable oracle had predicted so. Then, when they became more insistent, Penelope declared that she would give an answer as soon as she had woven a cloak for her father-in-law. For three years, she sat at her work—weaving by day and unraveling by night—until the suitors saw through her ruse (Graves, 1992, p. 542).
Penelope's stubbornness is irritating. Her name is shrouded in gossip like a veil. They say she slept with all the suitors and gave birth to Pan (ibid., p. 71):
And the one they say was waiting for you
It can't be found anywhere because she gave it to everyone.
Brodsky, 1993.
"...stubbornness, intransigence, self-will, tyranny - these are the qualities that men usually attribute to women. The thoughtful and circular mental activity of the matriarchal consciousness does not contain the goal-directedness of the act of thinking, supposing and judging. The psychic activity of the matriarchal consciousness corresponds to the going around and around the center or consideration (which Jung once interpreted as "filling, as during pregnancy"), and not to the directness "in the eye" of the male consciousness and the knife-edge of its analytical power. The matriarchal consciousness is more interested in the sensory, sensuous, sensual aspect (Sinnhaftigkeit) of a phenomenon, situation or people than in facts and figures, and, in accordance with organic growth, is guided more by teleology than by cause and effect,
mechanical and logical point of view" (Neumann, 1994, p. 106).
What is Penelope known for? There's only one answer: waiting. Waiting can be paralyzing, draining energy, when the entire meaning of existence boils down to one thing—waiting for someone to come along and solve the problem. Perhaps this is precisely the case when hope is harmful; it deprives one of movement and development, but it provides the illusion of life, the illusion of responsibility for self-realization.
Penelope's expectation is different, her "...important quality... is... unsinkability, the ability to cope with depression and remain an active, dynamic heroine" (Purtova, 2010, p. 153). "My strategy was to increase Odysseus's property: when he returns, he will see that he has more of everything than before - more sheep, more cows, more pigs, more sown fields, more slaves" (Atwood, 2006, p. 92); she raises her son, confronts suitors and waits. It turns out that waiting gives Penelope strength, opens up new directions for her development. Matriarchal consciousness enriches us, whether we want it or not. Another thing is that we often do not pay attention to its resources, wandering somewhere, performing feats, not knowing that rich gifts await us at home.
"Life is shaped not so much by our experiences as by our expectations," wrote George Bernard Shaw (quoted by Dan Millman, 2009). Penelope teaches us to wait, and her waiting is results-oriented. Dan Millman describes the law of waiting in his book, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior."
“Wrong tree,” she corrected me. “The other one, over there.” She pointed to a large oak tree located thirty meters away... “The test is to overcome the negative beliefs that are dragging you down.”
She picked up the rock. My mouth dropped open as she threw it, and it hit its target with a loud thud. “Just to get your attention,” she said, smiling as I looked at her wide-eyed expression. “It’s not enough for you to keep saying, ‘I can do it, I can do it,’ over and over again,” she explained, “while your deepest beliefs steal your spirit, robbing you of your focus and strength. I want you to bring those negative expectations to the surface, opening them to the light of conscious awareness, and then you can see them for what they are. Go ahead, shout them out, let them out!”
Now I truly felt stupid, but I did as she asked; I shouted out all the reasons why I couldn't hit the tree. I voiced all my doubts over and over again, urged on by the wise woman.
“Now,” she said, “look at the tree again and create this expectation: ‘I will strike the tree easily.’” And I repeated it again – “I will strike the tree easily” – and something strange happened: none of my doubts returned. It simply became true. I felt it; I believed it completely! It rang true and authentic. As I looked at the tree, I felt a thread of energy stretching between me and the tree, and I knew that the stone would fly along this thread to its target. I stood up straight, maintaining my balance. Nothing existed but the tree, the stone, and me. For a moment, there was no “me.” That’s when I sighed and threw the stone. The moment I released it, I knew it would definitely hit its target. I saw it flying, drawn to the tree like a magnet. The stone struck the center of the trunk, and at the moment of impact, something shifted inside me. I understood the Law of Expectation: before I do something, I have to believe in it. I have to really expect it.
Nodding, the wise woman said, "...The Law of Expectations reminds you of your inherent power to shape your life through the creation of images and expectations. By expressing your doubts openly, you pluck them from the depths of your mind, dissolving them in the light of awareness" (Dan Millman, 2009).
Penelope's suitors are her doubts, negative expectations,
The attacks of patriarchal thinking (the traitors are the noble men from Odysseus's islands), its temptations. But consciousness is strengthened through experiencing conflicts, and while patriarchal consciousness openly engages in struggle, fights, dissects, examines under a microscope, and draws conclusions, matriarchal currents, flowing around obstacles, contemplate, nurture, and await the maturation of a solution.
"Matriarchal consciousness reflects unconscious processes, integrates them, and directs them inward, thus adopting a 'waiting' attitude without the deliberate intentions of the ego. For matriarchal consciousness, this is a matter of a kind of general perception in which the psyche as a whole participates and in which the ego is tasked with directing libido toward observed life processes or events and enhancing them, rather than abstracting from them, resulting in an expansion of consciousness. A characteristic factor of such observing consciousness is the act of contemplation, where energies are directed toward the content, process, or midpoint
, while the ego organizes its participation in emotionally charged content and allows it to penetrate and saturate it. This differs from extreme patriarchal consciousness, which distances itself from and abstracts itself from the content” (Neumann, 1994, p. 105).
Return. Odysseus returns to Ithaca and "sets the house in order": he kills the suitors, hangs the servants who flirted with them—that is, his mind analyzes what is happening, isolates the main thing. But when they meet, Penelope tests him: she offers to take the bed from Odysseus's bedroom and make a bed for the stranger in the other rooms. The trick is that this bed is cut from the trunk of a tree that has not been uprooted, meaning it cannot be removed, and only Penelope and Odysseus know this. "Considering that someone had dared to cut down the pillar so dear to his heart, Odysseus flew into a rage" (Atwood, 2006, p. 164). Both have proven their worth to each other: she by provoking him with a test, he by responding with rage.
“Conflicts that are consciously sought and
systematically reflect the distinctive feature of the individuation process, which is a constant 'negotiation' or search for points of contact with 'other' or directly opposite ego contents” (Edinger, 2001, p. 15).
Body trance poses performed during a special healing ritual to the sounds of a drum and shamanic noise generators help to collect the processes that begin to occur during the work
with the myth. Being in a special safe sacred space, in
contact with natural symbols of Heaven, Earth,
The four cardinal directions and the human being at the center of the ritual, which are important for the Warrior, we carefully explore this inner territory through the ritual trans-poses "Standing Jaguar Man", "Man from Veracruz", "Woman from Tlatilco".
The Olmec "Standing Jaguar Man" immerses us in a special, timeless state of unshakable trust, a readiness to protect and defend. Key aspects of working with this pose include restoring disrupted order in communities, change, transformation, and a powerful influx of energy.
The Olmec culture, which once existed in Central America, is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating prehistoric cultures known to us. The Olmec shamanic cosmology is made visible to us by the distinctive ritual objects of this culture. They clearly convey the Olmecs' understanding of the profound interconnectedness of all life and the ability of humans, under certain conditions, to transcend the barrier separating different forms of life. This explains the numerous figurines depicting the various stages of transformation from humans to animals and vice versa. To become a Warrior, one simply must connect with one's inner power, which in many shamanic communities is personified by the search for a special power animal or ally.
The participants' experience was extraordinarily profound. The appearance of many cats in the inner space seemed to teach the art of anticipation, "hunting for the right action." Observing the inner jaguar taught the skill of "waiting for the moment to act with lightning speed." A sensation of energy and a special heat in the pose accompanied most participants for the entire 15 minutes of work. And since the "Jaguar Man" trans pose is performed standing, a sense of "standing for oneself" arose, defending one's boundaries, territory, and being. "I exist and occupy precisely this place, this space, precisely within these boundaries." This was also an experience of the importance of having someone waiting for you, manifested in the image of a lighthouse, lights on the shore, Penelope as the Sun following travelers. And at the same time, a sense of Penelope as an "anchor," who, in anticipation, "seems to ground the energies, allowing the journey to take place."
The "Birdman of Veracruz" ritual, involving a trance-like pose, filled the space with the energy of birds, temporarily allowing one to experience flight and connect with various elements within oneself, especially through the appearance of ducks, which are adept at flying in the air, swimming in the water, and walking on the ground. Hearing was altered, and the ability to distinguish the subtlest voices and the rustle of wings was enhanced, and, most importantly, a sense of one's flock, one's natural resources. What one can always rely on within oneself and what a "flock" or family gives one. As we know from myth, Penelope was thrown into the sea as a child on her father's orders, but "a flock of ducks with pink stripes on their plumage prevented her from drowning, fed her, and helped her reach shore." Struck by what they saw, Icarius and Periboea took pity, and Arnea received a new name—Penelope, meaning "duck" (Graves, 1992, p. 476).
The astonishing trans pose of the "Woman of Tlatilco," a figure from the ancient Mexican culture, further immersed us in the myth. The word "tlatilco" itself means "place where things are hidden." It was here, at the site of this ancient city, that a surprising number of ceramic vessels in the shapes of animals (primarily ducks and fish) were found among the burial goods. Furthermore, numerous female figurines with elongated faces, known as "pretty ladies," with unusual facial patterns, were discovered in Tlatilco.
After preliminary work with noise generators, which prepare the body for the trance experience, we assume a ritual body position for 15 minutes, completely reproducing the image of one of the seated Tlatilan women. A special ritual paint is applied to the face—two intersecting lines on the bridge of the nose, forming four segments. This paint seems to reflect the integrity of the circle, including the annual cycle with its successive seasons. Considering that we can only perceive our own paint internally, it is of great significance here that we can observe other group participants, noting how their faces change after the ritual paint, and relating this to ourselves. If previously the visual movement of the annual cycle was visually reflected in the altar, divided into four parts, always located in the center of the group's working space, then here it is possible to "take" it from space through the paint. to appropriate it to oneself and to feel it as the presence of this circle and its parts within oneself.
During the preliminary work with the noise suppressors, thoughts of panic and the fear of breaking panicked decisions came to mind. A panicked heartbeat, a sensation of different rhythms that didn't align at all. Then, during the trans-pose work, participants experienced a feeling of stable tension, as if "Penelope was sure her anticipation had not been in vain." An image of a well with steps descending, which immediately inverted and turned into a tower, as if, after descending, one could ascend, immediately finding oneself at the top. Heat and a sense of tense anticipation. A desire to escape, difficulty maintaining this tension. And then suddenly... a feeling of rootedness and trust. The god Chronos and his advice to focus on the moment.
From participant reviews:
What did I get from Penelope? Patience, the ability to wait for my time,
creating Beauty, painstakingly selecting from the general mass of possibilities the details of the proposed creation.
We often say that the worst thing is the unknown. Perhaps only in this context is the true meaning of Penelope's warrior spirit revealed. The ability to wait, to endure, to endure difficult moments.
Doubts, fear, panic, the terrifying thoughts that haunt and overtake in the most difficult moments—for this, in my opinion, you need to be a Warrior. During the workshop, I discovered several keys that help me with my current expectations. One of them is an invisible contact, a deep connection with my inner core. It's like a quiet river flowing somewhere deep within, and you can only hear it when there's silence all around. I'm infinitely grateful for this workshop, as well as for the amazing trance poses that help me experience this not only in the symbolic, verbal space but also literally in the physical body, thanks to a shamanic journey into myself. I believe you can attend such workshops many times, which is why they are cyclical, annual, because it's a journey within yourself. And each time it's new, because we are different each time. And it's always surprising to discover that this year I'm not the same as I was a year ago. And these changes begin somewhere here, in that space where Penelope weaves the shroud each time and then unravels it...
We believe that the development of consciousness is a process that moves both upward and downward. The task of modern human consciousness is to rise to the patriarchal level and delve into the depths of the matriarchal level of development.
“Dionysus was bisexual from the very beginning... And the change symbolized by Dionysus is not one in which the feminine principle is added
masculine or integrated masculine; on the contrary, the image demonstrates an androgynous consciousness in which the masculine and feminine are initially present
united. Connection is not an achievement, it is a given. This is
“It is not a goal to be achieved, but an a priori possibility, always available to everyone” (Hillman, 2005, pp. 308–309).
This is precisely the possibility we are trying to open up, to recognize,
and be in this at our seminars.
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An article about the seminars where we immersed ourselves in the space of the myth of Penelope, filling it with our thoughts, feelings, associations, at one level holding the metaphor of Penelope as the leading function of the Thinking of the matriarchal consciousness.
Authors of the article and seminars in the series:
Elena Ratnichkina is a psychologist, practitioner, and researcher of shamanism; she is also the director of the Felicitas Goodman Institute (Russia), which studies the practice of ritual trance. (poses itop.moscow)
Olga Kondratova is an analytical psychologist and a member of the IAAP and ROAP.
The article was published in the journal “Jungian Analysis” No. 4 2014. I thank the editor-in-chief of the journal Elena Purtova for the text of the article and permission to post it on my website.