In the newest issue of ARAS Connections Virginia Beane Rutter examines an application of the Amor and Psyche myth to the understanding of feminine development. The paper examines an inner journey of a woman painter that allows her to realize her mature feminine identity by painting the story. Deep psychological analysis is linked with beautiful and symbolic pictures.
From the article:
A woman’s experience in psychotherapy parallels the myth when she is forced to confront the repressed, spurned feminine aspect of herself, who may have turned into a persecuting witch. The rejected feminine within her then spurs her to undergo a psychological initiation which prepares her for womanhood. Through the accomplishment of her psyche-like tasks she re-establishes a connection to feminine centrality. She develops her feminine ego and re-connects to an archetypal feminine entity, her Self.
See the issue at ARAS Connections website
What is ARAS?
The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) is a pictorial and written archive of mythological, ritualistic, and symbolic images from all over the world and from all epochs of human history. The collection probes the universality of archetypal themes and provides a testament to the deep and abiding connections that unite the disparate factions of the human family.
The ARAS archive contains about 17,000 photographic images, each cross-indexed, individually mounted, and accompanied by scholarly commentary. The commentary includes a description of the image with a cultural history that serves to place it in its unique historical and geographical setting. Often it also includes an archetypal commentary that brings the image into focus for its modern psychological and symbolic meaning, as well as a bibliography for related reading and a glossary of technical terms.
The ARAS commentaries honor both the universal patterns and specific cultural context associated with each image, something seldom found in other collections.
Keywords, extracted from approximately 46,000 catalogue subject cards, help users explore archetypal themes of interest to them.
The images and commentaries in ARAS have been collected over a 80-year period (read more about the history of ARAS).
Tags: ARAS, art, creativity, mythology
