Let’s Get to the Bottom of Things! (I invite you!)

November is the month of the Archetypal DESCENDER.  It is interesting that this Archetype is associated with a phase preceding the onset of Winter, a time of hibernation either literally or figuratively for many. I love the DESCENDER Archetype part-of-Self; it is one of my own dominant  ensemble Cast members.

Please don’t mistake the DESCENDER for Jung’s notion of a Shadow archetype. Any of the TWELVE UNIVERSAL ARCHETYPES (shown below) can manifest in either Strength (positive) or Shadow (negative) modes of expression.

DESCENDER is s/he who Descends to the depths or to the Core/ Heart of matters. (Often it will be your MYSTIC part-of-Self who brings back UP or re-emerges with that which your Descender unearths or discovers.) Consider our use of language to convey our natural Descender impulses:

Dive Deeply into the Matter

Sink Down

Plunge to the Bottom

Plumb the Depths of a situation

“I need some Down Time”

“I feel Depressed/ Down”

Under the weather

“Let’s Get to the Bottom of this”

At Base Level

This Month of the DESCENDER, I invite you to take time to reflect DEEPLY; to PLUNGE TO THE DEPTHS of one or more situations that deserve your DEEPEST focus and attention. Let’s start with ONE: print out this post and write into the blank space in the CAVE image below (do your own “Cave Art”) ONE THING you feel drawn to EXCAVATE or to inspect on a DEEP level. Journal this month about this topic. Dialogue with your DESCENDER Part of Self (I will give you a template later this month for that sort of Active Imagination Archetype Dialogue).

And please, do not be afraid of your DESCENDER. It is not a ‘demon’ or even a ‘dragon,’ though if it has been repressed or denied it does deserve to be LISTENED TO and SEEN. To encounter your DESCENDER, you must only DESCEND; don’t expect It (Her/Him) to come to the Surface but you will find your DESCENDER in a cozy place of repose. Hint: Bring a Mystic Guide with you to encounter and learn from your DESCENDER.

photo images (and Gandalf) are free from pixabay.com

I welcome YOUR Comments and Story!

 

Spelunking Your Cave

IMAGINE there is a vital, vast, accessible CAVE deep within your own unconscious layers of Self. Today I invite you to visit this cavernous realm of your Psyche and to explore its dynamic potentials.

This Cave is available whenever you feel a need or desire for Descent; it is a place you can retreat to for shelter against the storms and shoals of life. It is where you in your Descender mode may have a hidden place of repose.  It reminds me of the secret forts and special treehouses I built with my siblings and closest friends as a child. Was there a place like this you and your friends used to go to (or, still do) for a special getaway?

A Visualization Technique: Spelunking Your Cave

I invite you to engage in an Active Imagination form of Inner Adventure.  Close your eyes and simply envision visiting a Cave–or a hidden fort or other secret place–deep within your own realms of Imagination. Find this secret space, and Explore! Please bring a flashlight or torch or some other source of illumination, and you can build a cozy fire within your cave.

Explore this space fully. Is anything written on the walls?  Would you like to write something? There is charcoal available. Are there artifacts left there from your own earlier or others’ use of this space? What artifacts are these? What is their meaning to you now?

If your Descender part-of-Self lives in this space or comes here sometimes, meet with him or her; you can engage in conversation and interact. Allow him or her to show you around, or listen as s/he tells you a story.

After you have discovered much of meaning to you in your Cave or place of repose, you can return to your normal awareness and make a record of what you have experienced and learned.  You might wish to journal or to write a letter to yourself about your Cave Adventure. You may create an art piece or a poem or a mandala representing something significant about this Inner journey. You may wish to talk about it with a loved one.

You are welcome to share your insights or a story about your experience here!