Maureen Murdock

Author and Workshop Leader

Images of the Divine Feminine
Friday Lecture/Slide Presentation,
October 12, 7:30 p.m.

If we believe, as Jung did, that the whole history of the human race is in some ways always alive in the psyche, we can reclaim images of the Divine Feminine, which is an eternal archetype. She has shown herself to us from the earliest times of our civilization in cave paintings, primitive sculptures, and in the great mythologies. She continues to appear in many guises: Tara and Kali in eastern cultures, Kannon in Japanese culture, and the Black Madonna in the West. In this slide lecture we will look at images of the Divine Feminine throughout recorded history, with special emphasis on medieval images of the Black Madonna. Murdock has encountered Her on pilgrimage, including at Montserrat, Einsiedeln and Czestochowa.

According to Jungian thought, the Black Madonna plays a crucial psychic role—symbolizing earth, matter, the feminine within men, and the Self in women. In the early Christian Gnostic tradition, the Mother was also called “Wisdom,” “Earth” and the “Holy Spirit.” Little wonder then, that thousands of pilgrims flock to her daily for solace and support. Her sites are found on every continent, but are concentrated in Europe and the Americas.

Please feel welcome to bring your own images of the Divine Feminine to put on our altar during the evening presentation.

The Heroine’s Journey:
Women’s Quest for Wholeness
Saturday Workshop, October 13, 9:30 a.m.– 4 p.m.

In 1949, the mythologist Joseph Campbell presented a model of the mythological journey of the hero which has since been used as a template for the psycho-spiritual development of the individual. However, this model did not address the task for today’s woman which is to heal the deep wounding of the feminine that exists within her and the culture.

Many women have sought material success in a world defined by patriarchal values. Yet this quest has left both women and men psychically exhausted trying to fill their spiritual void with career and material success, and other things which cannot satisfy. This workshop will explore the stages in The Heroine’s Journey developed by Maureen Murdock, which redefines the psycho-spiritual journey for women. This journey entails an initial separation from feminine values, succeeding within the values of a patriarchal culture, experiencing spiritual aridity and death, and finally turning inward to reclaim the power and spirit of the Goddess. The final stages of the journey include redefining feminine values, healing the wounded masculine and finding balance within both aspects of our nature. This workshop will involve presen¬tation of the model of the Heroine’s Journey, discussion, storytelling, and myth.

Maureen Murdock is a depth psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco. She was Chair and Core Faculty of the MA Counseling Psychology Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara and currently teaches in the Depth Psychology Program at Sonoma State University. Murdock has authored several books, including Unreliable Truth: On Memory and Memoir, The Heroine’s Journey, and Fathers’ Daughters: Breaking the Ties that Bind. She gives lectures and workshops internationally.