Between Myth, Art, and the Unconscious: A May Reflection
From psychic basements to symbolic mirrors: what May revealed about us
May is saying goodbye, but not without leaving behind wonderful moments of deep connection and meaningful inner work.
This year in particular, I’ve noticed how many of us have stayed tuned into each other’s offerings: courses, services, conversations, and creative support. It’s as if something invisible has been pulling us together in unexpected ways.
These fluid dynamics are more than coincidence.
We are just at the end of the month of the nourishing and demanding Mother. We can’t forget that this archetype holds both comfort and confrontation, and in this dynamic tension, something important has been stirring for us:
What happens to us internally shapes how we show up in the world.
We are constantly moving between the collective and the individual.
From a Jungian perspective, I return again and again to this simple but transformative truth that says that most of our decisions are made from the unconscious.
The problem is that not everyone is ready or even willing to look there, because exploring the psychic basement — where the unspoken, unseen, and unfinished reside — can’t be done casually. It demands courage, care, and often, guidance. But if we are willing, the rewards are profound.
Myth as Mirror: Art, Death, and Inner Figures
Last April, I launched Exploring Your Personal Myth, a new project grounded in Gothic-Jungian depth work, where I combine art, shadow, dreams, death, and synchronicity. It began with a free public talk and soon unfolded into my first in-person workshop, Art as a Mirror of the Unconscious, held at Bioconcept.
There, we explored how external images become gateways to the inner world. We witnessed how symbolic engagement can bring us face to face with the figures within and we embraced all the wisdom that came from that sacred place in ourselves. I can say that it was a deeply revealing experience for both me and the attendees, something that I would love to replicate real soon.
Purposeful Encounters and Creative Affirmations
May has also brought me into enriching spaces of learning and resonance, especially through the course Clinical Concepts — Art, Spirit, Image by The Centre for Applied Jungian Studies, where I had the chance to speak directly with Jungian analysts and experts Luke Hockley, Murray Stein, and Verena Kast.
Their teachings have affirmed something I’m witnessing more and more and that is a growing number of people embracing life transitions as portals to creative, holistic living. Because we are not just a body with isolated issues, we are a unity of cells, microorganisms, mind and a need for some kind of spiritual connection, whatever that may look like today.
It is in this space of authentic connection where I always realise what matters more than algorithms and non-engaging and apathic followers. And it is here that I feel most called to offer what I am able to do.
Essays and Stories from the Gothic Depths
I’m thrilled to announce that two of my literary projects are in motion:
- My personal essay on the struggles of how I’ve lived my motherhood under the Gothic-Jungian lens which will be published in the upcoming academic collection Mothers, Mothering, Horror and Terror in Television, Film, and Literature by Demeter Press.
- My first solo collection of Gothic short stories signed with Diversidad Literaria which will serve as a new step in my own process of individuation in which I use Gothic literature as a vessel to explore the depths of the unconscious.
And this is it for this month, dear reader.
Whether you’re navigating your own symbolic underworld or feeling the stirrings of change, I hope this reflection offers a flicker of light and a sense of belonging.
If any of my thoughts and experiences resonate with you, I invite you to follow me here on Medium for more monthly reflections.
Feel free to comment, share, or reach out if you’re interested in book recommendations or dream work through a Jungian-Gothic lens. I’d love to connect.
Until next time,
🖤
Alicia
If you want to know more about me, visit my “About” page, here on Medium:
https://medium.com/@alicegothicland/about
Note: There are no afiliate links on this newsletter, but there are external links to the sources I mention.
