SITTING BY THE WELL: Bringing the Feminine to Consciousness Through Language, Dreams and Metaphor

Jungian analyst Woodman's 12 meditation sessions on the well (the unconscious) include a section on how archetypal symbols bring body, soul and spirit into harmony, another on the divine purpose of addiction and one on the "mother, virgin, crone" triad. In this last section, Woodman explains that "virgin" comes second, rather than first, as it would in patriarchal concepts, because the word really has no sexual denotation; it means untouched, as in a virgin forest, uncontaminated and full of possibilities. Woodman brings a sense of immediacy to her meditative delivery, with ad-libbing and long, pregnant pauses for emphasis. Listeners attracted to a blending of Eastern and Western philosophical and religious themes will find that Woodman offers much food for thought. However, Woodman's terrain is no country for neophytes or for listeners who prefer a more straightforward narration. (Jan.)