The horrific image of a father cutting off the hands of his daughter belongs only in fairytales, or does it? Hands symbolize our ability to grasp and to hold, to take care of ourselves (and others). To be without hands is to be disempowered, helpless and dependent on others.  How many fathers inhibit their daughters’ development, keeping them as little girls, preventing them from growing into strong, powerful woman?
 
There are an abundance of tales depicting this brutal image such as the “Handless Maiden” fairytale; gruesome stories of mutilation, of fathers (or brothers) hacking off the limbs of young girls, either in rage or in selfish bargains with the Devil (Shadow). Traditional narratives about these stories see it as an initiation rite of the wounded feminine soul. But the troubling abuse in the story echoes the constant underlying fear and threat of physical or emotional violence that saturates the lives of girls and women.
 
The Story goes like this: A struggling miller unknowingly sells his daughter to the devil in exchange for wealth, having promised the devil whatever is behind his mill, not realizing that it may be his daughter (who was there sweeping). During the transaction the father chops off his daughter’s hands, but due to her ‘healing’ tears the devil can’t claim her. The first part of the fairytale could represent a father’s unconsciousness – his ignorance of his own impact on his daughter and how his behaviour might disempower or even brutalized her.
 
The tale carries on when the daughter leaves, meets and marries a King who gives her silver hands and she gives birth to a son. However, due to the devil’s meddling, she was forced to retreat deep into the proverbial forest. Here an angel restores her hands as she encounters her emergent self without the old identity and crippling habits. She is eventually reunited with her husband.  

The fairytale becomes a blueprint for the journey of individuation – a transformation from wounded child to wholeness.  The story represents an initiation into the power of our own deep instincts aligned with the creative power of Nature, which we access if we take the journey inwards, into our deepest wilderness.
 
Other versions of the “Handless Maiden” include "The Girl Without Hands" (Germany), "The Girl With Her Hands Cut Off" (France), "Olive" (Italy), "Doña Bernarda" (Spain), "The Armless Maiden" (Russia), “The Armless Bride” (South Africa), "The Girl Without Arms" (Japan), "Rising Water, Talking Bird, and Weeping Tree" (French Louisiana) and many others. 
 
Read an in-depth exploration about this fairytale at: https://jessicadavidson.co.uk/tag/handless-maiden
Image credit: Jel Ena

A post I wrote for @jungsouthernafrica 
 
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​What could an encounter with an Owl mean, whether it appears in a dream or is sighted in an unlikely place? With their sharp sight and hearing owls are symbolic of keen perceptiveness, acute observation, vision, intuitive knowledge and wisdom.
 
Their eyes detect subtle movements making them highly responsive to minute changes in their environment. They adjust in an instant from telescopic to microscopic focus. Owls’ eyes are fixed, but their incredibly flexible necks create the illusion that they have eyes in the back of their heads. This is a reminder to be flexible in one’s perspectives.  Like other birds of prey, owls’ third eye lid movs from side to side to cleanse their vision. This symbolizes the need to cleanse “The doors of perception” (Aldus Huxley) to achieve clarity of vision.  As nocturnal predators, owls’ incredible night vision is legendary. Night has forever been a symbol of the darkness within, the unseen and possibly the unconscious (Carl Jung).
 
Their acute and discerning auditory perception stems from the asymmetrical positioning of their ears, with one ear larger than the other. This enables owls to use “acoustic location” (similar to bats’ use of echo-location). Symbolically this can be seen as the ability to develop a strong inner voice as well as the ability to hear the whispers from the Spirit world.
 
Owls’ impeccable vision and hearing are symbolically linked to the gifts of clairvoyance and clairaudience – the ability to hear and see what other’s don’t, what is hidden in the shadows and the “unseen” world.  People practicing “owl medicine” can detect the subtleties and motives of other people’s behaviour as “Owl people have a unique ability to see into the darkness of others’ souls and life”. ⁽ⁱ⁾
Owls fly silently, slowly and smoothly, facilitating a silent hunt which symbolize strength in silence and stillness.  An owl swallows its prey whole, head first.   It then expels the indigestible bones and fur. Symbolically this can be seen as energetically digesting information, but wisely eliminating the unbeneficial and unhealthy aspects, representing discernment (ability to judge well) in what we accept (or refuse) into our lives.
 
Source:                 Animal Speak, Ted Andrews, 1993, p. 175
Image Credit:     Aman Sharma
 
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With In times of national distress or international threats, such as the Covid19 pandemic, we looked to our leaders to embody the Archetype of the Father. We trust them to make good decisions to ensure our survival and future, as is expected of the Father as protector.  Logically we know they have the same human flaws as the rest of us and we may even be critical of how they are handling the crisis, but we want to be inspired and supported while moving through these difficult times.
 
We hope that our leaders, whether male or female, will represent the virtues of courage, strength, decisiveness, wisdom, capability, productivity and benevolent authority - values necessary for the continuation of our society.  The positive Father is an image of the mature masculine, manifesting in caring guidance and protection without infringing on the autonomy of those under his care. The positive aspect of the Father Principle suggests law, order, justice, flexible discipline, rationality, understanding, inspiration and authority in the service of protection.
 
The negative Father refers to any person in a position of authority who is punitive, rageful, brutal, rigid, controlling, withholding, ineffective and/or selfish. The negative Father has a cold intellectual way of relating which leads to inflation and grandiosity (state of hubris). From petty tyrants to dictators, any father, king or president can embody the shadow of the archetype of the Father. Any person abusing their position of influence or power to dominate, suppress or prey on more vulnerable members of society embodies the negative Father.  The destructive and anti-social aspects of the Father archetype can be clearly seen in abusive fathers, cult leaders, politicians who capitalize on fear, and ultimately in the disregard and widespread destruction of the Earth. Patriarchy, built on fear and domination, is an example of the negative Father.
 
Fathers (or substitutes) play a crucial role in our psychological development, whether we think of them as heroes, villains, or ordinary humans. Our human experience is governed by internalization of the real father, but informed by the archetype.
 
Image credit: Silenus with the child Dionysos. Marble, Roman copy of the middle 2nd century CE after a Greek original by Lysippos (ca. 300 BC). Vatican Museum

A social media post I wrote for @jungsouthernafrica 
 
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