Medicine From the Depths

This retreat moves you into the shadow domain of the psyche. Drawing on Jungian and depth psychology, you will discover creative practices for assimilating shadow material through the transformative symbolism of fairy tales. These tales are not just stories—they are living expressions of the unconscious, ripe with psychodynamic patterns, all in service to our growth and expansion.

Fairy tales provide medicine from the depths. Through creative and somatic practices including shadow work, active imagination, and yoga nidra, we will trace the patterns of these archetypal images with three specific tales meant to stir us.  

This experience offers a grounded, integrative approach to shadow work that restores contact with intuition, embodied awareness, and the deeper intelligence of the soul. This process is for both those who wish to understand and find meaning for personal reasons, as well as artists, authors, and creatives who seek new ways to embrace their authenticity and voice. You do not need to be an entrepreneur, writer, or artist to participate, yet this work is deeply enriching and evokes the spirit of creativity with intentional writing and journaling practices.

In this program, you will:

• Reveal what has been hidden within the shadow and learn how its hidden intelligence carries unexpected gifts through depth work and fairy tale symbolism.
• Explore the movement toward psychic wholeness by engaging archetypal narratives such as Little Red Riding Hood, Vasilisa the Beautiful, and The Robber Bridegroom as mirrors of fragmentation and integration.
• Participate in ritual processes that reclaim disowned shadow elements and weave them back into an embodied, empowered sense of self.
• Develop a nuanced understanding of the shadow’s protective and adaptive functions, alongside strategies for navigating uncertainty, fear, and liminal states.
• Examine synchronicity as both psychological phenomenon and symbolic expression of the sacred, as it appears in fairy tales and lived experience.
• Learn practical methods for recognizing and transforming internal blocks and unconscious patterns shaping personal worth, desire, and authentic expression in the world.

During our time, you will reflect on the emotional responses, bodily reactions, and intuitive insights that emerged while working the tales—or more honestly, discover how the tales are working on us. Please join us for this heart-centered offering.