Life's Daughter, Death's Bride: Inner Transformation Through the Goddess Demeter/Persephone - Hardcover

While picking flowers, a young woman is abducted away from the familiar world of her mother to the ghostly underworld of Hades. This splitting of Mother and Daughter is the crux of the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, a tale that holds as much meaning for us today as it did in ancient times. The story of how Demeter's daughter becomes Persephone, Queen of the Dead, and is ransomed back from death by her mother depicts profound psychological transformations. Writing from the perspectives of Jungian psychology and goddess spirituality, Kathie Carlson examines the deep reverberations of this myth in both ancient religion and the inner lives and relationships of contemporary men and women. Included in her discussion are: The Mother-Daughter archetype as feminine self Hades as shadow in men and animus in women The plight of women who "live the myth backwards" The Mystery path of Demeter Richly illustrated with dreams, insights, and relational dynamics drawn from psychotherapy clients, this book will appeal to both layperson and professional, and to anyone interested in myth, goddess-centered religion, or Jungian psychology.

Kathie Carlson is a writer and a psychotherapist in private practice in Connecticut. A teacher of feminine psychology in the ancient religion of the Goddess, she has led various workshops on women's issues and spiritual quest. Carlson brings to all of her work an extensive background in Jungian psychology as well as a particular interest in the feminine Self. She is the author of In Her Image: The Unhealed Daughter's Search for Her Mother.