Our next cycle starts December 2023. Please note that the 2023-2024 cycle will be our 7th and final one before we give the myths a well-deserved space and rest. Application starts in Spring, for a registration interest please fill in the form below. Pre-requisite: The Way of the Dream Course. If you have experience in Jungian analysis or depth-psychotherapy before, this pre-requisite may not be necessary. If you are applying after September, please contact us to see if there are any solutions available to you to fulfil the pre-requisites.
For this 7th and final descent journey, we will also accept trained analysts/psychotherapists (or those in training) who would like to explore the depth-work with myth and dreams in the unique way the Anima Mundi School has developed it .
Reclaiming the Mythical Feminine
Deep exploration of goddess Mythology and Jungian Dreamwork
Once upon a time there were wise women of the forest, wise old bearded men with piercing eyes that would tell you a story, enchant you with their wrinkled wisdom and secretly, whilst telling you a story passed down generation after generation, whisper in the spaces between their words the wisdom you needed in your life ahead. In the secret cracks of your heart, you would be infused with the spirit, and it would be the spirit of that story, of that ancient, ancient tale that would sail your boat through the wilder storms of life.
There is a world still alive, still pulsating and yearning to be known within and all around you. This world of images, the Mundus Imaginalis, is where magic is alive, where the gods, goddesses who hold the lament of the dead are waiting to be reclaimed, waiting to be known and related to. This world is mostly accessible through our dreams, as the dream is the most direct portal into this world of images. Myths and fairytales are also direct nourishment coming from the kitchen of the grandmothers and our long forgotten ancestors, and it is in the spaces between the dream and the myth that we immerse ourselves in for the next 9 months.
To be ’cooked by a myth’ is a journey for the hero and heroine within us. A part of every human being longs to consciously come to know what ancient stories live within the depths of our soil and soul. And it is this part of you that goes on this mythical adventure, making these ancient tales your own though working with your very intimate images given to you in dreams at night.
Consider this journey both an immersion into the deep murky waters that were abandoned long ago as well as the sweetest honey coming directly from the breast of the Goddess. This journey will be guided with private Jungian therapy sessions (with emphasis on Jungian dreamwork) every month and live gatherings where Faranak & Gauri take you through a mythic encounter through the traditional oral arts of storytelling. All the myths and archetypes we work with are be focused on the individuation journey of the feminine. This course is designed for and accessible to women only.
We will dive into the Mother and Daughter with Persephone and Demeter, encounter the deep dark sister Ereshkigal with Inanna, explore our earthy soils and fiery nature with the Black Madonna & Kali and plunge into the pure waters of our hearts with Anahita & Saraswati. We will work in total with 7 Myths and Archetypes over 9 months. Each class is rich and interactive as we work together as a group; we open ourselves to the mysteries and see where we are lead. Between chaos and cosmos, we move with the cauldron of the alchemical group-journey as well as individually.
There might be slight changes to the cycles as we practice deep listening to the images of the dreams that pulsate into being from the deep unconscious. As every group is different, this journey will be adapted to the rhythm and the pulse of the group.
One thing will be a promise: you will not return the same. We are not just telling stories, we are allowing the stories to come alive within our deep psyche and we let its medicine stir within us as we establish a long forgotten sacred relationship to the ancient sacred ground of the underworld.
This journey is a depth-immersion that is created by the deep listening of Faranak to the inner worlds over the past 6 years that started during her Jungian Training and it is created to ignite you and your relationship to the Anima Mundi, the World Soul in a time when it is most needed in the world.
The one-on-one guidance in this course is an essential part of the alchemical work and it is designed to both help you navigate through the world of your own images as the complexes within our psyche are stirred through the power of these stories. Without the private analytical work, this work with the mythic imagination is only half baked.
Structure of the Program
There will be 7 learning modules over 9 months, each exploring a different aspect of the Feminine psyche from a Jungian and mythological perspective. Each learning module has 1 Bonus art-class that is accessible to all the participants on donation basis. During this art-class, we work with both medium and images from the myth. The art-classes have proven to be a most essential moment of creative breakthrough and integration of the story. The total hours of this course, including all classes, online audio-classes and creative assignments are approximately 5 - 7 hours / month. This excludes your individual, one-on-one sessions.
Faranak Mirjalili will be your lead teacher. She is one of the main storytellers together with UK based storyteller and anthropologist Gauri Raje. Gauri will take us through her ancestral roots with the powerful myth of Kali. She will also be (co) telling two other myths in this cycle. Laura Krusemark, our in-school artist and art-teacher will help you creatively work with the mythic images and symbols during each cycle’s art-class.
Since 2017 Faranak Mirjalili, founder & teacher at the Anima Mundi School, started offering Reclaiming the Mythical Feminine: a yearly initiatory cycle with the myths and archetypes that came through her encounter with the collective unconscious during her Jungian Training. Ever since, the program has slightly changed and become more enriched every year. The myths we tell don’t change as we haven’t pick or selected them with our intellectual mind. They have risen from the depths as we carefully listened to the symbols emerging from our dreams.We continue working with the same stories in a repetitive, initiatory way: the way of the ancients. Just like the seasons repeat the same story every year, so we follow in the footsteps of nature and listen to how each new year the same story creates new images.
We allow the myths to form our co-creative work at the School and it is the yearly cycles with the same goddesses and gods that have shaped and formed the work we do at this School. This brings with it a new way to work in the world; it is the way of the Feminine, in co-creation with the human and non-human worlds, in search of, and in labour for a new story for our world.
The 7 modules include:
Descent of the Goddess with Inanna
The Restoration of the Primordial Mother—Daughter Bond with Demeter & Persephone
Understanding the Masculine within Women with Isis & Osiris
The Wisdom of the Dark with the Black Madonna & Kali
The Unifying Rivers of Heaven & Earth with Anahita & Saraswati
The Wisdom of Incarnation with the Gnostic Sophia
Creative Participation with the Anima Mundi
You will receive:
2 dreamwork sessions every month (40 min each)
1 class with the group every myth-cycle, with live storytelling and work with the imaginal.
1 (obligatory) Mythical Art class with the group in the theme of the myth.
Online class material every month about the myth and archetypes (accessible for 1 year)
Access to the private group on a social media platform (not Facebook).
Hours of study and live classes:
A total of 28 hours of attendance of live classes, average 3.5 hours/month.
A total of 24 hours of course material to study, average 2-3 hours/month
Self-study hours (reading books, creative exploration and assignments are 2-5 hours/month.
Testimonials:
“When I embarked into this journey guided by Faranak I had no idea where it would take me. It didn't take long and the layers and the profound relationship she helped me develop with my soul brought a lot of magic into my life. The process has also helped me decode messages I was receiving from repetitive dreams, overcome certain patterns and take the relationship with the mythical feminine and with my roots to new levels. I’m always very excited before a new session with Faranak or our group.“ - R. B. (Bucharest, Romania)
”Her personal wisdom and professional studies give her a natural quality of guidance to explore and move with the psyche or engage on the path of dreamwork, drawing and working with feminine consciousness. She is wonderful storyteller that awakens my imagination. Ancient times come alive, and I feel I am there as the myth awakens within me. I recommend Faranak's work if you look for something that brings you closer to yourself and your inner world in a way that is open to go there without formula or tricks, the intimate journey of the Self. Courses are well organised and offer beautiful course material to support the work.” - S. D. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
This will be a small and intimate group, so limited spaces available. Start next (and final) cycle: December 2023.
Monthly course fee: 255,- euro. (includes live classes, art classes and 2 private sessions, no extra tax applicable)
Pre-register here: