The Moon and the Virgin

I've been spending the past month immersing myself in what I'll simply describe as being an ongoing, life long journey of spiritual creativity that Maureen Murdock speaks of in her book The Heroine's Journey, and learning how to actualize this in my life as an artist. It all very exciting and rather daunting at the same time. But I have never felt more proactively engaged in, and connected to, the creative process.

In practical terms, it translates into knowing and connecting the dots with these four things that Ann Rea from Artists Who Thrive has taught me.

• Why -  Knowing who I am and what at I stand for, and what I stand against and Why, my Purpose.
• What - Knowing my Why determines my What, my Mission, the one problem that I believe is really worth solving.
• How  -  Knowing How I can help to solve that problem, through a particular process of creating value above and beyond my art.
• Who - Knowing Who has the problem worth solving.

As mentioned I am re-reading The Heroine's Journey written by family therapist, educational consultant, and writer Maureen Murdock.
Below is a poignant quote out of the book by Nor Hall.


"There is a void felt these days by women and men-who suspect that their feminine nature, like Persephone, has gone to hell. Wherever there is such a void, such a gap or wound agape, healing must be sought in the blood of the wound itself. It is another of the old alchemical truths that "no solution should be made except in its own blood." So the female void cannot be cured by conjunction, by an integration of its own parts, by a remembering or a putting back together of the mother-daughter body."
                           - Nor Hall, The Moon and the Virgin: Reflections on the Archetypal Feminine


I posted my review of The Heroine's Journey on Good Reads. It was interesting to read the other reviews. This is what I wrote.

My second reading of this book, but this time intentionally studied, with much note taking. One of the most important books for any one to read, in particular, women who wish to understand what the heroine's journey is, and to learn how to heal the mother/daughter split and the feminine wound in order to "revive a spirituality of creativity."

Because this book was written in 1990, sixteen years ago, it is seen by some to be irrelevant, in a 'post feminist' society. Having lived through the second wave of feminism  myself, and historically aware of the first wave, I must disagree with that. This book is actually as relevant today, if not more so, in many ways.


It would be easy to make the assumption that circumstances have moved progressively forward for women, but my observations tell me otherwise. There still exists numerous discrepancy's between men and women, discrimination based on gender, sexuality, race, religion, poverty, and great income and socioeconomic disparity throughout the world. This reality check seriously makes me wonder why we haven't come further ahead.

Maureen Murdock states that our society is androcentric, which means seeing the world from a male perspective. I believe this to be very true, it explains a lot and still very prevalent today. You don't have to look far to see the evidence.

What Nor Hall says is true. Many of us do suspect we are like Persephone, and have gone to hell.