Book Description

Dionysos, one of the most misunderstood of the gods, is a masculine energy that brings us back to life and vitality in a way that includes deep partnership with the feminine. Through the exploration of the love story of Ariadne and Dionysos, Alchemy of the Heart takes us on an archetypal adventure into an ancient world where the dance of masculine and feminine ignites fullness of being in both men and women. From the shadowy labyrinth of Minos to the sacred Initiation Chamber at Pompeii, Alchemy of the Heart travels the landscape of both the outer world and the inner psyche as it points the way past contemporary hedonism and pornography addiction into a Dionysian world of joy, vibrant sexuality, and spiritual transcendence. “A solid and important work of scholarship that is a must-read for those doing depth psychological work. Aguilar mines the myth of Dionysos and Ariadne for its insights into expanding Jungian notions about the animus and a woman’s journey to wholeness. In the process, she updates Jungian thought to match emerging ways of seeing gender, the feminine, and the masculine in our time.” —Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., Author of Persephone Rising, The Hero Within and Awakening the Heroes Within. Former President of Pacifica Graduate Institute. “Joseph Campbell showed us the mythic mysteries, now Marina Aguilar unlocks the secrets of ecstatic teachings. Alchemy of the Heart is a breakthrough work on our divine connection to nature and the playful wisdom of the body.” —Jonathan Young, Ph.D., Psychologist, Founding Curator, Joseph Campbell Archives. “A superb study of the myth of Dionysos through the lens of Jung’s spiritual alchemy. Focusing on the sacred marriage of Dionysos and Ariadne, the author illuminates the journey to wholeness, both horizontal and vertical, revealing a power to heal not only a broken psyche but a broken world. Aguilar’s ‘meditative exegesis’ on the Dionysian initiation chamber in the Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii is a model of transcendence at the heart of Plato’s noetic philosophy. This is a penetrating reading bringing to life an ancient, yet timeless, myth.” —Michael P. Morrissey, Ph.D., Author of Consciousness and Transcendence: The Theology of Eric Voegelin. Marina Aguilar received her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, and has been a practicing depth psychotherapist and educator since 1990. She specializes in individuation as a spiritual, as well as soul process. Her expertise in mythology, comparative religion, spiritual alchemy and the ancient mystery school teachings serves as a valuable tool in working with archetypal themes as they emerge in day to day life, imagination, art and dreams. Having lived in the United States, Mexico and Europe, her work bridges cultures, continents and spiritual modalities and focuses on increasing consciousness and wholeness within the individual and society as a whole.