On Artemis
Short extract from an interview in Jung Journal of Culture and Psyche (Routledge) retrieved on May 28th, 2018 from http://jeanshinodabolen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Into-the-Woods-Bolen-Interview.pdf
‘For decades, Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen has led us “into the woods.” She has given the world a lifetime of Artemis-inspired work, and through her example and writing, we can more fully understand and embrace the archetypal energy of Artemis within the psyche as well as its confuence with other archetypes, the analytic process, and humanitarian activism.
Helen Marlo: It is great to interview you, especially given the subject of your latest book, Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman. You have lived out and championed Artemis – an underrepresented or overlooked archetype that expresses, among many things, activism in women. Can you say a bit about the book and its central message?
Jean Shinoda Bolen: The key word in the title is “Indomitable,” which means untamed or not able to be subdued. Artemis is the archetype active in the girl who survives abuse and neglect, who can see herself as a survivor rather than a victim. Like the goddess of the hunt and moon, she aims for a target or goal of her own, and with her lunar aspect, develops the capacity for reflection and perception of mystery. Egalitarian relationships with men and sisterhood are natural. This is the archetype of the activist and feminist. This archetype was liberated by the women’s movement and is coming into its own now.
HM: What motivated you to write it now?
JSB: There was a reactivation of Artemis in my own psyche. I went to the United Nations (UN) in 2002 and have been going annually since then as an advocate for a UN World Conference on Women. I continue to be appalled at what I learn about: the trafficking of little girls, the use of rape as a weapon in conflicts, and, in many parts of the world, what a tragic and awful fate results from being born female. I was inspired by the indomitable spirit of girls and women who survive and work in the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that rescue and help. Artemis is their archetype. While I’m not on the frontlines, the intuitive feeling function that gives me empathy and serves me well in doing analysis, motivates my Artemis-activism. Writing the book began with telling the myth of Atalanta at the Jung Institute in Küsnacht (2012). In Jungian circles, the myth of Psyche, told by Erich Neumann in Amor and Psyche (1956), is described as the psychological development of the feminine. But it’s a pattern that doesn’t describe women whose leading archetypes are Artemis, Athena, and Hestia. I wanted this myth to become a counterpart to the Psyche myth in Jungian thought about women’s psychology…..’