Through a Jungian Lens

Walking down a dirt trail heading out from the south-western edge of the small village about three kilometres from my villa, I went in search of birds.  The trail is rough and follows along the shore of the estuary or laguna.  This day I decided to go further west past the narrow highway that leads to Mérida, down the dirt road that used to be the route to Sisal further west down the Yucatan coast.  I knew that I was going to come across the bridge that was damaged during one of the last hurricanes in this area and I assumed that it would prevent me from linking to the west shore.  Well, as you can see in this photo, vehicles could never make it across.  This was the best part of the remains.  In two different spots I was reduced to using broken pieces of the bridge as stepping stones in order to make it across.  And, I did make it across the river that joins the sea with the estuary that covers most of the coastal area of the Yucatan.

Crossing a river.  In Jungian psychology, crossing the river is symbolic of transformation.

By crossing the river the hero achieves the critical degree of consciousness necessary to confront and assimilate the power of the unconscious … Jung also recognized a danger in not “fording the stream of unconsciousness … (Women and Sacrifice, William Beers)

Now, this explains the need to take this photo and to bring it here.  The alchemical work that is in progress while I am in Mexico is being flooded with so many images that it makes sense to me that it is all about change.  I don’t know if that is good or bad in terms of where I have been and where I am going.  Looking at this image I get a feeling that the transformation is not necessarily going to be gentle.  The journey looks to be rough and solitary.  But then again, the journey of individuation is precisely that, rough and solitary.  It can’t be any other way.  So I wait and wonder what when will the hurricane strike opening up a singular route for me to follow.