An exploration of the ways in which the ancestors, from the archetypal
to the personal, influence us in the present and implicate us in lives
of subsequent generations.
At a time when interest in family ancestry has never been greater,
Sandra Easter's book introduces us to a powerful mode of psychological
inquiry that engages the ancestors as living presences shaping who we
are and the lives we live.
Expanding the traditional focus of depth psychology beyond the realm of
personal biography, the author finds evidence of the ancestors in
dreams, visions, and symptoms of illness, and in nature and the land on
which we live. Interweaving theory and practice, and drawing skillfully
on C. G. Jung's work and personal reflections, the book is rich with
real-life examples of women who, by establishing dialogues with the
ancestors, have been able to work through personal and generational
trauma and wounds, healing themselves and those in their ancestral
lines. By exploring the unconscious psyche as the ancestral "land of the
dead," Easter argues we can also find greater meaning for our lives and
better understand our own personal myth.
Jung and the Ancestors is an important contribution to depth
psychology, focusing on an area of Jung's thought largely overlooked,
yet rendered increasingly significant in the wake of the publication of
The Red Book. Easter's work will change the way you understand yourself
and your relationship to those in your past and your future.
