In this interactive workshop, we will explore the heroine’s journey of Vasalisa the Wise, the protagonist of an ancient folktale which is very popular in Russia and in the Slavic countries.
We will accompany Vasalisa as she is forced to leave home and enter the dark forest in search of fire and see how she is able to overcome the trials and temptations on her path and how this relates to her Heroine’s Journey.
The Hero’s Journey has been extensively investigated since Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces was published in 1949, yet it seems that the map of the Heroine’s Journey still has much uncharted territory waiting to be explored.
For this reason, I am offering a series of interactive workshops dedicated to exploring the Heroine’s Journey through different fairy tales with the hope of adding more details to the map. We will follow the 12 stages proposed by Theodora Goss as a roadmap for our travels.
This workshop is experiential, and participants will be invited to explore the story in depth and actively engage in the activities. We will use tools from the Story Arte creative toolbox like Gestalt therapy, expressive arts therapies and journaling. Please have some paper and something to draw and write with at hand.
In this workshop:
- We will briefly discuss the 12 stages of The Hero’s Journey.
- We will explore the 12 stages that may be present in the Heroine’s Journey.
- We will call upon the wisdom of this ancient fairy tale to guide us.
- We will consider how this story can be applied to work creatively with clients.
- We will investigate the rich symbology of the story and the archetypes.
Stories have been with us since the very beginning of humanity when we gathered around the fire to listen to myths of creation to connect us with our inner selves, our clan, and the universe. Stories have accompanied us through dark times, of war and plague and they are here to accompany us now, with their medicine, in this time of uncertainty.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- You will learn about the different stages of the Heroine’s Journey and how it differs from the Hero’s Journey.
- You will discover how to work with fairy tales for personal development on a personal and professional level.
- You will see how to work creatively with the symbolic language and explore the themes that come up during the session.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- Therapists, counsellors, storytellers, and anyone else with a deep interest in exploring the world of fairy tales and discovering more about the heroine’s journey.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- The stages of the Heroine’s Journey may provide a compass for people feeling lost on their life path. The inherent wisdom in this ancient fairy tale could be a powerful tool to have in your toolbox and you may find that symbolic language provides a safe way for clients to explore and express their inner world.
Story Arte Online school on Teachable https://storyarte.teachable.com/
Course Content
Presenter
Jennifer Ramsay is a professional storyteller. She has told stories in more than 2,000 events and trained hundreds of people in the ancestral art of storytelling. She works with story medicine in private practice and as a group facilitator in unique workshops, weaving stories into Nature Based Art Therapy, Gestalt therapy, Symbolic Psychodrama and Embodiment work.
She has a degree in Biological Sciences and is part of the global network of Earth Storytellers. The rhythms of nature are very present as she incorporates the Celtic wheel of the year and the lunar cycles into her work.
She is the founder of Story Arte, a centre for Art Therapy and Storytelling in the village where she lives, in the foothills near Madrid.
