Acknowledging the wind and a child's unconscious: Creative therapy with trance experience

Abstract

The wind has been the subject of fascination throughout the ages, yet little has been written about its implications for psychotherapy. The myth of the wind sack bound by a cord in order to control it is inherent in many mythologies of the world from Scandinavia to Africa (Stromberg, 1950). In some cultures the wind is seen as the spirit, as the vital breath of the universe (Cirlot, 1971). Furthermore, the wind is frequently credited with the power to sustain and regenerate life, to hold it together. Navajo cultures and philosophy emphasize the archetypal significance of the wind. In fact, they say that “a thought, whether for good or ill, never occurs without cause, a Wind is always behind it” (McNeeley, 1981, p. 29). In Navajo tradition, the wind is seen as being sent by the Holy One to provide guidance and instruction, to influence human thought and conduct. “Mother Earth” speaks of four winds that affect life, but it is the one from the East (the right) that is the teacher, directing life, passing on warnings and advice. According to Navajo philosophy, when life is formed the East wind is already inside the mother connecting her to the unborn child. This conception of the regulatory function of the wind is similar, perhaps, to Jung’s (1969) idea of the self-regulatory function of the unconscious. The spirit and force of the wind can be projected in drawings. It has long been known that artwork is a very powerful reflection of the inner representation of psychological experience, and that personal drawings can access memories from the unconscious. Jung saw pictures as a projection of the psyche, and Furth (1988) has discussed the importance of using drawings psychotherapeutically. Analytically, the wind should be understood in drawings as a projection of forces that affect one’s life. The major projections of self and inner world feelings are drawings of houses and trees. Buck (1977) suggested that drawings of houses depicting movement are reflective of “collapse of the ego under the assaults of extra-personal or intra-personal pressure, or both.” He further stated that when “wind is blowing from page-right to page-left, it is presumed that the S views the future pessimistically,” and that when the house is depicted in motion, as tilting, it is pathological (p. 118). Hammer (1958) as well as Buck suggested that when it is obvious that a strong wind is placing force on trees the person is subjected to extreme environmental pressures, while still trying to maintain balance. Thus, the literature culturally, analytically, and psychologically supports the notion that the wind is reflective of forces that affect one’s life, Therefore, drawings from someone suffering from anemophobia (literally the fear of the wind) should project these forces. It is also important to further develop the significance of the cord that binds the wind. The rope is often seen symbolically as the umbilical cord and, as such, it has special significance as it reflects the mechanism by which one attaches to mother. It is this