The Mandorla: Where Opposites Meet

Virginia Apperson, PhD, APRN, CS, Jungian analyst

All it takes is to pick up a newspaper or listen to the talking heads to experience the prevailing dynamic of our times: oppositional opposites, where lines are drawn and dared to be crossed. The result, as we know all too well, is gridlock, stalemate, sterility. C.G. Jung had a much different approach to opposing energies. He understood the value of doing the excruciatingly difficult work of bringing opposites into a respectful dialogue, building a relationship between them. The result is a fruitful union that Jung called the transcendent function, from which new life is born. The mandorla is an ancient image of two circles overlapping, where the tension is held. 

Virginia Apperson practices as a Jungian analyst in Atlanta, Ga.  She works with individuals and couples and leads dream groups. Virginia coauthored ­The Presence of the Feminine in Film­­­ with John Beebe.

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