On Film & TV

Archetypes are ever present on film and television. These articles highlight some that you might find interesting.

The Last Jedi & Saving What We Love

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The first episode of 2018 has Cyndera and Julienne discussing the archetypes and mythological themes in the latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi and the parallels to current events. Archetypes include The Priestess, The Hero, The Hermit, The Empress, The Chariot and the subverting of the Princess archetype. *SPOILER ALERT* If you haven’t seen the film yet we go deep into the film so spoilers abound. They also pull a card to reflect on 2017 and one to work with for the year to come. The results might surprise you. This is how we win. Not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we...

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Wonder Woman

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Cyndera and Julienne bring their provocative archetypal and tarotic insights into the new film Wonder Woman.  The archetypes in The Priestess, The Sun and the Chariot are at play in the film.   They also discuss how listeners can become a part of the Archetypal Tarot team by signing up to be a patron of the show.  https://patron.podbean.com/atpodcast Subscribe in iTunes   Treatise on Wonder Woman by Cyndera Quakenbush In an attempt to add a poster of Wonder Woman to my office, a new colleague of mine expressed her reservation to the addition of this image to the office environment,...

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Archetypal America

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I’m happy to announce that a new audio lecture is available from my friend, mentor and fellow Archetypal Counselor, Jim Curtan.   This set of recordings from his workshop for the Minnesota Jung Association last fall is an examination of American Mythology and Archetype.   If you are interested in some of the foundational aspects of the United States of America this audio lecture is for you. Purchase and download the course for $15 Archetypal America by Jim Curtan An examination of American Mythology & Archetype A live lecture recording from the Minnesota Jung Association...

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The Tower: Embracing the Grace of Change (podcast)

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Subscribe in iTunes Tell us what you thought of the show on Facebook or Twitter @TarotPodcast ! This month Julienne is in conversation with Archetypal Counselor, Spiritual Director and film buff,  Jim Curtan.  Jim and Julienne discuss some of their favorite topics – Archetypes and Movies.  The focus on the Tower card in particular and the many aspects of change that it symbolizes.  They discuss the good, the bad, the scary and as well as the grace that change can bring when we fully allow ourselves to grieve the loss of the past and dive into what the change brings us.   They...

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Embracing the Grace of Change

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“Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver I am so very excited to present this new Archetypes & a Movie course to you! The third edition of Archetypes & a Movie examines what happens when our old story has reached the end of it’s shelf life and how we can embrace the grace that change brings us. Using the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as contemplation on the choices and opportunities that lead us to an unexpected next chapter of our lives. This self guided workshop is comprised of lecture and commentary on the film plus...

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Artemis: The Moon, Transitions and the Indomitable Spirit (Podcast)

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Quickie Edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast! (Quickie Editions are 30 mins or less) Subscribe in iTunes In the last podcast on The Moon we discussed being lost and the creative process in relation to the Artist archetype. In this podcast we delve into another aspect of this shadowy archetypal stage – the feminine archetype of deep knowing, agency and connection to nature. Artemis, also known as the Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, Midwifery and Wilderness. The Moon & Transitions If you think about it, you are probably in some kind of transition in your life right now. It could...

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The Archetype of the Mother and Queen

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Listen to the Podcast: The Archetype of the Empress: The Mother and Queen Listen in on a conversation with Tarot Dream Stone consultant Cyndera Quakenbush as we discuss the symbolic and real world qualities of these archetypal characters. The Fourth edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast explores the meaning behind the Empress card of the Tarot as a stage of a journey where one is asked to create a protected, creative and nurturing space for their plans or project so it can grow before going on to the next stage of the journey. The Empress symbolizes the archetype of the Mother as well as...

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The Way: A Journey of Healing & Self Acceptance

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I am super happy to announce that another edition of the Archetypes & A Movie course is now available.  As the Producer of this series it’s an especially joyous occasion, not just a ‘job done’ elation but gratitude for how much I have learned throughout the process of producing the course.  My dear friend, teacher and client, Jim Curtan is doing something unique – he’s helping us See (and I mean that with a capital S) our lives in a new way by using the popular art of movies. This new course centers around the idea of a modern pilgrimage, of our journey...

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Archetypes and a Movie

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Movies are one of the best ways to see how archetypes shape our motivations, drive us forward or pull us back.  We learn and experience so much when watching a film with the added bonus of being entertained.  I had the privilege to learn about archetypes through film from Master Archetypal Teacher Jim Curtan during my archetypal certification training at CMED in Chicago.  Each night Jim lead us on a guided tour of the archetypes and spiritual lessons in all sorts of films from Castaway & Erin Brockovich to The Wizard of Oz. No other method has taught me more about the power of...

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The Star – Finding True North

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Listen Now or Subscribe in iTunes Archetypal Tarot celebrates its 20th podcast! With some much needed respite after the tumult of the falling tower, Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush cozy up in some Dutch slippers and delve into the nourishing waters of the 17th card of the Major Arcana- The Star. Picture the Fool (our Hero in this journey) laying on the grass in a field after the sudden liberation of the last stage. She is coming to and is not yet able to articulate what just happened to her. The symbols of the scene represented in the Star feature a naked woman who is both...

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The Tower – Lightning Liberation

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 Subscribe in iTunes Is it the Tower of Destruction or the House of God? In card number sixteen of the Major Arcana, we are met with yet another image that often inspires fear and superstition. This is the first podcast in which Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush are divorced from their own tower (the recording studio) and explore this card’s symbolism from the telephone. With the sudden shock experienced in this stage of the fool’s journey, will those tethered to their addictions be struck from their habits? Does hitting rock bottom ultimately free us? Cyndera explores...

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The Hermit – Integration and Introspection

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Listen Now! or Subscribe in iTunes The Tenth edition of the Archetypal Podcast takes us to meet The Hermit, a figure waiting off the beaten track with the wisdom that only remote regions can give. Card number 9 allows our hero traveling through the Major Arcana to either meet or become this humbled figure full of in-sight, as represented by his seeking lantern. A re-evaluation of his journey is required after a run-in with the objectivity of Justice, before he can once again chance the Wheel of Fortune (Card number 10). Consideration of this card allows us all a moment to reflect without...

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Justice, The Judge and Mediator

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Listen Now! or Subscribe in iTunes The Ninth edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast attempts to do justice to the Justice card, which is number 8 of the Major Arcana. After setting out on a newly realized journey on the Chariot, our hero quickly faces some form of judgement. Justice, pictured as a stern-looking woman is reminiscent of the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, who assists our hero to view his challenges with a rational, dispassionate perspective. Holding both sword and scales, Justice cuts through to truth and weighs the balance of our ways. Listen in as Julienne recounts the myth of...

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The Hero and The Warrior

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Listen Now! or Subscribe in iTunes The Chariot: Hero, Warrior, and the Crossing of the First Threshold The Eighth edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast explores the movement and meaning encompassed by the Chariot, card number 7 of the Major Arcana. For the first time, we see our hero of the deck breaking beyond the boundary of the Emperor’s domain. In the last stage, the Lovers, he was faced with a choice and is now thrust down a particular path, reminiscent of the “crossing of the first threshold” of Joseph Campbell‘s stages of the hero’s journey. Will all...

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The Lovers – Balance and Companionship

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Listen Now! or Subscribe in iTunes The Seventh edition of the Archetypal Tarot podcast reveals our heroic Fool at his/her first genuine choice point represented by card number six, The Lovers. The Lovers brings into focus this important first choice and reminds us that love, balance and companionship are called for. This stage has us examine the archetypes of the Lover as well as the Companion. A reminder to access both our masculine ‘doing-ness’ and feminine receptivity. Listen in on a conversation with Tarot Dream Stone consultant Cyndera Quakenbush and Archetypal Consultant,...

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The Heirophant – Seeking Higher Guidance

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Listen Now! or Subscribe in iTunes The Sixth edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast explores the meaning of the Hierophant card of the Tarot as a stage of a journey where one examines the traditions, organizations and structures of one’s life as well as how and who to seek higher guidance from. The Hierophant, also called the Pope card in traditional Tarot decks also symbolizes the archetypes of the Priest, Guide, Guru, Shaman,Wise Man and Messiah. Truly a symbol of higher wisdom, this card is a symbol of seeking greater or spiritual knowledge. Listen in on a conversation with Tarot...

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The Archetype of the Father and King

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The Fifth edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast explores the meaning behind the Emperor card of the Tarot as a stage of a journey where one is asked to create structure and practical plans for your project or dream so that it can be fortified before going on to the next stage of the journey. The Emperor symbolizes the archetype of the Father as well as the King. Listen in as Julienne and Cyndera discuss these important patterns to our growth and flourishing. Listen Now! or Subscribe in iTunes Listen in on a conversation with Tarot Dream Stone consultant Cyndera Quakenbush and Archetypal...

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Romantic Chemistry: The Knight and the Damsel

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The next in the series about Archetypal Attraction and Romantic Chemistry The Knight and the Damsel are a matched set of patterns with naturally occurring complimentary attributes and dysfunctions. This can be true of any couple with these archetypes no matter their gender, same, different or otherwise. While we think of the Knight as a man and the Damsel a woman, that’s not always the case. I’m going to go the traditional route here but keep an open mind that the archetypes are not necessarily gender specific. The painting to the right is an eloquent image of the romantic...

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Seizing the power of Lover Archetype

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“So much is happening in the world, earthquakes, revolutions and wars and you’re writing about the archetype of the Lover?”   My reply: “Heck yeah, with all this chaos how do we approach what needs to be done without the passion of a Lover!?”   She gave me a look of kind incredulity.  “But the Lover? what could be more dreamy and ungrounded?”.  I love my friend (pun intended), and her point is well made,  the archetype of the Lover can be fluffy.  The Casablanca version of this archetype is ubiquitous and needs little explanation, but to limit...

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Hedonist Revolutionary

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I haven’t found a more potent and exciting combination of the Hedonist and the Revolutionary archetypes than in Jamie Oliver (formerly know as the Naked Chef).   One of the the UK’s brightest culinary exports is  taking America by storm and I for one love him all the more for it.  He won the TED prize in 2010 and began by using his 100k grant to start a Food Revolution!. One year later his progress is stunning and includes a partnership with the American Heart Association and numerous thriving community projects. You can read more about it here at TED.com Jamie is an...

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Part of us is grouchy and lives in Florida

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Understanding archetypes goes much deeper than a chat about a movie and beyond the confines of a psychology textbook.  An archetype is not just a pattern “out there” in theory but it is a recurring set of experiences that unfold through the course of a human life.  Our ability to spot when a particular pattern walks in the door makes the difference between acting out and making a conscious choice.  We begin to view the shape of our lives within an archetypal language by introducing ourselves to four patterns that we all share, the Survival Archetypes.  Let’s imagine...

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Archetypal Casting – the results are in!

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I often use movie and television references in my consultations.  They are one of the best ways to really see archetypal patterns in action.  We all have an instinctual sense of archetypes and can usually spot them pretty quickly – especially when they are on screen. To make my point, a few months ago I set up a handful of polls asking readers to cast actors into roles based on archetypes.  I had a feeling that the majority of respondents were going to choose the most appropriate actor for the archetypal role.  If I was wrong, then I lose the bet with one of my clients and I...

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OFGM: Original Fairy Godmother

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Once upon a time I was in a grocery store check-out line and struck up a conversation with the woman in front of me.  We were talking about good deeds and she mentioned how her friend liked to put quarters in parking meters for total strangers.  She called her friend the ‘Parking Meter Fairy’. While we often associate the Fairy Godmother (FGM) archetype with children’s stories and  fairy tales, they do walk among us.  They might not have a talking umbrella or a magic wand, but people with the FGM archetype are real. What makes a Fairy Godmother in terms of an...

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Facing the Bully: A New Karate Kid

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Poke fun all you want, but I am totally cool with their being a new Karate Kid movie (coming in June).   I’ve no doubt that Jackie Chan can pull off the Mentor role first played by Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi).  He’s made an entire career playing Fools and Warriors with a lesson to teach (Teacher) so this role should fit like a glove.   From the trailer it appears that Jaden Smith is going to do well playing the scrappy  young Warrior-in-training as Ralph Macchio did in 1984. The Child/Victim taking down the Bully is one of our perennial archetypal stories.  It’s the David...

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Survival Archetypes and “The Wizard of Oz”

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The film “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” provides a prime example of the hero’s journey of each of the four survival archetypes: the Child, the Victim, the Prostitute, and the Saboteur.   This film is an archetypal treasure trove, but for brevity’s sake I will concentrate mainly on these four. The first character that we meet in the film is Dorothy – the Child.  She looks for attention and is struggling to be heard and recognized by the adults (the Child seeking self-authority, responsibility).  She longs for a place “somewhere over the rainbow”...

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