Women Who Run With The Wolves

361 Pages·1992·3.235 MB·English

by  Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés

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Women Who Run With The Wolves
Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Clarisa Pincola Estes
Women Who Runs With The Wolves
First Edition published (1992 )
Language: English
Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 9.9 x 1 cm
Pages: 608
http://openbooks.tk
ISBN-13: 978-0712657471
"...written by One who knows..."
--Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple
Within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good
instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild
Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an
endangered species. In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Dr. Estés
unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, and stories, many from her
own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy,
visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and
commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and
understand the Wild Woman and hold her against our deep psyches as
one who is both magic and medicine. Dr. Estés has created a new lexicon
for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a
psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.
Reviews:
"This volume reminds us that we are nature for all our sophistication,
that we are still wild, and the recovery of that vitality will itself set us
right in the world."
--Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul
"I am grateful to Women Who Run With the Wolves and to Dr. Clarissa
Pinkola Estés. The work shows the reader how glorious it is to be daring,
to be caring, and to be women. Everyone who can read should read this
book."
--Maya Angelou
"An inspiring book, the 'vitamins for the soul' [for] women who are cut
off from their intuitive nature."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"Stands out from the pack ... A joy and sparkle in [the] prose ... This
book will become a bible for women interested in doing deep work.... It is
a road map of all the pitfalls, those familiar and those horrifically
unexpected, that a woman encounters on the way back to her instinctual
self. Wolves ... is a gift."
--Los Angeles Times
"A mesmerizing voice ... Dramatic storytelling she learned at the knees of
her [immigrant] aunts."
--Newsweek
"A deeply spiritual book...She honors what is tough, smart and untamed
in women. She venerates the female soul."
--The Washington Post Book World
INDEX
INDEX ............................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION - Singing over the Bones ..................................................................... 10
CHAPTER I. The Howl: Resurrection of the Wild Woman .............................................. 23
La Loba, The Wolf Woman ............................................................................................. 23
La Loba ......................................................................................................................... 24
The Four Rabbinim ......................................................................................................... 27
CHAPTER 2. Stalking the Intruder: The Beginning Initiation .......................................... 32
Bluebeard....................................................................................................................... 32
Stalking the Intruder: The Beginning Initiation ................................................................. 32
The Natural Predator of the Psyche . ................................................................................. 35
Naive Women as Prey ..................................................................................................... 37
The Key to Knowing: The Importance of Snuffling ........................................................... 39
The Animal Groom ......................................................................................................... 41
Blood Scent .................................................................................................................... 42
Backtracking and Looping ............................................................................................... 45
Giving the Cry ................................................................................................................ 46
The  Dark  Man  in  Women’s  Dreams . ................................................................................ 49
CHAPTER 3. Nosing Out the Facts: The Retrieval of Intuition as Initiation .................... 55
The Doll in Her Pocket: Vasalisa the Wise ....................................................................... 55
Vasalisa ......................................................................................................................... 55
The First Task—Allowing the Too-Good Mother to Die ..................................................... 59
The Second Task—Exposing the Crude Shadow ................................................................ 62
The Third Task—Navigating in the Dark .......................................................................... 64
The Fourth Task—Facing the Wild Hag ........................................................................... 66
The Fifth Task—Serving the Non-Rational ........................................................................ 68
The Sixth Task—Separating This from That ...................................................................... 71
The Seventh Task—Asking the Mysteries .......................................................................... 73
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The Eighth Task—Standing on All Fours .......................................................................... 75
The Ninth Task—Recasting the Shadow ............................................................................ 77
CHAPTER 4. The Mate: Union With the Other ............................................................... 83
Hymn for the Wild Man: Manawee .................................................................................. 83
Manawee ...................................................................................................................... 83
The Dual Nature of Women ............................................................................................ 85
The Power of Two ......................................................................................................... 86
The Power of Name ....................................................................................................... 87
The Tenacious Dog Nature ............................................................................................. 89
Creeping Seductive Appetite ........................................................................................... 90
Achieving Fierceness ..................................................................................................... 91
The Interior Woman ....................................................................................................... 92
CHAPTER 5. Hunting: When the Heart Is a Lonely Hunter ............................................. 94
Skeleton Woman: Facing the Life/Death/Life Nature of Love ............................................. 94
Skeleton Woman ........................................................................................................... 95
Death in the House of Love ............................................................................................. 97
The First Phases of Love: The Accidental Finding of Treasure ........................................... 99
The Chase and the Hiding ............................................................................................. 103
Untangling the Skeleton ............................................................................................... 105
The Sleep of Trust........................................................................................................ 109
Giving the Tear ............................................................................................................ 112
The Later Phases of Love: Heart as Drum and Singing Up ............................................... 114
The Dance of Body and Soul ......................................................................................... 117
CHAPTER  6.  Finding  One’s  Pack:  Belonging  as  Blessing ............................................... 121
The Ugly Duckling ...................................................................................................... 121
Exile of the Unmatched Child ....................................................................................... 125
THE AMBIVALENT MOTHER ................................................................................... 127
THE COLLAPSED MOTHER ...................................................................................... 128
THE CHILD MOTHER OR THE UNMOTHERED MOTHER ........................................ 130
THE STRONG MOTHER, THE STRONG CHILD ........................................................ 132
Bad Company .............................................................................................................. 133
Not Looking Right ....................................................................................................... 133
Frozen Feeling, Frozen Creativity .................................................................................. 134
The Passing Stranger .................................................................................................... 135
Exile as Boon .............................................................................................................. 135
The Uncombed Cats and Cross-Eyed Hens of the World .................................................. 136
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Remembrance and Continuance No Matter What ............................................................ 137
Love for the Soul ......................................................................................................... 139
The Mistaken Zygote ................................................................................................... 140
CHAPTER 7. Joyous Body: The Wild Flesh ................................................................... 146
Body Talk ................................................................................................................... 147
The Body in Fairy Tales ............................................................................................... 150
The Power of the Haunches........................................................................................... 151
La Mariposa, Butterfly Woman ..................................................................................... 152
CHAPTER 8. Self-preservation: Identifying Leg Traps, Cages, and Poisoned Bait .......... 157
The Feral Woman ........................................................................................................ 157
The Red Shoes ............................................................................................................. 158
Brutal Loss in Fairy Tales ............................................................................................. 160
The Handmade Red Shoes ............................................................................................ 162
The Traps .................................................................................................................... 164
Trap #1; The Gilded Carriage, the Devalued Life ........................................................ 164
Trap #2; The Dry Old Woman, the Senescent Force ..................................................... 165
Trap #3: Burning the Treasure, Hambre del Alma, Soul Famine ................................... 167
Trap #4: Injury to Basic Instinct, the Consequence of Capture ...................................... 169
Trap #5: Trying to Sneak a Secret Life, Split in Two..................................................... 172
Trap #6: Cringing Before the Collective, Shadow Rebellion.......................................... 176
Trap #7: Faking It, Trying to be Good, Normalizing the Abnormal ................................ 178
Trap #8; Dancing Out of Control, Obsession and Addiction ......................................... 181
ADDICTION .............................................................................................................. 182
At  the  Executioner’s  House ........................................................................................... 184
Returning to A Life Made by Hand, Healing Injured Instincts........................................... 184
CHAPTER 9. Homing: Returning to OneSelf ................................................................. 188
Sealskin, Soulskin ........................................................................................................ 189
Homing: Returning to OneSelf. Loss of Sense of Soul as Initiation ................................... 192
Losing One’s  Pelt ........................................................................................................ 194
The Lonely Man .......................................................................................................... 198
The Spirit Child ........................................................................................................... 200
Drying Out and Crippling ............................................................................................. 201
Hearing  the  Old  One’s  Call ........................................................................................... 203
Staying Overlong ......................................................................................................... 205
Cutting Loose, Diving In .............................................................................................. 208
Homing: Returning to OneSelf ...................................................................................... 211
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The Medial Woman: Breathing Under Water .................................................................. 212
Surfacing .................................................................................................................... 213
The Practice of Intentional Solitude ............................................................................... 214
Women’s  Innate  Ecology .............................................................................................. 217
CHAPTER 10. Clear Water: Nourishing the Creative Life ............................................. 219
La Llorona .................................................................................................................. 221
The Pollution of the Wild Soul ...................................................................................... 222
Poison in the River ....................................................................................................... 224
Fire on the River .......................................................................................................... 225
The Man on the River ................................................................................................... 228
Taking Back the River .................................................................................................. 232
Focus and the Fantasy Mill ........................................................................................... 234
The Little Match Girl ................................................................................................... 235
Staving Off Creative Fantasy ........................................................................................ 236
Renewing the Creative Fire ........................................................................................... 240
The Three Gold Hairs ................................................................................................... 241
CHAPTER 11. Heat: Retrieving a Sacred Sexuality ....................................................... 246
The Dirty Goddesses .................................................................................................... 246
Baubo: The Belly Goddess ............................................................................................ 247
Coyote Dick ................................................................................................................ 250
A Trip to Rwanda ........................................................................................................ 252
CHAPTER 12. Marking Territory: The Boundaries of Rage and Forgiveness ................. 254
The Crescent Moon Bear .............................................................................................. 254
Rage as Teacher ........................................................................................................... 257
The Spirit Bear ............................................................................................................ 261
The Transformative Fire and Right Action ...................................................................... 262
Righteous Rage ........................................................................................................... 264
The Withered Trees ...................................................................................................... 264
Descansos ................................................................................................................... 266
Injured Instinct and Rage .............................................................................................. 268
Collective Rage ........................................................................................................... 269
Stuck in Old Rage ........................................................................................................ 269
Four Stages of Forgiveness ........................................................................................... 271
FOREGO11 ............................................................................................................. 271
FOREBEAR12 ......................................................................................................... 271
FORGET13 .............................................................................................................. 272
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FORGIVE14 ............................................................................................................ 272
CHAPTER 13. Battle Scars: Membership in the Scar Clan ............................................. 274
Secrets as Slayers ......................................................................................................... 274
The Dead Zone ............................................................................................................ 276
The Scapecoat ............................................................................................................. 282
CHAPTER 14. La Selva Subterránea: Initiation in the Underground Forest ..................... 283
The Handless Maiden ................................................................................................... 283
The First Stage—The Bargain Without Knowing ............................................................ 288
The Second Stage—The Dismemberment ....................................................................... 293
The Third Stage—The Wandering ................................................................................. 300
The Fourth Stage—Finding Love in the Underworld ....................................................... 304
THE MAIDEN ......................................................................................................... 306
THE SPIRIT IN WHITE ............................................................................................ 306
THE GARDENER..................................................................................................... 306
THE KING .............................................................................................................. 306
THE MAGE ............................................................................................................. 307
THE QUEEN MOTHER/CRONE ............................................................................... 307
THE DEVIL ............................................................................................................. 307
The Fifth Stage—The Harrowing of the Soul .................................................................. 314
The Sixth Stage—The Realm of the Wild Woman ........................................................... 325
The Seventh Stage—The Wild Bride and Bridegroom ..................................................... 330
CHAPTER 15. Shadowing: Canto Hondo, The Deep Song .............................................. 334
CHAPTER  16.  The  Wolf’s  Eyelash ................................................................................ 338
AFTERWORD: STORY AS MEDICINE ....................................................................... 342
ADDENDUM ................................................................................................................. 348
NOTES .......................................................................................................................... 352

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INTRODUCTION - Singing over the Bones
Wildlife and the Wild Woman are both endangered species.
Over time, we have seen the feminine instinctive nature looted, driven back, and
overbuilt. For long periods it has been mismanaged like the wildlife and the wildlands.
For several thousand years, as soon and as often as we turn our backs, it is relegated to
the poorest land in the psyche. The spiritual lands of Wild Woman have, throughout
history, been plundered or burnt, dens bulldozed, and natural cycles forced into unnatural
rhythms to please others.
It’s   not   by   accident   that   the   pristine   wilderness   of   our   planet   disappears   as   the  
understanding of our own inner wild natures fades. It is not so difficult to comprehend
why old forests and old women are viewed as not very important resources. It is not such
a mystery. It is not so coincidental that wolves and coyotes, bears and wildish women
have similar reputations. They all share related instinctual archetypes, and as such, both
are erroneously reputed to be ingracious, wholly and innately dangerous, and ravenous.
My life and work as a Jungian psychoanalyst, poet, and cantadora, keeper of the old
stories,  have  taught  me  that  women’s  flagging  vitality  can  be  restored  by extensive
“psychic-archeological”  digs  into  the  ruins  of  the  female  underworld.  By  these  methods  
we are able to recover the ways of the natural instinctive psyche, and through its
personification in the Wild Woman archetype we are able to discern the ways and means
of  woman’s  deepest  nature.
The modem woman is a blur of activity. She is pressured to be all things to all people.
The old knowing is long overdue.
The title of this book. Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild
Woman Archetype, came from my study of wildlife biology, wolves in particular. The
studies of the wolves Canis lupus and Canis rufus are like the history of women, regarding
both their spiritedness and their travails.
Healthy wolves and healthy women share certain psychic characteristics: keen
sensing, playful spirit, and a heightened capacity for devotion. Wolves and women are
relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are
deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mates, and their pack. They
are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely
stalwart and very brave.
Yet both have been hounded, harassed, and falsely imputed to be devouring and
devious, overly aggressive, of less value than those who are their detractors. They have
been the targets of those who would clean up the wilds as well as the wildish environs of
the psyche, extincting the instinctual, and leaving no trace of it behind The predation of
wolves and women by those who misunderstand them is strikingly similar.
So that is where the concept of the Wild Woman archetype first crystallized for me,
in the study of wolves. I've studied other creatures as well, such as bear, elephant, and the
soul-birds—butterflies. The characteristics of each species give abundant metaphoric
hints into what is knowable about the feminine instinctual psyche.
The wild nature passed through my spirit twice, once by my birth to a passionate
Mexican-Spanish bloodline, and later, through adoption by a family of fiery Hungarians.
I was raised up near the Michigan state line, surrounded by woodlands, orchards, and
farmland and near the Great Lakes. There, thunder and lightning were my main nutrition.
Cornfields creaked and spoke aloud at night. Far up in the north, wolves came to the
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