"Yale Campus" Dan Nichols
The turning of the cycle of seasons has brought us back, once again, to autumn. Labor Day weekend is considered the unofficial end of summer, and fall begins on September 1st on the meteorological calendar (and on September 22nd on the astronomical calendar). Here in Nashville a slight tinge of autumn was felt in cool breezes the last week of August, after summer's last gasp of temperatures near 100 degrees the week before.
For some people the transition to fall can involve feelings of sadness about summer's end, as discussed in a recent article in the New York Times entitled "How to Cope with Fall Anxiety," while others celebrate an end to the heat and humidity. Each to their own!
Many of us grew up in a time when September meant "back to school" - the word itself may conjure up school memories of anticipation of all things new -new teachers and classmates, new fall clothing, new college textbooks, new roommates.
Whether school is for you a current activity or a distant memory, we hope you had a relaxing summer and are ready to come "back to school" with the Nashville Jung Circle for a new season of monthly educational events. Please read below about the fall line-up of events and mark your calendars to join us. We look forward to the Sunday, September 7th in-person gathering for discussion and socializing and to the Sunday, October 19th online talk on Jung's theories of anima/animus and how they fit with today's concepts on gender. More events are in the works, including with James Hollis on Saturday, January 10th. We hope to see you soon.
See below for details and registration.
"Fall Cooling," Timothy Parker
Contents
1)Sunday, September 7th, "Jung and You"
2)Sunday, October 19th, "Exploring Gender Expansiveness"
3)Save the dates - Sunday, November 9th and Saturday, January 10th
3) Officers and Board of NJC
4)Video of "Goddess of Riches" May, 2025 presentation
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th
1:30 - 3:30 pm
Glendale United Methodist Church
900 Glendale Lane
Nashville, TN 37204
In-Person Event
“Jung and You”
Group Discussion and Social
The Nashville Jung Circle will begin the new season of monthly events with a gathering for discussion and socializing. We will continue to celebrate Jung’s 150th birth year with a short overview of Jung’s works, presented by Alan Scalpone, followed by small group discussions of how we each became interested in Jungian psychology and how his theories are relevant today, both personally and culturally.
We hope you can join us on September 7th, newcomers as well as long-time members of this community!
Registration: free for members and $10 for non-members, both asked to register here.
In-person only - this event will not be recorded
To join as a member and enjoy free or reduced admission for all events for a year click here.
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19th
5 - 7 pm central time
Online Event
"Exploring Gender Expansiveness in Jungian Psychology"
by Sara Sage, MS, LPC
16th century, artist unknown
Jung proposed that we all have an inner attitude that is turned toward the unconscious, which helps us navigate between our individual selves and the unconscious world. Jung labeled this attitude in men the anima, and in women the animus. Jung’s anima/animus theories opened up the idea that different gendered energies can exist in the same person, as Jung even exclaims in the Red Book, “You can hardly say of your soul what sex it is!” However, as Jung continued to discuss A/A in his writing, he conflated biological sex with particular assumed characteristics, which limited the applicability of the theory primarily to people who are heterosexual and cisgender, which led to harmful gender stereotypes.
In this presentation, Jungian analyst Sara Sage from the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts will discuss both the possibilities and limitations in Jung’s A/A theory around gender and individuation and propose a more expansive way to consider exploring otherness in our psyches. Sara will discuss her personal and clinical work, language and ideas around a more expansive view of gender in Jungian work, and the powerful movement of archetypal images of gender and otherness in our psyches.
Registration: Free for members; $15 non-members; $10 students. All must register to get the zoom link here.
To join as a member and enjoy free or reduced admission for all events for a year click here.
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Sara Sage, MS, LMHC, LPC, LCPC is a therapist in private practice and a diplomate Jungian analyst with the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts, practicing in the northern Indiana/southern Michigan area. She specializes in work with LGBTQIA+ clients, and combines Jungian work with trauma-informed practice, feminist and queer theory, indigenous wisdom traditions, and the living symbolism of nature. Sara has presented at several international Jungian conferences and provides seminars on updating Jungian gender theory and other topics.
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Sneak Peak - Save the Dates
Sunday, November 9th, 5 -7 pm central time
with the Reverand Dr. John van Eenwyk
Online Event - Details Coming Soon
and
Saturday, January 10th
9 am - Noon central time
Online event
We are pleased to announce the return of
NJC beloved speaker
Dr. James Hollis
"Spectral Visitants: The Place of Dreams in Our Life"
What are dreams, and why do they come to us? How can we begin to work with, even understand our dreams? This lecture/workshop will explore theories of origin and meaning, methods of interpretation, and will focus a great deal on interpretation of dreams which will be provided. By the end of the session participants will be somewhat less mystified by, and less intimidated by, the idea of dream interpretation.
Learning Goals:
1. Learn competing theories of dreams.
2. Acquire a greater knowledge of dream structure.
3. Learn the difference between signs and symbols.
4. Gain greater facility in working with symbolic expression.
3. Practice working through sample dream exercises.
more details coming soon
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Nashville Jung Circle
2025-2026 Officers and Board
Dr. Karen Harper, who has served the NJC for over 8 years, first as a board member and then for 6 years as president, has retired from her role and will be greatly missed. We appreciate everything she did as president, speaker for numerous events, and overall supporter of the Nashville Jung Circle!
The NJC is pleased to welcome Claire Coenen as a new board member. Claire is a poet and facilitator who leads groups focused on expressive writing, SoulCollage®, and creativity as a healing practice. A lifelong learner, Claire earned a Master of Education and Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University and received her Master of Social Work from the University of Tennessee. She also received her yoga teaching certificate from Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in 2010. Claire has past professional experience working as a psychotherapist and studied psychodynamic therapy in a two-year post-graduate program offered by the Nashville Center for Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapy. Her first book of poems, The Beautiful Keep Breathing, (Kelsey Books), was published in June 2024 and explores themes of loss, healing, and divine beauty.
Below, please read a personal statement from Claire and a poem she wrote that is fitting for the fall season.
“As a student of depth psychology and a lifelong seeker, I am excited to join the board of the Nashville Jung Circle! Engaging deeply with Jungian psychology these past few years has helped me to tend to my soul, body, and dreams with more patience, gentleness, and courage.
Throughout my life, I’ve lived with many questions about the nature of the divine and a fascination with western and eastern religious traditions. I grew up in Athens, Georgia in a family and church that encouraged an open-minded approach to connecting with the sacred.
As I worked toward my Master of Theological Studies, I developed a deeper interest in dreamwork, writing as a spiritual practice, Christian mysticism, Buddhist meditation, and different psychoanalytic approaches toward exploring the inner world. I’m grateful for teachers, therapists, and mentors from a variety of traditions who have offered their insight to me.
I began engaging deeply with the Jungian perspective in 2021 through books like Clarissa Pinkola Estes’s Women who Run with the Wolves. Since then, I’ve benefited from books by Jungian authors like Marion Woodman, James Hollis, Thomas Moore, Sylvia Perera, and Lisa Marchiano. I have a particular interest in fairytales, mythology, and images of the archetypal, sacred feminine. I also find joy spending time on the porch swing with my husband Davey, collaging, strumming chords on my old guitar, and getting my hands in the dirt of our garden.
I believe that the wisdom of Carl Jung and of all those who have bravely engaged with the archetypal patterns of the psyche offers vital medicine to the discordant world today. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help lead the Nashville Jung Circle as we share this wisdom and encourage open-minded, meaningful, and revitalizing connections with one and other.”
a note for you in the wilderness again
no one wishes to return to the tangles
of these woods. but the soul travels on a spiraling path
and will call you back to the painful terrain.
shadows will trick your serious eyes and secrets
will always nip at your heels. do not try
to be a saint. claim the night of your fragile existence,
dust of footprints, aching bones. the thicket
of living cannot be denied and healing refuses a quick,
straight line. walk within the metaphor of
autumn as scarlet leaves light up the trail. follow
the ceaseless hymn to the river where wings
of the heron echo the angels and sycamores glow
in falling light. surrender your weariness
into the ground until you trust the mysteries of soil
where springtime hides in buried seeds
and your darkest curse may bear wild blessings.
Poem copyright ©2025 by Claire Coenen, from Sky Island Journal
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Goddess of Riches: Awakening the Archetypal Feminine
Gretchen Watts, LCSW, has graciously shared a recording of the talk she presented to the Nashville Jung Circle for the NJC 10th anniversary program in May, 2025. Gretchen, a Jungian psychotherapist and certified sandplay therapist and teacher, was a founding board member and past co-president of the Nashville Jung Circle. Thank you, Gretchen, for this beautiful presentation and video.
