Frawley, Jacinta
THE VAMPIRE ALIVE IN THE SAND
Jacinta Frawley, Sydney, Australia
Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume 20 Number 1, 2011
KEY WORDS: Vampire, sandplay, individuation, regression, dream, Sandplay therapy, painting, clinical example, folklore, popular culture, film, libido, anxiety, contemporary anxieties.
ABSTRACT: Using a dream, two paintings and two sandtrays from clinical practice the author explores the meaning of the vampire image. The vampire image is also amplified in folklore, literature and modern popular culture. The author discusses C.G. Jung’s writings on libido and individuation and argues that the vampire is the image constellated in the psyche when individuation is on the brink of failure. The vampire appears when the longing for fusion and unconsciousness (regression) threatens to overwhelm the instinct toward individuation and consciousness. The author considers what the popularity of the vampire image in popular culture might suggest about contemporary anxieties.