Pelz-Sherman, Dori
THE PEACOCK: BEAUTY AND SURVIVAL IN SANDPLAY
Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume 23, Number 1, 2014
In English
THE PEACOCK:
BEAUTY AND SURVIVAL IN SANDPLAY
Dori Pelz-Sherman
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
KEY WORDS: Sandplay therapy, bird, peacock, myth, alchemy, symbol, Jung, biology, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, sexual selection, adult, male, female, clinical examples, transition.
ABSTRACT: The Greek myth of Argus, a story of transformation and of watchfulness, begins this paper exploring the symbolism of the peacock. This bird is endowed with qualities of transformation, change, and rebirth. The author draws on Jungian theory, biological understandings, spirituality and alchemy to explain how the peacock’s presence in the sandplayer’s sandtray can symbolically embody the means to achieve a more conscious relation to the self, and a modification of the ego’s identification with the self. As an agent of transformation for the human psyche, the peacock’s symbolic range is vast: superficial vanity, immortality, protection, survival, spiritual powers, vulnerability, sexual attraction or a link to the gods. By outlining the physical characteristics and reproductive behaviors, we may come to a deeper understanding of the symbolic utility and the role science can play in archetypal representations. Literature offers rich metaphor and anthropomorphic images. The author utilizes the sandtrays of adult male and female patients to illustrate how Sandplay therapy can symbolically access a potential new day, hold multiple and opposite meanings, offer protection, guidance and illumination.
In German
DER PFAU:
SCHÖNHEIT UND ÜBERLEBEN IM SANDSPIEL
Dori Pelz-Sherman
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
SCHLAGWÖRTER: Sandspieltherapie, Vogel, Pfau, Mythos, Alchemie, Symbol, Jung, Biologie, Christentum, Hinduismus, Buddhismus, sexuelle Auswahl, Erwachsener, männlich, weiblich, Fallbeispiel, Übergang.
ABSTRACT: Dieser Beitrag beginnt mit der Untersuchung des Bildes des Pfaus im griechischen Mythos von Argus, der eine Geschichte der Verwandlung und Wachsamkeit ist. Die Autorin basiert sich auf Jungsche Theorie, biologische Fakten und die Kommentare über die Sandkästen eines männlichen und einer weiblichen Patientin.