Thea Euryphaessa
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theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Thea Euryphaessa
@theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
780 followers 14 following 1.7K posts
Writer 📚 | Quotes | Depth/Jungian Psychology | Hero's Journey | Author of 'Running into Myself' and follow-up, 'Growing into MySelf'

Long press the hashtag #MyBookShelf on app/click on desktop to search my posts for books I've shared.
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Thea Euryphaessa @theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social · Nov 19
I've decided Bluesky is where I'll share my favourite books, starting with this: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘵 by Juliet Sharman-Burke and astrologer and Jungian, Liz Greene. This is actually a box set which includes cards with characters from Greek myth.

A rich, educative tarot deck.

#mybookshelf #booksky
Thea's hand holding up a copy of 'The Mythic Tarot' box set by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene, in front of a bookshelf with flowers and fairy lights.
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Roberto Assagioli on the Hero's Journey that is the realisation of one's true self.
What has to be achieved is to expand the personal consciousness into that of the Self; to reach up, following the thread or ray . . . to the star; to unite the lower with the higher Self. But this, which is so easily expressed in words, is in reality a tremendous undertaking. It constitutes a magnificent endeavour, but certainly a long and arduous one, and not everybody is ready for it. But between the starting point in the lowlands of our ordinary consciousness and the shining peak of Self-realisation there are intermediate phases, plateaus at various altitudes on which a man may rest or even make his abode, if his lack of strength precludes or his will does not choose a further ascent. In favourable cases the ascent takes place to some extent spontaneously through a process of natural inner growth, fostered by the manifold experiences of life; but often the process is very slow. In all cases, however, it can be considerably accelerated by our deliberate conscious action and by the use of appropriate active techniques. By Roberto Assagioli from his book, 'Psychosynthesis'.
December 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
What the body reveals . . . are the bends and twists of personal history: the secrets, traumas, and triumphs of days past. They are embodied in ligament and muscle; stamped into posture.

— Daniel Goldman [from the foreword to, 'The Body Reveals' by Hector Prestera & Ron Kurtz]
December 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Many of us are so committed to social ideals that we prohibit the development of our instinctual lives. Our commitment to the outside world effectively separates us from the life processes of our biological selves.

— Stanley Keleman
December 16, 2025 at 9:14 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Wherever there is a reaching down into innermost experience, into the nucleus of personality, most people are overcome by fright, and many run away.

— Carl G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
December 15, 2025 at 2:50 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
If the imagery of the society doesn't bring your unconscious into play in its conscious world, you have a kind of dead situation; you become lost in a wasteland.

— Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss
December 14, 2025 at 12:41 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Important point from Thomas Moore on those who turn to 'escapist spirituality'.
People sometimes turn to escapist spirituality because they can't imagine themselves as normal, upright citizens. They have the mistaken idea that the process should result in a shining personality, completely rehabilitated. But spirituality is not so one-dimensional. It may become firm and rich and yet remain hidden behind a rough persona. Just as Shunryu Suzuki could see the bodhisattva in Alan Watts, who was deep in his alcoholism, we might glimpse the holiness in a person trying to make something of a disadvantaged life. — Thomas Moore, The Soul's Religion: Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life
December 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
God won't be in life like a bright morning.
We have to go down into the shaft And through the hard work of mining bring up the earth's abundance.
We have to stand hunched over
And in tunnels dig him out.

— Rainer Maria Rilke

[Quoted in, 'The Soul's Religion' by Thomas Moore]
December 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
When we investigate what stands between us and claiming our heart's desire, the answer is often shame. We are ashamed to admit what we long for because it seems too audacious of us to want it.

— Lisa Marchiano, The Vital Spark
December 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Masculinity is in men and women.
Femininity is in women and men.
Develop each to its fullest.

In relationship, each needs
full masculine and full feminine
to make things flow.
We are still so far from that.

— Marion Woodman, Coming Home to Myself
A taijitu of a particular style that is often named a 'yin and yang symbol', the black area representing yin, with the opposite white side representing yang. The dots are representative of one within the other.
December 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Wise words from Jung.
A dogma is always the result and fruit of many minds and many centuries, purified of all the oddities, shortcomings, and flaws of individual experience. But for all that, the individual experience, by its very poverty, is immediate life, the warm red blood pulsating today. It is more convincing to a seeker after truth than the best tradition. — Carl G. Jung, Psychology and Religion, Collected Works 11
December 9, 2025 at 4:08 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Excellent passage on self-judgement.
Self-judgement adds a whole extra layer of suffering on top of whatever pain we might already be feeling. Remembering Buddha's analogy of first and second arrows—he said if we're hit by an arrow, it will surely hurt, but if we're hit by a second arrow in the same spot, it will hurt much more. This may sound like common sense, but if we use the second arrow as an analogy to help clarify the harmful qualities of the judging mind, its meaning deepens and becomes more useful. For example, if we get a headache, there's no doubt it can be somewhat painful. But if we have the thought "This is terrible" or "Poor me", it's like being hit by a second arrow, and it may intensify the physical pain as well as adding emotional pain. As we observe ourselves, we'll see that we shoot ourselves with second arrows quite regularly, even though we're normally not aware that we're doing this. Why? Because we identify with our thoughts and judgements as the unquestioned Truth. How many times, after making a mistake, which we can call the first arrow, do we add on the second arrow of self-judgement, "I can't do anything right"? By Ezra Bayda from, 'The Authentic Life'.
December 2, 2025 at 12:52 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Your vision is your home.

A closed vision always wants to make a small room out of whatever it sees.

Thinking that limits you denies you life.

— John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Purpose does not usually appear as a clearly framed goal, but more likely as a troubling, unclear urge coupled with a sense of indubitable importance.

— James Hillman, The Soul's Code
November 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Reading about Jungian psychology is not the 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘢 to the unconscious; one has to experience the unconscious directly and, as it were, fly by the seat of one's pants.

— Kate Danson, Leaving My Father's House [Marion Woodman]
November 19, 2025 at 12:04 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Jungian, Robert Johnson on projecting our inner gold.
When we awaken to a new possibility in our lives, we often see it first in another person. A part of us that has been hidden is about to emerge, but it doesn't go in a straight line from our unconscious to becoming conscious. It travels by way of an intermediary, a host. We project our gold onto someone, and suddenly we're consumed with that person. The first inkling of this is when the other person appears to be so luminous that he (or she) glows in the dark. That's a sure sign that something is changing in us and we are projecting our gold onto the other person. When we observe the things we attribute to the other person, we see our own depth and meaning. Our gold goes first from us to them. Eventually it will come back to us. Projecting our inner gold offers us the best chance for an advance in consciousness. By Robert A. Johnson from, 'Inner Gold: Understanding APsychological Projection'.
November 17, 2025 at 4:17 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
One for the nonconformists and outsiders.
Do not cringe and make yourself small if you are called the black sheep, the maverick, the lone wolf. Those with slow seeing say a non-conformist is a blight on society. But it has been proven over the centuries, that being different means standing at the edge, means one is practically guaranteed to make an original contribution, a useful and stunning contribution to her culture. When seeking guidance, don't ever listen to the tiny-hearted. Be kind to them, heap them with blessing, cajole them, but do not follow their advice. If you have ever been called defiant, incorrigible, forward, cunning, insurgent, unruly, rebellious, you're on the right track. By Clarissa Pinkola Estés from, 'Women Who Run with the Wolves'.
November 15, 2025 at 4:57 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
One of my favourite passages, from C.S. Lewis, on the growing pains of psychospiritual transformation.
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of-throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself. By C. S. Lewis from his book, 'Mere Christianity'.
November 13, 2025 at 3:15 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
[W]e have become more cerebral, and retreated more and more from the senses—especially from smell, touch and taste—as if repelled by the body; and sight, the coolest of the senses, and the one most capable of detachment, has come to dominate all.

— Iain McGilchrist
November 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
A genuine odyssey is not about piling up experiences. It is a deeply felt, risky, unpredictable tour of the soul.

— Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul
November 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
On the importance of Shadow work.
In the end, our work with our personal Shadow largely defines our engagement with the Shadow at all the other levels. What we have ignored within ourselves will sooner or later arrive from outside . . . like a truck headed toward us in the wrong lane. Those who do not consider the implications of the divided human soul remain unconscious and are therefore dangerous to self and others. Those who do bother to stop and look, and ask why, become more and more attuned to the complexity of their own psychological processes; their lives grow more interesting to them; and they become less dangerous to themselves and others. By Jungian, James Hollis from his book, 'Why Good People Do Bad Things: Understanding Our Darker Selves'.
November 9, 2025 at 1:43 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
If you can then understand the secret hints which are contained in a dream, your eyes are opened and you rediscover life and find it on a new level. Only the guidance of the unconscious can help at such a moment.

— Marie-Louise von Franz, Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales
November 8, 2025 at 12:20 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Marie-Louise von Franz on what Carl Jung meant by 'individuation'.
Individuation means being yourself, becoming yourself. Nowadays one always uses the cheap word 'self-realisation', but what one really means is ego-realisation. Jung means something quite different. He means the realisation of one's own predestined development. That does not always suit the ego, but it is what one intrinsically feels could or should be. We are neurotic when we are not what God meant us to be. Basically, that's what individuation is all about. One lives one's destiny. Then usually one is more humane, less criminal, less destructive to one's environment. By Marie-Louise von Franz from, 'The Geography of Athe Soul' [interview in 'In Touch', Summer 1993]
November 7, 2025 at 4:02 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
On how we box ourselves into ever smaller and ever more clichéd lives.
When we domesticate our minds and hearts, we reduce our lives. We disinherit ourselves as children of the universe. Almost without knowing it, we slip inside ready-made roles and routines which then set the frames of our possibilities and permissions. Our longing becomes streamlined. We acquire sets of convictions in relation to politics, religion and work. We parrot these back and forth at each other as if they were absolute insights. Yet for the most part these frames of belief can be viewed as self-constructed barriers, fragile clichés built around our lives to keep out the mystery. The game of society helps us to forget the unknown and subversive presence of the human person. By John O'Donohue from his book, 'Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Hunger to Belong'.
November 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Marie-Louise von Franz on how the unconscious is far more forgiving of the ego's blunders in the beginning stages of psychospiritual transformation, but becomes increasingly less so as the years pass.
[I]n practice one sees that the longer people work on this road, the more subtle the indications of the unconscious become and the worse one gets punished or thrown off if one makes a slight mistake. In the beginning stages, people can commit the most horrible sins of unconsciousness and stupidity without having to pay much for it. Nature does not take revenge. But when the work progresses over the years, even a slight deviation, a hint of the wrong word, or a fleeting wrong thought can have the worst psychosomatic consequences. It is as though it became ever more subtle, moving on the razor's edge. Any faux pas is an abysmal catastrophe, while previously one could plod kilometres off the path without one's own unconscious giving one a slap or taking its revenge in any way. By Jungian, Marie-Louise von Franz from her book, 'Alchemical Active Imagination'.
November 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
theaeuryphaessa.bsky.social
Fabulous quote from Jung.
Out of the unconscious flows the well of life, and what you don't accept in yourself naturally falls back into that well and poisons it; when you don't recognise certain facts, they form a layer in the unconscious through which the water of life must come up, and it will be poisoned by all those things you have left down below. If they are accepted in your conscious life, then they are mixed with other more valuable and cleaner substances, and the odious qualities of the lower functions disappear more or less. They only form little shadows here and there, sort of spice for the good things. But by excluding them, you cause them to heap up and they become entirely evil substances; for a thing to become poisonous, you only need to repress it. By Carl Gustav Jung from, 'Nietzsche's Zarathustra: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1934-1939, Vol. 2'. [Quote share by Thea Euryphaessa.]
November 3, 2025 at 2:30 PM