Friday November 20, 7 – 9 pm
Mary Ellen O’Hare-Lavin, PhD
Held in-person at the Jung Center
$50, CEUs: 2

*Limited to 18 participants.

Using James Hilman’s directive to “Find the myth in the mess,” Dr. Lavin will discuss Ovid’s story of transformation using the myth of Baucis and Philemon. This is a story of an aging couple who hosted Zeus and Hermes in disguise and were then rewarded for their kindness and generosity. There are few stories in the Roman and Greek collection about elderly people. Most love stories are about infidelity, jealousy, anger, and resentment. In contrast, Baucis and Philemon give us a story of kindness, loyalty, and devotion ending in their transformation. We can take pause and learn that “Those who care for the Gods, may someday become Gods themselves.”

Recommended Reading
Eros and Pathos: Shades of Love and Suffering, Aldo Carotenuto
The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell

About the Instructor
Dr. Lavin, PhD has been associated with Jungian Psychology since 1968 when she and Tom Lavin were married. A week later, they ended up in Zurich, where Tom was a student at the Jung Institute. Dr. Mary Ellen Lavin studied at the Institute and began a family. After living in Europe for 10 years, studying, working, and traveling, they returned to Wilmette. Tom set up his private practice and Mary Ellen enrolled at Pacifica Graduate Institute earning her PhD in Clinical Psychology. She has been a psychotherapist since 1994. She lectures and writes about Alchemy, Addiction, Dreams, Sandtray, and other various Jungian topics.