Archetypes of Becoming: A Journey in Myth, Creativity, and Community for Women
Ten Months of Creative Journaling with Christina Sell and Mary Angelon Young
Begins September 15, 2020
3 Tuesdays/month on ZOOM
4:00-5:30 Pacific Time
Who are you becoming?
Each woman's life unfolds through seasons of growth, challenge, relationship, loss, creativity, and renewal. Along the way, different aspects of ourselves emerge, recede, mature, and transform. Some are familiar companions. Others are seeds waiting patiently to be discovered.
Archetypes of Becoming: A Journey in Myth, Creativity, and Community is a ten-month exploration of the rich inner landscape of women's lives through writing, reflection, expressive arts, mythology, and shared inquiry. Guided by Christina Sell and Mary Angelon Young, this unique course invites women of all ages to engage the timeless archetypes described in Jean Shinoda Bolen's Goddesses in Everywoman as doorways into self-discovery, creative expression, and personal transformation.
Together, we'll approach the Greek goddesses not as personality types or fixed identities, but as living universal symbols that illuminate the many dimensions of our lives, both inner and outer. Drawing from world mythology and wisdom stories, the Western literary tradition, contemplative practice, depth psychology, and our own lived experience, we'll discover how these enduring archetypes continue to shape the choices we make, the relationships we cultivate, the challenges we face, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.
Each month focuses on a single archetype, giving us time to reflect deeply, write honestly, create freely, and explore how these ancient stories continue to echo in our own lives. Through journaling, discussion, expressive arts, mind mapping, creative exercises, and reflection, we'll cultivate our imaginations and expand the frameworks through which we understand ourselves and one another.
Throughout the course, you’ll engage:
Guided journaling and reflective writing
Expressive arts and visual exploration
Mind mapping and creative brainstorming
Storytelling and mythological inquiry
Active imagination and contemplative reflection
Small-group conversations and whole-group discussion
Practices that connect mythic themes to everyday life
No previous experience with writing, art, mythology, or psychology is necessary. This is not a course about becoming a mythology scholar or producing a polished creative work—although you might be inspired to do so! It is an invitation to cultivate curiosity, awaken imagination, and discover new ways of understanding yourself through the creative process.
Perhaps most importantly, this is a journey in community. Over ten months, we'll create a welcoming circle where women can listen deeply, encourage one another, share honestly, and honor the unfolding stories of their lives. Together, we'll discover that while each woman's path is unique, none of us walks it alone.
Dates: All sessions are recorded so live attendance every week is not mandatory. Due to the nature of the material and process, please plan to attend live as much as possible.
Sept 15, 22, 29
October 13, 20, 27
November 10,17, 24
December 8,15, 22
January 5, 12, 19
February 2,9,16
March 2,9,16
April 6,13, 20
May 4, 11,1 8
June 1, 8, 15
Time: Class will meet on ZOOM from 4-5:30 Pacific Time.
Monthly Themes
Month One: Activating the Goddess
An introduction to archetypal psychology, creative journaling, and the many women who live within each of us. We'll establish our creative practices and begin exploring mythology as a mirror for self-discovery and transformation.
Month Two: Artemis — Goddess of the Hunt and Moon
Independence, purpose, intuition, nature & the wild, animals, sisterhood, and devotion to what calls us forward.
Month Three: Athena — Goddess of Wisdom and Crafts
Discernment, strategy, warriorship, practical intelligence, and skillful action.
Month Four: Hestia — Goddess of the Hearth and Temple
Stillness, presence, contemplation, and tending the sacred fire at the center.
Month Five: Hera — Goddess of Marriage
Commitment, partnership, belonging, identity, and the complexities of relationship.
Month Six: Demeter — Goddess of Grain, Nurturer, and Mother
Caregiving, generosity, abundance, grief, the cycles of life and the many ways we nourish life.
Month Seven: Persephone — Maiden and Queen of the Underworld
Initiation, descent, transformation, vulnerability, imagination, and reclaiming our inner authority.
Month Eight: Aphrodite — Goddess of Love and Beauty
Creativity, sensuality, delight, beauty, relationship, abundance, and the life-giving power of desire.
Month Nine: The Golden Apple — Conflict, Choice, and Integration
Drawing on the myth of the Judgment of Paris, we'll explore competition, comparison, desire, and the tensions that arise when different archetypal energies vie for our attention. Rather than choosing one goddess over another, we'll consider how the work of a mature life is learning to honor, integrate, and balance the many voices within us.
Month Ten: The Mandala in Every Woman
Our final month is devoted to integration. Looking back over the year's journey, we'll weave together the wisdom of each archetype and reflect on the unique mandala of our individual lives. Together, we'll celebrate the ongoing adventure of becoming—embracing the heroine's path with greater imagination, courage, and compassion.
Join us for ten months of writing, creativity, conversation, and discovery as we cultivate imagination, deepen self-understanding, and support one another in the lifelong process of becoming.
Meet Your TEachers
Christina Sell and Mary Angelon are dedicated to personal inquiry, authentic spiritual expression and to perennial philosophies that encourage an ever-deepening movement toward what is most true within each individual. Expect to learn about Eastern philosophy, Western occult traditions, Jungian principles, and to dive deep into your own experiences for insight and clarity.
About Mary Angelon Young
Mary Angelon’s spiritual journey has led her through intentional communities in the Ozark Mountains to ashrams across the world. She has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Jungian studies and transpersonal theories of transformation. She is an intrepid traveler, a voracious reader, and a prolific writer. She currently resides in Northern Arizona at Triveni ashram and teaches online and locally at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.
Visit Mary Angelon’s Website
About Christina Sell
Christina Sell has been practicing asana since 1991 and teaching since 1998. She has an undergraduate degree in Counseling, a Masters Degree in Integrative Education and is a certified Anusara yoga teacher. In 1995 she was certified in Integrative Breathwork through Eupsychia Institute and is currently apprentcing with her mentor with James Frazier in Holotropic Breathwork with a focus on shamanism and Jungian studies. Known for her passion, clarity and creativity, Christina’s teaching style is a dynamic and encouraging, compassionate and direct. Expect to laugh and to be invited to express yourself fully.
