Menopause: From The Sacred To The Mundane

Carl Jung, Freud’s protégé gone esoteric, glorified the passage into the menopausal years as a transformation into the “Crone”, the “Wise Old Woman”.

An archetypal (universal) element in fairy and folk tales, the Crone, freed of the bonds of childrearing, now had access to a deeper spiritual awareness. Menopause heralded a return to Self, free of the self-consciousness of youth. She is Baba Yaga, she is The Bone Woman. The Crone has surrendered ego-driven strivings in service of truth and authenticity. She becomes the instrument, the bearer of the wisdom of the psyche. Her role is now to transfer this knowledge to both the men and women who come behind. She teaches them the ways of the world: how to reclaim aspects of Self sacrificed to youthful desires; how to access the intuitive realm without losing oneself in the underworld (the unconscious); how to detach with compassion; how to unlock the creative, artistic part of one’s nature.

Sounds fabulous, doesn’t it? All glamour aside, Dr. Jung, what about the hot flashes, the mood swings, night sweats, sexual changes, worries about loss of bone density? Who can appreciate or even access those profound inner life shifts when the outer experience is so uncomfortable and disruptive? The challenges faced by women in mid-life are many and multifaceted. Without guidance and support, many women slip into despair. Group therapy, as well as individual psychotherapy can be extremely beneficial when an integrated approach is offered. Blending spiritual, developmental (yes, even at this age we are still evolving in predictable fashion), medical and nutritional knowledge is key to thriving and growing (not just surviving) through the menopausal years and beyond. Being able to gather and use the best of the available wisdom and resarch is an art, and is essential in realizing Jung’s ideal of the “Crone”.

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