At the Asclepian healing temples at Epidaurus and elsewhere, an intensive dream incubation process was combined with the viewing of Greek tragedies such as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, or Medea to evoke catharsis. The Asclepians realized the intimate connection between physical healing and the necessity for bringing to the surface and purging toxic emotions. The stage was consequently as important as the dream incubation chamber for preparing the soul in search of healing for a transformative experience.
Although theatre is still a viable art form in contemporary culture – especially in major urban centers where repertory companies hold court, a similar catharsis is more widely available through the medium of film, and it is to film that we will turn at Yggdrasil for cathartic release. Many films – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Birdy, Dead Poet’s Society, A River Runs Through It, A Beautiful Mind, Into the Wild – deal with issues at the interface between our sacred wounds and the world in which we live, and/or explore archetypal themes within the context of current events or concerns – Apocalypse Now, The Fisher King, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and the Harry Potter series. A few choice films – like Never Cry Wolf, Whale Rider and Avatar – explore our relationship to the more than human world. A growing genre of films – like The Last Temptation of Christ, The Sixth Sense, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, What Dreams May Come, Midnight in Paris – portray the interface between consciousness and other mythopoetic dimensions of reality.
At Yggdrasil, we will invite catharsis through exposure to the tragic and the comic through appropriate film. Our intent here is neither mere entertainment nor intellectual analysis, but to pay attention and give voice to what moves through us as we watch, feel, and identify with various characters and themes.
