--- title: Pacifica Graduate Institute's Official Blog | Pacifica Post | alchemist description: alchemist | Pacifica Graduate Institute's Official Blog, The Pacifica Post, is a hub of information & resources while keeping you up-to-date on everything PGI. --- - [Student Services](http://www.pacifica.edu/about-pacifica/pacifica-graduate-institute-student-services) - [Alumni](http://www.pgiaa.org/) - [Faculty](http://www.pacifica.edu/dedicated-faculty) - [My.Pacifica](http://my.pacifica.edu/) - - - - - [mailto:admissions@pacifica.edu](mailto:admissions@pacifica.edu) [![pacifica-logo.png](https://info.pacifica.edu/hs-fs/file-1600351009-png/website-images-only/pacifica-logo.png?width=304&name=pacifica-logo.png "pacifica-logo.png")](http://www.pacifica.edu) [![pacifica-post.png](https://info.pacifica.edu/hs-fs/file-1600351014-png/website-images-only/pacifica-post.png?width=632&name=pacifica-post.png "pacifica-post.png")](http://pacificapost.com) - [About Pacifica](http://www.pacifica.edu/about-pacifica) - [Degree Programs](http://www.pacifica.edu/degree-programs/graduate-degree-programs-in-depth-psychology) - [Admissions Events](https://www.pacifica.edu/admissions/admissions-events/) - [Retreat Events](https://retreat.pacifica.edu/all-programs/) ## [Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Depth Psychologist?](https://info.pacifica.edu/sherlock-holmes-consulting-depth-psychologist) Posted by [Melissa Ruisz Nazario](https://info.pacifica.edu/author/melissa-ruisz-nazario) on Jan 9, 2019 10:45:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.pacifica.edu/hubfs/Blog_post_images/1024px-Adventures_with_Sherlock_Holmes_TD_Gallery_Jan_5-Mar_10%2c_2012.jpg)](https://info.pacifica.edu/sherlock-holmes-consulting-depth-psychologist) *A guest blog post by Craig Chalquist, Ph.D., Associate Provost of Pacifica Graduate Institute.* Today is January 9th, which fans of the Great Detective have decided is his birthday. For those into astrology, this would make his natal sun sign studious, hard-working Capricorn. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels give no indication of the time of day Holmes was born, but I have a feeling, given his interests and how he pursued them, that his natal chart is nocturnal. No doubt Virgo, Mercury, Pluto, and Saturn had a lot to say to each other in it, especially in Houses 12 (secrets, mysteries) and 8 (death, rebirth, other people’s money). I encountered Holmes as a result of committing a crime. When I was in high school, a bully made the mistake of picking on my friends and me. The school authorities did nothing, so I knocked him out at lunchtime and set his locker on fire for good measure. [Read More](https://info.pacifica.edu/sherlock-holmes-consulting-depth-psychologist) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://info.pacifica.edu/sherlock-holmes-consulting-depth-psychologist#comments-listing) Posted in: [C.G. Jung](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/cg-jung), [Psychology](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/psychology), [alchemy](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/alchemy), [depth psychology](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/depth-psychology), [narrative](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/narrative), [storytelling](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/storytelling), [alchemist](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/alchemist), [jungian](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/jungian), [relationship](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/relationship), [relationships](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/relationships) ## [Bears, The Wild Woman Archetype, and the Road Toward Individuation](https://info.pacifica.edu/bears-wild-woman-archetype-individuation) Posted by [Melissa Ruisz Nazario](https://info.pacifica.edu/author/melissa-ruisz-nazario) on Nov 5, 2018 11:01:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.pacifica.edu/hubfs/frida-aguilar-estrada-789610-unsplash.jpg)](https://info.pacifica.edu/bears-wild-woman-archetype-individuation) *A blog post by Melissa Ruisz Nazario, based on an interview with Stacey Shelby*, RCC, Ph.D.,* conducted by Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.* [**Listen to the full audio interview with Stacey Shelby here. (approx. 30 minutes)**](https://pacificapost.pacifica.edu/audio/The-Wild-Woman-Archetype-Stacey-Shelby-BBright.mp3) At first, Stacey Shelby, RCC, Ph.D., didn't want to explore the Wild Woman Archetype for her research while in the [M.A./Ph.D. Program in Depth Psychology with Specialization in Jungian and Archetypal Studies](https://www.pacifica.edu/degree-program/jungian-psychology-archetypal-studies/) at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Part of it was due to the type of research she would conduct and the effect it would have on her life. When authoring the book *Tracking the Wild Woman Archetype: A Guide to Becoming a Whole, In-divisible Woman* published earlier this year, she used a research methodology called alchemical hermeneutics, as described by Dr. Robert Romanyshyn, Pacifica Graduate Institute Professor Emeritus, in his book, *The Wounded Researcher: Research with Soul in Mind*. In the introduction to *Tracking the Wild Woman Archetype*, Stacey defines alchemical hermeneutics as “an unconventional methodology not readily found in traditional academic institutions, and it acknowledges that researchers are often called to their work through personal wounding and complexes. This research methodology is an alchemical process that affects the researcher.” [Read More](https://info.pacifica.edu/bears-wild-woman-archetype-individuation) 1 Comment [Click here to read/write comments](https://info.pacifica.edu/bears-wild-woman-archetype-individuation#comments-listing) Posted in: [The Psyche](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/the-psyche), [Therapist](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/therapist), [Psychotherapy](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/psychotherapy), [archetypes](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/archetypes), [nature](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/nature), [clinical psychology](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/clinical-psychology), [Psychology](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/psychology), [depth psychology](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/depth-psychology), [symbol](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/symbol), [dreams](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/dreams), [individuation](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/individuation), [Pacifica Students](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/pacifica-students), [Pacifica Graduate Institute](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/pacifica-graduate-institute), [alchemist](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/alchemist), [jungian](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/jungian), [relationship](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/relationship), [relationships](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/relationships) ## [Depth Psychology and the Recovery of Enchantment](https://info.pacifica.edu/depth-psychology-recovery-enchantment) Posted by [Krystyna Knight](https://info.pacifica.edu/author/krystyna-knight) on Mar 6, 2018 3:41:17 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.pacifica.edu/hubfs/Blog_post_images/Lost-829164074_838x1258.jpeg)](https://info.pacifica.edu/depth-psychology-recovery-enchantment) *A guest post by Craig Chalquist, Ph.D.* Why do we study and practice depth psychology? For many reasons. The urge to know ourselves better. Persistent dreams we cannot yet decipher. The failure of quick fixes and mechanical solutions to make us feel alive again. The desire to understand and reshape the cultural chaos around and within us. Lack of career fulfillment. Fright from having fallen down a rabbit hole in our lives: where is the map to guide us? The yearning for social justice. The urge to reinhabit our bodies. The aspiration to stand in the service of genuine and lasting change. The motives are many, but for me, one stands out: depth psychology as a path of reenchantment. [Read More](https://info.pacifica.edu/depth-psychology-recovery-enchantment) 1 Comment [Click here to read/write comments](https://info.pacifica.edu/depth-psychology-recovery-enchantment#comments-listing) Posted in: [alchemy](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/alchemy), [symbol](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/symbol), [mythological](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/mythological), [alchemist](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/alchemist), [ancient egypt](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/ancient-egypt), [symbolism](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/symbolism) ## [Only Blood Can Change: The Artist as Activist and Alchemist](https://info.pacifica.edu/only-blood-can-change-the-artist-as-activist-and-alchemist) Posted by [Nikole Hollenitsch](https://info.pacifica.edu/author/nikole-hollenitsch) on Jan 11, 2018 1:12:35 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) *![blood_and_change_I_mary_a_wood_2017.jpg](https://info.pacifica.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_post_images/blood_and_change_I_mary_a_wood_2017.jpg?width=320&name=blood_and_change_I_mary_a_wood_2017.jpg)A guest post by Mary A. Wood* > “The essential function of art is moral. Not aesthetic, not decorative, not pastime and recreation. . . . But a passionate, implicit morality, not didactic. A morality which changes the blood, rather than the mind. Changes the blood first. The mind follows later, in the wake.” —D.H. Lawrence > > “Alchemy starts in desire; desire needs direction.” —James Hillman Blood is thicker than water—or so the saying goes. Like a myth in miniature, a complete worldview is illuminated in just five words. The bond of family or tribe, whether formed through birth, marriage or intense shared experiences (such as military service) is evident as well when we speak of “blood brothers,” “bloodlines,” and “blood oaths.” Blood itself has always been highly symbolic. It “evokes life’s precious value” as it courses through veins, yet when it escapes it “congeals into a dark haunting symbol of death” (Ronnberg 396). Those that work with blood, such as the surgeon and nurse, share a specialized sphere with the priest who daily transforms water and wine into imaginal blood. Through a multitude of ritualized signals and ceremony (such as uniforms, insignia, and dedicated locations where their work is conducted) all continue to be set apart from the rest of society much like the ancient shaman, alchemist and healer. As “workers of blood” these modern-day practitioners fulfill vital and even sacred roles, yet they are not alone—the artist and the poet are also inheritors of the talents, and the duties, of those who work with blood—“the poet is the transcendental doctor” (Novalis, qtd. in Hillman, *Alchemical* 340). When the bonds of blood begin to boil over and congeal into unconscious, ominous masses, it is not the physician, nor even the politician, but the artist and poet that can best halt the contagion. [Read More](https://info.pacifica.edu/only-blood-can-change-the-artist-as-activist-and-alchemist) 4 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://info.pacifica.edu/only-blood-can-change-the-artist-as-activist-and-alchemist#comments-listing) Posted in: [Mythology](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/mythology), [art](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/art), [mythological](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/mythological), [humanities](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/humanities), [alchemist](https://info.pacifica.edu/topic/alchemist) [All posts](https://info.pacifica.edu/all) ## Search Search this site on Google Search Google ## Download the Guide Book (pdf) [![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/435563/25f2ff69-017a-4558-9718-ca7396630ef1.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/435563/25f2ff69-017a-4558-9718-ca7396630ef1) ![get-social](https://info.pacifica.edu/hs-fs/file-1600350944-png/website-images-only/get-social.png) Receive updates on the latest podcasts, videos, and other newsworthy items pertaining to depth psychology, mythological studies, the humanities, C.G. 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