His velvet wing sweeps through the night:

With magic of his wondrous sight

He oversees his vast domain,

And king supreme of night doth reign.

- What Sees the Owl by Elizabeth Sears Bates

In this salon Donna Rodriquez provides an hour long Salon on the Owl as a symbol in Sandplay. Participants will learn  about the Owl as a species of bird and its symbolism and meaning through different cultural lenses and historical perspectives. In her presentation Donna Rodriquez will share images of owls in the wild, art, and share examples from literature. Just as the images help clients find the words, Donna Rodriquez will share with participants a story that she created to express her own research of the owl as a symbolic figure. 

In our extraverted, media dominated culture there is little room for inner experience. Clients come to us looking for and listening to outer guidance.The capacity to listen to and relate to inner guidance is often handed over or unduly influenced by the theory and understanding of the therapist. 

Sandplay provides a safe externally unguided way to inner depths. When clients use concrete representations such as the owl in their trays, they are using the language of the unconscious- the image. Such images carry an immediacy, an inner guide that presents itself in a way that is unique to the client. When that image is shared in the co-transference, or deep encounter between client and therapist, it frees up the client's libido and releases psychic energy that releases the grip of the complex. Children learn by playing and manipulating figures such as the owl to express their inner conflict or joy is transformative and leads to psychological healing through the process of imagination.

One of the strengths of sandplay is that a concrete representation of a visual image is used that "carries an immediacy of shared experience between patient and therapists that worlds may dilute. the language of the unconscious, after all, is the image. The speed and depth at which sandplay operates in some (not all) patients is startling." Weinrib P.89

A live interactive Zoom Salon - free for all members. February 11th, 2022 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. Sponsored by Linda Elaine Bath, Ph.D, CST-T.

(Book: Weinrib, E.L., The Sandplay Therapy Process: Images of the Self. Temenos Press, 2004)