This book will appeal to those of you who have an interest in Jungian psychology, art therapy, and, of course, poetry therapy.
Marianne Tauber was born and raised in Zurich. In her book she charts her journey through the crisis following a diagnosis of a brain tumour for her husband. She shows how, with the help of art and poetry and the pursuit of active imagination, she learned to cope and grow from a position of crisis.
Marianne and Jürg, her husband, first got to know one another in their late teens and early twenties and married shortly after. Marianne gave up her studies in Zurich to support her husband and his career and to raise their family of three children. This journey led the young family to the US where her husband pursued research, his Ph.D., and on to surgical work... and then the real crisis hit.
Marianne tells us how the meditative process of art, poetry, and active imagination had been a part of their lives up until this point. They and their family took the process of dreaming and myth-making very seriously. When the diagnosis came it was with the help of these creative processes she survived and grew. She was no longer the follower of the hero but became her own hero in her own life.
The book charts the narrative, the initial weeks from diagnosis to operation and to partial recovery, and how she managed her own anxieties through her artwork and writing poetry from her art.
Following the narrative, Marianne devotes a section of the book to the analysis of her paintings and poetry during this period. In this section, she leans heavily on Jungian psychology and both the personal and archetypal symbols as they appear in her creative process. Through this process, she gained an understanding of her own psychic process during these weeks of a major crisis.
From her artwork and poetry, she could see animals and archetypal figures which helped her to feel for herself not just for her husband. She could see that she was not abandoned and, from this, she became stronger. In the final section of the book, she gives a step-by-step approach to her process of active imagination.
I found this book interesting, inciteful, intellectually stimulating, and, from an emotional perspective, uplifting. In the midst of real pain, she uncovered hope, optimism, and growth and rose to something new as the Phoenix rises from the ashes. Marianne found herself, that part of her that had been lost in the years of rearing her children and supporting her husband. She touched on her earlier curiosity, which was there all along but remained dormant as a result of a very busy life. Through this life event, she felt stronger and was no longer the follower in her relationship but took a lead in many aspects of it. Most importantly a lead in her own life and her own destiny as she later began formal studies in Jungian psychology, partook in her own analysis and became an analyst herself.
As Shaun McNiff, Professor at Cambridge University in Massachusetts states: 'The Soul's Ministrations is one of the best and most inspirational firsthand account of how art heals by transforming a period of personal crisis and chaos into an affirming expression. Marianne Tauber's straightforward yet deeply evocative methods of contemplative painting and poetic response convincingly connected to alchemical principles, demonstrate how the cultivation of soul can flourish in the most difficult times.'
This book comes highly recommended and although at times it can be challenging it is beautifully written and is easy to follow.
Marianne Tauber, Jungian oriented psychotherapist;
[Originally published in Poetry Therapy, The Irish Poetry Therapy Network Journal, Vol. 8: Issue 1: Autumn 2023]
Access the full magazine here or sign up to be kept up to date with new issues.
