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Recently I've been reflecting on the symbolic between alchemy and family constellations. I have studied alchemy as part of my psychotherapy training for four years, but only it begins to settle as an embodied knowing.
Family constellations (and systemic ritual, as well as talking therapy) are very alchemical. Alchemy has been adopted by Carl Jung to symbolise our inner process of transformation. Just like medieval alchemists, we need a vessel for this work, inside it we put our 'prima materia' - the base metal we want to turn into gold, then we apply a series of operations to purify and transform the metal, with each step taking it closer and closer to the ideal state we want. In a constellation our vessel is the circle - the people who gather with an intention to serve each other and the wider ancestral field; our base metal is the issue or a heart's desire that is presented by the issue holder. Once we set the constellation up with representatives we begin the alchemical cycle. Alchemical cycle has four stages - Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo. We start at the bottom, at Nigredo, at the darkest, or in our case of a constellation we start with observing what the representatives feel and what entanglements unfold. We see the real issue the way it presents itself in the container of a circle. To reach the stage of Albedo, where the clouds begin to part and we are seeing a bit of the sun, or clarity, we have to go through a purification process. Calcinatio and solutio are the operations that purify the constellation with fire - anger, and water - tears; those are stages of acknowledging what is, of grieving, of expressing the feelings that were never allowed to be expressed. We dissolve stagnant energy that was passed down the generations, and honour the fate of those who came before. With a bit more clarity we move towards Citrinitas - a place of an 'aha' of an enlightenment where we are able to resolve the entanglements that were illuminated by the constellation. We are able to apply the operations of separatio and conjuctio - the separation and the coming together; letting go of what is not ours and returning it to the ancestors, discerning what is ours and what is a loyalty or entanglement; or bringing back and re-joining the excluded members of the family system, or excluded parts of self. In a process of sublimatio we transform the imbalance by acknowledging what is, recognising unhelpful patterns and offering an alternative more truthful way to see what is. And with coagulatio we are bringing the insights down to the depth of our being, integrating them and grounding them into our bodies. After Citrinitas, where we touched the truth of the family system, unfolded the pattern and shifted the energy to a point of relaxation, where the whole family system is able to breathe out more freely; we take the constellation into Rubedo, bringing the issue holder into the constellation and allowing them to feel the results, to participate in the final resolution image that the constellation offered, to integrate and imprint the new feeling into the body. The alchemical cycle maps the whole constellation process and is also present in every intervention within the constellation, just as it does for our life in general in mini and macro cycles. I am fascinated by how the ancient wisdom is passed down the generations and finds new meaning later on, how it is made relevant and healing by the descendants at the same time offering gratitude to the ancestors. The healing happening in the present flows both directions - to the past and to the future. Always.
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I run monthly guided meditations live and then upload them to Youtube. They incorporate my years of experience of this work, the principles behind family constellations and systemic ritual and are an easy free way to get in touch with your ancestors and explore all that they are able to offer, as well as offer healing to the whole lineage.
Here is the link I have been facilitating monthly family constellations circles for ten years now. To say I learned a lot is an understatement. As the work unfolded it influenced my whole existence and worldview and at the same time as I grew it grew and changed with me.
In ten years the popularity of family constellations increased considerably around the world. Media contributions like the Netflix series and celebrities' endorsements attracted waves of people who heard nothing of it before. But I still find myself regularly explaining what this modality is and does to newcomers and complete beginners which is exciting. I love introducing people to the magick of family constellations. Among other many insights I learned the following three things about this work: - There is no one way of how the family constellation is going to impact you and those around you (the impact is systemic, so it will ripple out to the whole family and beyond). You might be able to see immediate results, or it might seem that nothing changed until you realise you forgot you had an issue in the first place. The work can be subtle or like a lightning in the blue sky. So when I am asked 'how can this help with my situation' I actually have no answer. I know it will help but I can not predict how. In general the intention is to get to a place of being free to change, strong enough to acknowledge, and brave enough to let go. - Family constellations are not only about family systems. In my work I use the principles and techniques of family constellations to expand into other layers beyond systems, or maybe they are systems beyond the obvious ones. As my awareness of reality grows (and it might be completely different for you, I am not asking to share my beliefs), the options of constellations expands too. So over time more and more past lifetimes entanglement show up in the work. Similar entanglements we hold in this lifetime with our ancestors, also existed in other lifetimes, and untangling them we not only free up our energy today but also tap into the healing frequency for the whole humanity and the Earth that carries it. These are massive collective layers of energy that the planet is wrapped up into, and we gently approach them one story at a time, freeing up energy that allows healing to happen on many levels. - The practice of family constellations if done regularly contributes to the wholeness of your self-development. I noticed over time that participants who show up regularly to the circle to represent, not only formed some strong friendship bonds with like-minded individuals, but also developed their ability to feel feelings, notice and trust their body sensations, increase their intuition and trust in it, and a general sense of connectedness to life. It is similar to going to a gym, where with time you notice your body getting stronger and stronger, doing family constellations over time develops your feeling and intuition awareness muscle to the extent that it becomes second nature using it. All three of these insights make me super happy - they keep the work alive and interesting, we grow with it and through it and we become better people, better future ancestors and contribute to the global healing energies that support humanity and the Earth. It helps us to live the flow of love fully and freely. If you're interested to experience it, check out this page. Happy flowing! |
AuthorI am fascinated by the Systemic Family Constellations work and everything shamanic. I study it, practice it, research it. Here, I am sharing what I learn and hope it can be of use to somebody interested in healing their families, communities and lives. In 2019 I published some of my poetry inspired by systemic work in this journal. It is available as PDF, Kindle or printed at the link above.
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