Katie Sanford's Unique Envisioning of the Transcendent Function

Presented by
David Shepard

​

link to audio file

Sunday, May 5, 2019, 4:00 - 6:00 pm

​

Katie Sanford, who presented several programs to our Club over the years, died in 2017 at the age of 100.  In the early 1950s she was a patient of Carl Jung’s and also studied at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich; in 1978 she was certified as a Jungian Analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute in Los Angeles.  Jung considered the “transcendent” or religious function to be one of the human spirit’s most powerful drives.  Katie often said that the years after she became a Jungian analyst, at age 60, when she "regained her religious outlook,” were the most fulfilling and rewarding years of her life. In this program, including film of Katie and slides of her work, we’ll be looking at how Katie’s 62 paintings, done over a 30-year period, reveal her myth-seeking individuation journey, while also providing insights into an emerging collective feminine mythos.  

​

Course objectives:

​

• Explore the psyche’s need for development of the transcendent or religious function

• Understand the basic principles by which our personal and collective psyches are involved in the process of myth-making

• View the progression of Katie Sanford’s paintings over thirty years as an example of a text of individuation leading to an emerging collective feminine mythos

​​David Shepard spent many hours over many years conversing with and filming Katie Sanford.  He has over 35 years of experience as a professional astrologer and was the chief writer-editor from 1990-2008 for Starscroll, the most widely read astrology magazine in the world.  Prior to this, he worked as an art therapist exploring the connections between astrology, creativity and various illnesses.  He is a graduate of UCLA with a degree in Physics. He has a particular gift for illuminating how the archetypal symbolism in myth and astrology applies to our human experience and creative expressions throughout history and all cultures.