The Day the Mighty Thor Lost His Hammer | Online Lecture by Dr Deon van Zyl

Thor was a revered figure of the Viking pantheon in Norse mythology. He was a mighty warrior with colossal strength and strolled the cosmos fighting giants and trolls, with thunder as the sound of his huge chariot. Thor was the epitome of bravery and strength, with his hammer as the ultimate symbol of potency, protection and boldness. When his hammer was stolen in one story he had to dress up in bridal clothes to retrieve it. In another story he had to suffer great humiliation to realise that strength had limits. These legends hint at the nature of true strength and valour as a balance between assertiveness and humbleness, bravery and modesty. Loki the magician or trickster archetype played a pivotal role in both stories to bring these opposites into awareness and facilitate what Jung called the Transcendent Function as a process towards wholeness and individuation. These ancient myths are particularly relevant in today’s world with the prevalence of gender-based violence, and has implications for patriarchal leanings in society as well as the individuation process for both men and women.

More about the Presenter

Dr Deon van Zyl has been in private practice for the last 30 years as a clinical psychologist, management consultant, mediator and group facilitator. He is a former Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pretoria, where he worked for 13 years. He is past chairperson of the South African Institute for Clinical Psychology, and the current African Representative for the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD). He has received two academic awards and a research award from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), as well as an award for post-doctoral research from the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust for study in the U.S.A. He has published 20 academic papers including a recent book on Amazon’s Kindle, 5 book chapters, over 30 published conference proceedings, book prefaces and popular articles. He has delivered numerous papers at conferences in South Africa, the U.S.A., Europe and Japan.

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Bookings close at 14:00 on Tuesday, 21 February 2023. The Zoom link will be distributed at 15:00 on the day of the event. We invite students to contact us for 50% discount to all our events.

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