Learning to Speak Out Loud
by Robin Gordon
Participating in the “Coming Home” event was special. The speakers were very motivating about getting our voices out in the world. [Robin is the author of Searching for the Soror Mystica: The Lives and Science of Women Alchemists, New York: Univ Press of America, 2013.]
One of the reasons it took me a few years to publish my work about the women alchemists was my lack of confidence in the way I wanted to talk about both the historical context of alchemy and the women’s stories themselves. Ruth Meyer’s work [Clio’s Circle: Entering the Imaginal World of Historians, New Orleans: Spring Journal, 2007] inspired me when she wrote about the importance of Depth Psychology having a voice in historical conversations. Thus, having the opportunity to formally introduce the women alchemists to the Pacifica community was a delight. Sharing my experiences about writing and especially sharing about the women alchemists was made easy by the intimate and welcoming forum at “Coming Home.”
Illustrating that the universe has a sense of humor, the week after the “Coming Home” event I attended a lecture at the Huntington Library given by a much respected historian of science whose expertise is alchemy. I was utterly dismayed when he responded to a question from the audience about Jung with the bias and misunderstanding I have often encountered in historians of science regarding Jung’s work in alchemy. I did not have the opportunity to speak out at the event, although I found myself muttering out loud that he was speaking rubbish. However, participating in “Coming Home” reminded me that it is important to speak our voice – to maintain healthy scepticism of our own biases, but speak our voice. With that in mind, I did email the speaker and felt better for it.
Thank you for a wonderful event!
Robin Gordon
