collaging
Seena B. Frost's SoulCollaging™
An artist friend, Karen Godfrey, introduced me to psychotherapist Seena B. Frost's book, SoulCollage™ Evolving, in 2015. Its purpose - self-discovery - is the same as shrine making.
However, because it only requires 5X8 cards and pictures cut out of magazines or newspapers, it takes a lot less time and space than making shrines.
Seena's books and workshops have become quite popular. Although she died in 2016, you may already be familiar with her books, or perhaps you've attended a workshop conducted by one of her many authorized facilitators.
Or perhaps you're part of a group that meets regularly (as Seena suggests) to make SoulCollages™.
I've found Seena's collaging insights - especially her recommendation that you "journal" about each card - very helpful in going beyond what my consciousness mind thought it was making, into what my unconscious mind wanted to tell me.
Often as I'm writing about my cards, I discover something I had no idea I "knew" before I made my collage.
More about Seena
If you're new to collaging, here are some other books and CDs by Seena you might find useful :
Introduction to SoulCollage™
Facilitating SoulCollage™ in Groups
Embracing Change, Transforming
Conflict Using SoulCollage™
Your SoulCollage™ Cards - a 6 CD series about each "suit" in your deck, how to do readings with your cards, and how to work with the shadow in your cards
Collaging through your Hero Quest
You don't need to attend a workshop or join a group to start making your own collages. I haven't.
This is because I think collaging in a group setting invites self-censorship - the last thing you want in this free-association, intuitive, self-expressive process.
And you don't need to follow the myriad "rules" Seena sets out to make or categorize your collages. I don't.
This is because Seena's "suits" do not speak to me - in fact, they confuse me.
However, I do find her suggestions for how to journal about cards very useful.
Regardless of whether or not you've ever collaged before, I hope you'll try collaging (and then journalling) all by yourself to process your current hero quest.
You'll find examples of my hero quest collaging below, and of my collage journalling in my art log.
Some tips for hero quest collaging
1. When you're cutting out images, don't limit yourself to just the "pleasant" ones. If you are struck by an image, don't judge it, don't ask yourself what it means, just cut it out.
2. When you're assembling and gluing down images, let them guide you rather than the other way around.
3. Let your assembled images tell you a story: about parts of yourself, about people you know, about situations you find yourself in, about situations you find scary or disturbing, about situations as you wish they would evolve.
4. Don't try to make your card "pretty." Let it be what it wants to be.
5. Don't be in a rush to write about your card. Let it percolate for a while.
6. Date your cards and/or write ups. This can help you track the progress you've made on your hero quest.
7. Don't worry about the "right" way to make or write about a card. Just be honest.
8. Keep your cards to yourself until/unless you feel comfortable sharing them with others. They are a sacred communication between you and your soul - they are no one else's business.