Annual Meeting
Glimpsing Beyond the Veil:
A Symbolic Review of Veiling and the Natural Instinct Behind It
Presented by
Mandana Chambers, JD
Sunday, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM, May 23rd, 2010
(this program was not recorded)
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq have highlighted the inherent danger of religious fanaticism. The issue of mandatory veiling or unveiling of Muslim women has become an ideological battlefield between governments and the families of these women who are caught in the crossfire. This lecture and extensive slide presentation will demonstrate that veiling is a practice that originates in ancient polytheistic religions, predating Islam. Applying Jung’s symbolic and psychological method, we will analyze three verses in the Koran that discuss veiling and the attempt to uncover their symbolic meaning. Finally, we will trace the practice of veiling to an instinct in nature and the collective unconscious, illustrating that symbolic alchemy holds the answer to the ultimate riddle plaguing mankind for centuries.
Mandana Shashani Chambers, JD is a Diploma Candidate at the Center for Depth Psychology according to C.G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz in Switzerland. She was born in Iran and attended primary school in Paris before coming to the United States. She studied law and has a private practice in Los Angeles. She is certified as a Student Research Psychoanalyst by the California Medical Board. Ms. Chambers has lectured in Switzerland, Los Angeles and Louisiana, and is currently an intern at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles. She lives and works in Pacific Palisades.