Embrace of the Daimon: The Ecstatic Promise of the Dark

Imaginal reality touches us at moments of crisis. It may announce its presence during sleep, in dreams or nightmares, or move us while awake, as a muse, guardian angel, or demon. Some call the imaginal the realm of the archetypes, the home of the gods and goddesses, the land of the daimons, or the source of creativity. Others simply call it soul. The daimonic image plays the magician, joining separate parts of ourselves and connecting us to a sphere outside our everyday reality. The daimons of the imaginal world facilitate the incarnation of soul into the physical body, and transforming those dark energies so we can progress as spiritual beings, living life from a more conscious view.In this book, Sandra Dennis suggests that attitudes devaluing the erotic, feminine, instinctual energies -- particularly those of sexuality, and destructiveness -- and the marginalization of bodily sensation itself, block those daimonic soul images from incarnating. The mysteries of death, birth, and sexual union hinge on the embracing of these images. She discusses how we tend to block these transforming forces; labeling them mad, demonic, perverted or hysterical; thinking them taboo and thus denying ourselves the experience of the life-altering intensity they carry. She speaks to us of the sensations associated with daimonic imagery: fragmentation, rage, anxiety, and pain. The other side -- ecstasy, bliss, orgasmic release -- is the basis of a profound change in the sense of self. She embraces these sensations and encourages us to open up to a unique vision at the edge of the meaning-infused reaches of a deep inner life, showing us how to integrate this deep-seated psychically charged material. Thenotion of the subtle body as a concept to unify realms that are often split off -- mind/body, spirit/nature, sacred/profound, masculine/feminine -- are highlighted. For the first time in print, Dennis articulates the birth of the conscious feminine by wedding personal phenomen