In this episode of Story Medicine, we explore "Raven Steals the Light" from the oral traditions of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast - a story about how consciousness itself entered a world kept in darkness.

Before there was light, an old man hoarded it in nested boxes, keeping it even from his daughter. But Raven - transformer, trickster, chaos-bringer - finds a way in through cunning and transformation. He becomes a hemlock needle, then an unborn child, then a beloved grandson, until finally he seizes the light and releases it to the world through accident and necessity.

This story speaks to anyone frustrated by systems that hoard knowledge, anyone bringing consciousness to what's been kept in darkness, anyone discovering that transformation requires working through relationship rather than force, and anyone learning that awareness spreads not through control but through release.

The episode includes the complete story told in full, depth psychology analysis revealing the archetypal patterns and symbolic meaning, and three practical integration exercises to help you embody the medicine.

Send us a text

Support the show

Learn more about Joe's therapeutic work: www.joesummerfield.co.uk

Connect on Instagram: @joe.therapies

In this episode of Story Medicine, we explore "Vasilisa the Beautiful" from Alexander Afanasyev's collection of Russian fairy tales - a profound feminine initiation story about intuition, ancestral wisdom, and the resources we carry within us when facing the impossible.

A young woman loses her mother but receives a magical doll that helps her survive her cruel stepfamily and complete impossible tasks set by the fearsome Baba Yaga. Through trusting her inner wisdom and claiming her mother's blessing, Vasilisa transforms from powerless girl to sovereign queen.

This story speaks to anyone who has felt powerless in the face of cruelty, anyone who doubts their inner resources, anyone facing impossible tasks and wondering how they'll survive.

The episode includes the complete story told in full, depth psychology analysis revealing the archetypal patterns and symbolic meaning, and three practical integration exercises to help you embody the medicine.

Support the show

Learn more about Joe's therapeutic work: www.joesummerfield.co.uk

Connect on Instagram: @joe.therapies

In this episode of Story Medicine, we explore "The Descent of Inanna" from ancient Sumer - one of humanity's oldest recorded stories, carved into clay tablets nearly four thousand years ago. It carries profound medicine about voluntary descent, the stripping away of identity, and what can only be discovered through complete dissolution.

Inanna, Queen of Heaven, voluntarily descends to the underworld. At seven gates she is stripped of her divine powers until she arrives naked and powerless. Yet even then, she tries to seize the throne - revealing how the ego grasps for control even after surrender. Only through complete death and three days hanging as a corpse can transformation occur. The story illuminates why breakdown is sometimes necessary, how our shadow sister must be witnessed rather than fixed, and the price that transformation demands.

This story speaks to anyone in deep life transition, anyone feeling stripped of everything they've used to define themselves, anyone resisting the final letting go that genuine transformation requires.

The episode includes the complete story told in full, depth psychology analysis revealing the archetypal patterns and symbolic meaning, and four practical integration exercises to help you embody the medicine.

Learn more about Joe's therapeutic work: www.joesummerfield.co.uk

Connect on Instagram: @joe.therapies