You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This book, first published twenty years ago, has become a classic. The author has now
presented us with a second and fully revised edition. As one of America's pioneers in analytical psychology, Dr. Harding deserves our gratitude for the effort that has clearly gone into making it richer both in content and in literary presentation.
The original edition was divided into two parts which one might roughly describe as historical and symbolical. In the revised text chapters have been rearranged in a more meaningful sequence and the original two parts have become an integrated whole. Many passages have been entirely rewritten.
For those who are not familiar with this work, one should explain that its first aim is to describe and define the feminine principle or eros as distinct from the masculine principle or logos. Western Civilization, with its predominantly masculine orientation, has obscured feminine values and functions to a hitherto unknown extent. Therefore a historical approach is needed in order to show these two antithetical principles in their true perspective and to understand the relationship of the one to the other in the development of consciousness. Such an approach brings its clinical reward in enabling one to appreciate how many of the problems (and illnesses) of modern woman are due to her having lost touch with her essentially feminine nature and rhythm.
To primitive man the moon, in its many changing aspects, is the visible representation of womanhood. Taking this as her opening theme, the author has made a fascinating collection of myths, rituals, and pictures relating to the moon. This in itself is a distinctive contribution to the literature. With this material she demonstrates historically an interesting symbolical sequence: The moon was first believed simply to exert a fertilizing influence on the female. This later becomes personified in the form of a Moon God (“Man in the Moon”) who impregnates his worshippers. Then, by an enlargement of the co