Medusa's Gaze

Trauma, Transformation, and Environmental Resonance

Abstract

The international Jungian community has responded to the climate crisis with remarkable engagement, drawing on the insights of analytical psychology to address its psychological and symbolic dimensions. Rooted in Jung’s understanding of the interconnectedness between the personal and the collective, analytical psychology offers a unique framework for viewing ecological collapse not only as an environmental or political issue, but as a crisis of the psyche. This paper explores the myth of Medusa as a symbolic lens through which to understand the unconscious roots of ecological degradation, including the repression of the feminine, cultural trauma, and collective dissociation from nature. Medusa’s story—marked by paralysis, monstrosity, and revelation—mirrors the psychological dynamics of the climate crisis and offers a mythopoetic path toward healing through the integration of the shadow. Drawing on contemporary manifestations of the archetype of the helper as witness, such as truth and reconciliation commissions and Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, the paper examines how restorative practices of witnessing can facilitate psychic reintegration. In the spirit of Jungian thought, it suggests that facing the unconscious, reclaiming disavowed aspects of the psyche, and renewing our connection with the Earth are essential steps in responding to the ecological emergency.