FOJS presents... A Series of Fairy Tale Workshops About Tasks and Opportunities of the Second Half of Life ​with Melissa Werner, PhD, LPC, IAAP Jungian Analyst, Diplomate, CG Jung Institute, Zurich June 4, 11 & 18, 2025 7– 9 pm CDT Offered Online via Zoom from Birmingham, Alabama 2 NBCC Contact Hours per Seminar ----> Visit https://www.friendsofjungsouth.org/ for details and registration. Every fairy tale describes an aspect of the Self, the psychic totality of the individual as well as the regulating center of the collective unconscious. According to Jung, fairy tales are the best way to study the comparative anatomy of the psyche. Participants will explore Jung’s ideas through fairy tales, gaining insights into the psychological processes that shape our understanding of aging and the richness of this new phase of life. The task of this phase of life is reconnecting with one’s inner vitality by focusing on the wisdom one develops by confronting one’s shadow. Each week, registered participants will be sent a fairy tale illustrating a task of the second half of life. In working through the tale, we will uncover the inner vitality and richness of this exciting new phase of life. The first tale, The Wise Merchant, focuses on the wisdom one develops by confronting evil in one’s self and the world. With inner knowledge of the shadow and one’s own evil, one learns about facing difficult tasks. (June 4) The second tale, The Widow and the Frog, focuses on generativity and self-transcendence. The widow, in her relationship with the young masculine, serves as a model for relations between elders and the young. Youth have energy, enthusiasm and emotion, but often lack practical grounding. Elders, through their life experience, can help model practical grounding. This is a developmental task and challenge of aging, not just accumulating years. It is the difference between being an elder and being just elderly. (June 11) The final tale of this series, The Simple Grasscutter, combines several of the themes discussed in the earlier weeks. Self-reformation in this tale leads us to the question, "What is enough?" The development of self-acceptance and self-integrity are vital second-half-of-life tasks. In this story, they lead us to know, "I am who I am. I have lived as I have lived." Through these tales, we will explore the vital mysteries of aging, its joys, and its sorrows. (June 18) ----> Visit https://www.friendsofjungsouth.org/ for details and registration. (fb)