Publications...
I envision life as an alchemical opportunity. We are born into a complex combination of inherited DNA, the proclivities of a culture, a time, and a place. We also have our unique “soul print,” very like our unique finger- print and eye formation. Our experiences and what we do with our inheritance offer the opportunity to create something of special beauty. It doesn’t matter whether we come from a background of privilege or deprivation, we each have the possibility to create a meaningful work of art of our lives.
My first book, Alchemy of the Heart, Chiron Publications, explores and amplifies the Greek myth of Dionysos and Ariadne, illustrating the feminine Individuation journey. The Villa of Mysteries, in the ancient city of Pompeii, is what many believe to have been an initiation chamber for Roman women into the Dionysian Mysteries. Based on references from ancient Greece, these mysteries were paths to a greater wholeness for the women of those times. This myth first drew me as a healing metaphor for a broken heart. The heart broken open offers a powerful possibility of an initiation into wholeness and a deeper fulfillment of the soul and the Self.
In contrast to prevailing patriarchal imperatives and strictures, Alchemy of the Heart offers men a more expansive, healthy, and ecologically honoring possibility of what it means to be a man. This is not a new view It predates the rise of patriarchy and its compulsion towards ownership and dominance. At last, its time has come again, helping us regain a healthy, life affirming relationship to the earth as well as to the feminine.
My second book, The Alchemy of Your Life, to be released in 2025, is an in-depth life review workbook, an interactive guide to gain greater understanding of the patterns and possibilities in one’s unique life story. Reviewing the chance and chosen events from pre-birth and into elderhood, The Alchemy of Your Life offers a powerful response to what seems like the vicissitudes of your journey. Life is an enormous gift. This workbook invites you to imagine your unique story as an alchemical invitation to create an extraordinary work of art. It is for anyone who is interested in how we are where we are and how to be here moving forward in the best way, living a more conscious life. In the past, only those about to die, would be interested in life review. Things have changed. More and more of us are considering the bigger questions while we are still living a vibrant life. No outside system or savior will ultimately successfully relieve the pain and suffering of this world. It and we will only heal when we each do our part, starting with inner work, finding, and tending meaning and purpose.
Alchemy Of The Heart
Dionysos, one of the most misunderstood of the gods, is a masculine energy that brings us back to life and vitality in a way that includes deep partnership with the feminine. Through the exploration of this timeless myth, Alchemy of the Heart takes us on adventure into a world where the dance of masculine and feminine ignites fullness of being in both men and women. From the shadowy labyrinth of Minos to the sacred Initiation Chamber at Pompeii, Alchemy of the Heart travels the landscape of both the outer world and the inner psyche as it points the way past contemporary hedonism, pornography, and addiction into a Dionysian world of joy, vibrant sexuality, and spiritual transcendence.
"A solid and important work of scholarship that is a must-read for those doing depth psychological work. Aguilar mines the myth of Dionysos and Ariadne for its insights into expanding Jungian notions about the animus and a woman's journey to wholeness. In the process, she updates Jungian thought to match emerging ways of seeing gender, the feminine, and the masculine in our time."
--Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., Author of Persephone Rising, The Hero Within and Awakening the Heroes Within. Former President of Pacifica Graduate Institute.
"Joseph Campbell showed us the mythic mysteries, now Marina Aguilar unlocks the secrets of ecstatic teachings. Alchemy of the Heart is a breakthrough work on our divine connection to nature and the playful wisdom of the body."
--Jonathan Young, Ph.D., Psychologist, Founding Curator, Joseph Campbell Archives.
"A superb study of the myth of Dionysos through the lens of Jung's spiritual alchemy. Focusing on the sacred marriage of Dionysos and Ariadne, the author illuminates the journey to wholeness, both horizontal and vertical, revealing a power to heal not only a broken psyche but a broken world. Aguilar's 'meditative exegesis' on the Dionysian initiation chamber in the Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii is a model of transcendence at the heart of Plato's noetic philosophy. This is a penetrating reading bringing to life an ancient, yet timeless, myth."
--Michael P. Morrissey, Ph.D., Author of Consciousness and Transcendence: The Theology of Eric Voegelin.
Alchemy Of Your Life
Drawing from Carl Jung’s revolutionary discovery that alchemical symbolism mirrors our psychological and spiritual transformation, author and depth therapist A. Marina Aguilar guides you through a profound excavation of your unique journey—from prenatal influences and childhood wounds through the fire of adolescence, the complexities of adulthood, the awakening of “middlescence,” and into the wisdom of elderhood.
Structured around the seven alchemical stages—from calcinatio (the burning away of what no longer serves) to coagulatio (the phoenix rising from the ashes)—this workbook helps you transform raw experience into meaning, lead into gold, compost into flowers.
"Marina Aguilar has written a brilliant workbook enabling seekers to embark on a journey that will lead to a discovery of the depth of their soul. It is a work of brilliance, achieved through the personal, dedicated journey taken by the author. We are blessed that she has so generously chosen to share her hard-won discoveries with those who wish to enter a path that leads to wholeness and revelation of the Self. There is so much wisdom and practical guidance in the book and those who enter its pages will surely grow in depth, and be blessed to discover the dance of the darkness that becomes revealed as the Light."
--Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, President Emeritus of the Academy of Jewish Religion and Dean of its Rabbinical School, California; has taught at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Yeshiva University, University of Southern California, and served as Hillel Director at MIT and Princeton University.
"If you’ve ever wished for a companion who is both a wise partner and a reliable guide to self-knowledge and wholeness, you’ll find it in The Alchemy of Your Life. By way of conversations designed especially for you, its astute questions and insightful observations about every aspect of your life have the potential to lead you through a transforming process of self-discovery, purpose, and reverence for the hidden gold of your soul."
--Jean Benedict Raffa Ed.D., Author of the Nautilus Silver Medal Award winning The Soul’s Twins
"As a child, my grandfather, Alan Watts said, “follow your weird.” Aguilar writes, “There is no more important project than deeply considering your unique life story and finding purpose in it.” At the entrance to the Oracle of Delphi resides the edict, “Know Yourself.” But how?
In her newest book, The Alchemy of Your Life, A Workbook, Discovering the Story and Pattern of Your Life, we are gifted such an opportunity. Asking us to journey with curiosity, reverence and awe through the many moments of our spiraled lives, Aguilar’s prompts lead us to ask deep questions, then to gently gather these memories and reflections with reverence, as soul matter, and bring them to the flame, where they are alchemized and turned to gold."
--Myra Krien, Founder/Director/Choreographer/Dance Educator, Pomegranate Studios, Mosaic Dance Company, Pomegranate SEEDS (A Youth Mentorship Program for Social Change), and granddaughter of Alan Watts.