Education and Interests

Dreams and Tarot in Springbank South Carolina

In my early adult years I was enamored of the French language and culture. Although at the time my passion felt like a mere interest that did not have any practical purpose, its long term impact is clear to me now. It was an enriching love affair that laid the foundation for my appreciation of poetic beauty, of art, literature and philosophy. I eventually took this interest to the university level and earned a B.A. in French and Icelandic from the University of Iceland in 1985.

My studies in French opened a window on the world for me and inspired a longing to spread my wings and see the world. A short-time job as a flight attendant with Icelandic Airlines granted me my first opportunity to visit France, the country of my dreams. It also exposed me to the magic of New York which eventually became my home for twenty five years. My desire for the bigger world found an outlet in a job as a travel agent with Thomas Cook at the United Nations. It was an experience that expanded my vision of the world through taking care of travel arrangements for the Organization’s multinational staff and the many opportunities that came my way to visit exotic and faraway places.

In 1995 I graduated with an M.A. in Icelandic Literature from the University of Iceland and received a Teacher Certification from the same university in 2002. In my M.A.-thesis I explored Norse mythology and Icelandic folk and fairy tales from the Jungian perspective and I fell in love again, this time with Jungian psychology. Before, in my B.A.-thesis, I had delved into 'ghost stories in past and present' from a Freudian standpoint.

In 1995 I became a member of the C.G. Jung Foundation in New York and have attended a wide range of courses, lectures and workshops offered by the Foundation, in Jungian studies, myths, fairy tales, and dreams. Since 1995 I have been in Jungian analysis, for a while as a member of a dream group led by a Jungian analyst, but for the most part in individual analysis. I have been a member of The Analytical Psychology Club (APC) of New York since 2001.

After moving back to Iceland in 2002, I stumbled on the long lost 'magic of menstruation' when writing a text about Freyja for The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) in New York. Empowered by this new vision, I set out to re-examine my mythological heritage. To test my unorthodox interpretation of the material, I gathered together a small group of women who read through a series of seven folk and fairy tales with me and to whom I presented my approach and understanding. The material continued to brew in me, and a couple of years later I got a second group of old friends together, with whom I explored the same tales along with my revised interpretations. In the interim, I had written an entry on "Menstruation" for The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images, compiled by ARAS (published by Taschen in 2010). My texts about "Freyja" and "Menstruation" are posted on this website, as are the seven "Icelandic Tales" along with my current interpretations. My interest in women's menstrual nature led me to join the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research (SMCR) which is a reservoir of expert knowledge about this subject that has long been neglected and repressed in our culture.

In 2007 I decided to take my interest in dreams to a professional level and entered a two year training program run by Justina Lasley at the Institute for Dream Studies (IDS) in Charleston, South Carolina. Justina's program became an important stepping stone on my journey. I would describe Justina as a midwife who with persistence and a firm hand helped bring out potential that I had long been aware of but was reluctant to show. I graduated as a certified dream therapist in March 2009 and have since been a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD). Last June I attended for the first time the Association's annual conference, held in the picturesque 11th century abbey of Rolduc in the Netherlands, and am already looking forward to the next one which will be in Berkeley in June 2012.

In the late nineties my friend Diane introduced me to Tarot and I fell instantly for the beauty and magic of the medium. I have since studied the Tarot with Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone at the Tarot School of New York and have attended a few of their annual Readers Studios which offer a variety of lectures and study groups and, last but not least, a lot of fun. I have also had the opportunity to study with Rachel Pollack, whose Shining Tribe Tarot and prolific writing on Tarot have been a great inspiration for me.

Since 2008 I have taught Tarot and led dream groups on my premises (below), located in the very heart of Reykjavik.

Links that I would like to share

Below are a few websites associated with my studies and interests: