Articles Written by Virginia Felder
Mirror of Madness
This article was originally published in 1992 by the Haworth Press, Inc. in the Voices issue, titled Peace, War and Mental Health.
And under The Creation of the Squirrel Apacheta, begin with “This article was published in “Sacred Hoop: Celebrating the Circle of Life,” London, Issue 56, 2007.
This article explores the yearning for reveApachetas—sacred cairns from Peruvian shamanic traditions—often mark ancient pilgrimage routes that are still traveled today. These sites serve as places of ceremonial healing and connection with the mountain spirits (apus), the Earth Mother (Pachamama), and the natural world. While Jenny Felder works within these traditions, her attempt to build her own apacheta led to unexpected lessons—guided by a small, agile, four-legged teacher.nge that can pave the way for addictive patterns of malicious behavior. Dr. Felder draws from both her personal experiences and her psychotherapy practice to identify the “malice fix”—an addictive response to pain that offers momentary relief but ultimately interferes with genuine healing. The “mirror of madness” occurs when a distressed individual provokes another person into expressing pain and fury, effectively reflecting these emotions back to their true source. In this dynamic, the target person embodies the anguish, temporarily relieving the initiator of their burden. The article also highlights pathways for intervention within this relational pattern.
This article explores the yearning for reveApachetas—sacred cairns from Peruvian shamanic traditions—often mark ancient pilgrimage routes that are still traveled today. These sites serve as places of ceremonial healing and connection with the mountain spirits (apus), the Earth Mother (Pachamama), and the natural world. While Jenny Felder works within these traditions, her attempt to build her own apacheta led to unexpected lessons—guided by a small, agile, four-legged teacher.nge that can pave the way for addictive patterns of malicious behavior. Dr. Felder draws from both her personal experiences and her psychotherapy practice to identify the “malice fix”—an addictive response to pain that offers momentary relief but ultimately interferes with genuine healing. The “mirror of madness” occurs when a distressed individual provokes another person into expressing pain and fury, effectively reflecting these emotions back to their true source. In this dynamic, the target person embodies the anguish, temporarily relieving the initiator of their burden. The article also highlights pathways for intervention within this relational pattern.
Teachings from The Creation of the Squirrel Apacheta
Apachetas—sacred cairns from Peruvian shamanic traditions—often mark ancient pilgrimage routes that are still traveled today. These sites serve as places of ceremonial healing and connection with the mountain spirits (apus), the Earth Mother (Pachamama), and the natural world.
While Jenny Felder works within these traditions, her attempt to build her own apacheta led to unexpected lessons—guided by a small, agile, four-legged teacher.
Metamorphosis: Death as a Passageway for Family Transformation
Originally published in the Winter 1991 issue of Voices, titled “Midwifing Death,” this article recounts deeply personal family experiences surrounding the diagnosis, illness, and passing of the author’s brother, Bill, due to a brain tumor.
After a lifetime of trying to bring the family together, Bill ultimately succeeded in uniting them through his death, offering a profound reflection on loss, connection, and transformation.