More about Henriett Horváth
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Henriett Horváth
I myself am an amateur visual artist, and I’ve been a teacher for 24 years; the human psyche has always been of special importance to me. I have a great deal of pedagogical and psychological experience. I must mention that this is not a medical activity — it is very far from that. Here, creation is at the center, and it helps through these tools, resolving things through artistic processes.
An Insight into Art Therapy
The Symbol System of Art Therapy
Miklós Radnóti: July
Anger wrings the cloud above,
it grimaces.
With wet hair, barefoot showers
go running about.
They grow tired, hide in the ground,
evening has come.
A pure-bodied heat sits above
the bright-faced trees.
The Symbolism of the Month of July
“The summer sun’s rays blaze down fiercely”
/Marcell Jankovics: 3+1 The Symbolism of the Four Seasons, Csokonai Kiadó, 2008, pp. 55–57, excerpt/
“By its primal element, it is a fiery season. Fiery, like a man in the fullness of his strength, or a young bride “fresh off the fire.” The element of fire is dry and warm, like summer. Summer is under the rule of the Sun, and the summer Sun itself is masculine fire, which is why fire — as opposed to the “lower” waters — was associated with the upper sky. But this also implies that fire and water together create life in summer. Therefore fire and water are not merely opposites of one another, but also belong together, arising from one another. Our ancestors, who lived by the water’s edge, or at least close to water, saw the heavenly fire, the Sun, as rising from the water and setting solemnly into the water. The period from spring to autumn, when animals mate and plants are fertilized, can be described as the marriage of the Sun and the Earth, while the winter earth can be compared to a woman made pregnant by the seed cast into her. In the former, the man has a role; in the latter, he does not. Finally, regarding fire and water: in matters of love, the Sun and fire are a more fitting symbol for characterizing the man, while a woman’s love is more “watery and moon-like”: softer, more relaxed.
The heat of the Sun blazes for a shared purpose, serving summer’s victory over winter. Heracles’s deed, recorded in various forms, in which — clad in a lion’s skin — he defeats a bull or an entire herd of bulls, tells of exactly this: he himself is the fiery summer, and his opponent is the embodiment of deep winter.”
“July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, and it has 31 days. In the Roman calendar it was originally the fifth month. It is the month of the harvest. The harvest used to begin with the raising of hats, prayer, and supplication. From the 14th century, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates on this day the Virgin Mary’s visit to the mother of John the Baptist.
Our Lady is the protector of expectant mothers, the poor, those suffering in need, and the dead. In Hungary, this day marks the start of the harvest. The day is called “Our Lady of the Sickle” because women once carried out the harvest with a sickle. Its original name was quintilis, since in the old Roman calendar, which began with March, this was the fifth month, and then in 44 BC, at the flattering suggestion of Marcus Antonius, it was renamed July, after Julius Caesar, who was born on the 12th day of this month. According to the naming of the 18th-century language reformers, July is “halászonos.” The folk calendar also calls it the month of Saint James, the summer month, the month of blessing. It is the time of full ripening, by when everything ripens (flowers, fruit, grain). During July, the Sun moves, among the constellations of the zodiac, from the constellation Gemini into the constellation Cancer.”
/Hamann, B. (1998) The Twelve Archetypes. Budapest, Bioenergetic Kft./
Its archetype: Cancer, a symbol of the deep soul, carrying infinity within itself.
“It is the animal associated with the water element. The crab brings the earth up from the depths of the water. The crab’s claws are like two spirals, symbolizing the rising and setting Sun. Cancer absorbs the stimuli of the outer world like a sponge absorbs water, and this can lead to inner richness, but also to being overburdened. Among the zodiac signs, Cancer has the greatest tendency to identify itself with the outside world. Its characteristic is a maternal, receptive, passive period, when the water element again comes to the fore as a symbol of emotions, soul, and the ability to change. It symbolizes a woman ready for motherhood. It is the time of full maturity. Its element is WATER, one of whose main characteristics is FLOW. If our emotions do not flow, we can be sure that somewhere along the way we have frozen a little, that something in our system has become stiff. These blocks are natural and belong to the protective system of our being. It’s a bit like a circuit disconnecting because it became overloaded. The signs of shutting down are fatigue, indifference, or even depression. Let’s not be frightened by these, because at such times our emotions trickle like an underground stream into our underworld, becoming purified and gathering in the darkness of our unconscious. During this period it’s worth truly resting, and letting this process run its own course.”
Its symbol: the ear of grain, the harvest, and the seed.
Its planet: the Moon /soul, emotions, the cyclical nature of birth and death, fertility, motherhood/
In a psychological sense, in the month of July we experience maturity and wholeness. Maturity for a responsible life. It’s the period of finding a partner, of finding one’s calling.
/Hamann, B. (1998) The Twelve Archetypes. Budapest, Bioenergetic Kft./
On life’s path, it represents youth. Symptomatically, it is characterized by overflowing emotions.
“The Creative Person”
“Whoever can access the creative source hidden deep in the unconscious can use it as a musician, painter, poet, or as an artist in the broadest sense. Here, however, art does not come from knowledge. Rather, it is inspiration and intuition that matter — the right hemisphere rather than the left. The language of the Cancer-type person is also different from the one we encountered, for example, with Gemini. For Cancer, it is not intellect, analysis, or reason that matters; they use the language of images, as it appears in dreams, fairy tales and myths. With the help of fairy tales they can bring themselves back to life spiritually, and they can convey this vitality, this water of life, this kind of wisdom to others as well.” /Claus Riemann: Deep Source, Budapest, 2004, Bioenergetic Kft., p. 78./
Media Appearances
Debrecen Academic Committee
2010-08-04</