Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Have you ever had a book come across your path numerous times? You hear about it, read clips of it on blogs or message boards but never get around to picking it up? "Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes is one of those books. It sat on my wish list for months. It wasn't until I read about it on during my studies on society and women that I decided to finally borrowed the book from the library. I am glad I did. Two chapters into the book I realized: I don't want to borrow this book, I must own it. "Women Who Run with the Wolves" is well written and makes you stop, look, listen, and pay attention with your soul. You will need time to read this book to get its full value. It is not reading time that makes it a long read, it is thinking time. This book will address the feelings, thoughts and emotions that you have at the core of your existence. It is a starting point to being honest with yourself. In the simplest of terms it is the handbook on womanhood, intuition, and creativity. Many books on being a woman or understanding a woman seem to tell you about women and womanhood from the outside looking in. This book starts at the core of a woman and shows you layer by layer what the essence of a woman is all about. It is honest and can help a lot of woman and girls understand themselves and live fuller and more meaningful lives. It addresses our needs, joys, fears, hopes, dreams, emotions, creativity, intellect, intuition, customs, views on our self, and society. It hits so close to home that it will feel as if Dr. Estes wrote this book specifically for you. She is like a mother sitting you down and sharing her knowledge with you one beautiful word at a time. I enjoyed the stories and myths that were added to this book from various cultures. It is a great way to understand how ways of being are transferred from generation to generation. She shows us the positive and the negative. The book shows that although women are from various cultures, backgrounds, and races that at the core we are similar in experiences, fears, and love. We have a bond that crosses all these lines. Dr. Estes's book helps to connect the dots. It addressed unanswered questions in the back of my mind and uncovered feelings that were hidden. I slowly found ways to untangle other emotions and thoughts that I deemed crazy but were normal and shared with women across time. As a result look at myself and other women with new understanding. Giving this book to a young woman will be a gift that she will cherish and use throughout her adulthood. I have given copies of this book to women and many have called me to talk about it. We were able to talk about things women don't usually share and help each other. The book is an excellent bridge to create and deepen bonds with other women. I have been stopped in the street and at restaurants by people who are intrigued at the title and my presence when reading it. I have met women who have finished the book and gave me their thoughts on how it has helped them. I would like to thank Dr. Estes for taking the time and having the love in her heart to write this book. It is a book that will help create more stronger and grounded women. It is a book that I will carry with me always

Every human on the planet should read this book okay! Especially women! Actually just everyone. It talks about the female archetype and the role of the female throughout history and it is one of the most inspiring and strength giving books I have ever read I get a copy of this for literally every woman or girl that I meet. You could be having a horrible day and just crack that book open to almost any page and you will find something that will uplift you and make you feel like a powerful strong woman. And I feel that everyone should read this because it is important to understand and recognize and acknowledge the strength of the female archetype and the strength of females in general.

This book is more than a collection of stories, it’s a call to reconnect with the parts of ourselves we often silence. The author weaves myths and folklore together with powerful insights about identity, intuition, and womanhood in a way that feels both ancient and relevant today. While it’s not a quick read, it’s the kind of book you sit with, reflecting, underlining, and returning to when you need a reminder of strength and purpose. I appreciated how it encouraged self-reflection and spiritual grounding, helping me see how faith, resilience, and creativity can coexist beautifully. It’s a deeply meaningful read for anyone wanting to understand themselves on a deeper level and embrace a more authentic, grounded way of living. Pro tip: read it slowly, one story at a time, it’s best absorbed with quiet reflection and an open heart.

This book is mind blowing I wish and hope more women read this book.

Woman who run with wolves: Myths And Stories Of The Wild Woman Archetype by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Introduction: I must honestly confess that my partner advised me to read this book. To start with I had some doubts. I already knew a lot of the myths, legends and fairy tales that are used in this book but in another context and different explanation. After reading I must say that it is true, that the book leads to a better and closer understanding of women. Now I can not only understand, but also ‘feel’ some of the ideas of my partner better. Next to that I am also a father of two daughters. By reading this book I also gained a better understanding about my role as a father. Never before I say so clearly that it is a task of the father to guide his daughters in their contact with men and tell and explain to them about the nature of men. So yes it was a very interesting (long) read. I read the book with a special guide book (only as e-book on BookRags.com) next to it, that was very helpful. And it is certainly not necessary to read the book al at ones. Different chapters can easily be read separately. Below you find some more information about the book and the used legends. About the book: Within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Dr. Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, and stories, many from her own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine. Dr. Estés has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul. “Woman who run with wolves isn't just another book. It is a gift of profound insight, wisdom, and love. An oracle from one who knows." Alice Walker. This volume reminds us that we are nature for all our sophistication, that we are still wild, and the recovery of that vitality will itself set us right in the world." Thomas Moore (Author of Care of the Soul) "I am grateful to Woman who run with wolves and to Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés. The work shows the reader how glorious it is to be daring, to be caring, and to be women. Everyone who can read should read this book." Maya Angelou "An inspiring book, the 'vitamins for the soul' The book presents woman as strong and healthy. The older woman can find great power and joy within herself. Pay the right attention (not too much and not to little) to periods of transformation (external reality of inner life) Also for partners and fathers there is a lot to be found in this book. Chapters of the guidebook and of 'Woman who run with wolves' Guidebook Chapter 1 page 8 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 2 page 38 ‘Bluebeard’ Story of Bluebeard, female naïveté towards men. It is a task of the father to guide his daughters there. Also see Blue Beard p59. Guidebook Chapter 2 (this chapter failed in my version of the study guide) Guidebook Chapter 3 page 11 Noising out the facts. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 3 page 76 Tendency towards obedience in an effort to be treated properly or pleasing others with correctness and kindness. Under many conditions this is an effective strategy. But there are times when it pays off to not be nice, whether we like this truth or not. Guidebook Chapter 4 page 14 The mate. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 4 page 121 A man is courting twin daughters. The father simply wants the man to be interested in the true essence of his daughters. If he takes a deep interest they can be married with an enduring kind of real love. Guidebook Chapter 5 page 16 Hunting: when the heart is a lonely hunter. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 5 page 137 Circle of life. ‘Eros and Tanatos’ About relations: Intimate relationships confront us also with feelings how have nothing to do with that relation. Guidebook Chapter 6 page 18 Finding one’s pack. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 6 page 177 Story of the ugly duckling. Fitting in after not having done so for such a long time. One has learned much from being different, finding a ‘fit’ will all the more be gratifying. Guidebook Chapter 7 page 21 Joyous body. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 7 page 213 Discovering the beauty of the female form the position of strength. All marks (not only physical but also mental) of pregnancy and child birth are icons of natural female power. Guidebook Chapter 8 page 23 Self preservation. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 8 page 230 Part of what is being taught her is that development includes a long process of initiation. A multi-step process, where a set of tasks must be completed in order to arrive. Guidebook Chapter 9 page 27 Homing: returning to oneself. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 9 page 276 Story of the seal-woman. Every woman has a ‘seal-skin’ or soul-skin. This is the true self. Return home does not necessarily mean divorce or separation, it can also be a powerful protection of a woman’s well-being. The man who becomes her husband hides her skin in order to force her to stay in her human form and marry him. Her son later returns the skin to her and she can become her other aspect again, that of the seal. Guidebook Chapter 10 page 29 Clear water. Nourishing the creative life. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 10 page 322 This chapter is devoted to the flow of creative forces (a river) in a woman’s life. ‘the woman as life giver’ when the waters are pure there is plenty of life in the river. The story of La Llorona ‘the weeping woman’ Guidebook Chapter 11 page 31 Heat: Retrieving sacred sexuality. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 11 page 362 A sexually mature perspective of life can save a woman from depression. Story of Demeter (the goddess of harvest) her daughter Persephone and Hades ( the god of the underworld) Guidebook Chapter 12 page 33 Marking territory: The boundaries of rage and forgiveness. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 12 page 375 The story of the war veteran and his wife. The basic idea is learning to honour legitimate rage. It can be a great protector when in control. Guidebook Chapter 13 page 37 Battle Scars. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 13 page 404 Something’s on the surface seam unrelated, but are connected on a deeper level. Story of the husband who commits suicide, this man had been treated extremely bad by his family, but his family did not admit that their cruelty had anything to do with his dead. It helped the woman when she finally did talk about that. Woman can recognize and honour the scars and battles they came from as integral tot the lives of woman as a whole. Guidebook Chapter 14 page 40 The initiation in the underground forest. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 14 page 418 A story needs a receptive mind in order to make an impact. Story of the Little Match Girl. A story of gain, loss, redemption followed by real love, separation, living with grieve and sorrow and finally reunion and real happiness. Guidebook Chapter 15 page 44 Shadowing: Canto Hondo. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 15 page 493 Here Estés uses the metaphor of the ‘shadowing of wolves’ in a way of gathering vital information. Later she tells about the power of dreams and the wisdom of the ‘one who knows’ together they can help naïveté girls to become woman who will let the right men close. Again the father is important here as an example for his daughters. Readers are encourage to find out where they belong, to be the swan and not the outsider. See Chapter 6 page 18 Finding one’s pack. Guidebook Chapter 16 page 47 The wolf’s eyelash. 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 16 page 499 Story of the woman and the wolf. A woman helps a trapped wolf and receives a gift, an eyelash in return. This eyelash gives the woman the power to sense motives. Thanks to that power she is able to surround herself with kind and good people. All without losing sight of the truth that a wolf is a wolf. Estés’ hope is clear: that readers have found the joy of many stories and a greater access to wisdom within themselves and the world. Guidebook Chapter 17 page 49 Afterword story as medicine. 'Woman who run with wolves' Afterword page 504 Stories are a special kind of medicine designed to be used as such. Storytelling is a skill and a profession with an extensive training, both as a medicine and as entertainment. Stories also require the right audience. Important People: Estés is specialist in Jungian psychology and archetypes. The roots and branches of archetypes are from diverse sources; ethnic roots, daily life, the history of the pre urban or even contemporary rural life. Archetypes can help us to heal on an emotional and mental level. Archetypes can point us directions for growth. Guidebook p51 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 3 page 76 and many other places Baba Yaga This is the wild woman as the wise old woman, she is depicted as old, ugly, intimidating and extremely powerful. A girl child (also a version of the wild woman?) is sent to meet her. Baba Yaga harbours all manner of wisdom and insight, knowledge and skills. She provides discipline and basic training for adulthood. She is protective as well as educational. The Baba Yaga is equally magical as realistic. Guidebook p52 'Woman who run with wolves' page 8, 99, 209 and many other places Spider woman The Spider woman has transformative and healing powers. Guidebook p53 La Que Sabe The one how knows. She is the wild woman in the form of a wizard, the powerful and wise old lady. As the one who knows she is able to assist others in gaining knowledge and wisdom. Guidebook p53 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 5 page 137 and many other places Skeleton woman The skeleton woman is all about the circle of life. She is terrifying and deeply sad. She finds herself restored through a loving and intimate relationship with a man. Neither the man nor the woman expected this. After he surrenders to his inability to escape, he sets her in order, attends to her needs and when he relaxes enough to rest himself, she comes to life and becomes his companion. Guidebook p54 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 3 page 76 Vasalisa Vasalisa is a young girl. She suffers. She represents the hard childhood in contrast to the easy, idyllic one. The child suffers the disappointment that the step relatives may have been fine for her father but were not doing her any good at all. Guidebook p54 Hidalgo He is La Llorona’s lover and the father of her two children. He leaves her to return to his family. Hidalgo is perhaps the archetype of the man who is never able to leave his mother/ family and transfer his loyalties to his female lover and their family. Guidebook p55 'Woman who run with wolves' page 345 - 355 The little match girl This unsupervised child is endeavouring to make her way in the world. As a result the child in the fairy tale dies, freezing to death after the last flickering light of her matches fades away. (also see Vasalisa p54 and Hidalgo p54 about parents/ adult who have no attention for the needs of children, while this should be our first responsibility) Guidebook p55 Zeus Here this Olympian is shown as ‘the bad guy’ how casts out his own son, because the boy stuck up for his mother, how is Zeus opponent in this argument. Guidebook p55 Hephaestus In an argument between his father and his mother het takes sides for his mother the goddess Hera. Therefor he is reminded that he is weaker and less powerful than his father. He is thrown out of the Olympus and granted his own realm below, where his great smiting skills will prosper and despite his ugliness wins fame an respect. (and marries the beautiful goddess Aphrodite, alto she is not very faithful to him) Guidebook p56 Hera In an argument with Zeus her sun agrees with her and is banished from the Olympus. Guidebook p56 Pollutant This is something with a poisoning effect rather than being truly nourishing or healthy. Guidebook p57 Traps These are talked about in the chapter on self-preservation. In this context they are intentionally used with an analogy or metaphor comparing them to traps set for animals. Guidebook p57 The Devil Famous for being Gods adversary and former right hand man. In his confrontation with god he meets a similar fate to the one Zeus meted out for his son Hephaestus: Down and out he goes to get his very own realm within which to exercise the power that truly is his own. Objects and places: Guidebook p59 The caves The cave is a natural strong shelter in the wild. Powerful natural strong shelter in the wild. Powerful natural magic takes place. It contains the power of the woman inside. Guidebook p59 'Woman who run with wolves' Chapter 2 page 38 Blue Beard It is the remains of a powerful man who is of exceptional danger to woman. It is only to the violence other men that the man with the blue beard is defeated. There is no explanation as to why his blue beard is kept by nuns, who live together in seclusion, mainly for reasons of mutual aid and protection. Also see Chapter 1 page 8 ‘Bluebeard’ Woman who run with wolves: Myths And Stories Of The Wild Woman Archetype by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

This is like a bible and a right of passage for every woman. You have to read it understand the symbolism of every word. Incredible!

A book every woman should read, took Clarissa Pinkola Estes 30 years to write and indeed in my opinion it is a masterpiece. Coming from a tradition of story tellers Ms Clarissa is a Jungian Psichoterapist who collected and rewrote fairy tales later explained trough symbolic keys... beautiful if you like fairy tales and believe narrative has healing powers.

Great book for all women out there, and a must share with all. A book that should pass from generation to generation. Great way to explain the archetype of women and to understand the between the lines of stories and fairytales.

I am not going to review the contents. Just want to warn everyone against buying the mass market edition. It has the worst bookbinding I have ever seen. I am on page 60 and all the pages so far have cone off the book. I will need to buy it in another edition if I want to read it comfortably

the book is absolutely magnificent to read. as woman, i wish i had read this book earlier in my life. the author uses the mythology of many many fairytales and guiding the reader into the deep recesses of growing as a woman from birth to full womanhood. its like having a mother taking you by the hand and explaining the sacredness of femininity and how to navigate it. simply magnificent. (but the copy of the book i recieved was not properly glued and the pages were falling off so i had to reglue it.)