Cassandra Syndrome Cassandra is a beautiful Trojan princess. The god Apollo himself fell in love with her, and she promised to marry him in exchange for the ability to predict the future. But, having received this gift, Cassandra changed her mind and refused Apollo. In revenge, he deprived her of her gift

4.4. Analysis and tragedy What is analysis? "Talking therapy"? This is hardly the answer to the question posed. Would the "talking cure" be a specialized form of therapy (a specific type of "cure") or a specialized form of storytelling (a specific

Cassandra syndrome is a metaphor that refers to a person or people who make predictions about an impending disaster, but whose predictions are not accepted.

In the modern world, this happens when scientists and other thinkers make predictions about future environmental or financial disasters based on current events.

Melanie Klein

In 1963, psychologist Melanie Klein interpreted Cassandra syndrome as a representative of the human moral conscience, whose main task is prevention. Cassandra, as a moral conscience, “predicts that punishment will follow and grief will arise.”

The need to point out moral violations and subsequent social consequences is due to what Klein calls "the destructive influences of the cruel superego." The superego is represented in Greek myth by the god Apollo, the ruler and pursuer of Cassandra.

The use of metaphor focuses on the moral nature of certain predictions. Arouses in others “a refusal to believe what is known to be true. Expresses a universal tendency towards denial. Denial is a powerful defense against anxiety and guilt."

Laurie Leighton Shapira

In 1988, Jungian analyst Laurie Leighton Shapira studied what she called the "Cassandra Complex" based on the lives of two individuals under analysis.

Based on clinical experience, she described three factors that make up the syndrome:

1. Dysfunctional relationship with the "Apollo archetype".
2. Emotional or physical distress, including hysteria.
3. Lack of faith when trying to connect the fact of these experiences with others.

Leighton Shapira views Cassandra syndrome as the result of a dysfunctional relationship with what is called the "Apollo archetype." It refers to the pattern of any person or culture, bound by order, reason, intelligence, truth and clarity, denying the occult or irrational.

The intellectual specialization of this archetype creates emotional distance. It can predispose relationships to lack of emotional reciprocity and subsequent dysfunction.

Addressing the metaphorical application of the Greek Cassandra myth, Leighton Shapira states that:

What the woman Cassandra sees is something dark and painful that may not be obvious on the surface or that objective facts do not support.

She imagines a negative or unexpected outcome; or something that will be difficult to deal with. Or a truth that others, especially authority figures, would not accept. To others, her words seem meaningless, disconnected, overblown.

Jean Shinoda Ill

In 1989, Jean Shinoda Bolin, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, published an essay about the god Apollo. He detailed the psychological profile of the "Cassandra woman" who is involved in a dysfunctional relationship with the "Apollo" man.

According to Bohlen, the Cassandra and Apollo archetypes are not gender specific.

“As an archetype, Apollo represents an aspect of the personality that wants clear definitions, is attracted to mastery, the values ​​of order, harmony. Prefers to look at the surface rather than at what lies at the root of the appearance. The Apollo archetype favors reflection on feelings, distances itself from intimacy, and an objective assessment is given according to subjective intuition.”

In the twentieth century, victimology emerged from criminology into a separate discipline, the boundaries of which have now expanded so much that they have led to its transformation into an interdisciplinary approach of urgent social significance. As victimology merged with psychology, the question of the sociocultural and historical-psychological roots of victim behavior became more and more insistent.

The second half of the twentieth century was the era of the true heyday of the role of historical psychology in the study and interpretation of the deep determinants of victim behavior.

One of the first discoveries, made long before victimology became a scientific discipline, was the understanding of gender differences in victim behavior.

“Plato did not know which category to classify women into: rational beings or brutes, for nature inserted into them, in one secluded place, something animate, a certain organ that a man does not have and which sometimes secretes some special juices: salty, nitrate boric acid, tart, burning, unpleasantly tickling, and from this burning, from this painful fermentation of the mentioned juices for a woman (and this organ is very sensitive and easily irritated), a shiver runs through the woman’s entire body, all her senses are excited, all sensations become aggravated, all thoughts get in the way. Thus, if nature had not, to some extent, ennobled women with a sense of shame, they would have been chasing like madmen the first pair of pants they came across, in such a frenzy... which the Bacchic Fiads did not reveal even in the days of bacchanalia, for this terrible animate organ is connected with all other parts of the body , which anatomy clearly proves to us.”

The words of the outstanding French thinker and writer of the Renaissance, Francois Rabelais, in a very crude sexist form, give us, however, an idea of ​​what the main points of vulnerability of the female psyche were seen in the pre-scientific period of the development of psychology.

The twentieth century and the emergence of depth psychology opened up completely new grounds for the analysis of female victimization.

The father of psychoanalysis, S. Freud, exploring the historically determined mechanisms of sexual behavior, writes: “It is not difficult for us later to justify what at first seemed like a prejudice by our opinion about a woman’s love life. Whoever first satisfies a girl’s longing for love, which has been suppressed with difficulty for a long time, and at the same time overcomes her resistance, formed under the influence of environment and upbringing, enters into a long-term relationship with her, the possibility of which is no longer open to anyone else. As a result of this experience, women develop a “state of subordination,” which is a guarantee of the inviolable duration of possession and makes her capable of resisting new impressions and temptations from outsiders.”

However, a much more detailed picture of the historical determinants of female victimization is provided by analytical psychology in the context of the phenomenon of the collective unconscious. Considering, following S. Freud, the deep psychological causes of female hysteria, Carl Gustav Jung writes: “The complex in hysteria has abnormal autonomy and a tendency towards an active separate life, which reduces and replaces the constellated energy of the Ego complex. Thus, a new sick personality gradually develops, whose inclinations, judgments and decisions move in only one direction - in the direction of her desire to be sick. This secondary personality devours everything that remains of the normal Ego and forces it to perform the function of a secondary (non-independent) complex.”

The development of Jung's ideas was continued by his talented student Toni Wolf. Exploring the Anima archetype, in particular its type as a female medium, she noted that women of this type are under the priority influence of the collective unconscious, whose power exceeds the influence of the “spirit of her time” on her Ego. A female medium in interaction with the collective unconscious can be a classical medium, i.e. be a passive conductor, but can also cause it herself. As a rule, notes Tony Wolf, such activity is associated with the influence of the Shadow archetype and the woman projects this threatening negativity into the social environment. Thus, in the eyes of society - especially its masculine part - she becomes a bearer of evil. And since her interaction with the unconscious is not mediated by the symbol-forming function of the Ego, a woman is usually unable to explain what is happening to her and what motivates her actions - “the overwhelming energy of the collective unconscious sweeps through the Ego of the female mediator and weakens it...”.

The desire for mastery (possessionem), emanating from the collective unconscious, goes far beyond the ego of the female medium and tends to spread to everyone with whom she is in any kind of trusting relationship. For this reason, although the female medium produces a strong emotional effect in communication, her own Ego is faceless, passive and prone to dependence. As Toni Wolf herself writes: “As a rule, a woman mediator is nothing and, therefore, will create confusion to the same extent that she herself is confused. Consciousness and the unconscious, I and you, personal and impersonal mental content remains undifferentiated... Since the content of the objective psyche both for herself and for others remains incomprehensible or is perceived on a personal level, she perceives fate not as her own, but as if she was her own, and gets lost in ideas that are not hers. Instead of becoming a mediator, she is only a means and becomes the first victim of her own nature." .

Another neo-Jungian theorist, Erich Neumann, considering this phenomenon, notes that “decrease in the level of consciousness” (abaissement du niveau mental) is the main quality of the medium: “The female psyche depends much more on the productivity of the unconscious, strongly connected with consciousness, which we accordingly call matriarchal . However, it is precisely this matriarchal consciousness that is based primarily on participation mystique - a person’s mystical involvement with his environment. It is in this state of consciousness that the human psyche and the transpersonal world still remain essentially inseparable; It is the matriarchal consciousness that forms the basis of the power of the human personality, covered with the mantle of magic.”

James Hillman considers the phenomenon of a female medium in inextricable connection with the Animus archetype, namely, with the Apollo archetype. In his opinion, it is this image of male perfection that is the main cause of female hysteria, and the mechanism is conjunction. As Hillman shows, the Apollonian Animus of a woman, penetrating not only the level of consciousness, but also the level of the Superego, gives rise to the idea of ​​female subordination and forms a cause-and-effect relationship between repressed chthonic femininity and hysteria. In turn, Apollo himself intensively represses his Anima, which led to the complete identification of this figure with patriarchal masculinity, forcing femininity to take the form of projection. But, as Hillman notes, “the search for coniunctio, as in the case of the pursuit of Daphne, turns into Apollo’s own defeat, since this pursuit makes the man hyperactive and leads the psyche to vegetative regression, turning Daphne into a laurel tree.”

The Cassandra archetype is discussed in most detail in the works of Laurie Leighton Shapiro, namely in the book “The Cassandra Complex. A modern view of hysteria". In her opinion, the Cassandra archetype personifies the archetypal conflict between matriarchal and patriarchal values ​​fighting for power, while the power of potestas in this conflict completely replaces the power of libido

Laurie Leighton Shapiro makes a direct connection between Cassandra and the "dark goddess", in whom we can recognize Erich Neumann's chthonic Great Mother. At the same time, Shapiro notes that Cassandra is under the influence of the most destructive - deadly - aspect of the Great Mother.

The positive aspect of the Great Mother is mediation, which in hysterical personalities manifests itself in strong intuition. However, in a patriarchal society, this mediumistic ability was not only not cultivated, but was not even legalized. At best, the mediumistic abilities of the female Cassandra were exploited, as we can see in the Bronze Age epic, the Eddic song “Balder's Dreams”:

Odin rode out to the east from the gate, where, as he knew, the Völva’s grave was; He began the spell and raised the prophetic, the völva answered with a dead speech: “What kind of warrior is there, unknown to me, who commanded me to set out on a difficult journey? The snow covered me, the rain poured in and the dew covered me - I’ve been dead for a long time.” [One said:]“My name is Vegtam, I am Valtam’s son; tell me about Hel, I will tell you about the world; for whom are the benches covered with chain mail, the floor beautifully strewn with gold?” [Völva said:]“There is honey here, it is brewed for Balder, a light drink, it is covered with a shield; the sons of the Aesir are overcome with despair. You will not hear another word.”

But most often the mediumistic abilities of the female Cassandra were used as an object for an atoning sacrifice, which we can see in the example of another Eddic song - “A Brief Song of Sigurd”:

It is characteristic that in the text of the song “Dance, Witch” by the group “Melnitsa” - one of the most popular Russian folk rock groups - we see an almost identical picture:

Where there is a witch, life is not sacred, the horses are not shod. Let him fly away into dust, wandering, in four, oh, directions. As the dry wind wraps up the dance of death, which is ancient in some, the Witch will dance, but we cannot cope with our faith and cannot cope with it. Get drunk on the drunkenness of our wrath. Dance! Today you are the queen. Let hops and cinnamon, and the snake, and the fox At the first lightning glorify the sister - Hallelujah to the Fiery Virgin! Like a witch has four wings, and behind her shoulders the air trembles. Today she will burn with a blue flame, as she burned in a lie. There is no limit to the mercy of fire, and the Lord will have mercy on us, so that the rye will be born high, so that after winter there will be spring again.

Shapiro notes that the Cassandra woman learns early on to hide this side of her personality or disguise its use, since her Ego is not strong enough, and, most importantly, approved enough to fully use her innate ability. As a result, such women develop a pseudo-Ego, consisting of the restrictionist values ​​of Apollo as a conductor of the ideas of the Great Father. This pseudo-ego is artificial and clearly victimized in nature, and the main leitmotif is the thought: “However, it’s my fault that she’s a woman.” As a result of this, her medium abilities go into the Shadow region, forming a painful complex of guilt and self-destruction. The consequence of this is hysteria as the only possible way for the weak, self-torturing Ego to act as a mediator between the unconscious and the Superego.

The results of our research show that the situation is further complicated by the fact that most often the Cassandra woman has a similar generic scenario, which is transmitted through the female line. The mother of such a girl is a woman who is under the same tyrannical pressure of the patriarchal animus and has long been in a sadomasochistic dual union relationship with him. In her patrimonial messages to her daughter, she gives a classic double message, the text of which declares hysterical suspicion and anxiety towards men (sometimes reaching the point of hatred) and the subtext is servile obedience and fear. However, her position is advantageous in that she has the opportunity to teach her inexperienced daughter, to whom she often transmits her infantile-vulnerable Ego, which only strengthens her daughter’s victimization complex. This correlates with the idea of ​​generic lasts, developed by Leopold Szondi within the framework of the concept of fate analysis.

Shapiro, characterizing the relationship of the Cassandra woman with her mother, notes the lack of a positive symbiotic connection with the maternal figure, which, in turn, blocks the girl’s connection with reality: “The girl develops the impression that life cannot proceed the way she wants, but only the way the mother wants. In the child's mind, reality is not trustworthy. A girl finds her identity only by meeting her mother's expectations. In a sense, the child becomes the mother of her own mother, at one time deprived of motherhood, who constantly demands a mirror reflection of her merger with her daughter and is filled with black envy if she does not receive this reflection.”

Being under continuous pressure from the Superego, the Cassandra woman projects her locus of control exclusively outward. At the same time, in the external context, she observes a picture of the complete triumph of the masculine principle and the defeat and self-abasement of the feminine. It is logical that since childhood she has been looking for attention and support from the male principle. Shapiro notes that even if the real paternal figure is weak, the girl still idealizes her father: “The only aspect of femininity that has the opportunity to come to the surface is the mediation through which hypertrophied masculinity - the maternal animus internalized by the daughter - seeks its expression. The ego finds itself in the service of the animus, which in reality behaves rather like a narcissistic personality structure, constantly demanding positive mirroring. The female Ego descends to playing the role of Anima in relation to its own Animus."

In the ancient archetypal scenario, Cassandra disobeyed Apollo, which led to her death - and death precisely at the hand of her mother figure. In the personality of a Cassandra woman, as a rule, this subordination still occurs, and even in childhood. Relying on her Apollonian animus, she can be quite successful and socially adapted. However, even if adaptation to the external world occurs, adaptation to the inner world does not occur. The second pole of the dissociated psyche - the hysterical Anima-Cassandra - goes into the Shadow and from there constantly reminds itself of itself with unmotivated anxiety, guilt, fears, behind which, in turn, aggression is hidden. One of the options for breaking through this explosive Shadow is shown in Roman Polanski’s landmark film “Repulsion” for modern culture. The main character, an introvert, increasingly immersed in autistic states, discovers in them the strongest androphobia, breaking through with extreme aggression towards the masculine principle.

Describing the dynamics of the Shadow in the woman Cassandra, Shapiro names the disappearance of the Apollonian ideal of the Animus as the main reason for its activation. Due to the weakness of her own Ego, the Cassandra woman uses the Apollonian Animus as a restraining force of the Superego, aimed primarily at the Shadow. One could say that in this state she is completely deprived of the power of the Ego, remaining helpless before the horrors of the Shadow: “In her frightened, egoless state, the Cassandra woman can say what she sees, unconsciously hoping for what others might learn from her words some meaning. However, to them her words seem meaningless, incoherent and groundless. It's not surprising that no one believes her. She cannot even make an effort on herself and believe in what she says. Her Ego cannot accept what her Shadow knows."

In toto we can say that the Cassandra archetype is one of the main unconscious determinants that support the formation and operation of the victim complex in a modern woman. Acting as the second pole in the Persecutor-Victim dyad, he makes a woman prone to victimized behavior when faced with patriarchal sexist male behavior.

List of sources used

1. Francois Rabelais. Gargantua and Pantagruel. – M.: 1991. – 374 p.
2. Freud Z. The taboo of virginity: an essay on the psychology of sexuality. – M.: Prometheus, 1990. – 32 p.
3. Anima and Animus / Jung, Wheelwright, Neumann, etc. - M.: Moscow Association of Analytical Psychology, 2008. - 228 p.
4. Williams D. Crossing the border. Psychological image of the path of knowledge by K. Castaneda. – Voronezh: Modek, 1994. – 191 p.
5. Neumann E. Origin and development of consciousness [A.II. Great Mother]. – Kyiv: Wakler, 1998. – 464 p.
6. Hillman J. The Myth of Analysis: Three Essays on Archetypal Psychology. Per. from English M.: Kogito-center, 2005. – 352 p.
7. Shapiro L.L. Kassandra complex. A modern view of hysteria. – M.: Independent company “Class”, 2006. – 176 p.
8. Beowulf. Elder Edda. Song of the Nibelungs / Library of World Literature. (Vol. 9) / trans. from Old Icelandic A. Korsun. - M.: Fiction, 1975. – 751 p.

In fiction (especially science fiction), as well as in films, there are often plots related to Cassandra syndrome. Some films rely entirely on this. For example, "12 Monkeys" by Terry Gilliam. I recently watched the film “Premonition” (USA, 2007) and the first few episodes of the British series “Paradox” in the same vein. Cassandra syndrome is that a person, trying to avoid the fulfillment of a prophecy, acts in such a way that it is thanks to this that the prophecy (prediction) comes true. Foresight plays the role of a certain program that a person accepts, otherwise the prophecy will not come true. There are two possible interpretations of this phenomenon. The first is “fatalistic” or “semi-fatalistic”. It is difficult or very difficult to avoid what is predicted, no matter what a person does. The same applies to a group of people or even an entire species. According to this version, a prediction is a “seen” future in some way (alternatively, a message from the future). Fatalism is the absence of hope of overcoming the prediction. Events are directed by fate or there is only one possible option that cannot be avoided. In Sheckley's story "The Three Deaths of Ben Baxter", on the contrary, events with the same characters develop according to three different scenarios (in three parallel and almost identical worlds). Moreover, the main character in the third acts fundamentally differently than in the first two, but the result is the same. The question “can the future be changed” seems mysterious and exciting. But once again appearances are deceiving.

It is undeniable that ideas about the future influence actions, and through this influence the development of events. Everyone admits that options are possible (at least in small details). However, I would not call this freedom of choice or uncertainty of the future. There is no future! The future is what lies ahead of us. Our actions shape the future. What is the fundamental difference between the two approaches? In one, the future ALREADY exists and can be seen (or guessed), hence the attempts to change the future. But if there is no future, then it cannot be changed or contributed to. Everything directly depends on the processes taking place and their relationship. The past is changing. It changes at that moment, which we call “the present.” Whether you believe in a certain prediction or not, the course of events will be influenced (if possible) by your actions, not your intentions. Even if something predicted happens - or, more precisely, similar to what was predicted - this will not mean the fulfillment of the prediction. Events happen because there are reasons for them, and not because someone predicted something. “Cassandra Syndrome” works in some cases because it affects consciousness. But in reality it is not so bright, and does not lead to the fulfillment of the prediction. If what is predicted cannot come true, it cannot be avoided. You can influence what happens so that it is more like what was predicted. Let me clarify that I am talking specifically about predictions, and not any forecasts. Belief in predictions in any case affects a person’s behavior negatively, often depriving him of will and hope, or, on the contrary, deceiving him with false promises.
What happens happens neither “thanks to” nor “in spite of”. If we want to prevent a certain undesirable event, then there is a possibility that this event will not occur. Let's take 12 Monkeys. Let's change the plot so that there is no travel to the future and back, there is no knowledge of the catastrophe due to the spread of a destructive virus. It’s just that the hero would like to prevent such an event and knew that such an event could happen. Even if he couldn't prevent it, he would have acted differently. The persuasiveness of such films and book plots is that everything that happens is adjusted to the desired scheme. Real events happen differently; they cannot be “edited”. The only feeling that arises for me after watching or reading such works is how good it is that this doesn’t actually happen. Fatalism is a terrible thing, no matter what form it takes. That's why I never laugh at movies with a Cassandra plot, no matter how ridiculous they are.

I Think Too Much [How to Use Your Over-Efficient Mind] Peticollen Christelle

Cassandra syndrome

Cassandra syndrome

Cassandra is a beautiful Trojan princess. The god Apollo himself fell in love with her, and she promised to marry him in exchange for the ability to predict the future. But, having received this gift, Cassandra changed her mind and refused Apollo. In retaliation, he deprived her of the gift of persuasion. And, despite the accuracy of her predictions, no one believed her. Her prophecies that Paris's journey to Sparta would bring misfortune, that the Trojan horse was a trap and that the city would be completely destroyed were not heeded.

Cassandra syndrome is the ability to know in advance about future troubles and the inability to prevent it.

Let's consider three points of view on this unusual phenomenon.

The first is that people who know everything in advance suffer endlessly and live in isolation from society. They would like to be useful, to prevent the inevitable, but they are abruptly cut off as an annoying harbinger of trouble. When a prediction comes true, it’s awkward for our clairvoyants to remind them that they warned us! If they dared to say: “I told you so!” – others would react negatively.

The second point that is important to talk about concerns a person’s inability to give up his predictions. “When a nail comes out, a hammer will hammer it back,” says a Japanese proverb. It is better to be wrong with the crowd than to be right in opposition to it. As popular wisdom says, “to live with wolves is to howl like a wolf.” And, despite this, many stubbornly continue to tell the truth and even preach, risking becoming a universal laughing stock. By the way, laughter can be a good way to make yourself listen. It seems that Jean-Claude Van Damme understood this well. He entertains everyone with his aphorisms and sayings, as they are published, they are distributed all over the world! This can gain the power of persuasion. At some point, people will think: “Well, there is some truth in all this!”

Well, Apollo chose the perfect punishment for the obstinate Cassandra: the gift of prediction that she possessed turned out to be useless without the gift of persuasion. You need to have incredible charisma to make the crowd believe your words. But opposing points of view may also appear! If a single opinion prevails in the team, any objection is suppressed. When everyone thinks that things are going worse than ever, you will never prove the opposite, even if you have specific facts. In the same way, with general euphoria, calls for prudence will not be heard. But here we have already quietly moved on to the Titanic syndrome.

If you have Cassandra syndrome, remember that everyone learns from their own experience, from their own mistakes. Try to keep your predictions to yourself: let everyone develop at their own pace. As a last resort, if you are sure that a mistake will lead to unpleasant consequences, give two or three careful warnings, but if you are sure that they do not want to listen to you, shut up immediately. Well, and in the most sincere tone, like Inspector Columbo, ask the person a pertinent question that he has not thought about, for example: “Should I put the washing machine on the balcony to free up space? Great idea! Where do you think the water will go?”

“Me and God” syndrome Don’t accuse Roy of irresponsibility, madness or lack of faith. Let's delve into this problem, because it is faced by many Christians who ask much the same questions. In some ways, this belief is easier to cope with than the false one

Tourette's syndrome Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a very curious disorder, a kind of link between the basal ganglia and two seemingly unrelated disorders - attention deficit disorder (ADD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder