Sherene Vismaya
Sherene Vismaya, M.A. is a Jungian astrologer and psychoanalyst in private practice for the past twenty years consulting, writing and teaching. She specializes in depression, shadow work, anxiety, creative blocks, eating disorders, and relationships. Sherene has pioneered her own unique approach to Jungian and somatic healing modalities combined with her background in metaphysics inspired by her yearly pilgrimages to India.
She is the author of several books including collaborations on: Speculation Now; Transpersonal Astrology: Explorations at the Frontier, & Surviving Saturn's Return (McGrawHill), Dog Stars, and Fate of your Date.
She holds a Master's Degree from New York University in Clinical Psychology, a Masters in Developmental Psychology from Pace University and post-graduate work in psychoanalytic studies from The New School and ISAP, Zurich. She has been the resident astrologer for Elle Magazine for the past decade. Sherene teaches classes and workshops internationally.
Greed, grandiosity, inflation and isolation are just some of the features of narcissism. Others are: “an absence of empathy,… a need for being admired by others throughout adulthood. … a sense of superiority, viewing themselves as better than others; look[ing] at others with a sense of disdain and perceiv[ing] others as inferior [to] themselves; … see[ing] themselves as unique and overly important and often exaggerate[ing] their achievements,… [being] unmoved by others’ suffering…. hav[ing] difficulty seeing how their actions can harm others or how someone might feel in a particular situation.
From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5 lists 9 characteristics an individual might have, with a minimum of five being required to assign that diagnosis.
These 9 are:
grandiosity: being affected or pompous; pretentious; inflated
fantasies of unlimited power and success: these often result in the narcissist attaining a position of leadership, e.g. Napoleon,with eventual destructive consequences, since all life on the physical plane has limits
seeing oneself as ‘special’ and associating only with others of high status, e.g. filling a cabinet with CEOs of major corporations and military generals
needing admiration, as in rallies and public appearances before thousands of fans
having a sense of entitlement, e.g. operating under the assumption that one is deserving of only the best, the choicest, the rarest, regardless of others’ needs or preferences
being interpersonally exploitative, e.g. using people to get what he/she wants, with little thought to reciprocity or the others’ needs
lacking in empathy, i.e. the inability to feel concern, compassion or caring for others and what might be going on in their lives; the narcissist often feels free to “fire” people with impunity
envying others, i.e. “feeling discontent or ill will at another’s good fortune…; dislike for a person who has what one wants”
appearing arrogant, i.e. inflated, puffed up, full of oneself
*From the Jungiancenter.org
The P40 Podcast is devoted to furthering the conversation on Jungian psychology, astrology, art and alchemy.
New and Full Moon forecasts plus other significant astrological updates and Jungian Psychology themed discussions.
