Phoenix Rising: An Archetypal Investigation of Gifted Thinkers

1. or [ How to Set Yourself on Fire in the Proper Fashion] Phoenix Rising: An Archetypal Investigation of Gifted Thinkers

2. What is an Archetype? • “Archetypes are recurring images, descriptive detail patterns, landscapes, and plot or character patterns that appear frequently in literature, folk lore, religion, and myth. They are universal patterns and shapes that ignore cultural, geographical, and temporal boundaries” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York). • Unlike a symbol, that represents something other than itself within a particular text or situation, an archetype is NOT text/context dependant. An archetype will always encapsulate the same core meaning each time it appears.

3. What is an Archetype? • “Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, believed in two aspects of the unconscious. The Personal Unconscious contains suppressed events, values, and fears of one’s own life. The Collective Unconscious holds the inherited or taught ideas that persist as memories in the unconscious mind of every individual” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York).

4. What is An Archetype? • “These ‘racial memories’ of the Collective Unconscious are expressed in literary, historical, political, mythological, and religious decisions and events throughout time” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York). • Though the pattern is sometimes subtly altered, the major meaning of the archetype still thrusts its head forward in each new occasion. -Snakes, M.C. Escher

5. What is an Archetype? • “Sometimes myths and tales from universal literature comprise well defined themes which reappear everywhere and every time. We find the same themes in fantasies, dreams, delirious ideas, and the illusions of individuals that live in our present days. These thematic images are representations of archetypes, they have archetypes as roots. They impress, influence and fascinate us” (C. G. Jung Institute of New York).

6. The Phoenix Archetype…[Overview] • The Phoenix is a mythological, sacred firebird with roots in Phoenician, Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, Ancient Grecian, and Medieval European myth. The Phoenix is also featured in Judeo, Christian, and Hindu texts. • Though the minute details/descriptions vary in each mythic account, these different tales of the phoenix all involve some form of death and renewal (usually through holy fire).

7. The Phoenix Archetype…[Phoenician] • “The Phoenix, the firebird that comes from Paradise, lives five hundred years feeding on aromatic herbs and filling the air with its heavenly voice, before it perishes and burns in fire. It would then rise from the ashes to live another five hundred years. For thousands of years, the land that carried the mountains of Lebanon and hugged the Mediterranean Sea was restless…However, like the Phoenix, the survivors always rose from the ruins and rebuilt their homeland in a manner even more magnificent” ("Phoenicians: The Ancient People of Lebanon”).

8. The Phoenix Archetype…[Egyptian] • “In Egyptian mythology, the bird benu (or purple heron) played an important role. During the flood of the Nile, this beautiful, bluish bird rests on high places and resembles the sun floating over the waters. Therefore this bird, sometimes called ‘the ascending one’, was associated with the sun god Ra, whose ba (soul) it was thought to be. According to the Heliopolitan myth, the benu had created itself from a fire that was burned on the holy jšd-tree in one of the sacred precincts of the temple of Ra. In another myth, the famous bird was associated with the god Osiris, who had once renewed itself. The benu had sprung from the god's heart” ("Phoenix" Livius.org). Purple Heron from the Book of the Dead of Neferrenpet

9. The Phoenix Archetype…[Indian] • “The phoenix is a bird that is found in India. After it has lived for 500 years, it goes to the cedar forests of Lebanon and bathes in the fragrance from the trees, then signals the priest in the city of Heliopolis (the city of the sun), who prepares an altar. The phoenix flies to the city, alights on the altar, and ignites a fire that completely consumes it, leaving only ash. The next day the priest finds a worm in the ashes, on the second day a small bird, and on the third day the full-grown phoenix, completely renewed. The phoenix greets the priest and returns to its home in India” ("Properties of the Phoenix“). Van der Borcht, copper-plate engraving

10. The Phoenix Archetype…[Chinese] • Within the Chinese culture, the phoenix is called “Fung or Feng-Huang…In this version, the bird is sent to earth to perform extraordinary works and to help the development of man. It appears in different stages of the world's progress, and then returns to heaven” ("Phoenix" Dave's Mythical Creatures & Places). • “The Chinese dragon is traditionally the embodiment of the concept of yang (male), while [the] phoenix was paired (yin, female) with [the] dragon… [The] Chinese phoenix is also an immortal bird…[that] never truly [grows] old or dies…[its] rebirth out of ash symbolizes the constant striving spirit” ("Chinese Dragon and Phoenix").

11. The Phoenix Archetype…[Ancient Grecian] • “There is also another sacred bird called the phoenix…he comes to the Egyptians very rarely, at intervals, as the people of Heliopolis say, of five hundred years. They say that he comes regularly when his father dies…Some of his feathers are of gold color and others red…in outline and size he is as nearly as possible like an eagle.” - Hecataeus of Miletus, Ancient Grecian geographer • “A raven's life makes three stags old,while the phoenix outlives nine ravens” -Hesiod, Ancient Grecian poet ("Phoenix" Livius.org ) “Later sources tell us that the phoenix burned itself, and was born again from the flames. This is the Greek myth that became most popular in our own time; we can still say that something rises ‘like a phoenix from the flames.’"

12. The Phoenix Archetype…[Medieval European] • “It lives for upwards of five hundred years, and when it observes that it has grown old, it erects a funeral pyre for itself from small branches of aromatic plants, and having turned to face the rays of the sun, beating its wings, it deliberately fans the flames for itself and is consumed in the fire” ("The Aberdeen Bestiary: Folio 55r Translation and Transcription").

13. The Phoenix Archetype…[Judeo/Christian] • “In Judaism, the phoenix is known as Milcham or Hol: ‘I shall multiply my days as the Hol, the phoenix’ (Job 29:18). The story of the phoenix begins in the Garden of Eden when Eve fell, tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. Upset by her situation and jealous of creatures still innocent, she tempted all the other creatures of the garden to do the same. Only the phoenix resisted. As a reward, the phoenix was given eternal life, living in peace for a thousand years and then being reborn from an egg to continue to live in peace again, repeating the cycle eternally. The phoenix became a symbol of Christianity in early literature…The ideology of the phoenix fit perfectly with the story of Christ. The phoenix's resurrection from death as new and pure can be viewed as a metaphor for Christ's resurrection, central to Christian belief” ("Phoenix (mythology)“).

14. The Phoenix Archetype[Hindu] • “In Hindu mythology, Garuda is a lesser Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. When Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age” (Sanyal). Garuda, Vishnu’s winged mount

15. The Phoenix Archetype…[Modern Reverberations] 2001 New York City parade six weeks after 9/11 commemorating the city’s undying spirit Uncanny X-Men #101, Marvel Comics Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) The Phoenix has permeated our modern global culture. Allusions to this mythical creature are extremely varied. Figures from comic books, literature, television shows, and films, references in song lyrics and everyday casual conversations, and the names of cities, monuments, and newspapers all pay homage to the Phoenix worldwide. The Phoenix has become a ubiquitous concept constantly employed in disparate ways to express the idea of survival and the notion of rebirth through death.

16. The Phoenix Archetype…[Conclusions] • According to Carl Jung’s theory concerning the Collective Unconscious, so many diverse cultures have created and/or adopted and adapted the phoenix myth due to a deep-seated need to tell and retell this story. As human beings, Jung might argue, we are hard-wired to revere and replicate tales featuring this feathered harbinger of death and renewal; it speaks to something deep within our subconscious selves.

17. Gifted and Thriving… • According to a recent lecture conducted by Dr. Micheal Sayler, Associate Dean for the College of Education at the University of North Texas, gifted and talented students only truly thrive when they are deeply challenged. Additionally, G/T beings fully blossom when frequently interacting with other gifted individuals. These environmental and interpersonal catalysts help the gifted apply their talents toward concrete endeavors with great success (Sayler). Dr. Micheal Sayler

18. Gifted and Thriving… • In a recent Dallas Morning News interview, Sayler “said there is a myth that gifted students can take care of themselves and that they will thrive no matter what. But there is a difference between ‘gifted and talented’ and ‘gifted and thriving.’ It's like a child who has slightly bad eyesight and then gets glasses, Sayler said: ‘They may have done OK, but they missed a lot’” (Holloway).

19. Archetypal Connection – G/T and the Phoenix It is all about the nest! In several mythic accounts of the Phoenix, this holy bird of fire only alights itself after safely building its pyre of fragrant wood. Like the Phoenix, G/T thinkers continually rise and fall through the seasons of life in echoed patterns of deconstruction and renewal. But in order to do this safely and successfully, G/T individuals need a firm understanding of their own particular needs, early experiences with truly challenging feats, and to have experienced firm connections with other gifted personas.

20. Archetypal Connection –G/T and the Phoenix “The ancients conceived of the Phoenix as a reminder to us that we have the power to re-create ourselves when it becomes clear that the 'old' is not working anymore... Phoenix energy gives us the opportunity to put an end to the old way of doing things, and the old ways of regarding ourselves, and enter into a new place where we can create ourselves a fresh and dynamic person” (Dispenza). Through the Phoenix Gifted and Talented Program, G/T students will be better prepared for this form of reoccurring transformation. With skilled instruction by highly trained educators, through interactions with other gifted and talented thinkers, and by successfully completing truly novel and challenging educational tasks, Phoenix students will be well on the path toward being ‘gifted and thriving’. [So feel free to set yourself on fire…]

21. Major Resources • "The Aberdeen Bestiary: Folio 55r Translation and Transcription.“ The Aberdeen Bestiary. University of Aberdeen. 13 Aug 2009. <http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/translat/55r.hti>. • C. G. Jung Institute of New York. The Carl Jung Institute. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.junginstitute.org>. • "Chinese Dragon and Phoenix." Easy Tour: China. Easy Tour. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.easytourchina.com/china-specials/chinese-dragon-and- phoenix.htm>. • "Death and Rebirth: The Phoenix." LifePath. LifePath Retreats, LLC. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.lifepathretreats.com>.

22. Major Resources • Dispenza, Joseph. "Death and Rebirth: The Phoenix." LifePath. LifePath Retreats, LLC. 25 Aug 2009 <http://www.lifepathretreats.com/news_articles_phoenix.asp>. • Holloway, Karel. "Advocates for Gifted Students Want Teachers to Have More Specialized Training." Dallas Morning News 08 Aug 2009 Web.14 Aug 2009. <http://www2.quickdfw.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/080909dn metgiftedstudents.3bb5999.html>. • "Phoenix." Dave's Mythical Creatures & Places. 04 July 2004. eAudrey. 13 Aug 2009. <http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/phoenix.htm>. • "Phoenix." Livius.org. 21 May 2009. Jona Lendering. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.livius.org/phi-php/phoenix/phoenix.html>.

23. Major Resources • "Phoenix (mythology)." New World Encyclopedia. 25 June 2009. New World Encyclopedia. 14 Aug 2009. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/ entry/Phoenix_(mythology)#Egyptian>. • "Phoenicians: The Ancient People of Lebanon." LGIC. LGIC.org. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.lgic.org/en/phoenicians.php#p2>. • "Properties of the Phoenix." Sancti Epiphanii Ad Physiologum. 01 Sep 2004. University of Victoria. 13 Aug 2009 <http://www.library.uvic.ca/site/spcoll/physiologum/animal/phoenix.htm>. • Sanyal, Sumata. "Garuda." Encyclopedia Mythica. 29 Mar 2005. Encyclopedia Mythica. 14 Aug 2009 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/garuda.html>.

24. Major Resources • Sayler, Micheal. "Gifted and Thriving." Gifted/Talented Lecture, Lovejoy ISD. Lovejoy High School, Allen. Apr 2009. Performance.