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Understanding Mythological Systems

Understanding Mythological Systems. Mythic Questions. Where do I come from? Why am I here? Why do I do the things that I do? Is there anything more? Where am I going?. Mythic systems rarely call themselves “ mythic .”. Christian Native American Scientific Realistic The TRUTH!.

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Understanding Mythological Systems

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  1. Understanding Mythological Systems

  2. Mythic Questions • Where do I come from? • Why am I here? • Why do I do the things that I do? • Is there anything more? • Where am I going?

  3. Mythic systems rarely call themselves “mythic.” Christian Native American Scientific Realistic The TRUTH! Usually they go by such terms as. . .

  4. The important Question to ask oneself is. . . “Which mythic system answers the important questions the best?”

  5. Archetypes The Subconscious Whispers of the Divine

  6. C.S. Lewis wrote. . . “There is, then, a particular kind of story which has a value in itself--a value independent of its embodiment in any literary work.” An Experiment in Criticism

  7. "Myths are the Dreams of the RaceDreams are the Myths of the Individual"---------------------Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Sigmund Freud

  8. Freudian Thought

  9. C.G. Jung (1875-1961)

  10. Jungian Thought

  11. Types of Archetypes • The Journey Archetype • The Archetype of Rebirth • The Female Archetype • Positive--Mother (Nurturing) • Negative--Seductress (Devouring) • The Trickster Archetype • The Archetype of the Shadow • The Archetype of the Hero

  12. While not official Jungian thought, but it makes sense to also include at least one other: Defined by the use of physical power Male Archetype: • Positive Father--Protecting • Negative the Conqueror--Oppressing Males Striving for Balance

  13. HOW TO RECOGNIZE ARCHETYPAL IMAGES: • they carry a high emotional charge (positive, negative, or both simultaneously); they have a powerful, compelling effect • for an individual, they frequently recur in situations when the rational, conscious mind is not in full control (e.g., recurring dreams and fantasies, obsessive behavior patterns which have no fully rational explanation) • this recurrence occurs also in many different eras and cultures (e.g., commonly used symbols in literature, art and life; recurring types of dreams; mythic patterns, etc.)

  14. The Nature of Archetypes • It is impossible to fully express an archetype. • Human thought can at best only express a portion of meaning. • Archetypes are the foundation elements of most myths. • They could be the whispered thoughts of God.

  15. The Journey ArchetypeAlso the Archetype of Rebirth • The Traveler can go either physically or in spirit • An individual must travel to the edge of human comfort.

  16. At the edge the seeker will encounter the fantastic (the divine or the infernal). • The seeker returns with a treasure • The traveler returns to his or her people altered, bringing something for them.

  17. The Traveler can go either physically or in spirit • Traveling physically • By land: foot, donkey, camel, etc. • By sea: swim, boat • By air: bird • Traveling spiritually • By dream • By vision • By death

  18. To make such a Journey the individual must travel to the edge of human comfort: • To the top of a mountain • Deep within a cave • Out into the ocean • Far into the wilderness • Into the woods • Down into the Abyss • Ravished up to Heaven

  19. Beyond Physical Location, travelers sometimes encounter the fantastic during certain times, typified as border-times: • Early Morning • Midnight • Dusk

  20. At the edge, the seeker will encounter the fantastic (the divine or the infernal) • A Dragon--or some other terrible monster • Fairie • Alien beings • Hell (the infernal) • Heaven (blessed vision--God)

  21. The seeker returns with a treasure • A Gold Cup and other physical treasure • A new understanding of self (internal) • A word from God (external)

  22. The traveler returns to his or her people altered, bringing something for them. • Wealth to help the people prosper • Knowledge to improve the quality of life (even if it is only in the individual him or herself) • A Word, direction from The Almighty • Life

  23. How altered? • Physically changed • Moses’ glowing face • Saul’s blindness • Christ’s power • Mentally changed • Jonah view’s about Ninivah • Jacob’s views about Essau • Peter’s views about gentiles

  24. The Female Archetype:The Great Mystery:She’s the bringer of life, but no one knows how. “I am not a fairy tale.” Mercury Thunder of the Grass Dancer

  25. An Archetype with 2 sides: • Positive--Mother • Nurturing • Life giving • Self Sacrificing • symbolized by bowls or horns of plenty • Negative--Seductress • Devouring • Consuming • symbolized by the vortex

  26. Other important female symbols: • Connected with the moon • Going in cycles • Manifesting herself in three forms: full, half and new • Perceived as manifesting herself as three • the maid • the matron • the crone

  27. Some Other Important 3’s • The Three Fates • The Three Rhinemaidens • The Three Graces • The Three Stygian Witches

  28. The Trickster Archetype “Boo!” The Joker from Batman

  29. The Trickster can never be pinned down: So even the following is limited! • Shape shifter--not what he appears • Lives by wits--Clever • Strategy, guile, cheats • Funny • Usually can manifest itself foreithergood or evil--but this depends on the moral universe in which he functions.

  30. More Trickster Qualities • Displays self-interest. • This often takes precedence over community allegiance, thus maximizing his “short-term (economic)” gain at the expense of long term social cohesion. • Chooses a dupe who is “hard-working and honest.” • Is a being who formants disorder and discord. • He/She will “steal, cheat, coerce, mock, deceive, and serve as instrument of torture and death. • Moves swiftly and impulsively back and forth across all borders with virtual impunity.

  31. Some examples of the tricksterin Mythic systems. • Hermesfrom Greek Belief • Prometheusfrom Greek Belief • Loki from Norse Belief • Coyotein Native American Belief • Spider in African Belief • Satanfrom Judeo-Christian Belief • Christfrom Christian Belief

  32. Some literary examples of the Trickster • Satanin Paradise Lost • Gandalffrom The Hobbit • Odysseusfrom The Odyssey • Ghost Horse from The Grass Dancer • Dionysusin The Bacchae

  33. The Shadow “What is Light without Dark?” Darkness from the film Legend

  34. We tend to see it in "others." That is to say, we project our dark side onto others and thus interpret them as "enemies" or as "exotic" presences that fascinate. • The Shadow is the personification of that part of human, psychic possibility that we deny in ourselves and project onto others. • The goal of personality integration is to integrate the rejected, inferior side of our life into our total experience and to take responsibility for it. http://www.acs.appstate.edu/~davisct/nt/jung.html#shadow

  35. We see the Shadow (the other) everywhere in popular culture We see it in popular prejudice as well. • The Shadow • Batman. • Dracula • Raven • Ninga Turtles. • Some Whites people think the Black Man is the enemy; • Americans think that Communists or followers of Islam are devils. • Of course, Satan is the great Shadow image of popular religion (Consider: the word only occurs 54 times in the entire Bible.)

  36. The More it is Denied the More Terrible the Shadow Is: . . .there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected. Taken From: http://psikoloji.fisek.com.tr/jung/shadow.htm

  37. The Hero “Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do” Marshal Will Kane from High Noon

  38. Who is the Hero? • Slays the dragon or monster—often with a special weapon. • Hercules's club, • Arthur’s Excalibur • Suffers punishment for others. • Rescues the vanquished and the downtrodden. • Is often not a part of the society he helps. • Does not appear to come from anywhere important. (“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Who is this Guy?!” • Does not remain after the task is finished. (Rides into the sunset “The Shire is saved, but no for me”)

  39. Can a Woman Be a Hero? • Not common in our western history, but with changing gender roles of the last two centuries this has become far more acceptable. • Joan of Ark • Wonder Woman • Mulan • Riply (from Aliens)

  40. Visual Archetypes:

  41. Jung’s Mandalas Pictures on the Archetypal Wall

  42. What is a Mandala? • Mandala is Sanskrit for whole world or healing circle. It is a representation of the universe and everything in it. Khyil-khor is the Tibetan word for mandala and means "center of the Universe in which a fully awakened being abides." Circles suggest wholeness, unity, the womb, completion and eternity (Goodwin).

  43. Jung’s Comments • “The `squaring of the circle’ is one of the many archetypal motifs which form the basic patterns of our dreams and fantasies. But it is distinguished by the fact that it is one of the most important of them from the functional point of view. Indeed, it could even be called the archetype of wholeness.” - from Mandalas. [C. G. Jung. trans. from Du (Zurich, 1955] (Qtd. in Benard Emphasis Mine)

  44. Jung discovered Manalas while studying Eastern Religions • “For Jung, mandalas are "vessels" into which we project our psyche. It is then returned to us as a way of restoration. He recognized that archetypes from many cultures were seen in this spontaneous expression of the unconscious. Circles are universally associated with meditation, healing and prayer” (Goodwin).

  45. More from Jung • “I had to abandon the idea of the superordinate position of the ego. ... I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point -- namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the centre, to individuation.” “... I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate. - C. G. Jung. Memories, Dreams, Reflections” (Qtd. in Benard Emphasis Mine).

  46. The End Is it Really? http://www.myss.com/ThreeArchs.asp

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