Cultural Mythology: American Notions of Self and Country

What do you desire?

2010-03-12T09:41:07-08:00

"If we go down into ourselves, we find that we possess exactly what we desire." - Simone Weil

Joyful participation

2010-03-09T10:03:42-08:00

I'm off this morning to Santa Barbara, to spend another few days doing research in the Joseph Campbell materials held by Opus Archives . I'm looking for insight into Campbell's notion of bliss, and the relationship between the hero's journey and the difficult trials associated with such a journey, bliss, and other objects of a quest (love or beauty, for example). Campbell believed that myths and stories are useful tools for understanding life and he believed that people today live, for probably the first time in human history, in societies that don't have a governing mythology. I disagree with Campbell on this last point.I think our mythology merely appears in different disguises; it's not always associated with "religion" in the traditional sense but is cloaked as self-help or economics or science.

Wherever you find it, the search for mythology and myth making is important for each of us as individuals, to find and create meaning and purpose for life, and to liberate ourselves from invisible ideas and dogmatic beliefs that govern our lives and determine reality to a large extent. We need a better story, a new mythos, a "healing fiction" as James Hillman says, to find a more beautiful, just, and sustainable way of life. I think the useful myths of today will point us toward paradoxes and help us struggle with the tensions that ring through modern life. Campbell said, "Follow your bliss." He also said, "Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world." These words inspire and puzzle an often despairing idealist like myself. So off I go and I'll share my discoveries with you in the coming months.

Selene, moon goddess

2010-03-05T17:39:53-08:00

The Greek moon goddess Selene (known by the Romans as Luna, as in lunatic and lunacy, the madness brought on by the full moon) was very beautiful, long, white, and smooth. She fell in love with a gorgeous young shepherd named Endymion and seduced him. Selene asked Zeus to grant her lover one wish and Endymion wished to sleep forever so that he would not age. His wish was granted and Selene visited him every night. It seems that this arrangement worked out quite well---the pair had fifty daughters. No wonder the moon is associated with fertility.

A simple story that's given rise to some wonderful paintings, like this one by Victor Florence Pollet, 'Endymion and Selene', 1850-60.

Lunar Mythology Rorschach

2010-03-03T16:27:00-08:00

Well the moon is getting pretty populated now, not just a face up there in the shadows and dry seas. Plutarch would have found this interesting. The Roman historian wrote an entire essay on the "Man in the Moon" and the possible topographical features (mountains, oceans) that might create that impression for those of us on earth. He quotes these words from the poet Agesinax:

"All roundabout environed

With fire she is illumined:

And in the middes there doth appeere,

Like to some boy, a visage cleere;

Whose eies to us doe seem in view,

Of colour grayish more than blew:

The browes and forehead tender seeme,

The cheeks all reddish one would deeme."

Here are a couple of guides to finding the old man with the sticks, the rabbits, the face, and the woman Chang'e. The moon with the green figure is the elixir-making rabbit. These images, more stories, and other details can be found at Wikipedia, "The Man in the Moon."

If you discover something else, let me know. The moon is after all, a mirror.

Woman in the Moon part 2

2010-03-02T08:45:00-08:00

Have you seen the woman in the moon? You may still be able to make her out although the moon was full on Sunday. Or try next month. Here is the final installment of the Chinese story of Chang'e (and our first experiment with a video version of the storytelling). See the "Woman in the Moon" post if you missed the first part, and subscribers, let me know if you like the video format.