Wotan

Wotan Also called Woden and Odin » Achilles

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Folklore

Burning of Marzanna as a symbol of winter during the spring equinox is one of remains of pre-Christian beliefs in Polish culture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The term folklore was coined in 1846 by W. J. Thomas to replace the previous notion of popular antiquities. Difficult to define, folklore is now understood as the knowledge, customs, beliefs, rituals and orally transmitted information of a given culture.

According to professor T. Henighan,¹ the Freudian child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim makes a distinction between folklore and fairy tales. Fairy tales are a type of folk tale in which:

• The names of heroes and heroines are absent or ordinary
• Supernatural but not divine beings are mentioned
• Positive outcomes are the norm
• Childhood and adolescence figure prominently
• The actual content (i.e. Oedipal material) is obscured through elaborate symbolism

Some suggest that the definition of folklore must also include the academic study of folkloric data, because by studying folkloric content from of a different set of cultural assumptions (those held by an academic), the original content is necessarily interpreted and altered.

Folklore is often associated with the marginalised or popular dimension of a given culture, in contrast to the written stories of orthodox religious organizations. Some scholars limit folklore to so-called primitive cultures, while others extend the concept to apply to modern social formations—e.g. the destructive folkloric beliefs and practices of the Nazis (i.e. Aryans as the ‘master race’).

The line dividing primitive folklore and contemporary belief is blurred and cannot always be easily discerned. The psychologist C. G. Jung discusses this in connection with the Nazis and their disturbing beliefs and practices. For Jung, this exemplified an entire race engulfed by the destructive power of an archetype, in this case, the Wotan archetype.

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¹ The Meanings of Myth (earthpages.org)

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Jung, Carl Gustav

Carl Gustav Jung via Wikipedia

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and man of letters whose cultural impact is second only, perhaps, to that of Sigmund Freud.

While Freud is cited in most scholarly textbooks and dictionaries about society and culture, Jung is only mentioned in some. That’s probably because Freud, with all his limitations, was the first to systematically conceptualize the so-called unconscious aspects of the psyche—at least, Freud was the first to do so on a grand scale.

Jung, on the other hand, was at one time Freud’s favored disciple. As such, his model of the unconscious, as useful as many may find it, builds on Freud’s work.

Another reason Freud might still be more popular than Jung is that Freud speaks to a level of awareness that most members of 21stC culture — or at least, visible culture — can appreciate. Freud still hits, as it were, because his theory reflects the status quo.

However, from the perspective of those who envision the spirit as something different from culture and nature, it appears that not a few people confuse the idea of grace with mere biochemical or sensory impulses. For example, if a long distance runner has only experienced endorphin rushes, or if a canoeist has only delighted at the aesthetics of nature, these people might not understand that grace is something entirely different from biochemically or naturally induced pleasures. So Freud makes sense to these people because, arguably, they haven’t experienced anything else that would demand a better and more complete explanation than Freud’s theory can afford.

From the spiritual person’s vantage point, on the other hand, Freud may have some valuable insights but he’s also terribly reductionist. Along these lines, Jungians will usually say that, as a visionary of sorts, Jung’s full impact is yet to be seen. Mankind just has to catch up with Jung’s forward looking insights. But until that time, Jung will always be number two to Freud. (The jury’s still out on this, of course).

In his early days, Jung distinguished himself with his work in developing a word-association technique, finalized in 1906, which apparently identified unconscious complexes.

In 1907, Jung visited Freud and quickly became part of Freud’s inner circle in the newly arising school of psychoanalysis. As Freud’s protégé, Jung began to formulate his own theories, especially in relation to the libido.

Fearing his professional differences with Freud would rupture their mentor-mentee relationship, Jung withheld his ideas until 1914, at which time he publicly split with Freud. After that, the two never spoke again.

From 1913-1919, Jung underwent what he envisioned as a creative illness. He minimized his activities and generally withdrew from society. During this period he explored the collective unconscious in a somewhat pioneering and (apparently) controlled flight into the psychological underworld.

Jung apparently maintained his mental balance with the help of family ties, dream representation, inventive play and by developing the psychotherapeutic technique of active imagination. After recovering from his creative illness and returning to daily life, Jung began to make significant and lasting contributions to psychiatry and, more generally, to the history of human thought.

In the 1930′s, some controversy arose mainly because Jung headed the International Psychiatric Association, an organization that was funded by the Nazis in Germany. In his memoirs, Jung recounts that he was compelled to make a difficult ethical choice, deciding it best, in the long run, to work at advancing the field of psychiatry within the existing totalitarian political conditions in which he found himself. Scholars and writers still debate the ethics of his choice, their secondhand opinions being formed in hindsight.

Regardless of one’s take on Jung’s level of involvement with the Nazi’s, his work on synchronicity and numinosity are nothing short of groundbreaking. And his innovative work on personality types directly influenced the Myers-Briggs model (and its many offshoots) which are still used today. Moreover, Jung later openly criticized Nazi Germany, likening its sinister powers to the activation of the Teutonic Wotan archetype.

According to Jungian legend, at the time of Jung’s death, his favorite tree at Kusnacht was struck by lightning. And around this time, Jung’s old friend Laurens van der Post dreamed that Jung appeared to him saying, “I’ll be seeing you.”

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Judaism

Own photo (well, made by someone else, obviously) via Wikipedia

Judaism [Latin Juda: a son of Jacob] The religion of the Jewish people, which like most other world religions, has many variations.

Its core belief is monotheism. For believers, God created the world and delivered the chosen people, the Israelites, out of captivity in Egypt. God then revealed the holy law of the Torah to the Isaelites and ordained them to be the light of the world.

The Hebrew Bible is the source of orthodox Judaism, called the Tanakh. The term Tanakh is an acronym based on the first letters of the three distinct parts of the ancient scrolls: Torah (Teaching), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).

The family is important to Jewish religious practice but the synagogue has become more prominent in modern times.

The Sabbath, the day of rest, runs from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Synagogues contain the hand-written scrolls of the Pentateuch, known as the ark of the covenant made between God and his people.

Orthodox Judaism arose in the 19th century, maintaining what it sees as the core or ‘true’ Jewish religion from antiquity.

Reform Judaism, also from the 19th century, incorporates influences from contemporary scriptural scholarship.

Liberal Judaism has an open, debate-style format, based on diverse scholarly opinions and interpretations of Jewish scripture.

Conservative Judaism differs from orthodox Judaism with its concern for the historical and archaeological elements of the Jewish faith.

The Jews have long been a persecuted and marginalized people but not without periods of great financial prosperity. In medieval times Christians paradoxically borrowed money from Jews yet drove them out of towns for not practicing the Christian faith. Along these lines, Shakespeare‘s depiction of the character Shylock in The Merchant of Venice remains controversial. Shylock is both unmerciful but, at the same time, laments that Jews are just like anyone else. From this, Shakespeare has alternately been charged with racism but also lauded as humanizing Jews.

The powerful ancient Romans occupied Judea at the time of Christ, and more recently, the German Nazis persecuted the Jewish people on a scale and with a cold ruthlessness that boggles, nay scandalizes, the imagination.

On this last issue C. G. Jung believed that the dark side of the Wotan archetype had been activated in the German people who endorsed the horrific and utterly barbaric treatment of the Jews in WW-II.

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Achilles

Achilles Slays Hector

Originally uploaded by litmuse

Achilles The ancient Greek warrior and hero who, in Homer‘s Iliad, fought in the Trojan wars. 

The son of Peleus and Thetis, at birth Achilles’ mother held him by the heel and dipped him in the fiery river Styx to obtain magical protection from his enemies. 

Achilles’ heel remained dry, becoming his vulnerable spot. 

Often savage, Achilles killed Hector and mangled his body. Achilles also offered human sacrifices. 

The violent aspect of the Achilles legend brings to mind historical killers who find temporary satisfaction by expressing turbulent psychological forces. 

Achilles could also be seen as a brilliant, if undisciplined, military commander. 

Antonio Balestra’s (1666-1740) oil on canvass depicts Thetis dipping Achilles, head-first, into a cauldron of water, presumably drawn from the river Styx.

More recently Brad Pitt played a convincing Achilles in the film, Troy. 

Achilles was eventually killed by Paris‘ poisoned arrow to the heel. » Balder, Olympus, Shadow, Wotan, Zeno

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Odin

Odin The supreme Norse God who anticipates the German Wotan. As head of the Nordic pantheon called the Aesir, Odin has many faces. He is the giver of laws, the mystic author of poetry, a fierce war god and the protector of heroes. He is also a shaman, magician and shapeshifter. Like the Greek Zeus, Odin is an unfaithful husband. His wife Frigga tolerates his numerous affairs with goddesses and human women. Odin is popularized in the Tarot deck as the god who hangs himself from the World Tree (Ydgrassil) for nine days and nights to gain for humanity the esoteric wisdom of the runes-i.e. the secret of immortality. Ambient music artist Giles Reaves released a track called “Odin (The Unknowable)” on his 1986 album Wunjo. » Balder, Fenris, Freya, Hero, Thor

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