Balder

An illustration of the blind Höðr killing Baldr, from an Icelandic 18th century manuscript. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Also known as Baldur or Baldr in Norse mythology, Balder was a noble, gentle and yet powerful god. Much loved by all, he was son of Odin and Frigg.

Reminiscent of Achilles, Balder was invulnerable to harm, except by the mistletoe. He was mistakenly killed by the blind god Hodur, who’d been duped by the trickster Loki into piercing him with a dart crafted from mistletoe.

The ensuing weeping among the Aesir immortals over the death of Balder lead some to liken him to the Norse version of Christ.

The roots of the his name are somewhat unclear. Wikipedia has a good discussion here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr#Name.

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Cybele

Marble statuette of the Cybele from Nicaea in Bithynia (Istanbul Archaeology Museum), wearing the polos on her head (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cybele was a Mother Goddess with local manifestations in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. Some scholars believe that she originated in Anatolia around 6000 BCE. She appears in literature and sculpture from about the 5th century BCE onward. She presides over the gods, humans and beasts.

The lion was her sacred symbol. In statues, reliefs and coins she’s often depicted seated on a throne with a lion on either side.

Sir William Smith in his Smaller Classical Dictionary says

The Corybantes were her enthusiastic priests, who with drums, cymbals, horns, and in full armour, performed their orgiastic dances. In Rome the Galli were her priests.¹

In Rome she was introduced as an official state religious figure and hence closely regulated and officiated by upper class priests.

Today, some people are drawn to her cult and, perhaps, numinous power – or what they believe is her numinous power. So her worship continues in the 21st century among New Age and neoPagan religious groups.²

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¹ Sir William Smith, Smaller Classical Dictionary [revised by E. H. Blakeny and JohnWarrington], New York: Dutton, 1958.

² See http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/cybele

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• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele
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Cupid

Cupid and Psyche (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cupid ((Latin Cupido, “desire”) comes under many guises. As the Roman god of Love, he’s the son of Venus.

The 2nd century Latin writer Apuleus portrays him in The Golden Ass as the lover of Psyche. But the timeless tale of Cupid and Pscyhe goes back at least to the 4th century BCE, where its depicted in Greek art.

Depth psychologists have much to say about the relationship between Cupid and Psyche. In Jungian archetypal psychology Psyche is taken as the cold, somewhat icy soul in need of a “shattering” or “melting” from the warm, sensitive Cupid. Cupid, on the other hand, risks utter destruction unless Psyche’s gaze is tempered with love.

In the language of symbols, the successful union of Cupid and Psyche represents a fruitful togetherness, not unlike the Yin and the Yang, love and knowledge or affection and wisdom.

In art Cupid is usually depicted naked. He’s often winged with bow and arrow, wearing a boyish or cherub-like countenance.

In folklore, Cupid, like the Indian kama, afflicts human beings with a proverbial “dart to the heart.” His marks invariably fall in love or become filled with desire for another person. His chief mythic parallel is the Greek god Eros.

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Culture Hero

A modern day trickster via Tumblr

A culture hero is a prominent figure within a given society, often taking the form of a mythical person or animal with roots in ancient or proto-history.

In some instances the culture hero is a trickster, using wiles and well-intentioned disguises to save the community from some grave peril.

The culture hero may also be a real person inspiring a stagnant or perhaps ethically corrupted society, such as a rock star, a film star, an inventor, a discoverer, an admired politician or monarch, and so on.

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Cerberus

Cerberus by MattGrommes via Flickr

In ancient Greek and Roman myth Cerberus is a giant three-headed dog and Lord of Death who guards the gates to and from the underworld. As such, he prevents those who’ve crossed the River Styx¹ from making a return journey.

Cerberus was captured and chained by Hercules and brought to a higher region as one of the latter’s Twelve Labors. And Orpheus managed to outwit Cerberus and escape the bonds of hell by soothing the wretched dog to sleep with the music of his lyre.

He is depicted on ancient Greek coins, cameos, vases, paintings and temple sculptures. And he figures prominently in classical Western literature. More recently, he appears as a character in video games.

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¹ Styx is the boundary between the world of the living and the underworld (where souls are said to go in the afterlife). Sometimes ancient mourners placed a coin in the mouth of the deceased to pay the ferryman (named as Charon in the 6th century)  who’d take the soul across the river. See The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1999, p. 312, and Garland, Robert. “Underworld and Afterlife.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Oxford University Press. (, n.d.). Retrieved 15 Nov. 2012, from http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001/acref-9780195170726-e-1300

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Castor and Pollux

Castor and Pollux by tiseb via Flickr

Also known as the Dioscuri, the Greek Kastor and Polydeuces figure in classical myth. The Roman Castor and Pollux are believed to have intervened in the battle of Regillus in 484 BCE , and recent temple excavations support this claim.¹

As the twin sons of Leda, they are often honored among the pagan gods at Sparta and Rome,² and represented on horseback. As Zeus‘ child, Pollux was immortal and an outstanding boxer.

Castor was the offspring of Tyndareus, mortal and an excellent horseman. At Castor’s death, Pollux beseeched Zeus to grant Castor immortality as he could not bear the thought of separation.

Zeus transformed them both into the constellation Gemini (the Twins). They appear as St. Elmo’s Fire to aid seafarers, and appeared in the New Testament as the image on a grain ship that carried Paul from Malta to Puteoli ³ (Acts 28:11).

And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.⁴

Perhaps because of the archetypal idea of the twins, Castor and Pollux appear through the arts and literature, as attested to here.

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¹ Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1999, p. 303.

² Maas, Georgia S.. “Castor and Pollux.” Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. . n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001/acref-9780195170726-e-217.

³ Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, 1987, p. 1024.

⁴ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028:11;&version=KJV;

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Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell, late 1970 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) was an influential American scholar and educator in world religions and mythology.

Campbell’s books and PBS videos (hosted by Bill Moyers) have enjoyed worldwide acclaim. With other innovators like Mircea Eliade, Otto Rank, and Carl Jung, Campbell championed the syncretic study of psychology, myth and spirituality.

Campbell was ahead of many of his peers by seeing the film Star Wars as a contemporary variant, par excellence, of the age-old hero myth.¹ Campbell’s interest in the hero archetype can be traced to the works of Rank and Jung.

Campbell learned several original languages, and had an impressive knowledge of textual data from a wide variety of interconnected fields.

Pedantic and dogmatic critics, however, still entirely dismiss his pioneering attempts. His critics that say his opinions are simplistic. But it’s possible that he’s dumbing things down for a general audience not familiar with the specifics of world myth and religion.

A more serious charge could be that, and contrary to Campbell’s dictum of “follow your bliss,” every once in a while he seems a bit autocratic, particularly in reference to his beliefs about orthodox Catholicism. This isn’t just a problem with Campbell. Many Gnostic,  Fundamentalist, Protestant, New Age, Humanistic, scientific and even environmental thinkers arguably lump “The Church” into one big personal projection of The Big Bad Wolf (as if the Catholic Church is supposed to be perfect here on Earth, which is entirely unreasonable).

Campbell, himself, was a fallen away Catholic, which may have had some bearing on his somewhat negative treatment of Catholicism. He does seem to highlight the Catholic Church’s past mistakes without fully appreciating its positive aspects—e.g. how the Eucharist enriches the lives of present-day believers.²

Another difficulty in Campbells’ analyses of world religions echoes difficulties found in Jung’s work. At times Campbell seems to say that the various paths in world mysticism evoke identical mystical experiences and lead to the same afterlife abode.

This may be a politically correct view and, for all we know, could be true. But ultimate claims about the afterlife cannot be made with any certainty (unless you believe you have a pipeline to God, as so many zealots do).

These shortcomings aside, Campbell’s contribution to the study of myth, religion and culture is noteworthy (some might say remarkable). His popular PBS lectures, taped just months before his unfortunate death due to cancer, reveal that, in his own dignified way he was just as heroic as a Heracles or Luke Skywalker.

It’s not surprising that his name has become almost archetypal among students of world myth and religion.

Related Posts » Mythic Dissociation, Mythic Eternalization, Mythic Identification, Mythic Inflation, Mythic Subordination

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¹ Star Wars creator George Lucas says Campbell’s work was influential for the mythic structure of the film. Lucas had the insight to realize that his sci-fi story would work better if it had an authentic mythic feel. By adapting Campbell’s ideas, Lucas hoped that the Star Wars epic would resonate with the masses, which, of course, it did.

² Creative thinkers like Campbell are rarely one-dimensional, however. He also says that one of his peak experiences came when entering Chartres Cathedral in France.

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Dreamtime

Dreamtime (Photo credit: Simondo Nebestanka)

Dreamtime refers to the Australian aboriginal belief that all animal and human life exists in a complex set of interrelations, ultimately connecting to primal ancestors existing in the Dreamtime, a place beyond or behind the apparent distinctions made in our daily lives.

Generally the idea of dreamtime forwards a threefold map of the

• Human World
• Physical World
• Sacred World

These three realms are said to be closely interconnected, with innumerable divisions and sub-divisions.

The idea of Dreamtime loosely corresponds to the notion of the Q-Continuum as found in the science fiction TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. And some try to explain various types of mental illness through an inadequate biological filtering and coordinating of these three realms in everyday life.¹

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¹ See for instance, The Metaphysical Origin of Attention Deficit Disorder by David Almeida. I should note that I haven’t posted this article at Earthpages.org because it seems a little too influenced by the author’s personal beliefs. Still, taken with that caveat, it does offer a perspective seldom found in contemporary psychiatry. Along these lines, the Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung once noted that the brain is like a radio receiver—i.e. limiting some ‘frequencies’ of reality while receiving others.

On the World Wide Web:

• http://aboriginalart.com.au/

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Dracula

English: Color silkscreen poster for Federal Theatre Project presentation of “Dracula” by Hamilton Deane (ca. 1880-1958) and John L. Balderston (1889-1954), adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name, at the Mason Opera House, Los Angeles, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dracula is Irishman Bram Stoker’s novel about a blood-sucking vampire, Jonathan Harker, who lives in a Transylvanian castle.

Written in 1897, Dracula was the most successful of a number of tales about vampirism. Its creepy violence and, especially in the 1958 film, masked sexuality have been said to represent the repressed subconscious currents of Victorian England.

The book has had a tremendous influence on popular culture (to include video games)¹ and arguably represents the shadow aspect of what C. G. Jung calls the collective unconscious.

Cliff Burns adds:

I had to re-read the novel some years back because I was adapting a student stage production. Terrible book–totally lacking dramatic surges. A blandly composed series of letters and diary entries. I thought Stoker’s JEWEL OF THE SEVEN STARS (think I’ve got that title right, it’s been a few years) was a far superior effort. To my mind, the best “Dracula” onscreen was the one played by Jack Palance, working from a Richard Matheson script. 1973? That sounds about right. Hard to find but worth the effort…²

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¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker%27s_Dracula_%28video_game%29

² http://earthpages.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/dracula/#comments

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Divination

Divination board, Yoruba peoples, possibly Owo region, Nigeria, Late 19th to early 20th century, Wood (Photo credit: cliff1066™)

Divination (from Latin divinare “to foresee, to be supernaturally inspired”) is trying to tell the future, locating lost objects or revealing hidden personality traits through magical or spiritual means, usually with the aid of a special technique. Divination appears in most societies throughout human history. The practice is so widespread that it’s found among the very first literature cultures. S. G. F. Brandon suggests that divination takes two main forms, which he calls automatic and interrogation of divine intent.¹

Some religions frown on the practice, or have come to frown on it by claiming to progressively “perfect,” “complete” or “fulfill” its imperfect religious roots (Christianity being a prime example). But for the most part, divination has been condoned or encouraged by zealous leaders and layperson alike, eager to know what life has in store for them, and how they should best decide on certain issues.

Delphi was home to the famous Dephic oracle. In Tibet, state temples were devoted to divination. In ancient China the I Ching was developed. In Africa oracles and female mediums were consulted. In the ancient Near East animal entrails were examined, their form and condition apparently foretelling future events.

The ancient Romans were mostly concerned with determining the gods’ attitudes towards certain acts. Auspicia were favorable omens (usually the flight of birds) that only senior Roman magistrates could interpret. Prodigia, on the other hand, were evil omens interpreted by the Roman elite, the effects of which could be avoided by civic piety and priestly skill. Augurs involved observing animals, in general, to receive a sign that would help in deciding action in public and private affairs. The Romans, however, were not bound to accept a given augur. They could reject it if they wished, and act on their own accord.²

Freeschool : Divination 101 (Photo credit: queercatkitten)

Divination is found in the Old Testament in several places. It’s generally condemned unless directly relating to God, as in Joseph’s interpreting dreams while held captive in Egypt (Genesis 40:1-23).

In the New Testament we have the indisputable example of the Three Wise Men following the star that lead them to bear gifts to Jesus Christ. Despite this, the Protestant Reformer John Calvin wrote the “Warning Against So-Called Judicial Astrology” in 1549. And Pope Sixtus V officially condemned all forms of divination in 1586.³

Several centuries prior, St. Francis of Assisi apparently opened the Bible at random every morning and read a verse, believing that God directed him to the passage that would set the right tone for his actions through the day.

In a similar vein, the Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung believed a spiritus rector lead him to open books at the right page, turn on the radio at the precisely right moment, and so on, in order for meaningful coincidences (synchronicities) to take place.

Related Posts » Apollo, Astrology, Chance, Confucianism, Synchronicity, Tarot, Voodoo

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¹ S. G. F. Brandon (ed.) Dictionary of Comparative Religion, 1971, pp. 115, 243.

² Ibid. The entry on divination gives many more examples, as does Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divination

³Duby and Perrot (eds.) A History of Women, Vol 3,  2000, p. 455.

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