Interpreting Myth

This post begins with Sheila Moon's A Magic Dwells: A poetic and psychological study of the Navaho emergence myth (1970). My purpose is to explore how myths can be approached, and to transfer that is appropriate to other kinds of writings.

The myth cycle describes the emergence of living things and eventually humans. There is no creator God, just the concept of emergence. The interplay between good and evil is central, with the first man being evil and powerful; to be balanced and replaced eventually by Changing Woman with benificent creative power. On causation the myth declares it was 'just because' - no apparent cause, just "the symbol for the ancient curtain of mystery hanging between us and all that we do not yet comprehend" (p.20). Choices are made, without clear reasons. A creator-god provides a feeling of rational choice. In the psyche, the creator-god is an explanation and celebration of life itself. "For the creator-god also is at bottom a symbol of man's will to live" (p.21). It is a mystery, but a mystery under control, deliberate, and beneficial.

Life of course is none of these things. Life can be snuffed out in seconds by disease, accident or disaster. No explanation, no apology. Life is generated by blind impulse to mate, but that is no guarantee of fertility. And the world into which mankind or beast are born is hostile, so we all struggle to survive viruses and predators. That is a hard place psychologically, especially for humans with long memories and deep anxieties.

Things and people, the Navaho observed, developed from somewhere and something. On that mysterious route, choices were made that made humans what we are and not snakes. The process of development balanced the power (authority, dictatorship) of men against the creativity of women. That which is beneficial comes from that creativity. Men have the choice to follow instinct to power or soften it with his creative feminine side (Jung's anima).

In 1989 I wrote a chapter on religious signs and symbols in Creating the Old Testament (ed. S. Bigger). This explored what signs and symbols in artefacts and language might mean psychologically, that we should not be taking them literally. Psychologically, God the father-figure provides a sense of direction and protection - balanced in religions such as Hinduism with parallel ideas of God the mother. Bible faiths were in denial of the feminine, which slipped back into national psyche in a host of embarrassing ways, such as through Astarte and her fertility cult. Also concepts such as faith are rooted in our good faith, our personal authenticity. Our belief in afterline is an affirmation that life has been worth living. Of course, such assumptions are not real, and are a bar to insight. We will only understand life here and now if we cease to view it as a punishment for the past or a preparation for bliss. It is here and now. Our quality of living it now is the whole point.

We express our ideas about the quality of our existence, our hopes, aspirations and anxieties differently, although some of the old myths still have power. Star Trek drew part of its charm from the myth that there will still be a world centuries to come, that it will be united, and that we will still be exploring the galaxy. The American mission of policing the world is extended absolutely everywhere. Where we came from is also included, with planets being modified for life, and superbeings seeding dna into a myriad of cosmic soups in beginning universes. This is deeply settling and comforting.

Meeting deep human need (psychology) is balanced by expressing profound insight (poetry) exploring the cases of 'just because', the mysteries, the wonders. We can therefore use these twin lasers to help us both understand literature and ourselves.