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alexander eliot
January 2009 
Myth, Religion, and Social Development
Posted on Apr 7th, 2008
by 
Marmalade
Marmalade
I've been reading several authors recently that are related.
I just finished The Gospel & the Zodiac by Bill Darlison. I'm now reading Christianity: the Origins of a Pagan Religion by Philippe Walter. I've also been perusing two of Joseph Campbell's works: Thou Art That and The Flight of the Wild Gander, and Alexander Eliot's The Universal Myths.
They all are related(in my mind). First, they're all about mythology. Second, they all speak about Christianity.
There are 5 mythic/archetyapl characters that fit closely together. There is the Trickster, the Primal Man, the Titan/Giant, the Hero, and the Savior. The Hero and the Savior are obviously related as Jesus fits fairly well into the Hero's Journey. The Primal Man is known as Adam in Christianity and Jesus is known as the Second Adam, one causes death and the other conquers it. The cause of death is normally an element of the Trickster which is closely related to the Primal Man. Loki connects the Titan/Giant with the Trickster, and Prometheus fairly well brings together the different categories.
In Walter's book, he theorizes about a European pagan mythology that was incorporated into Christianity of the Middle Ages. He sees at the center of this was a Giant and also related was the class of Birdwomen. Birds have been related to shaman's and their visions for as long as man has been thinking about such things. He mentions the difference between myth and ritual, and how rituals are more reliable evidence of ancient religions because rituals are more stable and unchanging even as the explanations(stories) surrounding them change.
Campbell writes about the differences betweem visions and rituals in reference to what he calls the 'Titan-shaman'. He also details how this can be understood through looking at the differences of hunter societies and planting societies. This relates to paganism and Christianity and the development of religion in general, and Campbell also mentions the differences of religions that emphasize the individual vs the collective. All of this fits into the insights from Spiral Dynamics. I also thinks this relates to Jasper's notion of the Axial Age.
Furthermore, I've been thinking about the distinction between symbol and sign, connotation and denotation. And also what Campbell was saying about tender-minded vs tough-minded.
I plan to go into more detail, but I wanted to do an intro blog to set out the ideas I've been pondering.
I just finished The Gospel & the Zodiac by Bill Darlison. I'm now reading Christianity: the Origins of a Pagan Religion by Philippe Walter. I've also been perusing two of Joseph Campbell's works: Thou Art That and The Flight of the Wild Gander, and Alexander Eliot's The Universal Myths.
They all are related(in my mind). First, they're all about mythology. Second, they all speak about Christianity.
There are 5 mythic/archetyapl characters that fit closely together. There is the Trickster, the Primal Man, the Titan/Giant, the Hero, and the Savior. The Hero and the Savior are obviously related as Jesus fits fairly well into the Hero's Journey. The Primal Man is known as Adam in Christianity and Jesus is known as the Second Adam, one causes death and the other conquers it. The cause of death is normally an element of the Trickster which is closely related to the Primal Man. Loki connects the Titan/Giant with the Trickster, and Prometheus fairly well brings together the different categories.
In Walter's book, he theorizes about a European pagan mythology that was incorporated into Christianity of the Middle Ages. He sees at the center of this was a Giant and also related was the class of Birdwomen. Birds have been related to shaman's and their visions for as long as man has been thinking about such things. He mentions the difference between myth and ritual, and how rituals are more reliable evidence of ancient religions because rituals are more stable and unchanging even as the explanations(stories) surrounding them change.
Campbell writes about the differences betweem visions and rituals in reference to what he calls the 'Titan-shaman'. He also details how this can be understood through looking at the differences of hunter societies and planting societies. This relates to paganism and Christianity and the development of religion in general, and Campbell also mentions the differences of religions that emphasize the individual vs the collective. All of this fits into the insights from Spiral Dynamics. I also thinks this relates to Jasper's notion of the Axial Age.
Furthermore, I've been thinking about the distinction between symbol and sign, connotation and denotation. And also what Campbell was saying about tender-minded vs tough-minded.
I plan to go into more detail, but I wanted to do an intro blog to set out the ideas I've been pondering.
Access: PublicTagged with: Bill Darlison, Philippe Walter, Joseph Campbell, Alexander Eliot, myth, Christianity, Paganism, hero, giant, titan, primal man, shaman, trickster, savior, axial age, spiral dynamics
this would be a great series for the God Pod. what do you think?
love,
nicole
Yeah… most definitely. I was actually thinking of posting it in one of the pods, and it probably fits well into the theme of the God pod. Feel free to add it, or if you'd prefer I could start a thread. My next entry should give more detail to my thoughts, and I'll try to get to it tomorrow.
While I'm here in the comments, let me add two other related archetypes. I was reading the chapter about the Trickster in Jeremy Taylor's book The Living Labyrinth. He mentions how the Divine Child and the Shadow are polar opposite faces of the Trickster. As an example, the child who points out the king is wearing no clothes is simultaneously playing both roles. Also, two well known examples of the Divine Child Trickster are Hermes and Krishna. As for the Shadow, I'd think the Trickster archetype would be inseparable from it.
Here is the link to the thread where I posted this blog entry in the God Pod.
I'm really intrigued by your comment about the Divine Child, Shadow and Trickster… If you're willing to take the discussion into archetypes and these kinds of interactions, it could really help get things rolling by sharing that in the thread on the God Pod. Many are not sure how to comment on something as intellectually challenging as your posts there, but these archetypal aspects are more accessible and intriguing to more people… what do you think?