All throughout the world, mythology has helped humans to understand our place within the overall scheme of things – how this world came into being; how plants, animals, and human found their place within the natural order; and how we can continue to live in harmony with that order. Myths often tell stories about the evolution of human culture, not from a strictly historical perspective, but as seen through the eyes of the collective soul – rendering a deeper view of the process than a mere reporting of external events could achieve. Myths also present a non-scientific cosmology that appeals to a deeper part of our psyches than can be illuminated by our rational minds. Within our myths are the priorities that inform our worldview, whether explicitly stated or not, as well as important lessons about our appropriate place within the larger circle of Life.
Contemporary Western culture is primarily rooted in Greek mythology, in many cases, as passed down to us through the Roman re-interpretation. But postmodern people have the benefit of a vast body of literature – compiled by Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade, and Marija Gumbitas among others – documenting a rich panoply of world mythologies, and with them a plethora of alternate ways of understanding reality. Myths are also portrayed and reworked for modern sensibilities by writers, composers, and filmmakers in epic works such as Hermann Melville’s Moby Dick and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen and Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, George Lucas’ Star Wars and Peter Jackson’s interpretation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
At Yggdrasil, we will explore myths – in both their ancient and modern renditions – for clues about how best to tend sacred wounds, cultivate visionary calling, communicate with other beings in the more-than-human world, rediscover and water our mythopoetic roots.
