Living Myth

eBook Version 

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Mythic narratives and the rituals that bring them to life are part of what it is to be human, and our intellectual and psychological lives are starved without some exercising of the mythic imagination. Myths serve as a form of psychic mirror through which we can reflect on our own lives.  

Joseph Campbell, certainly one of the most renowned scholars of myth, viewed the hero’s journey as a "monomyth" upon which all other mythology is based.

This theme also provides the focal point for this study of symbol, myth, and ritual. Exploration of myth invites us on a hero’s journey of our own, from creation through the processes of naming, interacting with the divine, and encountering obstacles, through death, transformation, and rebirth. These aspects of the adventure form the outline of Living Myth.

The new publication, Living Myth:

• is about the meanings and themes to be found in the stories themselves.
• serves as a diving board into the stories and the ways in which human beings might relate to them – additional resources are cited to encourage further exploration.
• recognizes that there are always variants in ancient traditions, and where these differences provide additional insight, the author has included them.
• features a structure based very loosely on the mythic cycle itself. After a general discussion of the terms and concepts involved in the study of symbols, myths, and rituals, the following chapters track the stages of the cycle from creation to rebirth and return. In the final chapter, the author has included a discussion of some of the ways ancient myths function in contemporary culture.
• includes study questions, discussion questions, and information about where complete versions of the myths mentioned in each chapter may be found.