The Loss of and the Birth of the New Myth for Modern Man?
Author: Christopher Chayban
Without a doubt, whether we are taking about the loss of myth or the new myth, the main component in the process is the phenomena of projection. The loss of myth is the loss of the shared collective projection of the inner God-image. The God-image has lost its cohesiveness in our current state of affairs. It is fragmented in in scattered pieces that gives rise to secular deities like the political parties (Diagram in Ego and Archetype pg.67). The God-image is the fulcrum of the myth, but the lever of the Western myths has been pulled in the other direction, losing its emotional power and ability to reach or impact individuals. New symbols need to emerge.
Some myths that are operating in the present via the unconscious shared projection are the myth of politics, the economic or money myth, the myth of progress, the control your own destiny myth, the myth of the individual and the myth of sexual freedom. The myth of politics is operating under the secular deity of George Washington who has become mythologized through the telling of his legendary stories. Not to mention the deification in his mural painting in the Capitol building. His connection with the dollar needs no explanation as money is as, if not more, numinous than God. My coworkers light up like a Christmas Tree whenever the conversation is centered around money. One of my coworkers said that he would do any job he got paid, which I suppose is similar to the service of a God. The control your own destiny is tied to the myth of the individual. This belief that all can be achieved through hard work and through one’s efforts has lead to the loss of myth through an inflation through excessive ego importance and rampant narcissism. We are less concerned with finding the “Self” and more concerned with finding the next opportunity to take a “selfie.” Lastly, the myth of sexual freedom currently operates as well and perhaps the most bipolar in terms of its effects. The loss of myth has freed the individual from sexual oppression and has made strides with both hetero and homosexual relationships but also has contributed to excessive sexualization and objectification of both genders (although mainly woman). Eliade describes this sexual freedom as a nostalgia of returning to the paradisal world of the Garden of Eden (Sacred and Profane pg.207), before the fall and the consequence of sin.
So, what would it take for a new myth to evolve? Well I think the God-image has to move from a fragmented secular multiplicatio to sacred coagulatio. But if it is going to serve a function of a myth or a world religion, it would have to be something like a psychotherapeutic system. That may be what is holding science back from becoming the new dominant, as it often destroys meaning rather than inspires it. Of course, science has taken the furthest steps recently in asking the ultimate questions to increase consciousness, like how have we have come to be? It may be that our new creation myth is, the “Big Bang” theory which serves as a way to explain our celestial-terrestrial existence. The myth of science seems to be the greatest in number, as far as the shared projection (especially the notion that it’s going to save the day goes). But there are other possible emergent myths. In playing off the science myth, the myth of numbers and math may be one to consider as Jung often said that numbers were archetypes that became conscious. Another shared projection may be found in sports and I think where an energetic collective spirit is found. In my opinion, the digital myth and what we know as “spirit” has a new name in the term “digital.” Anything digital is like the spirit or spirits, which is disembodied and not subject to the laws of space and time, is found anywhere and everywhere, at any time, seems to come out of nowhere and compels our attention. This myth has a shadow side as apocalyptic fantasies are frequent and the fear or even desire to be annihilated/supplanted by robots is a shared projection. Playing God and entering this inflated state seems to be producing fantasies of a future fall by our own creation. One emergent myth that appears to be compensatory in relation to the culture is the nature/environmental myth. Moving from Patriarchal values to more Matriarchal values that pay attention to Mother Earth is surely needed if we want to avoid extinction.
Truth be told, the new myth is no easy thing to spot. Joseph Campbell told Bill Moyers that you can’t predict the next myth any more than you can predict your dreams tonight but in my personal and biased opinion, I think the Yoga myth is what is most competent to redeem and save the world from its current loss of myth, due to the practice of moderating the waste of energy and learning to know ourselves, while cultivating helpful values that serve everybody.
I’m not sure if it matters if we are talking about East or West, unless it is about the traditional viewpoints of the East or West. You alluded to that already in your example, when you made note that traditionally your culture or you would look at feeding rats as disgusting but other cultures may see it as all creatures deserve love. But I think the influence of the West is seeping into all parts of the earth with information being available everywhere and anywhere. Globalization is the new culture because we are all connected through the one world, “unus mundus” internet. Nevertheless, I think you are right that love is lacking but we now have a double problem because we could be just as inhibiting with love as with the absence of it. Jordan Peterson seems to think that we have elevated the value of sensitivity over the principle of truth. So, I think an important thing to be aware of in a love myth would be, to somehow to not lose the truth (because we think we are being insensitive) in our attempts to have greater reverence for all things and beings.
I find myself being unnecessarily alienated from nature in the form of needing to feel comfortable and safe in the external environment. I will jump up if a bug zooms my way or any other type of small critter. I think that is a result from just not being familiar anymore with being outside enough. It’s as if bugs or nature are fascinating now, because they are so unknown to me. But why are we so scared of nature? Obviously, this is connected with the need to dominate it. I think the confrontation with the unconscious, may have to be involved with facing our irrational fears about nature.
I think half the reason of why I feel tired is because I am drained from artificial light. Of course, what can you do in a predominantly cold weather climate and climate change in general? Yes we are separated from nature but nature is also forcing us back inside. “If” it is really nature that is the one forcing us back inside and not experimental scientists fiddling with the weather patterns. Mercurius can heal or poision, and “found everywhere.” The idea of Mercurius was the one to inspire me to think of other Mercurius-like notions.
Resources:
Edinger, E. F. (1992). Ego & Archetype: Individuation and the Religious Function of the Psyche. Boston: Shambhala.
Eliade, M. (1957). The Sacred and the Profane: the Nature of Religion. New York: Harcourt, Inc.
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