The Mythic Journey: The Meaning of Myth as a Guide for Life

The Mythic Journey is about coming into the world and going through live from birth to death, with all the trials and tribulations: all part of a growth process, for better or worse, sometimes even to the point of entanglement and destruction. It is about being born with the task of individuating, experiencing life in all its facets, until the final homecoming. Indeed, the intention of the book, as stated in the Introduction is:

…to show you how mythic stories and imagery can bring relief from internal conflicts and help you to discover greater depth, richness and meaning in life. One of the great healing functions of myth is to show us that we are not alone with our feelings, fears, conflicts and aspirations. (p. 10)

The same could also be said about astrology, an equally symbolic language for the archetypal journey of life.

Palpable and relatable

The Mythic Journey has a simple but compelling structure: It recounts myths for different stages of development and areas of life, simply and understandably retold without being at all superficial or sensational, followed by an insightful psychological commentary that links the stories, which might seem so far removed from our daily life, to our own experiences as humans.

Palpable and relatable, the stories lead the reader through a wide range of psychological challenges, and many a reader will nod in recognition and appreciation of the clear and profound insights into human nature. Self-reflection is inevitable in the face of such confrontation with human experience and behaviour.

The relative shortness of the individual chapters, the concisely put myths, and the equally to-the-point psychological commentaries, make reading a pleasure and as exciting a journey as life itself. I found myself being drawn into myth after myth, eager to follow the heroes and heroines of life.

Also, the variety of myths from different cultures shows the universality of the themes, the all-too-humanness, regardless of traditions and cultures, while, at the same time, reflecting different angles and worldviews on that which is common.

So, what can you expect if you decide to embark on this mythic journey?

In the Beginning

The first stage is all about Parents and Children, Siblings and Family Inheritance. As an astrologer, I am reminded of the first quadrant of the zodiac and house circle, specifically the third and fourth houses, and the Moon. However, the connection to astrology is not explicitly mentioned in the book.

Let me just recount one example of the reflections on parent-child relationships and their possible pitfalls, even though the parent might only mean well. It is about Thetis and Achilles and about expectations and ambitions a parent may have for their child, often not in the offspring’s best interest.

In the case of Thetis and Achilles, the mother Thetis was born a goddess but married to a mortal. She wished her son Achilles to become immortal like herself, and therefore ducked him into the river Styx, the water of which was thought to give immortality. Holding her infant by a heel, this one place remained untouched by the water of Styx, thus leaving it vulnerable. Though, as fate may have it, Achilles later went to war and received a death wound through an arrow in the heel. That didn’t go according to plan …

So, what can we learn from this myth?

Many parents unconsciously wish their children to be divine…they want them to be better than other children, more beautiful, more gifted, more brilliant, unique and special, and exempt from the ordinary limitations of life. No child can live up to such unconscious expectations, and any child may suffer because his or her ordinary humanity is overlooked … (p. 14)

Or, parents may expect their children to fulfill their own unfulfilled dreams and potentials, without considering the child’s own wishes.

Ring a bell? It certainly did with me … Luckily, we’re also told that this is all-too-human. BUT:

First and foremost, we need to be conscious of our hidden feelings. (p. 14)

Wise advice indeed! Only thus can we see beyond our own visions and images and love the child for who she or he actually is.

Other myths in this section tell of Hera and Hephaistos, Osiris, Isis and Horus, (Parents and Children), the Sibling stories of Cain and Abel or Romulus and Remus, and The Family Inheritances of the Houses of Thebes and Atreus, for example. The list is incomplete.

The Stages of the Journey

On goes the journey to “Becoming an Individual“, which starts with Leaving Home (Adam and Eve, Buddha’s Departure), via Fighting for Autonomy (Siegfried or Gilgamesh) to the Quest for Meaning (Parsifal or Perseus). To my astrological mind, all themes connected with, though not restricted to, the Sun and Jupiter, also the fifth and ninth houses.

Once we have established our own self, we continue to experience ourselves in the mirror of “Love and Relationships“, through Passion and Rejection (Echo and Narcissus, Samson and Delilah, among others), The Eternal Triangle (Zeus and Hera, Arthur and Guinevere), and Marriage (Gerda and Frey, Odysseus and Penelope… ). Houses seven and eight, but also Venus and Mars spring to mind here.

From there, we wish to prove ourselves in an ever wider circle of influence: the Saturn and 10th house theme of “Position and Power“, which includes Finding a Vocation (Lugh, Phaeton and the Sun-Chariot), Greed and Ambition – all too familiar! – with King Midas and Arachne, for example, and finally: Responsibility (King Arthur’s Peacetime Army, the Judgement of Solomon).

Well, and ultimately and unavoidably, every human is faced with numerous “Rites of Passage“, going through Separation, Loss and Suffering (Job’s Trials, Chiron the Centaur), often a Spiritual Quest (like Dr. Faustus or Buddha), and eventually The Final Journey (with Maui and the Death Goddess or Indra and the Parade of Ants).

Not all the myths have been mentioned here, and not all mentioned may be known to the reader, but the examples show the wide variety of mythical treasure we can draw on. And equally, the invaluable psychological lessons provided for our everyday use in the here and now, no matter which stage of the Journey we’re currently at.

And ultimately …

From the commentary to the final tale told in this book Indra and the Parade of Ants:

The myth … speaks for itself reminding us that all our little human efforts to understand what the cosmos might mean, and all our struggles to claim a place of importance in the world, pale into insignificance before the great mystery that is life itself. … wisdom and fulfilment lie in living a balanced life, mindful of both body and spirit, and content to be what we are. Great or small, human or ant, god or human, each spark of life is part of a vast living unity whose intentions and workings are orderly yet ultimately beyond our grasp. … But while we are fulfilling [our] individual destiny which is unique to each one of us, it is a good idea to keep thinks in perspective. (p. 234f.)

The Mythic Journey is an entertaining and instructive must-read for all who are interested in eternal human nature!

Karin Hoffmann-Clark for Astro.com