Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

Convictions, morals, other societies and religions.
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Smaragd
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Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

Post by Smaragd »

Opening to the world of syncretism can open up doors to mythologies that you had no conscious or studied ties to. But finding your way to some particular mythological wholes can reveal surprisingly strong connections. For example, I have personally had a meaningful connection to some aspects of Judeo-Christian mythology where it has been at times very much tied to personal experiences of some deities, and at the same time ties to the crucial philosophy present in the myths. But then there is also some surprisingly strong ties to some half forgotten mythologies of the culture I was born in to, which I have sort of felt distantly present somewhere behind the surface. Recently I got to proof read a small part of a book which presents an esoteric interpretation of some aspects of Finno-Ugric cultural traditions and religious conception of a human being, and I was surprised how strongly some of the imagery affected me. Some of the themes came in to my dreams very vividly in a way that I felt the powers in my body, of which the chapter had elaborated on, with unseen clarity.

This experience brought me back to think of individual mythological ties we might have through our blood having run through a certain culture for a long time, our native language having roots in mythologies both the language and the myth having deep interconnections to the creation of each other. Then there are mythologies that reach a more general problems of human existence, the most crucial points of being a human, explaining my individual interest towards Judeo-Christian mythologies as well as some of the major religions of the East.

It is as if different mythologies exist in different layers of reality, in certain languages, in certain principles or coarseness of our bodies etc. Some mythological wholes might have a larger area of the souls narratives covered, while others may have some specific areas that are instrumental to the development of certain powers in people living in certain areas on this globe of ours. For example, I see great instrumental value in making a pilgimage to the religious traditions of my ancestry, especially by finding support from it to find more elaborate ground for my practice of magic, to activate certain powers within myself, and simultaneously finding answers to the challenges felt in the immediate cultural surroundings. On the other hand, I locate the nuclear context of occultism and the human challenge, which hovers above all instrumental mythologies, from the Star of Azazel philosophy, Judeo-Christian mythology and the more vast Graal lodge angle to the latter.

Any thoughts? Do you have experiences with different mythologies through which you might relate to some of the ideas above? Have you had experiences where you can pinpoint a mythological tradition's connection to a certain area in your human constitution?
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
Istar
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Re: Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

Post by Istar »

I feel certain cultures and mythologies are closer and I have found it can relate to past lives. It is a attraction to certain cultural elements such as music, language, architecture, dance style, art and literature. Geographically, people are fascinated by a certain kind of landscapes and experience a sense of familiarity or homeliness. The deities of a particular culture are the most understandable and it is easier to have a better connection to their quality. For my part, these areas are e.g. ancient Egypt and Babylon as well as ancient Greece and Rome. I find my relationship with these cultures contradictory. In addition to interest and attraction, negative emotions and memories arise. I sometimes recognize such layers also from being particularly moved and from bodily chills.
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Smaragd
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Re: Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

Post by Smaragd »

Istar wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 12:04 pm For my part, these areas are e.g. ancient Egypt and Babylon as well as ancient Greece and Rome. I find my relationship with these cultures contradictory. In addition to interest and attraction, negative emotions and memories arise.
Besides sensing the beauty of the ancient remains, this recognition of the negative aspects, the karma our cultures and mythologies carry, rises also a question of which mythological movements are to give birth to the new era which is still in ovo at the current moment. I think the Satanism of the Star of Azazel is obviously pointing to the next step with concrete enough, as well as abstract enough, demands, although recognizing its potential, not to mention following its spirit, is still very difficult for our current age. And not only to the masses, but practising occultists alike. It asks for tremendous leaps from everyone to step forth from the loop in which we have been circling around since the ancient times when Colosseum was standing in its full form, and since the foundations of flesh were forged in the arch of human existence.

I recon that getting to know the individual ties to different mythologies can help one to carry their weight in to empowerments in the areas the mythologies belong in oneself, but failing to recognize from that body of whole the next larger step will easily make the empowerments fall to serve mere selfish ideas. This would keep one from carrying their weight out from the limbo in which we are still with the ancient fallen cultures, cultures that may have perished in some forms yet still exist in others. The ancient problems are only morphed in to the fabric of the post-modern culture, although we may have taken some smaller steps forth and some steps back.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
Istar
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Re: Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

Post by Istar »

At times, all of this feels overwhelmingly challenging when it comes to getting free from the burden of this and past lives. On the other hand, however, in my own view, the problem areas of the personality seem to remain the same during many past lives. Working on these deep-rooted traits will bring about fundamental development and the tangle of challenges will begin to unravel. Choices and avoidances made on a daily basis have great impact. Perseverance and motivation to go through challenging things will certainly pay off before long. Our personality is like a puzzle, the parts of which reveal our incompleteness in a very concrete way. That view may allow one to develop into a more real self, a spirit/consciousness that can use personality traits like tools, in the best possible way in a given situation. Karma is at the same time a burden, but also an enabler of spiritual development.

It is interesting to think about how certain mythologies and cultures attract the interest of each person and which deities speak the most. At the same time, I feel that deep diving into a certain mythological structure can prove very fruitful, on the other hand, being too limited to a certain kind of worldview hinders development. True and sacred should be found in the chaos of all kinds of different mythologies and worldviews.
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Polyhymnia
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Re: Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

Post by Polyhymnia »

Great discussion! I have recently been introduced to Joseph Campbell and his wonderful world of mythological study, so myth has been on my mind in a serious way as of late.

I come from a mixed ethnic/cultural background where the Eastern side of my heritage was never nurtured and the Western side only made room for Judeo-Christian myth presented as fact, i.e., the bible. When I started (very recently) exploring the Thai side of my blood, I was struck by how intensely I was affected by Thai and Indian mythological images. Several weeks ago, after an intense yoga and meditation session, I was visited by a vision of a multi-headed serpent I came to realize as a version of the Naga, "Thai folklore holds the Phaya Nāgas to be semi-divine, demi-creatures, which possess supernatural powers as has been described in Buddhist and Hindu cosmology." Eastern mythology is very new to me, so though I was very casually aware of what a naga was, I just thought it was an evil river serpent that haunted the Mekong river (what my mom had once told me). I was gobsmacked when it appeared to me.
"Limited love asks for possession of the beloved, but the unlimited asks only for itself." -Kahlil Gibran
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Smaragd
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Re: Individual Ties to Different Mythological Wholes

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What a great example, Polyhymnia. These kinds of things are exactly what I was thinking about when starting this topic. While the area of Christianity that matters most to me is universally connected to the human existence, although also having some more individually important connections there, these kinds of myths close to folk traditions and deities that are thought as semi-divine create another type of area to observe.

In tantric manner, the lower can be realized intricately corresponding to the higher, meaning the universal aspects of the individual and the semi-divine can be located with diligent work for clarity. To leave the universal aspect in to obscurity and giving too much emphasis for devotion and worship, the semi-divine becomes easily a beacon which leads the followers to lateral paths or casts the powers blindly in to the hands of elemental spirits. But if balance and order can be found between the lower and the higher, then these semi-divine creatures could be seen becoming like beacons for recovering and reinforcing one's individual powers and talents to serve the path towards adepthood of the ascending path.

I guess Azazel can be seen as such a semi-divine being as well. The parable in bible, which teaches us not to bury our talents in to the ground could be thus seen as Azazel, buried under the mountain, accused of teaching men certain skills, and then calling secretly the black magicians to unearth the secret arts, to free the fallen angels from the stone.
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Tree of Souls - The Mythology of Judaism, Howard Schwartz

I'm proposing that such mythologies of the semi-divine are like portals to the hidden powers, hidden also from the god of creation. And our work of unification in Lucifer-Christos is the creative work where the creative gods will to create is met in quenching the thirst for the hidden, for the occult. In such a way the occultist could be seen rising above the creative god. But as we know, freeing these powers too suddenly is a recipe for madness. The sacrifice on Yom Kippur was even held to appease these powers, for as we know, the world is often too intense even to those who do not seek for the hidden and the trouble/challenges it brings. Although, modern knowledge of psychology understands the Satanic and occultists point of view where too much hidden will cause the powers to burst in an uncontrolled manner.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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