"The life of man is governed by the rhythm of sun and moon. Sun and moon, therefore, became the first symbols under which the human mind tried to understand the universe."
-Lama Anagarika Govinda
"Peace is a dawn on a day without end. Peace is the end, like death of the war."
-King Crimson
King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Mythology played a central role in ancient culture. It provided a massive sense of social context, collective ideology, and a special realm of shared imagination for any and all to enter. but in many cases, it also allowed the populous to organize the many aspects of reality into personified deities. The gods' marriages and misdoings helped to explain past, present, and future events (also called premonitions, usually in dreams or produced through the help of an oracle). According to J. E. Cirlot's "A Dictionary of Symbols," "Loeffler says that in oriental and Nordic mythology, each symbol, myth or legend contain 'four superimposed moral lessons: (I) an historical lesson, serving as a kind of “material backing” for the symbolic teaching involved; (ii) a psychological lesson, depicting the struggle between spirit and matter on the human plane (iii) a lesson bearing upon life on our planet; and (iv) a lesson upon the constitution of matter and cosmic order.” These aspects to mythology are instructions for living in harmony with one's self and others. In the post "Experience" the Yin Yang symbol was used to show the harmony of division. However, there is actually a third part of this symbol, and it is the space in-between the black and white. This is the space we must inhabit to move forward, and mythology is one way to do it. In the post on "Disillusionment" I talked about movies, books and comics as "blueprints," which is just another phrase for modern mythology. There is unlimited amounts of modern mythology waiting to be organized.Self Vs. Shadow
When Paramount studios finally agreed to let Albert Hitchcock film Psycho in 1960, they were dismayed when Hitchcock would not budge on making the film in black and white, when Technicolor was readily available and previously used by the great director. The result is a genius horror film which manages to vividly capture (without color) the dual nature of an insane serial killer, Ed Gein. This decision showed the immense artistic capacity of the director and a new era in filmmaking which would eventually be described as "Art film." Black and white allows the director to experiment with brightness levels for lighting the scene, and more importantly, create shadows.
The two color scheme fits the story of Psycho so perfectly because it represents Duality, or the union of opposites in each character. Lila Crane (Vera Miles) plays an innocent secretary, until an unexpected impulse leads her to steal a case full of money causes the devious and cunning part of her personality to emerge. In Psychology, Carl Jung describes this malignant nature of a person, which he calls the Shadow self, and it is anarchetype of an individual's subconscious. According to Steven Caddy, "Of all the archetypes, the shadow is the most powerful and potentially the most dangerous. It represents everything about ourselves that we fear and despise."
Pulling up to the Bates Motel, Lila meets the estranged Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who soon asks her to join him in his parlor. In this scene, jagged, pointed paintings are behind Bates, while round and centered paintings are behind Lila. These are clues which describe their personalities: Lila, while sometimes controlled by her shadow, is still a good-meaning character, who even decides that it would be a good idea to return the money. Furthermore, curved lines in symbols, architecture, and geometry represent the feminine force that comprises existence. Meanwhile, the jagged paintings relate to Norman Bates' inner turmoil, with the straight lines representing the masculine forces of reality. These are subtle clues that Hitchcock intends to communicate to the audience subconsciously, and when re-watching the film, to view consciously and bring into wholeness.
Darren Aronofsky, another renowned director, portrays in his most recent film Black Swan the horrifying shadow of the ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) in Black Swan, whose life is in discord with each cycle of hallucinations, clarity, and further hallucinations.
One way to live in harmony with the shadow self is listening to music. I find that classical music, and its modern form (neo-classical, or rock and metal), do an excellent job to bring listeners in balance with their full selves. The rock band Tool, who write the lyrics to their songs after the music has been written, says in the song "Forty-Six & 2": "My shadow / Change is coming through my shadow / My shadow’s shedding skin ... Hoping I can clear the way / By stepping through my shadow, Coming out the other side / Step into the shadow."
One way to live in harmony with the shadow self is listening to music. I find that classical music, and its modern form (neo-classical, or rock and metal), do an excellent job to bring listeners in balance with their full selves. The rock band Tool, who write the lyrics to their songs after the music has been written, says in the song "Forty-Six & 2": "My shadow / Change is coming through my shadow / My shadow’s shedding skin ... Hoping I can clear the way / By stepping through my shadow, Coming out the other side / Step into the shadow."
Steven Caddy, author of "Tool: A Book of Interpretations," writes: "The song proposes that by exploring and knowing ourselves truly, our potentials both good and bad, we can be stronger, capable of clearer thought and higher consciousness."
Enjoying a glass of wine can also get in touch with the shadow self. According to Dale Pendell, author of Pharmakopeia (who was drinking Wine throughout the chapter), "Wine gives breath to the periphery and to the repressed — to the shadows and the ghostly lurkers at the threshold of consciousness. Wine touches the humanlydeep, the personally poignant, and can loosen sorrows stuck long in the craw."
Enjoying a glass of wine can also get in touch with the shadow self. According to Dale Pendell, author of Pharmakopeia (who was drinking Wine throughout the chapter), "Wine gives breath to the periphery and to the repressed — to the shadows and the ghostly lurkers at the threshold of consciousness. Wine touches the humanlydeep, the personally poignant, and can loosen sorrows stuck long in the craw."
Self Vs. Animus
In addition to the shadow self, the band Tool assists with other types of personality components, especially with their album Ænima. Steven Caddy writes: "
As an album, Ænima deals constantly with themes of change, rebirth, destruction and reconstruction, realisation and new beginnings. The title of the album finds its roots in the psychology of Carl Jung.
The anima refers to personality traits regarded as feminine that are often repressed into the unconscious of males, while the animus refers to traits regarded as masculine that are often repressed into the unconsciousness of females. Although suppressed from conscious awareness, the anima/animus influences our behaviour in powerful ways. In most individuals, it is projected onto people of the opposite sex and accounts for the experience of falling in love with someone we hardly know. As the unconscious pole of the self, the counter-ego represented by the anima/animus can also be a guide to one’s own unconscious realm. It is often experienced as the guiding female (if you’re male) or male (if you’re female) presence in dreams.
The anima may be personified as a young girl, very spontaneous and intuitive, or as a witch, or as the earth mother. It is likely to be associated with deep emotionality and the force of life itself. The anima or animus is the archetype through which you communicate with the collective unconscious generally, and it is important to get into touch with it."
