Humans have known of the existence of archetypes ever since we could divide our attention from 24-hour survival to part time reflection. As we had more time for artistic and philosophic endeavors, even at the most primitive level, we discovered that examples of human qualities had a near self-sustaining existence, independent of individual humans. The paragons of these qualities became our first gods.
The ancient Greeks and Romans gave names and told stories about such gods -- names and stories that are known today. Unlike our concept of the Creator of the Universe, these gods had all the foibles and imperfect nobility of men and women, only more so. If a god had issues about power, he would slay his children or even prevent them from being born by pushing them back into their mother's womb. If a goddess was to represent Wisdom, she was not to be born of a woman at all, but leapt out, in full form, of her father's brain.
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Jung wrote that meaning comes “when people feel they are living the symbolic life, that they are actors in the divine drama. That gives the only meaning to human life; everything else is banal and you can dismiss it. A career, producing of children, are all maya (illusion) compared to that one thing, that your life is meaningful.” |
As the millenia passed and we humans alternately advanced toward enlightenment or receded into fundamentalism, the archetypes have accompanied us. Carl Jung gave a name to the pantheon of archetypes and their home in the far reaches of our literature, our minds and even our DNA. He called it the Collective Unconscious, and suggested that “meaning” in our lives might be discovered in our dreams and the symbols therein. Those who peopled our dreams were not the people themselves that we knew in the world, but archetypal aspects of ourselves. Though dreams are personal, some of the symbols and characters in them are universal, collective.
Enter Dr. Caroline Myss. With an extraordinary ability to see a common thread in philosophies, Myss took the study of archetypes and ran with it. Overlaying Jung’s work upon the Astrological Wheel*, she added her own philosophy and studies and made room for God in the self-discovery process. Dr. Myss developed Sacred Contracts: if taken to heart, an intensive study of what you agreed to undertake in this lifetime, barring derailment by your family, your tribe or even your own sense of Fatedness. By studying the archetypes that have come to the forefront of your life and soul in the context of your Sacred Contract, I am convinced that you can step out of the chains of your Fate, and execute your Destiny, your Divine Purpose. Caroline Myss has given us the tools for that endeavor and taught us how to use them. –John Rehorn * The word "astrology" has negative connotations associated with its corruption during medieval times. If one goes back to its Greek origins, astrology becomes an immensely useful tool in the examination of one's life. |
