Mythology Then and Now: How can it inform our future?
The NAUA International Alliance hosted a 5-month educational series on Mythology, It was led by Margarete (Marga) Hanna from January through May 2025, with support from Stephen Polmar, John Eichrodt, and Wayne Hanna. We asked Marga to summarize the series for those who were unable to attend one or more monthly sessions. We also want to express gratitude for the enormous investment of time and resources by all series planners, presenters and organizers, as well as the many attendees who enriched the series with their participation.
From January to May 2025, the International Alliance Committee of the NAUA offered the opportunity to gather and discuss how the commonality of myth fosters interconnectedness and a foundation for our spiritual and religious traditions.
The group met on the second Saturday of each month, for five consecutive months. The individuals attending came from Europe, Canada and the United States. The pre-work for each session included reading from the following source books: “The Power of Myth”, the written conversations between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers from 1985/86; “The Heroine’s Journey” by Maureen Murdock, and “King, Warrior, Magician, Lover” by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette. Additionally, participants viewed Joseph Campbell’s 5-part series, “The Shaping of our Mythic Tradition.
Mythology has an important connection for Unitarians as it aligns with our values of inclusivity, spiritual exploration and the search for universal truths. Myths embody the mystery and wonder of life. We were encouraged to think of our mystical connection to archetypes and the hero/heroine’s journey. An important part of our discussion was to link the prevailing myths of our North American culture with the archetypes that define us and with the hero-heroine’s journeys which have impacted our lives. ‘Archetype’ is a term first coined by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. He proposed that archetypes are inherited unconscious patterns of thought and behaviour shared by all humans, such as the ‘warrior’, the ‘maiden’, the ‘lover’ the ‘healer’, or the ‘king’.
With the Joseph Campbell lectures we explored how myths from different cultures reflect human experiences. For Campbell, the power of myths lies in the myth’s ability to touch something timeless in the human psyche, what Carl Jung calls “the collective unconscious.” The collective unconscious is a shared, inherited reservoir of universal ideas and images that exist in all human minds, as distinct from the “personal unconscious” which holds individual experiences and memories. Myths provide meaning that speaks to our inner experiences and act as roadmaps for personal growth and transformation. They inspire both individual awakening and communal purpose.
Carl Jung believed that ‘archetypes’ are not learned but live in the ‘collective unconscious’ and show up naturally across time and cultures. They are not fixed patterns of behaviour but are living patterns expressing meaning in our society. Archetypes form the backbone of myths, novels, films and fairy tales. They help us understand patterns of personal growth, relationships and inner conflict. We each play a variety of archetypal roles during our lives; for instance, strength may lie in our role of parent, rebel, caregiver, leader, and so forth.
As part of our journey to understand changing myths and their impact, we explored the ‘Hero’s as well as the Heroine’s’ journeys in ourselves through the lens of mythology. While the Hero’s Journey primarily deals with a protagonist’s quest for an external goal, such as winning a title or special conquest, the Heroine’s Journey is more focused on one’s internal journey, healing wounds, finding self-worth or integrating the feminine and masculine aspects within.
Historical myths show us the gradual displacement of revered female Goddesses with the ascendance of Gods as powerful deities. With the coming of Christianity, worship and reverence was focused on one monotheistic male God only. Gendering the divine was a way for humans to diminish the sacred of the divine feminine, and to elevate the sacred of the divine masculine, enabling them to structure society accordingly by creating a deep split between the power of the masculine and feminine.
Our journey finally led us to discuss the prevailing current myths which have brought America to the ‘brink’. Several of these myths, for example, the myth of the “Red” versus a “Blue” America, the MAGA (Make America Great Again) myth, and others are well identified in the book “A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America” by Richard Slotkin. These have contributed to America at war with itself, rivalrous and antagonistic rather than united and collaborative.
There always is, and will remain, much value in studying the history of myths from around the world, to illuminate our present world’s problems as well as successes, giving us new insights for more effective ways to live in harmony with each other on our magnificent earth, not least through our own spiritual development.
