New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
What is a Jewish myth? For quite a number of people, that is a nonsensical question. Many have argued that there is no such thing as Jewish myths; being monotheistic, Judaism is a mythless system of belief. You see this thinking, for example, in the title of Frank Moore Cross's book on ancient Israelite beliefs, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Saga. As far as Cross (and many others) are concerned, only polytheists have myths. Cross had to hunt around for another word to describe the "master stories" of the Hebrew Bible, and he chose "saga." Elliot Ginsburg writes, "Judaic scholars through the 1970s tended to define myth narrowly and negatively, linking it with so-called 'pagan' religions. They ...
As a little girl, I was enchanted by fairy tale princesses. However, aside from a few storybooks, there was little to feed my imagination, as fantasy toy products were almost non-existent back then (in the sixties). Now things have changed, with Dungeons and Dragons-type action figures as well as plastic swords and armor aimed at little boys, and fairy and mermaid Barbies, plus glittery gowns, fairy wands, and tiaras for girls. (In fact, at the moment of this writing, some of the neighbor kids who are invading my yard are wearing long gowns and tiaras.) These fantasies are further indulged when parents throw "princess parties." The little guests come dressed as princes or princesses, or ...
There is a side of astrology that has a strong correlation to the role myth and archetypes play in our lives, and it is one that has been explored by experts such as noted psychologist Carl Jung. The role of symbol and the way we tend to act out the archetypal roles we have presented to us fascinated him, and he saw these scenarios over and over again in the lives of the clients who came to him for understanding and guidance. Right now this area of archetypal and mythic astrology has gotten an enormous amount of public attention, due to the imbroglio taking place in the Cosmos. Names like Pluto, Charon, Eris, and Ceres, once known only to astrological and metaphysical aficionados, are ...
Most classical Tantric texts seem to have been written primarily with men in mind. For example, the Gheranda Samhita, a 16th-century Tantric/Yogic text advises: "By virtue of this Yoga, the Bindu-Siddhi (retention of seed) is obtained, and when that Siddhi is obtained what else can he not attain in this world."1 Similarly much of the popular mythology about Tantric sex focuses on prolonged lovemaking and concomitant male staying-power (retention of seed), as if that were the defining feature of the Tantric experience. In Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving, Charles and Caroline Muir contend that tantric practitioners believe that the age-related prolongation of the refractory period is a ...
