Monday 11 February 2019

Descent and Return

          As I said in an earlier post, "The Word of God" [22nd. January 2019], the Mystical Qabalah has been one of the major influences in my spiritual life. Some months ago, whilst pondering on one particular aspect of the Qabalah's 'Tree of Life', certain thoughts began to emerge. It was perhaps the beginning of the idea that the biblical New Testament gospels should be looked at from a different point of view, as if they contained a mythology of the Christ as told through the legendary stories of a certain Jesus the Nazarene.
          In my studies I find that Greek mythology is often a productive starting point for my thinking. For example, Demeter was the gentle goddess of agriculture, a fertility goddess. She was without a husband of her own and became pregnant, the story goes, by Zeus the king of the gods. When her time was due, she gave birth to her daughter Core, later known as Persephone, and also Iacchus/Bacchus/Dionysus. It is unclear to me whether these were twin siblings, or whether they represented different aspects of some wider process. In time Core, then in the form of the more mature Persephone, descended [by capture] into the underworld of Hades, to return again after three months.
          That is the story of Demeter and Persephone in a nutshell. However, the development of the fertility myth and its relationship to Christian mythology, is not the prime focus of this post. Nevertheless, to add a little meat to the bones of the story [if a nutshell can be imagined to have bones] I must point out that Demeter as the goddess of agriculture is associated with the growth of spelt wheat, the stuff of 'the bread of life'. Furthermore, there are a number of points of convergence with the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The latter also was without a husband of her own when she became pregnant by some mysterious, divine force. In time she gave birth to Jesus who grew to maturity, was executed or cut down, before descending into Hell only to return on the third day thereafter. Jesus is often associated not only with bread ["...take, eat, this is my body...] but also with wine, as was Dionysus of course.
          It seems to me that peoples of olden times committed what was most important in their thinking and culture to forms that we now see as mythology and legend. These are not just idle stories made up by ignorant peoples, but accounts of their wisdom put into words that could be read and, hopefully, understood by lay people. The stories were not required to be historically accurate, but did need to carry meanings that reflected truth. The biblical Jesus employed a similar technique by the use of parables for his listeners. His disciples, however, were expected to read beyond the parable, and understand the meanings behind the stories. I think it is almost impossible to overstate the importance that those ancient peoples attached to their mythologies, and in particular to the fertility myth that spoke of their fundamental means of survival. That being the case, the stories surrounding the life of Jesus of Nazareth, having been written in mythological/legendary form, must also have been considered as vitally important.
          And what meaning can be learned from this particular legend of the Nazarene? Firstly, I would suggest that Jesus did not die and, after descending into Hell, return on the third day. It was not he but the Christ [not an alternative name for Jesus or indeed his surname], that which lived its life through Jesus, that made the descent and return. Secondly, it was not a journey that happened only once at some far off moment in history. It is a journey which can continually be experienced through the Higher, Christic  Self. The very essence of growth of the spirit is a journey of descent and return, and that journey needs to be experienced again and again. But as St. Augustine could possibly have said, "What does it avail me if this journey is always happening, if it does not happen in me?" 

10 comments:

  1. Thanks, Tom, eloquently presented. I sense a Jungian template retrofitted on top of the gospels. To this pilgrim, not a Jung fan, it's a leap too far.

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    1. Thank you Vincent. I have not read enough of CGJ to be either very much for him, or against. In any case I tend not to join fan clubs. My reason for not having read much of his stuff [or anyone else's for that matter, but it's all a question of degree] is that I have preferred to seek out and follow my own path. What I have read, however, I have found interesting. I take it as a compliment, therefore, to have my post referred to as a Jungian template, when in fact I must accept full responsibility.

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  2. By happenstance, I'm currently re-reading The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead which I won't recommend only for the reason I know you don't like to mix your own search with prose about the paths others have followed. However, it's very good and a strong argument made by Stephan Hoeller that Jung himself was a Gnostic who had little access to the seriously suppressed written work. Did you know it was Jung who insisted the Nag Hammadi manuscripts be translated rather than sit mouldering in university archives? The first of them to come to light was named after him - the Jung Codex.

    I can't help but see the path you are walking is similar to the one he travelled but not the same. Mystics have always preferred their own ways and some share their journeys more often than others - like the poet AE, for instance,

    Out of a timeless world
    Shadows fall upon Time,
    From a beauty older than earth,
    A ladder the soul may climb.
    I climb by the phantom stair
    To a whiteness older than Time.

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    1. I have read some of The Gnostic Jung etc. some years ago, but never finished it. I had a similar experience with, 'The Red Book'. I could never sort out whether his experiences were only applicable to him as an individual, or whether they were generally applicable. One day I will return to those books, when I feel more settled in my own thinking.

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  3. Hi Tom,
    It’s amazing don’t you think how reading another source sometimes inexplicably sheds light on another narrative. Ah – now I see. I like the idea of ‘The Christ’ as the articular of the new revelation. Mythology and allegory was as important then as it still is today in providing meaning. Oliver Sacks (Humanity and Myth making) saw its importance, even though he remained a good natured atheist throughout his life. I saw much more to it than Sachs, but I liked his narrative.
    Hence, I think one can see how the ancient Greek top GOD ZEUS, holding power over the lesser GODS could then morph into monotheism and eventually be part of Christianity. But it has to translate into something tangible as you suggest.
    Best wishes

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    1. Hi Lindsay,
      I am all for drawing inspiration from as wide a field as possible, so long as discernment is practised. If one narrows the field too much one is in danger of walking through life wearing blinkers. The result of spreading one's net widely is that often, one finds agreement and 'ah! ha!' moments where one might least expect to find them, and that can be a seed bed for something new.

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  4. Oh gosh, it must be 50 years ago, I was reading Paul Tillich (Dynamics Of Faith) and was indelibly impressed with the phrase,"Christ, the sacrament of the encounter with God". Lent the book out sometime in the '70s, but understand why it was never returned. Some readings take time. Some phrases never leave us.

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    1. A lovely phrase, Geo. There is something about it that lifts one out of the ordinary. I was sufficiently piqued to download the PDF in the hope that I can find time to read it. What I need is some thoroughly bad weather to keep me from gardening .... no not really!

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  5. Aha! Gardening in the soil AND in the mind! I should have realized this long ago.

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    1. One likes to achieve balance between the two worlds. :)

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