I have accepted the A to Z Blogging Challenge for April 2011 (see badge in the right side panel). This means I will be blogging on subjects, and often a confluence of subjects, according to the alphabet and my mythopoeic interests each day of April, Sundays excluded. I've had a loose plan in place for almost a month (it's tighter in some places), but I might consider reader requests if I get them with enough lead time and they strike my fancy.
What is he rambling on about?
Maybe this is a good time to say what I consider the (rather rambling, of course) territory of my blog: anything that touches on mythic themes or features. Art, music, literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, popular culture -- I don't consider anything out of bounds if I think I can find grist there for my blogging mill. They might be right out there in the open or hiding in the nooks and crannies, but if I see them and I can use them to pull a reflection together, you can hear my thoughts on them. While I write them on one level for the joy of my own exploration and talk, I offer them here to contribute to your own cognizing or cloud-castle construction. I'm certainly interested in hearing readers thoughts on either my reflections or the objects, occasions, or excuses for my reflections, so feel free to comment. Over time, it will become clearer who my influences are, but let me name several biggies: Carl Jung, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton. Maybe Origen, Philo, and the Alexandrian tradition deserve a shout-out, too. I'll let you judge when it comes to T. S. Eliot. Does it depend on how obscure I truly am or whether you like Eliot? As a member of the guild of religious studies, I actually did my work in a more philosophical field, for those who are curious.
Mythopoeic?
Yeah, you know academic types. We love words. Especially special words. Words we make up are especially special (sorry though, most folks need a license to do this, unless you're Shakespeare or something). Mythopoeic means "having to do with myth-making," and thus applies to both the analysis and the creation of "lies breathed through silver tissue." Compelling lies that are sometimes also knowing and complex, of interest for the sake of the truths they may hide as well as the fun and satisfaction that they offer, are my aim. Maybe they offer fun and satisfaction because they're the truest lies of all.
Extra
Many years ago, when Jung was terra incognita to me, I watched Joseph Campbell's Mythos on PBS with a friend who had been in Jungian analysis for years. She drew me this handy little guide which I will now share with you. Maybe it will be of use to readers who are unfamiliar with Jung's view of the Self (the circular diagram in the middle of the page). I'll eventually see about getting a graphically savvy person to put it into a clearer format.
TOMORROW: April Fools and Apollo