93 Edward,
I'll bet you're just shocked that I chose to respond to this particular post. ![:smile: 😄](https://thelema.org/forum/assets/plugins/nodebb-plugin-emoji/emoji/android/1f604.png?v=6g5f8j2c7up)
Consider a broader (or maybe more vague?) definition of "myth". For example, we have a fairly well developed "mythology" about the aspirant's process up the Tree of Life. It's a virtual retelling of the basic Hero's Journey (Parsifal et al). We have the "mythology" of the reception of Liber AL itself, echoing many other stories about the reception of holy books. We have "stories" about the interaction of gods and humans, spelled out in places such as Nuit's speech behind the veil in the Mass, to name one prominent example.
Ancient myths (as we now call them) were originally perceived not as fables, but as realities. The gods were real beings, actually guiding and interacting with humanity. A thousand years from now, someone will be looking back at us and will clearly see our "myths". I argue that our present task in myth-hunting in Thelemic culture is to look at those processes we take as very REAL (e.g. the psycho-spiritual realities embedded in our understanding of the Tree, the HGA, etc.) and stand back far enough to see the stories taking shape.
Besides all the above, I also would argue that many of the classical myths, such as those of the Egyptian deities with whom we work, are quite effective in stimulating engagement with the mysteries.
93 93/93
David
@Edward Mason said
"I'm currently reading Jung's 1950 book <i>Aion</i> which, in rather dense prose, explores the Christ figure as an archetype of the Self: the whole and realised being or Beingness that, for Qabalists, emerges in the experience of Tiphereth. Jung being essentially a gnostic, he has some fascinating ideas on the dark side of God to expound here.
What strikes me is that the Thelemic deities, unlike those of any other faith, have no myths. Myths create a doorway for us as a means of entering into the truths they embody. That is, there's a story with which we can identify, and which thus enables us to establish our own contact with the deity or deities.
We can invoke them, either by simply reading Liber L or by more elaborate ritual means, but we don't have a more straightforward means of accessing their energies. In the end, I imagine, we end up living out the myths simply by attuning ourselves over long periods to Ra-Hoor-Khuit, Nuit, et al, but this seems an emotionally cold process until the realisations have truly kicked in.
If there's a story, as there is with a myth, then there is a point of identification for us. The Thelemic gods, though, are just there - take 'em or leave 'em. The related Egyptian myths (Horus beating Set, or the tales about Nut/Nuit) are usually discounted as only partly applying to the characters in Liber L.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
In L.V.X.,
Edward"