Goddesses & Ancient Kings: Reviews and Recommendations
| Jean
Shinoda Bolen, Goddesses in Older Women: How to Be a Juice Crone
(2001)
Psychiatrist, Jungian analyst in private
practice, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California
Medical Center, and internationally known lecturer Jean Shinoda Bolen is
the author of The Millionth Circle, The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses
in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women, Gods in Everyman: A New Psychology
of Men's Lives and Loves, Crossing to Avalon: A Woman's Midlife Pilgrimage,
Ring of Power, and Close to the Bone. Her book Goddesses
in Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over Fifty explores the archetypes
of wisdom.
Dr. Bolen’s book is the next step in
the dance of consciousness-raising that challenges negative stereotypes
of older women. She concentrates on the characteristics of the Greek goddesses
Metis, Sophia, Hecate, and Hestia and how they appear in feminine persona
as women move from motherhood to middle age to crone. As she says, “If
you meditate upon a goddess or imagine a dialogue with her, this wise part
of yourself becomes more conscious and accessible in ordinary life. What
we focus on, we energize. What we imagine becoming precedes our development.
The more we want to know a wise woman archetype, the more likely that archetype
will emerge in ourselves; and the more of us who engage in this process,
the more certain it will be that the goddess archetype will come back into
the culture.”
Even more interesting, Dr. Bolen seized
an opportunity with this book to reflect upon her earlier work, Goddesses
in Everywoman, which concentrated on the vigorous, youthful, well known
goddess archetypes, reviewing them with the wisdom of the crone. This is
a fascinating work that shows both the pitfalls one may befall and the
pleasures one may attain in all stages of life.
Recommended by Brenda Sutton. |
“Archetypes
are like riverbeds, which dry up when the water deserts them, but which
it can find again at any time. An archetype is like an old watercourse
along which the water of life flowed for centuries, digging a deep channel
for itself. The longer it has flowed in this channel, the more likely it
is that sooner or later the water will return to its old bed.”
-Carl
Jung
"When
the Grandmothers speak,
And
women's wisdom is heard,
The
human family will be healed.
And
there will be peace."
- Jean
Shinoda Bolen
|
|
King Arthur
in the Arts
By Heather
Dale
(copyright Amphisbaena Music, 2003)
 The
vastly popular King Arthur legends have long fueled the imaginations of
writers and artists. From their relatively humble 6th century origins to
complex modern treatments, these tales of love, betrayal and chivalry have
evolved through 1500 years of story, song and artwork. But what I find
most fascinating is how the Arthurian legends can be used as a cultural
lens through which we can view the values of a particular society. What
can we learn from the fantastic world of Camelot, you ask? Well, it depends
entirely on where (and when) you look.
We can glimpse the early days of a
religious revolution in Nennius' ca. 9th century Historia
Brittonum as Christian customs slowly take over from the Pagan.
We can imagine the shock and wonder of a conquered people as they try to
understand the civilization of their new overlords — just read Geoffrey
of Monmouth's 12th century Historia
Regum Brittanie, written only a couple of generations after the
Norman Conquest of Britain. Like Geoffrey (living in the war-torn days
of Stephen and Matilda), we can sympathize with the heartbreak of civil
war, and commiserate with Sir Thomas Malory... writing his own epic Le
Morte D'Arthur during the violent Wars of the Roses.
We can watch the evolution of our concept
of love from Chretien de Troyes' wild 12th century Arthurian romances to
Alfred Lord Tennyson's guilt-laden Victorian relationships. We can even
look at some of the emerging cultural trends in our modern world through
the lens of Arthuriana. How about the feminist movement? Read Marion Zimmer
Bradley's The Mists of Avalon
for a gynocentric re-telling. Our modern obsession with scientific proof?
Try the archaeology-oriented writings of Geoffrey Ashe. The broadening
of our Western concepts of spirituality? Delve into Caitlin and John Matthews'
work.
Of course, every Arthurian visual artist
and songwriter connects with a different part of the legends as well...
Lancelot and Guinevere's illicit affair, the world-weary weight of Arthur's
burden, the brotherhood and hope represented by the Round Table. The Arthurian
legends hold something for everyone -- whether you are a creative artist,
historical enthusiast, or open-minded dreamer. Here's to a thousand more
years of Arthur in the arts! |
Ready to Explore the Arthurian
Legends on Your Own?
Here are some good places to start,
as recommended by Mythic Journeys staff and guests:
Guy Gavriel Kay, The Fionavar Tapestry
novel trilogy starting with The Summer Tree (1984). Kay’s trilogy
weaves together an amazing number of mythological elements, from Celtic
to Arthurian to even a touch of Native American. It’s an engaging story,
and I find a catch more of the references every time I read it. Recommended
by Heather Dale.
Kevin Crossley-Holland, Arthur:
The Seeing Stone and Arthur: At the Crossing Places. Don’t let
the fact that the first two volumes of this new trilogy are ostensibly
written for young adults fool you. These are spare and poetic, with wonderful
characters. Really, one of the best Arthurian inspired works I've ever
read. Recommended by Ari Berk, Ph.D.
Nancy McKenzie, The Child Queen
(1994) and The High Queen novels. Recently released as the single
volume Queen of Camelot. McKenzie ably retells the King Arthur saga
from Guinevere’s perspective. I love that this Guinevere is not a caricature,
and she feels real, like and real woman coping with the responsibilities
of family, duty and love. Recommended by Heather Dale.
Rosemary Sutcliff, Sword
at Sunset. Still the best Dark Age Arthurian novel ever written,
full of magic, power and the high sorrow of great myth. An epic which wipes
away the medieval Arthur forever and places the Dark Age Artos at the centre
stage of a mighty epic struggle, of love lost and found, of life lost and
won, of a land that demands all from its champions. Recommended by John
Matthews.
Terry Gilliam’s film The Fisher
King, starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges (1991). This is a typically
bizarre and enjoyable Gilliam romp, which looks mainly at the issue of
mental illness with overtones of the Holy Grail Quest from Arthurian legend.
Williams’ performance is both funny and heartbreaking. I wasn’t sure what
to make of this movie when it first came out, but I enjoy finding new mythological
references every time I watch it. Recommended by Heather Dale.
T.H. White, The Once and Future
King. This is the first King Arthur novel I fell in love with as an
elementary school student, and it still holds up when I read it as an adult.
White translates the tales familiar from Mallory to Norman England (the
setting Mallory described, even though he set the story much earlier) where
they become allegorical explorations of pacifism. At times comic, and at
times heartbreaking, the characters have never seemed more human or vulnerable.
It’s hard to argue with the criticisms of the novel (especially the anachronistic
setting and the interpretation of some of the characters, like Pellinore
and Morgan le Fay), The Once and Future King remains a gem. It’s
a lovely, moving read. Recommended by John Adcox.
Barry Levinson’s film The Natural,
starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close, and Barbary Hershey (1984).
On the surface, this is a fun baseball
movie. Scratch the surface, however, and The Natural is teaming with mythological
archetypes. On the simplest level, it works as a retelling of the Superman
myth. The hero comes from nowhere, has a secret identity, super powers,
and a weakness that his enemies discover and exploit. More significantly,
the naïve hero comes to a “waste land” of a team called the Knights,
managed by one Pops Fisher. Get it? With that in mind, look at the theme
of wounded men and their sources of both pain and healing. While the retelling
of the Grail legend is a bit more obvious in the novel that inspired it,
the film is rich in mythological content. It’s a load of fun, too. Recommended
by John Adcox.
Parke Godwin, editor,
Invitation to Camelot: An Arthurian Anthology of Short Stories (1988).
Scifi/fantasy publishers have published many anthologies of Arthurian short
stories over the last twenty years. This collection features some of the
biggest names in modern Arthurian literature (Parke Godwin, Jane Yolan,
Morgan Llywelyn, Phyllis Ann Karr) and some great writing. Particularly
noteworthy is John M. Ford’s poem “Winter Solstice, Camelot Station,” a
warm and unique homage to Malory, T.H. White, and the famous personalities
of Camelot. Recommended by Christopher A. Snyder, Ph. D. |
