Using Myth and Story for Transformation

“We need image and myths through which we can see who we are and what we might become.”

Christine Downing

It may seem strange to consider myth and story as tools for transformation, however, it is in our stories, whether they are ancient myths, fairy tales, or Hollywood blockbusters, that we find the recurring universal themes, the archetypes, that we experience as humans. These stories show us the trials and tribulations of being human, and they provide us with role models of ways to be in this world.

For instance, the hero’s journey is the premise of many myths and films, including the Odyssey and Star Wars.  It is in the characters’ stories, in their heed to a call greater than themselves, that we can find our own stories and our own monsters to conquer on our journeys of transformation. 

The hero myth has a strong masculine perspective, and thus, various scholars have looked at how the ancient Greek goddess myths can help us to re-discover the feminine both individually and culturally.  Persephone, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ariadne, Artemis, Athena, and Hestia, just to name a few, are goddess whose presence has been diminished in our culture, but whose stories provide us with visions of how we can re-embrace the feminine in a powerful way.

This image is a relief from the myth of Persephone and Demeter which reflects many aspects of the psychological development of women including the process of death and rebirth, the need for the connection to the underworld/unconscious, and the significance of the mother-daughter-grandmother relationships.  Persephone, Demeter, and Athena, all very strong feminine role models representing different aspects of the feminine, are leading an initiate through the Eleusinian mysteries which were the most prominent of all ancient Greek religious festivals and a process of psychological transformation.  If we let them, these mythic figures and their stories can guide us through our own development.