Week 9 Discussions: Male Divine Archetypes

This discussion has two parts. First, respond to one of the following:

• Modern goddess worshippers do not all worship the goddess (or goddesses) in the same way that Jewish believers worship Yahweh, Christians worship Christ, or Muslims worship Mohammed. Instead, goddess worshippers may "worship" the feminine principle, that is, some quality of what it means to be female. With reference to the divine archetypes listed in chapters 3 and 4 of Leonard & McClure, what archetype or feminine/masculine principle do you see as exemplifying your life, or what principle would you like to emulate and why. For iexample, Mother Teresa clearly fits Woolger and Woolger's Persephone: Medium, Mystic, and Mistress of Dead.

• Using the feminine and masculine divine archetypes, identify specific people (real or fictional) in our modern culture who fit specific archetypes. Explain why you think the person fits that archetype. For example, Mother Teresa clearly fits Woolger and Woolger's Persephone: Medium, Mystic, and Mistress of Dead. She was a spiritual leader who inspired others by her acts of charity and her emphasis on personal spirituality.

AND THEN, respond to at least three different male divine myths from the list of discussion topics below:

• Bhagavad Gita: In this myth, Vishnu counsels Arjuna on his role as a leader in war. What lessons does Arjuna learn? How do they help him resolve his conflict over doing battle? How can these lessons help those who serve in the military or help us understand the dilemmas soldiers face? What value does this myth hold for someone who must go to war?

• Enki and Ninhursanga: What does the constant repetition in this myth do for the story? What does this myth suggest about the origins of life?

• Orumila Gives the Orishas Their Powers: How does this myth relate to human inheritance? What does this myth teach us about Orumila's wisdom?

• Orumila: His Friendship with Eshu: Interestingly, in myth, often the Father-God or Son-God is friends with the trickster god. This can be seen, for instance, in the Norse myth with the friendship of Loki and Odin, and in this myth. What does this myth suggest about the nature of that friendship? Do we see similar friendships in real life?

• Thor's Duel with Hrungnir: What role does Odin play in this story? What motivates him throughout the story? What motivates each action he takes? How does this story relate to typical male behavior, especially gang behavior (male group behavior)? What kind of god is Thor?

• Quetzalcoatl Rescues the Precious Bones and Discovers Corn: What archetypes does Quetzalcoatl represent in this story? How is this story similar to the myth of Prometheus? What is the significance of Quetzalcoatl's nahual in terms of Jungian archetypes (support answer with evidence from story)?

Be sure to give well developed responses, and respond to the posts of at least two of your classmates.