Week 8 Discussions: Female Divine Archetypes

This discussion is in two parts. First, respond to one of the following discussion topics:

• Several of the modern approaches to the divine archetypes, particularly feminist approaches, see the archetypes as exemplars of human behavior, and the archetypes are portrayed as models for people to emulate. Christians throughout the centuries have emphasized "walking in the steps of Christ," "following Christ," or asking "What would Jesus do?" as in the popular initials often seen at the front of many churches IHS for "In His Steps." I imagine every person in this class who would identify himself or herself as a Christian would say that his or her goal in life is to "be like Christ" as would many others who might not define themselves as Christian in the conservative evangelical sense. Looking at the other gods and goddesses that we have studied, which god or goddess attracts you as a model, and why?

• The four primary Jungian archetypes are the persona, the anima or animus, the shadow, and the self. In Star Wars Luke can be seen as an expression of the anima early in the story and by Episode VI is an example of the centered self after having wrestled with and learned to achieve balance between the opposing forces in his life in Episode V. Darth Vader is an example of the shadow who has given into the "dark side." Looking at other movies, tv shows, or video games, can you identify characters who fit one of these four primary Jungian archetypes? Identify the character by name and show or game, identify which archetype you think the character illustrates, and explain why you think that character fits that archetype.

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

• Fire Goddess: How does the behavior of the gods and goddesses in the Hawaiian story of Hi-i-aka parallel modern relationships between men and women?

• White Buffalo Calf Woman: Skip ahead to Module 5 and read "Introduction to Sacred Space" and "The Nature of the Sacred." In their preface to this myth, Leonard and McClure discuss the concept of wakan. What examples of this appear in the myth, and what stories from other myths, including the Bible, reflect this same concept?

• White Buffalo Calf Woman: Skip ahead to Module 5 and read "Introduction to Sacred Space" and "The Nature of the Sacred." How does the pipe or chanunpa in this story illustrate characteristics of the sacred?

• The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi: Students sometimes find the sexual metaphors drawn from agriculture in this myth awkward. In our own culture, what metaphors are linked to sexuality? What do the agricultural metaphors from this Sumerian myth suggest about their attitudes toward sexuality? What do our own sexual metaphors suggest about our attitudes toward sexuality?

• A Taste of Earth: In this Vietnamese myth, what is the significance of eating the earth? What other myth does this parallel? What is the relationship between Au Co and the earth? What goddess types does she illustrate? What characterizes the relationship between Au Co and the Dragon Prince?

• Kali Beheaded: Which of the other goddesses is most like Kali, and why? What is the significance of Kali having the body of a prostitute? What do the relationships Kali has with men suggest about male/female relationships in Indian culture?

• Callisto and Arcas: How similiar is this story to modern day conflicts and attitudes toward infidelity and rape?

• On the Origin of the World: If you are familiar with Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (The movie The Golden Compass was based on the first book in the trilogy), what elements of gnosticism can you see in Pullman (based on Leonard & McClure's preface to this myth).

• On the Origin of the World: How does the gnostic view of women in this myth differ from the view of women presented in Genesis 2?

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