‘Diluvian Origins of Craft Masonry’

     

Maryland Masonic Research Society will meet again next month and hear a presentation by Jason Richards of The Masonic Roundtable. From the publicity:

Maryland Masonic

Research Society

Saturday, October 12 at noon

Birmingham Masonic Center

10800 Edmonston Road

Beltsville, Maryland

$20 for lunch. RSVP here.

Diluvian Origins:

The Influence of the Noahide

Flood Myth of Craft Masonry

Presented by Jason Richards, Past Master of Acacia Lodge 16 in Clifton, Virginia; member of The Colonial Lodge 1821 in Washington, DC; and co-host of The Masonic Roundtable podcast. Richards also is a writer, editor, and speaker on Masonic topics, having written for The Midnight Freemasons and The Voice of Freemasonry in the District of Columbia.

“Diluvian Origins” is a comparative study of worldwide flood myths that explores the similarities of various oral traditions and cultural memories of catastrophic flood events, and demonstrates the links between the Noahide flood myth and the York Craft Guild system, and examines historical records that imply the story of Noah was at one time a central theme in early 18th century Masonic Third Degree rituals.

Lunch at noon. Presentation at 1 p.m. When booking your seat, please mention if you require a vegan meal, and reserve no later than October 8.


Just a few thoughts: It is true that what is religion to one man may be mythology to another, but in Freemasonry we do not look at the Book of Genesis as myth, as this first book of the VSL particularly informs Craft ritual and symbol. And, in Freemasonry, we spell it “Noachide.” Noah and his sons was one of the first topics I addressed many years ago as Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786, so I remember the Graham Manuscript of 1726, which places Noah in the raising position we today know is held by our GMHA. I regret not being able to attend this event because I am curious to learn of the additional rituals or documents that explain. Of course there is Royal Ark Mariner, but that tells a different story. Highly recommended if you are able to attend. Enjoy.
     

‘Book Club: Campbell and Ehre texts’

     
Bro. Jeph has announced the topics of the next Fourth Manhattan District Book Club meeting of October 16:

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, and The Three Legged Table by Victor T. Ehre, Jr.

The book club will meet in the Wendell K. Walker Room on the ground floor of Masonic Hall at 7 p.m. The meeting will be open not only to all Masons, but also to interested people who are not Masons.

The Power of Myth is not a work authored by Joseph Campbell, but actually is taken from the lengthy interviews of Campbell for PBS by Bill Moyers in 1985 and 1986, which were broadcast in six one-hour episodes in the summer of 1988, shortly after Campbell’s death. They speak in some detail of the definition of myth, of the forms of myths, and, naturally, of Campbell’s work in delineating what he terms the monomyth.

Their interview, perhaps inevitably, turns to Freemasonry. Excerpted:


Moyers: Is the Masonic order an expression somehow of mythological thinking?

Campbell: Yes, I think it is. This is a scholarly attempt to reconstruct an order of initiation that would result in spiritual revelation. These founding fathers [of the United States] who were Masons actually studied what they could of Egyptian lore. In Egypt, the pyramid represents the primordial hillock. After the annual flood of the Nile begins to sink down, the first hillock is symbolic of the reborn world. That’s what [the Great Seal of the United States] represents.


There is more significant talk of ritual and its potential powers, as well as a wealth of other subjects of interest to thinking Freemasons. Professor Campbell is beloved for making the esoteric aspects of mythologies accessible to the general public, and this book often surfaces in conversation in Masonic intellectual circles as the most useful entry point into Campbell’s work. Even if you cannot participate with the Book Club, do make a point of reading The Power of Myth when you can.

I am not familiar with Victor Ehre’s The Three Legged Table: The Three Principles of Life Living, but here is what Amazon says:

Isaac Newton’s Second Law of Inertia postulates that a body in motion tends to continue at the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an outside force. The book, The Three Legged Table, challenges the reader not to accept things in their lives as they are, but presents the three Principles in every person’s life and how one can affect the changes needed to redirect them towards the goals they seek. The Three Legged Table offers eighteen words that, when they are applied to the Personal, Social, and Spiritual principles which govern your life, will give you the choices to redirect the path you are on. This book will not only focus you on how to achieve success through these powerful words, but will also point out the pitfalls in life that often keep people from reaching their fullest potential. How can you achieve your fullest Personal Growth? There are only five words to greater success. How can you achieve greater Social growth? There are only ten words you need to live by to achieve stronger social interactions and success with others. Finally, how can you achieve greater Spiritual Growth and peace in your life? The Three Legged Table offers the three words that will lead you to understanding and recognition of God’s involvement in your Life. The Three Legged Table reaffirms the truth that each and every one has one Most Valuable and Precious Resource. To achieve your Maximum Potential and complete Balance in your life, a commitment to the eighteen words shared here to your fullest abilities and talents will allow you to apply the outside forces of change Isaac Newton postulated to alter your course through life and achieve lasting growth, success and peace.


Those 18 words? They are divided into three axioms, but I will give only the 10-word saying here since you will know it: “Treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

Taking on two titles for a single meeting of a book club is risky, but it should make for a lively evening together.
     

‘Inklings celebration, Mythcon 49, coming to Atlanta’

     
Mythopoeic Society’s 49th Mythcon will be hosted in Atlanta in three months. Titled “On the Shoulders of Giants,” there is a call for papers underway and registration is open now.

The society is devoted to mythopoeic literature, particularly that of the Inklings, the Oxford University circle of friends that included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. From the publicity:

Mythcon 49

On the Shoulders of Giants

Atlanta, Georgia

July 20-23

The Mythopoeic Society’s annual conference, popularly called Mythcon, has historically been held at a college or university campus in late July or early August. Each conference is constructed around a theme related to Inklings studies and/or fantastic and mythic literature. Each conference also features an author and a scholar guest of honor. Papers, panel discussions, readings, entertainment, an art show, a dealers’ room, and other activities fill the four-day event. Another Mythcon highlight is our annual banquet, after which the Mythopoeic Awards are presented. A small (usually 100-200 people) and intimate setting makes Mythcon an excellent venue for meeting people with common interests. You may see the full history and individual conference pages by visiting our Mythcon History page.

Registration here.

Call for Papers

Our theme is suggested by the ways in which Inklings scholarship has built on such good foundations. Papers exploring this theme might include, but are not limited to any of the following:

• The past, present, and future of mythopoeic scholarship and independent journals
• Academic, audience, and critical reception of mythopoeic literature
• The history of fandom, fan communities, and fan-fiction
• Adaptations of mythopoeic literature — film, music, gaming, and more
• The mythopoeic giants who inspired the Inklings — including Homer, Dante, Milton, George MacDonald, William Morris, G.K. Chesterton, and the most prolific of them all, Anon.
• Giants as literary figures in myth, fairy tale, and mythopoeic literature — Atlas, Goliath, the Norse Giants, Grendel, Gogmagog, Tolkien’s Trolls, the Giants and Ettins of Narnia.
     

‘Rosicrucian perspectives of the Egyptian myths’

     
The Rosicrucian Order will host a series of lectures on Rosicrucian perspectives of ancient Egyptian mythology in the coming weeks at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center (2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard) in New York City. From the publicity:

Discuss the Mythology

of Osiris and the Underworld

April 25 through April 29

May 16 through May 19

nightly at 6:30

Each soul confronts the 42 Confessions of Maat. Anubis weighs the heart against the feather of Maat, and Osiris judges. The Rosicrucian mystical perspective of this myth is examined. Question and answer session will be followed by a meditation.

Discuss Isis and Osiris

from a Rosicrucian Perspective

May 2 through May 6

nightly at 6:30

We will explore the archetypes of Isis and Osiris from a Rosicrucian perspective.

Discuss the Metamorphosis

of Apuleius from a Rosicrucian Perspective

May 9 through May 13

nightly at 6:30

A young man named Lucius becomes fascinated with witchcraft and is transformed into a donkey. Passed from owner to owner, his ordeal exposes him to many trials until the magic spell is broken by the goddess Isis, and Lucius is initiated into her cult. This story of transformation has many mystical implications which are discussed from a Rosicrucian perspective. There will be a discussion period and meditation.


The facilitator of these discussions will be E. Bernard West, who serves the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis as Grand Councilor for Georgia and Louisiana, and the Traditional Martinist Order as Provincial Master in Georgia. He is known for his expertise in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythologies. He also serves in various Masonic capacities, including as Master of a Prince Hall Affiliated Blue Lodge, Patron of an Eastern Star Chapter, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine and Grand Inspector General 33º of the United Supreme Council. Bernard has a Master’s Degree in Political Science and a Ph.D. in American Studies, and is a published author and retired Army officer.
     

‘Hermes, Gurdjieff, Superstitions, Tarot and Rosicrucians’

     
Four great events in New York City, and one in California, you may want to attend.

The Mythic Moment

The New York Mythology Group, the New York City Roundtable of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, will meet Sunday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 11 a.m. to noon for “The Mythic Moment.” From the publicity:

Mythic Moments: Storytelling in Greek and Roman Art Gallery Talk—A story told in words can extend through many points in time, but an illustration needs to capture only one. The talk is free with museum admission. Assemble at the Great Hall at 10 o’clock before heading to the venue at the Velez Blanco Patio.

While this event is not exclusive to the Mythology Group, it is definitely a relevant topic. The Velez Blanco Patio (Gallery 534) holds very interesting artifacts, one of which is the inspiration for the two-tailed mermaid that we now attribute as the symbol for Starbucks. Jean Sorabella, an expert in Greco Roman art will take us through the myths that inspired the artworks that are now on exhibit at the Met.

Origins: Superstitions

Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America and One Simple Idea, has launched a new project titled “Origins: Superstitions.” This web series of 90-second episodes defines and decodes the, well, origins of superstitions. Directed by Ronni Thomas (The Midnight Archive), the series can be heard here.

Meaning in the Midst of Life

The Gurdjieff Foundation of New York will offer another introductory event on Friday, March 13. Titled “The Search for Meaning in the Midst of Life,” this program will begin at 6 p.m. at Quest Bookshop at 240 East 53rd Street in Manhattan.

Click to enlarge.

“Only by beginning to remember himself does a man really awaken. And then all surrounding life acquires for him a different aspect and a different meaning.”

G. I. Gurdjieff

For reservations (recommended) or further information, e-mail gurdjieffevent(at)gmail.com

Tarot at the Met

Queen of Flowers playing card, 1435.

Also at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on April 22, tarot scholar Robert Place again will lead a small group of seekers into the hidden archives to examine the Met’s collection of historic tarot and divination cards, ranging from the earliest woodcut Tarocchi, printed in 15th century Italy, to rare 19th century Le Normand divination decks. All accompanied by Place’s talk on the history and symbolism of the cards. The group also will see The Queen of Flowers, created in 1435, making it one of the oldest European playing cards still in existence, and Le Sorti, one of the oldest and richly illustrated books on divination with cards, published in Venice in 1540.

The afternoon at the Met costs $70 per person, prepaid. Each participant also is responsible for obtaining a ticket for entrance to the museum for the day. There is only room for 14 people at this event and 9 have already signed up so don’t delay; it will fill up quickly. To register contact Place at: alchemicaltarot@aol.com

AMORC World Convention 2015

Join Imperator Christian Bernard and all of the Grand Masters from throughout the world for the 2015 AMORC World Convention, commemorating the founding of AMORC in America. The convention will be hosted at the Fairmont San Jose, July 29 to August 2. Click here for the details.
     

‘Coming attractions’

     
Discussion, music, film, literature, tarot, Anthroposophy, Rosicrucianism, BOTA, history, philosophy, psychology, religion, mythology, mindfulness, morality, and more. I provide this list of upcoming events—all but two in Manhattan—gently to suggest to my Masonic brethren that it is okay to hop outside the oblong square of the lodge to enjoy other activities and meet new people. We all know already what is going to happen at your next Masonic meeting. Try something new. Some of these events are free; others are somewhat costly; all are worth a thinking adult’s time. Try one.


Tuesday, October 21—“Masonic Ideals: The Magic Flute” discussion at the Metropolitan Opera House. Click here.


Wednesday, October 22—“Let God in the Room: The Music and Spirituality of Jack White” is the latest evening of Ancient Currents at Aish Center’s Center for Arts Education. 7 p.m. at 266 West 37th Street, ninth floor, in Manhattan. Enter on the Eighth Avenue side. Admission is free. Pizza will be served. Click here.

If you are over forty, Jack White’s name may not mean anything, but if for no other reason than his generous rescue of the Detroit Masonic Temple from the Sheriff’s auction last year, you should know of him.

“Join Rabbi Adam Jacobs on Wednesday evening for Ancient Currents, a weekly series that explores current events and popular culture through the lens (and long memory) of classical Judaism.


Gain insight into what’s going on now in our world, and walk away with valuable lessons on how to navigate the trends and take inspiration from an old perspective on the news.”


Saturday, October 25—Builders of the Adytum to meet at 10 a.m. in Masonic Hall (71 West 23rd Street, Manhattan) on the 12th floor for its monthly “The Elements in Tarot and Hebrew” study.


Saturday, October 25—“Drinking from the Haunted Well: A Mystical Exploration of the Fairy Land of A.E. Waite” presented by Stuart Südekum. Catland Books in Brooklyn. $15 admission (or $7 with fairy or Victorian costume). 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Courtesy Stuart Südekum

Stuart Südekum shakes the dust from the unknown fairy stories and poetry of Arthur Edward Waite, who is remembered for his long and technical tomes of scholarly mysticism. It might surprise many to learn his work also contains a beautifully interwoven mythos of esoteric Romances set in a visionary realm of fairies.


Waite carried this secret kingdom in his heart throughout his life, even into his late, post-Golden Dawn work.

Stuart Südekum will serve as a mystical tour guide to this forgotten realm, exploring how Waite’s fiction, drama, and poetry can be used to better understand the challenging concepts we encounter in his non-fiction works.

A delicious tea will be served.


Saturday, October 25—The C.G. Jung Foundation will present “The Experience of the Divine/Sacred after the Death of God: Jung and the Quest for an Individuated Spirituality,” a daylong workshop (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) led by Donald R. Ferrell, Ph.D. and Joanna Mintzer, MA. 28 East 39th Street in Manhattan. Click here.

“Friedrich Nietzsche’s 19th century declaration of the Death of God has had a profound influence upon the intellectual and psycho-spiritual life of Western culture. C.G. Jung emerged from his early encounter with Nietzsche deeply aware that the dominant God image of the three great monotheisms of the West was in decline. Jung understood that with that decline the spiritual lives of Western peoples were in crisis. This workshop will explore Jung’s contribution to the quest for a spirituality brought forth from the loss of soul and the death of meaning. It will also explore post-Jungians, philosophers, and theologians who continue that quest in our time. Through presentations and discussion, we will seek to explore that essential Jungian question: What can the divine and sacred mean for us today?”


Monday, October 27—The New York Mythology Group (the NYC Roundtable of the Joseph Campbell Foundation) will meet in the Mann Library of the C.G. Jung Institute to discuss reading assignment “Archaic Man” by Dr. Jung. 28 East 39th Street in Manhattan. 6:15 to 8 p.m.

This essay is from Collected Works, Vol. 10, Civilization in Transition, from the Bollingen Series and can also be found in Modern Man in Search of a Soul.

“Primitive man is no more logical or illogical than we are. His presuppositions are not the same as ours, and that is what distinguishes him from us. His thinking and his conduct are based on assumptions other than our own. To all that is in any way out of the ordinary and that therefore disturbs, frightens, or astonishes him, he ascribes what we should call a supernatural origin. For him, of course, these things are not supernatural; on the contrary, they belong to his world of experience(s).”

C.G. Jung
Modern Man in Search of a Soul

Thursday, October 30—Anthroposophy NYC will host Mr. Owen Barfield, who will present “Reflections on My Grandfather, Owen A. Barfield.”

Owen Barfield

Owen Barfield (1898-1997) was one of the preeminent Anthroposophists of the 20th century and a well-known thinker from his university days, when he was a founding member of The Inklings—a group that included C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. His History in English Words and Poetic Diction are well known to lovers of language. What Coleridge Thought did much to reveal that famous poet’s greatness as a general philosopher, and Barfield’s insights into the evolution of consciousness (see Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry) have met with considerable attention in the United States from the 1960s forward.

This evening is a presentation and open conversation with his grandson Owen A. Barfield, his trustee since 2006. Along with Owen A. Barfield’s experience growing up, and how he came to be trustee, it will cover what has happened with the literary estate and what is still to come.

Owen A. Barfield: lives near London and is a practicing oil-painter and healer.

Admission: $20 per person, but first time visitors will be admitted free. Time: 7 p.m. 138 West 15th Street in Manhattan.

November 1, 2, 7, 8, 9—The New Victory Theater to stage The Magic Flute, the Masonic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Tickets start at $15. 209 West 42nd Street, just off Times Square. From the publicity:

From the townships of South Africa, Isango Ensemble bursts onto the stage in an inspired reimagining of Mozart’s masterpiece opera The Magic Flute: Impempe Yomlingo. Sung in English by an ensemble of more than two dozen vibrant voices, classic arias are enlivened with exhilarating orchestrations of merry marimbas and powerful percussion. Winner of an Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival (Young Vic, London) and a Globes de Cristal for Best Opera (Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris), this fresh, fearless and fantastical production, co-produced by Eric Abraham and the Young Vic, brims with dazzling drama, crisp comedy, and the sublime joy of finding true love.

Courtesy The New Victory

New York City’s first and only full-time performing arts theater for kids, their families, and classmates, The New Victory presents a full season of adventurous multidisciplinary works from around the globe and close to home.

Sunday, November 2—“Mindfulness and Meditations in Three Faith Traditions” at the NYU Center for Spiritual Life. Click here.

Sunday, November 2—“Drinking from the Haunted Well: A Mystical Exploration of the Fairy Land of A.E. Waite” presented by Stuart Südekum. Hosted by GnosticNYC at the Center for Remembering and Sharing, 123 Fourth Avenue, second floor, in Manhattan. Admission: $10 suggested donation. 2 p.m.

Scroll up to October 25 to see program details.


Friday, November 7—The Rosicrucian Order will screen a motion picture every Friday night in November and December at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center, located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. 6:30 p.m. This evening: Groundhog Day, not uncommonly called “the most spiritual movie of our time.”

Courtesy Columbia Pictures Corp.

Yes, we all have seen it, but if you view this movie as just another Bill Murray comedy, you are missing the point. The late Harold Ramis, director and co-writer, had something very meaningful in mind.


Wednesday, November 12—Tarot scholar Robert M. Place to host “An Afternoon of Tarot History at the Metropolitan Museum of Art” from 2 to 4:45 p.m. In an e-mail last week, Mr. Place told me there were four (4) places remaining—cost $70 per person in advance, NOT including the cost of admission to the museum—but I don’t know where that stands now. Contact him at alchemicaltarot(at)aol(dot)com.

Queen of Flowers playing card.

The group will venture “into the back rooms of the Metropolitan Museum to look at the collection of historic Tarot and divination cards, ranging from the earliest woodcut Tarocchi, printed in 15th century Italy, to rare 19th century Le Normand divination decks. All accompanied by [Place’s] talk on the history and symbolism of the cards. This year we will also see The Queen of Flowers, created in 1435, making it one of the oldest European playing cards still in existence, and one of the oldest richly illustrated books on divination with cards, Le Sorti, published in Venice in 1540.”


Friday, November 14—The Rosicrucian Order will screen a motion picture every Friday night in November and December at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center, located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. 6:30 p.m. This evening: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring.


Sunday, November 16—The School of Practical Philosophy offers the irresistible “Plato Study Day: Socrates on Trial.” 12 East 79th Street in Manhattan. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. $35 per person, which covers study materials, refreshments, catered Greek luncheon and, at four o’clock, a wine reception.

“Join us as we follow Socrates’ defense—one that is no apology at all, but a tribute to living life dedicated to the care of the soul, discovery of wisdom, and fidelity to truth. Enjoy the power of group study as we engage in a thoughtful conversation about the meaning of Socrates’ life and teachings. Reserve now, as space is limited.

“No prior knowledge of Plato is required.”

Click here to register.


Friday, November 21—The Rosicrucian Order will screen a motion picture every Friday night in November and December at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center, located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. 6:30 p.m. This evening: The Matrix.


Monday, November 24— The New York Mythology Group (the NYC Roundtable of the Joseph Campbell Foundation) will meet in the Mann Library of the C.G. Jung Institute to discuss reading assignment “Ancient Myths and Modern Man” by Joseph L. Henderson. 28 East 39th Street in Manhattan. 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. This is the second essay in the pages of Man and His Symbols.


Friday, November 28—The Rosicrucian Order will screen a motion picture every Friday night in November and December at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center, located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. 6:30 p.m. This evening: The Last Mimzy.


Saturday, November 29—H. Spencer Lewis Pronaos of the Rosicrucian Order will host Julie Scott, Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge for the Americas at its Nutley, New Jersey meeting place (175 Chestnut Street). I will share more details when they are available.


Wednesdays, December 3, 10, and 17—Tarot historian Robert Place returns to New York City for three nights at New York Open Center to present “An Introduction to the Tarot: Guidance and Wisdom for Our Spiritual Journey.” 8 to 10 p.m. NY Open Center is located at 22 East 30th Street.

“The Tarot, ostensibly a deck of decorated cards, is in fact a symbolic system whose images express Pythagorean, Platonic and Hermetic mystical ideas. Once one grasps the Tarot’s philosophy and structure, the cards can be used as an intuitive device to connect with one’s inner wisdom. In this class we will study the symbolism of the Tarot as its Italian Renaissance creators intended, come to understand its spiritual messages, and then learn and practice techniques that develop our intuition and enable us to read the cards as messages from our Higher Self. Note: Bring a Tarot deck (Waite-Smith or one of Robert Place’s decks) and some unlined paper.”

Click here for registration info.


Saturday, December 6—The C.G. Jung Foundation will present “The Many Faces of Loneliness,” a daylong workshop (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) led by Heide M. Kolb. 28 East 39th Street in Manhattan. Click here.

“If a man knows more than others,
he becomes lonely.”

C.G. Jung

Loneliness is one of the most prevalent ailments and complaints in our time. We live in a culture that pathologizes the need for solitude while clinging to the belief that interpersonal relationships are indispensable for a fulfilled life. Yet even if we accept that the tolerance of solitude is a necessity for human development, loneliness remains a source of terrible suffering for many.

Automat by Edward Hopper, oil on canvas, 1927.

While this workshop can stand on its own, it is also a continuation of a previously offered seminar of the same title. We will continue to explore the meaning and possible purpose of loneliness through a Jungian lens. While we will never lose sight of the potentially transformative aspect of loneliness, we will particularly focus on how to make sense and how to engage the often unbearable suffering of loneliness when all seems dead and lost and nothing and no one seems to be there.

Participants are encouraged to bring a journal.
     

‘A Midsummer’s Night Mythology’

     
New York Mythology Group, the New York City Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, will take it outside for a night under the stars in Central Park on Wednesday. From the publicity:

A Midsummer’s Night Mythology:

Stories Under the Stars

With Antoine Faddoul

Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m.

Antoine will present stories of the constellations as viewed by different civilizations’ myths, with expressions through artworks, and artifacts. Join us for an enchanting evening. Bring refreshments, if you like.

Meet at Cleopatra’s Needle behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 79th Street.

Antoine Faddoul is a polymath designer, artist, storyteller, and futurist with a multidisciplinary approach combining elements of astronomy, general science, archaeology, history, art, ancient mythology, and linguistics. He has lectured, written, and edited dozens of books, papers, and articles.
     

‘Coming soon to the C.G. Jung Foundation’

   
The fall season at the C.G. Jung Foundation is scheduled to begin in a few weeks, and I should highlight a few events that may interest Magpie readers.

Courtesy zazzle.com

Saturday, October 5 is date of a full-day conference of discussions titled C.G. Jung in the 21st Century: His Impact on Science, Religion and Culture. Dr. John R. Haule will deliver the keynote address, discussing how “Jung’s doctrine of the archetypes anticipated Evolutionary Psychology by some 70 years, and is much better nuanced,” according to the conference announcement. “The complexes have been largely ‘explained’ by neuro-psychology, and brain science supports all of Jung’s claims about dreaming.”

In addition, Royce Froehlich, a faculty member at the Foundation, will present Jung and the Religious Spirit in the 21st Century, explaining “Jung’s ideas for maintaining a balanced attitude by adopting and adapting, creatively modifying homo sapiens’ innate religious function, part of the transformational process of evolving consciousness.”

Also on the agenda is Laurie Layton Schapira, president of the C.G. Jung Institute of New York, who will discuss the many ways Jung’s “psychological terms and constructs—shadow, archetype, collective unconscious, synchronicity, introvert/extravert—have even entered into the common parlance” since Jung’s death in 1961.

There is more on the schedule. Click here.

The cost per person is $60 for Foundation members, and $75 for the public.

Magpie file photo

This conference is independent of the fall course schedule, which will include a number of interesting classes, including:

Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth
6 Wednesdays, 7 to 8:40 p.m.
Beginning November 6 (excluding November 27)

Instructor Fanny Brewster, Ph.D.

Joseph Campbell, following in the tradition of C.G. Jung, provided us with a contemporary perspective from which to view our lives, and deepen our life experiences through mythology. This year is the 25th anniversary of the widely successful The Power of Myth, initially previewed to television audiences in June, 1988. In this course, we will view the six episodes of the documentary, followed by a discussion of Joseph Campbell’s views on mythology, and how we can use our knowledge of it to live full, wonderfully powerful lives.
     

'Finding YOU'

     
"A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life."

Joseph Campbell


This evening was the only New York City area screening of a new film titled "Finding Joe," a documentary about the work of Professor Joseph Campbell, the scholar at Vassar who delved into the world's mythologies and religious stories, discovering what he believed to be the single unifying theme found in all those morality tales: the Hero's Journey.

Arguably the most apt example of this is that first Star Wars movie from 1977. Consider the plot and you'll have the Hero's Journey concept, because George Lucas very deliberately assembled the story in accord with Campbell's teachings in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." Luke Skywalker, a boy of uncertain parentage, suffers a life-changing shock which propels him, reluctantly, forth into the dangerous world (or galaxy, as this story has it). He meets with an older figure, someone to mentor him, and together they travel to places unimaginable. The mentor equips his apprentice with special tools, and schools him in their esoteric uses. The apprentice suffers the loss of his master, and must continue the adventure without him, relying on himself and what he has learned. He does battle with an enemy thought unbeatable, and even is swallowed whole by a monster, before conquering the enemy, achieving his goal, and returning to the world he had left in the innocence of his youth.

To strip this theme to its skeleton robs it of much of its appeal, but think of how many of man's stories adhere to that very formula. It's the life of Jesus, the dream of Dorothy, the quest of Frodo, the lessons of so many Greek myths. There's no limit to its application, because a story's time and place are only incidental; what matters is the story is true to each of us. Your psychology or my psychology or anyone's can be grafted onto the fundamental theme of the Hero's Journey to tell our own unique epics. Each of us has a paralyzing fear to confront and defeat as a necessary part of growth, and indeed achieving happiness. At the end of this film, it is explained that "Finding Joe" is not the documentarian's search for this famous man named Joe, but as a title, "Finding Joe" is only a rhetorical device synonymous with you finding yourself; you identifying your fundamental purpose in life, and then surpassing all internal obstacles (fear and other emotions that produce our excuses and procrastinations) to achieve your goals.

The tagline in the film's marketing quotes Campbell saying "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." An urgent lesson for anyone, but especially for those who have come in the same way and manner as all others before.

The various people interviewed in the film phrase these concepts far more creatively than I have here, and so I urge you to see "Finding Joe," and even to arrange to screen it for your brethren. This edition of The Magpie Mason is a rare commercial endorsement, so click here to purchase the $20 DVD. (My movie ticket at Symphony Space cost me $22!) The running time is only 80 minutes, but the impact of the wisdom imparted will leave you with a different understanding of any number of Masonic rituals, from the Sublime Degree to Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. All of those rites in which Masonic Man is sent forth on a quest owe their existence to this amazing anthropological dynamic Joseph Campbell discerned in the world's religions and mythologies.

"A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life."

Don't let Campbell's Hero's Journey displace any of the moral and esoteric understandings of Masonic degrees you hold already, but just make some room for another shelf amid your stock of knowledge.