Sacred Mysteries: Myths About Couples in Quest - Softcover

Smith, Evans Lansing

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1577331265 ISBN 13: 9781577331261

Publisher: Blue Dolphin Publishing, 2003

Synopsis

We should remember that for the ancients, the underworld was both infernal and Elysian; it was a dual realm, part hell, and part heaven. Like marriage. Like any relationship that lasts longer than three months. Sacred Mysteries explores the wonderful treasury of myths and folktales about marriage bequeathed to us by our ancestors, and which we must pass on to our descendants. What we see in the magic mirror of these myths is that deeper part of ourselves created by the marriage relationship. Sacred Mysteries retells and analyzes those myths and tales of marriage and relationship which involve a hero journey to the otherworld. It focuses on the archetypal symbolism in these marvelous stories, in order to provide a magic mirror of myth in which to reflect upon the mysteries of our relationships - their sorrows and joys, their ups and downs, their losses and recoveries. Joseph Campbell once remarked that marriage is a sacred relationship because it breaks down our egos, but thereby opens us up to a deeper dimension within ourselves. James Hillman would agree, and call marriage a "soul-making" journey, one that takes us down into the depths, where the mythic images of the soul lie buried. Sacred Mysteries celebrates and illuminates the ups and downs of couples on the quest. It focuses exclusively on myths, ballads, poems, stories, and folktales about couples who undertake a journey to the otherworlds within the soul - worlds only marriage and relationship can open up to us. ISBN: 1-57733-126-5, 6x9

About this title

About the Author

Evans Lansing Smith, Ph.D., received a B.A. in English from Williams College, an M.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch International (London and Dublin), and a Ph.D. in Literature from The Claremont Graduate School. He traveled with the late Joseph Campbell, on study tours of northern France, Egypt, and Kenya, and he studied literature in England, at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Since then, he has taught at colleges in California, Switzerland, Maryland, and Texas, where he is currently Professor of English at Midwestern State University, in Wichita Falls. He has published five previous books, and numerous articles, on comparative mythology and literature. He has been nominated for "International Writer of the Year 2003" by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England. Lans is married to Michelle Ruppert, Director of the Honors Program at the University, and they have three children, Anita, Charles, and Angela. Lans and Michelle regularly deliver slide-illustrated lectures on mythology to a wide variety of audiences.

Edition details

• Publisher: Blue Dolphin Publishing
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1577331265
• ISBN 13: 9781577331261
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 220