Shamanic Mythology: The Myth of Atalanta

The Shamanic Circle of Myths. Autumn-Winter-Spring-Summer and Autumn Again. The Teacher Archetype. The Myth of Atalanta

"True mastery can only be achieved by allowing all things to follow their own course. It cannot be achieved by interference."

Tao Te Ching.

Learning, apprenticeship, and teachers are universal concepts, whether we're talking about traditional or non-traditional educational systems, the transmission of mastery in one form or another, or following teachers in various spiritual traditions. Autumn is a time when the Teacher archetype is active, symbolically reflected at the beginning of the school year in schools and universities, when we hope that we or our children will encounter worthy teachers, or when we ourselves embark on the path of teaching, passing on what we have mastered. Learning, in one way or another, permeates our entire lives. We learn from life and its circumstances, from nature with its cyclical and unpredictable nature, from our traditions, our ancestors, and from everyone we encounter in life. We seek teachers and become teachers, embodying certain inner images associated with this cultural phenomenon. Ancient prophets, saints, mythological heroes, ancestors, and spiritual leaders from various traditions contribute to our understanding of the true teacher and, ultimately, direct our gaze inward.

American anthropologist Angeles Arrien describes the principle guiding the Teacher as openness to the outcome and, at the same time, detachment from it. "The Teacher possesses wisdom, teaches trust, and understands the need for detachment. His path consists of choosing trust as his instrument" (Arrien, 2003, p. 155). According to many shamanic traditions, the most difficult times we experience are those of uncertainty, in which we are forced to wait, learn trust, and patience. We learn to maintain calm and composure during periods of life's changes. In some parts of Africa, such moments in life are referred to as "journeying through the land of gray clouds." Sometimes the wisest thing we can do is wait and trust, which can be a very difficult lesson for us.

A good teacher in such situations can be the archetype of the Trickster—a teacher who uses the unexpected to awaken a person from the familiar everyday and makes them notice the tendencies, habitual patterns of behavior and thinking that limit us. “In shamanic communities, it is recognized that a person who has difficulty with surprises and the unexpected has attachments, fixed points of view, and a strong need to control. Attachments are specific, frozen expectations, desires imposed on people, places, and situations. If we have attachments, we become rigid, strict, and try to control everything. The image of the Trickster reminds us of the need to be more cheerful” (ibid., p. 158). Angeles Arrien points out that in many traditions, the Trickster is a figure personifying the unexpected. “The Trickster god is found everywhere. He is known to the Indians as Aiktinik, Coyote, Rabbit, and others. In the Polynesian islands, he is Maui, Loki for the ancient Germanic tribes, and Krishna in the sacred mythology of India. We Westerners are best acquainted with the Greek god Hermes, who is the most complete and perfect personification of the Mocker. Homer called Hermes "the bringer of good fortune." In addition to all the other contradictions, Hermes is known as the patron of travelers and thieves. He is the guide of souls to the underworld and the messenger of the gods. As all these roles suggest, the image of Hermes is the embodiment of the master of boundary crossing. It is precisely this power that allows him to astonish the human world, performing miracles and the unexpected" (quoted in Arrien, p. 157).

The Mocker archetype helps us be open to new experiences, responding to life situations not in a rehearsed way, but spontaneously, maintaining what in Zen practice is called a “beginner’s mind.” Shunryu Suzuki, a Zen master and spiritual successor to the 13th-century Zen teacher Dogen, described this state: “Your mind should be truly empty and receptive, but not closed. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for everything; it is open to everything. A beginner’s mind has many possibilities; an expert’s mind has only a few.” (Suzuki, 1995, p. 26)

In other words, the Teacher archetype encourages us to remain open to new things and flexible, despite all the experience we have accumulated.

Moreover, we learn detachment through the experience of loss. "Any loss is an experience of humility, teaching us to accept and let go. William Bridges, in his book "Human Survival and Personal Development," writes that losses are typically divided into the following categories:

1. Loss of attachments.
2. Loss of shelter.
3. Loss of place in life.
4. Loss of the future.
5. Loss of meaning.
6. Loss of control.

Many shamanic traditions recognize that rituals, as conscious recognition of changes in life, facilitate the changes that occur and open the way for things to come into a new alignment.” (Arrien, 2003, p. 160).

We view autumn as a metaphor for the function of matriarchal consciousness—sensation. Sensation and intuition constitute a pair of opposing irrational functions; they operate not with evaluations and judgments, but with simple perceptions that are not evaluated or interpreted. Sensation perceives things as they are. In other words, sensation is the “function of the actual” (Yolanda Jacobi 1996). Jung: “Sensation must convey to us, through sight, hearing, taste, etc., information about concrete reality” (C.G. Jung 1997, par. 900). Perhaps we could say that the body is the “instrument” of sensation; the body allows us to be in reality; it reacts to the weather, requires sleep, rest, and food, thereby confirming that we move in time or space. But the body is literally what we inherited from our ancestors; it is their cells, combining, that create us. Karl Kerenyi writes that humans have two origins, two foundations: the absolute, which unites all the contradictions of human nature, and the relative, where we are a continuation of our ancestors. (K. Jung, K. Kerenyi 2005, p. 15). The body gives our soul the ability to touch reality and feel emotions. Can we say that sensation is bodily consciousness?

“…in its masculine form, the moon manifests as the center of the spiritual world of matriarchal consciousness, and also in its feminine form as the highest expression of the feminine spirit-Self, as Sophia, divine wisdom. This wisdom, however, relates to life in its inseparable and paradoxical connection of living and dead; nature and spirit, time and destiny; growth, dying, and the overcoming of death. For such a feminine figure, the wisdom of life and order is not based on disconnected, abstract laws in which dead divine bodies or atoms revolve in empty space; it is a wisdom that is and remains connected to the earth, to organic growth on earth, and to the experience of our ancestors within us. It is the wisdom of the unconscious and instincts, of life and kinship” (Neumann, 1994).

Autumn is a time of loss, a time of mourning the passing of summer, warmth, and sun. And here, our ancestors are wonderful helpers in the difficult work of dealing with loss: they all went through this experience, and then came face to face with the ultimate unknown—death.

Working with family and ancestors is an invariable feature of all traditional communities without exception. They are remembered on certain days of the year, holidays and rituals are held for them, songs are dedicated to them, and legends are composed.

“The deepest and most ancient source of mystical knowledge and great narratives are the ancestors. They are both the founders and the inner guides of each individual people. They embody the cultural patterns that underlie many traditions. Sometimes they are literally members of a specific family, but more often they are simply nameless dreamers whose dreams contain images of the future—the potential from which everything evolved.” (John Matthews, 2002, p. 323). In the Celtic world, it is customary to pay homage to ancestors during the festival of Samhain, October 31st, as the door between the worlds is believed to be open at this time. It is also recognized that we inherit both good and bad behavior patterns from our ancestors. However, in general, ancestors serve as guardians and bearers of wisdom. (Matthews, 2002, p. 324).

Moreover, it's not only our blood relatives who can be considered ancestors. Many traditional societies have historically revered certain animals as their spiritual ancestors—the founders of their tribes or communities. For example, among all the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Far East, the bear was a key figure, associated with numerous rituals and beliefs. "The Khanty and Mansi trace their descent from the bear and treat it with deep reverence, calling it 'the clawed old man.'" In addition, the Ainu, Evenki, Sami, and some North American peoples consider the bear to be their ancestor. The bear was believed to enter into a mystical relationship with the tribe. The marriage of a woman and a bear is one of the most ancient mythological stories of the peoples of Eurasia" (materials from the "Shamanism" exhibition at the St. Petersburg Ethnographic Museum, 2013).

It could be said that in this case, “the animal bone symbolizes the ‘Universal Life’ in its continuous reproduction and therefore contains—at least in theory—everything that pertains to the past and future of this life” (M. Eliade, 2000, p. 159). Thus, using simple sticks or bones to produce sound can become an extraordinarily profound experience of understanding the origins of life and its wisdom. “We perceive sounds not only by ear; we hear them with the entire surface of our skin, we hear them with our bones. Sounds cause the fluids in our body to vibrate (like waves from a stone thrown into water). They also vibrate in the air cavities of our body” (Nauwald, Goodman, 2008, p. 77).

To honor the ancestral land and hear their guidance, during our workshop we use the sound of reindeer bones, which were kindly donated to us from a European reindeer farm. Many participants noted the extraordinary delicacy of the sound and the many profound feelings that arise in response to the combined sound. Bones have always been considered sacred objects in folk beliefs, as well as objects associated with the otherworldly realm (Slavic Mythology, 2011, p. 253). Many traditions consider bones to be the seat of the soul. There are known cases of shamans bequeathing their bones for the making of flutes, which were later used in healing rituals.

Shamanic myth.

Autumn is the archetype of the Teacher – the feeling is the myth of Atalanta.

It can be roughly divided into three parts: first, Atalanta is a warrior and hunter; second, she is a beloved, conquered in athletic competition; Atalanta is a wife and a lion. In the first part, Atalanta serves Artemis, in the second, Aphrodite, and in the third, Cybele.

Atalanta's story begins with her father expecting a son, but instead, a daughter is born. This displeases the father, who takes the child to a hill and abandons her. As a result, Atalanta is raised by the Bear and hunters, growing up to be a great warrior and priestess of Artemis. According to one version of the myth, she participates in the Argonauts' expedition; according to another, Jason bestows rich gifts upon her but does not include her in the expedition.

Atalanta takes part in the Calydonian Hunt, which brings together all the bravest warriors of Greece (Graves, 1992, p. 203). Having received the boar's skin, she comes to her father. "Overjoyed at Atalanta's success, Iasus finally acknowledged her as his daughter, but when she arrived at the palace, he greeted her with the words: 'My child, prepare to marry!'... Atalanta replied: 'Father, I consent, but on one condition. Any suitor must either defeat me in the race or allow me to kill him.' 'So be it,' replied Iasus" (Graves, 1992, p. 204). Many noble suitors died after losing the race, but one was found who cried out to Aphrodite all night before the race, and the goddess answered and gave him three golden apples. Here Atalanta was about to run, the spectators froze in anticipation, but Melanion threw the first apple at the swift-footed woman's feet. "... Atalanta saw her distorted reflection in the apple's round side and thought: 'This is what I will look like in old age'... Aphrodite's second apple awakened in her 'a yearning for love... a desire for physical and emotional intimacy'... and just at the finish line, Melanion 'threw the third apple. For a split second, Atalanta hesitated: should she cross the finish line and win, or pick up the apple and lose the race? She chose to pick up the apple" (D.S. Bolen, 2006, pp. 70-71). Jean Shinoda Bolen sees in Aphrodite's apples the awareness of time's passing, the importance of love, the instinct for procreation, and creativity.

"One day, passing by the sanctuary of Zeus, Melanion persuaded Atalanta to enter and make love there. Offended that the sanctuary had been desecrated, Zeus turned them into lions—for lions never mate with lions, only with leopards, and so they were deprived of the joy of enjoying each other. Thus Aphrodite punished Atalanta for first persisting in her desire to remain a virgin and then failing to thank her for the golden apples… Others say… that they both desecrated the sanctuary, not Zeus's, but Cybele's, who turned them into lions and harnessed them to her chariot" (Graves, 1992, p. 204).

Her father acts as a trickster figure for Atalanta, first leading her to Artemis, the goddess of the moon and the hunt. Serving her, Atalanta masters the art of rivalry. Faced with Artemis's fury—a boar sent to destroy Caledon—Atalanta endures the confrontation and finds a way to reconcile with her father, who immediately sends her to another goddess, Aphrodite, the goddess of love. From Aphrodite, Atalanta receives golden apples and a husband, learning to seduce and be seduced, but she lacks the ability to express gratitude. And for the third time, the Trickster, now in the guise of her husband, leads Atalanta to the goddess Cybele. It is the Great Mother of the Gods herself who transforms the couple into lions and harnesses them to a chariot, where they learn humility and partnership.

There's an interesting theory circulating online; unfortunately, we couldn't locate its author. It's a theory of seven stages of family development.

1. The marshmallow-chocolate phase, or "the chemistry of love." A man and woman meet and fall in love, their bodies producing hormones that paint the world in vibrant colors. The voice seems incomparable, any silliness seems astonishing. The person is in a state of drug-induced intoxication.
   2. The satiety phase, which inevitably follows the first.
   3. The third is disgust.
   It's essential for any long-term relationship. During the disgust phase, arguments begin, as if someone has taken a magnifying glass and is scrutinizing their partner's flaws. The easiest and most straightforward solution is divorce. What does this mean? A return to the marshmallow-and-chocolate phase with a different partner.
   There are people who only revolve around these three phases.
   4. The next phase is patience.
   Quarrels between partners continue, but they are not as fatal as in the previous period, since both know that when the quarrel ends, the relationship will be restored again.
   5. The fifth phase is the phase of duty, or respect – this is the first stage of love.
   Before this, there was no love. Partners begin to think not of "he owes me," but of "I owe him."
   6. The sixth phase is friendship. Friendship is a serious preparation for love.
   7. The seventh phase is love.
   Love is like six tastes: sweet, salty, tart, astringent, pungent, and even bitter. ( http://psy-sait.ru )

Atalanta experiences family relationships with the one sent to her by the gods, pulling the chariot of the Great Mother, while experiencing the asexuality of partnership, when both spouses are partners and their relationship is built on mutual respect, they look in the same direction, see the same goal, otherwise the chariot simply cannot move.

To fill the Teacher archetype with sensations, we work with two trance poses: “Bear Spirit” and “Old Woman from White Malta”.

"Bear Spirit." Felicitas Goodman, who considered bodily postures to be "ritual instructions" that enable us to undertake journeys within ourselves, named this pose "Bear Spirit," based on a carved wooden figurine made by the Kwakiutl people on the Canadian coast of the Serero West (Nauwald, Goodman, 2008, p. 156). This carving depicts a small man with a large bear squatting behind him. The bear holds the man between his front and hind legs, as if protecting him. "The bear is one of those animals that has developed a special relationship with humans. Images of bears dating back 10,000 years have been found in Anatolia. During the Neolithic era in southeastern Europe, as part of the cult of the "Great Goddess," Artemis was depicted as a nursing mother bear. At the dawn of history, people considered the bear to be the Great Mother's companion. It's no wonder she so readily accepts him into her womb! As her companion, the bear served as a mediator between worlds, moving through the lower world with the same ease as the middle one, and could even ascend to the sky, where it hunted as a constellation! (Nauwald, Goodman, 2008, pp. 156-157)

Key experiences when working with this pose include: a powerful surge of energy, strong activation of healing processes, renewal, initiation, protection, as well as security, safety and trust in life.

From the participants' feedback: A multitude of physical sensations, a feeling of warmth in the body. The sensation of a drum playing within one's own body, a physical pleasure from one's own heartbeat. The realization that "the body enjoys the heartbeat!" Images of earth, grass, and rivers. The image of a mother bear, who provides support and seems to point to the "throne that must be occupied in life." The bear standing behind one during the journey is like a shadow, with so much energy that it is perceived as heat.

"The Old Woman of Malta-Belaya." This figurine of a standing woman with her hands folded at her waist was discovered during excavations near the village of Malta in the Irkutsk Region on the banks of the Belaya River. This makes our work with this body pose special, as it evokes a strong connection with the territory of our land, our ancestors, and their traditional way of life. A 2013 expedition to the Irkutsk Region uncovered new key aspects of working with this pose, such as "growing into one's land," "the sensation of flight," "the world of smells," "connection with nature, a special heightened sense of smell," and "the ability to live in the natural environment where one was born."

The workshop participants noted a lack of trance states in their everyday lives and how their bodies deeply enjoyed working with noisemakers. They recognized their bodies as "power bodies"—they contain accumulated experiences and the memories of their ancestors. They understood that we can learn from ourselves through our senses. They experienced a heightened sense of surrounding odors, paying attention to the scent of sage and sedge in the circle. They also realized that the human body also has a smell, and that this isn't "shameful," but normal. They recalled how their mother used to smell things as a child, and how this was profoundly meaningful and enjoyable. The physical experience of sounds was emphasized, as if the sounds were touching the body and penetrating deeply. For example, the rustling sound of sedge seemed to touch the skin. They contemplated inner patterns. They realized that "my husband and I are in the same cart, in the same team." They experienced a special sense of physical lightness after two days of working with the myth.

1. Yolanda Jacobi, “The Psychological Teachings of C.G. Jung,” published in the collection “Carl Gustav Jung: Spirit and Life,” Moscow, “Praktika,” 1996.
2. K.G. Jung "Psychological Types", M., AST "University Book", 1997.
3. K.G. Jung, K. Kerenyi "Soul and Myth. Six Archetypes", M., AST, Minsk "Harvest", 2005.
4. R. Graves "Myths of Ancient Greece", M., "Progress", 1992.
5. D.Sh.Bolen, “Goddesses in Every Woman,” Kyiv, “Sofia,” 2006
6. Neumann E. The moon and matriarchal consciousness. The Fear of the Feminine. – Princeton: NJ, Princeton University Press, 1994
7. http://psy-sait.ru/psihologija-otnoshenij/semja/236-7-jetapov-otnoshenij-ili-kogda-prikhodit-nastojaschaja-ljubov.html
8. Errien E. The Path of Four Roads. – M., Publishing House "Sofia", 2003
9. S. Suzuki. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Riga, Ligatma Publishing House, 1995
10. Nauwald N., Goodman F. Ecstatic trance. – M., “Ripol classic”, 2008
11. D. Matthews, "The Celtic Shaman." – Sofia, Helios Publishing House, Moscow, 2002
12. M. Eliade, "Shamanism. Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy." – Kyiv, Sofia, 2000.
13. "Slavic Mythology", Moscow, International Relations Publishing House, 2011.
14. Materials from the exhibition "Shamanism" at the Ethnographic Museum of St. Petersburg, 2013.

An article about the seminars in which we immersed ourselves in the space of the myth of Atalanta, filling it with our thoughts, feelings, associations, and, at one level, maintaining the metaphor of Atalanta as the leading function of the Sensation of Matriarchal Consciousness.

Authors of the article and seminars in the series:

Elena Ratnichkina is a psychologist, practitioner, and researcher of shamanism; director of the Felicitas Goodman Institute (Russia), which studies the practice of ritual trance positions (itop.moscow)
Olga Kondratova is an analytical psychologist, member of the IAAP, ROAP

The article was published in the journal “Jungian Analysis” No. 3, 2014. I thank the editor-in-chief of the journal, Elena Purtova, for the text of the article and permission to post it on my website.