As a kid, what type of characters lived most vividly in your imagination? Which kinds of heroes felt like your closest friends: movie characters, cartoon characters, superheroes, ghosts or zombies, elves or robots, dragons or fairies, knights or space marines, horses, flowers, movie stars, historical or political figures, or themes such as moon landings, sea battles, time travel, or revolutions? When listing the most influential people from our childhoods, I bet most of the list turns out to be fictional characters. You may have been so obsessed that maybe you were teased about it or maybe sought others with the same obsessions so you could share your enthusiasm. Instead of settling with the idea that we are just really big fans of these fictional characters or we just really like to watch those movies or play those games or read those comics or collect those posters, we can recognize a deliberate spiritual connection to the archetypes that those characters embody. It is no accident that certain archetypes inspire you more than others. Mythic energies light us up for a reason - they are a clue to our deepest patterns and paths. Carolyn Myss explains that each of us responds to specific archetypes because "we get what we need in pieces until we can handle the whole," and learning to recognize and acknowledge what speaks to us from the archetypal world unlocks the secrets of our own inner identity.When I started to learn how to do inner work and began learning visualization exercises (still pretty undisciplined) and studying Tarot (took some time to get past the sense of taboo), I happily discovered that many of my lifetime favorite types of characters, many of which I was shocked to admit I had forgotten about as a grownup, reappeared in the symbolism of the cards or showed up in visualizations. I was surprised. I thought some character types like ship captains or dragons must just be overdone or overused and must eventually be replaced by something different. There are archetypal energies, however, in stories that never change substantially, and this has nothing to do with the (false) assumption that there are a limited set of ideas out there. Even though I had read this kind of thing about archetypes, it only became real when I saw how substantial they became in my inner world. Myss teaches that archetypes are very real and exist on their own as types of beings, as "psychic entities." Well, that came out sounding creepier than I meant it to, but it's true in many ways I am only beginning to understand.
How Inspiration Travels Between the Worlds
We are meant to explore many realms. Two of these are the shared outer world and our own inner world. Understanding why other creations inspire us is related to how we connect to the outer world, and understanding where "my" ideas come from is related to how we explore the inner world. The purpose of connecting to the inner world is to sense and communicate with the Higher Self, and this communication extends into our experience of the outer world. We cannot control or anticipate our experiences in either world, but one thing we can focus on is the doorway between them. Believing there is a doorway is one step, as is knocking on the door and trusting that it is never locked. There is a doorway. It is meant for you to use.
The Higher Self uses archetypal symbolism to send messages and awaken our deepest inspirations. Archetypes are energetic patterns that we can relate to. When these patterns appear in the external world, as mythic archetypes and folklore characters do, they are outer world symbols that come into our imagination and awaken our inspirations. When these patterns appear in our inner world, as poetry and stories and art, they come through us to the outer world as our own creations and manifestations.
There is a structure like a bridge that connects both realms, and this bridge is the act of creating/creativity. Creativity welcomes external symbolism and inspiration from the outer world, and Creativity is the pathway through which inner mythic energies are expressed. The bridge is used by mythic energy patterns, archetypes, and symbols as a two-way portal between the worlds.
The material that makes up the portal or the bridge is made of our own spiritual and artistic practices. When it is damaged or neglected, this bridge can be rebuilt and strengthened more easily than we realize. For example, daily journaling or visualization or sketching were once activities I avoided because I felt like I would never get very good at them, like doing something creative meant I had to be really creating something great. But once I learned to see these things as a spiritual practice or an artistic practice, it took all of the pressure off and they became fun. I was introduced to ideas and voices and faces that I fell in love with instantly, and felt their love for me, and I had no idea where they came from except it was from somewhere within.
The point of allowing mythic archetypes to come into or out of us is to guide us toward accessing the self-love and effortless action that come from the power of our Higher Self. Our mastery lies in our ability to do nothing yet trust that everything is accomplished as it should be, and that energy comes from the different masteries we have within us in the warriors, messengers, and Kings that are a part of us.
In the Celtic tradition, the Elder tree symbolizes a guardian of the portal between the worlds. Why does the bridge need guards? Maybe sometimes we just need to make the bridge a priority and protect the time and energy needed to maintain our spiritual and artistic practices. A tree's trunk is another appropriate symbol for the bridge between the worlds, the portal of creativity. While our branches touch the sun and are material and observable by others in the world, our roots are hidden and where they extend is a mystery to anyone walking above the ground.
So this was never something I knew before, but studying/creating mythic writing and art, exploring modern fairy tales and retellings of classic fairytales, and learning about the symbolism of fantasy are my keys to connecting to my Higher Self and allowing mythic energies to cross the bridge in both directions. Everything created by others that speaks to me, and anything I create that communicates to me, is meant to further my own connections within myself. Until I become a more accomplished traveller, the bridge is where we meet.
