The Power of Myth
One of the defining characteristics of being a human is that we tell stories. We tell stories that create meaning around the events of our lives and that, for better or worse, often define who we believe we are. We create stories that tell our herstories, and define our collective and personal identities.
Some stories may be more true than others. We can never be certain of the truth of a story, but without a doubt, stories can be powerful. They can break hearts, convert millions to a religion, or rally countries to war.
What are the stories you tell about your
past, present and future?
What I love about working with myths as a healing tool is that they enable us to take a step back and look at the stories of who we think we are as individuals, as a culture or sub culture or even as a country. When stories become destructive or divisive and no longer serve the best interest of the person, group, nation or world, we have the power to individually and collectively create new more positive, empowering, healing and unifying stories.
The story I thought I'd take to my grave
When I was 10 years old, a boy in my class thought that it would be a fun game to get our classmates to call me Medusa. In keeping with the story of the Greek myth, he instructed them not to look at or speak to me or they would be turned to stone. He was so successful, he convinced most of my 4th grade class and some of the 5th grade class to go along with the game. The game continued on through that year and into my 5th grade year. It was one of the loneliest and most painful experiences of my life. I was 11 years old and had my first fantasies of suicide during that time.
Now, the story that the event happened is factual for me, but the myth I created around what that event meant would effect the next 25 years of my life!
In my little 11 year old mind, I decided that it meant that nobody wanted to see or hear from me, and that it was actually unsafe to be seen or heard. It meant that putting myself out there to be seen in the world would only create rejection, and on a mass scale.
So, I shut down.
The girl who was once vibrant, creative, outgoing, funny, and loved performing became small, quiet and invisible. My best days were when no one approached me or spoke to me at all because at least then I was safe in my invisibility. That myth, that I repeated to myself, resulted in my developing social phobia, anxiety, depression that would negatively effect my relationships, my social life, and professional life well into my 30's.
Myths become who we are.
Ancient mythology comprises epic tales of the arduous yet ultimately rewarding journeys of man and womanhood. Medusa has become one of my favorite myths as a tale of a woman whose life events represent the ancient Greek society's beliefs about the "dangers" of women's sexuality, powers of intuition and healing, and abilities to create and destroy.
Copyright Marlaina Donato author-multimedia artist http://www.marlainadonato.com
Only last year was I able to look at that painful story of my childhood and question it. Who was Medusa? Could there possibly be more to her than a snake-haired monster who turned men to stone?
I'll never know the intentions of that boy who decided to name me Medusa but I want to take this opportunity to thank him. He identified an archetype in me represented as Medusa-- a powerful mythological character that I've come to proudly identify with. I've learned she represents the Goddess of wisdom, death, rebirth and transformation. She is the Wise Crone/Destroyer Archetype. She has the power to create but she also has the power to destroy, and stop in its tracks/turn to stone, anything that is false or does not affirm life.
So, that humiliating and painful myth of my childhood has been re-written. It is now a story of reclaiming a shamed, banished part of myself-- a part of myself that exists within all women. She surfaces when she sees falsehood or something that is tired, old and whose time has come. She destroys, not for destruction sake, but for the purpose of bringing new life. She is powerful, and, like Medusa, has the ability to stop men in their tracks. Perhaps that is why she has been the most feared and suppressed aspect of women throughout time.
Is it time to change your story?
Reclaiming the stage after 25 years in my solo show Medusa Lives.
I invite you to look at a painful event of your past and begin to question the story around it. Did it really happen the way you've been telling it? Could there be another, more empowered meaning to the story that you couldn't see at the time? Was there an unexpected gift or lesson that came out of the event?
How can you re-write the story in a way that makes you a survivor and a Rising Phoenix in your Heroine's Journey, rather than a victim?
This incredibly healing journey has led me to create a new online women's circle Crafting Myth. Once a month for 6 months we circle together using Zoom Video video conference software and learn the profound teachings embedded in these ancient stories. Our ancestors knew the power and importance of telling these stories and passing them on. In the ways of our great, great Grandmothers, we integrate the wisdom in these stories through circling, crafting and sharing.
If you're interested in joining one of our online circles, check the website to see when our next circle will begin.