The Power of Myth

Campbell discusses the role of sacrifice in myth, which symbolizes the necessity for rebirth. He stresses the need for every one of us to find our sacred place in the midst of today's fast-paced, technological world. Chief Seattle, the sacred Earth, agricultural renewal, human sacrifice, sacrifice of the Mass, transcendence of death, story: “The Green Knight,” societal dictates vs. following bliss, “hidden hands” guiding life's work.

Campbell talks about romantic love, beginning with the 12th century troubadors, and addresses questions about the image of women - as goddess, virgin, Mother Earth. The Troubadours, Eros, romantic love, Tristan, libido vs. credo, separation from love, Satan, loving your enemy, the Crucifixion as atonement, virgin birth, the story of Isis, Osiris and Horus, the Madonna, the Big Bang, the correlation between the earth or mother Goddess and images of fertility (the sacred feminine).

Campbell provides challenging insights into the concepts of God, religion, and eternity, as revealed in Christian teachings and the beliefs of Buddhists, Navajo Indians, Schopenhauer, Jung and others. Identifying with the infinite, the circle as a symbol, clowns and masks, epiphanies and James Joyce, artistic arrest, the monstrous as sublime, the dance of Shiva, that which is beyond words.