A leading Jungian scholar analyzes common motifs in creation myths from cultures around the world, explaining how they “inform the collective unconscious and contribute to our ability to create as human beings” (Parabola) Creation myths are the deepest and most important of all myths because they are concerned with both the basic patterns of existence and the ultimate meaning of life. In this book, an eminent Jungian analyst examines the recurring motifs that appear in creation myths from around the world and shows what they teach us about the mysteries of creativity, the cycles of renewal in human life, and the birth of consciousness in the individual psyche. Among the topics discussed are: • Why the creative process is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear of the unknown. • The meaning of creation motifs such as the egg, the seed, the primordial being, the creative fire, the separation of heaven and earth, and the four stages of creation. • Creation symbolism in the alchemical opus of medieval tradition. • How creation-myth motifs appear in the dreams of people who are on the verge of a leap forward in consciousness.

At least three major questions can be asked of myth: what is its subject matter? what is its origin? and what is its function? Theories of myth may differ on the answers they give to any of these questions, but more basically they may also differ on which of the questions they ask. C. G. Jung's theory is one of the few that purports to answer fully all three questions. This volume collects and organizes the key passages on myth by Jung himself and by some of the most prominent Jungian writers after him: Erich Neumann, Marie-Louise von Franz, and James Hillman. The book synthesizes the discovery of myth as a way of thinking, where it becomes a therapeutic tool providing an entrance to the unconscious. In the first selections, Jung begins to differentiate his theory from Freud's by asserting that there are fantasies and dreams of an "impersonal" nature that cannot be reduced to experiences in a person's past. Jung then asserts that the similarities among myths are the result of the projection of the collective rather than the personal unconscious onto the external world. Finally, he comes to the conclusion that myth originates and functions to satisfy the psychological need for contact with the unconscious--not merely to announce the existence of the unconscious, but to let us experience it.

The most comprehensive resource available on creation myths from around the world—their narratives, themes, motifs, similarities, and differences—and what they reveal about their cultures of origin. ABC-CLIO's breakthrough reference work on creation beliefs from around the world returns in a richly updated and expanded new edition. From the Garden of Eden, to the female creators of Acoma Indians, to the rival creators of the Basonge tribe in the Congo, Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia, Second Edition examines how different cultures explain the origins of their existence. Expanded into two volumes, the new edition of Creation Myths of the World begins with introductory essays on the five basic types of creation stories, analyzing their nature and significance. Following are over 200 creation myths, each introduced with a brief discussion of its culture of origin. At the core of the new edition is its enhanced focus on creation mythology as a global human phenomenon, with greatly expanded coverage of recurring motifs, comparative themes, the influence of geography, the social impact of myths, and more.