Article for SCAP magazine – Spring 2023
Many of the most famous myths speak of a Life Death Rebirth cycle, as far back as the stories of Gilgamesh and Innana, the protagonist must endure a journey to the underworld. Innana is left to hang on a hook for three days, until some very small helpers come to bring her back to life. In Egyptian times there is the demise of Osiris by the murderous hand of Seth with Isis who finds the parts of his body and thereby enables his subsequent rebirth.
In the greek myths we hear about the realm of Hades, God of the Underworld, where the souls of the dead reside. Persephone is abducted there and after much negotiation and fighting by her mother Demeter, is brought up to the living world again, but must always return there for a part of the year. The life of Christ also shows this archetypal pattern, his life and death lead to resurrection, but not in the same form.
These older cultures whole intrinsic way of viewing their world was based upon this cycle of Life Death Rebirth. It is of course the cycle we experience in nature. Imagine the cycle of the seed which germinates into a tender Spring shoot, growing and developing into a blossoming plant, then fruiting until the signs of withering appear and the fading of vitality with the resulting death and a falling back into the earth.
In this image the cycle never has death as finality.
There is of course an ending to each phase and a transformational process within the entire cycle, a letting go and a step forward to the new.
How can we transpose this image for understanding our human life today?
We do all face the fact of death, an ending to our present life and each one needs to find their own relationship to their mortality. Could this mythic image of the cycle help us and our attitude to death or to phases or situations in our life?
The creative or energy cycle also follows this archetypal pattern. We have an idea, a seed of inspiration; we develop it in our consciousness and form a plan, it may flourish and bear gifts of our actions and then it might falter, we might lose inspiration, energy or enthusiasm or face challenges. It may not be received any longer, we may need to adjust or redesign it, or we may need to let it go. A process that SCAP has gone through as an organisation with this the final edition of the magazine and the folding of the organisation in its present form.
In our life there may be many new phases and endings, many of which create turmoil for us. As therapists we see it in our work. Clients come to therapy because of a struggle with a part of the cycle, and aspects or relationships, jobs, that involve endings. Women experience particular thresholds of change (e.g. menarche, motherhood, menopause).
In our culture there is a strong impulse for growth and development, for goals and achievements and a turning away from the faltering and the dying. The wish for the youthful stage dominates, whilst the aging stage brings our attention too close to the perceived finality of the ending. This causes a clinging to an outmoded phase, possibly a stagnation, which often leads to a crisis, where the situation implodes and chaos reigns. There is often still the wish to return to how it was before the loss, regrets of that which was not completed. The fear of loss of control and aversion to letting go into the grief creates a damming of the creative flow, the possibility for maturation and development into a more whole self.
The card of the Tower in the tarot deck indicates this collapse of the old system, the old structure that cannot be sustained any longer. The Wheel of Fortune also shows how nothing lasts forever and will die and be recycled.
Marion Woodman describes it as, ‘Without the recognition of life death rebirth, there can be no transformation, no true progression grounded in nature the chaos can resurrect us into a higher wisdom, rooted in the wisdom of the creative process. To refuse to enter into kali’s dance of creation and destruction is to get stuck in a one-sided view of reality that can bring anachy, destruction without creation…..
(pg 45 Dancing in the Flames)
It is hard to let go voluntarily, it takes courage and surrender, there is a fear of the void, of nothingness. Sometimes the life cycle is complete, sometimes it is wrenched away in mid flow. This is about being in service to life and not trying to have domination over it.
What can be elements of the death towards rebirth process?
If we consider the plant seed cycle, there needs to be the right conditions and input from the four elements; good earth, water, sun, air, to grow. Then there might be a need for protection, pruning, or more attention and a tending to.
If we go a step further and consider the human soul’s experience of a death such as a loss, depression or impasse, we may still find the four elements an important source to bring life forces and vitality back. Moreover, we know how important the human qualities of compassion, warmth, patience, gentle tending to and witnessing are to enable a crack to open in the soul’s darkness. Untangling, the release of tears, surrender, a heart opening, and a medicine song can ignite again a germination of life, a chispa spark of flame to enable a return to living. Being supported and accompanied by another can be vital. In the rebirth we carry a knowledge and experience of the death, no longer the unscathed naïve self, but the richer, deeper wounded self that can potentially serve others in their journey of life.
Myths can be a guide and a mirror for the soul’s journey and acknowledging the wisdom of this cycle can support us during struggles and endings. Something new can form. Celebration and rituals of life transitions and endings can be very important to acknowledge and help people with the change. So let’s celebrate all that SCAP has achieved, given to and supported its members over its lifespan!
