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Imagination is a way of knowing, and mythic writing enables us to “know what we know,” to get to roots of our character. I find it to be an enlivening and enlightening form of self-discovery as well as a powerful way into both memoir and fiction writing. It is led by the question, “What is deep story that is being told here?”
There are many ways into mythic writing, but for me, the fairy tales are the most available portals for mythic reflection and exercise. There are thousands of folktales and fairy tales on line and on bookshelves. They’re rooted to the great myths and themes of the human experience, but they’re also very accessible. They’re usually quite short, and they involve human beings with wounds and losses we can all relate to. Because the word fairy is related to other words like fay, fatal, and fate—I think of fairy tales as “fate tales” because they deal with our fates and what we make of them.
What I do is I pick one. I pick one story that speaks to me for some reason. I spend time with it. I read it over and over again, until I can tell it, and see all the pictures. And then, I begin to look between the lines. I might, for example, write a poem that expresses what Cinderella is feeling in the place where I perceive her most strongly—for example, at her mother’s grave, grieving alone. I seek to know the exact moment in time when I see her. The scene may not be written in the text of the story. I may, for example, find her on at her mother’s grave on the day before her father goes to marry again. Then I ask myself the questions that come up. What’s is she doing, thinking, feeling? The answers come through the poem or piece of writing. I discover that she’s haunted by the fact that her father hasn’t grieved. He just wants life to go back to the way life was before her mother died. I hear her saying,
Time is running ahead of me
running over me
running past…
After I’ve written the poem, I read it and find that I am looking into a mirror. I am seeing something about myself that is very important. I see that it expresses my wish to slow things down, appreciate the opportunities that life gives us to meet one another, exchange our gifts, say goodbye, and make the moments count. I see where real wealth lies.
Where we go with our mythic imaginations is unique to every person. Two people who enter the same myth will see very different things—which makes the exchanges very rich when you start to share your writings. We find our unique voices, perspectives, and experiences resonating through the myths. We find our common humanity and ground. And we might even find a way through a difficult situation. For example, if my question to Cinderella is, how did you go through the grieving process?—what she tells me might help me to make my own passage.
I leave the rest to you!
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