Chapter 1: Myth and Dream
'the myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into the human cultural manifestation'Campbell examines what mythology means for culture, and why it appears in the same forms under different guises across the entire world. they inspire philosophies and religions. He suggests that dreams and the subconscious are important in the formation of myth.
Campbell talks about rites of passage of primitive societies, and how these constitute sections of myth. Enacted rituals are intended to touch the candidate and also extended members of his circle. many of these rituals' features, fascinatingly, correspond to subconscious dreams.
'there is something here, so necessary to the psyche that is they are not supplied from without, through myth and ritual, they will have to be announced again, through dream, from within.'
He describes dream as the 'personalised myth' in which all of our potential, or childhood imagination is ever-present. We return again to a being of infinite potential and power which we have relinquished in real life. We act as a hero-character. The meditating mind is no longer united with the mortal body but with continuous life.
Campbell names the typical path of the hero's journey, which is represented in the rites of passage: Separation > Initiation > Return. The hero goes from the common world into the supernatural worlds; encounters forces; wins a victory; and comes back with power. There is astoundingly little variation in the morphology of this formula.
