Mithraism:

...is the scientific analysis of Mythology and Folklore in order to extract the details of real-life events from figurative language. This is what allows us to find moral messages in folklore and exemplifies how folklore was used in early societies to teach morals and establish traditions.

According to Mithraism:

...since very few people knew how to read and write and humanity was still pretty much reliant on the spoken word in order to pass on knowledge. The invention of something new or the creation of a new idea would put people into a position of total control over everything having to do with that new knowledge or idea and it also cemented one's position in history as the inventor/creator--thus making them (figuratively speaking) immortal. This meant that god-hood could be a metaphor for social status or for intimacy with their gods via living faith--i.e., a faith that is part of the home and lifestyle rather than one who's practice is isolated to a church or other sacred space. Those who thought in new ways, spread belief in new ideas and invented and invented new things would have to construct temples in order to attract followers (students) so they could pass on their knowledge. Anything unknown or detrimental to society or culture (such as disease, strangers, famine...) is represented in mythology by demons, armageddons and other unexplainable or frightening phenomenon. Whenever we are making a Mithraic analysis of a culture, it is important to note that the writers of mythology would use such figurative language to discourage some behavior and encourage others.

Mithraism can be applied to any mythology of any faith. So for more information on how Mithraism can be combined with other sciences in the formation of your own ministry, please read my section on Jungian Shamanism.

With this section, I am going to use Mithraism to discuss a series of real-life events and character traits through the use of Arcadian Mythology.

~The Shaman~

I have spoken elsewhere of Dionysus and his importance to Arcadian Mythology. The spirit of Dionysus is present in such historical figures as Aristotle, St. Francis, Machiavelli, Quentin Crisp and Patch Adams--people who opened their lives to the point of unconditional giving and receiving. What Mithraism would refer to as modern-day Shamans, since they stay with one particular group of people in order to provide wisdom and guidance. Shamanism is when someone performs an act of Ministry--i.e., telling the story of important figures in mythology or acting out their character in order to maintain the traditions that are essential to the preservation of a culture.

Dionysus was known as a Life-Death-Rebirth god, as he was born twice. The story goes that he was born of Zeus and Semele and that Zeus, in order to conceal this from his wife, Hera, hid the baby by sewing him into his leg. (I believe that this is metaphor for taking the boy in as an attempt to bring him into the Olympian Pantheon). Dionysus would eventually leave Olympus behind for life among the mortals of Arcadia where he became the god (inventor) of theatre and wine. He would often use wine to bring people to his performances (i.e., sacrament) so that he could share his knowledge (much like how St. Francis brought wine from door to door in order to share his knowledge)--since word-of-mouth was most often the only way to teach.

Because Dionysus encouraged the free sharing of knowledge and sacrament with everyone (rather than keep it to himself or those he felt deserved it--like the Olympians did with everything that they knew) this makes Dionysus your first Arcadian Shaman.

Shamans typically perform their duties for a tribe whereas Ministers often perform this same task for congregations. A tribe being a congregation of individuals that share the same belief and continue to wander, and a congregation being a tribe of individuals that share the same belief and decide to stay in one place.

In this way, we can see that Shamanism/Ministry, Tribe/Congregation are the same things, which is why I use the terms interchangeably.

~The Psychopomp~

Another popular figure in Arcadian Mythology is Hermes, and he is known as a Psychopomp. Where a Shaman is responsible for the spiritual leadership and guidance of his people, a Psychopomp is responsible for the comfort and care of his people. For this reason, they were referred to as "Conductors of the Soul". Mithraicly speaking, the spirit of Hermes can be found in the likes of Autolychus, Bob Marley, Jerry Garcia and Jack Keroac--people who wander their lives to the point of willingness to go anywhere. He was also very present in St. Francis as he was a caregiver and often known as a Paraclete (comfort giver).

The primary function of a Psychopomp would be to travel from his tribe to visit other tribes and foreign lands in search of comforts to bring back for his tribe to enjoy. A Psychopomp that stayed with a particular tribe would be called a Settee.

The practice of having a Settee was very popular among Polynesian tribes where the Chieftain would choose the biggest and fattest member of the tribe to serve as a comfortable sitting place by always offering his lap--which inspired the piece of furniture known by the same name.

Depending on the community, some Shamans played a dual role as Shaman and Psychopomp (spiritual guide and comfort giver), like St. Francis and the Friars, vodoun priests & priestesses, witches and midwives. Other times the role wasn't even acknowledged as being important and even menial, such as the Middle Eastern 'servants of fire' known as Djinn and in the Jewish tradition of having a Golem, or a slave. Still others were especially selected for this role (such as Dionysus and Hermes), which is why they are often confused.

The mind brings forth all intellections and inspirations when it receiveth the good seed...
--Hermes, from the 13th Book of the Divine Pymander

Arcadia was a vast and open land surrounded by mountains on the eastern coast of Greece. Dionysus and his tribe (The Entourage) would travel within this open space following the vine, harvesting grapes, making wine, throwing parties and sharing their joys (as well as their vices) with anyone that wanted to have a good time with them.

Like the other Arcadian Gods, Hermes chose to spend his life among the mortals (the lower-class, slaves and rustics), choosing only to visit Olympus when he had to--when he was called. He spent most of the rest of his time alone and wandering along the borderland of Arcadia, following the mountains and scattering what he called the Good Seed--which is what allowed him to open minds, improve communication between people, provide pleasant dreams and guide people pleasantly into the afterlife in his role as Conductor of the Soul.

Hermes was fleet-of-foot had a hat that made him invisible--it had a rim on it that was big enough to shield his eyes from the sun and conceal his face from others. He was responsible for the invention of cadence and for documenting the stories that would be noticed by the other immortals, allowing people to take their place among the stars and become immortal themselves. He could read and write, and he shared stories with people.

American Folklore found him as inspiration for the story of Johnny Appleseed.

He was half-brother to Dionysus, and it is his periodic encounters with him that makes Hermes the Psychopomp to the Entourage.

Upon his travels, he was known to have many lovers and fostered many illegitimate children. One of those children was named Pan.

If you'd like to know more about how Hermes figures into the whole Pot Thing, please read my piece on Spreading the Good Seed.

~The Chieftain~

The Greek word Pan means 'All'--meaning that Pan had received gifts from all the gods--Olympian and Arcadian. That is, he had an appreciation for Beauty from Aphrodite, War and Fighting from Ares, Love from Eros, Fire and Lightning from Zeus...I think you get the point. But the gods that he was closest to--the ones that he spent the most time with and made up his family (his tribe), were the gods of Arcadia--primarily, Hermes and Dionysus because they were his fathers. Hermes sired Pan by a nymph named Dryope who did not wish to keep him because he was born so ugly. After she refused to raise the child and being unable to do so on his own, Hermes gave Pan to Dionysus to be raised by the Entourage and to become Chieftain.

The Chieftain of the tribe is responsible for leadership, and Pan--as Chieftain of the Entourage--was father figure to all the Satyrs and Maenads--the priests of Dionysus.

Mithraicly speaking, to embody the spirit of Pan meant to be open to all things, beautiful and ugly, orderly and chaotic, peaceful and violent. It means gracious acceptance, patience, generosity and understanding.

Such acceptance tends to push people to their limits--intellectually and spiritually--and would sometimes appear to border on insanity, which is why most people associate Pan with Panic and Fear.

In reality, if Pan is All Things then you see in Pan what you wish to see in him--and that is why people feared him as a Chieftain. For he reflects and embodies the strengths, desires, vices and sins of his people--so that he can display them to everyone. A very frightening concept for some.

Where your Olympian Chieftains were leaders that controlled a society and enforced conformity, Pan was a Chieftain that allowed himself to be controlled by people and was their servant. He will become whatever his people need him to be--a Shape shifter, Half-human and Half-animal--capable not only of human compassion, loyalty and emotion...but of primal, animal aggression and anger. The very embodiment of Free Will.

You will be hard-pressed to find modern-day examples of those that embody the spirit of Pan, though I have no doubt that they do exist. With the rise of republicanism and conformity, we have a different definition of what it means to be a leader. But if Pan was all things...then he's still here somewhere, just scattered about into different pieces and in need of re-assembly.

As the Olympian Gods (hierarchal control, republican order) became more popular, Pan had been acclimated into the Roman pantheon as Faunus and later on, twisted into the Catholic deity of Lucifer, whom they modeled after the horned and hooved male gods that were present in the Pagan Mythologies of the time.

It's important to note, here, that the early Catholics--like the Olympians--honored such ideals as conformity, order and sanity as being good things. And it was the gracious acceptance of primal behavior, chaos and occasional insanity that made the Arcadians and Pagans so different and therefore considered evil.

What the Catholics feared about Paganism and what the Olympians feared about the Arcadians wasn't that they were destructive or violent, but that they were a threat to their idea of order and control. These people, these primitives continued to gather nightly to celebrate their diversity and act as a community in order share everything and survive as a people, how dare they.

The Arcadians and the Pagans usurped their authority by continuing to believe in ways that were different and that was a sin.

The people that were in control referred to this as an act of evil and in order to discourage others from following in their footsteps they modeled their evil gods after everything that they feared.

Integral to the Arcadian Philosophy is that there is no such thing as good or evil, since what is a threat to one thing is inherently a boon to another. To the Arcadians, such ideals as order and conformity are certainly considered destructive, but not necessarily evil, since Dionysus (as a life-death-rebirth god) acknowledged that death and destruction were essential for more life and more creation--i.e., you always come back stronger.

How over-crowded and over-populated would we be if nothing died and nothing went away? This was the gift (lesson) from Dionysus to Pan.

Hermes acknowledged that freedom and the sharing of knowledge were essential for learning and hard work. You had to have the freedom to play and to wander so that you could find it in yourself to learn more. This was the gift (lesson) that Pan learned from Hermes.

With the lessons taught by these two fathers, Pan grew to be sure-footed (hooved) and head-strong (horned). By embodying these traits so sincerely, Pan acknowledged that open-ness and movement were necessary for growth and leadership. Because these are the things that challenge us that make us stronger: Mastery of our environment and the willingness to accept change. Making him our Arcadian Chieftain.

To sin is to miss your mark, to react to your environment in a way that does not allow you to reach your full potential.

Are you missing your mark?

Digging a little deeper...

Pan, Dionysus and Hermes form a trinity--that is, the top of a pyramid upon which a leadership structure can be based. It can be said that what makes this trinity different from trinities present in other mythologies is its inclusion of a teacher: Father (Hermes), Teacher (Dionysus) and Son (Pan).

Dionysus was a flamboyant and androgynous deity, as much female as he was male. Hermes had many lovers of both genders, therefore both of these deities encourage us to remove prejudices of gender and create a still-unique trinity and leadership model: Parent, Mentor and Child.

The early Greeks and Romans used Andro-centrism in Mythology to discourage men from being more female (i.e., weak) and homosexual and to put women and gays further down the social ladder to be used as concubines and whores.

So even though the figures in the myths I describe below will be mostly male, this is simply because I have no other choice--as these are the only myths that exist. I'm going to ask that you please pay attention to the messages presented by these myths and not the gender-centrism, and see if you can tell what these myths are trying to teach us.

In order to provide contrast, I will provide you with an analysis of a few other mythologies and real-life events that you may be more familiar with.

Myth	Moral
Catholic Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Ghost. (God, Jesus, Divine Spirit)	Fatherhood, Brotherhood and the idea that our strengths and saviors will be male, white, heterosexual and Catholic (believing in one god rather than many). Therefore our priests need to be these things and, so too, our leaders.
Jewish Trinity: Father, Son, Mother.	Fatherhood, Motherhood and the idea that in order to have a healthy family you must have a son with both male and female parents. But, still, emphasis on our leaders and spiritual leaders being male, heterosexual and white--and in this case, Jewish.
Christianity: God, Christ, Virgin Mary (and in some cases, Mary Magdaline)	Fatherhood, Brotherhood and the idea that women are to be used.
Olympian Trinity: Zeus, Hera, Ganymede Zeus purchases Ganymede, a wealthy and handsome prince of Troy, from his father with a pair of horses and makes the boy his lover and Water Bearer. Choosing the Trojan boy over his own daughter, Hebe, angered Hera motivating Zeus to send Ganymede away for his own protection.	Jealousy divides families. Do not show favoritism over your children. Do not dehumanize your children or you risk losing them.
Olympian Love Trinity: Aphrodite, Eros, Pan Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, is plagued with the lustful advances of Pan, god of lust and passion. Eros, Aphrodite's son, is the one responsible for their repeated encounters. Aphrodite smiles as she drives Pan away with her shoe, revealing that she secretly enjoys his affections but because of her status as an Olympian, must continue to drive him away.	Love removes all barriers and crosses all distances. It is the love of a child that brings a family together past all barriers and difficulties. Though you may be divided and challenged from time to time, the important thing is that you remain united as a family.
Arcadian Trinity: Hermes, Dionysus, Pan (Father, Mentor, Teacher) Hermes and Dionysus are half-brothers each taking a role in the education and rearing of Hermes' child because his mother refuses to do so. Pan achieves the title of chieftain as a result of Dionysus' open life and freedom as a result of Hermes' wandering lifestyle, allowing him to become Chieftain of all the Satyrs and Maenads.	Love and Honor your mentors and teachers as if they were members of your family--this is what keeps them close and familiar so that you know they can be trusted with your children. Teachers and Mentors should act as loyal and active members--read, servants--of the family. Encourage your children to keep their lives open and to continue wandering, for this allows them to grow and become good leaders.

With these established we can see how these myths are trying to tell us about the effects of different personality traits and family values and how they affect our children. So if we dig a little deeper...

Myth	Moral
Olympian: Zeus, Hera and any of Zeus' mortal lovers. Zeus travels to the land of mortals to take many lovers. Each time, motivating Hera to act in jealousy that results in some form of conflict or challenge for the life of mankind.	Jealousy Kills. Be weary of inter-class relationships. Take a wife, but be careful--for hell hath no fury.
Discordian: All the gods and goddesses are invited to a party to celebrate the wedding of Peleus to Thetis (Achilles' parents) except for Eris, the goddess of Discord. Angered at the snub, Eris tosses a golden apple into the party scribed with the word "Kallisti" (for the most beautiful), causing the goddesses to fight over who should go home with the apple. It is decided that that the Trojan Prince, Paris, shall be brought to Olympus in order to help make the decision. And in proper Greek fashion, the goddesses attempt to bribe him with wealth and power. Aphrodite wins the apple by offering him the hand of Helen of Troy, resulting in the Trojan war.	Beware of your lusts and passions, keep them in check or they will always get you into trouble and allow other people to use you. When the upper levels of leadership bribe each other and allow themselves to be distracted, they will attempt to bribe and distract the people beneath them. If the right people with the right vices are used in the right way, the results can be disastrous.
Debate continues to this day as to whether Helen was really male or female and that circumstances similar to those described in the Ganymede myth (above) may have been the true motivation for the war, hence inspiring its creation. (This is why the Discordians make researching mythology so fun and interesting, as a result of their presence we can never really know the truth.)	If this is true, there is a possibility that the Kallisti and Ganymede Myths were an attempt to discourage certain relationships between children and adults.

It would be easy to say that this is all about sexual relationships. But again, we have to remember the extremely liberal times and that inter-generational relationships were permitted to be sexual up until the age of 16, at which point the younger partner was expected to take a wife. Therefore, these myths wouldn't be about discouraging sex, but about discouraging use, abuse and coercion.

So it is possible that over the generations we have distracted ourselves with the sexual nature of these myths into thinking that it was all strictly about discouraging sexual relationships between minors and adults.

Remember that Ganymede is the story of a boy that is forcibly dehumanized and taken from his parents and brought into an upper class--the Olympians--who, as we remember, were all about republican-style order, conformity and societal control. He represents the Dauphin--a child that is sucked into, dehumanized and used by a system. Someone who deserves to be king but isn't as a result of the people around him.

Pan is the story of a boy who is abandoned by one parent and taken in by another--by his own free will and the will of his father. He is taken in by the Arcadians and taught free and unconditional sharing, non-conformity and the importance of diversity and acceptance. He represents someone who is taught to use the system and be the best leader for his people so that he can take his rightful place as chieftain.

There are other mentor/child relationships within Arcadian Mythology that discuss this:

Myth	Moral
Dionysus & Ampelos Ampelos is a young Satyr (i.e., student) who is loved so much by Dionysus that he can find no fault with the boy. Even as he plays sour notes on Dionysus' own pipes, Dionysus praises him, showers him with affection and offers to teach him the secrets of wine making. Ampelos eventually dies attempting to tame a wild bull.	Affection is encouragement, and a little encouragement goes a long way. It's okay to see your mistakes as learning opportunities--so long as your mistakes don't put you into harm's way. But be weary, encouraging recklessness--especially in children--may lead to death.
Pan & Daphnis Daphnis was a Sicilian child that showed so much promise as a musician that Pan blessed him with the gift of pastoral music. Refusing to return Pan's affections, Daphnis pursued a nymph by the name of Nomia who eventually blinded him and left him to play only sad songs. Some stories have Daphnis getting lost at sea, others have him falling in love with another nymph by the name of Chloe and they retire to the countryside, honoring Pan for the rest of their lives.	Use what you're given, do not be blinded by lust or temptation--especially when it comes dressed as ease and convenience.
Hermes & Autolychus Autolychus means 'Self-Love', he is also known as the Lone Wolf and where many of our werewolf stories get their start. He was an illegitimate child of Hermes and an Argonaut, a lone wanderer and a scoundrel. He was known often to speak against all gods, saying that they were not as powerful as people believed them to be and that all that was necessary for a successful life was skill with a weapon and the will to use it. He was an independent soul and a free spirit, but also jaded and cold as a result of a harsh life alone.	Be loved or be jaded. Your upbringing says a lot about what you become. Without someone to believe in, you will have a hard time believing in anything.
Zeus & Hephaestus Hephaestus was a hideously deformed but extremely talented blacksmith residing in Arcadia. Zeus, the top Olympian, summoned him often to his court in order to make weapons and gifts for his followers because he was so good at what he did. This constant use against his will made Hephaestus temperamental and resentful of everyone. The Olympians used him but did not award him, the Arcadians considered them one of their own but did not protect him. And mankind simply used him to their advantage.	Keep your students close to you. Do not use people, or stand by while they are being used or their skills will be used by anyone. Make sure you reward people for their kindness.

Tying it all together...

Alexander the Great was Aristotle's best student. As a result of being taught by the Arcadian Ideal (Father/Mentor, open/wanderer) he was able to conquer most of the known world before the age of 25 and was responsible for the Macedonian Empire.

Enter the followers of Plato who began to teach the idea of a Republic. Fearing the rise of another Macedonian Empire, they changed the names of Greek Gods to Roman ones as a way to conceal the Olympian Ideals among mythology and thus enforce conformity and control by the state. This becomes the beginning of the Roman Empire, the formation of a centralized form of government and the use of institutionalized education as a form of information control.

With a charge of Impiety (corruption of a minor) along with the Anti-Macedonian Movement, Aristotle and those like him were pushed onto the fringes of society.

The Arcadians continue to be associated with traditions that are considered backwards and primitive because they persist in holding onto Tribal ideals long after humanity learns to settle down and make cities. With the rise of Christianity, the image of the Pagan Horned (male) gods are twisted and made evil, forcing Pagan ways further down the societal ladder.

Through thousands of years of oppression, tyranny and prejudice the idea that parents should decide who teaches their children, that communities should remain independent of the state and that diversity should be honored and cherished eventually get pushed to the side, devalued and lost.

What can this tell us about today, when we consider that the American Government is getting more and more involved in the daily affairs of the family by dictating to us what can be shown on television and who can become teachers? Much less what will happen if they continue dictating to us what we can do with our bodies and our free time?

The answers are there, in between the lines of Ancient Mythology. All we have to do is look.

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