Throughout history, humans have always explored their inner world, trying to understand the laws that govern them and cause feelings, desires, thoughts, behavior, and actions. Long ago, in a time when they did not feel separate and exclusive in their existence, they found answers by exploring the nature in which they lived and of which they were a part. By getting to know the laws of nature, they got to know the laws that determine them and which they should respect if they want to be a harmonious part of that nature and occupy the place in existence that is destined for them as humans.
Today’s man is alienated from nature and from himself. Ancient knowledge is forgotten and the criteria of values are changeable and unstable. Man exhausts himself in satisfying his own desires, without a clear vision of the goal he should strive for.
It is necessary to revive the forgotten knowledge and look at man through the eyes of ancient cultures and civilizations. Traditional psychology considers man as part of nature and teaches him what happens when he consciously follows the laws of nature, and what happens when he opposes them.
distance themselves from them.
Three worlds
All ancient civilizations speak of the dual nature of man: earthly and heavenly, animal and divine. Man is a being that acts on Earth, in the world of phenomena, while his roots are in Heaven, in eternity. Because of this, he expresses and lives two extremes: his lower and higher nature.
The lower or earthly, animal nature of man does not refer (as it may seem at first glance) to his physical existence: work, rest, clothing, food consumption, physiological needs, etc. The lower nature implies all the impulses in man that bind and direct his consciousness solely towards fulfilling his material and instinctive needs, including an egocentric and selfish attitude towards other beings. In fact, the whole orientation of expressing the lower human nature could be summed up in the formulation: “Me – first and only”.
The higher nature denotes impulses that direct the consciousness of man towards the knowledge of his own The peaks and places in existence, and towards the necessary transformation of oneself in order for a person to be able to live the true characteristics of their own being.
The higher or celestial nature implies the expression and living of the essence of Man: the harmony of all human potential with the laws of nature, including the moral relationship towards other beings.
Psyche and Zephyr, the central part of the triptych “The Story of Psyche” by Harry Bates.
According to traditions, both sides of the human nature are useful in the evolution of man as a being, but one must know how to harmonize and give them their rightful place and value. A person needs to learn to exist as a whole and then, it is said, they become equal to gods. This is what the myth of Hercules, a Greek hero of divine origin, who through his works-trials, achieves immortality, tells us.
Old teachings tell us about a person who is somehow torn between Earth and Heaven. There is eternal conflict and a source of suffering in every human being: often, not knowing one’s lower and higher nature turns a person into mere “To forge the walnut shell of life that every new current submerges…”
“How to acquaint oneself with one’s own dual nature and how to determine the place and importance of opposing impulses that act within us? What is the contact point of the two sides of our own nature?”
“The mediator and connection between the earthly and heavenly in man is his psyche. The ancient Greeks present the constitution of man through the scheme of three worlds:”
“Marriage of Psyche, Edward Burne-Jones”
“The three worlds denote the visible and invisible levels within which man exists, or the levels that constitute his complete being.”
“The physical level encompasses the physical body of man and the vital energy needed for action. According to the Greeks, this is the coarsest, or densest dimension of existence.”
“The spiritual level contains all the essential forces of man that are unchanging and eternal. This is the subtlest dimension of man.”
“Psyche or soul penetrates into the physical and spiritual world and connects them. The psyche contains the emotions and thoughts of man, helping to…” e je ta veza između materijalnog i duhovnog svijeta, koja omogućuje prenošenje duhovnih impulsa u svakodnevni život čovjeka. Ona je poput raskrižja puteva i zrcala, odražavajući sve duhovne i instinktivne pokretače čovjeka. Kako bi ova veza bila uspostavljena, psiha mora biti čista i prohodna, oslobođena iluzija, strahova i egoizma. Jedan od simbola psihe u starim tradicijama je bio Mjesec, koji odražava svjetlost Sunca. Na primjer, u egipatskoj simbolici, Mjesečeva barka nosi Sunce Duh. Kada je psiha prohodna, sve dimenzije čovjeka mogu međusobno komunicirati. and opens the door to Cupid’s garden, John William Waterhouse
The myth of Psyche
Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen who had three daughters. All three were beautiful, but the youngest, Psyche, was so beautiful that it could not be expressed in words. The word of her beauty spread beyond the kingdom, and more and more people came to pay homage to the mortal girl, treating her as a goddess. Venus’ sanctuaries were deserted, and the people celebrated Psyche as Venus born in human form. This angered the goddess, and she decided to punish Psyche. She summoned her son, Cupid, and ordered him to shoot Psyche with his love arrow, causing her to fall in love with the ugliest and most miserable In the meantime, the king grew worried about the honors bestowed upon Psyche. He had already married off his two older daughters, but no suitor appeared for Psyche. Everyone admired her and celebrated her divine beauty, but no one even thought of proposing to her. The king decided to seek advice from an ancient oracle, but the answer he received shocked and saddened him even more. He was told to dress Psyche in a bridal gown and take her to the top of a steep cliff, where a terrifying wild dragon would come for her and take her as its bride.
The king’s heart filled with sorrow, but he had to obey the prophecy. He prepared Psyche as instructed and took her to the designated spot. And when she was left alone, expecting her bitter fate, Cupid flew down to fulfill his mother’s command. But one look at her beauty was enough for him to forget his task and instead, he accidentally wounded himself with a love arrow. On the wings of the wind, Zephyrus gently carried her down to the valley at the foot of the cliff, in front of a magnificent palace where she would live in luxury and prosperity. During the day, She was served by invisible attendants, catering to her every desire, and every night Amor would come to express his love for her. Thus, Psyche spent happy days in the divine valley, and the only condition for her happiness was that she should not question or try to discover who her husband was and what he looked like.
In the meantime, news of the prophecy and the difficult fate that was destined for Psyche reached her sisters. They came to the cliff where they believed the dreadful dragon had abducted her, and they began to mourn loudly, wailing. Their lamentations reached Psyche. Her sisters felt sorry for her because they did not know how happy she was, and as she had grown tired of being alone, that night she began to pray to her unknown husband to allow her to see her sisters. Despite Amor’s opposition and warning that she was tempting fate, she persistently begged Amor to relent. And so, when the sisters came to the top of the cliff again to mourn Psyche, Zephyr caught them and, just like he had done with Psyche before, lowered them into the valley.
Amor and Psyche, Reinhold Begas
The joy was endless. The sisters were astonished when they met again, and even more surprised to learn that Psyche did not live in a cold, dark dragon’s cave, but in a royal valley. The worm of envy started to crawl into the hearts of her sisters, so when they cunningly discovered that Psyche did not know the face of her husband, they began to convince her that the one who came to her at night was a venomous snake. Pretending to be concerned about her fate, they persuaded her to secretly prepare an oil lamp and a knife so that at night, when her husband was fast asleep, she could illuminate his face and, if it turned out that their suspicions were true, stab him with the knife.
Psihe did as her sisters advised. On the same night, she secretly lit the oil lamp, ready with the knife to stab the terrifying beast. However, her breath stopped when she saw what she did. Instead of a dreadful snake, lying on the bed next to her was Cupid, the god of divine beauty. Tenderness overwhelmed her, and she leaned in to kiss him, but at that moment, hot oil from the lamp dripped onto Cupid’s shoulder, and he woke up. Realizing her wife’s betrayal, who had broken the promise never to doubt his true form, Cupid disappeared. While exploring his character, he disappeared instantly.
It was too late for Psyche to realize the folly of her actions. Broken and in pain, she rushed to find solace in the river, hoping to drown her sorrows forever. However, the river cast her ashore, where she was met by the woodland deity Pan, who advised her to regain Cupid’s love and trust through prayers and the fulfillment of her duties instead of crying and mourning.
So, Psyche decided to first punish her sisters, who had driven her to doubt and betrayal with their wickedness and jealousy. She told each sister the same story: how Cupid had driven her out of the valley and said that he would marry her sister. Enamored by the prospect of a lavish life and Cupid’s love promised to them, the sisters greedily flew to the cliff and without hesitation, threw themselves into the abyss, expecting Zephyrus’ soft wings to catch them. But this time, Zephyrus was not there, and both sisters met their deaths on the sharp rocks. After that, Psyche set out into the world to search for Cupid.
(Psyche opening the golden box, John William Waterhouse)
That was the time. Cupid languished in the halls of his mother’s palace, suffering not only from the wound inflicted by hot oil but also from the pain of unrequited love for the one who did not believe in him. Venus, furious at Psyche for leading her own son astray, began to search for her throughout the entire land, with the intention of seeking revenge. Psyche herself arrived at the goddess’s palace, hoping to find her husband there, ready to appease Venus’s anger with humility.
The goddess was not moved by the sight of the wretched and exhausted Psyche, but instead summoned her attendants, Solitude and Grief, to torment her, and then assigned her three impossible tasks.
First, she brought Psyche before a large pile of various seeds and ordered her to sort them into separate piles before evening. Psyche would not have been able to complete this task on her own if ants had not come to her aid and sorted the seeds as Venus commanded. However, the completion of this task did not please Venus; instead, she immediately assigned a new one. She showed Psyche a field by the river where golden-fleeced sheep grazed, raging under the scorching sun, and ordered her to bring back a handful of golden fleece. This task also seemed impossible, but grâceiously, the river god helped Psyche obtain the golden fleece.
Venus, still unsatisfied, then gave Psyche an even more difficult task. She demanded that Psyche go to the underworld and retrieve a box of beauty from Persephone. Psyche, with determination and the help of various gods, successfully completed this task as well.
However, the curiosity got the better of Psyche, and she opened the box, only to be put into a deep sleep by the deadly slumber it contained. Cupid, unable to bear Psyche’s suffering, pleaded with Jupiter to revive her. Jupiter took pity on the lovers and made Psyche immortal, allowing them to live happily ever after. In order for Psyche to accomplish her task, she received help from the reed, which advised her to wait until the evening when the sun’s heat would subside and the herd would calm down. Then she should quietly approach the bushes by the river, where the sheep were drinking water, and remove the golden fleece that had gotten tangled in the leaves from the bushes. Psyche followed this advice and successfully completed the second task. However, Venus immediately came up with a third task: to bring a jug of cold water from the top of a high and steep mountain, from a spring guarded by fearsome dragons. Once again, Psyche received help. A royal eagle instead of her took the jug and swiftly avoiding the dragons, reached the spring, scooped up water, and brought back a full jug for her. This further infuriated Venus, realizing that Psyche had successfully completed all three tasks and suspecting that she could not have done it on her own but with someone’s help, she gave her one more, the most difficult task: to descend into the Underworld and ask Proserpina for a little of her beauty in a box, so that Venus could enhance her own beauty. Upon hearing what Venus asked for, distraught Psyche climbed up to a high tower with the intention of despite the guards set by Venus, he escaped from the palace and found Psyche lying on the path as if dead. He immediately dispelled the deathly sleep, closed it again in the box, and gently woke Psyche with his arrow. Thus, Psyche handed the box over to Venus and completed that, the most difficult task. And Cupid flew to mighty Jupiter and pleaded with him to make Psyche immortal. requests his permission for Psyche to be his wife, which Venus eventually had to accept. In order for the marriage to be harmonious, Jupiter makes Psyche immortal so she can be with Cupid forever. The first daughter born from this marriage is named Joy.
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We will mention only some of the most important symbolic elements of this myth:
PSYCHE symbolizes the human soul torn apart by emotions, thoughts, and its own perceptions of reality.
CUPID, Psyche’s invisible husband who saves her, represents the impulse of the spiritual world.
VENUS, the goddess of love, represents the force of nature that manifests in human life in two ways: as Urania Venus – divine, celestial love, and as Pandemus Venus – earthly love, tied to instincts. If a person loses contact with the impulses of the spiritual world, they fall into the bondage of Pandemus Venus.
PSYCHE’S SISTERS signify the influence of physical and animalistic impulses.
CONTENT: Psyche is symbolically depicted as a sensitive, impulsive woman whose beauty is celebrated by all people, but who os is accessible. She cannot find a husband among mortals, until she falls in love with a deity.
Marriage to an invisible being, Cupid, reveals to her the beauty and perfection of love. Psyche discovers a state of harmony and becomes perfectly happy.
Cupid and Psyche in the presence of the gods, Vincenzo Camuccini
In a moment of awakened doubts, lower impulses that she cannot control, she seeks material proof of the beauty of the one who brings her happiness. In doing so, she loses Cupid, who is hurt and withdraws to the heavenly realm. For Psyche, the loss is irreparable. Lost and desperate, she then realizes the poverty of a life without meaning and the motivation that Cupid gives. The first conscious and independent step for Psyche is to punish her sisters, or rather to destroy her own uncontrolled (lower) impulses, and determinedly seek Cupid, regardless of the difficulties, temptations, and obstacles set by Venus. Psyche’s path is thorny, but she draws strength from her own decision and once she experiences divine love. However, Psyche does not give up. She can fight on her own and with the help of others, as a result of her own efforts, she comes in unexpected moments. At the very end of her trials, she still succumbs to her curiosity, an uncontrollable impulse (desire) that stops her, and she remains asleep at the gates of the Underworld. At that moment, Cupid finds her and takes her to the heavenly realm. The gods bless their marriage, so Psyche, eternally united with Cupid, becomes immortal.
This myth tells us about the process of development, the path that every human soul goes through to fulfill its purpose. That purpose is marked in the myth as the sacred marriage of Cupid and Psyche, which represents the meaning of life for every human being in traditions. Namely, every person must go through the path of inner development: trials and fears due to their changing nature burdened with desires that they cannot direct or control until they harmonize them with the help of their own will, consciously seeking and establishing contact with their own spiritual world. The connection between Cupid and Psyche, Heaven and The earth, which exists in every person, therefore manifests itself as the ultimate establishment of harmony: Love provides criteria, principles, and direction for living, while the Soul is the dimension of a person in which this impulse needs to be reflected and transmitted through moral actions in everyday life.
According to traditions, only a person who strives to live eternal moral values is on the path to realizing the law of harmony: expressing and living their own essence, their own divine nature.