Mythology has been, for the longest time, a subject of fascination to me.
I'm not quite sure why. I'd partially put it down to my interest in Jungian psychology, which has largely been spurred on by my interest in the work of the Canadian psychologist Dr Jordan B. Peterson, and his lectures on the subject.
Dr Peterson's lectures on the mythological have led me to consider certain matters concerning it.
Namely-- what is the basis for all of it?
With my casual acquaintanceship with the work of Jung, I am of the firm belief that there is such a thing as our collective unconscious, and that it is from this that the material which constitutes the mythological emerges. In terms of psychoanalysis, while I like Jung and the anlysts who were inspired by him, I do not like Freud. Some of Freud's theories I find interesting, but I largely think that people take Freud too seriously. I think that his dream-interpretation system is largely based upon grasping at straws and jumping to conclusions based on said straw-grasping. Doors are vaginas, bushes are pubic hair, all things vaguely rod-shaped are phalluses, (i.e. swords, guns and rockets), etc.
If you go into your analysis trying to find certain things, such as sexual imagery in dreams, then you will find said things, because your particular ideology has given you a distinct bias, and therefore, because of said bias, you'll inevitably find things which confirm your narrative as you probe the depths for them, as, from the very outset, you go in search of things, thinking that you'll find many of them.
I believe that all myths, legends, folktales, folksongs and religious narratives have a kind of truth underlying them. This truth, the nature of which I have difficulty defining, I call by one of two names, either 'The Primeval Truth', or 'The Primordial Truth'.
Like with my concept of 'The Beauty of Poetry', I believe that the Primordial Truth is expressed in many ways. This can be anything from a character-type or a tale-type, to ideas like that of the golden apples of youth, which are recurrent throughout international folklore. The only problem I have with the study of mythology is that such generalities sometimes can tend towards wild speculation. At best, this wild speculation can yield works of genius such as Frazer's The Golden Bough, and Weston's From Ritual to Romance, and at worst it can spawn such pieces of far-flung tripe as Grave's The White Goddess, and Waddell's The British Edda.
I tend to use the Arthurian legend and Germanic mythology as the broad basis for much of my poetry because a. it is fertile ground for artistic experimentation, and b. these two mythologies specifically appeal to my core identity as a Briton. I am a British Nationalist, and I wear this on my sleeve.
I define nationalism thusly-- a proud love of one's own nation. I view nationalism as basically being a stronger form of patriotism. Patriotism is liking your country, Nationalism is loving your country.
Then you have what I call 'lust for your country'. This is what people would call Jingoism or Chauvinism, extreme nationalism. This is the kind of nationalism which generates phrases such as 'my country, right or wrong', 'blood and soil', and 'ours is the greatest country on earth'.
I subdivide nationalism into multiple forms-- Civic Nationalism, where you have no problem with sharing your country with people of other races and nationalities, as long as they integrate into the overall culture, Ethno-Nationalism, where you want your country to be inhabited only by people of your specific racial demographic, and Ethnic Nationalism, where you advocate for your own specific ethnic group to have their own self-governing nation. Ethnic Nationalism is compatible with both Civic Nationalism and Ethno-Nationalism. For instance, there are English Nationalists who have no issue with BAME people living in Britain, such as the English Democrats leader Robin Tilbrook, while there are other English and British Nationalists, such as Andrew Anglin of The Daily Stormer, and the BNP leader Nick Griffin, who are avowed Neo-Nazis who want Britain to be a white ethno-state.
In any case, I make use of Celtic and Germanic mythology in my writings because I desire to do a number of things:
I. Glorify the British nation, by drawing upon our vast wealth of folklore and legend. I think that, in the wake of Britain leaving the European Union, we as a nation, need to reassert the glory of our own nation, and celebrate our own national identity. The only means by which I think we can do this sufficiently is through the lens of the mythological and the folkloric.
Thus, I would say that we need to develop two things: I. a coherent Celtic identity, drawing from such sources of Celtic myth as the Mabinogion, the Arthurian romances, and the folk-tales and myth-cycles of Scotland and Ireland, among others; and II. regarding the English, a coherent Anglo-Saxon identity, drawing from all the sources of Germanic myth and folklore we have, from Beowulf, The Wanderer and The Seafarer, to the Eddas, the Sagas and the folklore of Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, because only through the construction of our own national mythos (which was what Tolkien decried our lack of) can we have a true, deep pride in our country, our green and pleasant land.
II. To express, on a fundamental level, a deep desire for something greater, something older, something more profound. Something which, when bound to the Primordial Truth, can create a work of art of true beauty and holiness. We need a British Wagner. We need a national chaos magician, who can weave a great spell o'er our nation, and through the means of mythological art, through anything and everything from music to theatre to literature to film, express the mightiest of primal feelings, and evoke a sense of wonder, a sense of awe, and a greater sense of self, with regards to our nation.
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