"This light, the symbol of consciousness and illumination,
is the prime object of the cosmogonies of all peoples.
Accordingly, “in the creation legends of nearly all peoples and religions, the process of creation merges with the coming of the light.”
As the Maori text says:
“The light, the light,
the seeking,
the searching,
in chaos, in chaos.”
Only in the light of consciousness can man know."
@holon42
Kind of obvious, really. Man isn't likely to know much in the darkness of unconsciousness.
Follow
in that darkness many dwell believing they know all the answers,
responding to unknown drives, instincts, impulses, and neuroses,
all the while believing themselves all-knowing regarding how things should be and how people should live.
@jjGravitas
"the mythical form of expression is a naïve demonstration of the psychic processes going on in humanity
humanity itself may experience and transmit the myth as something entirely different.
We know that in all probability a ritual, i.e., some ceremony or course of action, always precedes the formulation of the myth, and it is obvious that
action must come before knowledge, the unconscious deed before the spoken content."
Erich Neumann, The Origins and History of Consciousness.