Myths Rites Symbols

In the period domoninated by the triumphs of scientific rationalism, how do we account for the extraordinary success of such occult movements as astrology or the revival of witchcraft? From his perspective as a historian of religions, the eminent scholar Mircea Eliade shows that such popular trends develop from archaic roots and periodically resurface in certain myths, symbols, and rituals. In six lucid essays collected for this volume, Eliade reveals the profound religious significance that lies at the heart of many contemporary cultural vogues. Since all of the essays except the last were originally delivered as lectures, their introductory character and lively oral style make them particularly accessible to the intelligent nonspecialist. Rather than a popularization, Occultism, Witchcraft, and Cultural Fashions is the fulfillment of Eliade's conviction that the history of religions should be read by the widest possible audience.

The fourth volume of the “Mythology and Folklore” series, the outcome of the debates held within the international conference on Mythology and Folklore organized with the support of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Bucharest, adhere to the tripartite structure of the previous volumes: I. Myth, Mythocritique. Archetypes. Symbols; II. Mythological Reverberations. Reinterpretation of Myth: Revitalization, Demythization, Remythization. Socializing Myths; III. Folklore. Folkloric Archetypes. Folkloric Reverberations. To conclude, the 4th volume of the “Mythology and Folklore” series dwells on studies and debates regarding notions such as theatricality, socio-cultural and religious context, foregrounding various ways in which some archaic myths and rites have survived and withstood the test of time. Likewise, notions such as alterity, power, hierophany or superstition identified in myths and ancient beliefs speak of the process of development, horizontally, of inter-human relations, and, vertically, of a parallel process of awareness of the transcendental relationship between man and divinity.The fourth volume of the “Mythology and Folklore” series, the outcome of the debates held within the international conference on Mythology and Folklore organized with the support of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Bucharest, adhere to the tripartite structure of the previous volumes: I. Myth, Mythocritique. Archetypes. Symbols; II. Mythological Reverberations. Reinterpretation of Myth: Revitalization, Demythization, Remythization. Socializing Myths; III. Folklore. Folkloric Archetypes. Folkloric Reverberations. To conclude, the 4th volume of the “Mythology and Folklore” series dwells on studies and debates regarding notions such as theatricality, socio-cultural and religious context, foregrounding various ways in which some archaic myths and rites have survived and withstood the test of time. Likewise, notions such as alterity, power, hierophany or superstition identified in myths and ancient beliefs speak of the process of development, horizontally, of inter-human relations, and, vertically, of a parallel process of awareness of the transcendental relationship between man and divinity.

Mircea Eliade--one of the most renowned expositors of the psychology of religion, mythology, and magic--shows that myth and symbol constitute a mode of thought that not only came before that of discursive and logical reasoning, but is still an essential function of human consciousness. He describes and analyzes some of the most powerful and ubiquitous symbols that have ruled the mythological thinking of East and West in many times and at many levels of cultural development.