Eros and Psyche

"Love is the dynamism that most infallibly brings the unconscious to light." - Carl Jung

I have been in love three times. It brought to light my jealousy and envy, neither of which I had ever felt before. I thought, what the fuck caused this? I did figure it out.

The Greek myth of Eros and Psyche has been studied and interpreted for a thousand years. Unfortunately, it's got to the point where these myths are no longer taught and studied in school (how many people know that "psyche" means both "soul" and "butterfly"?)

The story of Eros (the Romans called him Cupid) and Psyche is the story of a soul awakened by love. Both souls, because at first Eros was supposed to hurt Psyche and instead fell in love with her. And Psyche betrayed and hurt Eros but had to atone for what she did.

Eros is often used to mean "erotic" (which it does) but in a larger sense it means "desire for union," and in Greek mythology (in fact in all religions and mythologies) everything is at first formless and chaotic and Eros (Love, desire for union) is what bring order out of Chaos. This story also exists in Genesis.

So, then, Eros (Love, desire for union) is what awakens Psyche and turns it from a cocoon into a butterfly. That's why Jung said what he did.

Myths are the distilled wisdom of the human race. Through hundreds if not thousands of years the dross gets burned away, leaving as close to the truth as you are going to find.

Everything is myth and religion. We can believe the bad or we can believe the good, or a mixture of the two.

I run across men who can quote every idea in the Manosphere as if it's God's truth. They believe it is the Truth, with a capital T. Blue Pill, Red Pill, Game, hypergamy, Alpha, Beta, the Dark Triad, women love conditionally and seek "resources," etc.

That's the myth they fervently believe. But do they know anything about myths that have been around for a thousand years? Of those they have not a clue.

I am reminded of the song "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" by Elvin Bishop:

I must have been through about a million girl
I'd love 'em and I'd leave them alone
I didn't care how much they cried, no sir
Their tears left me cold as a stone

But then I fooled around and fell in love
I fooled around and fell in love
I fooled around and fell in love
I fooled around and fell in love

That song, to some degree, is a retelling of the story of Eros and Psyche.

And I've had men tell me they believed in the ideas of the Manosphere until they fell in love.