Page 176

[Alexandr Korol]

are projected into mythical time and reduced to singular acts of creation. The world, created once, then lives in real time according to the laws laid down at creation.” This is also a very important point to focus attention on.

“Mythical time is perceived as a universal primary source of magical spiritual forces. In mythological consciousness, these forces are activated through rituals that reenact events of the mythical era and often include the recitation of creation myths (especially during calendar festivals, initiations, etc.), continuing to maintain the established order in nature and society. The events of the era of primordial creation, repeatedly reproduced in rituals, are ritually repeated in the sacred time of the festival (especially the calendar one). However, this does not mean that the mythical past is timeless; it remains the past, whose magical emanation reaches the bearers of the myth through rituals and dreams.”

Next, there is a section on “Images.” “In the most ancient myths, the world, the earth, and the universe were often depicted in the form of an animal. Thus, a zoomorphic vision of the world was widespread: the earth was conceived as a huge cosmic beast. There were beliefs that the earth and the universe originated from the body of an animal. Such an animal could be a mammoth, a bull, a horse, a turtle, fire, a whale, birds, and others. The beast could be regarded as the demiurge (creator) of the world. Each of these animals was a totem embodying a specific clan. In ancient Indian writings, the universe was imagined in the form of a sacrificial horse. Northern peoples often depicted the universe as a colossal elk. A widely spread image in ancient myths was also that of the universe as the world tree. It was divided into three main parts, each corresponding to an independent world. Through this marvelous tree, one could reach other worlds of the universe. Later, the image of the universe as a human being developed. Myths appeared about a giant cosmic primordial man, from whose body the visible world was created. For instance, in Hindu mythology, there is a story about Purusha, the primordial man, from whose body the world, people, and castes originated. In Norse mythology, the gods killed the giant Ymir and created the world from his body.” Again, I often encountered this. In many different mythological stories, it is said that the hero of the tale ultimately becomes the world itself, his body turning into the entire world, naturally after his death.