BORDER SPEAKER LANDSCAPE: DIONYSUS

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Dionysus is each of us's dirty secrets

Freedom is the most overrated idea

The archetypal relief of borderline dynamics is vividly reflected in the archetype of the god Dionysus. Ancient Greek mythology is replete with myths about Dionysus; they are all lengthy, complex and contradictory, like his nature. Since Dionysus is associated with wine and intoxicating fun, he is most often glorified as a great liberator, this is a game of protest. The game of freedom and protest, if it does not stop in time, does not give the desired freedom, but, on the contrary, a return to infancy. A joint near the patrol, sex in a busy place. But the great god is barbarism, shredding, murder, decay.

Dionysus is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the balanced Apollo. Apollo's slogan is "Nothing beyond measure", Dionysus's slogan is "Everything is beyond measure!" Apollo says, "Stop," Dionysus says, "Move!" Apollo is the legislator, Dionysus is outside the law.

As myths and ancient cult rituals testify, with the advent of Dionysus, the established, habitual life is disrupted. When he appears, then everything that languished in captivity is released, in his presence the shackles are torn, the walls turn into ruins, age-old barriers fall down, hiding the future from the human mind. But the all-encompassing and inspiring unbridledness is just the beginning, ecstasy is inevitably replaced by the agony of terrifying savagery (every drunk knows how to turn his insides inside out, how unpredictable the acts of urination and defecation, how his eyes swam). Dionysus, the god of liberation, the great "redeemer", becomes the god-destroyer and dismemberment. Some myths tell how unrestrained fun gradually develops into a wild and primitive revelry, when God and the participants in orgies tear apart the bodies and devour animals and people.

"Liberation" turns into a violent attack on the whole, on life itself; the rule of absolute and complete chaos is established. In the myths, we see that Dionysus encourages the rapid and frequent change of opposite states: Dionysus and his followers move again and again from fun to chaos, from ecstasy to agony. Dionysus is the god of strong emotions, affective revelry, suffering and madness.

Bacchus. Rubens

All these themes are described in the play "Bacchae" by Euripides. The plot is as follows: the wayward king Pentheus is lured to look at the ecstatic rituals of the maenads. Among those who are attached to noisy fun is Pentey's mother, Agave. She participates with wild delight in revelry. Not recognizing her own son, she incites other bacchantes to attack him. Rejoicing, Agave returns to the city, holding the severed head of Pentheus in her hand, she runs with her bloody trophy, lulling her - a terrible parody of drinking.

Bacchus. Rubens

All these themes are described in the play "Bacchae" by Euripides. The plot is as follows: the wayward king Pentheus is lured to look at the ecstatic rituals of the maenads. Among those who are attached to noisy fun is Pentey's mother, Agave. She participates with wild delight in revelry. Not recognizing her own son, she incites other bacchantes to attack him. Rejoicing, Agave returns to the city, holding the severed head of Pentheus in her hand, she runs with her bloody trophy, lulling her - a terrible parody of drinking.

Bacchanalia. Rubens

A person with a borderline pattern tries with all the strength to suppress the desire to surrender to the crazy dance. He hears the call of Dionysus; fusion, passion, ecstatic liberation, and perhaps dismemberment - that is what awaits him. Periodic emotional outbursts, thirst for thrills, demonstration of hostility towards those you love, and sometimes "attack" on them - in each of these cases, a person experiences the archetypal invasion of Dionysus. It is with the invasion of the archetype that he may have the need to injure himself. If Dionysus took possession of his consciousness, a person can pounce on his own body. But the process of dismemberment can also take place in the intrapsychic space: a person periodically "pounces" on himself, tormenting his own soul.

Bacchanalia. Rubens

A person with a borderline pattern tries with all the strength to suppress the desire to surrender to the crazy dance. He hears the call of Dionysus; fusion, passion, ecstatic liberation, and perhaps dismemberment - that is what awaits him. Periodic emotional outbursts, thirst for thrills, demonstration of hostility towards those you love, and sometimes "attack" on them - in each of these cases, a person experiences the archetypal invasion of Dionysus. It is with the invasion of the archetype that he may have the need to injure himself. If Dionysus took possession of his consciousness, a person can pounce on his own body. But the process of dismemberment can also take place in the intrapsychic space: a person periodically "pounces" on himself, tormenting his own soul.

Bacchanalia: Silenus's Dream. Rubens

Dismemberment is an inevitable state in borderline experience, as evidenced by the fact that division into parts occurs in Dionysian rites and rituals, and Dionysus himself, as described in myths, experienced it in childhood. According to one legend, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Semele, with whom the god entered into a relationship, hiding his true appearance. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, persuaded the pregnant Semele to persuade Zeus to appear before her in all his splendor.

When the great Thunderer God descended, spewing out lightning of divine light, he immediately incinerated his beloved, which was inevitable. Zeus managed to snatch the unborn baby from the womb of a dying mother and sewed it into his thigh, from where Dionysus was later born immortal.

Bacchanalia: Silenus's Dream. Rubens

Dismemberment is an inevitable state in borderline experience, as evidenced by the fact that division into parts occurs in Dionysian rites and rituals, and Dionysus himself, as described in myths, experienced it in childhood. According to one legend, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Semele, with whom the god entered into a relationship, hiding his true appearance. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, persuaded the pregnant Semele to persuade Zeus to appear before her in all his splendor.

When the great Thunderer God descended, spewing out lightning of divine light, he immediately incinerated his beloved, which was inevitable. Zeus managed to snatch the unborn baby from the womb of a dying mother and sewed it into his thigh, from where Dionysus was later born immortal.

From a psychological point of view, she lost consciousness, lost her Ego-eyes. She is captured by a powerful archetypal force that the Ego cannot control. The ego is defeated by barbaric power. Returning to his real world, Agave regains his sight (regains consciousness, acquires the ability to see), is horrified by what he has done and plunges into immeasurable sadness. This myth shows us how a person experiences decay and is aware of it: the experience of decay is pushed into consciousness and there they steadfastly hold and mourn. God and those who are possessed by him will again throw themselves into a whirlpool of unrestrained fun and chaos, and the heroes of the myth, who have regained consciousness, must take up the solution of the most human task - to get along with themselves. Agave is exiled, hunted, overwhelmed by feelings that are painfully familiar to a person with a borderline character structure.

The Bacchae of Euripides is a reservoir of destruction, a saga of catastrophe. Apollo is the legislator, Dionysus is outside the law. Everything is falling apart. Dionysus - invader - plague, fire, deluge, the freed titan of nature. "Bacchae" destroys personality. Brought on a stretcher, Penfey fell to pieces. He is crushed. He lost his head.

This story teaches us that obsession with archetypal energy destroys a person. If consciousness is not differentiated from the unconscious, individuality does not develop. To resist the power of Dionysus is a feat. From an objective perspective, this obsession may seem unattractive, but engaging in rituals like the Dionysian is an exciting, trance-making and addictive experience for many.

When a person looks at the world, putting on the mask of this great god, he observes what is happening as if from the other world, from the kingdom of eternity. Dionysus - primitive sex and the violence of nature. He is drugs, booze, dancing - the dance of death. Dionysus is the It escaped from the shackles. Although in the presence of the archetypal Dionysus tension, passion, emotional intensity arise, a person must meet this powerful force and make it submit to the realities of human life.

If this dynamic archetype meets with a sufficiently strong individual consciousness (Apollo), constructive dialogue can begin. By conducting such a dialogue, a person can feel that he is absolutely firmly on his feet. He retains his human dignity, while archetypal affects do not capture him, but fill and enrich him.

Many people know when Dionysus enters their life. This is the time when you want to surrender to dance, singing, playing cruel games, sex. The power of Dionysus manifests itself when we are infuriated and shaking with rage. It is difficult to imagine a person's life without such moments. But, if a person does not allow the adventurous - affective - unbridled side of his nature to appear, he thereby incurs the displeasure of God. And Dionysus falls into a rage and seeks to drive a person crazy if he does not honor him and bypasses his possession. But when entering this domain, do not forget to drop anchor on the shore of reality.

Makarenko Amalia Alekseevna (psychological assistance in person in Kharkov and online - all countries)

Tel. / Viber / WhatsApp / Botim: + 3 8 067 728 80 1

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