Mythogem # 6 - And there were Giants . . .

Genesis 6:4

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ The Nephilim^[a] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 6:4 Or giants

The giants we face have different names: Fear. Discouragement. Loneliness. Worry. Guilt. Temptation. Anger. Resentment. Doubt. Procrastination. Failure. Jealousy. ― David Jeremiah

From King David to King Arthur, from Jack the Giant-killer to Thór, all have faced Giants, and they all have become giants in their own right too. Analytical psychologist Marie-Louise von Franz offers insight into the meaning of Giants within myth and fairytale, suggesting that “Giants, therefore, are a supernatural race, older and only half human. They represent emotional factors of crude force, factors which have not emerged into the realm of human consciousness” (123). Whether Giant, Mountain or Cave Troll, or Ogre, the heroes of both myth and fairytale have long fought against crude forces (both external and internal) much bigger than themselves. And to learn to commit to a struggle that is much bigger than one’s self, to commit to a higher goal beyond just serving one’s own self are two functions of the mythic, fairytale hero. So, if you aspire to become a modern day creative hero these are commitments that you must be willing to follow through with as well.

Furthermore, Giants throughout various mythologies (i.e., Greek and Hindu) are often depicted as powers at war with the Gods―a race lost somewhere between god and mankind. On one hand, a Giant may be a terrible force to be reckoned with, but, on the other, it may also serve as a protector depending on its symbolic function within the narrative’s overarching mythos.

Overall, for this prompt, I would like to focus on the-Giant-as-abstract-threat as well as a sleeping power within which needs awakened. Who or what are the Giants that threaten our existence? How do they threaten the higher order of life? These are the threshold guardians that we all must face to acquire the weapons and items that we need to get to transition to the next phase of our journeys. However, most of us live in fear, that is, in the shadows of dark-Giants. And it is no surprise that Giants, Trolls, and Ogres dwell in the recesses or caves of mountains, because, like the mountain or cave, they share the characteristics of their dwelling―an awful majesty and horror, and sometimes hibernation. They haunt and hunt within the recesses and caves of our psyches just as much as they do within myths and fairytales.

Our own Giants are largely projections of the obstacles that we face, obstacles which seem insurmountable―out of our power and control. But the more power we give a Giant, the more control we give that Giant as well. A way to face our dark-Giants, though, is to summon to battle the binary-opposite of those giants―if it is heartlessness then we must summon love; if it is fear then we must summon hope; if it is despair then we must summon perseverance; if it is doubt we must summon faith. Like Mehmet Murat ildan has said, “Mt. Everest of Earth is 8.8 km tall; Mt. Olympus of Mars is 22 km tall. Every time you see a giant, you must know that that giant might be just a dwarf somewhere else!” And a point that I want to borrow here is the power of perspective. Heartlessness is no match for love. Fear is no match for hope. And despair is no match for perseverance.

This battle between Giants is best summarized by George R. R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones series: “I’ve always preferred writing about grey characters and human characters. Whether they are giants or elves or dwarves, or whatever they are, they’re still human, and the human heart is still in conflict with the self.” The battle between our own Giants is exactly this, that “the human heart is still in conflict with the self.” This is how our dark-Giants are born: out of a conflict between ideals, out of an imbalance of power and control.

As Bernard Kelvin Clive has said, “Let the sleeping dogs lie, but rise up! You sleeping giants.” So, what are the sleeping giants that we need to awaken to confront and combat our dark-Giants? What powerful areas of our life have fallen comatose?:

It was sometimes said that the grey-and-black mountain range which ran like a spine north to south down that part of Faerie had once been a giant, who grew so huge and so heavy that, one day, worn out from the sheer effort of moving and living, he had stretched out on the plain and fallen into a sleep so profound that centuries passed between heartbeats. (Neil Gaiman, Stardust)

Furthermore, Mehmet Murat ildan also claims that, “A locked big door always kneels down in front of its little key! Every giant has a weak side!” So, what is the key? What are the weaknesses that will aid us in overcoming the threat and domination of our dark-Giants?

To return to King David as an exemplar, he not only realized what Isaac Newton had said, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants,” but also what Jill Telford critiques: “People say they walk on the shoulders of giants. True, but have you ever walked like one?” King David is an example of someone who not only stood on the shoulders of his God/faith, but he also walked like the giant upon whose shoulders he was standing to face down his own dark-Giant.

Remythologizing the battle of David and Goliath―Achilles and Boagrius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYERjMjm3Qk.

 

A visual analogy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIcExdpsEcQ.

Consider the following dark-Giants from the article, “Top 5 Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware.

Dark-Giants as regret:

• I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
• I wish I didn’t work so hard.
• I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
• I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
• I wish that I had let myself be happier.

What is the greatest regret that you face today, and what are you doing to overcome it or integrate into your life in a positive way? How has this regret transformed into a dark-Giant over time? What Giant do you need to awaken to face it?

In addition, in the apologetic work Slaying the Giants in Your Life: You Can Win the Battle and Live Victoriously (2001) author David Jeremiah outlines different spiritual battles that we face on routine:

·         Fighting Your Fear

·         Destroying Your Discouragement

·         Liberation from Loneliness

·         Winning Against Worry

·         Guarding Against Guilt

·         Taming Your Temptation

·         Attacking Your Anger

·         Resisting Your Resentment

·         Disarming Your Doubts

·         Postponing Your Procrastination

·         Facing Your Failure

·         Journeying Beyond Jealousy

Which of these vices has become the dark-Giant whose shadow you’ve been living under? What is a possible battle-plan for conquering this vice?

Sources:

Franz, Marie-Louise von. The Interpretation of Fairytales. Revised ed. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications, Inc. 1996. Print.