The Myth Onion

The myth onion is a concept which helps in the study and understanding of myths.  It is an analogy.  Think about an onion.  It has layer and layers–and each layer is pungent and fragrant and spicy, and most importantly, all these factors don’t lessen in strength and usability, no matter how many layers you peel.  In addition, there is no core in the onion; it is all layers, and each layer is a fully-fledged whole it itself.

That is exactly what a myth is–It has layer and layer upon meaning, and each layer is equally meaningful. Like an onion, a myth may not have a core, or a nucleus (some myths do), because each layer must be seen as fully-fledged.

 Myths have many many layers of meaning, but some of the most important that MUST be explored in all analysis and interpretation of the myth are:

1. The surface (denotational) level–which is just the story–to see the beauty of the narrative itself

2. The sociological level.  What is revealed about the social structure myth dictates or reflects

3. The symbolic level (connotational). What symbols are included in the myth and what deeper meaning do they explore and reveal.  For example, if a myth makes reference to a tall pole reaching towards the sky, what does the pole represent? (Answer: it represents the transcendence or the aspiration to reach the divine.)

4. The spiritual (not religious) level.  Since myth includes aspects of the divine (not God), it must necessarily be explored through the spiritual idea that the myth is conveying, and since the divine in myth is always a sense of transcendence—something higher, better and more evolved than our mundane existence, the spiritual level in myth is a guide for us to try to reach that transcendence.

Very important to note is that this is not a lock-step method.  In other words, there is no chronology to these levels.  The point is to look at all levels–the order doesn’t matter.  And together these (and other layers) make the myth onion.

Note: The other layers are whatever you perceive, or whatever you want to explore–the historical level, the geographical level, the religio-political level.  Another layer that is very significant is the psychological level–to understand the psyche of the characters, which of course will give insights into the psyche of human behavior.  This is what creates archetypes.

Therefore, to understand the myth onion is the first step to understanding the immensity of myth.