The NY Mythology Group

I recently started rereading The Sacred and the Profane, by Mircea Eliade with another meetup group, and I would like us to read it and then discuss it together at one of our meetups.

In this influential work, Mircea Eliade explores how humans distinguish between sacred reality and ordinary, profane life. He argues that many traditional societies organize their world around sacred centers that provide meaning and orientation. Through myths, rituals, and symbols, people reconnect with these sacred dimensions of existence.

Eliade met Carl Jung for the first time at the Eranos Conferences. These gatherings brought together scholars interested in religion, symbolism, and psychology. The book sustains many of Jung’s ideas, particularly the importance of symbols and archetypal patterns in human experience. Eliade shows how sacred space and sacred time structure the way people understand the world. Drawing on examples from many cultures, he illustrates how rituals repeat mythical events to renew meaning.

Let’s meet and discuss this amazing book together.