ABSTRACT
Orpheus’ journey into the underworld to retrieve his beloved Eurydice recapitulates the reforging process illustrated in previous stories. Orpheus passes guardians, and each symbolizes deeper comprehension modes he must experience. For instance, Charon will not ferry the living into the underworld, thus separating ordinary reality from a virtual realm, which is characteristic of virtual comprehension. Cerberus, the monstrous dog, in turn, devours the living. Dogs are famous for their loyalty to a human and symbolize the commitment comprehension mode. Metaphorically everyone who passes Cerberus must demonstrate they can give up their central oaths in life. Finally, Orpheus meets Hades, the most mysterious and terrifying of the Olympian gods. Hades personifies death and mythic experience – the encounter with ultimate mystery.
Orpheus fails to retrieve Eurydice because he uses his magical music to pass the guardians, like a tourist in a bus, looking at a new culture but never experiencing it. And even if he did experience new dimensions of life what if his experiences and insights were self-deceptions or illusions? The same problem arises in psychotherapy with false or mistaken insights. So, how do we judge the truth of intense insights? For this, we must turn to foundational narratives for Western culture.
