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People say there are some things they just don’t understand, but a group of local mythology buffs has found that many stories serve to explain the unexplainable in everyday life.
The Joseph Campbell Mythology RoundTable of Albuquerque is a local group that meets once a month to discuss mythology. Hosted by Ronnie Tabor, the group looks at mythology from around the world, from Greek and Roman to Native American and Celtic, before questioning common symbols. Tabor said the group often focuses on the similarities between myths from different cultures.
“Most of the myths that we work with have been from the Greek and the Roman, but if you read myths from all over the place, there’s a common thread trying to explain the unexplainable — what started the unexplainable, what started a nation,” Tabor said.
She said the group looks at myths through the lessons of Joseph Campbell, a literature scholar who helped promote the concepts of archetype and symbolism. Stories are always shifted and retold, and common symbols often leap from fiction to reality.
“To understand symbolism, it really does relate to the personal and what goes on now,” Tabor said. “It can tell you what’s going on with yourself, people you know, how they relate, how they interact, what’s going on politically and what’s happening in the world. Nothing is new; everything has been said over and over and over again.”
Tabor’s journey into the realm of myths and storytelling began after her aunt gave her a copy of “One Thousand and One Nights.” The collection of short stories was her call to adventure. Tabor has been interested in myths and fantasy ever since.
Tabor, a practicing psychoanalyst for 35 years, said she has learned to incorporate her knowledge of mythology into her career. This integration began after one of her mentors recommended that she read Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”
“She told us that if you read that, you will get an understanding of all the different psycho-psychologies and personality structures there are in the form of a myth,” Tabor said. “It’s kind of a way to look at the world in a symbolic form. I thought it was fascinating.”
Group member Shari Tarbet has taught multiple mythology classes. She taught mythology at Cibola High School from 1988 to 2005, then left to attend the Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2005 where she received her doctorate in mythology. Tarbet now teaches a reading course at Diné College’s branch campus in Crownpoint, N.M., and two mythology courses in UNM’s continuing education program, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Tarbet said mythology and its many symbols thrive in today’s pop culture. Just two examples are the hero quests common in films such as the original “Star Wars” trilogy and the Celtic shape-shifting in the recent Pixar film “Brave.” Tarbet said this prevalence of mythological symbols is evidence that people still look to stories to explain their lives.
“People search for meaning in their lives, and not everybody can seek meaning in their lives from religious practice,” Tarbet said. “Clearly people are searching for meaning in their lives that they’re not getting from places that for the last 2,000 years they’ve gotten.”
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To join the Joseph Campbell Mythology RoundTable of Albuquerque,
sign up online at
meetup.com/mythology-59
