or
[ How to Set Yourself on Fire in the
Proper Fashion]

“Archetypes are recurring images, descriptive detail
patterns, landscapes, and plot or character patterns that
appear frequently in literature, folk lore, religion, and
myth. They are universal patterns and shapes that
ignore cultural, geographical, and temporal boundaries”
(C. G. Jung Institute of New York).

Unlike a symbol, that represents something other than
itself within a particular text or situation, an archetype is
NOT text/context dependant. An archetype will always
encapsulate the same core meaning each time it
appears.

“Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist
and contemporary of Sigmund
Freud, believed in two aspects of
the unconscious.
The Personal Unconscious
contains suppressed events,
values, and fears of one’s own life.
The Collective Unconscious holds
the inherited or taught ideas that
persist as memories in the
unconscious mind of every
individual” (C. G. Jung Institute of
New York).

“These ‘racial memories’ of the
Collective Unconscious are
expressed in literary, historical,
political, mythological, and
religious decisions and events
throughout time” (C. G. Jung
Institute of New York).

Though the pattern is sometimes
subtly altered, the major
meaning of the archetype still
thrusts its head forward in each
new occasion.
-Snakes, M.C. Escher

“Sometimes myths and tales from
universal literature comprise well
defined themes which reappear
everywhere and every time. We
find the same themes in fantasies,
dreams, delirious ideas, and the
illusions of individuals that live in
our present days. These thematic
images are representations of
archetypes, they have archetypes
as roots. They impress, influence
and fascinate us” (C. G. Jung Institute of
New York).

The Phoenix is a mythological, sacred
firebird with roots in Phoenician,
Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, Ancient
Grecian, and Medieval European
myth. The Phoenix is also featured in
Judeo, Christian, and Hindu texts.

Though the minute
details/descriptions vary in each
mythic account, these different tales
of the phoenix all involve some form
of death and renewal (usually
through holy fire).

“The Phoenix, the firebird that comes from Paradise, lives five hundred
years feeding on aromatic herbs and filling the air with its heavenly voice,
before it perishes and burns in fire. It would then rise from the ashes to live
another five hundred years.
For thousands of years, the land that carried the mountains of Lebanon
and hugged the Mediterranean Sea was restless…However, like the
Phoenix, the survivors always rose from the ruins and rebuilt their
homeland in a manner even more magnificent” ("Phoenicians: The Ancient
People of Lebanon”).

“In Egyptian mythology, the bird benu (or purple
heron) played an important role. During the
flood of the Nile, this beautiful, bluish bird rests
on high places and resembles the sun floating
over the waters. Therefore this bird, sometimes
called ‘the ascending one’, was associated with
the sun god Ra, whose ba (soul) it was thought
Purple Heron
to be.
According to the Heliopolitan myth, the benu
had created itself from a fire that was burned on
the holy jšd-tree in one of the sacred precincts of
the temple of Ra.
In another myth, the famous bird was associated
with the god Osiris, who had once renewed
itself. The benu had sprung from the god's heart”
("Phoenix" Livius.org).
from the Book of the Dead of Neferrenpet

“The phoenix is a bird that is found in India.
After it has lived for 500 years, it goes to the
cedar forests of Lebanon and bathes in the
fragrance from the trees, then signals the
priest in the city of Heliopolis (the city of the
sun), who prepares an altar. The phoenix flies
to the city, alights on the altar, and ignites a
fire that completely consumes it, leaving only
ash. The next day the priest finds a worm in
the ashes, on the second day a small bird,
and on the third day the full-grown phoenix,
completely renewed. The phoenix greets the
priest and returns to its home in India”
("Properties of the Phoenix“).
Van der Borcht, copper-plate engraving

Within the Chinese culture, the phoenix is called
“Fung or Feng-Huang…In this version, the bird is
sent to earth to perform extraordinary works and to
help the development of man. It appears in
different stages of the world's progress, and then
returns to heaven” ("Phoenix" Dave's Mythical Creatures &
Places).

“The Chinese dragon is traditionally the
embodiment of the concept of yang (male), while
[the] phoenix was paired (yin, female) with [the]
dragon… [The] Chinese phoenix is also an immortal
bird…[that] never truly [grows] old or dies…[its]
rebirth out of ash symbolizes the constant striving
spirit” ("Chinese Dragon and Phoenix").

“There is also another sacred bird called the
phoenix…he comes to the Egyptians very
rarely, at intervals, as the people of
Heliopolis say, of five hundred years. They
say that he comes regularly when his father
dies…Some of his feathers are of gold color
and others red…in outline and size he is as
nearly as possible like an eagle.” - Hecataeus of
Miletus, Ancient Grecian geographer

“A raven's life makes three stags old,
while the phoenix outlives nine ravens”
-Hesiod, Ancient Grecian poet
("Phoenix" Livius.org )
“Later sources tell us that the
phoenix burned itself, and was
born again from the flames. This
is the Greek myth that became
most popular in our own time; we
can still say that something rises
‘like a phoenix from the flames.’"

“It lives for upwards of five
hundred years, and when it
observes that it has grown
old, it erects a funeral pyre for
itself from small branches of
aromatic plants, and having
turned to face the rays of the
sun, beating its wings, it
deliberately fans the flames
for itself and is consumed in
the fire” ("The Aberdeen
Bestiary: Folio 55r Translation
and Transcription").

“In Judaism, the phoenix is known as Milcham or Hol: ‘I
shall multiply my days as the Hol, the phoenix’ (Job 29:18).
The story of the phoenix begins in the Garden of Eden
when Eve fell, tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden
fruit. Upset by her situation and jealous of creatures still
innocent, she tempted all the other creatures of the
garden to do the same. Only the phoenix resisted. As a
reward, the phoenix was given eternal life, living in peace
for a thousand years and then being reborn from an egg to
continue to live in peace again, repeating the cycle
eternally.
The phoenix became a symbol of Christianity in early
literature…The ideology of the phoenix fit perfectly with
the story of Christ. The phoenix's resurrection from death
as new and pure can be viewed as a metaphor for Christ's
resurrection, central to Christian belief” ("Phoenix
(mythology)“).

“In Hindu mythology, Garuda is
a lesser Hindu divinity, usually
the mount (vahanam) of
Vishnu, depicted as having the
golden body of a strong man
with a white face, red wings,
and an eagle's beak and with a
crown on his head. When
Garuda first burst forth from his
egg, he appeared as a raging
inferno equal to the cosmic
conflagration that consumes
the world at the end of every
age” (Sanyal).
Garuda, Vishnu’s winged mount
2001 New York City parade six weeks
after 9/11 commemorating the city’s
undying spirit
Uncanny X-Men #101, Marvel Comics
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
The Phoenix has permeated our modern global culture. Allusions to this mythical
creature are extremely varied. Figures from comic books, literature, television shows,
and films, references in song lyrics and everyday casual conversations, and the
names of cities, monuments, and newspapers all pay homage to the Phoenix
worldwide. The Phoenix has become a ubiquitous concept constantly employed in
disparate ways to express the idea of survival and the notion of rebirth through death.

According to Carl Jung’s theory
concerning the Collective Unconscious,
so many diverse cultures have created
and/or adopted and adapted the
phoenix myth due to a deep-seated
need to tell and retell this story.
As human beings, Jung might argue, we
are hard-wired to revere and replicate
tales featuring this feathered harbinger
of death and renewal; it speaks to
something deep within our
subconscious selves.

According to a recent lecture conducted by
Dr. Micheal Sayler, Associate Dean for the
College of Education at the University of
North Texas, gifted and talented students
only truly thrive when they are deeply
challenged. Additionally, G/T beings fully
blossom when frequently interacting with
other gifted individuals. These
environmental and interpersonal catalysts
help the gifted apply their talents toward
concrete endeavors with great success
(Sayler).
Dr. Micheal Sayler

In a recent Dallas Morning News
interview, Sayler “said there is a
myth that gifted students can take
care of themselves and that they
will thrive no matter what. But
there is a difference between
‘gifted and talented’ and ‘gifted and
thriving.’ It's like a child who has
slightly bad eyesight and then gets
glasses, Sayler said: ‘They may
have done OK, but they missed a
lot’” (Holloway).
It is all about the nest! In several mythic
accounts of the Phoenix, this holy bird of
fire only alights itself after safely building
its pyre of fragrant wood. Like the
Phoenix, G/T thinkers continually rise and
fall through the seasons of life in echoed
patterns of deconstruction and renewal.
But in order to do this safely and
successfully, G/T individuals need a firm
understanding of their own particular
needs, early experiences with truly
challenging feats, and to have
experienced firm connections with other
gifted personas.
“The ancients conceived of the Phoenix as a reminder to us that we
have the power to re-create ourselves when it becomes clear that
the 'old' is not working anymore... Phoenix energy gives us the
opportunity to put an end to the old way of doing things, and the old
ways of regarding ourselves, and enter into a new place where we
can create ourselves a fresh and dynamic person” (Dispenza).
Through the Phoenix Gifted and Talented Program, G/T students will be
better prepared for this form of reoccurring transformation. With skilled
instruction by highly trained educators, through interactions with other
gifted and talented thinkers, and by successfully completing truly novel
and challenging educational tasks, Phoenix students will be well on the
path toward being ‘gifted and thriving’.
[So feel free to set yourself on fire…]

"The Aberdeen Bestiary: Folio 55r Translation and Transcription.“ The Aberdeen
Bestiary. University of Aberdeen. 13 Aug 2009.
<http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/translat/55r.hti>.

C. G. Jung Institute of New York. The Carl Jung Institute. 13 Aug 2009
<http://www.junginstitute.org>.

"Chinese Dragon and Phoenix." Easy Tour: China. Easy Tour. 13 Aug 2009
<http://www.easytourchina.com/china-specials/chinese-dragon-andphoenix.htm>.

"Death and Rebirth: The Phoenix." LifePath. LifePath Retreats, LLC. 13 Aug 2009
<http://www.lifepathretreats.com>.

Dispenza, Joseph. "Death and Rebirth: The Phoenix." LifePath. LifePath Retreats, LLC. 25
Aug 2009 <http://www.lifepathretreats.com/news_articles_phoenix.asp>.

Holloway, Karel. "Advocates for Gifted Students Want Teachers to Have More
Specialized Training." Dallas Morning News 08 Aug 2009 Web.14 Aug 2009.
<http://www2.quickdfw.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/080909dn
metgiftedstudents.3bb5999.html>.

"Phoenix." Dave's Mythical Creatures & Places. 04 July 2004. eAudrey. 13 Aug
2009. <http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/phoenix.htm>.

"Phoenix." Livius.org. 21 May 2009. Jona Lendering. 13 Aug 2009
<http://www.livius.org/phi-php/phoenix/phoenix.html>.

"Phoenix (mythology)." New World Encyclopedia. 25 June 2009. New World
Encyclopedia. 14 Aug 2009. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/
entry/Phoenix_(mythology)#Egyptian>.

"Phoenicians: The Ancient People of Lebanon." LGIC. LGIC.org. 13 Aug 2009
<http://www.lgic.org/en/phoenicians.php#p2>.

"Properties of the Phoenix." Sancti Epiphanii Ad Physiologum. 01 Sep 2004.
University of Victoria. 13 Aug 2009
<http://www.library.uvic.ca/site/spcoll/physiologum/animal/phoenix.htm>.

Sanyal, Sumata. "Garuda." Encyclopedia Mythica. 29 Mar 2005. Encyclopedia
Mythica. 14 Aug 2009 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/garuda.html>.

Sayler, Micheal. "Gifted and Thriving." Gifted/Talented Lecture, Lovejoy ISD.
Lovejoy High School, Allen. Apr 2009. Performance.