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Vampirism: Archetypical Imagination
home > vampirism articles > Archetypical Imagination

Archetypical Imagination

by Lumina

"I searched for the origin of evil, but I searched in a flawed way and did not see the flaw in my very search."
St. Augustine, Confessions.
The great attraction of evil spirits, benevolent angels, demons, vampires, faeries etc remains to be a prevalent trait in humanity; the need to put a face to the seemingly irrational, and the need to explain the abstract reality of imagination in a tangible sense. Humanity has boxed up these beings, organized and labeled them, gave them names and put them on the shelves of our minds. Cataloged and cross-referenced, society relies on these archetypes as a basic means of trying to understand what the subconsciously don't want to understand.

The vampire does not have one birthplace, but many. In examining the crossing of ideas between various cultures and people, the vampire should not be seen as a character invented by just one civilization then passed on to others. There are many influences and no singular line of development. The personification of evil was not an isolated phenomenon contained in some corner of the glove. Unconnected and unlinked groups tried to make sense of a baffling and remarkable cosmos that was once both, cruel and kind, benign and hostile. For some, a personification of evil became an article of faith and human perseverance.

Different cultures fashioned their own angels and demons. Some defined them theologically and others through lore, legend and myth. Regardless on how these creatures were defined, there exists an undeniable truth; we as humans relate to these creatures, we secretly yearn to be one of these beings, hold phenomenal supernatural powers, defy mortality and even battle with other creatures for power, property, prosperity etc. This is a trait of our archetypical imagination, something we try to avoid but cannot help falling into its enticing allure.

A vast majority of Haven Mercury members associate themselves with "energy vampirism" however, the mere term "vampire" still holds a negative and sometimes malevolent connotation in modern day society. The term sparks our archetypical imagination to immediately associate vampires with the blood sucking, immortal creatures of the night. We also associate vampires as being creatures allergic to garlic, turn to dust in the light of the sun, repelled against the holiness of God, and slain by a wooden stake through the heart.

Our association with the term "vampire" does not come from the common myth but rather the association of the archetype, the core essence of what makes a vampire a vampire. As energy vampires, we do not exhibit the qualities of the mythic creature of lore. We simply use the term vampire because of what a vampire does; takes something from someone as a means of sustenance. In the case of energy vampires, we passively take energy from others as an additional means of sustenance. We are not evil, malevolent creatures of the night nor do we want to be associated as such, but there is an undeniable truth of the fact that we cannot escape the imagination of society.

A very good question has been asked about the association with the term "vampire". Why not call yourself something else instead of energy vampires? While this is a very valid point, we cannot deny the fact what the best word that describes what we do is in fact the term "vampire". This is very similar to calling someone who has saved your life as being an angel. Is that person really one of the winged beauties of the heavens? The answer, quite simply is no, it was a term of association. Another reason it is hard to break free of the stigma associated with the term "vampire" is the fact that a lot of people relate to it. There are tons of web sites, newsgroups, e-lists etc that refer to the same thing we do as being vampirism. It is because of this that other people can find similar people, share their experiences and help each other teach one another.

Most people associate themselves with some sort of archetype or another; this is a double edged sword. One side of the sword really helps us associate those people with what we know and believe to know as fact. The other side of the sword holds all of the negative stereotypes and rumours about said archetype. While most of us members of Haven Mercury associate ourselves with being energy vampires, not all of us are like that. We have Pagans in our group as well as atheists. The true key lies in understanding each other and where everyone comes from. Coupled with expressing our beliefs in a healthy manor, this is an effective way that all of us can grown and learn from each other, broaden our horizons and perhaps find some sort of spiritual enlightenment. It is not an easy road to take, but all we need to do as humans is just take a step back and really look inside ourselves as well as the other person to get passed stereotypes and negative labels. Once we can get passed that, we can really start the learning process.

This article is copyright © its original author Lumina. Please do not redistribute or reproduce without the expressed permission of the author.
 
© Copyright 2003 House Eclipse. Unless where noted. All that is contained within House Eclipse may not be used for any purposes without express permission.

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