Chiron Communications

Chiron Communiqué

Author's Occasional Newsletter

from Steven McFadden

Vol. 7 No.9

Poison and Promise:

Our Working Myths

"Throughout the inhabited world, in all times and under every circumstance, the myths of man have flourished; and they have been the living inspiration of whatever else may have appeared out of the activities of the human body and mind...Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation." - Joseph Campbell

For most of the 20th century, and even now at the start of the 21st, a dominant myth in the developing world has been a version of the American Dream suggesting that most people can attain wealth and that happiness will follow. This myth is relentlessly reinforced by advertising images. However, the promised wealth has never been attainable for most people. Those who have attained the wealth, by and large, may now realize that this part of the dream is hollow. Material riches in and of themselves bring no peace, carry no happiness.

Tragically, the unbridled pursuit of this dream, often by people deep in sleep, has plunged us into a nightmare of environmental devastation, ethical bankruptcy, and cultural confusion. Many observers predict that religious and ethnic conflict, combined with the scarcity of clean water and our rapidly deteriorating ecosystem will be the prime causes of war in the 21st century.

A second myth is conjured in the bloody, sorrowful images that pervade movies, music and computer games — the myth that the world is hate–filled and chaotic beyond redemption. For many millions of people, in the absence of something more wholesome, such barren and noxious visions have become their personal working myths, albeit often unconsciously.

A third myth — perhaps the most potent at the moment for many US governmental leaders — is portrayed in the best-selling "Left Behind" series of books. These books were written by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LeHaye, who have been associated with and supported by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his far-flung empire.

The "Left Behind" novels are based on the premise that all truly devout Christians have been bodily raised to Paradise via the rapture described in the Bible. The only souls who remain on Earth are the followers of "false religions," atheists, and insufficiently devout Christians and Catholics.

The highly influential "Left Behind" myth suggests that there is only one way out: all must surrender discernment and free will to assume one unyielding view of the world — "You’re either with us or against us" — or be dammed. Although the basic idea of these books is the antithesis of the American ideal, it has been embraced by many figures of authority in government. The phrase "evil ones" now in high vogue in Washington, DC arises from the mythology and rhetoric of these novels.

Among the other working myths in today’s world are two venerable and related stories which linger on the fringe of awareness, receiving only occasional mention in the mass media: the new age and the legend of the rainbow warriors. Though widely disparaged, they echo an ancient theme in storytelling: paradise lost, paradise regained. We are squandering paradise in our modern world, most people would agree. Is it therefore surprising that there should arise in our epoch many hopeful myths of a new age, a time when paradise may be regained?

Many storytellers are animating this myth with their words, their images, and their music for it represents potent affirmation in a time of adversity. But will this hopeful myth penetrate world culture sufficiently to make a positive difference? That is a question only historians will be able to answer.

In brief, the legend of the rainbow warriors says that when the Earth becomes desperately sick some of the people will recognize that they are destroying themselves and their Earth Mother. With spiritual insight and support, the rainbow warriors — people of all colors and faiths — will come to the rescue using only peaceful means, eventually establishing a long and joyous reign of peace.

The Legend of the Rainbow Warriors

The rainbow story is told many ways and in many different places around the world, including on Turtle Island (North America). It has been glimpsed in vision and told for hundreds of years, from dozens of perspectives.

Among the many ancient versions are the visions and stories of Padmasambhava of Tibet, Eyes of Fire of the Cree, Black Elk and Crazy Horse of the Lakota, Quetzalcoatl of the Toltec, Plenty Coups of the Crow, Ku’Kulkan of the Maya, Monteczuma of the Aztec, the Peacemaker of the Haudenusaunee (Iroquois), and Weetucks of the Wampanoag. Though they lived at different times and in different places, they shared a sense of what would unfold.
In brief, in amalgamated form, here is the legend of the rainbow warriors as described by visionaries in times past:

Light-skinned people will come out of the eastern sea in great canoes powered by huge white wings, like giant birds. The people who get off these boats will also be like birds, but they will have two different kinds of feet. One of their feet will be like that of a dove, the other like that of an eagle.

The foot of the dove will represent a beautiful, new religion of love and kindness, and the foot of the eagle will represent strength, technology, and power. The sharp foot of the eagle will dominate, for though they will talk much of the new religion, not all of the light-skinned people will live by it. Instead they will claw at the Red Nations with their eagle feet, exploiting and enslaving them.

After offering mixed resistance to this clawing, the Indians would seemingly lose their spirit and be herded into small, barren enclaves. This would be the way of their world for many years: poverty, suffering, disrespect. Then in time the world would become sick. Because of unrelenting greed, the Earth would be filled with deadly liquids and metals, the air would be rendered foul with smoke and ash, and even the rains — which are intended to cleanse the Earth — would plummet in toxic drops. Fish would turn belly up in the waters. Whole families of animals would disappear. Forests would begin to wither. A hole would open up in the sky. Wars would circle the globe. There would be mounting chaos — koyanisquatsi — in the world.

Then as conditions worsened Light would come from the East. Native peoples would begin to find their strength and their wisdom. So would many of their brothers and sisters of the other nations — Yellow, White and Black — who would feel strongly the calling of Spirit. They would understand the basic fact that the Earth gives us the water, food, clothing, shelter and beauty necessary for the circle of life. These awakened souls would find each other, and together they would teach all the people of the world to have respect for the Earth, of whose very stuff human bodies are made.

Under the symbol of the rainbow all the races and religions would band together to spread the great wisdom of living in harmony with each other and with all the creations of the world — and thereby restore the Sacred Hoop. Those who teach this way would be the Warriors of the Rainbow, but they would do no harm. Using peaceful means alone, and by becoming examples of right living, after a great struggle they would bring an end to the destruction and desecration of the Earth.

The warriors of the rainbow would have to live with exalted physical and moral courage. They would understand that the world’s gravest problems have been made by human minds and human activities, and thus can be unmade. They would see that the threat to life comes not from outer space or a remote, satanic figure, but rather from the very decisions and lifestyles people have chosen.

The tasks of the rainbow warriors would be many and daunting. There would be mountains of ignorance to conquer and they would meet prejudice and hatred. They would have to bet be dedicated, unwavering in their strength, and strong of heart. They would find many human beings who would walk with them on the road of healing. Peace and plenty will then reign through a long, joyous Golden Age.

What Lies Beneath the Surface?

The rainbow legend offers inspiration, for it is based upon spiritual sovereignty, personal freedom, and personal responsibility. For many people, as they witness the rapid melting of the ice pack at the North and South Poles, the growing hole in the Earth’s ozone shield, the widespread drought, and the one million forest fires that have flared around the globe over the last year, the myth speaks strongly and plainly.

While I venture no bold assertion of ultimate truth for the conclusions suggested by this myth, I will say this: they are part of my truth. I offer the legend in the hope that it will raise helpful questions for you, the reader: What lies beneath the surface? What gives your life its meaning? What is your myth? How are you acting to make your myth a living part of the world's experience? If the legend of the rainbow warriors speaks to you, what can you do to make it real, to engage more directly in the ancient quest of heroes and heroines: bringing Heaven to Earth?

Today, as ever, we face the present and the future. According to the rainbow mythology, we are in a critical epoch of change — change that is more far–reaching and enigmatic than at any other time in history. The necessity for taking meaningful action, therefore, bears upon us not in ten years, or even next year, but now.

The rainbow new age myth, as I hear it, is about individual liberty to be who you are while willingly accepting responsibility for self, family, community, and planet — coupled with recognition that all these elements are inextricably bound together in a web of relationships that can be, depending upon how we weave it, ugly or beautiful.

Whether they think of themselves as Christian, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Native American, agnostic, atheist, or in some other way, rainbow warriors recognize the fundamental necessity of respecting differences, and honoring the Earth we share.

The overall myth offers no details, only a general direction that we need to travel: a direction in which there is full respect for the self, for others, and for all the creations who share life with us upon the Earth. By proceeding in this direction, we will create a spiritually informed culture that uses scientific technology to maintain freedom and enhance the balance of life.

The rainbow warriors are not likely to come charging onto the scene like the cavalry to save us, nor should we hold our breath waiting for them to arrive en masse from parts unknown. The rainbow warriors are here already, and we are they. That is, we are if we choose to be, no matter the color of our skin or the name of our religion. Out of our diversity, we find strength and unity. This is an essential part of the legend of the rainbow warriors: the understanding that every facet and shade of the rainbow is necessary for its integrity and beauty.

The future will be whatever we make of it. What myth will we follow? What dream will we pursue for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren unto seven generations? These are questions we would do well to engage as we move deeper into the new millennium.

If the myth of Daedalus can come to life as a human being spreads synthetic wings and soars over the sea using only the strength of his body for power, and if the myth of space travel can propel humans to walk on the Moon, then the legend of the rainbow warriors and the myth of a new age can also become real. This much is certain. We can, if we choose, protect and defend our Earth, and encircle her with a rainbow culture of integrity, beauty and spiritual prosperity.

- End -

(This essay was adapted from Chapter 1 of Legend of the Rainbow Warriors by Steven McFadden (2001 - Chiron Communications), and prepared for the Autumn, 2002 editon of Spiritual Renaissance.

Legend of the Rainbow Warriors
By Steven McFadden

ISBN # 0961-6523-6-6
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