Every so often, the devotional polytheistic community comes up with a new way to try to distinguish gods from archetypes. In the past, terms like "real", "literal", or "separate" have been emphasized. Now it's "agents". The gods have agency while archetypes do not -- so the argument goes.
One of the most visible exponents of this idea has been Morpheus Ravenna. Morpheus has written two essays -- here and here -- about this issue, and more recently delivered the keynote speech at the Many Gods West polytheist conference: "Deep Polytheism: On the Agency and Sovereignty of the Gods" (which I urge you to read in its entirety). Morpheus argues that "if your Gods are real to you, treat Them like beings with agency." Agency, she says, is "the capacity of an entity to act ... something like will." This, she says, is what makes gods distinct from archetypes. And, on this point, I have to disagree with her.
...-
Just a point of information regarding this quote-" 'In one passage (I believe in the volume _Alchemical Studies_) Jung argues that
-
Thanks for the reference to O'Neill. I'll check it out.
-
Very good and thought provoking article John. This is one of those subjects that will be difficult for individuals to wrap their