Rey's Myth: Star Wars, Ancestors, and the Golden Chain
This video essay explores the mythological and spiritual themes present in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, particularly focusing on Rey's journey as a metaphor for humanity's disconnection from and yearning for ancestral connection. It argues that despite critical reception, Rey's storyline represents a modern myth about re-establishing ties to the "spirit of the depths" and the realm of the dead, contrasting this with the Sith's pursuit of technological immortality. The video connects these ideas to concepts like the "archaic revival," the "golden chain" of esoteric knowledge, and the importance of internal spiritual wisdom over external forms or literal bloodlines. Ultimately, the video essay suggests that the sequels, through Rey, offer a vision of immortality achieved through spiritual transformation and an active relationship with one's ancestors.
I. Overarching Theme: The Need for an Archaic Revival and Reconnection with Ancestors
The central argument is that the modern world is disconnected from its spiritual lineage and the "realm of the dead," leading to a profound sense of existential hollowness. The Star Wars sequel trilogy, despite its flaws, inadvertently provides a mythological framework for understanding and addressing this disconnect.
II. Critique of the Star Wars Sequels (and broader modern culture)
While acknowledging that the Star Wars sequels are "corporate abominations" and that many of the usual critiques are valid, the essay asserts that the films, particularly Rey's storyline, offer deeper meaning.
Corporate Nostalgia and Diminishing Returns: Disney is criticized for succumbing to "unapologetic nostalgia" and "recycl[ing] ideas" rather than pursuing new creative directions. This leads to the "law of diminishing returns," where repeating formulas loses the initial magic.
Depiction of Elders: The sequels are seen as reflecting a societal tendency to view elders as "broken down old and washed up," "spent disposable and faded into irrelevance." This manifests in aged heroes "grasping desperately to their youth" instead of embracing roles as "wisdom keeper and guide for newer generations."
Hollow Corporate Media Landscape: The popularity of nostalgia content is linked to the "hollowness of our corporate media landscape," which reflects a deeper "quest for something we once had, but is now gone."
III. Rey's Storyline as a Myth for Our Time
Rey's journey, despite initial perceptions of being "shoehorned in" and lacking a unique myth, is presented as deeply resonant with modern humanity's condition.
Disconnection from Ancestors: "Rey’s story line mirrors our own disconnection from the ancestors, from the realm of the dead." Like us, "Rey belongs to a culture and generation whose sacred ties to the unseen have long been severed."
Search for Place and Meaning: Rey's question, "I need someone to show me my place in all of this," reflects a universal human struggle in a world where "the status quo, has mostly just exploited us."
Embodying Ancient Tradition & Re-establishing Connection: Her story highlights "what it would mean to not only embody an ancient tradition within oneself but more broadly on what it means to re-establish a connection between the realm of the living and the dead."
The "Festival of the Ancestors": The depiction of a "tribal festival, with very active dancing and chanting" in Rise of Skywalker serves as a literal representation of this ancestral connection.
IV. Immortality: Sith vs. Jedi (Spirit of the Times vs. Spirit of the Depths)
The Skywalker saga, through Rey's story, brings into focus the fundamental question: "How does one achieve immortality?"
Sith Approach (Spirit of the Times): The Sith are portrayed as "obsessed with the idea of bodily immortality" through "dark technological abilities of the status quo." This is seen as a grotesque, egoic creation, exemplified by Vader's "zombie corpse" and Palpatine on life support. Kylo Ren's philosophy, "Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That’s the only way to become who you’re meant to be," embodies this rejection of ancestral wisdom.
Jedi Approach (Spirit of the Depths): The Jedi achieve immortality through an "alchemical spiritual art," "a transformation of states along a unified continuum," embracing death as a transformation. This involves making a "spiritual connection with the ancestors," leading to the understanding that "no one’s ever really gone."
Palpatine vs. Rey's Ancestral Connection: Palpatine's claim that "all the Sith live in him" and that power lies in his "blood" represents the "spirit of the times." Rey counters this by "establishing her connection with the dead," hearing the voices of "every Jedi who ever lived."
V. The "Golden Chain" and Esoteric Lineage
The concept of the "golden chain" is introduced as a deeper understanding of ancestral connection, distinct from mere historical reverence or bloodlines.
Hidden, Sacred Lineage: This "mystical occult application" describes "a lineage that appears at key moments in the historical record, within different cultural contexts." It's "a hidden, sacred line of esoteric teaching."
Initiation into Deepest Mysteries: This chain is not carried by "blood, genetics, or even formal well structured education and rites of passage," but rather appears "when someone is initiated into the deepest mysteries of the cosmos - establishing a link between the world of the living and that of the dead."
Luke's Misstep: Luke, by "holding the sacred Jedi texts in reverence" but cutting himself off from "the true force that surrounds him in the present moment," failed to fully embrace this living connection. Yoda's return from the dead reinforces that texts are not idols, and the "continuity of the ancient ways takes precedence."
Rey as a Link: Rey, by connecting to her lineage "spiritually, through a trance-like state," becomes a "link in the golden chain," a profound identification with her ancestors.
VI. "Skywalker" as Shamanic Archetype
The term "Skywalker" is reinterpreted beyond a surname.
Ancient Tibetan Context: Peter Kingsley notes that in ancient Tibetan, "Skywalker" described both an arrow and a "shaman-like figure who becomes immersed in a form of ecstasy - an altered state of consciousness allowing for a form of contact with the sacred."
Rey's Embodiment: Rey's connection to her lineage through a "trance-like state" aligns her with this shamanic understanding of "Skywalker." Her taking the name "Skywalker" is therefore "a profound identification with her ancestors," rather than "identity theft."
VII. The "Spirit of the Times" vs. "Spirit of the Depths" (C.G. Jung)
C.G. Jung's concepts are used to frame the core spiritual conflict.
Spirit of the Times (Zeitgeist/Status Quo): Represents the dominant cultural mindset, often leading to cynicism and exploitation.
Spirit of the Depths: A "primordial otherworldly intelligence that can lead an individual through a process of alchemical transformation." This is where "the dead speak" in an esoteric sense, unlike Palpatine's technological broadcast.
Jung's "Finding Your Own Dead": The idea that "nobody understands that you have to find your own dead. People want to copy my dead" emphasizes a personal, internal journey of ancestral connection.
VIII. The Alchemy of Immortality and the Body of Light
The Jedi's path to immortality is likened to alchemical and yogic traditions.
Terence McKenna: "The goal is by a process which we can call yogic, or alchemical or meditative or moral slash ethical, the light must be gathered and concentrated in the body. and then somehow released and redeemed...esoteric traditions East and West talk about the creation of this body of light."
Egyptian "House of Life": Ancient Egyptian priests, "steeped in alchemical practices concerning the immortality of the soul," were described as "those who know the forms of the ancestors."
Rey's Transformation: Rey's yellow lightsaber is interpreted as symbolizing the "alchemical gold." Her brief death and revival through "hieros gamos" signifies a profound transformation.
IX. Beyond Hope: Grounding in Eternity
The traditional reliance on external hope is critiqued as insufficient for our time.
James Hillman: Warned against relying too much on hope, because it "Projects you forward and takes you away from what is."
Internal Turn: The solution lies in "stop[ping] and turn[ing] within," to "listen in closely," and "hear from our own dead."
Philosophy as Living Wisdom: Reconnecting with the "original meaning of the word philosophy," "Love of wisdom, wisdom personified as a living force."
Peter Kingsley: "We cannot act effectively until we are grounded in eternity" and can "encounter them [great spiritual beings], when you have experienced the fact that the whole sense world exists inside you…" This "golden chain...is always in the present, but contains the knowledge of the essence of the past - and also offers the wisdom of how to move forward into the future."
X. Conclusion: Rey's Myth for a Roused World
The Star Wars sequels, despite their weaknesses, present "Rey’s myth [as] a myth for our time, for our generation, for those of us so disconnected from the unseen." It is the story of "the hero who establishes a connection to the ancestors, to the spiritual lineage that can be found within one's own heart," becoming "a link between worlds, catalyzing alchemical transformation in this world." This is the hero through whom "the force awakens and the status quo that we sadly call life is roused, shaken up."
