Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, an acausal principle, connects the ego to the larger archetypal self. This connection is like the ancient Chinese concept of the Tao in that it cannot be rationally understood. Jean Shinoda Bolen suggests that the images of the ancient dieties represent powerful projections of the psyche.

From a psychological perspective, all of the gods can be viewed as suffering from dysfunctional relationships and character disorders. By studying the myths of the gods, we can learn much about ourselves. It is by facing the truth of our lives that we can die to our past ways and enter into a new order of being.

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., a Jungian analyst, is author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Every Woman, Gods in Every Man and The Ring of Power. She is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.