Myth as the Penultimate Truth

March 28th, 2025

Mythologists and spiritual teachers like Paul Chek, Joseph Campbell and Michael Meade often say:

“While Myth is the Penultimate Truth, the Ultimate Truth is a Sacred Mystery. The more we know about IT, the more we don’t know.”

In this blogpost, we’ll explore this concept of Myth as the Penultimate Truth.

As a computer programmer well versed in low-level languages (like Assembly, C, C++ & Rust) and high-level, abstract scripting languages (like Python, ActionScript, JavaScript & Ruby), I understand mythology as an intermediary abstraction layer.

It sits just above the Ultimate Truth - what we’re calling here the Sacred Mystery.

To rein this analogy in: for all intents and purposes, Python is to Assembly what Mythology is to the Sacred Mystery.

I think people often get tripped up on what “mythology” actually is. Paul Chek offers a powerful definition:

“Myth is the story that has never happened, but is always coming true.”

Myth is like a story-blueprint for the human psyche to experience trials & tribulations for the sake of growth, healing, and more importantly, transcendence.

To help get a grasp on what a potential “story-blueprint” may look like for a given human being, see my blogpost series on Soul as The Personal Mythic Codex. That post supports understanding the mythic configurations a Soul may take on as it incarnates into a human-body-avatar.

We can see this idea of Soul as a Mythic Codex in action through the “mythic rhyming” that happens across all Myths, Legends, Religions, Indigenous Cultures, and Ancient Societies alike.

Let’s take the Yucatec Maya Serpent Deity of Kukulkan, for example. Kukulkan can be seen to mythically rhyme with the Feathered Serpent Deity known as Quetzalcōātl seen across Mesoamerican cultures (Aztec, Toltec, Tlaxaltec, and Nahua).

For one more precise “mythic rhyme” of Kululkan from the Mayan Myth, we can look at the God of Wind and Rain, Qʼuqʼumatz a deity from the postclassic K’iche’ Maya peoples.

It’s my belief that this overarching mythic idea of the “serpent deity” can be tied to all myths, legends and religions in some way, shape, or form.

In Christianity, the “serpent deity” appears in hidden form–through Jesus the Christ. While not described as a serpent outright, Jesus represents the archetype of the Phoenix Rising: death, transformation, and divine rebirth.

Jesus was the Chosen One, crucified on a cross for no crime but spreading Truth and Love–only to rise from the dead (i.e. Ascend) three days later.

The Phoenix Rising could be described as the pinnacle, or quintessential myth.

The Legendary arcs of Mohammed the Last Prophet, Krishna, Lao Tsu, and The Buddha all similarly rhyme in this Phoenix Rising “story-blueprint.”

All mythological stories in some way, shape, or form are meant to express this human idea of rebirth, transformation, and transcendence.

Our Soul descends from the Heavens into these human-body-avatars, only to be mired in sin, mud, and blood–perhaps even taking a trip of descent even further into the Underworld to find the Pearl buried beneath the Depths, and once uncovered, eventually our Soul must Ascend back to the Heavens–back to its Home.

Our birthrite as a human being is a fusion of growth, healing, and transcendence. The metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a cocoon and finally a butterfly is the perfect metaphor found in nature to articulate the Journey of the Human Soul. Do not let any person, religion, culture, or society make you think otherwise.

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The stars are waiting. Keep reaching 🚀✨