Michael Mead, mythologist, author and storyteller uses myth to help us understand and navigate the modern world.

One story he tells, is an African story called “Maggots and Gold”:

Maggots and Gold

The story begins with a sister and brother who are wandering through an African plane on a sunny day. Suddenly, they see their father, who had previously passed away, gesturing for them to follow him. Despite the shock, they have no choice but to comply with their father’s request.

Their father leads them to an opening in the ground and descends down a path into the Earth, with the sister and brother following behind him. The father takes them to an underground village where he instructs them to hide in the bushes and observe what takes place.

The sister and brother soon witness a crowd of people come into the village, led by a man who appears to be a chief or important figure. When he turns, the sister and brother see that one side of his body is covered in maggots, and the people begin to clean the maggots off his body. The man then leaves and the village becomes empty, but soon the people return and the man renters. This time, his other side is covered in gold, and the people begin to polish it until it shines brightly.

After the man leaves, their father returns and asks what they saw. The sister and brother recount the events, and their father tells them that had they come on a different day, they would have had great luck in life. However, because they came on the day of the maggots, their lives will be difficult, and they will not have much success or wealth.

The father leads the siblings back to the surface and they continue to walk through the savannas, discussing the strange events that took place in the underworld.

The story ends with the siblings feeling grateful for each other’s company.

So what might we make of this story?

One interpretation from the perspective of the world of psychotherapy, might be that our work is to carefully heal the wounds (on the side of the maggots) and polish the gold on the other side.

In time, and with care and support, there may then be greater integration and wholeness as we embrace both sides of our experience. 

The Full Podcast

In his podcast: Soul’s Hidden Gradient, Podcast Living Myth #313, Micheal Meade beautifully tells the story and elaborates on the themes: