The beginning of a creation myth...

'The panther goddess' carries aspects of a creation myth. Jungian analyst Marie Louise von Franz writes in her book 'Creation Myths' that one finds creation myths motifs whenever the unconscious is preparing a basically important progress in consciousness. "The psychological development of a human seems to follow the pattern of the physical growth of children, who do not grow continuously but in fits and starts. The growth of consciousness also tends to make sudden jumps forward: there are times where the field of awareness enlarges suddenly to a great extent. Whenever the enlargement of consciousness or the rebluiding of consciousness is very sudden, people speak of getting an 'illumination' or revelation. When it is more continuous, they do not notice it so much and have only an agreeable feeling that they are grwoing, that they are moving in the flow of life and that life is interesting, but they do not have this feeling of sudden illumination or awakening. Whenever the progress of consciousness takes a big jump forward, there are preparatory dreams, generally with creation myth motifs in them."

Creation myths are of a different class from other myths---hero myths or fairy tales, for instance---for when they are told there is always a certain solemnity that gives them a central importance; they convey a mood which implies that what is said will concern the basic pattern of existance, something more than is contained in other myths. Therefore, one may say that as far as the feeling and emotional mood which accompany them are concerned, creation myths are the deepest and most important of all myths. In many primitive religions the telling of the creation myth forms an essential teaching in the ritual of initiation. They are told to the younger initiates as the most important part of the tribal tradition. In many other ways also, as wel shall see later, they refer to the most basic problems of human life, for they are concerned with the ultimate meaning, not only for our existence, but of the existence of the whole cosmos.

Marie-Louise von Franz - Creation Myths (Revised edition)