Human beings are storytellers. Growing up my father used to tell stories. To me, to his friends, to the neighbors, to everyone. Often the stories that he told were the same stories---over and over, again and again. They were mainly jokes; most of which I can’t repeat today because they would be classified political incorrect. My father was not a racist or bigot---it was just the types of jokes that he grew up with. As he told and retold the stories, he changed some details, experimented with how he told them, generally tried to improve them.Having grown up, I find myself telling stories. Not necessarily good stories. In fact, give me half a chance and I will bore you to tears. And I find myself telling the same stories over and over again. In my case, it is mainly bits and pieces of esoteric lore and occult history. I claim that I am trying to improve the stories I tell; not everyone believes that claim.
Due to this background and habit, I find myself looking at much of mythology, especially when it disagrees with itself, as an example of storytelling. Today, we live in a world of television, movies and YouTube; we do not need to make up stories to entertain ourselves. This was not true for our ancestors. Even a hundred years ago, storytelling was not something done mainly by someone else. It was something that all people did.
Storytelling was an universal skill; some people were better at it than others, but everyone practiced the art on occasion. Sitting around a fire, stories and tales would be swapped back and forth. And the further back in time one goes, the more fantastic the stories become. Go far back enough, and the stories being told become mythology. The disagreements between the various versions of the tales are just different storytellers emphasizing different aspects.
One aspect of mythology and storytelling that is still with us today, or at least those of us who are involved in Wicca and the esoteric traditions, are the rituals that go along with the stories. Our stories tend to go hand in hand with our rituals. The symbolism that we chose, and the stories that we tell, tend to be chosen based on the type of ritual that we are doing. Rituals are a form of storytelling.
I was once told that myths are stories that never happened, but are always true. Often these myths are about aspects of the human mind and the human experience. And the rituals are a way to directly experience those parts of humanity that we are struggling to come to terms with. This is especially true for those who are initiates in the various esoteric traditions. But even an open ritual, such as the Open Full Moon rituals, can be a window into those aspects of the universe and ourselves that we currently need help with.
How much of a dip one takes into this sea of experience depends upon the skill of the storyteller(s) and the willingness of the listener to hear what is being said. Every ritual and story has merit; some just have more merit than other stories and ritual---it all depends upon what you are ready to hear.