Contemporary faiths. The myths of the modern world ; The myth of the noble savage or, the prestige of the beginning -- Archaic realities. Nostalgia for paradise in the primitive traditions ; Sense-experience and mystical experience among primitives ; Symbolisms of ascension and "waking dreams" ; Power and holiness in the history of religions ; Mother Earth and the cosmic hierogamies ; Mysteries and spiritual regeneration -- The encounter : a test-case. Religious symbolism and the modern man's anxiety.