Many years ago I joined a mail order book club. I did it because I like to read, and because along with my registration I qualified to receive 10 free titles. The only caveat was that to be eligible for the free books I had to commit to ordering one additional book (at a deep discount!) every month for the next 100 or so years. However, if I didn't make my monthly selection on time, the publishers would send me a title of their choosing. While most of those default titles were crap, one month I received Edith Hamilton's "Mythology". Not crap at all. I was familiar with most of the myths and legends contained within, but rereading those stories inspired me to try referencing them in the work I was currently making.
Imbuing cows and chickens with mythological properties didn't always translate successfully, but what it did accomplish was to open a door and encourage me to start juxtaposing my preferred imagery into social, spiritual, and political scenarios.