9,000 Years to Go
September 5th, 2008
According to esoteric doctrine, not only was matter precipitated out of mind a short while ago, but …it exists only for a brief interval. It will dissolve again in just over nine thousand years, when the sun rises again to meet the gaze of the Sphinx in the constellation of Leo.
In the teachings of the secret societies we live on a small island of matter in a vast ocean of ideas and imagination.
Jonathan Black, The Secret History of the World
One Response to “9,000 Years to Go”
Always feel a little bit suspicious when folks talk about ‘esoteric doctrine’ as if it were an all encompassing, singular body. I guess to me it is akin to speaking of a singular history, rather than acknowledging the many different ‘histories’ that exist. It’s a kind of Dan Brownesque universe where the keepers of such secret knowledge all know each other, and if you follow the right clues such esoterica can be yours to uncover. It never seems to take account of fashions in thinking, the influences of our culture, the ways in which we become men and women of our time. Victorian magical groups reflect very much their age in their approach to their magic – no doubt modern groups do too.
I think our notions about matter, ideas and imagination are still very influenced by our cultural dualism. Matter born from mind; ideas and imagination being seen as the seed of matter. Isn’t this just a residue of our Christian heritage? For instance the focus on the Kabala in the Golden Dawn sat very well with Christian ideas about the spirit descending into matter and then ascending back to the source. Those folks might have been fuctioning at the fringe but the ideas were not so radically cut off from their own cultural influences.
Probably being horribly unfair to JB here but I find this unified theory of everything esoteric a bit annoying and I suppose I would count imagination and ideas as a part of matter not separate from it. Poor old matter – it’s the poor relation. Really should read the book before I get all grumpy about it. :0)
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