Transition from Magic to Mythical Consciousness

Context

See: Magic Consciousness for background.

Jennifer Gidley:

"This section deals with the transition from the hunting to the farming peoples. In the following section,when mythical consciousness fully awakens, we are dealing with the mining peoples—the beginning ofthe bronze and iron ages. Interestingly, Teilhard de Chardin also refers to a similar three phases: a “thinscattering of hunting groups” of the Ancient World; a more dense scattering of “agricultural groupsinstalled in fertile valleys;” and, the “first civilizations” (Teilhard de Chardin, 1959/2004, p. 169-170). Although Neolithic literally means ’new stone age,’ the term is generally used to refer to the culturalmovements of agriculture and pastoralism and the social organization features, such as larger settlements,to accomplish them (Barnard & Spencer, 1998, p. 615). The term, Mesolithic, refers to the middle ‘stone age’ period between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic.It is generally associated with European development at the end of the glacial period, and is characterized by “microlithic industries” (Barnard & Spencer, 1998, p. 613).

(https://www.academia.edu/197841/The_Evolution_of_Consciousness_as_a_Planetary_Imperative_An_Integration_of_Integral_Views)

Discussion

Jennifer Gidley on the Magic-Mythical Transition :

"Firstly came the hunting peoples, then the farming peoples and thirdly the development of mining, which brought to light what is under the Earth. (Steiner, 1982a, Lecture XXX)These animal breeders as well as the hunting and nomadic cultures, are predominantly rooted in the magic culture. Strictly agricultural cultures on the other hand already take part in the mythical structure. (Gebser, 1949/1985, p. 305)Farming was the most obvious effect , or perhaps vehicle, of a deeper transformation in structures of consciousness: it was the earliest expression, that is, of a shift from magical-typhonic to what we will call mythic-membership consciousness (level 3). (Wilber, 1996c, p. 93)There appears to be something of a cultural hiatus or aporia in the period between the end of the Younger Dryas—approximately 9,500 BCE and the beginning of the Neolithic period (c.8,000 BCE). This roughly demarcates the period referred to as the Mesolithic (c. 10,000-8,000BCE) an archeological period that appears to have a dramatically reduced status compared to the Paleolithic and the Neolithic. This is perhaps not surprising considering the dramatic environmental change occurring, during which “most of the final (warming) transition may have occurred in just a few years” (Colman, 2007, Abstract). Between the height of the cultural activity of the Upper Paleolithic glacial period and the establishment of agricultural settlements in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia—China’s Yellow River and the Indus and Nile valleys— the sea level rose approximately 120 meters, with much of this occurring between 12,000 BCE and 8,000 BCE.

Geoscientists have demonstrated the significance of the end of the last glacial age by introducing a new geological epoch—the Holocene Epoch which continues into the present time. This also conventionally marks the beginning of the Neolithic period. As the geo-climatic conditions began to stabilize, the climatic changes associated with the end of glaciation actually facilitated the development of farming of cereals and the domestication of sheep, goats, pigs and cattle through the warmer climate and flooding of river basins.

As mentioned previously, there are discrepancies between Gebser’s and Wilber’s temporal situating of magic and mythical consciousness. My interpretation is that the period c. 9,500-3,000 BCE is a significant period of transition between magic and mythical consciousness throughout the world. This period encompasses the latter part of Gebser’s magic as well as Wilber’s low mythic-membership period (9,500-4,500 BCE) and the beginnings of his high mythic-membership period (4,500-1,500 BCE) (Wilber, 1996c, p. 110). There are also contradictions within Gebser’s own dating of this transition.

I propose that Steiner’s narrative makes a unique contribution to the understanding of this lengthy transition period. Firstly, he acknowledged an ecological condition of great geo-climatic instability from the end of the ice age. Secondly, he drew attention to the potential influence on culture and consciousness of the precession of the equinoxes every 2,160 years approximately. Steiner identified two specific cultural periods prior to 3,000 BCE—the Asiatic, or ancient Indian (c. 7,200-5,000 BCE); and the ancient Persian (c. 5,000-3,000 BCE). Incidentally, Gebser(1949/1985) also identified two major cultural epochs—the domesticating-agricultural, and the tool-making and craft cultures. He particularly noted the significance of the shift from domesticating to agricultural cultures in relation to the transition from magic to mythical consciousness (see introductory quote). He regards the former as tribal and the latter as matriarchal societies attuned to the cycles of “maternal realm of the earth” (p. 305). Wilber(1996c) concurs that the great planting cultures that led up to the development of the city-states, were both mythic and matriarchal (p. 124). Wilber also discussed the significance of farming in facilitating the major cultural developments that occurred during the next few millennia. Of particular interest in Steiner’s narrative about this transition period is the ancient pre-history of Asia—particularly India—and Mesopotamia —Persia-Sumeria. Although he did extensive research on these cultural periods, giving hundreds of lectures that have been published in dozens of volumes, I can introduce only a few fragments within the space of this section.

He focused on these particular regions during that period based on his claims that:

(a) they provided continuous, genealogical links to a cultural tradition of ancient spiritual wisdom;

b) their philosophical and scientific traditions were foundational to later European philosophical, scientific and cultural developments; and

(c) the cultural activities that took place there were significant in enabling the refining and consolidating of important subtle aspects of human biological and psycho-spiritual development.

Jungian depth psychologists and transpersonal psychologists—including Wilber — have contributed significantly during the 20th century to increased understanding of subtle aspects of human psycho-spiritual development (Bache, 2000; Boadella, 1998; Ferrer, 2002; Grof, 2000,1988; Jung, 1990; Orme-Johnson, 2000; Walsh & Vaughan, 1993; Wehr, 2002; Wilber, 1996b,2000b; 2005b, Part I). Steiner also undertook significant phenomenological research into the subtle dimensions of human psychology but this has been largely overlooked even in transpersonal psychology.

Steiner proposed that in addition to the physical body, in order for humans to function in the complex ways that we do today, other more subtle bodies also needed to be developed in our species as a whole. He identified a life body through which our energy and vitality flows and an emotional body through which we experience feelings and passions(Steiner, 1909/1965). Both Gebser (1949/1985, p. 67, 261) and Wilber conflate the vital and emotional dimensions to some extent, perhaps contributing to the complexity of the transition from magic to mythical consciousness. Wilber (2005a, Part 4, p.1) conflates them by using the hyphenated term vital-emotional that he attributes incorrectly—according to my research—to Sri Aurobindo.

While this is a vast area of research beyond the scope of this paper, what is relevant is that Steiner claimed that these subtle bodies were being developed and refined during this period of evolution — the life, or vital, body in the first cultural period, that he called the ancient Asiatic/Indian, and the emotional body during the second cultural period, that he called the ancient Persian (Steiner, 1910/1939, 1986a, 1990a). Several contemporary researchers have begun to research and extend Steiner’s approach to spiritual psychology (Kuhlewind, 1988;Sardello, 1990, 1995). A beginning has also been made in researching the relationship between Jung’s depth psychology and Steiner’s spiritual psychology (Wehr, 2002).This section may contribute potential new insights into subtle aspects of the evolution of human biopsychology."

(https://www.academia.edu/197841/The_Evolution_of_Consciousness_as_a_Planetary_Imperative_An_Integration_of_Integral_Views)

The Post-Glacial Ancient Indian Culture

Jennifer Gidley:

"The First Post-Glacial Cultural Period—Earth as

Maya

, Spirit as Home The profound Vedas, the Bhagavad-Gita, that sublime song of human perfection, are onlythe echoes of that ancient divine wisdom. (Steiner, 1986a, p. 99)The first significant post-glacial cultural period that Steiner proposed was the

Asiatic
—earliercalled
Ancient Indian
—cultural period (c. 7,200-5,000 BCE) (Steiner, 1971a, p. 51-53). Hecommented elsewhere that the evolutionary developments that occurred during this periodaffected all people inhabiting the planet. At this time—early Neolithic—most people were stillnomadic, although some farming had commenced in the area known as the “fertile crescent,”which we will visit in the next section. Steiner claimed that some of the ancient south Asian—  particularly Indian—people of this early Neolithic period embodied a sublime spiritualwisdom.

155

Indology scholar, Asko Parpola (2005) presents a contemporary academic perspective on thisview.The Indus Civilization came into being as the result of a long cultural evolution in theIndo-Iranian borderlands. From the first stage of development, about 7000–4300 BCE,some twenty relatively small Neolithic villages are known, practically all in highlandvalleys. (p. 29)

Key Features of the First Post-Glacial Cultural Period Steiner pointed to several key features that characterize the development of the culture andconsciousness of this period, particularly in India. Although Gebser and Wilber mention some ofthese features in passing—in relation to cultural practices in the early Indus civilization—neitherof them have identified a specific Indian or Asian cultural period during the magic-mythictransition. •

Earth as

Maya

, Spirit as Home; •

Internalization of rhythms of nature through poetic speech; •

Development of spiritual practice or Yoga; •

Sanskrit as complex language development.

Earth as Maya, Spirit as Home

According to Steiner, the ancient Indians perceived the physical world around them to someextent as an illusion (

Maya

), regarding the spiritual cosmos as their true home and resulting in amood of “longing” in their souls (Steiner, 1910/1939, p.200). He claimed they regarded the earthas the lowest part of this spiritual cosmos, and that it was permeated through and through with Spirit (Steiner, 1950, p. 24). Steiner also claimed that as a result of the rising sea levels, they hadmigrated over time through Europe—led by their leader

Manu

156

—to settle in the Indiansubcontinent. He also referred to cultural and spiritual leaders in this period as the
Holy Rishis

,the name used in ancient Indian sacred texts, such as The Ramayana and Mahabharata

(Steiner,1986a, p. 99). Steiner pointed to the sacred texts, the

Vedas and the Upanishads

—at first handeddown orally and later formalized in writing—as the echoing vestiges of this great wisdom. WhileGebser (1949/1985) refers only briefly to some revelations of the

Upanishads (p. 210), Wilber(1996c) draws quite strongly on some of the ancient Indian sacred texts, claiming—likeSteiner—that they were originated by the leading-edge of culture at the time (p. 255-257). Of thethree, Gebser draws more strongly on the ancient wisdom of China. (For more information oncultural-aesthetic developments in China during this period, see Appendix C.)

Internalization of Rhythms of Nature Through Poetic Speech

Steiner pointed to a significant feature of the ancient Indian culture in relation to thedevelopment of rhythm. He claimed that they experienced a special relationship with theseasonal rhythms and cycles of nature through which they developed a sense of rhythm in theirthoracic organs (heart and lungs) (Steiner, 1971a, p. 52). Steiner (1950) proposed that this wasenhanced by the rhythmical repetition of chanting—the later echo of this being found in longepic poems, such as the

Bhagavad-Gita
and the

Vedas , which resounded from the rhythms oftheir hearts (p. 18). He claimed that this rhythmic repetition strengthened the vital body asdiscussed above and also facilitated a new internalized form of human memory (p. 18). (See thesection on Rhythmic Memory in Appendix A). It is interesting to note that the lineage of much ofWilber’s spiritual nomenclature goes back to Vedanta Hinduism (Wilber, 1996c). Complex Language Development Steiner proposed an important relationship between the rhythmical processes that facilitatedthe internalization of memory, and language development (Steiner, 1984c). Linguistic researchindicates that during the Neolithic period—around 5,000-7,000 BCE—language developmentsincluded, functional diversification of speech, more autonomous speech forms withincommunities, more precise and explicit forms, analogical correlations and the beginnings ofgrammar (Foster, 1999, p. 772; Kay, 1977). Clearly in order for language to develop suchsystemic components, significant memory capability needed to be in place. 157

The languagedevelopment of the ancient Indians—later classified as

Sanskrit

—is one of the major commonroots of the Indo-European

158

language (Foster,1999; Lock & Peters, 1999This is the most widespread group of languages—spoken by around half the world’s population.

159

Sanskrit terminology is also used by several integral theorists and in othercontemporary spiritual literature to characterize potential transpersonal human development.

160

Itis possible that it contains nuanced meanings in relation to subtle body relationships and spiritualdevelopment that have not yet been adequately expressed in modern languages such as English.
Development of Spiritual Practice or Yoga

Steiner’s major emphasis with this cultural period is that humans began to experience the lossof spiritual connection, the separation from their Cosmic/spiritual homeland , and the longing togo back to Spirit. He claimed that the ancient Indians were the first to develop practices to assistin the spiritual re-integration of human beings (Steiner, 1986a). This lineage exists to this day inIndia and many yoga masters have also taken their teachings to other cultures. 161

Steiner alsonoted that the Chinese culture of this time also contained great spiritual wisdom, which was evenmore ancient. The Chinese movement form of Tai Chi could also be regarded as having a similar purpose. However, its history was not purely integrative but martial—apparently originatingfrom Indian yoga, but taking a turn towards boxing in the Chinese context.

162

Summary and Relevance for Today In summary, before farming was fully established, before writing was developed, and beforethe building of city-states, these ancient humans had already developed a highly sophisticatedschooling in spiritual practices.Yoga was the name of the training [they] had to undergo in order to penetrate through theillusion to the spirit and primal source of being. . . . The Indian turned away fromeverything external and looked for a higher life only in world-renouncing ascent to theSpirit. (Steiner, 1986a, p. 99-100)

Such perspectives—if researched at all in the Academy today—are generally sequesteredaway in faculties of religion or subbranches of ancient history. I propose that it is time tointegrate such material with the biological and evolutionary psychology discourse. Like Steiner,Gebser and Wilber, Sri Aurobindo’s work is of great significance to a new evolutionary narrativethat can assist us to evolve ourselves out of our cultural and planetary hiatus. Writing at the sametime as Steiner (1914-1920), he made the following plea for the active development of “integralconsciousness.”An integral consciousness will become the basis of an entire harmonization of life throughthe total transformation, unification, integration of the being and the nature. (Aurobindo,2000, p. 755)This is the spiritual lineage that Steiner is referring to in this first post-glacial period. Itcontinues on in the integral consciousness movement of our times, potentially providing anourishing alternative cultural pre-history to the

primitivism
that still exists in many evolutionary biology narratives. I suggest that the revival of interest in Eastern spiritualities amongWesterners in recent decades reflects a searching for some of this ancient spiritual wisdom thathas been increasingly suppressed in the last three centuries by the narrowing of rationality andthe excesses of materialism. While clearly my research poses more research questions than itanswers, it does re-open the territory.

The Second Post-Glacial Cultural Period—The Persian Magi and the Fertile Crescent

The peoples of this second period had a different task. . . . In their longings andinclinations they did not turn merely toward the supersensible, for they were eminentlyfitted for the physical sense world. They grew fond of the earth. (Steiner, 1910/1939, p.203-204)Steiner’s second post-glacial cultural period flourished from c. 5,000-3,000 BCE (Steiner,1971a, p. 53). Archaeologically, this was the height of the Neolithic farming period.Thegeographical and cultural focus of this period wasthe region known as Mesopotamia, betweenthe Tigris and Euphrates rivers,in the area that later became Babylonia and is now southern Iraq,from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. This region is widely recognized as being the home of theearliest known civilization 163

and is still known today as the “fertile crescent.” It is notable thatdomestication of animals and farming of cereals had also begun by this time in Africa, with the Nubian culture of the Sudan having already developed some of the features of the later dynasticEgyptian culture, such as ceramics and elaborate burial tombs, culturally mediating betweenEgypt and the southern and western regions of Africa (Gatto, 2004).Steiner called this second cultural period

ancient Persian

—because it developed in the regionlater known as Persia. The type of consciousness emerging in Steiner’s Persian period, resemblesGebser’s mythic consciousness, yet contains magical elements, supportingmy notion of this being a transition phase. Gebser explicitly refers to the Mesopotamian region as being significantin the transition between the magic and mythical cultures, though with more emphasis ondevelopments post-third-millennium: “This paralleling and overlapping of the still-magical and just-mythical attitude is particularly evident in the many illustrations of artifacts from the twoearly Sumerian cultures from the third millennium onward” (Gebser, 1949/1985, p. 109). Wilberclearly places this period clearly within his myth-membership stage. His characterization of whathe calls “

mythical

cognition [is a]. . .mixture of magic and logic. . .which informs andstructures language itself” (Wilber, 1996c, p. 98). In this period that he calls “low myth-membership” he particularly focuses on the socio-cultural developments. From a broader geographical perspective, by the time Sumeria was a powerful and prosperouscity-state—around 3,000 BCE—other regions of the world were also beginning to develop in asimilar way, at least the Nile Valley of Northeast Africa, the Indus Valley of South Asia, the
Huang He
(formally called Yellow River Valley) of China, and coastal Peru in South America. Itis beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the apparently parallel cultural developments in theseregions, however further comparative research in the future may be fruitful.

Key Features of the Second Post-Glacial Cultural Period Several key features were identified by Steiner to characterize the ancient Persian culture andconsciousness as a further continuation of the Indo-European lineage of cultural and psycho-spiritual development. Both Gebser and Wilber identify these features of development as well,though neither identified a specific cultural period during this time. •

Sense of Polarity; •

Orientation to the Earth through agriculture; •

Formation of Proto-cities; •

Magic-Mythic Transition to Organized Religions. Sense of Polarity Steiner proposed that these ancient Persian/Sumerians developed the beginnings of theawareness of two dimensions—polarity and symmetry—whereas the earlier cultures lived withina sense of unity. Gebser (1949/1985) concurred that the mythical structure is “the expression oftwo-dimensional polarity. . . . the mythical man may be said to establish an awareness of earth’scounterpole, the sun and sky” (p. 66). Steiner also characterized this new awareness as arecognition of the twin natures of earth and cosmos—expressed as archetypes of Dark andLight—which became central to later Zoroastrian religious symbolism (Steiner, 1971a, p. 53). Orientation to the Earth through Agriculture Steiner linked this developing sense of polarity of the ancient Persians to the new orientationto the earth, compared with the ancient Indians. He noted though that they retained the sense that“external reality was an image of the Divine, which must not be turned away from but shapedanew. The Persian wished to transform nature by work” (Steiner, 1986a, p. 100). Theseindigenous Sumerians must have labored hard. They had to drain the marshes for planting crops

(PAGE MAY BE MISSING ?_)

Until recently, this claim of Steiner’s may have appeared highly speculative or evenfictitious. However, a recent book revisits claims of ancient Greek and Roman historians,Xanthus, Pliny, Eudoxus and Plutarch, in the light of recent archaeological evidence. Itsubstantially supports Steiner’s claim, that an earlier Zarathustra pre-dated the historical figure by several thousand years (Settegast, 2005). 169

At the very least, these unconventional views ofSteiner and Settegast pose new questions about the history and development of this highlysignificant region. As an indication of the lingering magic consciousness,Steiner referred to theleading people of this culture as

the Magi

—who he claimed had retained some of the magical powers of the earlier times (Steiner, 1910/1939, p. 204). Settegast also makes reference to

the Magi , regarding them as an Order said to have been founded by Zarathustra (Settegast, 2005).The dualism of Light versus Dark became a central teaching in Zoroastrianism, which arguablyinfluenced themonotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that also developed inthis general geographical region. 170

Gebser also suggests that Zarathustra’s dualism underliesParminedes’ (b. 540 BCE) notion of Being opposed to Non-Being, which intriguingly straddlesthe next transition from mythical to mental consciousness.

171

Summary and Relevance for Today The convergences between our three narratives support my proposal that the developments ofculture and consciousness in this second cultural period mark a significant phase in the transition between Gebser’s magic and mythical structures of consciousness. I would also like to brieflydraw attention to Friedrich Nietzsche’s use of the Zarathustra archetype in one of his mostfamous books, Thus Spake Zarathustra

(Del Caro & Pippin, 1887/2006). Although it is beyondthe space available to discuss this work, Nietzsche’s aim does express an interesting mirror-reversal of the Persian theme of previously spiritually oriented humans becoming oriented to theearth. He begs the question. “In what way . . . can a human being now tied to the “earth” stillaspire to be ultimately “over-man,” U’bermensch?” (Del Caro & Pippin, 1887/2006, p. xviii).As a postscript to this Persian/Sumerian narrative it is disturbing to consider that at the time ofwriting this paper, this region of the world—modern Iraq—is still a war zone. Tragically, as aresult of the two Gulf wars, much of the ancient archaeological—and thus cultural—history of this

cradle of civilization

has been—and is still being—destroyed by looting and bombing (Berg& Woodville, 2004).

172

Ironically, the Zarathustrian polarity of light and darkness and itsassociation with good and evil can be observed in a regressive dualistic form, in the subtext ofthis situation."

(https://www.academia.edu/197841/The_Evolution_of_Consciousness_as_a_Planetary_Imperative_An_Integration_of_Integral_Views)