Beautifully written, I've been thinking a lot about 'blood memory' for a while now. Often in regards to Neanderthals being our real version of dwarves (short, stout, barrel-chested) and the Cro Magnons being the real version of elves (tall, strong, highly intelligent, etc). In addition, I've often thought that our myths of dragons are directly linked to dinosaurs who terrorised the world for our mammalian ancestors back in prehistory. Maybe that's a stretch though.
Anyway, I've rambled enough. That was a fantastic essay and I can only hope that you keep writing such great works.
Fascinating, thanks. I read somewhere a suggestion that Esau (red haired hairy man, pastoralist) may represent the neanderthal and Jacob (farmer) the modern man, their struggle being a mythical record of the struggles of the two human species for dominance. Certainly food for thought - if you read the Bible carefully you can spot lots of repeating patterns and types.
Battles in the heavens were completely real, let's take this to the full conclusion. Angels and Demons in the sky, entire races "falling to Earth"...
The Book of Invasions about the Tuatha de Danaan ("tribe of Dan") describes flying boats and lightning weapons. Somehow with all of their technology or magic it still required a great land battle hand to hand.
There was an amazing, illustrated version of this story in my possession as a child, everybody probably knows that addition it was published in the 1980s.
Great stuff, thanks, and particularly interesting re: the possibility of Tolkien possessing preternatural knowledge of Ice Age geographies etc.
Lucien Lévy-Bruhl posits a theory of myth: that early humans believed themselves surrounded by a supernatural realm; thus, myth was not the product of reason and logic as we might suppose, but by mystical participation with genuine, directly apprehended powers. Therefore, man engaged with Nature in a state of transcendence, and myths were the products of those unmediated revelations of gods and goddesses.
In other words, humans once existed in a state of enchantment and, as such, were able to perceive the otherworld, with which they co-existed. The long process of disenchantment has cut that faculty out of human consciousness, possibly in a way similar to epigenetics: over the generations, our ancestors have seen an increasingly materialistic worldview - reinforced over and over - written into their DNA. Therefore, one challenge of re-enchantment is to undo the ancestral 'curses' that deny us an enchanted existence.
I could add that one such ancestral curse denying our ability to attain an enchanted relationship with Nature is original sin, but I guess that might be construed as unfair ;-)
I read this on John Carter’s Stack and just reread it here. For some reason it really resonated more deeply in the second reading. This is such an epic piece of work and beautifully written and executed that it should become part of a book on the subject.
You have taken a deep draught from the Cup of Imagination. To me, this is the Grail Quest. This is the gift of the Chalice Christ sanctified. May all drink deeply.
Well executed and timely work, as always. I’m enjoying the way you seem to be just a few steps ahead of where I’m at in these thoughts. It makes for more interesting reads.
I was on a silent retreat this weekend and started reading a book called The Theological Landscape of Middle Earth, by a priest I recently met. He’s saying a lot of very similar things and dives into some of the more technical ideas and language behind it. I’d recommend it, as you continue this path.
There are two now largely-forgotten writers who may interest you on this topic.
One is Colin Wilson, who explored this vein of paranormal and occult access to remote times and places in many of his books. A good place to start would be _The Occult_ and _Mysteries_.
The other is Stan Gooch, who wrote several books in the 70s and 80s about the Neanderthals and how they might be connected to our distant and forgotten history.
Worth a note, and a healthy grain of salt, are the writings of Theosophy's Helena Blavatsky. Fraud or no I'm not here to say, but the ideas on lost ages and many races of men that she brought into the consciousness influenced everyone from Robert E. Howard and Rudolf Steiner to (likely) Lewis.
It's debatable how much these occult histories and ideas influenced Tolkien, being the good Christian he was in public, but you've made a powerful case that he included some unclaimed surprises in his stories. With the close influence of Lewis and Charles Williams, I wouldn't be surprised for a second to learn that some of that magical and esoteric lore made its way into his mythos.
I'm hesitant to explore Blavatsky for the obvious reasons. At the same time, it's hard to avoid the fact that she may have influenced the Inklings in at least some small way.
I enjoyed your excellent essay very much. I've been a fan of Tolkien's work since my teens (decades ago) when I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's interesting how since the dawning of the internet age people are re-examining history with fresh eyes. What appears to be natural rock formations, upon closer scrutiny, show signs of melted bricks, with windows and doors. People are looking at old maps featuring star forts and finding remnants all over the world. There are the buildings with windows half buried below street level and underground tunnels found in many cities across the world. Exciting times! I love reading and hearing about such things and letting my imagination run wild!
Beautifully written, I've been thinking a lot about 'blood memory' for a while now. Often in regards to Neanderthals being our real version of dwarves (short, stout, barrel-chested) and the Cro Magnons being the real version of elves (tall, strong, highly intelligent, etc). In addition, I've often thought that our myths of dragons are directly linked to dinosaurs who terrorised the world for our mammalian ancestors back in prehistory. Maybe that's a stretch though.
Anyway, I've rambled enough. That was a fantastic essay and I can only hope that you keep writing such great works.
I think you're dead on
Fascinating, thanks. I read somewhere a suggestion that Esau (red haired hairy man, pastoralist) may represent the neanderthal and Jacob (farmer) the modern man, their struggle being a mythical record of the struggles of the two human species for dominance. Certainly food for thought - if you read the Bible carefully you can spot lots of repeating patterns and types.
It literally represents nations that were born in the last 6,000 years
Battles in the heavens were completely real, let's take this to the full conclusion. Angels and Demons in the sky, entire races "falling to Earth"...
The Book of Invasions about the Tuatha de Danaan ("tribe of Dan") describes flying boats and lightning weapons. Somehow with all of their technology or magic it still required a great land battle hand to hand.
There was an amazing, illustrated version of this story in my possession as a child, everybody probably knows that addition it was published in the 1980s.
The connections all start to make sense as you dive deeper
This essay was wonderful, I have had to listen to it twice. Bravo my good sir!
Great stuff, thanks, and particularly interesting re: the possibility of Tolkien possessing preternatural knowledge of Ice Age geographies etc.
Lucien Lévy-Bruhl posits a theory of myth: that early humans believed themselves surrounded by a supernatural realm; thus, myth was not the product of reason and logic as we might suppose, but by mystical participation with genuine, directly apprehended powers. Therefore, man engaged with Nature in a state of transcendence, and myths were the products of those unmediated revelations of gods and goddesses.
In other words, humans once existed in a state of enchantment and, as such, were able to perceive the otherworld, with which they co-existed. The long process of disenchantment has cut that faculty out of human consciousness, possibly in a way similar to epigenetics: over the generations, our ancestors have seen an increasingly materialistic worldview - reinforced over and over - written into their DNA. Therefore, one challenge of re-enchantment is to undo the ancestral 'curses' that deny us an enchanted existence.
I could add that one such ancestral curse denying our ability to attain an enchanted relationship with Nature is original sin, but I guess that might be construed as unfair ;-)
Great research and very pleasing read. Pro level!
I read this on John Carter’s Stack and just reread it here. For some reason it really resonated more deeply in the second reading. This is such an epic piece of work and beautifully written and executed that it should become part of a book on the subject.
Bravo!🎉 Thank you ♥️
You have taken a deep draught from the Cup of Imagination. To me, this is the Grail Quest. This is the gift of the Chalice Christ sanctified. May all drink deeply.
Well executed and timely work, as always. I’m enjoying the way you seem to be just a few steps ahead of where I’m at in these thoughts. It makes for more interesting reads.
I was on a silent retreat this weekend and started reading a book called The Theological Landscape of Middle Earth, by a priest I recently met. He’s saying a lot of very similar things and dives into some of the more technical ideas and language behind it. I’d recommend it, as you continue this path.
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll have to check it out
What a magnificent essay. Much to ponder.
Thank you, inspiring ponderings is a great achievement
There are two now largely-forgotten writers who may interest you on this topic.
One is Colin Wilson, who explored this vein of paranormal and occult access to remote times and places in many of his books. A good place to start would be _The Occult_ and _Mysteries_.
The other is Stan Gooch, who wrote several books in the 70s and 80s about the Neanderthals and how they might be connected to our distant and forgotten history.
Worth a note, and a healthy grain of salt, are the writings of Theosophy's Helena Blavatsky. Fraud or no I'm not here to say, but the ideas on lost ages and many races of men that she brought into the consciousness influenced everyone from Robert E. Howard and Rudolf Steiner to (likely) Lewis.
It's debatable how much these occult histories and ideas influenced Tolkien, being the good Christian he was in public, but you've made a powerful case that he included some unclaimed surprises in his stories. With the close influence of Lewis and Charles Williams, I wouldn't be surprised for a second to learn that some of that magical and esoteric lore made its way into his mythos.
I'm hesitant to explore Blavatsky for the obvious reasons. At the same time, it's hard to avoid the fact that she may have influenced the Inklings in at least some small way.
A great essay. I enjoyed reading on Postcards From Barsoom and I enjoyed re-reading it here. Most thought provoking, thank you.
thanks for reading again!
A pleasure!
I enjoyed your excellent essay very much. I've been a fan of Tolkien's work since my teens (decades ago) when I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's interesting how since the dawning of the internet age people are re-examining history with fresh eyes. What appears to be natural rock formations, upon closer scrutiny, show signs of melted bricks, with windows and doors. People are looking at old maps featuring star forts and finding remnants all over the world. There are the buildings with windows half buried below street level and underground tunnels found in many cities across the world. Exciting times! I love reading and hearing about such things and letting my imagination run wild!