The Rise and Fall of the Polar Cosmos

Based on years of research, this talk explores the idea that the image of the world pivoted on an axis, binding us to the gods above, is largely a product of agricultural societies, and - like all cosmologies - is deeply moulded by power relations in society

The Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon presents:

The Rise and Fall of the Polar Cosmos

Gyrus

Tuesday, 25th November, 2014

October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AL

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Entry £7 /£5 Concessions, Arrive 6pm for a 6:30pm Start - Wine available

For millennia, great civilizations in the northern hemisphere have been inspired and haunted by the apparent structure given to the world by the spinning of the skies around the north celestial pole. Often marked by a pole star, this pivot grounded the human sense of being in the world, orientating us both practically and spiritually. It was envisioned as the summit of a cosmic axis linking us to the realm of the gods, and the centre of a vortex offering passage into this spiritual otherworld. The scientific revolution kicked off by the work of Copernicus unseated this geocentric vision, which was cast aside as a naive relic. For many modern people trying to maintain a connection to the spirit, and to nature as it presents itself to us, this is a great loss. Surely this fundamental vision, grounded in our most basic perceptions of the world, deserves a better fate than to be discarded
by the literalism of science?

But is this vision fundamental? Based on years of research, this talk explores the idea that the image of the world pivoted on an axis, binding us to the gods above, is largely a product of agricultural societies, and - like all cosmologies - is deeply moulded by power relations in society. The scientific revolution, rather than merely cutting us off from the ancient religious way of being, also represents an ongoing opportunity to revive the egalitarianism and decentred animism which dominated human life for tens of thousands of years before the realm of the spirit was forced to reflect our social hierarchies.

Gyrus is a writer and publisher based in north London. He edited the now quaintly outdated Towards 2012 magazine, and the acclaimed Dreamflesh Journal. Specializing in intelligent and creative perspectives on altered states, prehistoric art, fringe anthropology, sacred sites and the occult, he is the author of the books Archaeologies of Consciousness and War & the Noble Savage, and many essays for publications such as Chaos International, The Ley Hunter and Strange Attractor Journal. His new book North: The Rise and Fall of the Polar Cosmos is to be published in late 2014 by Strange Attractor Press.

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