Last time we looked at the history of the Faust legend and the first popular version by Christopher Marlowe. The tale grew out of the Reformation and it reflected the needs of the time. But as the Renaissance morphed into the so-called Age of Enlightenment in the 17th century, people needed a new myth and… Continue reading Exploring Faust: Goethe and the Myth of Progress
The legend of Faust tells the tale of a man who makes a deal with the devil to gain magical powers. The devil’s representative is Mephistopheles, who gives Faust power for twenty-four years, after which the devil takes his soul to hell. There are many different versions of the tale and it changes to reflect… Continue reading Exploring Faust: History and Christopher Marlowe
Last time we explored the Neptune Pluto cycle and how civilisations are transformed. In this post we’ll delve into the Uranus Neptune cycle which lasts about 172 years. The current cycle began in 1993 and we’re now approaching the sextile which runs from 2025 – 2027. It enters a wide orb from 2022 and then… Continue reading The Uranus Neptune Cycle and the Revolution of Culture and Religion
Of all the outer planet cycles, the Neptune Pluto cycle is the longest at about 493 years. The current cycle began in 1891 and we’re now approaching the end of the sextile that’s been running on and off since 1950. The final phase of this sextile runs from 2026 – 2032 with the wider orb… Continue reading The Neptune Pluto Cycle and the Transformation of Civilisation
A great example of the Jupiter archetype can be found in the BBC sitcom Rev which ran for three series. The story follows Adam Smallbone, an Anglican priest who is promoted from a sleepy rural parish in Suffolk to an inner-city church in London. It’s an intelligent and subtle comedy that’s beautifully written and has… Continue reading Ontological Despair and the Rebirth of Faith in Rev
Last time we looked at what Traditional metaphysics has to say about the cycle of time and what brings it to an end. In this post, we’ll go deeper into eschatology and the meaning of apocalypse, relying again on notes from the excellent The System of Antichrist: Truth and Falsehood in Postmodernism and the New… Continue reading Notes on Apocalypse – the End of Illusion
In the last couple of posts we’ve been exploring the psychological impact of our current predicament. Now – if you haven’t guessed from the title – it’s time to go deeper with a plunge into some serious metaphysics. Buckle up! For these notes, I’m relying on Charles Upton’s epic critique of modern spirituality The System… Continue reading Notes on Apocalypse – the System of Antichrist
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is from chapters 54 and 63 from the fourteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the implications of the fact that there’s no real separation between us and God. She shows that it’s through Christ as our Mother that we are restored to our innate goodness through grace. From chapter… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: the Motherhood of Christ
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 53 from the fourteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses how God created mankind and the difference in the creation of the body and the soul. She explains how the soul was created out of God himself – in the image of God – which is why there’s… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: Nothing between God and the soul
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 49 from the fourteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the impossibility of God ever being angry and how the soul can be united with God by finding peace within itself. “It was astonishing to me and I considered it carefully in later years that during these revelations… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: God is never angry
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapters 41 and 42 from the fourteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the difficulties and importance of prayer. She shows that prayer comes from our divine nature in union with God and that God is the essence of everything. From chapter 41: God is the foundation of our… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: On the importance of prayer
This extract from Revelations of Divine Love is chapter 32 from the thirteenth revelation. Here Julian discusses the problem of evil and carefully skirts around the teachings of the church. She explains the importance of faith and offers a reminder that we can’t know how God achieves his plan. What seems impossible to us, isn’t… Continue reading Julian of Norwich: The problem of evil
Jessica Davidson 