Archetypal cosmology
Encyclopedia
Archetypal cosmology is a field of study that explores correlations between "discernible archetypal
patterns in human experience and the structural order within the solar system
."
It uses astrological techniques to study the significance of planetary cycles and alignments, and it draws on fields such as Jungian depth psychology
, Greek philosophy
, transpersonal theory, and mythology
to attempt to formulate a new cosmology
or world view
that recognizes that existence of archetypal principles and their significance for human experience.
Archetypal cosmology has been developed by a group of scholars in the San Francisco Bay Area
including Richard Tarnas
, Stanislav Grof
, Keiron Le Grice, Rod O’Neal, and Bill Streett. Tarnas's Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View presents a large body of historical evidence in support of this perspective, and further research is presented in Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology, edited by Le Grice and O’Neal. A theoretical framework for the field is advanced in Le Grice's The Archetypal Cosmos: Rediscovering the Gods in Myth, Science and Astrology, which synthesizes Jungian depth psychology
and the new paradigm sciences to outline a new mythic worldview.
Drawing on Jungian ideas and Platonism
, archetypal cosmology emphasizes the archetypal basis of astrology, seeing archetypes as cosmological factors informing both the psyche and the cosmos rather than as psychological images within the individual mind. It seeks to give explanations of the philosophical basis of these correlations, and aspires toward a methodological rigor based on demonstrated empirical correlations between planetary cycles and pattern of human experience. Archetypal cosmology is primarily concerned not with the individual psyche, but the with the anima mundi, the interiority of the universe at large.
More generally, the term archetypal cosmology refers to any cosmology or world view that recognizes the existence of archetypes as ordering principles behind human experience. The phrase has been used to describe the ideas of Shakespeare, Kepler, Goethe, Jung
, Northrup Frye, and others.
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
patterns in human experience and the structural order within the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
."
It uses astrological techniques to study the significance of planetary cycles and alignments, and it draws on fields such as Jungian depth psychology
Depth psychology
Historically, depth psychology, from a German term , was coined by Eugen Bleuler to refer to psychoanalytic approaches to therapy and research that take the unconscious into account. The term has come to refer to the ongoing development of theories and therapies pioneered by Pierre Janet, William...
, Greek philosophy
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...
, transpersonal theory, and mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
to attempt to formulate a new cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
or world view
World view
A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
that recognizes that existence of archetypal principles and their significance for human experience.
Archetypal cosmology has been developed by a group of scholars in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
including Richard Tarnas
Richard Tarnas
Richard Theodore Tarnas, Jr. is a philosopher and cultural historian known for his 1991 book The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View and Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, published in 2006...
, Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof is a psychiatrist, one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology and a pioneering researcher into the use of non-ordinary states of consciousness for purposes of analyzing, healing, and obtaining growth and insight into the human psyche...
, Keiron Le Grice, Rod O’Neal, and Bill Streett. Tarnas's Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View presents a large body of historical evidence in support of this perspective, and further research is presented in Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology, edited by Le Grice and O’Neal. A theoretical framework for the field is advanced in Le Grice's The Archetypal Cosmos: Rediscovering the Gods in Myth, Science and Astrology, which synthesizes Jungian depth psychology
Depth psychology
Historically, depth psychology, from a German term , was coined by Eugen Bleuler to refer to psychoanalytic approaches to therapy and research that take the unconscious into account. The term has come to refer to the ongoing development of theories and therapies pioneered by Pierre Janet, William...
and the new paradigm sciences to outline a new mythic worldview.
Drawing on Jungian ideas and Platonism
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, archetypal cosmology emphasizes the archetypal basis of astrology, seeing archetypes as cosmological factors informing both the psyche and the cosmos rather than as psychological images within the individual mind. It seeks to give explanations of the philosophical basis of these correlations, and aspires toward a methodological rigor based on demonstrated empirical correlations between planetary cycles and pattern of human experience. Archetypal cosmology is primarily concerned not with the individual psyche, but the with the anima mundi, the interiority of the universe at large.
More generally, the term archetypal cosmology refers to any cosmology or world view that recognizes the existence of archetypes as ordering principles behind human experience. The phrase has been used to describe the ideas of Shakespeare, Kepler, Goethe, Jung
Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology.Jung may also refer to:* Jung * JUNG, Java Universal Network/Graph Framework-See also:...
, Northrup Frye, and others.