The Myth of the Eternal Return by Mircea Eliade
Posted on July 28, 2022
I have read The Myth of the Eternal Return – Cosmos and History by Mircea Eliade. Since the teachings of Eliade were heavily featured in Dr. Charles William Dailey’s excellent book The Serpent Symbol in Tradition (review), I deemed it reasonable to start with Eliade’s work. Eliade himself recommends The Myth of the Eternal Return as a starting point to his teachings.
The book contains the following four chapters:
- Archetypes and Repetition
- The Regeneration of Time
- Misfortune and History
- The Terror of History
Archaic Man, In Illo Tempore, and Archetypes
For those familiar with Julius Evola, René Guénon, and the term Traditional man, it can be worth pointing out that Eliade refers to the same (Traditional) as Archaic man. The author notes that the chief difference between Archaic man and Modern man (with his strong imprint of Christianity) lies in the fact that Archaic man is connected with the Cosmos and the cosmic rhythms, whereas the Modern man is connected only with History.
Eliade frequently uses the term ‘in illo tempore,‘ which is Latin for ‘in that time’ and denotes time before recorded history. Another term he uses is ‘illud tempus‘, which refers to sacred time and space (the time of origins, the time when the world was first created).
Moreover, he notes that his use of the term archetype is not the same as the meaning used by Carl Jung. Instead, he uses the term archetype to denote an ‘exemplary model’ or ‘paradigm.’
Archetypes and Repetition
In the first chapter of the book, Archetypes and Repetitions, the author discusses the Archaic man’s attitude towards Creation and towards the cyclical nature of the Universe and of Time itself.
‘In the particulars of his conscious behaviour, the “primitive,” the archaic man, acknowledges no act which has not been previously posited and lived by someone else, some other being who was not a man. What he does has been done before.’
Mircae Eliade – The Myth of the Eternal Return. Page 5.
Eliade notes that every creation repeats the pre-eminent cosmogonic act – the Creation of the world. He gives an interesting example with the Scandinavian colonisation of Iceland, in which the colonists regarded the cultivation of the land not as human or profane work, but as a repetition of the primordial transformation of chaos into cosmos by the dive act of Creation. He goes on to note that in this world view, a territory occupied for the purpose of being inhabited undergoes the transformation from chaos into cosmos. He gives the example of the Portuguese explorers, who put up crosses along the coasts where they passed – a practice detailed in Roger Crowley’s excellent book Conquerors – How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire (review). Moreover, he notes that the Archaic man gave most activities a sacred meaning:
‘To summarize, we might say that the archaic world knows nothing of “profane” activities: every act which has a definite meaning – hunting, fishing, agriculture; games, conflicts, sexuality, – in some way participates in the sacred. As we shall see more clearly later, the only profane activities are those which have no mythical meaning, that is, which lack exemplary models. Thus we may say that every responsible activity in pursuit of a definite end is, for the archaic world, a ritual.’
Mircae Eliade – The Myth of the Eternal Return. Page 27-28.
From this perspective, we could say that whenever we pray in the Temple of Iron we repeat the primordial act of creating cosmos from chaos. It can also be seen as Mithras’ struggle against the cosmic bull that he sacrifices. There are plenty of spiritual examples to choose from – in any case, praying in the Temple of Iron (strength training) is an act of overcoming yourself in order to create something higher (from chaos to cosmos).
Archetypes and Heroes
Reading the about the repetitions and Archetypes of Archaic man led me to think about a Twitter post I stumbled upon a while back, which basically said that LARPing (LARP = Live Action Role Playing) is a powerful spiritual tool that has been used by great men throughout history: Napoleon LARPed as Caesar, who LARPed as Alexander, who LARPed as Achilles, who LARPed as Hercules.
Thus, one can say that the Archetypal acts of repetition does create new history (even if viewing history as cyclical). This, in turn, led my thoughts to the profound quote by Yukio Mishima that appears in Sun and Steel (review), which is worth sharing in this context as well:
‘The cynicism that regards hero worship as comical is always shadowed by a sense of physical inferiority. Invariably, it is the man who believes himself to be physically lacking in heroic attributes who speaks mockingly of the hero.’
Yukio Mishima – Sun and Steel
The Act of Creation
The author notes that for Archaic man, many of the rituals he partook in were repetitions of the act of Creation. By following an already established pattern, he could find his role in the Universe (perhaps many nihilists of our Modern World could benefit from such a mindset). The view of cyclical time and the repetition of the act of Creation can explain the concept of the Eternal Return (i.e. the title of the book).
‘Every New Year is a resumption of the time from the beginning, that is, a repetition of the cosmogony.’
Mircae Eliade – The Myth of the Eternal Return. Page 54.
Periodic ceremonies could entail the expulsion of demons, diseases, and sins. This could take shape in the form of fasting, ablutions, and purification. Fasting has, as I detail in Dauntless, a number of health benefits – primarily autophagy (which is basically the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells). Fasting can also be used as a way to attain a certain mental clarity.
Two Views of Time – Cosmic Cycles and History
A central theme in the book is the two different views of time: Cosmic Cycles and History. As most readers are probably aware, the cyclical view of time is connected with Indo-European spirituality – Vedic tradition presents the four ages: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga (which we are in now). In Germanic tradition, Ragnarök is the event that ends the world – which will then be reborn. Christianity views time as History with a linear progression. Eliade notes that early Christian writers opposed the myth of the eternal return (cyclical time and periodic regeneration of history) but that it still found its way into Christian philosophy to a certain degree. This is an interesting discussion in the book, and the full implications of it lie beyond the scope of this article.
As I noted in a video (Paganism or Christianity. Should You Become a Catholic?) a few years back, the cyclical view of time is, one could argue, more natural for a European, who witnesses the cycle of the year – as opposed to the more static nature of the desert.
Misfortune and History and The Terror of History
In the chapter titled The Terror of History, the author elaborates on how humanity has dealt with History in the form of catastrophes and, generally speaking, bad times.
‘The foregoing chapters have abundantly illustrated the way in which men of the traditional civilizations tolerated history. The reader will remember that they defended themselves against it, either by periodically abolishing it through repetition of the cosmogony and a periodic regeneration of time or by giving historical events a metahistorical meaning, a meaning that was not only consoling but was above all coherent, that is, capable of being fitted into a well-consolidated system in which the cosmos and man’s existence had each its raison d’être.’
Mircae Eliade – The Myth of the Eternal Return. Page 142.
In essence, one could say that the suffering became bearable if it had a meaning. This makes perfect sense and is an insight which can be useful to keep in mind. This brings to mind the Rune Hagalaz, which is a Rune of both destruction and creative destruction. The practical application of it can be to view any negative event as also bearing the seeds of something positive to come. I will elaborate on this at length later on.
Conclusion
At 162 pages, the book is quite concise and can be read and digested within a reasonable time frame. Even so, it is densely packed with interesting insights – an impressive amount of insights for so few pages! Thus, I can recommend it for those interested in Traditionalism, myth, and spirituality.
I look forward to getting further acquainted with the thoughts of Mircea Eliade!
The Nine Doors of Midgard by Edred Thorsson
Posted on July 26, 2022
I have read The Nine Doors of Midgard – A Curriculum of Rune-work by Edred Thorsson (Stephen E. Flowers). Reading this was a natural follow-up to the previous books I have reviewed: Icelandic Magic (review), Rune Might (review), and Revival of the Runes (review).
The Nine Doors of Midgard – A Curriculum of Rune-work is, as the subtitle suggests, a guide for practical applications of Rune magic. As I have stated before, I appreciate the amount of practical techniques Flowers presents in his works; I am always in search of techniques I can add to my meditations. Thus, I can, without further ado, highly recommend the book for anyone who wishes to start practising rune magic. For those who are unsure about the term magic, I discuss it briefly in this video: A Heads Up – Also, What Do I Mean By ‘Magic’?
As the title of the book suggests, the curriculum consists of nine doors – each door is a period of training, the training gets more complex for each door (and is dependent upon the training of the previous doors.
The Raido Rune Poem
The author presents a number of rune poems, each gives some insight into the mystery of the corresponding rune. One of the poems dear to my own heart is the following:
[Radio] Riding is in the hall
to every warrior easy
but very hard for the one who sits up on a powerful horse
over miles of road.
Paul Waggener mentions this poem in his Rune course as well. I, too, appreciate the wisdom in it. The insight is similar to the one presented in the great speech ‘The Man in the Arena‘ by Theodore Roosevelt. In its essence, it highlights the difference between talking about the things you will or could do and actually embarking upon a quest. This poem can be useful to keep in mind when dealing with doubts or detractors. You will find that those who are riding on a powerful horse (i.e. being on their own quests) are not the ones trying to denigrate your own efforts. Keeping this poem in mind is also valuable if you feel like things are not quite going exactly according to plan, they seldom do! As the poem says: riding (being on a quest) is hard. If it is not hard – time to set a higher pace!
A Beautiful Blessing
Under the title The Meal Stave, the author presents the following beautiful blessing to be used for drinks:
‘Drink of power, loaded with the force of life – flow into me and fill my being with energy without bound!’
Edred Thorsson – The Nine Doors of Midgard. Page 32.
As I write this, I am enjoying my daily espresso and decided to bless it with the words above. Blessings like this have the added bonus of bringing gratitude (a high-vibration emotion) to one’s consciousness. In blessing my drink, I appreciate it more. Gratitude leads to happiness.
Biology of the Runes
The following no-nonsense explanation is given regarding the use of the Runes. I have mentioned blood memory in several Podcast episodes, and this ties into the concept quite well:
‘But why the Runes and not Chinese characters or Egyptian hieroglyphics? Most Gilders know the answer here. Because we are of Wōden (descended from him as our ancestral sovereign god-head), it is through his gifts – in their original forms – that we will most easily gain access to the hidden magical realms of ourselves and of the objective universe.’
Edred Thorsson – The Nine Doors of Midgard. Page 42.
Germanic Soul and Metaphysics
The author notes that Asgard is the realm of consciousness and that focus on this realm is the highest form of consciousness. The nine realms of Germanic cosmology are connected to different aspects of the human being; this is a highly interesting discussion, and one that is relevant to many of the workings detailed in the book (I will meditate further upon these concepts and elaborate on them at a later point).
Moreover, he notes that ancient Germanic psychology does not only speak of a single soul but of a number of them, which are connected to the cosmology and together make up a whole person. As we have noted before, the author is not a fan of Christianity, and shares the following critique of the Christian view of the soul:
‘The “substance” in which the Runer works is the soul or psyche. The soul has become less and less well known in our culture as Christianity – with its primitive, unsophisticated, and confused psychology – slowly destroyed our knowledge of our souls and thus of ourselves.’
Edred Thorsson – The Nine Doors of Midgard. Page 22.
On a personal note, I am greatly delighted to have discovered the depth and complexity of ancient Germanic metaphysics. Up until recently, I was unaware of this – thus, I can conclude that it was a good call to follow Odin’s encouragement and continue to seek spiritual wisdom. As I mentioned in a recent Podcast episode, I was hit by a certain energy a while back. The energy caused my hunger for knowledge to increase greatly. I cannot explain it in any other way than as a blessing from Odin.
Becoming familiar with the various realms is important when it comes to the practical applications of the Rune magic, as noted in the quote below. Moreover, this shift of consciousness is sometime the goal with certain meditations.
‘The normal ego-consciousness, the subjective I-focus of the self, is in or near the center of the soul, in or near the Midgard-center. Since this is where the magician normally lives, this is indeed the ideal center for this focus. However, when there is magic to be worked, this center can be shifted from the center to the apex of the soul – to the Asgard-center, if you will.’
Edred Thorsson – The Nine Doors of Midgard. Page 162.
Elemental Breathing
The author presents several useful meditation techniques. One of those is Elemental Breathing, which (briefly summarised) entails visualising yourself being surrounded by a sphere filled with an element (fire, for example). Your body is a vacuum within that space. As you breathe, visualise the element entering you with each breath. Breathe until you have absorbed all of the fire. I will experiment with this meditation both in the Temple of Iron and in other settings.
The author notes that in the Indo-European system (from which the Germanic and Indic systems are derived) breath was considered a source of spiritual power. This is worth keeping in mind when doing pranayama exercises – they are not foreign to us, which can be good to point out should someone say that they belong to another spiritual tradition.
Conclusion
As stated above, I can definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Runes and/or Germanic cosmology and metaphysics. It contains both interesting insights as well as plenty of instructions for practical applications of Rune magic. I enjoyed reading it and will continue to experiment with the techniques. Thank you, G, for the recommendation.
Onwards and upwards!
Hymns for the Gods – From Olympus to Asgard
Posted on July 21, 2022
I have had the pleasure of reading Hymns for the Gods – From Olympus to Asgard, published by Heliotroph Books. As the title suggests, the book contains hymns to the Graeco-Roman and Germanic Gods. It also contains an insightful introduction in which God, polytheism, metaphysics, and relevant topics are discussed. Thereafter, a number of Gods are introduced and hymns that can be recited (sung) to them are presented. Many of the hymns are quite beautiful, I might add!
‘We affirm that the mystic and perennial truths elucidated by the Orphic, Platonist, Asatru, and Vedic traditions are in fact uniquely and providentially suited to addressing the problems of modernity and post-modernity because they teach us the proper relationship of our selves to our experience, our selves to others, our selves to our spaces, and our selves to their source and cause. They lift our eyes upwards to reveal the fantastic and mysterious motions of the web of forces above us and give us the opportunity to live our lives attuned to that divine clockwork instead of being mindlessly tossed about by it.’
– Hymns for the Gods
Plato’s Tripartite Soul
The author introduces Plato’s theory of the soul, which we encountered in our review of The Practical Art of Divine Magic by Patrick Dunn (as well as in my video: Lose Fat With Plato – Mental Technique to Resist Cravings).
In essence, Plato presents the soul (or psyche) as being divided in three:
- Logos – the rational charioteer. The head.
- Thumos – the white horse of will and spirit. The heart and solar plexus.
- Epithymetikon (Eros) – the black horse of desire. The belly and genitalia.
Note: in my own work, I use the term Thumos to mark spiritedness, the Faustian spirit, the Homeric yearn for glory.
Poseidon’s Prayer
Below is a beautiful prayer that appears in the book (the other prayers and hymns are in a similar style):
‘Poseidon of the waters,
– Poseidon’s Prayer
God who sends the rollings waves,
May you with royal power
Spur my soul to greater works,
And, tireless with stallion’s might,
Grant us lives so full of life,
Abounding with your blessings’
Helios and Julian the Blessed
In the description of Helios, the author notes that Zeus-Helios was the favourite god of Julian the Blessed. Julian is perhaps more commonly known as ‘Julian the Apostate’, which is the name given to him by Christians. Julian was emperor between 361 and 363 CE and attempted to restore Paganism to the Roman Empire (hence the aversion Christians have felt towards him throughout the centuries). Julian the Blessed sounds good, so I will use it henceforth when referring to him.
My Pantheon
On a personal note, Helios has always been close to my own heart. My pantheon is otherwise dominated by Germanic gods. This is something I will elaborate on at length later on, but what we can say for now is that I am, as keen readers of my book reviews may have noted, looking for the Indo-European roots of the gods. Thus, I do not view Helios as a foreign god, nor do I necessarily view some of the Vedic gods as particularly foreign – especially since we noted the following in Revolt Against the Modern World (review):
‘In relation to the Aryan element, in India the attribute used for salvific deities and heroes is hari and harit, a term which means both “the golden one” (in relation to the primordial cycle: Apollo, Horus, etc.) and the “blond god.”’
Julius Evola – Revolt Against the Modern World. Page 245.
Hermes
In the description of Hermes the Messenger, the author shares the following insight, which I found interesting:
‘As the bridge between higher and lower, matter and Intellect, Hermes is the leader, the serial fountainhead, of Soul in the specifically Neoplatonic sense. This is because Soul is the intermediary between the unchanging Intellect and ever-changing matter and therefore becomes the first layer of godhead which could be said to be mobile, interacting with time and space but not contained by them.’
– Hymns for the Gods
Speaking of the Soul and Neoplatonism, Keith Woods recently made an interesting video on the subject, which can be watched here: The Ascent of the Soul in Neoplatonism.
Conclusion
Hymns for the Gods is rather concise and therefore does not present a great time investment. It can be viewed as a handbook that can be used alongside one’s worship. The cover is also really nice – great work by Brendan Heard of the Aureus Press! I can definitely recommend the book for someone interested in the subject.
Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola
Posted on July 18, 2022 1 Comment
If you have not already read my review of Men Among the Ruins, I recommend that you do so before reading this article, as it contains a more general overview of Evola’s work.
I have read Julius Evola’s magnum opus – Revolt Against the Modern World. Many of the teachings in the book will be familiar for those who have read other works by Evola. If you have not read any of Evola’s books, I would recommend starting with Revolt Against the Modern World, as it gives a good overview of many of the topics which he deals with in more detail in other works.
I asked Modern Platonist, a fellow Evola appreciator, about his top-three Evola titles, and he responded thus: Revolt Against the Modern World, Pagan Imperialism, The Hermetic Tradition. I wrote a review of The Hermetic Tradition but have yet to read Pagan Imperialism. My own top-three titles (at the time of writing this at least) are Revolt Against the Modern World, Men Among the Ruins (review), The Mystery of the Grail (review). That being said, many of his other works contain valuable insights – for those interested in magic the Introduction to Magic books are recommended (review of part one, review of part two and three). Metaphysics of Power (review) is recommended for those interested in his social commentary. I will update this list as I read more of his books!
Below are some insights found in the book. Also, many of the insights found in Revolt Against the Modern World have been the subject of discussion in previous book reviews.
The Crisis of the Modern World
It is clear for anyone to see that something is profoundly wrong with modern society. There are aspects of modernity that are positive, but in order to diagnose the faulty parts, a thorough analysis is in order. Evola, as a critic of modernity, comes in handy in this regard (which is one reason that makes his books relevant today). In order to heal that damaged parts of our time, we need to understand the underlying causes.
This is, of course, a topic that is beyond the scope of this article, but a short summary of some of the issues that plague the modern world could be the following: rootlessness (no sense of belonging), nihilism and materialism (‘God is dead’ in Nietzsche’s words), no sense of purpose or order. A clear symptom of the disease is mindless killings – mass shootings, for example. The number of people on anti-depression medications is also telling.
Vocation and Caste
A good point Evola elaborates on is that of vocation and caste. In the days of old, a young man could find a certain safety and belonging in simply following in his father’s footsteps. The cobbler’s son grew up to become a cobbler. The farmer’s son to be a farmer. The merchant’s son to be a merchant. Perhaps this did not always leave much in the way of upward mobility, but at least it gave people a sense of belonging. Contrasted with today’s rootless society, where a young man is considered lucky to even have a father.
In regard to vocation, it could be said that there is a certain beauty and purity in not only having a profession, but having a vocation. Imagine the medieval blacksmith whose vocation it was to be a blacksmith – he could seek perfection within his trade. This is, of course, possible for some people today as well, which is good, but for many it may be hard to find such vocation – especially since no clear guidelines are given when growing up.
In regard to caste, it can be good to point out that being of a lower caste is not bad – what is bad is to be casteless (an outcast). Evola discusses caste at length in the book (and touches on the topic in other books as well).
In the chapter titled The Doctrine of the Castes, Evola includes the following insightful quote from Plato:
‘If we say that people of this sort ought to be subject to the highest type of man, we intend that the subject should be governed not to his own detriment but on the same principle as his superior, who is himself governed by the divine element within him. It is better for everyone to be subject to a power of godlike wisdom residing within himself, or failing that, imposed from without.’
Plato – Republic
This is a good quote to remember when pursuing excellence – be governed by the divine element within yourself!
The Golden One
To my great delight, I noted the following passage in the chapter titled Tradition and Antitradition, which I thought would be interesting to share:
‘In relation to the Aryan element, in India the attribute used for salvific deities and heroes is hari and harit, a term which means both “the golden one” (in relation to the primordial cycle: Apollo, Horus, etc.) and the “blond god.”’
Julius Evola – Revolt Against the Modern World. Page 245.
Note: I claimed the title of The Golden One in 2014 and not in relation to this passage by Evola. I will elaborate on this in my coming book.
Saint Bernard and Germanised Christianity
In the chapter titled The Greater and Lesser Holy War, the following beautiful quote appears:
‘Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. What a glory it is for you to emerge from the battle crowned with victory! But what a greater glory it is to win on the battlefield an immortal crown… What a truly blessed condition, when one can wait for death without any fear, yearning for it and welcoming it with a strong spirit!’
Saint Bernard – De laude novae militiae
This quote illustrates quite clearly the Germanisation of Christianity, something Evola discusses in several books. Many of the thoughts in the chapter are elaborated on in the book Metaphysics of War. I have not reviewed it, but I refer to it in Dauntless. In the quote above, it is clear that Saint Bernard is invoking a Pagan warrior-spirituality.
Overpopulation
In the chapter titled The Decline of Superior Races, Evola discusses the issue of overpopulation. The chapter begins thus:
‘The modern world is far from being threatened by the danger of underpopulation /…/ The truth is that we are facing an opposite danger: the constant and untrammeled increase of population in purely quantitative terms.’
Julius Evola – Revolt Against the Modern World. Page 167.
The topic is as relevant today as when Evola wrote the book. There is, of course, the issue of low European birth-rates. However, the focus must not be taken away from the real issue at hand – mass immigration into Europe from the Third World. When looking at humanity as a whole, it is hard to find a compelling argument as to why more humans would be desirable. A sound eco-system, clean rivers and oceans, a thriving wild-life; these are desirable – and an increasing human population stands in opposition to this.
Conclusion
As stated in above, Revolt Against the Modern World is Evola’s magnum opus, and makes for a great introduction and overview of his teachings. At 369 pages, it will take its time to read through but it is time well spent.
The Golden One 
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