“Rising to Spirit Descending to Soul”

Feather in Tidal Pool (Kittery ME)
CC Jean Stimmell: 4/13/15

Michael Meade says that The Age of Enlightenment  is over; we now live in an era of “Endarkenment.” *

He says the essential cosmological condition of living on earth is going back and forth between light of day and the dark of night: "that’s the essential cosmological condition of living on earth: in order to be able to absorb genuine light...a person needs to be grounded, and part of grounding is a descent into darkness."

 "In alchemy it was called “Circulatio”, the kind of rising into the light and followed by descending into the dark, and then returning to the light... It’s also called “Rising to Spirit Descending to Soul”, and it’s what modern culture refuses to do—it won’t allow a little bit of descent, a little bit of loss of momentum, a little bit of loss of... gross national product—whatever they want to call it—they’re so afraid of losing that little bit that they hold on, manipulate, and cheat against life and what happens then is a big descent, like we’re in now." 

* Shrink Rap Radio # 216, August 21, 2009, The Light Inside the Dark Times, with Michael Meade