Cosmos and Psyche Cosmos and Psyche Intimations of a New World View RICHARD TARNAS VIKING VIKING Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi–110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published in 2006 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright © Richard Tarnas, 2006 All rights reserved ISBN: 978-1-1012-1347-6 Set in Fairfield LH Light Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or 4otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. To my family and friends, who waited patiently so long Evening star, you bring all things which the bright dawn has scattered… Sappho Contents Preface I The Transformation of the Cosmos The Birth of the Modern Self The Dawn of a New Universe Two Paradigms of History Forging the Self, Disenchanting the World The Cosmological Situation Today II In Search of a Deeper Order Two Suitors: A Parable The Interior Quest Synchronicity and Its Implications The Archetypal Cosmos III Through the Archetypal Telescope The Evolving Tradition Archetypal Principles The Planets Forms of Correspondence Personal Transit Cycles Archetypal Coherence and Concrete Diversity Assessing Patterns of Correlation IV Epochs of Revolution From the French Revolution to the 1960s Synchronic and Diachronic Patterns in History Scientific and Technological Revolutions Awakenings of the Dionysian The Liberation of Nature Religious Rebellion and Erotic Emancipation Filling in the Cyclical Sequence The Individual and the Collective A Larger View of the Sixties V Cycles of Crisis and Contraction World Wars, Cold War, and September 11 Historical Contrasts and Tensions Conservative Empowerment Splitting, Evil, and Terror Moby Dick and Nature’s Depths Historical Determinism, Realpolitik, and Apocalypse Moral Courage, Facing the Shadow, and the Tension of Opposites Paradigmatic Works of Art Forging Deep Structures VI Cycles of Creativity and Expansion Opening New Horizons Convergences of Scientific Breakthroughs Social and Political Rebellions and Awakenings Quantum Leaps and Peak Experiences From Copernicus to Darwin Music and Literature Iconic Moments and Cultural Milestones Great Heights and Shadows Hidden Births VII Awakenings of Spirit and Soul Epochal Shifts of Cultural Vision Spiritual Epiphanies and the Emergence of New Religions Utopian Social Visions Romanticism, Imaginative Genius, and Cosmic Epiphany Revelations of the Numinous The Great Awakening of the Axial Age The Late Twentieth Century and the Turn of the Millennium VIII Towards a New Heaven and a New Earth Understanding the Past, Creating the Future Observations on Future Planetary Alignments Opening to the Cosmos Sources of the World Order