Precession
astrologically is the way that the zodiac falls out of kilter with the
positions of astronomical constellations owing to Earth’s slow wobble round its
axis, about every 25,000 years.
The Lascaux
wounded man – or bird-headed man – painting may contain this idea in that Ymir
(Gemini) was overthrown and the ice cow (Taurus) then precedes him, the
star-signs changing places.
The weird thing
is that, for all the narrative stargazing that appears to be there, there is an
astronomical amount of lewdness! The bird-headed shaman (Gemini) has an erect
phallus, maybe indicating a trance state (Pictorial 54)
The bull is pierced
through the scrotum, while the raised tail of the rhino suggests defecation.
However, the tail also marks Leo, so it’s almost like a type of visual pun.
However, as I
said of Katie Bouman (Hyborian Bridge 56), lewdness exists in the
universe if it has naïve symmetry, and is not just factual. The factual
universe of order omits the real universe which contains disorder.
The lewdness
seems to be at least a part of Paleolithic cave-painting (as well as Australian
Aborigine folklore, for a modern comparison).
The problem is
that a cave-painting isn’t factual. It’s shapes and lines, often quite
abstract. The figures have symmetries; a front, a back; a left, a right, and
these create the narrative (Weird 11)
A factual world
is essentially the head without the symmetries of the body. An astronomical and
physical world is of the body.
So, if you
assume the universe has a naïve symmetry to match the body, it also has a type
of disorder, which is the active principle of nature. Disorder is left to
either rot or “dry out” (Buffy Hyborian Bridge 70). The hunters build
fires, dance, tell stories.
Disordered
nature is active nature, the everlasting chase. The sense that something is
disordered and active is somewhat like
the Chinese dragon, the principle of Tao. Strength is gained from disorder; as
forest vegetation decays the organic humus feeds the fertility of continual
growth, herbivores roaming and grazing.
This is the
sacrificial universe of powerful beasts and blood (see Noto Hyborian Bridge
71). It is a type of continual revival from disorder, and hence the counter
to a Darwinian universe of competitive order. The problem with Darwin is its
underlying principle is order, which comes down to the facts of advance, as
opposed to the strength of cyclical existence.
What are the facts
of advance? They are the facts of an ordered universe, such as DNA and Katie
Bouman (Hyborian bridge 56). As the guy on starmythworld says, instead of
an unbroken line of progress, there are apparent high spots – such as the caves
at Lascaux – as well as a sense of stasis in Man’s response to astral rhythms –
the interpretation of star-signs (myth).
These astral
rhythms are all part of the physical universe that is created by the Earth
turning on its axis, be it sunrise, moonrise, or the circuit of the stars and
wandering planets
Note that in this passage, you have just heard a
modern board-certified neurologist confirm for you, in case you had any doubt,
that our bodies are connected to the rhythms of the heavenly cycles, including
the rising of the moon.
starmythworld
There is an intrinsic sense of rhythm in the physical
universe to which the body can be attuned. The real, physical universe is
rhythmic and disordered through the continual contrast of night and day,
Artemis and Apollo (The House that Rand Built 1).
This physical universe is – as I tend to keep saying –
rather vague and elusive to strictly factual interpretation. That’s because
only a parallel reality of order (Apollo) is strictly factual; the universe of
DNA and Katie Bouman – mirror, illusion.
The body – as opposed to DNA – is symmetrical,
balanced and proportionate. The body is physical whereas DNA is a factual illusion.
If you want to live in a future of factual illusions, you’re welcome, but it
will be a hall of mirrors (Hyborian
Bridge 20); very convincing but no
narrative meaning (content) or physical power – decay, blood, hunt, sacrifice.
Narrative meaning comes from
the grace and movement of humans in communal situations. Narrative meaning and
power together have given us religious beliefs over the millennia. DNA could
save your life but it couldn’t give you a reason to live (or die since they’re
both the same).
Religions have to live in the
physical world of disorder, decay, tumult, and transcend through belief. I
always got the impression that was the aim of the hippy culture, and even if it
ultimately fell short it was well worth the effort.
This song from Kantner’s Blows
is thoroughly communal in sensibility (compare to Gaye’s What’s Going On CH5) and
pretty much a hymn to the stars. Kantner can also be typically lewd, another
link to the paleolithic hunter-gatherers of 17,000 BC.