The Cosmological Origins of Myth and Symbol

by Scranton, Laird

• ISBN13: 9781594773761
• ISBN10: 1594773769
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-24
• Publisher: Inner Traditions

Summary

Do ancient systems of myth and symbol descend from one common cosmological plan? Laird Scranton identifies the signature attributes of a theoretic ancient parent cosmology and makes the case that cosmology may have engendered civilization, not the other way around.

Author Biography

Laird Scranton is an independent software designer who has studied ancient myth, language, and cosmology for nearly 10 years. An authority on Dogon mythology and symbolism, he has given lectures at Colgate University and is the author of The Science of the Dogon and Sacred Symbols of the Dogon. He lives in Albany, New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword by William Henry

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One    Concepts of Comparative Cosmology

Two    Signature Signs of the Parent Cosmology

Three    The Dogon Mythological Structure of Matter

Four    Symbolism

Five    Guiding Metaphors of the Cosmology

Six    The Egg-in-a-Ball

Seven    The Aligned Ritual Shrine

Eight    The Elemental Deities

Nine    The Concept of the Primordial Egg

Ten    The Concept of the Divine Word

Eleven    The Concept of the Fish

Twelve    Deities

Thirteen    Civilizing Skills

Fourteen    Written Language

Fifteen    Synchronizing Cosmologies: The Na-khi-Dongba of China

Sixteen    As Above, So Below: The Chariot of Orion

Seventeen    Recapping the Plan of the Cosmology

Notes

Bibliography

Index