The Cosmological Origins of Myth and Symbol: From the Dogon
and Ancient Egypt to India, Tibet, and China
by Laird Scranton
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Great thinkers and researchers such as Carl Jung
have acknowledged the many broad similarities that exist between the myths and
symbols of ancient cultures, that these systems of myth all descended from
one common cosmological plan. Outlining the most significant aspects of
cosmology found among the Dogon, ancient Egyptians, and ancient Buddhists,
including the striking physical and cosmological parallels between the Dogon
granary and the Buddhist stupa, Laird Scranton identifies the signature
attributes of a theoretic ancient parent cosmology that may well have
spawned these great ancient creation traditions.
Examining the esoteric nature of
cosmology itself, Scranton shows how this parent cosmology encompassed both a
plan for the civilized instruction of humanity as well as the conceptual origins
of language. The recurring shapes in all ancient religions were key elements of
this plan, designed to give physical manifestation to the sacred and provide the
means to conceptualize and compare earthly dimensions with those of the heavens.
As a practical application of the plan, Scranton explores the myths and language
of an obscure Chinese priestly tribe known as the Na-Khi—the keepers of the
world's last surviving hieroglyphic language. Suggesting that cosmology may have
engendered civilization and not the other way around, Scranton reveals how this
plan of cosmology provides the missing link between our macroscopic universe and
the microscopic world of atoms.