I get the impression that the Gods are rather irate at humanity as a whole right now, and for good reason. I, guessing that there won't be until there is a significant population decline that any sort of new spiritual dispensation might come our way.
I see this sentiment a lot and I disagree and I would like to push back against it quite forcefully.
Second, everything dies. The way of the gods is to gracefully accept that change is the way of the world, not to lament the passing of even good things. (And I'd argue our civilization is miserable... why would one lament the passing of the bad?) [Republic X, Enneads I 9, Apollo to Anonymous, Apollo to Julian]
Third, death and depopulation are only apparently bad from the perspective of time. The death of the body is good to the soul, and why should we suppose that is any less true of the soul of a civilization than the soul of a person? [Enneads I 7, Enneads III 2]
Fourth, the gods are the cause of everything that comes to pass. It is the gods that decree that a man should die, but it is up to the man to die gracefully or gracelessly. In the same way, the gods decreed not only the decline of the West, but also the orgy of consumption that preceded it. It was up to the West to choose how to die, and it has chosen to throw a tantrum and make as big a mess as possible. But even if that is what the civilizational soul has chosen, we as individual souls are not bound to it, and we may choose otherwise. It is better for us to stop and consider why the gods have placed so many on the earth, and why they are removing them back again. [Porphyry to Marcella XXIV, XXIX] [JMG has also made the note that he thinks the present disaster may be because Gaia was cold and wanted a warmer atmosphere, which is a cute and mythic way of saying the same thing.]
Finally, it is not those who live easy lives who make the ascent to the divine, but those who have great hardship. We should consider ourselves blessed to live in these times, painful though they are, for we are being given the opportunity to speedrun our karma. [Porphyry to Marcella VI–VII]
This is a topic that I spend rather a lot of meditation time on, and have several other posts on my blog touching on it: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (And I should also note that I am not yet "there", but one must have aspirations!)
(Also, apologies for the long comment, but one good rant deserves another :)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-12 01:19 pm (UTC)I see this sentiment a lot and I disagree and I would like to push back against it quite forcefully.
First, anger is not a quality that the gods possess. [Sallustius I, Sallustius XIV]
Second, everything dies. The way of the gods is to gracefully accept that change is the way of the world, not to lament the passing of even good things. (And I'd argue our civilization is miserable... why would one lament the passing of the bad?) [Republic X, Enneads I 9, Apollo to Anonymous, Apollo to Julian]
Third, death and depopulation are only apparently bad from the perspective of time. The death of the body is good to the soul, and why should we suppose that is any less true of the soul of a civilization than the soul of a person? [Enneads I 7, Enneads III 2]
Fourth, the gods are the cause of everything that comes to pass. It is the gods that decree that a man should die, but it is up to the man to die gracefully or gracelessly. In the same way, the gods decreed not only the decline of the West, but also the orgy of consumption that preceded it. It was up to the West to choose how to die, and it has chosen to throw a tantrum and make as big a mess as possible. But even if that is what the civilizational soul has chosen, we as individual souls are not bound to it, and we may choose otherwise. It is better for us to stop and consider why the gods have placed so many on the earth, and why they are removing them back again. [Porphyry to Marcella XXIV, XXIX] [JMG has also made the note that he thinks the present disaster may be because Gaia was cold and wanted a warmer atmosphere, which is a cute and mythic way of saying the same thing.]
Finally, it is not those who live easy lives who make the ascent to the divine, but those who have great hardship. We should consider ourselves blessed to live in these times, painful though they are, for we are being given the opportunity to speedrun our karma. [Porphyry to Marcella VI–VII]
This is a topic that I spend rather a lot of meditation time on, and have several other posts on my blog touching on it: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (And I should also note that I am not yet "there", but one must have aspirations!)
(Also, apologies for the long comment, but one good rant deserves another :)