Orphic Theory and the Three Conjectures

Orphic Theory and the Three Conjectures

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• To: psychoceramics@zikzak.net
• Subject: psychoceramics: Orphic Theory and the Three Conjectures
• From: Ernie Karhu
• Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 08:33:16 -0500
• Sender: owner-psychoceramics

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For Einstein and others the universe may have appeared to be a mystery but not a secret.

In ancient Greece the students of Pythagoras were called mathematekoi or "those who studied all." The word mathema
meant "learning in general" and is the root of the old English mathein, "to be aware," and the German munthen
"to awaken." Today mathematics is viewed as a narrow vision.

The brilliant mathematician and philosopher Hypatia was a wise and charismatic teacher in Alexandria. She was
a popular adviser to individuals and governments. Because she epitomized the wisdom of the Orphic tradition, she
was brutally murdered by a Christian mob. Ironically, after her martyrdom she was canonized in the Christian
hierarchy as Saint Catherine of the Wheel, whose following began in the ninth century at Mount Sinai.

In his introduction to EARTHMIND, Lyall Watson wrote that "Everything changed in 1969." That was the year that
James Lovelock gave us the new paradigm called Gaia. This was followed by two more paradigm shifts which
began to emerge into public view: the Chaos revolution and erodynamics.

Gaia, chaos and eros was first discussed in a book called THEOGANY by Hesiod. This trinity is also called Orphism.

Ralph Abraham, the world-renowned chaos theorist noted this unusual synchronicity of these three recent
innovations in science as apparently independent developments, all sharing a common mathematical
basis and associated with a three thousand year old Orphic Trinity.

Abraham suggests an Orphic Theory of Three Conjectures.

Conjecture 1: Three Phases. The meanderings of human history and pre-history suggest a persistant cyclic
pattern in three phases associated with the root concepts of the Orphic Trinity, Chaos , Gaia, and Eros.

Conjecture 2: The Orphic Tradition. This trinity belongs to a long continuous tradition flowing from our paleolithic
past to the present. It has been suppressed many times but manages to surface and emerge again.

While the Orphic Tradition has usually been regarded as a patriarchal or male-centered religion founded by
Orpheus, it has its origins in the Worship of the Divine Mother, Gaia or Mother Earth. [I was involved
in the founding of THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS in 1970.]

The characteristic features of the Orphic Trinity:

1. Chaos, the creative void, the source of all form 2. Gaia, the physical existence and living spirit of the created world
3. Eros, the spiritual medium connecting Gaia and Chaos

Secondary characteristics:

1. A regard for all life as sacred usually manifested as vegetarianism.
2. A high priority for peace and security
3. The avoidance of violence
4. Ritual, myth and activity centered on love
5. Sexual laxity
6. A regard for music, math, science and philosophy

Conjecture 3: Our Transformation:

The evolution or transformation of consciousness gives us the opportunity to end the harmful repression of chaos, which is
crucial for our understanding of, and harmonious coexistence with, nature and the development of a global and galactic
society.

Despite their seeming differences, the discovery of the wheel around 4000 B.C. and the paradigm shifts that began in 1969
are related.

What I call the medicine wheel is similar to the dialectical process of thesis, antithesis and synthesis as it constitutes
the basic processes in hermeneutical thought, also called the hermeneutical circle. Some think of this as a spiral being
the motor for growth and understanding. Understanding this medicine wheel may be crucial for our own evolution as a
society.

Ernest and politically incorrect

If questionable humor or the use of undignified or inappropriate words alone could inspire action
we would see stand-up comedy breaking-out in the streets.