The Metaphysical Compass

© 2024 The Metaphysical Compass Project

1st Revised Edition

TheMetaphysicalCompass.com

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Published by: The Metaphysical Compass Project / Jonathan Torralba

Text Design by: Jonathan Torralba

Cover Design by: Jonathan Torralba

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN:

978-1-7385196-3-7 (paperback)

978-1-7385196-1-3 (eBook)

Copyright: all third-party images, product names, logos, and trademarks used in this book for analytical purposes are the property of their respective owners.

Header Images: Ch. I: photo by Manyu Varma (Unsplash); photo by Дмитрий Хрусталев-Григорьев (Unsplash). Ch. II: Uraltes Chymisches Werck von Abraham Eleazar (18th century). Ch. III: Tibetan Kalachakra Mandala. Ch. IV: Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum; Ch V: Thor’s Fight with the Giants by Mårten Eskil Winge (1872); Bernard de Montfaucon’s L’antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures. Ch VI: Eliphas Levi’s Seal of Solomon. Addendum: image by Rochak Shukla on Freepik. Appendixes: Atalanta Fugiens by Michael Maier; Trattato Donum Dei dell’alchimista by Abraham Eleazar (1735).

For Ana María, who with her encouragement, advice and tireless dedication to even the most mundane tasks, has saved this project from being delayed for an indefinite period of time.

For Miguel and Ofelia, for their constant support, without which the author would not have been able to write this book.

For Xavier, for our interesting talks on everything metaphysical, from which the idea of writing the present book arose.

The Metaphysical Compass Project

This book is part of The Metaphysical Compass Project. Its aim is to investigate the metaphysical concepts behind the ubiquitous symbolism present in popular culture and to discuss the ancient narratives and worldviews being promoted.

Throughout this book, as well as the accompanying website (TheMetaphysicalCompass.com), we hope to provide context, knowledge, and guidance to help us navigate the complex landscape of conflicting worldviews brought about by globalization, in the process trading confusion for insight.

About Structure and Style

This book is divided into two parts: one of Analysis and another of Synthesis. Some of its chapters can be read independently, especially those in the first part (e.g., Chapter III). However, it is advisable to read the Synthesis section in sequential order to better understand the general argument of the book and the implications that can be derived for our own lives.

Since the book is based on the different answers given by various worldviews to the same set of limited metaphysical questions, some degree of repetition is unavoidable. However, the narrative of the book has been woven in such a way that the material is never repeated without providing additional insight from a different point of view or without unraveling an underlying implication. In this way, we have tried to avoid circularity by tracing a spiraling path of increasing depth.

The book uses a large number of capitalized terms in order to improve readability and memorability of complex words, even if they are not normally capitalized. In addition, it includes a large number of hyperlinks to provide context and further relevant information to the interested reader. Finally, some images, due to the volume of information they contain, must be enlarged in order to be viewed in a more comfortable way. This can be done by just clicking on them.

Table of Contents

Introduction. The Complexity of the Modern World

1. The Big Consequences of Small Variations in Beliefs

2. Metaphysically Neutral Behavior Does Not Exist

3. A Battle Between Conflicting Worldviews Being Waged in Our Minds

4. The Metaphysical Compass: A Tool to Help You Navigate this Complex Conceptual Landscape

Chapter I - Part One. Symbolic Patterns in Popular Culture

1. What is a Symbol?

2. The Traditional Understanding of Symbolism

3. A Language Once Lost and Now Recovered

4. The Modern Dangers of Symbolism

Chapter I - Part Two. The Prominence of Symbolism in Modern Mass Media

5. Symbols in Contemporary Culture

6. Possible Explanations for the High Volume and Consistency of Symbolic Content in Popular Culture

7. Conclusion

Chapter II. Metaphysics: The Meaning Behind the Symbolism

1. What is Metaphysics?

2. What Does Traditional Metaphysics Talk About?

2.1. On God and Ultimate Reality: The Problem of the One and the Many

2.2. On the Structure of Reality, Being and Time

2.3. On the Origin of the Universe

2.4. On the Problem of Evil or Why This World Lost its Original Perfection

2.5. On Fate, Free Will and to What Extent Are We Conditioned in This Life

2.6. On Salvation, Liberation or How to Transcend Our Current Limitations

Chapter III - Part One. Worldviews: Where Metaphysics Leads Us To

1. Worldviews (Implicitly or Explicitly) Guide Our Lives

2. Religious and Mystical Worldviews

2.1. Judaism

2.2. Jewish Mysticism: Kabbalah

2.3. Christianity

2.4. Christian Mysticism: Purification, Prayer and Hesychasm

2.5. Islam

2.6. Islamic Mysticism: Sufism

2.7. Hinduism

2.8. Hindu Mysticism: Yoga and Tantra

2.9. Buddhism

2.10. Buddhist Mysticism: Meditation, Visualization and Deity Generation

2.11. Taoism

2.12. Taoist Mysticism: Meditation and Internal Alchemy

2.13. Sikhism

2.14. Jainism

2.15. Zoroastrianism

2.16. Mandaeism

2.17. Shintō and Animism

Chapter III - Part Two. Esoteric Worldviews

3. The Origins and the Rise of Esoteric Worldviews

3.1. Hermeticism

3.2. Perennial Philosophy or Traditionalism

3.3. Occultism

3.4. Neo-Paganism

3.5. Shamanism and Neo-Shamanism

3.6. Gnosticism and Neo-Gnosticism

Chapter III - Part Three. Philosophical and Scientific Worldviews

4. Philosophical Stances on Metaphysical Matters

4.1. Agnosticism

4.2. Atheism

4.3. Secular Humanism

4.4. Nihilism

4.5. Postmodernism and Relativism

4.6. Objectivism

4.7. Stoicism

4.8. Anarchism

5. The Scientific Outlook

5.1. Scientism: The Transformation of Science From a Method to an All-Encompassing Worldview

5.2. Common Metaphysical Beliefs Behind Some Mainstream Scientific Theories

5.3. Transhumanism

Chapter IV. Comparing Worldviews: Similarities, Differences and Recurrent Patterns

1. Common Patterns in Main Metaphysical Areas

1.1. On God and Ultimate Reality

1.2. On the Origin of the Universe

1.3. On Cosmology and Time

1.4. On the Problem of Evil

1.5. On Determinism and Free Will

1.6. On the Ultimate Destiny of Mankind

1.7. On the Nature of Jesus Christ

Chapter V. Metaphysics and Worldview Promotion in Popular Culture

1. Introduction

2. Metaphysics in Movies and TV Shows

3. Metaphysics in Other Popular Media: Video Games, Animation, Comics and Music Industry

3.1. Marvel and DC Comics: A New Old Mythology for a Secular World

4. The Case of the Multiverse

5. Conclusion

Chapter VI. Navigating the Complex Landscape of Current Worldviews

1. Introduction

2. First Stage, or the Challenge of the Atheist: Why Believe in Any Non-Materialist Worldview?

2.1. Presuppositions Shape Our Worldview

2.2. The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (TAG)

2.3. TAG´s Criticism: Rejection of Theism, But Not Necessarily of Non-Materialism

2.4. How to Evaluate Non-Materialist Worldviews

3. R.C. Zaehner´s Typology of Mysticism

4. A New Proposal for a Typology of Mysticism

4.1. Personal (Theistic) and Impersonal Mysticism

5. The Resolution of the Problem of the One and the Many and How it Can Help Us in Evaluating Each Worldview

5.1. The Importance of Solving the Problem

5.2. Dialectics: The True Underlying Problem

5.3. Dialectics as the Common God of the Doctrines of The One (Absolute Monism)

5.4. The Christian Solution to the Problem of the One and the Many

5.5. Gnosticism: Precursor of the Neo-Platonic Doctrine of The One

Chapter VII. Typology of Theistic Mysticism

1. Absolute Theistic Monism

1.1. From Monotheistic Exoteric Judaism…

1.2. …to Panentheistic Esoteric Kabbalah

1.3. From Monotheistic Exoteric Islam…

1.4. …to Panentheistic Esoteric Sufism

2. Theistic Panentheism in Dharmic Monotheistic Religions

2.1. Vishishtadvaita Vedānta: Hinduism´s Attempt to Solve the Problem of the One and the Many

2.2. Sikhism and the All-Pervasiveness of God

3. Conclusions Regarding Monotheistic Monism

4. Filioque: The Infiltration of the Dialectical Spirit in Christian Theology

4.1. The One Roman Catholic Pope: The Natural Consequence of Dialectical Thinking

4.2. The Inversion of the Theological Order

4.3. The Danger of Supplanting the Trinity: The Cases of Gnosticism and Origenism

4.4. The Orthodox Refutation of Dialectics and the Filioque Clause

4.5. The Modification of Core Christian Doctrines Through the Addition of Dialectics

4.6. Concluding Thoughts on the Effects of Adding the Filioque Clause to the Christian Creed

4.7. Roman Catholic Mysticism and the Allure of Monistic Interpretations

[Intermission: Summary of the Chapter so Far]

5. Dialectical Thought in Protestantism

5.1. The Acceptance of the Filioque Clause

5.2. The Dialectical Nature of the Five Main Pillars of Protestantism

5.3. Additional Paired Opposites in Protestant Thought

5.4. An Orthodox Appraisal of Protestantism: Concluding Remarks

6. Orthodox Christianity and the Radical Rejection of Dialectics

6.1. Early Deviations from Orthodox Christology and their Dialectical Presuppositions

6.2. Orthodox Christology, Theology and Eschatology

7. The Metaphysical Compass: Concluding Remarks

7.1. By Their Fruits You Will Know Them

7.2. Seeing Behind the Veil

Addendum. The Two Great Practical Dangers of Dialectics: A Perennialist Form of Ecumenism and the Possibility of Starting a False Revolution

1. Ecumenism: Unity as Truth

1.1. Ecclesiological Dialectics: Ecumenism and Phyletism as Two Sides of the Same Coin

1.2. Are We Slowly Heading Towards a One World Religion?

1.3. The Vatican II Council and the Ecumenical Adaptation of Roman Catholicism to the Modern World

1.4. Ecumenical Concerns in Protestantism and Orthodox Christianity

1.5. Perennialism or Logos Spermatikos: Truth as the Minimum Common Denominator or the Acknowledgment of Partial Truths

2. The Possibility of Starting a False Dialectical Revolution

2.1. Hegel´s Old God

2.2. The Signs of the Times: Metaphysical Trends and the Danger of a Pendulum Swing

2.3. The Voice of the Rebellion: The Message of Prominent Dissident Public Figures

2.4. An Angrier World

2.5. The Flexibility of Dialectics and Negative Priming

2.6. Eschatological Conflict

3. An Invitation: Spiritual Solutions to Spiritual Problems

Appendixes

A1. The Ouroboros: Circularity, Complementarity and Absolute Oneness

A2. Recommended Reading List

A3. Glossary

A4. Bibliography

A5. Endnotes

About the Author

THE WORLD HAS BECOME TOO COMPLICATED. Technology has changed the landscape of human beliefs. It has served both to educate and to confuse us. We now have more knowledge to digest, more concepts to grasp, more worldviews to evaluate. Knowledge has progressively become globalized.

The invention of the printing press was a key milestone for the globalization of knowledge, and modern computing has exponentially accelerated this process.

A few centuries ago a person had to decide if they believed what was handed down to them or if they rejected it (e.g., are you a believer or an atheist?). Maybe they also decided that a particular denomination of their religion was somewhat better than the others (e.g., Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant Christianity? Theravāda, Mahāyāna or Vajrayāna Buddhism? Shia or Sunni Islam?). More often than not, they might not even have been aware of all the different denominations of their own religion. Maybe they did not need to.

However, never in the past had an individual access to all of humanity´s worldviews and deepest beliefs. Neither did they have to analyze and decide which, if any, incompatible set of doctrines they followed and believed in.

Even just a few decades ago, without the existence of the internet and worldwide information sharing, most people continued living the life of their ancestors. They, with greater or lesser faith depending on the individual, mostly followed the set of beliefs handed down to them by their family and community. They may have argued about some aspects of their faiths (when has mankind not argued?), but the basic framework of a specific society´s beliefs was mostly fixed. This, in turn, allowed for greater behavior predictability, societal stability, and just an overall greater cohesion than we have now.

1. The Big Consequences of Small Variations in Beliefs

The consequences of small changes in abstract beliefs do not limit themselves to the realm of the mind, but also affect common everyday life.

Is God an impersonal force or a Person who we can have a personal relationship with? Each view has different implications on how we should live. This difference in behavior, in turn, will lead to the creation of different types of communities with different behavioral patterns. In time, the traditions and symbolism used and propagated by each community will be radically different from each other based on their original assumptions and beliefs regarding who, or what, God is.

If God is a blind force (e.g., Deism) instead of a Person who possesses a will, morality, etc., then we are justified in living in a certain way. However, if He is a pre-existing Person who became incarnated in human form, and in fact we are made in His image (as Christian theology teaches), the implications and what is expected of us are very different.

Let´s see another example. In worldviews where it is believed that in the end we are all one with God or ultimate reality (e.g., Panentheism), we might become liberated or facilitate our own ascension (Self-Deification) by means of the application of the correct knowledge and the correct practice. In most Far Eastern worldviews this is thought to be possible because of the belief that we are, and always have been, one with ultimate reality itself, each one of us being a particular manifestation of the Ultimate of which we are not yet aware. In other worldviews, such as in Christianity, even though we are an important part of the process of salvation and we are expected to put effort towards it, we need God to collaborate with us in a synergistic fashion, because we alone are not enough. This in turn puts emphasis on humility and reliance on God, as well as on God´s transcendental aspect. The overall picture is quite different.

Two further classic examples follow. The first: is existence linear or cyclical? Cyclical time doctrines state that there is an unavoidable succession of differentiated periods of time or ages, each successive one more ignorant and morally corrupt than the last, until a restoration takes place. One of the possible consequences of sharing this belief is that we might be tempted to stop trying to make the world a better place. It could even be argued that promoting degeneracy is instead a better thing to do in order to hasten the reappearance of a better age. If we have to fall to rise again we might as well do it sooner than later.

The second example involves the Indian doctrine of liberation (e.g., Buddhism, Hinduism). If liberation, for the majority of people, is gained after a multitude of lifetimes, we might be drawn to wait for better conditions to work on it. We could devote this life to just acquiring merit by doing good deeds that would be cashed out in the next, not struggling to acquire wisdom or insight. However, if this is really the only life we get, we would be making the biggest possible mistake, with consequences beyond life and death, as we would not be getting another opportunity to further our spiritual progress.

Let´s see a last example. What do you believe to be the origin of evil? Is it related to matter and the density of the lower and unspiritual planes of reality? Is it due to ignorance? Maybe sin? The first cause is external to us as individuals, while the second is based on a cognitive deficiency and the third on our own wilful rebellion, made possible by the Fall of the original human person and archetype, Adam. Our belief in this matter has radical implications for the way we see the world, ourselves, and others, with different attitudes deriving from it.

Certain beliefs regarding this topic may even have created historically contradictory ways of acting. For example, in worldviews were matter is viewed as intrinsically evil (e.g., Gnosticism), the aim is to detach yourself completely from the world (not only from the passions or bad aspects of life, but also from the apparently good ones) while focusing on obtaining the right intellectual and ceremonial knowledge in order to be able to escape from this life, conceptualized as a prison for the soul. You might want to purify yourself completely of everything material, including sexual relations with a spouse. However, in other worldviews (e.g., Christianity), where creation was initially deemed good by God, marital sex is thought as wholesome and without fault.

Figure 1. Examples of faulty thinking. When evaluating our beliefs, we want them to be logically sound and coherent in order to avoid self-assertions and self-refuting arguments (e.g., everything is relative). Other beliefs may be able to justify radically opposite behaviors, therefore becoming useless to guide us in life.

Furthermore, this idea that matter is intrinsically evil can also justify the opposite behavior. If this world of matter is conceived as originally bad, you would also be justified not only in retreating ascetically from it, but also in abusing it. This could be done to obtain a feeling of saturation, detachment, and freedom from matter and desire (e.g., the Phibionite Gnostic sect and left hand paths of certain tantric and esoteric traditions, even though some of the later may consider matter illusory altogether). You would even be theoretically justified in defiling nature or your own body, as you would consider matter as inherently evil and only the soul or spirit as worthy of being saved once liberated from this fleshly prison.

If ignorance is the root of evil, in turn, you should value knowledge above all else. This involves only the cognitive aspect of a person. Striving for relative purity might be of help, but if the solution is mostly cognitive, the moral and behavioral aspects of the person are not emphasized. Hence, we could conceive of someone who has attained great power because they possess great knowledge that allows them to tap into primordial forces, but wields it for egotistical purposes (e.g., similar to some modern views on magic, which include white and black magicians).

However, if sin is the problem, repentance is key in order to turn in the right direction and stop missing the mark (which is the original meaning of the word sin). This would involve, especially, the willing and behavioral aspects of the person, in addition to knowledge. This view considers the person as a whole.

Finally, we may take a materialist approach and think that existence has no ultimate meaning and that everything sprouted from a statistically improbable fluctuation of the forces of the Universe, which we do not know where they come from.¹,² In this case, the concept of evil might not even make sense to us. Evil could then be a somewhat useful relative human construction, variable in time and dependent on the social and cultural context.

In this last scenario, we could argue that we are justified in doing everything that gives us satisfaction and saves us from pain, however evil it might seem to others. This would be so because the concept of evil itself would be relative for us and, therefore, there would be no ultimate truth or standard of behavior that we have to abide by.

In summary, our beliefs in particular metaphysical concepts can have drastic consequences in our outlook on life and how we plan the way we live. It can even affect how we evaluate others and what we feel for them.

2. Metaphysically Neutral Behavior Does Not Exist

So, we have seen that beliefs are not vague abstractions with no contact with reality. They have very real and tangible consequences in our lives.

Our actions may even be judged by others depending on their underlying presuppositions on how the world works and what reality and life really are. The same action may be labelled as murder or morally neutral (even morally good) by reading it through a different worldview or metaphysical lens (e.g., abortion of a baby conceived by rape).

This underscores the fact that metaphysical neutrality does not exist, and even atheists or agnostics are incapable of acting in a metaphysically neutral way.³ We all carry our own metaphysical presuppositions on how reality works, who or what we are and what the ultimate truth is, even if we are not consciously aware of them.

We often feel very attached to our own values and feel that they define us (e.g., pro-life or pro-abortion), but we are not always aware of the metaphysical principles and presuppositions that are at their core, or where do they come from. Did we evaluate them personally? Do we know the alternatives? Or did we just accept a set of principles as part of our cultural heritage? Maybe we were unconsciously influenced by mass media? Have we just internalized a set of values transmitted by our school? In that case, the values transmitted may be different in different places, times or in institutions under different political regimes.

Given the importance of our core beliefs and presuppositions in how they shape our lives and even our connection with others, and the fact that they are rarely obvious (we usually have to dig deep to find them in us), it would be ill advised to not go on a journey of self-discovery and let them go unchallenged, influencing us from the shadows.

It would also be unwise to adopt an indifferent attitude towards our core beliefs and just follow the easy but dangerous path of being a follower of whatever trends are being put forth by the media (the fourth power) and whatever the educational institutions of the time (a part of the ruling state) promote.

Recapitulating, different sets of beliefs imply different approaches to how we live our lives and promote radically different behaviors. Most of the time, however, we are not even aware of what our core metaphysical presuppositions are. Especially when we are young and finding or ground in life, our core beliefs might come from cultural osmosis.

3. A Battle Between Conflicting Worldviews Being Waged in Our Minds

Now, going back to the complexity of our times, we now do not only have to decide if we think a particular denomination has the fullness of the truth (e.g., Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant Christianity? Shia or Sunni Islam? Theravāda or Mahāyāna Buddhism?).

We also have to evaluate which faith, if any, is closer to the truth and the correct path for us to follow. Is it one of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) or is it perhaps one of the Dharmic ones? (Buddhism, a specific variety of Hinduism, Jainism or Sikhism).

Furthermore, is the truth found in the exoteric religions that everyone knows, or only in the esoteric schools that are part of these religions? (e.g., Kabbalah is the mystical tradition of Judaism, Sufism is the one derived from Islam).

Is the truth revealed to the initiates of these different mystical traditions the same? Maybe the truth was lost to time and all we can do is to get as close as possible by distilling the common denominator found in all these esoteric traditions while abandoning any particularity as something superfluous? (Perennialism).

This is a complex issue. In order to make sense of all of this, some people even create their own personal metaphysical system by mixing different beliefs that seem right to them in an incoherent and syncretistic⁴ way that has no historical roots (e.g., New Age, Wicca).

Moreover, we now even have to decide which individual doctrines we believe in! Do we believe in a cyclical cosmology or in a linear one? What about reincarnation and past lives? Is God an absolute Monad (unity) or can He / It include multiplicity in Himself because He transcends the concept of number, which He created? Are we aware of the consequences of each different belief and how it sheds light on how we should live?

Influenced by modern philosophy, we can go even further and ask ourselves, does Truth even exist? Can it even exist in principle? (e.g., Subjectivism). Are post-modern philosophers right? Is truth a construct? What path should we follow, then? ⁵,⁶ Is Nietzsche´s will to power a worthy ideal to follow that will liberate us from both old gods and Nihilism?⁷ Or maybe we should embrace selfishness, which is a virtue and nothing to be ashamed of, as Ayn Rand⁸ proposed?

This is a lot of work! Do we even have to complicate our lives by thinking on these things? Maybe we can live in a hedonistic way, looking only after pleasure and avoiding pain (e.g., Epicureanism⁹), or just adopt a Stoic attitude against Fate, trying not to fall into Cynicism.

Or maybe it is better if we just forget about all this pretentious nonsense that comes from minds with too much available free time. We could then put our faith in the technical knowledge of a gifted few, while we keep pushing technology forward until we can upload our consciousness onto a more enduring non-biological substrate. We could thus escape into a substrate-independent existence which would grant us something similar to an immanent immortality, a continuous existence in this Universe. However, Functionalism must be true for this to be a possibility, and we would have to gamble on it. This is what the religious or metaphysical side of Transhumanism is looking for,¹⁰ like a modern version of Gnosticism resurrected in the language of the twenty-first century.

In summary, things are now more complex. They were never easy, but there was a time when a person could know much about a lot of things.

Now it is difficult to be an expert in even one small aspect of reality, especially regarding the biggest questions of life, as there is metaphysical, philosophical, theological, and scientific knowledge required to tackle the deeper questions of spirituality and meaning in our lives.

Never previously in history has humanity been confronted with so much metaphysical information and possibilities on what to believe, how to behave, and what to pursue as the aim of their life. However, never previously in history has humanity had at its disposal so many resources for learning and discussing these topics.

4. The Metaphysical Compass: A Tool to Help You Navigate this Complex Conceptual Landscape

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things. That which goes beyond, or is prior, to physics. A compass is a navigation tool to find our way and avoid danger.

The Metaphysical Compass¹¹ is now born as another tool in the digital age that you can use to try to find your way in this exceedingly complex landscape of beliefs, doctrines, and symbols that we are faced with. Information overload and cognitive complexity is a unique battle that the digital generations will have to face, and we will need different tools to navigate ourselves in this sometimes obscure and serpentine path.

If you use this tool you will be confronted with your own self, with your own core beliefs and presuppositions that you probably did not know you had. Why do you believe what you do? Are you even aware of what you believe deep down? Do you behave like you do because of some pre-supposition on how reality works? You will also learn of the alternatives, and about the beliefs other people nowadays and throughout history have lived and died for.

Finally, you will discover that it seems the modern world is trying to push us towards certain worldviews and apart from others. You will be asked if you think this is for our own good or does not have our best interests in mind.

In the past, life may have been more physically demanding but, in general, it had meaning. Today, it is common to feel lost or unsure about our beliefs and embrace different worldviews in different periods of our life. We suffer from metaphysical anxiety, we could say, and it is not going away.

Pandora´s box has already been opened and the excessive amounts of information about conflicting worldviews, what to believe, and how to live our lives has sowed doubts and restlessness in vast amounts of people.

Therefore, The Metaphysical Compass exists as an invitation to enjoy ourselves while navigating and discovering additional layers of meaning in the tumultuous waters of this complex world. A world filled with ancient symbols, deep concepts, and different visions of the beyond.

Maybe you will find new meaning. Maybe your current worldview and beliefs will become more solid. But nevertheless, hopefully you will end up knowing more about yourself and the world, about why you believe what you do, and about the different answers provided throughout time to the most fundamental questions of all.

Journeys of self-discovery are seldom easy, as they involve moving away from our comfort zone, but they are always fulfilling and full of meaning.

Recommended Reading

Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age. Fr. Seraphim Rose.

The Reign of Quantity & the Signs of the Times. René Guénon.

1. What is a Symbol?

ASYMBOL CAN BE DEFINED IN MULTIPLE WAYS. The simplest modern definition would be the representation of one thing using another. As such, it is used in artistic fields such as literature or cinema as a narrative device to enrich and give thematic cohesion and depth to a story. Symbols can also be used to convey complex meanings not easily transmitted otherwise. They can be repeatedly used as motifs to help convey the important themes of a story. They may also be used to provide hints regarding deeper meanings that are not explicitly shown.

A symbol, instead of being a completely abstract notion, teaches concepts in a sensorial way. Shapes, colors and sounds can be used as supports through which we can achieve a higher understanding. In fact, this intrinsic usefulness and natural human attunement to symbolic and sensory learning has been used as an argument against theories that state that humanity is pure intellect (e.g., Descartes¹), thus underestimating our physical dimension.

Modern popular culture is full of symbolic patterns that repeat themselves across different media, and a growing number of people are relying on their analysis to understand the deeper meaning of their favorite movies, books, music or video games. We live in an increasingly symbolic world but, as we will see, symbols have been a part of the human condition since the beginning. Due to their very nature, it could not have been otherwise.

Figure 1. Symbol definition in the science of Semiotics. A symbol can be defined by the triadic relationship between sign, object, and interpretant. Sign interpretation can also depend on the context. In this example, the ancient Egyptian Ankh symbol is interpreted as a symbol of life.

2. The Traditional Understanding of Symbolism

The roots of symbolism can be traced back to ancient times. All traditional cultures can be said to be symbolic. But the word traditional, in this context, has a special meaning that differs from the modern understanding of the term. Nowadays, tradition usually means just custom, habit or any inherited way of thinking and living.

In contrast, in a religious and metaphysical context, Tradition means the set of transcendental or divinely ordained principles that have been revealed to humanity in one way or another (e.g., via messengers, prophets or the Logos). Once codified, this knowledge is passed from generation to generation to remind us of our ultimate origin.

In the next sections we will delve deeper in the traditional view on various aspects of symbolism, including its ultimate purpose.

SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

Signs have a clearly defined meaning. They point to something specific, like an instruction to follow (e.g., driving signs). Although symbols also represent something else, they need some additional knowledge to be interpreted.

Their meaning is not as standardized or easily exhausted as in a sign and a degree of intuition is required.

Figure 2. Comparison between a stereotypical sign and a symbol.

a. Symbolism and Language

Symbolism is synthetic, it involves a certain degree of intuition and is able to convey unlimited concepts. Language, on the other hand, is analytic and creates narrower limits for what is being signified. This makes common language more useful for applications were concrete and unambiguous knowledge is required. Symbolism, in turn, is the best option to transmit concepts and teachings that by their very nature cannot be completely exhausted by the rational aspect of the human mind.

This is why the transmission of metaphysical teachings in ancient traditions was done by using predominantly a symbolic language. It was considered as the best (and sometimes the only) way to transmit the higher truths of life so that they could at least be partially understood.² However, symbols were not considered as the whole truth they tried to represent. They were only thought of as a support, an aid, only to be used until the reality behind them was firmly grasped and they became unnecessary.

In short, symbols can be understood as catalysts of a special type of knowledge and were historically used as a kind of language useful to understand the deeper questions of life.

b. Symbolism and the Natural World

In many traditional worldviews, the universe is the creation of the divine Intellect or Word, where all that can possibly exist is contained before time began.³ Therefore, according to these worldviews, the whole of nature can be seen as a symbol of the transcendent or true reality. The real importance and meaning of the natural world would then be in its symbolic value, in helping us to get closer to our primordial reality, with symbols being able to represent certain divine ideas. Together, these symbols were thought to form a harmonious totality that, once correctly read, reflect the divine unity in our plane of existence.

Even man himself is considered a symbol of the divine in most traditional worldviews (for example, Adam and Eve being created in the image of God [Genesis 1:26-27] in Christianity, man partaking of the Buddha Nature in Mahāyāna Buddhism or the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm in esoteric teachings).

In fact, this theory of correspondences where the material (inferior) plane of existence can represent a transcendent (superior) reality, is the real basis and justification of symbolism in the traditional mindset.⁴

The temporal world was thought to be the reflection of the eternal one,⁵ and this really has to be so for us to be able to obtain at least some intuitive knowledge about it through symbols. Otherwise, there would be no adequate object that could signify any metaphysical truth. This would leave us perpetually in the dark and completely abandoned in our quest for truth.

c. Symbolism as a Means of Integration

J.E. Cirlot, in his A Dictionary of Symbols, summarizes as follows the position on symbolism of renowned historian of religions Mircea Eliade:⁶

Symbols have the mission of going beyond the limitations of man seen as a fragment, a piece of the All, while integrating this fragment into a wider totality (e.g., society, culture, the Universe).

The symbol, then, unites different planes of reality but without destroying the lower ones in the process. It is a union without confusion, because all the planes of reality are integrated into a wider system without being destroyed or fused together, therefore maintaining what makes them unique.

Given the above, if the All can appear contained within a significant fragment, it follows that each fragment is able to restate the All.

3. A Language Once Lost and Now Recovered

The idea of symbolism as a long-lost language is a common one.⁷ However, as was discovered by a certain type of psychoanalysis, whenever the conscious layers of human consciousness are depleted of symbolic content, the unconscious is paradoxically overloaded with it as an automatic compensation mechanism.

This affirmation would be fully endorsed by the Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, C.G. Jung ⁸,⁹, who found that in each person there is a rich internal symbolic life. Jung abandoned the central thesis of his master, Sigmund Freud, for whom the key to human neurosis and inner psychic life was repressed sexual energy (libido). For Jung, the Collective Unconscious is instead composed of ancient symbolic archetypes pointing towards higher truths.

In Jung´s view, archetypes are not just images conjured by a repressed libido trying to sublimate a lower instinct in order to achieve some kind of release through other, more acceptable, means. Instead, they contain symbolic and spiritual value. Jung´s whole work is based on the discovery that each of us has inside a collection of ancient archetypical figures that we can integrate into our personality and use as guides to grow psychologically and spiritually.

Jung was, and still is, an enormously influential figure. His ideas are especially strong in today´s popular culture (e.g., in movies: Star Wars; in video games: Persona).

His influence, as well as the undeniably regular and consistent presence of these ancient archetypes in most traditional mythologies, led the comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell to introduce the term Monomyth, which also has played an important role in modern movie making and other works of fiction.

For example, George Lucas discusses this influence at great length in the authorized biography of Joseph Campbell, A Fire in the Mind:

"[…] It came to me that there really was no modern use of mythology… The Western was possibly the last generically American fairy tale, telling us about our values. And once the Western disappeared, nothing has ever taken its place. In literature we were going off into science fiction… so that’s when I started doing more strenuous research on fairy tales, folklore, and mythology, and I started reading Joe’s books. Before that I hadn’t read any of Joe’s books… It was very eerie because in reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classic motifs… So I modified my next draft according to what I’d been learning about classical motifs and made it a little bit more consistent… I went on to read The Masks of God and many other books."

Also named The Hero’s Journey, the Monomyth is the common narrative template found in most mythologies and in its simplest form involves a hero who is called to go on an adventure, undergoes a real or symbolic death and rebirth by facing a series of existential challenges, and comes back home transformed into a leader and healer of men, having transcended his previous human limitations.

Figure 3. Diagram of the Hero´s Journey (or Monomyth) as viewed by Joseph Campbell. Numerous analogies with other esoteric systems of self-transcendence can be made. For example, with C.G Jung´s individuation process (in brackets: some of the principal Jungian archetypes); also with the Major Arcana of the Tarot and with the Magnum Opus of the Alchemists. In fact, Jung was heavily influenced by these initiatory and esoteric systems. Picture: anonymous (modified); Wikimedia Commons.

Symbolism has not always been held in high esteem, however, especially in modern times. During the nineteenth century, it was mostly looked down and sent to the fringes of the acceptable. This was a time of constant and exciting scientific discoveries and technological inventions that greatly changed human life. Symbolism just seemed like a relic of a dark past that had not yet discovered Reason and the scientific mindset. Nevertheless, the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, thanks to figures such as C.G. Jung and Joseph Campbell, saw a revival of interest in symbolic thought. This has culminated in today´s popular culture, which is oversaturated with it.

Most of us have been exposed to copious amounts of ancient symbolism since childhood, whether through cartoons for children, fairy tales and folk literature, music videos, video games, comics or even public events like the Olympic Games´ opening ceremonies. Our current world is unmistakingly symbolic. Symbolism is now everywhere and it reaches farther than ever thanks to modern information technology. The only decision we can make regarding this fact is: do we want to actively learn more about those symbols to which we are unavoidably exposed to or do we prefer to passively consume them?

4. The Modern Dangers of Symbolism

Symbols present two main but opposite dangers: not taking them into consideration at all and overanalyzing them.

We have previously mentioned how mankind can suffer the consequences of completely removing the symbolic from our life. Since symbols can not be erased, they are transferred to the unconscious layers of our minds. We will now speak of the other main danger, one particularly prominent in our times.

Symbols are demanding. They hide as well as reveal, each person obtaining a shallower or deeper understanding depending on their own capacity and previous knowledge. Because of that, it would be unwise to use them when the topic at hand can be discussed in a more straightforward manner, as symbols have also the potential to obscure.

Given this potential, there exists the danger of a dishonest use of symbolism. As previously mentioned, modern media is becoming increasingly symbolic. Nowadays, it seems that adding multiple layers of meaning to a work of art adds a certain aura of prestige, refinement, and depth to it. But we should also be weary of symbolism used in a pretentious and overcomplicated way, not looking to enlighten us but just at providing an appearance of depth that is not really there.

In a traditional world, symbols were only used to guide us. Today, they can be misused as a mere game. It may be entertaining to have to play a detective game to try to understand the possible meaning of what is shown, but if the real depth and meaning was not there from the beginning, it will be a waste of time. Modern films and TV shows are especially notorious for this pedantic use of symbolism.

This is another of the differences between modern times and traditional ones. This age is one of smoke and mirrors, where the truth is not easy to find and sometimes not even looked for.

Recommended Reading

Fundamental Symbols. The Universal Language of SacredScience. René Guénon.

Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism.Mircea Eliade.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Joseph Campbell.

A Dictionary of Symbols. Juan Eduardo Cirlot [reference work].

5. Symbols in Contemporary Culture

NOW THAT WE HAVE SEEN HOW SYMBOLS were traditionally understood, we may wonder why are there so many of them in popular culture.

Why are your favorite movies filled with ancient symbols? And why are the same symbolic patterns and narrative templates used over and over at the expense of originality (and therefore, probably, of higher profits)?

Why do giant media conglomerates want to make us acquainted with ancient metaphysical teachings and the symbols that transmit them?

Are the multinational investment companies that at least partially own them (e.g., BlackRock, Vanguard¹) suddenly interested in us having a rich and healthy spiritual life? Why would that be so?

A few explanations have been given in the past. What follows is a summary of the most prevalent. Each of us will have to ultimately decide, based on the available evidence, if for us the explanations below are worth believing in or not. Do you believe in any or all of them? Are they exclusive or complementary? Are some of them a conspiracy theory or just an actual conspiracy? Do you totally or partially believe in them? Or maybe you just believe everything to be a coincidence without further meaning? Whatever the case, let´s briefly learn about them, as a first step in discovering our own opinion on the matter at hand.

6. Possible Explanations for the High Volume and Consistency of Symbolic Content in Popular Culture

There exist a few theories that try to explain why popular culture is nowadays so full of symbolic content. Some of these theories are focused on symbols as transmitters of metaphysical and religious concepts. Others are centered around psychology, sociology, and how unconscious symbolic absorption can accelerate societal changes in one direction or another.

The same theory may be too far fetched for some persons while making complete sense for others. Our mission here is only to provide some knowledge and discussion, as well as to raise some relevant questions. It will correspond to each individual to discover and solidify their own position on these matters.

a. Popular Culture is an Oligopoly: Only a Few Companies Own All the Media

The definition of an oligopoly is a situation in which a small number of organizations or companies has control over an area of business, so that others have no share. Oligopolistic