Knowing Natureor:

Eftqfsbufmz!Tffljoh!Hsfudifo

Bruce J. MacLennanUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville

2

I. The Faust TwinsThere is an idea, with some basis inhistorical data, that there were twoFausts, who were brothers orperhaps even twins (Butler 1948,122). One, Johannes, graduated fromthe University of Heidelberg in recordtime and near the top of his class,earning a bachelors degree in 1484and a masters degree in 1487(Baron 1978, 1722). Although weknow little about him, we mayimagine him as a typical Renaissancemagus, on the model of CorneliusAgrippa, striving to harmonize his lifewith the occult powers of heaven andearth, and to unite his soul withdivinity.

3

Georg (or Jrg) Faust, on the otherhand, described himself on hiscalling card as the younger Faust,the chief of necromancers, thesecond magus, astrologer, palmist,diviner, etc. (c. 1507, Bates 1969,2). He seems to have been anitinerant charlatan and swindler,who was not above pettyvindictiveness and was also anaccused pedophile (28).Apparently, he cultivated hisdiabolical reputation and claimedthe devil as his brother-in-law (4).Around this historical seed grew thelegend of the intellectual who soldhis soul to gain wealth, power, sex,and other materialist benefits.

4

Interesting though these historical questions may be, for our purposes thesymbolic dimension is more important, for we may see the Faust Twins asthe light and dark sides of a single archetype, the Magus, who from antiquityhas been viewed ambivalently (Butler 1948). Indeed, the many stories ofmagical duels between good and evil magicians can be read as psychologicalaccounts of a too-good magician confronting his alienated Shadow.

5

We are said to be Faustian men and women living in a Faustian age;certainly we are ever striving, as was Goethes Faust.

6

The economist H.C. Binswanger (1998) writes, Goethes protagonist isrepresentative of modern man who, through science, seeks to subjugatenature and to build up a new economic realm of freedom and prosperity. Goethe not only reveals how Faust, the representative modern man, realizesthis massive project of economic progress, but also shows the existing andpotential dangers associated with it.

7

Like Goethes Faust, modern science, technology, and economy havesome noble goals and offer us significant benefits, but they also havea shadow side, which threatens to overwhelm us.

8

Fausts Vision by Franciszek murko

The Redemption of Faust

9

In the earliest versions of

the Faust legend he is not

redeemed; he dies a

horrible death and his

soul is hauled off to Hell.

His redemption appears

for the first time in

Lessings Faust fragment

(Durrani 2004, 924), but

most famously in

Goethes drama.

10

Perhaps this reflectsrecognition, at somelevel, that the good andwise magus and the eviland selfish sorcerer arenot two individuals, butthe illuminated andshadow sides of asingle archetype. Thusthe theme of Faustsredemption may reflectthe beginnings of areunification of theopposites.

11The Triumph of Galatea

In any case, the

rejuvenation of Faust by

Nature is a central theme in

Goethes Faust.

12

Interwoven with it areFausts repeatedattempts to unite hisambitious, striving, ego-dominated psyche withthe archetypal feminineprinciple in order toproduce the alchemicalchild. Perhaps herein wemay find means for theredemption of ourFaustian world.

13

II. Natura Abscondita

14

Space prohibits more than a mention of the historical context of theFaust legend, but Merchant (1980), Easlea (1980), Hadot (2006), andothers have documented in detail the transformation of humankindsrelation to Nature associated with the scientific revolution of thesixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Easlea 1980, 8990). Twoalternative worldviews presented themselves.

15

One was the mechanicalphilosophy (whichadvocates called themasculine philosophy!),promoted by Descartesand others, which treatedNature as amathematicallydescribable machine anda resource ripe forexploitation.

16

17

The new MasculinePhilosophy shallfind a way in

Natures hiddenchamber, and findthe secrets hidden

in her bosom.It will penetratefurther, to conquer

& subdue her.

18

The other wasHermeticism, whichrefers to theassortment ofphilosophies, spiritualtraditions, andpractices influencedby the worksattributed to HermesTrismegistos, whichhad been recovered inthe fifteenth century.

19

Central to Hermeticismwere two related ideas,divine Nature and theAnima Mundi (WorldSoul), both consideredfeminine, divinemediators between theeternal, unchangingarchetypal Ideas andthe perceptible world,where everything is influx (but in accord withthe archetypal Ideas).

20

There was a practical sideto Hermeticism, andRenaissance magi such asMarsilio Ficino and Picodella Mirandola used itsprinciples of sympathy andsymbolic connection todesign rituals for healingboth body and soul and forother beneficial purposes.

21

Indeed, as Hillman (1975, 202) says, Ficino was writing, not philosophy ashas always been supposed, but an archetypal psychology.

22

Although the Hermetic magi were interested in practical results, theirrelationship with Nature was primarily one of cooperation rather than

exploitation, for she was seen as divine, and the entire Macrocosm wasunderstood as an organism, of which the individual human organism, the

Microcosm, was an image (Easlea 1980, 1024, 11112, 139).

23

Although Hermeticismcontributed someideas to science (suchas hidden forces),science took itsorientation to naturefrom the mechanicalphilosophy. Opposedto the scientisticjuggernaut wereNature philosopherssuch as Goethe, whorecommended anempathetic,participatory, andholistic naturalscience,

which he called a delicate empiricism (zartre Empirie, Goethe 1996, ch.5). Eschewing abstraction, Goethe advocated a phenomenologicalapproach, resulting in a sympathetic resonance between the archetypes inthe observer and in Nature (Barnes 2000, Bortoft 1996, Goethe 1996, 11,Seamon 1978, Seamon and Zajonc 1998). But Nature Philosophy could notcompete with the mechanical philosophys materialist seductions.

24

Science of Nature has one goal:To find both manyness and whole.Nothing inside or Out There,The outer world is all In Here.This mystery grasp without delay,This secret always on display.The true illusion celebrate,Be joyful in this serious game!No living thing lives separate:One and Many are the same. Goethe

25

III. Naturae Scientia

Materialist science, technology, and economy and the

cultural attitudes that go along with them have largely

contributed to our environmental crisis, and will be unable to

solve it on their own. Therefore, we need a societal

transvaluation of our relation to Nature.

26

investigates the interior realm (Stevens 2003, chs. 1, 4); theycoincide in their depths for, as von Franz (1974, 7) says, Thelowest collective level of our psyche is simply pure nature. Inparticular, neurophenomenology will allow us to understand theneurological correlates of experience while respecting the reality ofthe phenomena.

From an intellectualperspective we can worktoward a reunification ofthe opposites of scienceand spirit, of the physicaland the psychical. Tostate the points in brief.Depth psychology isconsistent withevolutionary psychology,and they are mutuallyinformative (Sabini 2000,MacLennan Evol. Jung.Psych., 2006). Onefocuses on externalbehavior, while the other

27

Finally, there is now widespreadrecognition in philosophy andpsychology that embodiment isnecessary to the mind (e.g.,Gibbs 2006), and our growingunderstanding of the inherentconnection of mind and matterwill eventually heal theCartesian split (our dualistichabits of thought). Thus sciencemay contribute to ourunderstanding of the psyche,

but this knowledge will not undermine the psyches importance. Rather, byexposing the essential role played by the archetypes in scientific practice,Jungian psychology will reveal the importance of spiritual considerations inscience, thus allowing meaning and values to fulfill their important role inscientific practice (MacLennan in press). It should also show how theseimportant considerations can be integrated into technology, ecology, andbusiness.

28

A genuinely Pythagoreanapproach to science woulddo much to reconcile it withthe spiritual dimension ofNature (MacLennan inpress). By acknowledgingthe symbolic dimension ofmathematics, it woulddecrease sciencesabstraction and alienationfrom sensuous reality, whilesimultaneously revealingsymbolic associations andconnections that is tosay, sympathies withlived human existence andthe rest of Nature. Scientists would be more aware of the foundational roleplayed by phenomenology and the unconscious in their work, and lessinclined to scientific and technological hubris; it would bring true depth profundity to science. The world may be understood from the inside aswell as from the outside, and by sympathetic engagement in Nature, shecan be known through union rather than domination.

29

IV. Natura Anacalypta

I will turn now fromintellectual attitudesto practices.Certainly, activitiesthat bring peopleinto contact withNature, such aswilderness treks andvision quests, areimportant, but I willfocus here onapproachessuggested byHermetic philosophy.

30

Of course, we cannot become Renaissance magi; their time is past,but the practice of Renaissance magic is not so atavistic as it mayseem, for it is based primarily on active imagination and consciouslyinvoked projection.

31

Thus we canunderstand magicalpractice from theperspective of Jungianpsychology, which isalso compatible withevolutionarypsychology, and thuswill sit happily withtwenty-first centuryscience, especially ifredirected in a moreGoethean direction(MacLennan 2005, inpress).

32Nature Unveiling Herself to Science by L.-E. Barrias

The return (or reawakening) of Nature in

the world at large can be viewed as a

global alchemical operation directed

toward ensouling matter. Of course the

World Soul has never been absent, but

her presence is invisible to most people

and unacknowledged. How can we invoke

her so that she throws off her veil, so that

her presence shines forth in the natural

world and becomes a numinous

experience for ordinary people? Here the

techniques of Neoplatonic theurgy, which

were well known to Ficino, Agrippa,

Giordano Bruno and other Renaissance

magi, can accomplish the task.

33

The imagination of these magi was fired by the so-called god makingpassage in the Hermetic texts (Asclepius, 378). More accurately, itdescribes creation of a sacred image and invocation of a god or daemon toreside in it.

34

The Lineage of Apollo

However, as theurgists were quick to explain, one cannot compel a godto occupy an image. Rather, each god and daemon resides in a lineage ofsymbolically linked ideas, images, and objects.

35

By making use of these

signs and symbols a sacred

image might be made a

suitable receptacle for the

divine potency. These

symbols might include

images, herbs, and gems,

but also hymns and prayers

(Shaw 1995).

36

By analogy we may observethat a golden object does notcompel yellow light to appear,but it allows the yellow colorlatent in white light tomanifest itself so we mayperceive it. Once a sacredimage has been ensouled inthis way, the god or daemonis present to the theurgist,who may engage the deity inconversation.

37

In psychologicalterms, the use ofpotent symbolsinvites projectionof an archetypeor complex ontothe divine image.When this hasbeen accom-plished, theoperator engages,through activeimagination, withthe projectedcomponents ofthe personal orcollectiveunconscious(MacLennan2005, Indiv.Soul, 2006).

38

To effect a worldwiderecognition of the divinity ofNature, this operation mustbe executed on a globallevel. To accomplish this weneed to disseminatesymbols of Nature and theGreat Goddess in all herforms. Art of all kinds ismost useful: images, music,stories, and so forth.And these should be linked with manifestations of the Anima Mundiin the natural world: mountains, seas, forests, flocks, herds, schools,and all the rest. Further, the numinous character of all these shouldbe openly acknowledged with reverence, awe, and ritual. This can bedone in a non-sectarian way, yet without falling back intoaestheticism. Further, as Jungs story of the Taoist rainmaker shows,a relatively few people actively engaged in restoring the symbolicbalance may heal the greater society. This is the true and historicalrole of the magus (Butler 1948).

39

V. Egregores for GaiaOccultists use the term egregoreto refer to a daemon created,intentionally or unintentionally,by the thoughts and ritualactions of a group (Melton 2001,480). It comes from the Greekword , which meanssomeone who is wakeful orvigilant, and this reveals theoriginal meaning of the term, forthe most common reason forintentionally creating anegregore is to protect the groupor its ritual space. In ancienttimes a similar practice was touse a hero shrine as a focus torecruit the heros spirit toprotect a city, sacred grove, orother locale.

40

Psychologically, an egregore is a groupcomplex constructed and reinforced inthe unconscious minds of the groupmembers by repeated use of symbolsassociated with the complex and itsarchetypal core. In more theurgicalterms, by ritual actions the groupinvokes a daemon in the lineage of anappropriate god. By theurgicalprocedures similar to activeimagination the group can negotiatewith the egregore, to ensure, forexample, that it has a clear purpose.Most importantly, people outside thegroup will feel the force of theegregore to the extent that it is wovenfrom symbolic associations that areuniversal or common to the culture towhich the people belong. Placesprotected by an egregore will seemholy, sacred, numinous, andinviolable.

41

Therefore I suggest that weinvoke egregores to protectthe environment. They maybe called to oversee a limitedlocale, such as a lake or citypark, or they may have largertasks, such as protecting therain forest or an endangeredspecies. Indeed, I think weshould work toward anegregore guarding Gaiaherself. Whether limited ornot, the basic theurgicaloperations are the same.We must reinforce the symbolic associations revealing the divinity withinthe place or thing, especially by art using words and images, musicand dance but also by rituals that reinforce its sacredness. Theseneed not be in place of scientific, technological, or political protection, oropposed to them, but the symbolic and literal approaches can be woventogether in an alchemical union transcending the differences. (Forexample, our scientific accounts can be presented in a symbolically richmanner, our technology can incorporate sacred art, and our ritual can beincorporated into the political process.)

42

An egregore will not lastforever, especially if opposed bymaterialist institutions; it mustbe reinforced continually. Thisimplies the founding oforganizations and traditionsanalogous to the ancientpriesthoods that cared forsacred precincts. For egregoresof wider scope, such as Gaias,a better model may be theinvisible college, in whichindividuals, united by an idea,cooperate in a shared purpose,but without a formalorganization; they need noteven know each other.

43

Natura philosophum docetAs a model we may take theRosicrucian Fraternity, theexistence of which wasannounced in severaldocuments in seventeenthcentury Germany (e.g., Yates1972). Without getting intodebates about whether theFraternity actually existed, orwhether contemporaryRosicrucian organizations aredescended from it, I would liketo argue that the idea of theRosicrucian Fraternity wasmore important than theliteral organization.

44

For the Rosicrucian documentsfired the imagination ofEuropean intellectuals especially those with aHermetic orientation andencouraged them to behave asthough they were Rosicruciansand to found actualorganizations with similar goalsof Hermetic philosophy andmedicine, service to humanity,and political and societalreform. Indeed Rosicrucianismbecame a cultural complex inthe Enlightenment.

45

We can do similarly today, living as members of an invisible collegededicated to a new societal reformation, this time directed toward aglobal alchemical operation, the reunion of spirit and matter, andsupported by theurgical practices to reveal the soul in Nature.

46

Das Ewig-WeiblicheZieht uns hinan

Ultra ducetFemina Perenn"

47

Di immo#ales,data nob" scientiam Naturae.

Semper eam quaeramus.Semper eam colamus.Semper ei credamus.Semper ei fidamus.

E%o!

48

ReferencesBaron, Frank. 1978. Doctor Faustus: From history to legend. Mnchen: Wilhelm Fink Verlag.Barnes, John. 2000. Participatory science as the basis for a healing culture. In Natures open

secret: Introductions to Goethes scientific writings, by Rudolph Steiner, transl. John Barnesand Mado Spiegler, 219301. USA: Anthroposopic Press.

Bates, Paul A. 1969. Faust: Sources, works, criticism. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.Binswanger, Hans C. 1998. The challenge of Faust. Science 281: 640641.Bortoft, Henri. 1996. The wholeness of nature: Goethes way toward a science of conscious

participation in nature. Hudson: Lindisfarne.Butler, E. M. 1948. The myth of the magus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Canto

reprint.Durrani, Osman. 2004. Faust: Icon of modern culture. East Sussex: Helm Information.Easlea, Brian. 1980. Witch hunting, magic and the new philosophy: An introduction to the debates

of the scientific revolution 14501750. Sussex: Humanities Press.Franz, Marie-Louise von. 1974. Number and time: Reflections leading toward a unification of

depth psychology and physics. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.Gibbs, R.W., Jr. 2006. Embodiment and cognitive science. New York, NY: Cambridge University

Press.Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. 1996. Goethe on science: A selection of Goethes writings. Ed. &

intro. Jeremy Naydler. Edinburgh: Floris.Hadot, Pierre. 2006. The veil of Isis: An essay on the history of an idea, trans. Michael Chase.

Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

49

Hillman, J. 1975. Re-visioning psychology. New York: Harper & Row.MacLennan, Bruce J. 2005. Evolution, Jung, and theurgy: Their role in modern Neoplatonism. In

History of Platonism: Plato redivivus, ed. Robert Berchman & John Finamore, 30522. NewOrleans: University Press of the South.

MacLennan, Bruce J. 2006. Evolutionary Jungian psychology. Psychological Perspectives 49, 1:928.

MacLennan, Bruce J. 2006. Individual soul and world soul: The process of individuation inNeoplatonism and Jung. In Wegmarken der Individuation, ed. Thomas Arzt & Axel Holm,83116. Wrzburg: Knigshausen & Neumann.

MacLennan, Bruce J. in press. Neoplatonism in science: Past and future. In Metaphysical patternsin Platonism: Ancient, medieval, renaissance, and modern, ed. Robert Berchman & JohnFinamore, 24159. New Orleans: University Press of the South.

Melton, J. Gordon, ed. 2001. Encyclopedia of occultism & parapsychology. 5th ed. 2 vols. Detroit:Gale Group.

Merchant, Carolyn. 1980. The death of nature: Women, ecology, and the scientific revolution. SanFrancisco: Harper & Row.

Sabini, Meredith. 2000. The bones in the cave: Phylogenetic foundations of analytical psychology.Journal of Jungian Theory and Practice Fall 2000, Issue #2: 1733.

Seamon, David. 1978. Goethes approach to the natural world: Implications for environmentaltheory and education. In Humanistic geography: Prospects and problems, ed. David Ley andMarwyn S. Samuels, 23850. Chicago: Maaroufa Press.

Seamon, David, and Arthur Zajonc, eds. 1998. Goethes way of science: A phenomenology ofnature. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Shaw, Gregory. 1995. Theurgy and the soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. University Park:Pennsylvania State University Press.

Stevens, Anthony. 2003. Archetype revisited: An updated natural history of the self. Toronto:Inner City Books.

Yates, Frances A. 1972. The Rosicrucian enlightenment. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

50

Bruce MacLennan, PhD is an Associate Professor in the University ofTennessee, Knoxville, Dept. of Electrical Engineering & ComputerScience. He investigates the mind in a way that respects both psychicaland physical reality, and pursues new approaches to artificialintelligence based on neuroscience and phenomenological philosophyand psychology. His other research includes Neoplatonism andGoethean science, their relation to Jungian psychology, and how theycan revitalize science. He has published papers on evolutionary Jungianpsychology, theurgy and individuation in Neoplatonism and Jung,neurotheology, and Neoplatonism in science. Recently he taught Mindsand Machines, Goethe, Faust, and Science, and Selling Your Soul:Goethes Faust and the Modern World.

Text copyright by Bruce J. MacLennan, 2007. Images may becopyrighted by their creators.