The video series which I am now titling "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview" continues above with "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 2: Adam and Eve" (see here for part 1).
In this episode, we continue the examination of evidence that the ancient scriptures found in the Bible (along with all the other sacred traditions of humanity) are built upon a common system of celestial metaphor, and that they convey a shamanic worldview -- the shared shamanic inheritance of our planet.
From the passage in the Book of the Revelation of John discussed in part 1, we move all the way forward to the First Book of Moses, called Genesis, to examine the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent.
Readers with a strong commitment to a literalistic interpretation of the Bible should be cautioned that this examination may be extremely challenging to the validity of the literalistic approach. If you are not comfortable examining the evidence suggesting that the scriptures found in the Bible are from first to last built upon an extremely sophisticated system of celestial allegory and that they may in fact have been intended to convey a profoundly shamanic worldview, you may wish to skip the above interview.
However, I would argue along with Alvin Boyd Kuhn, that "the sacred scriptures of the world are a thousand times more precious as myths than as alleged history" (Lost Light, page 24).
The video demonstrates some extremely powerful evidence which suggests that the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent describes actual events which take place in the celestial realm over our heads -- and that those events continue to take place to this day. Much of the celestial interpretation is derived from the explanations articulated by Robert Taylor (1784 - 1844) in a collection of his lectures published in 1857 under the title Astronomico-Theological Lectures (see Chapter IX: The Fall of Man, pages 151 - 166).
The story of Adam and Eve has played an absolutely fundamental role in "Western civilization" -- that culture, broadly defined, which descended from the western Roman Empire and which for seventeen centuries has been deeply influenced by a literalistic understanding of the scriptures of the Bible. Note that I am here very broadly using the term "literalistic" to mean, not necessarily a woodenly literalistic view which does not accept the validity of the rich layers of metaphor, allegory, and typology that are clearly present in the texts, but rather interpretations committed to the conclusion that those texts should (and must) be interpreted to describe literal earthly events which were enacted by actual historical figures named Abraham or Sarah or David or Solomon or Simon Peter or Jesus.
It cannot be denied that literalistic interpretations of the story of Adam and Eve have been used to blame women for "the Fall of mankind," and to restrict and oppress women in all sorts of very real and tangible ways. How tragic that a myth which can be shown to reflect the motions and positions of very specific stars and constellations could be used to impose such a horrendous legacy of violation of natural universal law.
It has also been used through the centuries to inflict a doctrine of mind control (the control of the behavior of individuals and of large groups of individuals using primarily beliefs and ideologies rather than the threat of brute physical force) backed up by the threat of eternal damnation in a literal place of torment called Hell (a doctrine which almost certainly rests upon the same literalistic interpretation of ancient scripture which I believe to be mistaken).
In fact, as the above video begins to discuss towards the very end, the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent can be seen to teach a profoundly shamanic (and liberating) worldview -- one that has direct parallels to the shamanic worldview conveyed in other mythological episodes involving a World Tree and the opening of one's eyes to the divinity hidden inside each of us and hidden inside the world around us.
Much more could be said about the profound ramifications of the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent, the celestial foundation of all the world's ancient sacred mythologies, and the fact that all of these star myths may well have been intended to convey an integrated and powerful shamanic understanding of the world around us, the infinite cosmos, and our place within it. It is hoped that the video above will be a good place to start examining those crucial subjects.
Please feel free to share the above video widely with those who are searching for such information -- but please do not use it as a "club" with which to ambush someone's beliefs or to use it in a way that will cause harm. It is one thing if someone from a literalist worldview is approaching you and engaging in aggressive debate about such matters, but even in such a circumstance, presentation of this material to someone should always be done in a gentle manner and with respect and care towards them as another human being who after all is struggling with all the same questions common to existence in this material realm. With someone who is not already signaling a willingness to engage in "rough and tumble" discussions about matters spiritual, that care and sensitivity should be even greater.
Namaste.