cosmology

Cosmogony

Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.

71 passages · 7 traditions

finnic36

◆The Kalevala | Rune Ia

“OF WAINAMOINEN. In primeval times, a maiden, Beauteous Daughter of the Ether, Passed for ages her existence In the great expanse of heaven, O'er the prairies yet enfolded. Wearisome the maiden growing, Her existence sad and hopeless, Thus…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune Ib

“Surely would the winds destroy it, Far away the waves would wash it." Then the daughter of the Ether, Now the hapless water-mother, Raised her shoulders out of water, Raised her knees above the ocean, That the duck might build her dwelling,…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune Ic

“Wainamoinen, old and trusty, Lingering within his dungeon Thirty summers altogether, And of winters, also thirty, Peaceful on the waste of waters, On the broad-sea's yielding bosom, Well reflected, long considered, How unborn to live and fl…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune IIa

“'S SOWING. Then arose old Wainamoinen, With his feet upon the island, On the island washed by ocean, Broad expanse devoid of verdure; There remained be many summers, There he lived as many winters, On the island vast and vacant, well consi…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune IIb

“Wainamoinen, old and trusty, Thought awhile, and well considered, How to kill the mighty oak-tree, First created for his pleasure, How to fell the tree majestic, How to lop its hundred branches. Sad the lives of man and hero, Sad the homes…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune IIc

“Straightway to the oak-tree turning, Thither stalks the mighty giant, In his raiment long and roomy, Flapping in the winds of heaven; With his second step he totters On the land of darker color; With his third stop firmly planted, Reaches h…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune IId

“Down from heaven came the eagle, Through the air be came a-flying, That he might this thing consider; And he spake the words that follow: "Wherefore, ancient Wainamoinen, Hast thou left the slender birch-tree, Left the birch-tree only stand…”

◆The Kalevala | Rune IIIc

“Slowly perches swim in Autumn, Wry-backed, hunting deeper water, Spawn in shallows in the summer, Bounding on the shore of ocean. Should this wisdom seem too little, I can tell thee other matters, Sing thee other wizard sayings: All the No…”

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western_esoteric14

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies Which Have Influenced Modern Masonic Symbolismm

“Of these shoots one is manifested from above, which is the Great Power, the Universal Mind ordering all things, male, and the other, [is manifested] from below, the Great Thought, female, producing all things. Hence pairing with each other…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogonya

“THE Qabbalists conceive of the Supreme Deity as an Incomprehensible Principle to be discovered only through the process of eliminating, in order, all its cognizable attributes. That which remains--when every knowable thing has been removed…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogonyb

“The universal AIN SOPH, therefore, no longer shines through space, but rather upon space from an established first point. Isaac Myer describes this process as follows: "The Ain Soph at first was filling All and then made an absolute concen…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogonyi

“By the man of Ezekiel's vision is symbolized the World of Atziluth ; by the throne, the World of Briah ; by the firmament, the World of Yetzirah ; and by the living creatures the World of Assiah . These spheres are the wheels within wheels…”

◆The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | American Indian Symbolismb

“By the first act he returned thanks to the Great Spirit for the preservation of his life during the past year, and for being permitted to be present at this council. By the second, he returned thanks to his Mother, the Earth, for her vario…”

◆Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi) | 2. The Pillars Of The Templea

“CHOKMAH DOMUS GNOSIS SCIENCE is the absolute and complete possession of truth. Hence have the sages of all the centuries trembled before such an absolute and terrible word; they have hesitated in arrogating to themselves the first privileg…”

◆Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi) | 3. The Triangle Of Solomona

“PLENITUDO VOCIS BINAH PHYSIS The perfect word is the triad, because it supposes an intelligent principle, a speaking principle and a principle spoken. The Absolute, revealed by speech, endows this speech with a sense equivalent to itself,…”

◆Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi) | 4. The Tetragramb

“The Great Magical Agent is the fourth emanation of the life-principle, of which the sun is the third form - see the initiates of the school of Alexandria and the dogma of Hermes Trismegistus. In this way the eye of the world, as the ancien…”

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norse10

◆The Poetic Edda: Hovamol | Section 1n

“Knowest how one shall write, | knowest how one shall rede? Knowest how one shall tint, | knowest how one makes trial? Knowest how one shall ask, | knowest how one shall offer? Knowest how one shall send, | knowest how one shall sacrifice…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1b

“The roving Norsemen of the tenth century, very few of whom had as yet accepted Christianity, were nevertheless in close contact with Celtic races which had already been converted, and in many ways the Celtic influence was strongly felt. It…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1c

“stanza 47 and note), of the dark elves (Svartalfaheim), of the dead (Niflheim), and presumably of the dwarfs (perhaps Nithavellir, cf. stanza 37 and note, but the ninth world is uncertain). The tree: the world-ash Yggdrasil, [fp. 4] symb…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1d

“Ithavoll ("Field of Deeds"?): mentioned only here and in stanza 60 as the meeting-place of the gods; it appears in no other connection. 8. Tables : the exact nature of this game, and whether it more closely resembled chess or checkers, ha…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1e

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1f

“Lothur : apparently an older name for Loki, the treacherous but ingenious son of Laufey, whose divinity Snorri regards as somewhat doubtful. He was adopted by Othin, who subsequently had good reason to regret it. Loki probably represents…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1g

“Lines 5-6, one or both of them probably interpolated, seem to symbolize the refining of gold by fire. Hor ("The High One"): Othin. 22. Heith ("Shining One"?): a name often applied to wise women and prophetesses. The application of this…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1h

“Here the Volva turns from her memories of the past to a statement of some of Othin's own secrets in his eternal search for knowledge (stanzas 27-29). Bugge puts this stanza after stanza 29. The horn of Heimdall : the Gjallarhorn ("Shrieki…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1k

“Nastrond ("Corpse-Strand"): the land of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel. Here the wicked undergo tortures. Smoke vent : the phrase gives a picture of the Icelandic house, with its opening in the roof serving instead of a chimney. 39.…”

◆The Poetic Edda: Voluspo | Section 1o

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celtic5

◆The Mabinogion | Tale KILHWCH AND OLWENu

“Seek not therefore to do me harm.” Said Arthur, “Not to injure thee came I hither, but to seek for the prisoner that is with thee.” “I will give thee my prisoner, though I had not thought to give him up to any one; and therewith shalt thou…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale BRANWEN THE DAUGHTER OF LLYRj

“And there they remained fourscore years, unconscious of having ever spent a time more joyous and mirthful. And they were not more weary than when first they came, neither did they, any of them, know the time they had been there. And it wa…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINi

“The names of the three springs From the midst of the ocean; One generated brine Which is from the Corina, To replenish the flood Over seas disappearing; The second, without injury It will fall on us, When there is rain abroad, Through the w…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINj

“And the king caused them to fetch Elphin in haste from his dungeon, and placed him before Taliesin. And it is said, that immediately he sang a verse, so that the chains opened from about his feet. “I adore the Supreme, Lord of all animati…”

◆The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESINl

“And then said Taliesin, “Elphin, behold a payment and reward unto thee, for having taken me out of the weir, and for having reared me from that time until now.” And on this spot stands a pool of water, which is to this time called Pwllbair.…”

zoroastrianism4

◆Avesta (Gathas) | Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXVIII, Section 1b

“(And) do thou, O (Divine) Righteousness, bestow (upon me) that sacred blessing which is constituted by the attainments of the Good Mind (within my soul) 3 ; and do thou also, O Piety! grant unto p. 22 [paragraph continues] Vî s tâspa and…”

◆Avesta (Gathas) | Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXX, Section 1a

“1. And now I will proclaim, O ye who are drawing near and seeking 1 to be taught! those animadversions 2 which appertain to Him who knows (all things) whatsoever; the praises which are for Ahura, and the sacrifices (which spring) from the…”

◆Avesta (Gathas) | Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXXI, Section 1a

“1. These doctrines (therefore) we are earnestly declaring to You as we recite them forth from memory, words (till now) unheard 1 (with faith) by those who by means of the doctrinal vows 2 of the harmful Lie are delivering the settlements o…”

◆Avesta (Gathas) | Ushtavaiti Gatha, Yasna XLIV, Section 1a

“1. This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; when praise is to be offered, how (shall I complete) the praise of the One like You 1 , O Mazda? Let p. 112 the One like Thee declare it earnestly to the friend who is such as I, thus through…”

gnosticism1

◆Pistis Sophia | Document SECONDf

“It happened therefore, the angels having gone down unto the Chaos, they with the effluence of Light, and also all the emanations of the Self-willed [127 ] with the emanation of the Adamas, they saw the effluence of Light enlightening greatl…”

shinto1

◆The Kojiki: The Beginning of Heaven and Earth | Section 1

“p. 15 RECORDS OF ANCIENT MATTERS [SECT. I.—THE BEGINNING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.] The names of the Deities 1 that were born 2 in the Plain of High Heaven 3 when the Heaven and Earth began were the Deity Master-of-the-August-Centre-of-Heaven, 4…”