Ancient etchings that resemble a modern plasma formation are found all over the globe

 

 

This is a long-overdue follow up on my last post. Last month I wrote a piece on the appeal of the electric universe theory (EUT) to non-scientists, such as myself. I broke it down into three categories—historical, structural/systemic, and discursive/discourse—and planned to revisit each category individually later on. In today’s post I will discuss the historical appeal of the EUT in greater detail.

One of the biggest appeals of the EUT is that it unabashedly looks to the past to give us answers about our relationship to the cosmos as well as the scientific possibilities for the future. The EUT draws on people like Immanuel Velikovsky whose work, while it did not directly deal with the eclectic universe, was historically among the few to introduce the unconventional notion that there are electromagnetic forces in the solar system that counteract, or even supersede, gravity. According to Velikovsky the earth has suffered natural catastrophes on a global scale, both before and during humankind’s recorded history. Velikovsky held that the causes of these natural catastrophes were close encounters between the Earth and other bodies within the solar system such as the present day planets Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Mars, these bodies having moved upon different orbits within human memory. To explain the fact that these changes to the configuration of the solar system seem to violate established laws of physics, Velikovsky posited a role for electromagnetic forces in counteracting gravity and orbital mechanics. [1]

For Velikovsky, a cosmological history of cataclysmic encounters between planetary bodies–i.e., “worlds in collision”–has served to fuel much of ancient mythology and more recent religious mythology, such as Abrahamic religious stories of the great flood (deluge) and the Christian understanding of humans as “fallen” from the heavenly garden. Perhaps the fall in religion is a metaphor for the very real cataclysms, earth changes and collective ancestral trauma that resulted from “falling planets” and the collision and or close encounter of bodies in the solar system. From my novice understanding of the EUT, what electric universe proponents take away from this is that our cosmological history may be very different from what mainstream science believes, that plasma and electromagnetic forces in space may have played a definitive role in shaping this varied cosmological history—by activating or affecting certain planetary cataclysms—and that this cosmological history has come to shape much of our myths, religion and culture as well as our collective consciousness or collective sub consciousness.

For me, the EUT’s approach to the past and mythology (i.e., as more than mere folklore) may provide a key to understanding the cosmos, which in turn can shed light on the history of humanity, both archeological and socio-psychological, so to speak. What strikes me about all of this is the potential of the past and mythology to become tools for understanding not just the past but also the present and future as well.

The myth or legend of “the fall”—i.e., falling from grace as punishment for our evil nature—as laid out in monotheistic religions, etc., and the obsession with a golden age [2] and salvation has played a large role in defining humanity. To argue that humanity is “fallen” is to believe that we are somehow flawed and need fixing or saving. But what if the fall does not refer to a flaw in human character (i.e., a flaw so deep it caused us to be kicked out of paradise) but to actual cataclysmic events—things literally falling from out in space (i.e., not just planets but also plasma and electric charges)—that shaped earthly and human history?

From the perspective of the EUT, the fall may be referring to actual cosmological events and cataclysms that were recorded in almost all ancient mythology and etchings around the world, indicating that these myths are somehow based on real events that were noticeable around the entire planet at a time when global travel was not yet possible.

What if myths that were based on possible actual events came to be interpreted metaphorically as notions of religious morality, a deviant human nature, and the need for punishment and salvation? Guilt-based cultures based on modern religion (and notions of being flawed or fallen) may perhaps be internalizing ancient cataclysms that created a trauma so deep that humanity came to collectively believe itself worthy of punishment (i.e., through cataclysm and possible extinction). All monotheistic religions, for instance, talk of a great flood that wiped out most of the world as a way to exercise God’s wrath and press the reset button, so to speak.

The EUT and its alternative plasma-based cosmology opens up new explanations for our commonly held beliefs and myths that allow us to possibly reinterpret religious mythology around the fall of humanity, punishment, and salvation as metaphors for actual cosmological events that were so severe and traumatic they shaped much of culture and human theology.

Another historical aspect is the universal ancient artifact of the cosmic thunderbolt form and symbol; what the EUT calls the thunderbolt of the Gods (shown above). This is a symbol or immense power, something that can literally smite the whole world in one sweep. This symbol is found in ancient etchings, sculptures and mythology across the globe. The symbol represents a weapon and the indescribably immense power of the ‘god’ or celestial being believed to wield it. Its ubiquitous presence suggests that the ancients may have depicted stylized interpretations of actual events in their etchings and sculptures as witnessed or passed down to them by (what we today would call) “mere folklore.” Plasma cosmology and laboratory research has now shown that there are plasma formations in deep space as well as ones that can be created in a lab (pictured below), that very much resemble the god thunderbolt and other symbols found in ancient mythology and artifacts.

EUT proponents like David Talbot argue that while certain plasma formations in our solar system may not be currently visible to the naked eye, the ancient sky may have behaved very differently than it does today–i.e., the planets may have interacted with one another differently than they do today, etc.–making such awe inspiring plasma formations visible to the terrified peoples of the ancient past. Ancient people may have been looking up at a very different sky than we do today; one filled with ominous images such as heavenly thunderbolts and fiery dragon’s tails (what we know today to be Venus’ red main). If this is true, than it is not surprising that ancient mythology is full of tales and images of the terror and wrath of the Gods, and that modern-day religion still draws on these themes and images of wrath, guilt and redemption.

While none of the above is deeply scientific, it is potentially deeply appealing to anyone interested in human history, culture, mythology, theology, art and art history, and anthropology, just to name a few areas and disciplines. As such, the historical component of the electric universe theory or, more appropriately, the possible historical suppositions and inferences that can be made from the EUT and plasma cosmology, hold great non-scientific and interdisciplinary appeal.

This wraps of the first component of my three-part discussion on the non-scientific appeal of the EUT. There are many other aspects of the historical component of the EUT that can be discussed. I have only touched upon a few aspects here and hope to look at more in the future. Moreover, I mentioned at the beginning of this post that the EUT’s approach to history and mythology might also be able to shed light on our future. This is a topic of personal interest, that may be related to the discursive appeal of the EUT. I will revisit this topic (the EUT and the future) in a later post or posts.

Notes

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Velikovsky

[2] Here the golden age may allude to what is often referred to as the Saturn theory or Saturn myth (as David Talbot refers to it in a book by the same title), “which proposes that ancient myths and tradition describe the planet Saturn as the the dominant celestial body in the sky, appearing ‘fixed at the north celestial pole.’ Basically, it is a belief that once upon a time Saturn functioned much like the sun, and that things (such as weather, food harvests, etc) were very idyllic under this celestial condition.  See http://www.velikovsky.info/The_Saturn_Myth