Cosmic Indifference

We continue exploring the entities mentioned in "The Descent into the Abyss," taking some time with a creation myth of Ubbo-Sathla as told in "The Unbegotten Source" in the Book of Eibon. We wonder at our predilection toward supernatural explanation and consider what we can gain from a materialist perspective.

A guided meditation about letting go.

After hearing about so many entities in last week's "The Descent into the Abyss," we take a step away from the Book of Eibon for a moment to explore some of those creatures and deities just a bit, beginning with Lin Carter's "The Fishers from Outside," based on Lovecraft's poem, "The Outpost." We also consider what we're fishing for and how that connects with creating meaning and value in our lives. Lin Carter's works occupy a special place in our scripture, because Carter often wrote to fill in "gaps in the Mythos" left by other authors. His Mythos-related writings are collected in The Xothic Legend Cycle

Continuing in the Book of Eibon, we explore Lin Carter's "The Descent into the Abyss," a tale that is a retelling of an earlier work by Clark Ashton Smith, "The Seven Geases." Then we consider that we ourselves can live as if we are the victims of other people's demands or as if we have no choice but to press blindly forward. Knowing that and recognizing when we fall into such a pattern is vital to shifting into a new way of being. We also mention Madame Blavatsky as an originator of the myth of Hyperborea. To lean more about this influential woman, we recommend Marion Meade's "Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth," or for a more entertainingly skeptical approach, Peter Washington's "Madame Blavatsky's Baboon."

We continue exploring the Book of Eibon with "The Scroll of Morloc: The History of the Shaman Yhemog," translated (?) from the original by Lin Carter. This tale gives us rich fodder for contemplating how we discredit people whose beliefs change, the vulnerability we experience when our beliefs change, and how we might purposefully choose what we want to stand for.