### : Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture (1981) `Author:` [[William Irwin Thompson]] `Availability:` > [!info] > ![[IMG_Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture (1981).jpeg]] ## Summary William Irwin Thompson’s The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of [[Culture]] (1981) is one of his most ambitious and widely read works. It is both a [[History]] and a mythopoetic [[Meditation]] on how human culture arose from sexuality, [[imagination]], and myth rather than simply from tool-making or survival strategies. Summary 1.  Central Thesis Thompson argues that the origins of [[Civilisation]] cannot be understood only through materialist or evolutionary accounts. Instead, culture emerges through myth and sexuality, with rituals, stories, and symbolic forms shaping the development of human consciousness. He places great emphasis on the sacred and imaginative dimensions of human life. 2.  Sexuality and Myth - Thompson explores how sexuality is not just biological but mythic and cultural. - Early myths and rituals around fertility, birth, and the feminine were foundational to human culture. - He stresses the importance of the Goddess traditions in prehistoric societies, where female power, reproduction, and earth cycles were central to myth and symbolic life. 3.  The Transition to [[Patriarchy]] - A major theme is the historical shift from goddess-centred mythologies to male-dominated, patriarchal cultures. - With the rise of [[pastoralism]], metallurgy, and warrior societies, myths changed—gods replaced goddesses, and male hero myths supplanted earlier fertility myths. - He interprets this as both a [[repression]] and transformation of the feminine principle, with sexuality being sublimated into new forms of social and cultural power. 4.  Myth as Cultural [[DNA]] - Myths are presented as a kind of cultural genetic code, shaping how societies understand themselves and their place in the cosmos. - Thompson links myth to art, ritual, and imagination, showing how these symbolic systems are as vital as [[Technology]] for human survival. 5.  Interdisciplinary Reach - He draws on archaeology, [[Anthropology]], psychoanalysis (Jung, Freud), mythology (Campbell, Eliade), and speculative science. - The work is not a conventional history but a sweeping synthesis, mixing scholarly sources with poetic interpretation. 6.  Later Implications - Thompson concludes that understanding culture requires embracing mythopoesis—the creative making of myths—as an ongoing process. - He frames human evolution not as a straight line of progress but as a continuing dialogue between the masculine and feminine, body and spirit, matter and [[imagination]]. Style and Reception - Written in Thompson’s bardic, poetic style, it resists reduction to purely academic categories. - Admired for its daring synthesis and imaginative scope, though some critics found it speculative or overly associative. - It remains a touchstone in studies of mythology and cultural history, particularly for those interested in the intersection of sexuality, spirituality, and civilisation’s origins. ## Key Takeaways Introduction – Myth as Knowledge - Thompson argues that myth is not a primitive superstition but a primary mode of knowledge. - Myth encodes truths about sexuality, fertility, and culture that cannot be expressed in purely rational terms. - Key takeaway: To understand human origins, one must read mythology as seriously as archaeology. Chapter 1 – Sexuality as the Root of Culture - Humanity’s cultural life begins not with tools but with sexual rituals, fertility cults, and symbolic practices around reproduction. - Female power is central: the first symbols and figurations revolve around the body, the womb, and cycles of life. - Key takeaway: Sexuality, especially female generativity, is the primal foundation of symbolic life. Chapter 2 – The Myth of the Great Goddess - Examines prehistoric goddess traditions, drawing on figurines, cave art, and myth. - Goddess cultures linked fertility with cosmic cycles (moon, earth, seasons). - Key takeaway: Early human spirituality was matrifocal, integrating sexuality and sacred imagination rather than separating them. Chapter 3 – The Rise of Patriarchy - Historical shift: with metallurgy, pastoralism, and warrior elites came myths of male sky-gods and heroic conquest. - Male hero myths (Gilgamesh, Indo-European warrior traditions) displaced goddess myths. - Sexuality, once sacred, became controlled, sublimated, or repressed. - Key takeaway: Patriarchal cultures redefined sexuality as danger or chaos, subordinating the feminine. Chapter 4 – Heroism and Mythic Transformation - Analyses hero myths as symbolic enactments of this transition: slaying dragons, conquering monsters = suppression of the older goddess/earth powers. - The hero myth represents a movement toward individuality, transcendence, and rational control. - Key takeaway: Heroic myths embody the cultural shift toward domination and the suppression of earlier matrifocal consciousness. Chapter 5 – Myth, Sexuality, and Consciousness - Thompson blends Freud and Jung: sexuality shapes psychic development, but myths are the cultural container for these instincts. - Myths help societies sublimate raw sexuality into art, ritual, and symbolic forms. - Key takeaway: Culture is sexuality transfigured through imagination. Chapter 6 – The Cultural DNA - Myths function like genetic code for society, transmitting values, roles, and symbolic structures across generations. - Each new cultural form (prehistoric, patriarchal, scientific) carries both continuity and mutation of this myth “DNA.” - Key takeaway: Myths are not dead stories; they are living structures of consciousness that evolve as culture evolution Chapter 7 – Toward a Planetary Myth - Thompson looks forward: the old patriarchal hero myths are inadequate for a global age. - He anticipates a need for planetary mythology integrating masculine and feminine, science and spirit, ecology and imagination. - Key takeaway: The future demands a new mythic synthesis beyond domination—one that re-sacralises sexuality and reconnects culture with ecology. ![[IMG_Place the naked body silent.jpeg]] Overall Takeaway The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light traces the evolution of human culture from goddess-centred fertility myths to patriarchal hero myths, showing how sexuality and imagination are at the heart of civilisation. Thompson proposes that myth is the true history of consciousness, and that our next step must be the creation of a new, planetary myth that reconciles masculine and feminine principles in an ecological framework. ## Quotes - ## Notes `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:` [[Books index]]