The Aim of the Book
 In
his book "The Origin of Culture and
Civilization", Thomas Dietrich aims
to bring together diverse "sciences"
used by the ancients to give a
complex and holistic picture of the
world, and to show that people in
ancient times had a knowledge of the
world and the universe which modern
science and philosophy are unable to
grasp. As suggested in the subtitle
of the book - "The Cosmological
Philosophy of The Ancient World View
Regarding Myth, Astrology, Science,
and Religion" - the author makes use
of symbolic languages which are not
considered "scientific" in modern
times. But by tracing back the
thinking and worldviews of the
ancients he finds a complete picture
of the Universe, disguised in
symbolic language, which he
deciphers step by step.
The Main Hypothesis
Thomas Dietrich claims that the
origin of culture is Atlantis, the
lost island, minutely collecting
information from ancient sources and
mythology. According to his research
Morocco is one of Atlantis' first
colonies, from where Atlantic
culture spread first to Ireland, and
from there to Libya and Egypt.
According to Dietrich, culture
spread from West to East, while
civilization spread from East to
West. He carefully differentiates
between culture on the one hand and
civilization on the other:
-
By culture he means religion,
gods, myth, science, history,
philosophy -> Culture is a
spiritual reality which
transcends this world.
-
Civilization comprises cities,
states and empires, power and
politics, wars, etc.
Civilization is connected with
enticements of this world.
Both movements - the West to East
movement of culture and the East to
West movement of civilization - can
also be observed in terms of
astrological cycles. Civilization
follows the cycle of the precession
of the zodiac, whereas culture
follows the cycle of the centre of
our galaxy through the zodiac. The
first is considerably shorter than
the second, the so-called "Great
Year" of the precessional cycle
lasts for 26'000 years, whereas the
latter, the galactic cycle can last
anything from 40 to 200 million
years. Both cycles follow opposite
directions. Dietrich goes on to
project the two cycles onto the
geography of the Earth, and by this
method follows the movement of their
corresponding ages. He draws up
connections between cosmological
cycles and the movement of culture
and civilization on Earth.
A very special point was reached
when the two cycles were at a
crossing point, the cycle of culture
moving from Pisces into Aries, and
the cycle of civilization from Aries
into Pisces. Projected onto the
Earth, he finds Jerusalem at this
crossover, suggesting that, with the
coming of the Messiah, a completely
new era had begun. Throughout the
book, Dietrich supports his thesis
with evidence from a wide variety of
sources including mythology,
astronomy and astrology.
The extent of detailed information
he presents, suggests that the
author must have researched for
almost a lifetime. The book unfolds
like a big puzzle: there are many
pieces, and the connection between
them may not appear immediately
apparent. But as the author presents
his evidence the connections become
clearer and the picture turns into
an intricate whole. The
philosophically less experienced
reader may find the wealth of
information rather overwhelming, and
may sometimes wish for a clearer
line of argument or a thread to
follow.
The Role of Astrology
The ancients viewed the world in
terms of macrocosm and microcosm,
wherein the humans are the microcosm
of the whole universe. Reversely, it
takes a whole universe to produce
life Earth. The human body
corresponds to the body of the
universe, the parts of the body
correspond to the signs of the
zodiac. Observing the cycles of the
planets and of certain sensitive
points and relating these cycles to
each other, can give information on
movements and developments on Earth.
Although Dietrich uses astrology to
understand developments on the
planet over long periods of time,
and deals with different
astrological ages, he denies the
validity of personal astrology. In
his view, "the real astrology, the
real fundamentals of the science,
which are cosmological and sacred,
stemming from long research and
divine inspiration", can only be
used to learn about the "fate" of
the Earth, but not about individual
human beings, except a few "great
personalities" like Napoleon,
Alexander or Hitler, who "have
slipped
into the stream of fate". Here,
personal fate has co-joined with
the fate of the nation they govern.
They enact the fate of the world,
whereas all other people are merely
observers.
Dietrich considers personal
astrology without merit because it
would be too complex, considering
all hereditary and other influences
and the complex structure of an
individual. Furthermore, he thinks
that Ptolemy erred when he assumed
the idea of the tropical zodiac. As
astrologers who deal with personal
astrology and horoscopes, we are
inclined to think that Dietrich
stops half-way. His reasoning that
the human body is the microcosm of
the universe would seem to
contradict his rejection of personal
astrology. This attitude is not in
tune with the rest of the book where
he minutely describes how the
complexities of civilizations and
cultures are reflected in cosmology.
Why should this intricate whole stop
when it comes to individuals. But
this is a discussion which need not
be held here.
On the Whole...
Dietrich gives a lot of information
and presents us with an
interpretation of the historical
developments on Earth which should
be of interest to modern science as
well as mythologically and
astrologically minded people.
The author himself says about his
book: "We cannot advance
scientifically, nor can we form a
philosophically-correct image of
this world, without the information
that the ancient people have so
patiently collected for us, and have
transmitted over such immeasurable
periods of time. There is an
important message to be told - and
to be heard."
The book can be
ordered at:
www.amazon.com
Reviewed by
Karin Hoffmann
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