All powerful Zeus, with his lightning bolts,
Dispenses his favors in enlightening jolts.

CHAPTER X: THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

ZEUS

Zeus is the king of the Gods, and as such permeates the universe with his force manifesting as energy, light, and matter.  He is the motivator behind the religious and philosophical urge, particularly metaphysics and natural philosophy.  He structures our societies through patriarchy and our individual father-complexes.  Offspring of Cronos and Rhea, Zeus is the head of the Olympian Gods and belongs to the trinity of the father-authority principle with his brothers Poseidon and Hades.  As the ultimate authority, he comes closest to embodying the archetype of the Self.

The Self is a Jungian term for the Absolute.  It is the ordering and unifying principle which guides the process of spiritual development.  We sense the quality of the Self when we can envision our future selves actualizing our spiritual potential.  The Self is the God-image in our psyches. It represents the fullest extension and potential of an individual, and provides transcendent experience of the highest spiritual value which comes from beyond one's own personal powers.  The inner spiritual resources, termed Zeus by the Greeks, lie deep within our inner nature, a metaphor of Light.  Zeus is the image of wholeness, presented in the masculine version.

The ancients thought of Zeus as a weather god, the sky god who controlled storms and lightning.  However, in our daily life, he also governs our internal weather conditions and may manifest his powers in psychic storms (psychological disruptions).

Zeus is the master of wise judgement and justice.  His deep attachment to his daughter Athena personifies his philosophic attitude.  Zeus is the prototypical philosopher, or "lover of wisdom."  Zeus has the capacity to temper severity with mercy and compassion.  He embodies not only the law, but that creative energy which is the constant urge to spill out and propagate itself.  His unceasing urge to impregnate and project himself led to his numerous love affairs with mortals and goddesses.

Zeus is that energy constantly striving to realize new consciousness or new fruits of itself, reflecting his all-embracing expansiveness.  Self-appointed "followers of Zeus" seek out numerous lovers in accordance with Zeus' principle of wisdom.  This doesn't mean that no complications or consequences will follow.  Just wait until Hera finds out!

A man with a Zeus-like temperament is very likely in a position of power, leadership, and service in the community.  He employs his wisdom and good will when he exercises his authority.  He is a man with cultural awareness, and behaves accordingly for the benefit of himself and others.  He combines an intelligent, healthy mind with a robust body.

This archetype corresponds with Trump X, THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.  Zeus and other thunder gods have traditional relationships with the Wheel of the Zodiac.  This depicts the Game of Life which Zeus plays so well.  He uses intuition and systematic thinking to further his aims.  This path is symbolized as the palm of the hand.  A person who is the seeming master of his own fate or lucky, seems to have the world "in the palm of his hand."  Good fortune is a gift of the gods, a gift of destiny.

In esoteric astrology the Jupiter center is linked with the solar plexus.  In Indian philosophy, the solar plexus is the power chakra, from which this energy is distributed throughout the rest of the body.  It is perceived as an internal whirling force within the subtle body, and expressed in personality and experience.  It is our fate, fortune, or destiny in dynamic action, with its cycles of good fortune and setbacks.  It is the activity of evolution.  The Jupiter center is roughly in the center of the body and controls higher evolutionary development, through the subconscious.  This nerve plexus functions like an "abdominal brain" for physical and visceral processes.

The Wheel is a vortex of force with a stable center.  It is the strange attractor of a life--it's destiny.  THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE symbolizes the energies of a master field, a universal field.  And we access that field through our solar plexus.  It is here, not the heart center, where we store our energy, whether that is love and healing, or tension and conflict.  We exchange energies with other people from this center also.  A negative Zeus-type might be effective, but could also be viewed as bossy, or self-righteous in his authoritarianism.  People who set themselves up as moral authorities must dispense judgements.  When these judgements are severe, they seem like thunderbolts hurled at a transgressor.

Qabala teaches ghat the secret of mastering circumstances is to be found in realizing that the center, the very heart of the Wheel, the primary Point of first Unity, is our only safe habitation.  When we are identified with the ruling power which keeps us in balance, which keeps the wheeling activities of cosmic cycles in blance, we are simultaneously ath the beginning and end of our quest, since they are really the same place.

Zeus-consciousness has to do with the development of a strong, effectively coping ego, which does not tolerate the thwarting of its will.  If we fall into an identification with this principle of ego-strength (father-complex), we may find ourselves dispensing similar judgements, as if we embodied the Law.

The shadow-side of this complex is shown, for example, in high-powered  politicians who sometimes cross over the line as if they were above the law--a law unto themselves.  They rationalize, deny, and delude themselves that the ends justify the means.  We are possessed by Zeus when we act like God-Almighty.  Identification of the ego with the powers of the archetype of Self results in an ego inflation.  The ego gets puffed up with air, acting proud, pompous, vain, and presumptuous.  When we are caught in an inflation (ego-trip) our ego tries to take credit for the transcendent qualities of the Self.

This may be overcome by developing a conscious awareness of the transpersonal aspect of the Zeus principle.  In its positive manifestation it is an increased capacity for objective judgement.  To experience this, the ego must give up its false-pride.  Overcoming false pride is a major goal of spiritual development.  The original purpose of the "I" or ego is to know the universe.  The actual meaning of the word 'Zeus' stems from djeu - meaning the moment or event of lighting up.  This is a lighting up, not strictly in the physical sense, but also in the sense of insight and illumination.  We get this sense when we dialogue with our subconscious and it yields an answering oracle.  This "I-Self" dialogue takes many forms.

Really, there is no distinction to be made between lighting up in the physical or metaphysical sense.  The experience of illumination is just as real whether caused by a material source or not.  It is Zeus who controls not only the panorama of meteorological phenomena, but also the domain of consciousness.  Zeus connects with all the forms of heavenly light, of both inner and outer world.  His essence appears as photons (quanta of electromagnetic energy), lightning, and illumination.  He is the archetypal illuminator who "lights up our lives."  The type of love which could be described as "lightning striking from above" come in like an electric flash.  It is Zeus entering the mortal frame.

The religious view of the natural event we call lightning or lighting up doesn't necessarily require an agent apart from and outside the action.  THE GOD IS THE EFFECT.  This is his epiphany.  Such a division of experience into action and agent is excluded by the immediacy of the experience in its first actual moment.  Only afterward is there a name attached to the event, and even later an abstraction derived from the experience.  For a religious experience, event and man are enough.

According to C. Kerenyi (1975), "With the Greeks the event at which 'Theos!' could be called out could happen not only in dreams but also in nature and in history and simultaneously in the additional dimension of spirit."

PHYSICAL FORM

In "Inflation for Beginners", John Gribbin states that no self-respecting theory of the Universe is complete without a reference to inflation -- and at the same time there is now a bewildering variety of different versions of inflation to choose from.

Inflation is a general term for models of the very early Universe which involve a short period of extremely rapid (exponential) expansion, blowing the size of what is now the observable Universe up from a region far smaller than a proton to about the size of a grapefruit (or even bigger) in a small fraction of a second. This process would smooth out spacetime to make the Universe flat, and would also resolve the horizon problem by taking regions of space that were once close enough to have got to know each other well and spreading them far apart, on opposite sides of the visible Universe today.

Inflation became established as the standard model of the very early Universe in the 1980s. It achieved this success not only because it resolves many puzzles about the nature of the Universe, but because it did so using the grand unified theories (GUTs) and understanding of quantum theory developed by particle physicists completely independently of any cosmological studies. These theories of the particle world had been developed with no thought that they might be applied in cosmology (they were in no sense "designed" to tackle all the problems they turned out to solve), and their success in this area suggested to many people that they must be telling us something of fundamental importance about the Universe.

The marriage of particle physics (the study of the very small) and cosmology (the study of the very large) seems to provide an explanation of how the Universe began, and how it got to be the way it is. Inflation is therefore regarded as the most important development in cosmological thinking since the discovery that the Universe is expanding first suggested that it began in a Big Bang.  Taken at face value, the observed expansion of the Universe implies that it was born out of a singularity, a point of infinite density, some 15 billion years ago (cosmologists still disagree about exactly how old the Universe is, but the exact age doesn't affect the argument). Quantum physics tells us that it is meaningless to talk in quite such extreme terms, and that instead we should consider the expansion as having started from a region no bigger across than the so-called Planck length (10-35m), when the density was not infinite but "only" some 1094 grams per cubic centimetre. These are the absolute limits on size and density allowed by quantum physics.

The first puzzle is how anything that dense could ever expand -- it would have an enormously strong gravitational field, turning it into a black hole and snuffing it out of existence (back into the singularity) as soon as it was born. But it turns out that inflation can prevent this happening, while quantum physics allows the entire Universe to appear, in this supercompact form, out of nothing at all, as a cosmic free lunch. The idea that the Universe may have appeared out of nothing at all, and contains zero energy overall, was developed by Edward Tryon, of the City University in New York, who suggested in the 1970s, that it might have appeared out of nothing as a so-called vacuum fluctuation, allowed by quantum theory.

Quantum uncertainty allows the temporary creation of bubbles of energy, or pairs of particles (such aselectron-positron pairs) out of nothing, provided that they disappear in a short time. The less energy is involved, the longer the bubble can exist. Curiously, the energy in a gravitational field is negative, while the energy locked up in matter is positive. If the Universe is exactly flat , then as Tryon pointed out the two numbers cancel out, and the overall energy of the Universe is precisely zero. In that case, the quantum rules allow it to last forever.  Unfortunately, if a quantum bubble (about as big as the Planck length) containing all the mass-energy of the Universe (or even a star) did appear out of nothing at all, its intense gravitational field would (unless something else intervened) snuff it out of existence immediately, crushing it into a singularity.

So the free lunch Universe seemed at first like an irrelevant speculation -- but, as with the problems involving the extreme flatness of spacetime, and its appearance of extreme homogeneity and isotropy (most clearly indicated by the uniformity of the background radiation), the development of the inflationary scenario showed how to remove this difficulty and allow such a quantum fluctuation to expand exponentially up to macroscopic size before gravity could crush it out of existence.. All of these problems would be resolved if something gave the Universe a violent outward push (in effect, acting like antigravity) when it was still about a Planck length in size.

Such a small region of space would be too tiny, initially, to contain irregularities, so it would start off homogeneous and isotropic. There would have been plenty of time for signals travelling at the speed of light to have criss-crossed the ridiculously tiny volume, so there is no horizon problem -- both sides of the embryonic universe are "aware" of each other. And spacetime itself gets flattened by the expansion, in much the same way that the wrinkly surface of a prune becomes a smooth, flat surface when the prune is placed in water and swells up. As in the standard Big Bang model, we can still think of the Universe as like the skin of an expanding balloon, but now we have to think of it as an absolutely enormous balloon that was hugely inflated during the first split second of its existence.

The reason why the GUTs created such a sensation when they were applied to cosmology is that they predict the existence of exactly the right kind of mechanisms to do this trick. They are called scalar fields, and they are associated with the splitting apart of the original grand unified force into the fundamental forces we know today, as the Universe began to expand and cool. Gravity itself would have split off at the Planck time, 10-43 of a second, and the strong nuclear force by about 10(exp-35) of a second. Within about 10-32 of a second, the scalar fields would have done their work, doubling the size of the Universe at least once every 10-34 of a second (some versions of inflation suggest even more rapid expansion than this).

Curiously, this kind of exponential expansion of spacetime is exactly described by one of the first cosmological models developed using the general theory of relativity, by Willem de Sitter in 1917. For more than half a century, this de Sitter model seemed to be only a mathematical curiosity, of no relevance to the real Universe; but it is now one of the cornerstones of inflationary cosmology.      When the general theory of relativity was published in 1916, de Sitter reviewed the theory and developed his own ideas in a series of three papers which he sent to the Royal Astronomical Society in London. The third of these papers included discussion of possible cosmological models -- both what turned out to be an expanding universe (the first model of this kind to be developed, although the implications were not fully appreciated in 1917) and an oscillating universe model.

The inflationary scenario has already gone through several stages of development during its short history. The first inflationary model was developed by Alexei Starobinsky, at the L. D. Landau Institute of Theoretical Physics in Moscow, at the end of the 1970s -- but it was not then called "inflation". It was a very complicated model based on a quantum theory of gravity, but it caused a sensation among cosmologists in what was then the Soviet Union, becoming known as the "Starobinsky model" of the Universe; the news did not spread outside their country.

In 1981, Alan Guth, then at MIT, published a different version of the inflationary scenario, not knowing anything of Starobinsky's work. This version was more accessible in both senses of the word -- it was easier to understand, and Guth was based in the US, able to discuss his ideas freely with colleagues around the world. And as a bonus, Guth came up with the catchy name "inflation" for the process he was describing. There were obvious flaws with the specific details of Guth's original model (which he acknowledged at the time). In particular, Guth's model left the Universe after inflation filled with a mess of bubbles, all expanding in their own way and colliding with one another. We see no evidence for these bubbles in the real Universe, so obviously the simplest model of inflation couldn't be right. But it was this version of the idea that made every cosmologist aware of the power of inflation.

In October 1981, there was an international meeting in Moscow, where inflation was a major talking point. Stephen Hawking presented a paper claiming that inflation could not be made to work at all, but the Russian cosmologist Andrei Linde presented an improved version, called "new inflation", which got around the difficulties with Guth's model. Ironically, Linde was the official translator for Hawking's talk, and had the embarrassing task of offering the audience the counter-argument to his own work! But after the formal presentations Hawking was persuaded that Linde was right, and inflation might be made to work after all.

If there was part of some larger region of spacetime in which all kinds of scalar fields were at work, then only the regions in which those fields produced inflation could lead to the emergence of a large universe like our own.  Linde called this "chaotic inflation", because the scalar fields can have any value at different places in the early super-universe; it is the standard version of inflation today, and can be regarded as an example of the kind of  reasoning associated with the anthropic principle (but note that this use of the term "chaos" is like the everyday meaning implying a complicated mess, and has nothing to do with the mathematical subject known as "chaos theory").

The idea of chaotic inflation led to what is (so far) the ultimate development of the inflationary scenario. The great unanswered question in standard Big Bang cosmology is what came "before" the singularity. It is often said that the question is meaningless, since time itself began at the singularity. But chaotic inflation suggests that our  Universe grew out of a quantum fluctuation in some pre-existing region of spacetime, and that exactly equivalent processes can create regions of inflation within our own Universe. In effect, new universes bud off from our Universe, and our Universe may itself have budded off from another universe, in a process which had no  beginning and will have no end. A variation on this theme suggests that the "budding" process takes place through black holes, and that every time a black hole collapses into a singularity it "bounces" out into another set of spacetime dimensions, creating a new inflationary universe -- this is called the baby universe scenario.

There are similarities between the idea of eternal inflation and a self-reproducing universe and the version of the Steady State hypothesis developed in England by Fred Hoyle and Jayant Narlikar, with their C-field playing the part of the scalar field that drives inflation.  Modern proponents of the inflationary scenario arrived at these equations entirely independently of Hoyle's approach, and are reluctant to accept this analogy, having cut their cosmological teeth on the Big Bang model.  Indeed, when Guth was asked, in 1980, how the then new idea of inflation related to the Steady State theory, he is reported as replying "what is the Steady State theory?" But although inflation is generally regarded as a development of Big Bang cosmology, it is better seen as marrying the best features of both the Big Bang and the Steady State scenarios.

The theory said that inflation should have left behind an expanded version of these fluctuations, in the form of irregularities in the distribution of matter and energy in the Universe. These density perturbations would have left an imprint on the background radiation at the time matter and radiation decoupled (about 300,000 years after the Big Bang), producing exactly the kind of nonuniformity in the background radiation that has now been seen, initially by COBE and later by other instruments. After decoupling, the density fluctuations grew to become the large scale structure of the Universe revealed today by the distribution of galaxies. This means that the COBE observations are actually giving us information about what was happening in the Universe when it was less than 10-20 of a second old.

No other theory can explain both why the Universe is so uniform overall, and yet contains exactly the kind of  "ripples" represented by the distribution of galaxies through space and by the variations in the background radiation. This does not prove that the inflationary scenario is correct, but it is worth remembering that had COBE found a different pattern of fluctuations (or no fluctuations at all) that would have proved the inflationary scenario wrong.  In the best scientific tradition, the theory made a major and unambiguous prediction which did "come true". Inflation also predicts that the primordial perturbations may have left a trace in the form of gravitational radiation with particular characteristics, and it is hoped that detectors sensitive enough to identify this characteristic radiation may be developed within the next ten or twenty years.

Standard models of inflation solve the "monopole problem" by arguing that the seed from which our entire visible Universe grew was a quantum fluctuation so small that it only contained one monopole. That monopole is still out there, somewhere in the Universe, but it is highly unlikely that it will ever      pass our way. But Linde has discovered that, according to theory, the conditions that create inflation persist inside a magnetic monopole even after inflation has halted in the Universe at large. Such a monopole would look like a magnetically charged black hole, connecting our Universe through a wormhole in spacetime to another region of inflating spacetime. Within this region of inflation, quantum processes can produce monopole-antimonopole pairs, which then separate exponentially rapidly as a result of the inflation. Inflation then stops, leaving an expanding Universe rather like our own which may contain one or two monopoles, within each of which there are more regions of inflating spacetime.

The result is a never-ending fractal structure, with inflating universes embedded inside each other and connected through the magnetic monopole wormholes. Our Universe may be inside a monopole which is inside another universe which is inside another monopole, and so on indefinitely. What Linde calls "the continuous creation of exponentially expanding space" means that "monopoles by themselves can solve the monopole problem". Although it seems bizarre, the idea is, he stresses, "so simple that it certainly deserves further investigation".

Now comes the suggestion that the "ordinary" place to find      observers like us may be in the middle of a bubble in a much greater volume of expanding space.  The conventional version of inflation says that our entire visible Universe is just one of many bubbles of inflation, each doing their own thing somewhere out in an eternal sea of chaotic inflation, but that the process of rapid expansion forces spacetime in all the bubbles to be flat. A useful analogy is with the bubbles that form in a bottle of fizzy cola when the top is opened. But that suggestion, along with other cherished cosmological beliefs, has now been challenged by Linde, working with his son Dmitri Linde (of CalTech) and Arthur Mezhlumian (also of Stanford).

Linde and his colleagues point out that the Universe we live in is like a hole in a sea of superdense, exponentially expanding inflationary cosmic material, within which there are other holes. All kinds of bubble universes will exist, and it is possible to work out the statistical nature of their properties. In particular, the two Lindes and Mezhlumian have calculated the probability of finding yourself in a region of this super- Universe with a particular density -- for example, the density of "our" Universe.

Because very dense regions blow up exponentially quickly (doubling in size every fraction of a second), it turns out that the volume of all regions of the super-Universe with twice any chosen density is 10 to the power of 10 million times greater than the volume of the super- Universe with the chosen density. For any chosen density, most of the matter at that density is near the middle of an expanding bubble, with a concentration of more dense material round the edge of the bubble. But even though some of the higher density material is round the edges of  low density bubbles, there is even more (vastly more!) higher density material in the middle of higher density bubbles, and so on forever. The discovery of this variation on the theme of fractal structure surprised the researchers so much that they confirmed it by four independent methods before venturing to announce it to their colleagues. Because the density distribution is non-uniform on the appropriate distance scales, it means that not  only may we be living near the middle of a bubble universe, but that the density of the region of space we can see may be less than the critical density, compensated for by extra density beyond our field of view.

There is a simpler solution to the density puzzle, one which involves tinkering only with the models of inflation, not with long-held and cherished cosmological beliefs. That may make it more acceptable to most cosmologists -- and it's so simple that it falls into the "why didn't I think of that?" category of      great ideas. A double dose of inflation may be something to make the Government's hair turn grey -- but it could be just what cosmologists need to rescue their favourite theory of the origin of the Universe. By turning inflation on twice, they have found a way to have all the benefits of the inflationary scenario, while still leaving the Universe in an "open"state, so that it will expand forever.

In those simplest inflation models, remember, the big snag is that after inflation even the observable Universe is left like a mass of bubbles, each expanding in its own way. We see no sign of this structure, which has led to all the refinements of the basic model. Now, however, Martin Bucher and Neil Turok, of Princeton University, working with Alfred Goldhaber, of the State University of New York, have turned this difficulty to advantage.  They suggest that after the Universe had been homogenised by the original bout of inflation, a second burst of  inflation could have occurred within one of the bubbles. As inflation begins (essentially at a point), the density is effectively "reset" to zero, and rises towards the critical density as inflation proceeds and energy from the inflation process is turned into mass. But because the Universe has already been homogenised, there is no need to require  this bout of inflation to last until the density reaches the critical value. It can stop a little sooner, leaving an open bubble (what we see as our entire visible Universe) to carry on expanding at a more sedate rate. They actually use what looked like the fatal flaw in Guth's model as the basis for their scenario.

According to Bucher and his colleagues, an end product looking very much like the Universe we live in can arise naturally in this way, with no "fine tuning" of the inflationary parameters. All they have done is to use the very simplest possible version of inflation, going back to Alan Guth's work, but to apply it twice. And you don't have to stop there. Once any portion of expanding spacetime has been smoothed out by inflation, new inflationary bubbles arising inside that volume of spacetime will all be pre-smoothed and can end up with any amount of matter from zero to the critical density (but no more). This should be enough to make everybody happy. Indeed, the biggest problem now is that  the vocabulary of cosmology doesn't quite seem adequate to the task of describing all this activity.

The term Universe, with the capital "U", is usually used for everything that we can ever have knowledge of, the entire span of space and time accessible to our instruments, now and in the future. This may seem like a fairly comprehensive definition, and in the past it has traditionally been regarded as synonymous with the entirety of everything that exists. But the development of ideas such as inflation suggests that there may be something else beyond the boundaries of the observable Universe -- regions of space and time that are unobservable in principle, not just because light from them has not yet had time to reach us, or because our telescopes are not sensitive enough to detect their light.

This has led to some ambiguity in the use of the term "Universe". Some people restrict it to the observable Universe, while others argue that it should be used to refer to all of space and time. If we use "Universe" as the name for our own expanding bubble of spacetime, everything that is in principle visible to our telescopes, then maybe the term "Cosmos" can be used to refer to the entirety of space and time, within which (if the inflationary scenario is correct) there may be an indefinitely large number of other expanding bubbles of spacetime, other universes with which we can never communicate.

LONG LIVE INFLATION.  An underdense universe doesn't sink cosmic inflation.  Lately, observational astronomers have at last convinced theorists that the universe contains less matter         than the theory of inflation predicts. The expansion of the universe, as traced by distant supernovae and radio-bright galaxies, is decelerating too slowly. The mass of galaxy clusters, as deduced from their internal motions and their ability to focus the light of more distant objects, is too low. The number of these clusters, which should be growing if there is sufficient raw material, has changed too little. And the abundance of deuterium, which is inversely related to the total amount of matter, is too high. It seems there is only a third of the matter needed for geometric flatness, the  expected outcome of inflation.

But far from killing the theory, cosmologists say, the observations make it more necessary than ever—albeit in a new form. No other theory answers a nagging question in big bang cosmology: Why is the universe even vaguely flat? Over time, the cosmos should seem ever more curved as more of it comes into view and its overall shape becomes more apparent. By now, billions of years after the big bang, the universe should be highly curved, which would make it either depressingly desolate or impenetrably dense.

Guth, now at Stanford  University—solved the problem by postulating that the universe went through a period of accelerating expansion. Once-adjacent regions separated faster than light (which space         can do—Einstein's special theory of relativity applies to speeds within space). As a result, we now see only a fragment of the cosmos. Its overall shape is not visible yet; each fragment looks flat. Inflation also explains the near uniformity of the universe: any lumpiness is too large scale for us to perceive.

But if observers can't find enough matter to flatten space, theorists must draw one of two awkward conclusions. The first is that some new kind of dark matter makes up the difference. The inferred matter goes by the name of "quintessence," first used in this general context by Lawrence M. Krauss of Case Western Reserve University. The usage alludes to Aristotelian ether; besides, anything that accounts for two thirds of physical reality is surely quintessential.

Quintessence joins the two previously postulated kinds of dark matter: dim but otherwise ordinary matter (possibly rogue brown dwarfs) and inherently invisible elementary particles (possibly neutrinos, if these ghostly particles have a slight mass). Both reveal themselves only by tugging at visible stars and galaxies.  Our fate hinges on what makes up quintessence. The simplest possibility, Einstein's         cosmological constant, inexorably gains in relative strength as cosmic expansion dilutes matter. But other forms of quintessence, such as featherweight particles or space-time kinks, might eventually fade away. In May, Christopher T. Hill of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory speculated that the quintessence mystery is related to another: the neutrino mass.  So far the only proof for quintessence is circumstantial. The latest supernova observations suggest that cosmic expansion is accelerating, and recent cosmic microwave background measurements show that triangles may indeed subtend 180 degrees, as they should in flat space.

Two-round inflationary theory was developed in 1995 by two teams: Martin Bucher of Princeton University, Neil G. Turok, now at the University of Cambridge, and Alfred S. Goldhaber of the State University of New York at Stony Brook; and Kazuhiro Yamamoto of Kyoto University and Misao Sasaki and Takahiro Tanaka of Osaka University. In this theory, the first round creates a uniform mega-universe. Within it, bubbles—self-contained universes—spontaneously form. Each undergoes a second round of inflation that ends prematurely, leaving it curved.  The amount of curvature varies from bubble to bubble.

The second idea, announced in February by Turok and Stephen W. Hawking of Cambridge, is that the smooth universe gurgled not out of a soda universe but out of utter nothingness. Updating Hawking's decade-old work on creation ex nihilo, they devised an "instanton"—loosely speaking, a mathematical formula for the difference between existence and nonexistence—that implied we should indeed be living in a slightly curved universe.  Finally, maybe the universe has an unusual topology, so that different parts of the cosmos interconnect like pretzel strands. Then the universe merely gives the illusion of immensity, and the multiple pathways allow matter to mix together and become smooth. Such speculation dates to the 1920s but was dusted off two years ago by Neil J. Cornish of Cambridge, David N. Spergel of Princeton and Glenn D. Starkman of Case Western Reserve.

Like all good cosmological theories, these ideas lead to some wacky conclusions. The bubble and ex nihilo universes are infinite, which quantum laws forbid. The solution: let the universe be both infinite and finite. From the outside it is  finite, keeping the quantum cops happy; inside, "space" takes on the infinite properties of time. In the pretzel universe, light from a given object has several different ways to reach us, so we should see several copies of it. In principle, we could look out into the heavens and see the earth.

More worrisome is that these models abandon a basic goal of inflationary theory: explaining the universe as the generic outcome of a simple process independent of hard-to-fathom initial conditions. The trade-off is that cosmologists can  now subject metaphysical speculation—including interpretations of quantum mechanics and guesses about the  "before"—to observational test.

Out of all this brainstorming may emerge an even deeper theory than standard inflation; by throwing a wrench into the works, observers may have fixed them. Upcoming high-resolution observations of the microwave background and galaxy clustering should be decisive. But if not, cosmologists may begin to question the underpinnings of modern physics. "If the experimental data is inconsistent with literally everything, this may be a signal for us to change gravity theory—Einstein theory," Linde says. (George Musser).

As king of the gods, Zeus also represents a fundamental universal principle.  Just as Zeus is the offspring of Cronos and Rhea, so energy is the product of frequency (rhythm) and duration.  Einstein expressed relativity through his famous equation, E = MC2.

What is the most fundamental component of existence?  An examination of the physical nature of Zeus reveals the metaphysics of existence.  The theory of general relativity asserts that geometry is produced by matter or matter by geometry.  One never appears without the other in isolation.  Ian Barbour describes the dependency of matter upon duration.  He says that "time is constitutive  of the being of atoms as vibratory patterns; a wave or musical note requires time in order to exist--a note is nothing at an instant."  Another physicist, Werner Heisenburg describes matter as energy and vice versa.  He claims, "Energy is in fact the substance from which all elementary particles, all atoms and therefore all things are made, and energy is that which moves."

If Zeus is perceived as energy, he is this essence of manifest reality.  Energy transmutes into matter when it takes on the form of an elementary particle.  It manifests itself in a form.  Matter and energy are actually a paradoxical unity.  In relativity theory, matter-energy is viewed as a distortion in the structure of space.  At this juncture, it is perhaps wise to reflect upon the discipline of science itself as a search for patterns and intelligibility.  This is precisely the arena of philosophy and metaphysics.

The ultimate metaphysical task is to synthesize all facets of human knowledge into one grand unified field theory of existence (a mathematical overview).  The trend now appears in the scientific community as a fascination with the psycho-physical aspects of energy.

Reality is a holistic gestalt which appears alternatively as space, time, energy, matter, and causation.  Most evidence indicates it is a biolographic projection of mind.  These abstractions of human categorizing are not absolute qualities or entities of reality itself.  But the basic nature of material existence certainly influences biological systems.  Organic growth is a function of geometry and includes spatial relationships and ratios.  Living systems create order from disorder, but must always battle against disruption, entropy, or chaos.  No system is self-sufficient.  Therefore, order is maintained by bringing in energy (i.e. food, air, water) from outside.  The biochemical system has to exchange matter with its environment all the time.

Lyall Watson describes how a complex entity also begins to exchange information with the environment in addition to energy.  This essential survival information "arrives in three forms--electromagnetic waves, such as light; mechanical pressures, such as sound; and chemical stimuli, such as those giving rise to taste and smell."  In animals and humans, these three types of signals are all converted by sense receptors which are in direct contact with the environment.  When the stimuli contacts the receptor, an electrical impulse (electrical energy) carries the message into the central nervous system.  Hermes, electrical message, is a son of Zeus, archetypal process of "lighting up."

Occupations associated with Zeus include the following:

administrator authority figure banker boss captain of industry chauvinist director father governor king landholder magnate mentor

philanderer philosopher politician president principal priest producer publisher role model scholar stock broker tyrant weatherman

EMOTIONAL IMAGE

It is no semantic accident that the term 'inflation' is also applied in human psychology as a term for grandiosity. 'Omnipotent' power motivations of all kinds are symptomatic of inflation.  Edinger (1972) gives "spells of anger" as examples of arrogant inflated states -- a misapplied attempt to coerce the environment.  He cites the dictionary definition as "Blown up, distended with air, unrealistically large and unrealistically important, beyond the limits of one's proper size; hence, to be vain, pompous, proud, presumptuous."  He describes the term as the identification of the ego with the divine properties of the Self, "a state in which something small (the ego) has arrogated to itself the qualities of something larger (the Self) and hence is blown up beyond the limits of its proper size."

We are all born into inflation due to our original unconscious fusion when the unformed ego is all Self.  In this identification, the ego imagines itself virtually as a deity.  This state of wholeness or perfection is relfected in the basically round figures found universally in the art of young children.  Variation yields circles with crosses or eight divisions, sometimes swirling like swastikas -- all ancient symbols of the thundergods, including Zeus.  Thus, the original condition is depicted as mandala-like roundness, as reported of primeval man by Plato in the Symposium.  Such mandala symbols are also considered therapeutic or healing.

Nostalgia for this experience of oneself as the center of the universe can lead to subsequent problems and alienation.  Reality-checks help the ego grow and distinguish itself from unconscious identity with the Self, yet ephiphanies or reunions of the two foster integrity.  In psychosis, this is the root of heroic-inflation -- conviction that one is God, Jesus, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Messiah-complex, etc. by attaching private significance to outer events which are independent of one's convictions.  In negative inflation, one identifies with the divine victim; too much humility is also arrogance.  The psychic dangers of inflation and alienation have been always been recognized in folk wisdom and spiritual practice.

Both very high and very low self-esteem rest on defense mechanisms.  The narcissistic viewpoint rarely leaves psychophysical Zone 1 of "I, me, mine."  A grandiose self craves narcissistic gratification and attention.  The antidotes to this narcissistic inflation (unmistakable and often unpleasant increase in self-confidence and conceit) are empathy, humour, wisdom, selfless service, and transpersonal commitment.  Kohut's theory of narcissism considers creativeness to result from a successful transformation of this primal libido.

This creativeness arises from within and does not include dabbling in this and that as a dilettante.  It means being truly multi-faceted, expressing activity of the soul that deserves to be called truly creative and productive (Jacoby, 1991).  It is a mirroring of the cosmic creative process, an expressed creative potential.  Through rapport and empathy we detect complex psychic configurations.  Empathy, rather than projection, is how we can best relate to others.  'Narcissistic hunger' reverses this and constantly demands our empathic response.  When rapport and empathy break down we fail to meet the reality of the other.

Depression or despondency is the result of lack of self-value, and has been identified by Berne and Perls as a psychological "racket," designed to garner negative attention.  Other symptoms are exagerrated modesty, wearing a striken and misunderstood look.  These attacks from within are feared and compensated by attempts at manipulation of others, better met through positive validation or unsolicited stroking, and a harmonization of competing forces seeking a centering of the whole personality.  In order to be effective and expressive, we need some measure of psychic maturity.  Empathy, for example, requires a stable, yet flexible ego.

Humour, the ability to honestly laugh at oneself as one is, genuine tolerance of our imperfection, is the antidote to 'narcissistic vulnerability.'  Witticisms and sarcasm are not equivalent, but merely defensive.  Humour presupposes some awareness of and tolerance of our weak points. The self as God-image plays a central role in the religious dimension.  Humor and wisdom together can be profound teachers.

Mentoring and the projections of the 'wise old man' or 'wise old woman' (ego ideals) can help or hinder us finding our own style of wisdom.  Projections must be re-owned, and one's own connection to Source nurtured.   A false pose of unflinching serenity sacrifices wholeness and psychic equilibrium.  Wisdom requires courage -- the ability to continuously and critically question our perceptions of self, others, and world.  Wisdom means we perceive the relativity and acknowledge the limitations of all our concerns and endeavors without illusions.  Nevertheless, self-doubts and painful fluctuations of psychic balance are intrinsic to even a mature soul's experience of life's flow.

Creativeness depends on an ego that is open and receptive to creative unconscious impulses.  Genuine creative expression helps us share our perceptions and point of view with others in a positive way.  However, like empathy, it is no guarantee of being correctly understood.  It is our means of transforming nature and our nature into culture, by making, constructing, combining.  Its purpose is to facilitate the task of human consciousness to carry on actively and autonomously the creative process that lies at our own origin.  Creativity helps us process or transform ourselves in times of crisis.  Emotionally charged psychic contents are expressed, made to 'matter,' literally.

A creative lifestyle is motivated by the true self and considered rewarding, meaningful -- a connection to psychic liveliness, fluidity, growth and spontaneity. But the creative lifestyle must be balanced with responsibility and duty, not realized by recklessly imposing destructiveness  on others.  The opposite lifestyle is arid, meaningless 'compliance,' through the false self.  Aestheic criteria or virtuosity do not apply; the test is whether the product comes from a deep unconscious layer or not, unexpected manifestations which provoke astonishment, strong affect, even defences.  They are also not magical messages from above to which we must irresponsibly submit.  Symbols of the unknown don't represent one specific course of action.  A creative lifestyle helps us confront our problems from the depth of our souls, find creative solutions, build self-reliance and courage, and increase healthy self-esteem.

On the level of human emotional response, Zeus also can be known through the father-complex.  Depending on the emotional set and setting of childhood, we may have a positive or negative father image.  It is composed of all those things we feel a father should be, and what our personal role models portrayed.  The purpose of the father image is to challenge us into further exploration and growth, and he provides the support that helps us meet the challenges of becoming an individual in our own right.  A father encourages us to find our place in the world and develop social consciousness.  He counsels us to choose a career where we may be effective, and successful.

The positive father complex expresses in an attitude of extroverted enthusiasm for life.  With a positive father-complex, we are eager to learn, comprehend, and experience many facets of life.  The positive father counsels one to maintain an objective, long-range viewpoint which is based on wisdom and consideration for others.  The negative father-complex may appear when the father is absent, or a poor example of the higher qualities of Zeus.  This type may be tenacious, and greedy, or grasping.  Nothing is ever enough to make up for the loss of spiritual fathering.

He is a counterdependent personality, who needs to remain "top dog" at least in his own mind.  He would like to control and own everything, and everyone.  He is so arrogant he thinks he must take charge of managing everyone around himself.  He is continually motivated, like the positive type, but never seems satisfied with the fruits of his efforts.

Zeus is the paradigm of the "self-made man" who might become workaholic and neglect his family-life.  This is ironic since these men frequently see themselves as working so diligently in the service of their families.  Today the role of father is no longer confined to being a breadwinner who stays at work for most hours of the day.  Males have become more aware of their nurturing capacities.  There are implications in the changing role of the father.  Now men are encouraged to take nurturing roles, even with their pre-school children.

Even in post-divorce parenting, both father and mothers are staying actively involved in the live of their children.  This cultural change is evident in the men's networks which are emerging, and such phenomena as support groups and "paternity leave" for new fathers.  Zeus has a love of freedom and independence, but he has a strong sense of commitment to engendering this quality in his offspring.

Keywords associated with Zeus include the following:

AHA!, ambitious, arrogance, alert, achievement, benevolence, comprehension, compensation, conceit, decisive, dynamic, dynamo, eagle, energetic, enthusiasm, enjoyable, egotistical, extravert, expansion, equitable, extraordinary, experienced, fortunate, father complex, glutton, grand gesture, inflation, increase, independent, leadership, lucky, majestic, magnificent, mercy, nobility, optimism, opportunity, overview, paternal, paternity suit, patronize, powerful, power trip, patrician, prosperity, patriarch, perceptive, philosophical, respected, reason, restless, self-assurance, strong will, success, systematic, shrewd, tryst, wisdom, wholeness

INTELLECTUAL IDEA

Nay, the same Solomon the king, although he excelled in the glory of treasure and magnificent building, of shipping and navigation, of service and attendance, of fame and renown, and the like, yet he maketh no claim to any of those glories, but only to the glory of inquisition of truth; for so he saith expressly, "The glory of God is to conceal a thing, but the glory of the king is to find it out"; as if, according to the innocent play of children, the Divine Majesty took delight to hide his works, to the end to have them found out; and as if kings could not obtain a greater honor than to be God's play-fellows in that game.

                                            Frances Bacon, THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING (1605)

Solomon, known for his wisdom and philosophic attitude, embodied the Zeus-type of personality.  Solomon sought an ever-expanding knowledge of God and the universe.  He wrote the Song of Songs in his youth, Proverbs in mid-life, and Ecclesiastes in old age.  However, none of these sums up the entire philosophical spectrum of his worldview.  That summation is the entire effect of the life of this great philosopher on culture.

Intellectually, the Zeus personality may be considered a philosopher, first and foremost.  A philosopher delves into the theory or logical analysis of the principles underlying conduct, thought, knowledge, and the nature of the universe.  Philosophy is linked intimately to morals and character, and produces a calmness or composure even in the face of difficulties.

Philosophers are "lovers of wisdom" who may be compared to devotees or children of Zeus.  Philosophy starts with the a priori assumption that it is superior to all other sciences.  A philosophic viewpoint takes a cosmic perspective and uses the imagery of penetrating vision.  This lucid understanding is said to confer mastery over daily living and the rest of the phenomenal world.  Philosophy works toward unification of perspectives, trying to develop a solid worldview which has an all-embracing coherence.  Philosophy has a spectrum ranging from mathematics to mysticism.

Philosophy seeks the razor's edge or balance point between opposites.  In their personalities philosophers have an occupational hazard in spiritual pride and sometimes are too pompous in their judgements.  Then their pronouncements sound like a clap of thunder and lightning to those whose perspective is a little earthier, (i.e. grounded).  Those not gifted (or cursed) with a philosophic bent find the pontifications of philosophers too abstract to be personally meaningful to themselves.  But these people are still faced with the fundamental philosophical questions, such as Who am I?, Where do I come from?, Where am I going?. Is there a god?, Does man have an immortal soul, or free will?

Aristotle's METAPHYSICS opens with the statement that all men desire by nature to know.  But this is by no means a universal truth concerning the intellectual pursuit of philosophy.  To be philosophically inclined is not a universal, but an archetypal truth.  It is the archetypal perspective of Zeus.  Psychologically speaking, Zeus equates with the Self, referred to as the Higher Self in the occult tradition.  Those not so philosophically inclined might understand, but not revere, such abstractions of human thought as principle, law, and axiom.  To them the varieties of religious experience and philosophical viewpoints may seem as numerous and promiscuous as the liaisons of Zeus.

It is the philosophic imperative of Zeus to fertilize and make fecund so many areas of existence.  The offspring of Zeus are all around us, influencing our belief systems, styles of being, and mundane pursuits.  We now live in a philosophic as well as cultural melting pot, where integration, synergy, and synthesis describe the ideal.  On the personal level this is a balanced, robust personality.  On the group level, it marks a healthy community or society.

We can tap into Zeus' wisdom for personal guidance in our daily life.  Zeus was not only considered an abstract Olympian god, but also a daimon (or mediator) on a personal level.  In other words, he (the Self) functions as an inner guide for the mortals who call on him.  His realm involves the entire cycle of human fate; he is the determiner of destiny, delivering what we have earned through our actions.  As dispenser of human fate, Zeus reigns like an almighty god.

We contact Zeus when we can "see through" the events of our daily lives to a more fundamental level.  On the psychological level, Zeus appears as the "meaning" which lights up the happenings in our lives.  For great events, there is a correspondingly profound insight.  Sudden insight may be compared to a quantum leap in consciousness.

For example, an insight concerning the nature of Self might be to "see through" to the paradox that the self, which represents wholeness, is not necessarily only good or noble.  Since it is all things, from highest to lowest, it also embodies that quality known as pure self-centered selfishness.  As a king, Zeus is wholly concerned with actualizing his own will, and from this comes the ability to be beneficent and compassionate, to give of himself.  He must, however, enjoy his freedom, untrammeled by societal conventions, or he ceases to be Zeus!

The paradox of Zeus is that he has developed a serene, philosophical attitude, while indulging in his most capricious whims, all the while being a hen-pecked husband!  This is a very difficult situation for Westerners to comprehend.  But the Zeus-energy is limited and held in check by the other gods.  When Zeus becomes too impressed with his own abilities to mediate the opposites, his wisdom can turn to folly and an excessive conceit.

Philosophy can be the basis of a personal and social worldview.  Philosophy is not just intellectual curiosity, but functions as a meta-culture.  A listing of the chief types of factors which influence the cultural behavior of man reads like a keyword correspondence for Zeus and his concerns.

These include: hunger, sex, self-defense, power, possession, fear, unseen powers, law, custom, hope, self-respect, position, achievement, need for fun, companionship, concern for other, need for children, exercise of skills, appropriate degree of social, political, and individual freedom, appropriate degree of tradition, knowing where one stands with respect to each of the above, role and goal of man.  John Oulton Wisdom (1975) classifies these as follows: "environmental, bodily needs, political, religious, legal, social, human relations, gambling, ideals, identity, knowing the system."

Different philosophies have different goals since they are based on specific value systems.  But most philosophies, from the early days of Greek thought have had to contend with the problem of universals, essences, and categories.  This problem boils down to the question: "Is a universal a word, or a conception in the mind, or an essence in a natural object?"  No problems are articulated without the existence of a human being.  Philosophy is concerned with the dynamics of comprehension and comprehensibility.  Zeus represents our primordial awareness and alertness from which philosophy begins.  The area where physical and non-physical (or psychic) merge is the human mind.

Just what is the mind, and what gives it the ability to think a thought?  We needn't even resort to philosophy for an answer.  Modern neurology posits the seat of the mind deep in the brain stem.  This higher portion of the stem constitutes approximately 1% of the total brain and is known as the Reticular Activating System, or RAS, for short.  The RAS is fundamental to the support of life.  It is even more critical than the cerebral cortex, whose removal is compatible with survival under the proper circumstances.  The main function of the RAS is the regulation of arousal.  It controls all sleeping and waking cycles, and also the "emotional brain" or limbic system.

The RAS also coordinates incoming and outgoing signals regulating the physical functions of the spinal cord and autonomic nervous system.  Even though more recent evolutionary developments, such as the cortex, seem to be the 'seat of consciousness," the 'mind' originates in this ancient formation.  The RAS is critical in the production of motivational and emotional feelings.  Appetites, emotional effects, and feelings of interest all spring from this mechanism of arousal.  The brain contains many separate mechanisms, each of which is activated through electrical currents passing along its circuitry of insulated nerve fibers.  Thus many separate functions are simultaneously coordinated through the RAS.

Passage through the higher brain stem (diencephalon) may change the quality or intensity of an incoming signal.  The RAS may inhibit or reinforce sensory messages changing the reception of the signal or message in the thalamus and cortex.  This purpose of the RAS is functional integration.  Man is an instinctual robot without the RAS, capable of no decisions, will, memory, or humor.  It is still a mystery where the mind (RAS) gets its energy since nerve cells are either activated or paralyzed.  Some neurologists do not believe that the arousal comes strictly from neuronal activity in the brain.

It is easy to deduce, however, that the mind focuses attention, is aware, reasons, and decides with understanding.  No analogous point has been found in the cerebral cortex which can be stimulated to function with electrodes.  There can be no artificial stimulation of belief or decision with an electrical charge.  The RAS "lights up" the brain with mind.  Consciousness (mind) is an integrative function roughly equivalent to "coherence" in light (i.e. laser).

Philosopher, Bertrand Russell expressed an interesting philosophical viewpoint on 'thought' in his PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION:

Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth--more than ruin, more even than death.  Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages.  It sees man, a feeble speck, surrounded by unfathomable depths of silence; yet it bears itself proudly, as unmoved as if it were lord of the universe.  Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.

This seems most true when that thought originates in the higher aspect of our being--the Self, rather than from our wounded personality complexes.  Jung noted the paradoxical nature of the Self as the center and circumference of the psyche--its center and symbol of wholeness--the integrative function.  The ego originates in the Self and is fulfilled through relating to it as a source of nurture.

The self brings structure and archetypal order to the inherent chaos of the psyche--it organizes and directs the psychic process, much like a musical conductor.  The Self strives to realize itself, with or without conscious awareness on the part of the personality.  It has its own agenda, and can appear like an alien being, thing, or consciousness when we project its power outside ourselves.

The self is the author of our sense of fate or destiny.  If our ego identifies with it too much, we go on an ego trip, claiming transpersonal powers for our puny self.  Jung defined the Self as the archetype of the God-image in the psyche, noting that is all we can ever directly apprehend of God, in any event.  Only after direct experience of the image do our minds create interpretation, speculation, dogma, or denial of the numinous experience.

Jung alleged that God can be known directly through the symbols of the Self, listening to the voices of the soul.  God is immanent in the depths of the psyche, the transpersonal realm.  God is everywhere as Self in universe, nature, and man in this animistic perspective.  The Jungian process of individuation helps to raise the God-images into conscious awareness, stimulating an I-Thou dialogue between ego and the Self.

The Self also has a shadow-side--the dark side of God--because it is a paradoxical unity.  Zeus exemplified this shadow side, acting out his Will no matter what.  This shadow of archetypal good, which is archetypal evil creates a challenge for the individuating ego.  This is an inherent part of the heroic quest, and leads to humility.  The Self appears when we need transpersonal guidance to balance the ego and unconscious perspectives, restoring psychic health.

Further reading on Zeus and related topics may be found in the following:

ZEUS AND HERA; ARCHETYPAL IMAGE OF FATHER, HUSBAND, AND WIFE, C. Kerenyi, Princeton University Press, 1975.
CELTIC QUEST, John Layard, Spring Pub., Dallas, 197 .
THE WOUNDED WOMAN, Linda Leonard
PHILOSOPHY: ITS PLACE IN OUR CULTURE, J.O. Wisdom
PHILOSOPHICAL THEORIES, M.L. Ambrose
THE GAMESMEN: THE NEW CORPORATE LEADERS, Michael Maccoby
EARTH FATHER/SKY FATHER, Arthur and Libby Coleman, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981.
FATHER, CHILD, & SEX ROLE, Henry Biller, Lexington, Mass., Heath Lexington Books, 1971.
FATHER FEELINGS, Eliot Daley, New York, William Morrow & Co., 1978.
A MAN'S PLACE: MASCULINITY IN TRANSITION, Joe Dubbert, Prentice-Hall, 1979.
A BOOK OF MEN, VISIONS OF THE MALE EXPERIENCE, Ross Firestone (Ed.), Stonehill Publishing Co. New York, 1978.
FIRE IN THE BELLY, Sam Keen
IRON JOHN, Robert Bly
THE FATHER BOOK, PREGNANCY AND BEYOND, Rae Frad, et al, Acropolis Book, Washington D.C., 1981.
THE ROLE OF THE FATHER IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Michael Lamb, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1981.
FATHERS, Ross Parke, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1981.
MEN AND MASCULINITY, J. Pleck and J. Sawyer (Eds.), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1974.
THE MYTH OF MASCULINITY, Joseph Pleck, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1981.
FATHERS, MOTHER AND SOCIETY, R. Rapaport, et al. Basic Books, Inc., New York, 1977.
FATHER JOURNAL, David Steinberg, Time Change Press, Albion, Ca., 1977.
THE FATHER'S ALMANAC, S. Sullivan, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1980.
John Gribbin, Companion to the Cosmos, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1996.

True to the spirit of Zeus, this reading list is excessive compared with the others, and contains some interesting archetypal correspondences.  For example PHILOSOPHY; ITS PLACE IN OUR CULTURE, links Zeus and Athena (Culture) and is written by Wisdom.  THE FATHER BOOK is published by Acropolis Books; there's Athena again.  Books about men by women show that Zeus is within us all.

SPIRITUAL MYTH

This life of yours which you are living is not merely a piece of this entire existence, but is in a certain sense the "whole;" only this whole is not so constituted that it can be surveyed in one single glance.  This, as we know, is what the Brahmins express in that sacred, mystical formula which is yet really so simple and so clear: TAT TVAM ASI, this is you.  Or, again, in such words as "I am in the east and in the west.  I am below and above, I AM THIS WHOLE WORLD.

                                                              Ervin Schoedinger, "My View of the World"

Zeus has a metaphysical nature since he represents the wholeness described through the personalities of the other gods of the pantheon.  He is the center of the pantheon and, therefore, represents the whole universe of manifest phenomena.  He is the father of Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hebe, Ares, Persephone, Hermes, Dionysus, The Muses, Herakles, the Graces, the Fates, and the Hours, etc.

Zeus is the metaphysical nature of the universe.  Just what is metaphysics?  It is a branch of philosophy which studies that which is beyond physics.  It deals with first principles, seeking to explain the nature of being and the origin and structure of the world.  Logic studies the elements and functions of intelligence, but metaphysics studies being and its essential properties.  When we have absorbed the knowledge available through studying physics, the next logical step to examine is metaphysics.  Thus, we formulate our worldview through knowledge and belief.

Metaphysical thinking is not vague and speculative, but precise and straightforward.  It describes the foundations of our belief systems, disclosing our a priori assumptions, or assumed truths.  We all base our worldviews on "assumed truths," therefore each of us embraces a metaphysical viewpoint which has a paramount influence on our lives.  Metaphysics has been criticized as nonsensical or occult by scientists, and heretical by the religious establishment.  In reality, it is neither, seeking merely to disclose the presuppositions of our belief systems, from its unique relative perspective.  It describes the most general features of our existence and seeks to unify the various domains of value and fact.

Myth is a metaphysical system.  Our beliefs about the nature of existence are conditioned by the mythic level of psyche.  Myth can be viewed as a preliterate form of science, through which culture was transmitted.  Mythic cosmologies, including the latest scientific theories, deal with the descent and ascent of man, echoing the deeper truths of existence.  Myths embody a universal meaning with multiple levels of interpretation.  Myths describe cosmological truths because they are in rapport with the fundamental workings of the cosmos.  Cosmologies describe the descent into matter of primal universal entities.  They use symbols since there is no other language for describing the ultimate nature of things, and symbols are the descriptors spontaneously produced by the human psyche in archetypes, myths, and dreams.

Physicists substitute mathematical formulae, but this is another type of symbol which stands in the place of reality.  Numbers, and mathematics, are an artifact of human culture, a human translation of the archetype of cosmic ordering processes.  They may give scientists an occasional flash of genius, which is like a stroke of lightning, but it only illuminates a small portion of the path.  Physics is actually a school of philosophy--natural philosophy.  We may look at physics' view of "reality" as a modern myth.  An examination of the creation myth, as described by physics yields interesting perspectives when compared with the Greek cosmogony.

The overthrow of Uranus, the Sky God, by Cronos and Gaea through his castration fulfills the basic postulate of perpetual transformation.  Cronus is the principle of determinism whose function is to regulate not only his father, but his children.  Zeus escapes the regulation of Cronos and escapes determinism through his progeny.  He uses strategy to escape the laws of Cronos (space-time).  In the world of light there is no time, space, or mass.  Photons have complete freedom.

The Uranus-Cronos-Zeus cycle describes the generation of the universe.  First there is Mater, matter or substance or mass, known as Gaea.  She is impregnated by Uranus, the original evolutionary impulse, who is characterized as the Starry Heavens.  Cronos castrates Uranus, delimiting him.  Cronos (spacetime) thus represents the law of limitation, and embodies duration, chronicity, and chronological order.  This implies death, for all forms which come into being, must cease or dissolve at some time.

Zeus escapes being eaten by "Time" through the strategy of producing numerous offspring, of great diversity.  Zeus is the expanding universe, whose nature is observable through Doppler shift.  The evidence for an expanding universe comes from observation of receding galaxies.  Galaxies twice as far away are receding twice as fast, etc., as if all had started from a common point with different velocities about 14 x 10, to 9th power years ago.

But the Greek creation myth did not begin with Zeus.  It begins with Chaos--Void Space--which can be viewed as a vacuum with random fluctuation (the random element).  From this egg of the universe was born the cosmogonic Eros, the God of Love, or primal attraction.  This Eros may also be described as the dominating force in the large-scale dynamics of the universe--Gravitation, the force of attraction which is the curvature of the structure of spacetime.  Even though Zeus represents the unity of the superior progenitor, he is limited by the other gods, as myth shows.  Our modern myths of existence may be "seen through" from the archetypal perspectives of many gods.

An imaginal description of archetypal reality discloses Zeus as ENERGY, which can manifest as LIGHT.  As radial energy, Zeus is expansive. E = hf means that energy (E) equals the frequency of the light emitted (f) times Planck's constant (h).  This formula gave birth to the quantum age.  When an atom is split mass is converted into energy.  Zeus is a "quantum god."  Recall the lament of Einstein that "God doesn't play dice with the universe."  On the other hand, Zeus is inexorably linked with gambling, risk, play and the uncertainty principle.  Zeus is a restless force.  The speed of light is constant and it has no rest mass, because it never rests.  The velocity of light is therefore a universal constant--the same everywhere all the time.

The unstable vacuum, known as Chaos, is not simply the absence of matter, but a complex system, within which matter can arise through random fluctuation.  This is probably conditioned by deterministic chaos operating in quantum fluctuation, translating the virtual energy of scalar fields into observable energy events.  Once matter (substance, the velocity-independent factor in momentum) arises, the dynamics of the vacuum lead to our present expanding universe.  It grows slowly till it reaches the critical mass for expansion.  Once expansion begins from any point, more matter is automatically created, which induces more expansion, etc.

Zeus is thus the "Big Bang", or the entire inflationary scenario of expansion and evolution (Universal Mind).  E=mc2 means that as a particle's energy increases so does its mass.  More simply, it is speculated that light twists on itself to create matter.  We come from light and return to light.  An electron is a photon, or a quantum of action frozen into mass.  Light is an enigma since it has no rest mass or charge.  Light never rests; it is restless.  It is pure action.  Light appears in whole units of action which lose no energy.  Light accounts for all energy exchange at atomic and molecular levels.  Both action (light) and matter come in whole units, which are indivisible.

Unimpaired, light follows the principle of least action, along geodesic world lines.  Since light is quantized in photons, light is pure action, and action comes in wholes.  Wholeness is inherent in the nature of action, the nature of Zeus, and the nature of Self, and God.  The Creator is not separate from the Creation in natural philosophy.

Quantum physics, like religion, reveals first causes.  Arthur Young (1976) asserts that Light = quanta of action = wholes = first cause.  Photons have total freedom since they are independent of spacetime, and are at the top of the causal chain.

We can trace the Big Bang backwards through physics.  As we go backward through time, the temperature gets hotter and hotter.  As matter (atoms) get superheated, it becomes a plasma because the heat makes violent collisions between atoms.  They can't hold together.  So matter consists of nuclei and loose, unbounded electrons.  Before the plasma stage, even nuclei couldn't hold together, so matter exited only as energetic particles.  Even earlier in creation the particles couldn't hold together, and matter could only exist as quarks.  Prior to that, conditions are so intense that of the four basic forces (gravity; electromagnetism; strong force which bonds nuclei; and weak force such as radioactive decay) the electromagnetic and weak forces merge, leaving three forces.

Still earlier, the even greater temperature melded the strong and electromagetic-weak interactions, leaving only two forces of gravity and the fused strong-weak-electromagnetic force.  We are approaching the limits of physics which postulates at Planck Time (10-43 second) all forces unify.  To describe this unified condition, physics needs to develop a theory which marries quantum mechanics to the laws of general relativity which describe gravitation.  This theory of quantum gravity would be a grand unified theory of the creation.

The Greeks defined relationships among archetypal principles through a pantheistic viewpoint.  Thus we might contemplate other physical archetypes and their relationship to Zeus as energy and light.  For example, grandmother Rhea might be rhythm, harmony, resonance, or the phenomena of beats.  Themis embodies physical laws, conservation, and action/reaction.  Hera symbolizes (molecular) bonding.  Thanatos is the principle of entropy.  Entropy is ever-present, just as death in the soul is concurrent with daily life.  Hades can influence us through radioactive decay which can be an invisible destroyer, mutating our genes.  Poseidon is characterized as a sea-god.  He could correspond with wave fronts (amplitude).  He is described as a wave function, wave packet, or tidal field, or the ocean of dark matter and energy.  Hestia's fire is described by the laws of thermodynamics. Electromagnetism is a hermaphroditic entity.  Electricity = Hermes; magnetism = Aphrodite.  Hermes also governs synchronicity which is the meaningful congruence of mind and matter.  Flow is the confluence of mind and matter.

Apollo is thermonuclear fission by which our sun creates light.  Artemis is resonance, which manifests on the human level as empathy.  Artemis/Apollo as twins symbolize polarity, + or - charge.  Mars = force, which is mass accelerating.  It is tangential energy or vector quantity.  Kinetic energy is momentum which is equivalent to mass x velocity.  On the human level it is exertion or aggression.  There are other correspondences for natural philosophy.  To understand is to transcend.

On Thundergods and Thunderbolts.  The universe is governed at a fundamental level by electromagnetic forces.  Virtually every culture has preserved memory of a "thundergod," a towering and tumultuous figure whose modus operandi is the generation of lightning and the hurling of death-dealing thunderbolts from the sky.  A prominent character in ancient pantheons, shaman rites, and religious iconography, the thundergod often doubles as a god of war.  The Inca god Illapa is a case in point: "Lightning in Inca religion was the major theophany of the weather  god, known as Ilyap'a, now usually hispanicized to Illapa…Illapa was also the god of war, of trade, and god of death.  It was represented as a constellation outlining a man wielding a club in his left hand and a sling in his right."

One of the most popular gods in North America is the so-called Thunderbird, described as a towering bird spanning heaven. Numerous tribes preserve traditions of the bird that hurls lightning from heaven, bringing destruction and fire: "The well-nigh universal American conception of the thunder is that it is caused by a bird or brood of birds—the Thunderbirds.  "The concept of the thunderbird exists in Gran Chaco, in Ecuador, and among the Caribbeans on the northern coast of the continent.

The Egyptian Min offers an early example of the thundergod, his defining symbol appearing already on predynastic pottery and rock art tracing to the fourth millennium BCE.  In addition to serving as a god of storm and war, Min also featured prominently as an agent of fertility.  The ancient Semitic thundergod Hadad/Adad, whose name is thought to be cognate with Arabic haddat, "thunder," was likewise represented as a warrior.

Illustrations of the long-haired and bearded god holding an axe and/or lightning are common throughout ancient Mesopotamia.  Early epithets of the god, including Bir-qu, Lugal-ri-ha-mun, and Mer-ta-i-mu, identify him as the lightning, King of the Hurricane, and thunderer respectively.  Adad is elsewhere represented as a promoter of fertility, a pattern we will discover in other thundergods around the world.  Thus, an Assyrian prayer invokes Adad as follows: "thunderer, splendid, mighty god, terror, doughty  warrior, who wields lightning, master of the deluge…you make abundant greenery."

The most familiar example of the thundergod is the Greek Zeus, whose resemblance to Hadad was commonly acknowledged by the ancients themselves.  Although the cult of Zeus was subject to profound evolution, often to the extent that his original nature was largely obscured, the portrait of the god offered by our earliest sources is consistent and it conforms to that of an agent of thunder, lightning, wind and rain.  It would also appear likely that the archaic Zeus was a god of war.  Burkert describes the Homeric Zeus as follows:

"Zeus, according to his Homeric epithets, is the cloud gatherer, the dark-clouded, the thunderer on high, and the hurler of thunderbolts; in colloquial speech one can say 'Zeus is raining' instead of 'it is raining'; in Imperial times children were still singing, 'Rain, rain, O dear Zeus, on the fields of the Athenians…A direct epiphany of Zeus is lightning;  wherever it strikes, a sanctuary is set up to Zeus Descending, Kataibates.  It was as a thunderbolt that Zeus laid his fatal embrace on Semele.  The thunderbolt…is the weapon of Zeus which he alone commands; it is irresistible, even gods tremble before it, and enemies of the gods are utterly destroyed when it strikes; in the face of such a manifestation of divine energy, man stands powerless, terrified and yet marveling."

In ancient Europe the thundergod occupies a prominent place in early pantheons.  The Norse Thor was both thunderer and warrior.  The god's name, cognate with the OHG Donar and Anglo-Saxon Thunor, derives from proto-Germanic *Thunaraz and signifies "thunder." Words formed with the god's name signified the weapons hurled from heaven.  In Swedish lore, for example, thunderbolts were known as thorvigg or thorkil.

The Finnish god Ukko shares numerous features in common with Thor.  He, too, produces the thunder and lightning while controlling the weather.  The word ukko, like its diminutive ukkonen, came to signify "thunder." It has long been recognized that Thor finds a close parallel in the  Lithuanian Perkunas/Latvian Perkons, the latter god described as riding across the sky in a fiery chariot. The Slavic Perun offers an obvious cognate of Perkunas.  Of the former god, it is known that his name came to signify a thunderbolt: "In Slavic, perunu designates both 'thunderbolt' and 'thunder-god'."

Russian folklore describes Perun as a great dragon-slayer.  Parjanya, a thundergod of ancient India, offers yet another cognate to  the Baltic Perkunas.  The Rig Veda paints a terrifying picture of the god: "He smites the trees apart, he slays the demons: all life fears him who  wields the mighty weapon." Parjanya is described as wheeling about in heaven in his chariot, dispensing the fertilizing rains: Parjanya is elsewhere identified with Indra (8:6:1), the prototypical example of the Indo-European thundergod.  Indeed, the Vedic hymns describing Indra offer the most comprehensive portrait we have of the archaic thundergod.  It is Indra who is said to have created the lightnings of heaven.  The Divine Warrior's devastating thunderbolt is  the subject of countless hymns in the Rig Veda.

One of the more curious beliefs surrounding the lightning holds that it emanates from the region of the sun or, more specifically, from a sky-god's eye.  This idea is well attested in ancient Greece, where it was believed that Zeus could produce lightning from his eye. Aeschylus, for example, wrote as follows of the Greek thundergod: "The jealous eye of God hurls the lightning down."  The same conception is implicit in Euripedes' Bacchae: "Unveil the Lightning's eye."

Numerous scholars have observed that the image of Zeus casting  lightning from his eye corresponds to a widespread belief.  In Hindu tradition, for example, Shiva was said to have been capable of throwing lightning from his third eye, located in the center of his head.  Association of the swastika with the sun-wheel is right on target, Thor's weapon elsewhere being described as a fiery wheel.   The connection between the (ancient) sun and the swastika is universal in scope.  The following tradition from the Ofo Indians of Florida is a case in point: "The Ofo called the swastika design ila tata, or 'Sun middle.'

A closely related conception views the lightning as generated from the "wheel" of the ancient sun-god.  The Lithuanian Perkunas, for example, is said to have obtained his terrible weapon in the following manner: "The source of the lightning is the sun, the heavenly fire: the Thunder-god gets fire from the solar wheel by rotating his lightning-club in the nave of the solar wheel." Thundergods are frequently linked to wheel-like objects in ancient art and ritual.  A krater from Lecce shows Zeus set next to a wheel. In addition to his thunderbolt, the Latin Jupiter was frequently depicted together with a wheel in Celtic iconography.  The Celtic Taranis, whose name signifying "thunder" is cognate with that of the Norse Thor, is likewise pictured together with a wheel, prompting Green to state with respect to Celtic iconography that "the thunderbolt was a recurrent associate of the wheel-sign." Also relevant here is a fact noted earlier: that Thor's thunderbolt was expressly compared to a fiery wheel.  A wheel, especially a flaming one, is the symbol of thunder, of Donar."

The Greek Zeus was likewise intimately associated with the World Pillar.  Cook summarizes the evidence surrounding the Italian cult of Zeus at Tarentum as follows: "Sacrifices were offered on pillars to the lightning-god Zeus Kataibates—a practice which, as we saw, had probably been inherited from 'Minoan' times.  Apulian and Campanian vases, also, represent Zeus fulminant on the top of a pillar.  Altogether, it looks as though there were in south Italy an old belief that Zeus with his lightnings dwelt on high above an obvious tangible pillar, his vehicle and support."

The Greek hero Prometheus, whom Servius described as obtaining his fire from the sun's wheel, was said by Diodorus to have been the "inventor of the fire-sticks, from which fire is kindled."  Arthur Cook, while disavowing previous attempts to link the Greek hero's name to the Sanskrit term pramantha, "fire drill," would nevertheless relate the latter term to an epithet of Zeus's: "it is highly probable that pramantha the 'fire-drill' does explain Promantheus, a title under which Zeus was worshipped at Thourioi."

A universal belief finds the thunderbolt (or lightning) regarded as a fertilizing force.  Indeed, the idea is so common in ancient myth and modern folklore that it is usually taken for granted as if it somehow makes sense in terms of the customary behavior of lightning.  The thunderbolt's striking the earth, together with the accompanying rain, is thought to "fertilize" or "inseminate" the earth.  The Desana Indians of Colombia, for example, hold that "lightning…is a fertilizing force that impregnates the earth with its crystal-semen." More precisely, the lightning is regarded as the Sun's ejaculation or semen or, with specific reference to the latter's eye, as a "fertilizing glance."

Nearly every Old World thundergod doubles as an agent of fertility.  Marija Gimbutas described the Lithuanian Perkunas as follows: "The earth is barren until the Thunder strikes her in the springtime—until in his epiphany of thunder Perkunas weds the Mother Earth, Zemyna."  Such beliefs, according to Gimbutas, "are universal [among the Balts and Slavs] and certainly stem from very early times." Ancient conceptions of the thunderbolt as fecundator or impregater, some of which survived well into modern times. Thus it is that Thor was frequently invoked at weddings, the god's thunderbolts forming a prominent feature of many a bridegroom's attire: "In certain parts of Norway and Sweden, it continued to be the custom for a bridegroom to bear an axe at the wedding long after Thor was forgotten; the weapon was said to give him mastery, and also to ensure a fruitful union."

A widespread tradition locates the thundergod at the center or "heart" of heaven.  Thus, the Semitic thunderer Adad was said to roar in "the  heart of heaven," the latter site being that wherein the ancient sun-god both "rose" and "set."  Similar ideas are apparent in the Finnish cult of  Ukko.  An interesting epithet of the god's was "navel of the sky," thought to link the thundergod with the polar region or Pole star itself.  The Navaho thundergod Nayanezgani is likewise said to have lived in the center of the world.  So, too, is the Vedic Parjanya, described as follows in the Rig Veda: "Parjanya is the Father of the Mighty Bird: on mountains, in earth's centre hath he made his home." The Quiche thundergod Jurakan was called by the epithet U C'ux Caj, "Heart of the Sky."  Jurakan was the highest deity in the Quiche pantheon and he was credited with being the "source of all energy and life in the universe."  Indeed, it was his union with the earth that initiated Creation.

The cyclone, a term that originated from the Greek kyklos, meaning 'wheel' or 'circle', and was modified to kykloma that signifies 'wheel' or 'coil of a snake', is defined as 'a storm or system of winds that rotates about a center of low atmospheric pressure clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the North…The tornado, from Latin: tornare, 'to turn in a lathe', and also  influenced by the Spanish words tornado: 'turned' or 'returned' and  tronada: 'thunderstorm', is a 'violent destructive whirlwind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud…" Most significant is the intimate relationship between the whirling winds and an "eye-like" or "wheel-like" form, reminiscent of our earlier discussion of swastika-forms.

To sum up our survey of thundergod lore to this point: the thundergod is inextricably associated with the ancient sun-god, in ancient myth as well as in sacred iconography.  The god's lightning is said to emanate from the region of the sun or from a celestial eye.  We are not the first  to notice this connection between the sun and the thundergod.  Morris Jastrow, the great Assyriologist, observed that: "In many mythologies the sun and lightning are regarded as correlated forces." Arthur Cook, similarly, concluded: "The sun-god has much in common with the thunder-god."

CULTURAL COUNTERPARTS

Jehovah, I AM (Hebrew)
Brahma, Indra (Hindu)
Jupiter (Roman)
Amoun-Ra, Osiris (Egyptian)
Woton (Nordic)
King Arthur (Celtic)
Sun Pin, Lei-kung (Chinese)
Marduk (Babylonian)
Quetzalcoatl,  (Aztec)
Great Spirit (Native American)

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES

All of the great philosophers world-wide, including Pythagoras, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Confucious, Lao-Tzu, etc.  The sagacious King Solomon; King Henry VIII of England with his numerous wives.

More recently, the economic "aristocracy" such as the Morgans, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Kennedys, even Bill Gates.  Any corporate entity or leader is an embodiment of Zeus.

A few years ago, the television show DYNASTY typified a whole pantheon of characters.  Zeus, was Blake Carrington, Captain of Industry.  His shrewish ex-wife Alexis was Hera.  His father-obsessed daughter Falon was an Athena.  The son-in-law Jeff was Apollonic.  Krystal was a combination of Aphrodite and nurturing Demeter.  The long-lost son, Adam, was a shadow-ridden Trickster, linking him to Hermes.

R. Buckminster Fuller is a brilliant example of the Zeus-personality.  This magnificent mind was an interdisciplinarian and whole earth citizen.  He maintained great interest in both the abstract realm of geometry and structure plus the environmental world of daily life.  His many works, especially SYNERGETICS 1 & 2, summarize his physico-psycho-social work concerning optimal efficiency and cooperation.

Donald Trump revealed his philandering shadow-side.  Sultan of Brunei is the richest man in the world.  The head of the federal exchange commission has been called the most powerful man in the world because he controls the value of U.S. currency, thereby controlling world trade situations.

KEYWORDS: power, control, direction, administration, executive, financier, magnate, sexy, desirable, goal-oriented, inflation, lucky, extravert, egotistical, lottery, success, decisive, leadership, independence, energetic, fortune, fortunate, wealth, intuition, flux, systematic thinking, authority, respectable, honorable, refinement, richer life, opportunity, grasp, comprehension, reward, solution, achievement, attainment, solar plexus, comprehension, compassion, religion, vortex of force, expansion, destiny, beneficence.

DIALOGUE WITH ZEUS

We can tap into Zeus' wisdom for personal guidance in our daily life.  Zeus was not only considered an abstract Olympian god, but also a daimon (or mediator) on a personal level.  In other words, he functions as an inner guide for the mortals who call on him.  His realm involves the entire cycle of human fate; he is the determiner of our unique individual destinies, delivering what we have earned through our actions.  Are we empowered, or disempowered?  As dispenser of human fate, Zeus reigns like an almighty god.

We contact Zeus when we can "see through" the events of our daily lives to a more fundamental level.  On the psychological level, Zeus appears as the "meaning" which lights up our personal experience.  For great events, there is a correspondingly profound insight.  Sudden insight may be compared to a quantum leap in consciousness.

Zeus can be a wise and philosophical father figure for us--mentor, role model, and authority symbol.  The purpose of the father image is to challenge us into further exploration and growth.  He provides the support that helps us to meet the challenges of becoming an individual in our own right or becoming whole.

If we lacked this guidance as a child, we may have to re-father ourselves.  A father encourages us to find our place in the world and develop social consciousness.  He counsels us to choose a career where we may be effective, and successful.

The positive father-complex expresses in an attitude of extroverted enthusiasm for life.  With a positive father image, we are eager to learn, comprehend, and experience many facets of life.  The positive father counsels one to maintain an objective, long-range viewpoint which is based on wisdom and consideration for others.

Seek the philosophical objectivity of Zeus, his insights, and divine wisdom.  Seek his paternal nurturing.  He symbolizes the archetype of the Self or Universal Mind manifesting in individuals as their fullest extension and actualization of potential.  He is pure creative energy.  Mass is "crystallized" energy.  We come from Light and return to that Light, according to the testimony of physicists and mystics, alike.  Meditate on that Light, and become it.

ZEUS IN YOUR LIFE

 1. Do you feel empowered or disempowered in your life; does your personal authority spring from internal or external sources?

 2. Have you ever suffered at the shrewishness of a jealous, vindictive spouse?

 3. Do you set certain limits on your personal freedom?  Are you conscious of what they are?  Are you accountable to others?  Examine where these limitations might come from, i.e. fear or shyness from Persephone, fidelity from Hera, consistency and reliability from Athena, etc.

 4. Do you believe we have any free will as humans, or do you believe in immutable destiny or fate?  How can you contact your True Will as Zeus, or the higher Self?

 5. When our ego or personality identifies with the unlimited power of Zeus, it puffs-up to unrealistic proportions.  Zeus is associated with expansion or inflation.  With a positive Zeus identification, we expand our horizons.  With a negative Zeus identification we go on a terrible ego-trip.  How does Zeus affect you positively?  Describe the biggest "ego trip" you've ever gone through, and what eventually burst your bubble (ego death).

 6. Are your philosophical by nature?  Which philosophy-of-life or philosophical school do you feel closest to in attitude?  Perhaps it is a religion.  Who is (or was) you favorite philosopher?

 7. If you can remember "lighting up" with a sudden insight, describe it briefly.

 8. Do you think you have enough confidence and self-assurance, or are you self-defeating?  Call upon your inner Zeus-potential to develop your will, intuition, reason and leadership capacities.

 9. Zeus embodies many of the qualities of a guru.  Have you ever followed a wise teacher whom you revered as a role-model?

 10. Do you have a strong religious spirit?  How does it affect your behavior (restraint, justice or fairness, etc.) and emotions (compassion, guilt, faith, love, etc.)?

 11. Can you describe your personal metaphysical viewpoint by examining the foundations of your belief system, or worldview?  What are the underlying assumed truths of these beliefs you embrace?  Who are you?  Where do you come from?  Where are you going?  Perhaps you hold a metaphysical interpretation of a major religion, such as Christianity or Judism.

 12. Do you produce many "offspring," new fruits of creative projects, either physical results (like art) or metaphysical (like bright ideas)?

 13. Do you have a weak or strong ego?  Are you a "can do" person or do you tend to fall apart in a crisis or allow others to walk all over you?

 14.  Are you considered judgmental and harsh or fair?

 15. How do you react to the realistic and unrealistic expectations of your spouse?  If you are a man are you attentive to your children?  Were you when they were small?  Hera likes a big, powerful man who is competent and successful.  However, there is something of the little boy in them, also.  How does your inner child balance your Zeus force?

NEXT:  THEMIS

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File Created: 3/17/02
Last Updated: 7/25/02