Spiritual Turning Points of South American History

by Luigi Morelli

Overview

This volume follows the blueprint of its North American counterpart, Spiritual Turning Points of North American History. Whereas that volume follows the foundation of the Popol Vuh, this one retraces Andean myths from the Titicaca region and from later Inca tradition.

Myth and history are placed side by side in an approach both scientific and imaginative that documents the correlation between prehistorical and historical periods, as well as the spiritual events that ushered them in as narrated in Andean myths and legends. Myth and historical records reinforce each other, contrary to commonly held assumptions that tend to devalue indigenous myths.

All of this is placed within the perspective that the more modern spiritual-scientific research of Rudolf Steiner has brought to light, particularly in relation to the events that took place in Central America two thousand years ago, about which he alone has spoken.

The first part of this research looks at events that closely accompany the turn of our era. The second part of the work addresses the cultural revolution undertaken by the Incas a century before the Spanish conquest. The overall result shows a thread of spiritual continuity that continues to play an important role in South American culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781584201083
Publisher:	SteinerBooks, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/05/2012
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Luigi Morelli is the author of several books, including Spiritual Turning Points of North American History; Hidden America: Spiritual Forces at the Birth of a Nation; and A Revolution of Hope: Spirituality, Cultural Renewal and Social Change. Based on his thirty-year study of spiritual science, he approaches American culture and history by imaginatively weaving scientific methodology with the legends and myths of America. He also engages in modern American culture and its forms of experiential spirituality in his practice and teaching of Life Coaching, Nonviolent Communication, and Technology of Participation. All of his work is done with the intent of finding the relationships between American spiritual impulses, past and present, and Rudolf Steiner's legacy.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I South American Prehistory

1 From Mesoamerica to South America 8

2 First and Second Ages 13

Andean Geography 13

Andean Mythology and Chronology 19

The Second Age and the Revolution of the Late Archaic 27

Cult of the Andean Cross 35

The Spiritua-Scientific Background 47

3 Third Age: Chavin 56

Chavin: in Preparation of the Future 56

Chavin's Decadence and Sechin 67

Chankillo: First Solar Culture 74

Spiritual-Scientific Considerations 75

4 Myths of the Collao: The Second Creation 78

Creation Myth of the Collao 78

A Comparative Look at the Myths 82

5 Fourth Age: The Time of Thunupa 86

The North-Central Coast 87

The Rise of Tiwanaku 89

Andean Cosmology and the Mystery of the Nazca Lines 99

Thunupa 110

The Being of Thunupa: Esoteric Considerations 122

Part II Cultural Decline and The Inca Spiritual Revolution

1 Age of the Warriors and Cultural Decline 131

Moche Culture 132

Middle Intermediate Horizon and the Emergence of Wari 145

Late Intermediate Horizon and the Chimú Kingdom 153

The Chancas 163

Conclusions 164

2 Inca Foundation Myths 167

The Myth 167

Myths and Inca Origin 174

The Incas and the Memory of Thunupa 181

Early Inca History 185

3 Inca Empire and the Fifth Age 188

Viracocha Inca and the Vision at Urcos 189

Pachacuti and the Legend of the Chancas 190

The Birth of Empire 197

Reform of the Calendar, Religion, and Political Power 199

Political Organization 218

Decimal Organization and the Economy 224

4 Inca Esoteric Knowledge 229

The Re-Writing of History by the Spaniards 230

Inca Historical Consciousness and Writing 236

The Order of the Heavens and the Ordering of Time 245

The Order of Earth and the Ordering of Space 252

Linking Heaven and Earth: the Ceques of Cuzco 259

An Appraisal of Pacacuti's Reforms 266

Conclusions: A Perspective on South and North American Spirituality 271

The Nature of the South American Mysteries 272

North and South America: Parallels and Contrasts 281

Notes and References 287

Bibliography 306

List of Illustrations 312