Ethereal Insights

Tibetan depiction of Red Jambhala ( ཛམ་བྷ་ལ་དམར་པོ་ ) Temporal Power | Wednesday – February 4, 2026 T emporal power—what moderns refer to as the state —constitutes the terrestrial manifestation of primordial wisdom or knowledge , and this power, the word power being used to symbolize some physical ability to change or alter the conditions of the material domain , is always derived from the mandate of Heaven, as the Confucians put it; the sovereign is in other words the envoy of the spiritual authority. Spiritual authority is different from temporal power, and according to most scholars it is fitting to delineate the words "authority" and "power" in this manner by evoking their different application: authority being inherent in wisdom and knowledge and therefore a part of contemplation, or the nature of the sacred and the immutable ; whereas power is something much more immediate and terrestrial, having very much to do with action and change, as previously mentioned;...

"Modernity" – Marina Reich Third Rome | Tuesday – February 3, 2026 There's been much discussion historically and on the internet about the concept of a "Third Rome", and at least three states have claimed this title, and they include: The Holy Roman Empire, The Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire. Now, I have no interest in attempting to adjudicate whether any of these historical entities had more or less of a claim to this title, but I find the concept of a Third Rome interesting for a couple of reasons. First, if there's a Third Rome, shouldn't there be a second Rome? What about a Fourth Rome? Of course, the First Rome, if you will, was the old Roman Empire that existed from the time of late classical antiquity until the extreme early dawn of the Middle Ages, and the collapse of this Empire marks, according the the scholars, a temporary readjustment of the metaphysical order; it should also be noted that many of the modern confusions that reign supr...

An arctic continent on the Gerardus Mercator map of 1595 Hyperborea | Monday – February 2, 2026 A ccording to Greek mythology Hyperborea was a land "beyond" the God (Boreas) of the north wind, and this land of "Hyperborea" was inhabited by a people (Hyperboreans) who lived according to the principles of a pacific outlook  and in harmony with the creation, without disease, strife, and devastation; in a lot of ways Hyperborea can be considered a paradise on Earth. The exact location of this "mythic" place is unknown, but scholars would generally point to the far north, potentially the north pole, which would be in keeping with the Greek notion that Hyperborea was situated beyond the north wind. The ancient world's relationship to Hyperborea however, was much more established than merely a mythological figment in the collective imagination, and it's also clear that in the very deep past some kind of original or prototypical civilization was, at some p...