Ben Rovers

The pivotal role of air in water cycle mythology

Abstract

'If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth' (Ecclesiastes 11:3).

The bible is full of references relating to weather phenomena, as are many other religious and mythical writings. The myth of the water cycle plays a central role in many of these stories. It refers to the elemental cycles in life, fore example the cycle of life and death and the cycles that the soul experiences during one life time.

In this paper the function of the sky (or air) in this cycle is examined: the uptake of water from the earth, the conversion through condensation, the process of osmosis, the storage (in clouds), the moving (through wind), and finally the returning through precipitation.

Drawing mainly on early neoplatonic sources such as Plotinus, Porphyry and Iamblichus, we will investigate how the natural functions of air relate to the soul functions of air in early Greek theories on elements and soul. The paper starts with an exploration of early Western myths on the water cycle. It then shifts to neoplatonic theorizing on the role of air in the cosmological cycle and its translation to soul processes; ultimately demonstrating the pivotal role that the sky plays at the intersection of spirit and matter.

Biography

Ben Rovers (1964) has a PhD in Criminology and an MA in Political science. He works in the Netherlands as a criminologist and over the last 25 years he has published extensively, both academic and non-academic, on this topic. Ben also works as a professional astrologer. In 2016 he graduated from the MA on Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred at Canterbury Christ Church University (UK). His esoteric research focuses on classical theories of elements, soul theory and alchemy.