I found the discussion about "enchantment" particularly interesting and would love to have a longer piece on that topic by you. To me it seems that, in a strange way, we have more enchantment than, say, in the early 90s, because the "end of history" in the sense of Fukuyama would, IMO, be pretty much the most disenchanted state of affairs possible. At that time, techno-globalism and various other dystopian scenarios did not loom large, at least not in the same way as now. With these now in plain sight, are we ourselves not in a struggle with modern-day Grendel and is this struggle itself not a source of re-enchantment, albeit perhaps with a cyberpunk flavor? It´s almost like being in a real-life computer game.
Thank you. I know that essay and like it very much. I should have been more precise in asking for a piece concerning the possibility (or lack thereof) of re-enchantment in the here and now.
Point being when reading this I was reminded of your own piece own the garden you have, I will assume maybe that many people are not able to remain content or more deeply In a State of Tranquility with modernity as it is extremely Civilised and so feel a sense of Gloom.
Could be wrong, cheers for the lovely commentary as always, best wishes, may the gods bless you and yours.
I’ve been aware of that feeling you so succinctly describe for a few years now, and I could never really explain it. I thought of it as an oppressing feeling pressing down from without, rather than an entirely inward despair welling up from within; a dense, palpable fog of synthesised, manufactured depression rolling over the nation and hanging stalely in the air, sapping all motivation, vitality, optimism - spirit, even - almost like how a vast cloud of carbon monoxide gas quietly issuing from the caldera of a volcano rolls silently down the mountainside to suffocate the unsuspecting people living in it’s shadow far below. I noticed it would all but evaporate when I went for my long sojourns way out in the countryside and away from the ‘built environment’ so I had a shrewd idea as to what the symptoms were, but the cause seemed to stem from something much deeper and more fundamental than the more obvious symptoms.
I’ve been quite reluctant to talk about it much over the years to be honest, because even the very few people I speak to in a more open and informal way seem not to understand when I talk about anything like this, that I can’t elucidate in a few short sentences of colloquial language or by references to popular themes and such (I also don’t rule out that I might just do a piss-poor job of explaining it haha). I’m just left with the impression that they think I’m speaking cryptically - or of some esoteric knowledge gleaned from the far-flung reaches of the Internet that suggests a malediction or something likewise supernatural - and express confusion or a concern for my mental wellbeing - rather than what is a very sane observation of a clearly perceptible decline into a state societal decline and malaise.
I could only encapsulate the phenomenon in it’s entirety into a single, most fitting and accurate word: ‘grey’. I gave a little, grim nod of recognition to myself when that same word was used to describe it.
Everything looks and feels grey, regardless of whatever the colour of the buildings or the people are. There’s nothing more colourful in the literal sense than the emphatic and vacuous display of gross vulgarity they call ‘pride’ these days, but is so flatly empty and devoid of any genuine substance and beauty, and lacking meaning and purpose, that it is just as listless, colourless and grey as anything else.
Despite both the symptoms and consequences becoming relatively ubiquitous over the course of a mere generation; the emptiness in many people’s lives being filled with alcoholism and drug use/abuse, the lives being cut short by their own hand... so many seem to prefer to just dismiss it even if they are aware of it and being affected by it.
I knew I couldn’t have been alone and that others would be feeling and thinking the same, but it’s so good to hear someone else talk about it, and I’m glad you mentioned it and it was great to hear you speak at length about it, and give your insights into it!
You've so eloquently put into words exactly how I feel when I consider the culture at large. I spend a great deal of psychic energy resisting this gloom. It is like living through a slow motion apocalypse that no one wants (or can) admit is happening.
Re the Philip Glass opera, is this not indicative of an almost overwhelming need of his "group" to deconstruct and desanctify every aspect of life? In nearly every art form where Glass and his group gain any influence, you see this trend towards the gross, the venal, the mundane. It seems to be an irresistible compulsion for them.
I found the discussion about "enchantment" particularly interesting and would love to have a longer piece on that topic by you. To me it seems that, in a strange way, we have more enchantment than, say, in the early 90s, because the "end of history" in the sense of Fukuyama would, IMO, be pretty much the most disenchanted state of affairs possible. At that time, techno-globalism and various other dystopian scenarios did not loom large, at least not in the same way as now. With these now in plain sight, are we ourselves not in a struggle with modern-day Grendel and is this struggle itself not a source of re-enchantment, albeit perhaps with a cyberpunk flavor? It´s almost like being in a real-life computer game.
I have a lot of written essays and videos on the theme of enchantment.
This is the one referred to in the conversation.
https://morgoth.substack.com/p/the-disenchantment-of-the-rhine-and
Thank you. I know that essay and like it very much. I should have been more precise in asking for a piece concerning the possibility (or lack thereof) of re-enchantment in the here and now.
Morning Morg, was listening to this this morning, haven't finished it yet.
Though I was reading this piece this morn as well;
https://open.substack.com/pub/expressiveegg/p/the-woods?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=ga0u4
Point being when reading this I was reminded of your own piece own the garden you have, I will assume maybe that many people are not able to remain content or more deeply In a State of Tranquility with modernity as it is extremely Civilised and so feel a sense of Gloom.
Could be wrong, cheers for the lovely commentary as always, best wishes, may the gods bless you and yours.
All the best, Louis.
You nailed it with this lads! Top man Morgoth!
I’ve been aware of that feeling you so succinctly describe for a few years now, and I could never really explain it. I thought of it as an oppressing feeling pressing down from without, rather than an entirely inward despair welling up from within; a dense, palpable fog of synthesised, manufactured depression rolling over the nation and hanging stalely in the air, sapping all motivation, vitality, optimism - spirit, even - almost like how a vast cloud of carbon monoxide gas quietly issuing from the caldera of a volcano rolls silently down the mountainside to suffocate the unsuspecting people living in it’s shadow far below. I noticed it would all but evaporate when I went for my long sojourns way out in the countryside and away from the ‘built environment’ so I had a shrewd idea as to what the symptoms were, but the cause seemed to stem from something much deeper and more fundamental than the more obvious symptoms.
I’ve been quite reluctant to talk about it much over the years to be honest, because even the very few people I speak to in a more open and informal way seem not to understand when I talk about anything like this, that I can’t elucidate in a few short sentences of colloquial language or by references to popular themes and such (I also don’t rule out that I might just do a piss-poor job of explaining it haha). I’m just left with the impression that they think I’m speaking cryptically - or of some esoteric knowledge gleaned from the far-flung reaches of the Internet that suggests a malediction or something likewise supernatural - and express confusion or a concern for my mental wellbeing - rather than what is a very sane observation of a clearly perceptible decline into a state societal decline and malaise.
I could only encapsulate the phenomenon in it’s entirety into a single, most fitting and accurate word: ‘grey’. I gave a little, grim nod of recognition to myself when that same word was used to describe it.
Everything looks and feels grey, regardless of whatever the colour of the buildings or the people are. There’s nothing more colourful in the literal sense than the emphatic and vacuous display of gross vulgarity they call ‘pride’ these days, but is so flatly empty and devoid of any genuine substance and beauty, and lacking meaning and purpose, that it is just as listless, colourless and grey as anything else.
Despite both the symptoms and consequences becoming relatively ubiquitous over the course of a mere generation; the emptiness in many people’s lives being filled with alcoholism and drug use/abuse, the lives being cut short by their own hand... so many seem to prefer to just dismiss it even if they are aware of it and being affected by it.
I knew I couldn’t have been alone and that others would be feeling and thinking the same, but it’s so good to hear someone else talk about it, and I’m glad you mentioned it and it was great to hear you speak at length about it, and give your insights into it!
You've so eloquently put into words exactly how I feel when I consider the culture at large. I spend a great deal of psychic energy resisting this gloom. It is like living through a slow motion apocalypse that no one wants (or can) admit is happening.
44 minutes : you can't have beauty for beauty's sake in England, Keats must be spinning his urn
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
Re the Philip Glass opera, is this not indicative of an almost overwhelming need of his "group" to deconstruct and desanctify every aspect of life? In nearly every art form where Glass and his group gain any influence, you see this trend towards the gross, the venal, the mundane. It seems to be an irresistible compulsion for them.