The Praxis of the Unconscious Imaginal: Hunter-Gatherer Sojourns in Darkness

Abstract

This hermeneutic study reviewed literature in a multitude of disciplines in an effort to surface a millennial darkness practice that culturally oriented the hunter-gatherer cultures of the Paleolithic and Near East Early Neolithic. This mode of praxis was pursued by dedicated practitioners over a period of some 20,000 years, first in Paleolithic caves and later in enclosures of darkness simulacra locatable in the archeological record of the Neolithic. The praxis was grounded in the inducement of afforded states of the unconscious, in environments of darkness, and the direct experience of intensified archetypal imagery. Beginning with the essential archetypal image of mind and cave, research was pursued with the intent of surfacing emergent physical expressions of this image that indicated for this mode of praxis. This process of seeking the material evidence for the praxis mind and cave was supplemented by a sensibility of remaining open to imagery regarding the contours of the praxis as it autonomously surfaced in the course of the work. The research surfaced an evidentiary archeological matrix of praxis in the darkness simulacra of the Near East early Neolithic that supports the hypothesis for the praxis. It also surfaced some insights regarding the emergence of agriculture and mythology, codified in the culturally orienting modes of praxis of science and religion that define contemporary Ag-Myth culture. The study concludes with a discussion regarding the contemporary relevance of and implications for re-enactments of the praxis, as well as the basis and rationale for an emergent depth psychological archeology.