Journey to the Imaginal Realm

Announcing...

As the curator of philosophies at Revelore, I am pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of Journey to the Imaginal Realm: A Reader's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by Dr. Becca S. Tarnas. Stay tuned for release date announcements in the near future!

Journey to the Imaginal Realm

This reader’s guide to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ringsoffers a journey into the world of Middle-earth, exploring the grand themes and hidden nuances of Tolkien’s epic story, connecting The Lord of the Rings to the larger mythology of Middle-earth, and situating Tolkien’s process of writing within his own powerful experiences of the imaginal realm. The Lord of the Ringshas been a beloved story to several generations since its publication in the mid-1950s. The timeless story engages with a complex struggle between good and evil, death and immortality, power and freedom. The Lord of the Ringsis a book treated by many as a sacred text, one to be returned to year after year, or read aloud with loved ones. The Lord of the Ringshas become a myth for our time.

Journey to the Imaginal Realm guides the reader through each chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus, drawing attention to the subtle details, recalling moments of foreshadowing, and illuminating underlying patterns and narrative threads throughout the story. Close reading of the text is paired with relevant biographical information from Tolkien’s life, including the loss of both his parents at a young age, the central role of friendship in his life, his participation in the First World War, and his exquisite romance with his wife Edith. Tolkien was a lover of language and a philologist by profession, and his invented languages form the heart of his tales. In some of his letters, Tolkien described his process of writing as one of discovery, in which he waited to find out “what really happened,” feeling as though he was “recording what was already ‘there,’ somewhere.” This reader’s guide seeks to understand the imaginal experiences Tolkien may have encountered that led to the writing of his stories. The guide explores Tolkien’s theory of sub-creation, the immersive experience of Faërian Dramas, and most importantly, his notion of the realm of Faërie. Journey to the Imaginal Realm is a celebration of Tolkien’s work, and an inquiry into the profound nature of imagination, which is capable of bringing forth a world as vast as Middle-earth.

Becca S. Tarnas, PhD, is a scholar, artist, and editor of Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology. She received her doctorate in Philosophy and Religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies, with her dissertation titledThe Back of Beyond: The Red Books of C.G. Jung and J.R.R. Tolkien. Becca received her BA from Mount Holyoke College in Environmental Studies and Theatre Arts, and MA in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at CIIS. Her research interests include depth psychology, literature, philosophy, and the ecological imagination. She is currently teaching as an adjunct professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Portrait by In Her Image Photography.

Journey to the Imaginal Realm is part of the Nuralogical series created in partnership with course offerings on Nura Learning.

Featured photograph by Constantine Co.


Gebser Society and Seeing Through the World Tote Bags

 

The bags are in! Revelore was pleased to collaborate with the Gebser Society to produce these tote bags, designed by Jenn Zahrt and featuring an original portrait of Gebser by Nina Bunjavec.

These bags were part of a fundraising effort for the Gebser Society after its 2018 conference, "Gebser and Asia" at Naropa University; those who donated at the $100 level receive a tote with a personal note from me (as Gebser Society president). Expect to see them in the mail this holiday season. If you're interested in grabbing a tote for integral sojourning, see the donation page on the Gebser society's homepage.

Revelore is also pleased to be featuring Nina's portrait in the imminent publication of Seeing Through the World: Jean Gebser and Integral Consciousness, the first book in our Philosophies series. Pre-order is opening soon.


Welcoming Jeremy Johnson to Revelore

Jeremy Johnson is an editor, essayist, and culture writer. His work explores the borders of the human and non-human worlds, liminal spaces, and the imagination as a window into latent futures. He is the founder of Nura Learning, a conscious media platform promoting education as an agent of personal and cultural transformation. Jeremy has a Consciousness Studies MA from Goddard College, and is the current president of the International Jean Gebser Society. Jeremy is also a contributing editor to Reality Sandwich magazine, and his writing has appeared in publications such as OMNI, Evolve Magazine, Conscious Lifestyle Mag, Kosmos Journal, Evolve and Ascend, and Disinformation.

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Jeremy, we are so thrilled that you’ve joined the Revelore team. You have chosen to become the Curator of Philosophies. What does that mean to you, and, really, how did you arrive here?

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