At the Time Wall - Ernst Jünger

Part Six

Man’s Divisions

32

The revolutions are foretold in the stars. This has been the case for a long time, long before men inhabited the earth. Therein lies the scale by which the universe may be measured in time, from the fleeting instant to light years. The most profound changes in the human order have their interpretation in astrology. The gaze cast upon the starry sky traces the first path, the invisible one. Then come the phenomena. The modern phenomenon begins and ends with the Copernican revolution. Any new look towards the whole has its metaphysical background. This remains true after the invention of the telescope and in the midst of complicated calculations.

Today, history and the natural sciences are divided into great eras of time, without satisfying us, despite having at their disposal not only an abundance of new materials but also new measuring instruments and clocks. The order of phenomena can be represented by a straight line or a circle, depending on whether a linear or cyclical system is adopted. Their association is given by the spiral, where development both advances and returns upon itself, albeit on different levels.