Intuitive recognition of toroidal cycles?

Rosaries: The earlier paper (Designing Cultural Rosaries and Meaning Malas to Sustain Associations within the Pattern that Connects, 2000) noted how principles vital to understanding of the integrity of a pattern of belief were associated in many cultures with beads or symbols on some form of rosary. These provided a set of mnemonic triggers to recollect that pattern. Such devices are then to be understood as succinct carriers or holding frames. They provide a symbolic interface with that which is larger or more complex than can be coherently comprehended. The individual elements on any such necklace might then be understood as a set of cognitive "lenses" through which a larger context can be partially comprehended -- a form of "macroscope" (Jȏl de Rosnay, The Macroscope, 1979; Luc de Braband̏re, Le Lat̩roscope: syst̏mes et cr̩ativit̩, 1989)

Identity: Necklaces, bracelets, anklets and belts may of course also be used to signify identification with a set of beliefs or understandings. They may be used to denote acquisition of understanding, notably as a mark of rank. They are a means of tribal identification in many cultures. More commonly they may also take the form of fashion accessories, expressive of other collective affiliations or associations. The distinct functions essential to integrated application of insight are best exemplified by the use by artisans of belts from which hang a set of tools. The use of key rings may also be understood symbolically and practically as holding access to a range of domains relevant to the exercise of an integrated set of functions.

Halo: as a halo (nimbus, aureole, glory, or gloriole), it is depicted as a ring of light that surrounds a person of spiritual significance, typically in religious art representing holy or sacred figures. So depicted, it may notably surround the head or be positioned as a ring above it. Rather than a ring, from some representations it is readily to be inferred that it is considered to be a sphere, namely a form of crown.

Mark of property and dominance:

-- notably as a mark of enslavement, as offering a means through which slaves could be chained, Slave collars made of iron were used to discipline and identify slaves who were considered to be a risk of becoming runaways
-- this being one controversial interpretation of its use on women, even of the highest social standing and irrespective of the quality of the torc
-- in relation to dominance and bondage in a range of role-playing activities (known by the acronym BDSM) outside of commonly held social norms regarding sexuality and human relationships. A collar (possibly with an attached leash) is then a device of any material placed around the neck of the submissive partner -- owned by another.

Enabling "metapsychic powers": as enabling distinct "metapsychic" powers, notably as imaginatively explored in the science fiction series of Julian May (Saga of Pliocene Exile, notably The Golden Torc, 1982) where several torcs conferring such powers are distinguished: gold (ensuring complete operacy of those with latent powers), silver (ensuring control of the powers of the wearer by those wearing the golden form), grey (enabling only a degree of "farspeech" and ensuring control by those wearing the golden form). The series provided early imaginative support for understandings that now permeate online role-playing games and movie variants.

Signifying secular powers or bonds: as implying or conferring "powers" of some kind, if only in secular terms:

-- " Collar":

• a clerical collar (or "dog collar") worn by all ranks of Christian clergy. It was allegedly adopted as a symbolic gesture to reflect the iron collar that slaves were often made to wear around their necks.
• a livery collar (or chain of office) is a collar or heavy chain (usually of gold, possibly linking jewels) worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. Related significance is attached to widespread current use of collars of orders of knighthood, mayoral collars, and collars of freemasonry regalia (with the addition of a suspended jewel indicative of rank and having distinct symbolic significance)

-- Necklace: as a necklace (or neck ring), notably as associated with indigenous knowledge systems, for example:

• the Native American tradition inspired the wearing of long-beaded necklaces (love beads) within the hippie culture and by its inheritors
• inspired by Egyptian tradition, the community of Damanhur promotes the use of selfic bracelets
• use of lapis lazuli (from Afghanistan and ancient Babylon to Peru and the Inca civilization) to form "power amulets" were formed when shaped into the form of an eye and ornamented with gold.
• the sacred thread (Yajnopavita), accorded through a Hindu Brahmin ritual recognizing the status of twice-born. It symbolizes the connection between material and spiritual worlds and is composed of nine fine threads; three such threads being connected by a knot. As a whole, the thread is circular, normally supported on the left shoulder and wrapped around the body, falling underneath the right arm.

-- Tiara: as a tiara, namely a semi-circular band, often metal, and decorated with jewels, which is worn (especially by women) as a form of adornment on very formal or high social occasions, possibly as a feature of bridal wear; tiaras are frequently used to "crown" the winners of beauty pageants. Award winners may be described as "officially entorced".

-- Wreath: In contrast to metallic forms, are those woven from leaves or flowers. Wreaths are common to many cultures; laurel wreaths were used as a form of crown in classical Greece and Rome; the are depicted as part of the logo of the UN and some of its Specialized Agencies. Floral wreaths continue to be used as crowns at midsummer festivals, especially in Scandinavia (Elizabeth Jane Lloyd, Enchanted Circles, 1991) and in neo-pagan celebration of Beltane.

-- Crown (the focus of Dimension 3): with arches or covering to the basic circlet arrangement of a tiara, typically indicating that the wearer's power, wisdom, and authority comes from on high as well as symbolizing power, rank, honor, victory, elevation, wealth, reward, perfection, and achievement:

• as a crown of royalty
• the papal tiara, being the symbol of his authority, is a high cap surrounded by three crowns and bearing a globe surmounted by a cross (see more extensive discussion of the triple crown in Dimension 3).

-- Bracelet: as an anklet, bracelet, or arm ring, etc

-- Ring: as a ring (whether on the finger, ear, toe, arm, or elsewhere), perhaps echoing or focusing the function of a necklace and the integrity (or sense of most highly valued wholeness and bonding) it implies, as indicated by:

• as a mood ring, changing colour in response to the mood of the wearer
• as a sentimental association
• as a fraternity ring: notably as worn by students and by members of masonic and other fraternal lodges
• as an engagement ring or as a wedding ring: presented in many marriage ceremonies to signify marital commitment (Matt Jacks, The History of the Wedding Ring: a recognizable symbol of love, 2008)
• as a signet ring: an emblematic, often familial, ring, often bearing a coat of arms, notably for use to imprint a wax seal on official documents etc; may also be indicative of authority typically acknowledged in a ritual of kissing the ring as a recognition of fealty. Prominent examples are the papal Piscatory Ring and the ecclesiastical rings.
• as a rosary ring: with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface, representing one decade of a rosary; used to keep track of place in the prayer by rotating the ring on a finger and feeling the marks.
• as magical ring, the imaginative focus of many legends and popular tales including The Ring Cycle of Richard Wagner, and that of J. R. R. Tolkien.(The Fellowship of the Ring; The Lord of the Rings; see commentary on The One Ring); also .Will Kalif (The Symbolism and the Power of the Ring in Epic Fantasy). In addition to their representation in movies, they also figure in internet role-playing games. In the Wiccan tradition, rings are ritually imbued with magical power as "witches' rings" -- presumably echoing processes of consecration of ecclesiastical rings.
  

See further discussion in Peter Breslin ( Sacred Geometry and Ring Symbolism, 2006),

Of particular interest is the associated use of piercing, recalling the practices of indigenous peoples and the symbolism (of wholeness?) they may have attached to rings used in this way. However piercing also suggests an intuitive sense of the higher dimensionality that can only be reflected at lower dimensionality through such "cuts" (in psychoanalytic terms). On the other hand, disparaging references are made to being led by "a ring through the nose" -- as with a bull.

Rings as a mode of psychosocial organization: Widespread reference is made to "rings", as in organized crime (drug rings, call-girl rings, criminal rings), and web rings. (including a Witches Circle Web Ring). A related variant is reference to a circle of contacts or a circle of friends, possibly reflected in circle, ring and round dances, including those of children (Ring a Ring o' Roses). .In the Wiccan tradition the construction of a ring is of ceremonial significance (R.J. Thompson, Drawing the Witch's Ring of Art, 28 January 2008)

The fashionable use of "global" focuses on the geographical dimension: the planet as a whole. This emphasis is the culmination of a century of successful effort towards international understanding -- of "thinking globally and acting locally", of "global villages", of "global action plans", of "global ethics", of "global consciousness" and of "globalization".

What has been largely lost in this process is the other sense of global, namely some kind of comprehensible, integrative whole -- of which a geographically bounded planet is but one particular instance. "Global" is too readily taken to mean planet-wide and no more -- a recognition by certain regions that there are others on the planet. "Interdisciplinarity", "transdisciplinarity" and "integrative" have themselves evolved into holistic buzz words because of the essential failure of the initiatives they represented in responding to the fragmentation of knowledge. "Holistic" could even be considered as content-free. "Global understanding" in this integrative sense has become almost a myth in pursuit of which some heroes occasionally continue to quest.

Perhaps it is only in mathematics that the clearest, and most general, distinction is maintained between "global" and "local". Unfortunately that discipline is incapable of taking into account the essential psychological distinction between the two that is associated with broader (rather than narrower) processes of comprehension, communication and learning. It is possibly only in Q-analysis that powerful clarification is given to the relationship between degrees of comprehension (Atkin, 1981).

For those of psychoanalytical orientation, there is also the suspicion that the current fascination with "global" competitiveness could usefully be seen as a projection onto a world scale of the competition of the tiny sperm of the male to reach the much larger female egg to ensure reproduction. The struggle for "globalization" may be partially driven by the oldest of instincts. From this perspective what awareness do those competing to imprint their particular vision on the world have of their global goal? This perspective would completely undermine democratic processes in relation to global governance. It would be reassuring to discover that sperm "cooperate" like migrating geese or like teams of racing cyclists. It is ironic that the preoccupation with globalization should occur in a period of falling male fertility and concern at the "feminization of nature" (through widespread pollution by oestrogen substitutes).

In this paper, "global" is explored in the sense of a potentially accessible cognitive whole rather than as an essentially inaccessible geographical one (although the latter may serve as a metaphor for the former). Just as one can travel around the globe without being able to see it as a whole from any one perspective, so one may perhaps be able to "circumnavigate" a cognitive whole without being able to "grasp" it. It is even possible that the understanding which tends to "grasp" cannot be fruitfully termed "global" -- or that what can be so grasped is not fruitfully understood as a whole of larger significance, or of requisite variety (cf. Ashby's Law).

In terms of the challenges of global governance, the ability of a particular discipline to grasp the challenges of society cannot in this sense be understood as "global". It is necessarily sub-global, namely local in some way which honours the particular, "local" insights of that discipline. A single finger cannot pick up and hold a ball, just as the ball cannot be completely viewed from a single perspective. In this metaphor, there is also a distinction between "clutching" and the many skills required to play with the ball through a variety of grips and actions. What does this then imply for global "conversation"?