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Shane M. Nygaard presents: The First Powers: The Titans & An Enchanted Universe—a two-part presentation
The First Powers: The Titans & An Enchanted Universe approaches the twelve Greek mythic Titans not as overpowering gods to be banished to Tartarus, but as primordial conditions through which a world – and ultimately a cosmos – becomes possible. In his essay “. . .And Huge Is Ugly: Zeus and the Titans,” James Hillman invoked the Titans whiler eflecting on the return of the huge in modern life; here, their return is taken seriously as an imaginal event. Where the Olympians inhabit a differentiated world of roles, domains, and dramas, the twelve Titans point toward deeper conditions that make such a world possible at all:powers through which reality can move, take form, endure, become perceptible, sustain life, establish relation, and meet its necessary limits. Oceanus gives us Circulation, Iapetus Finitude, Rhea Continuance, and more – but no single power is sufficient alone. With Eros already present in the primordial genealogy, desire enters the foundation of the cosmos itself, drawing distinct powers toward relationship without erasing their differences. A world arises through the twelve powers; cosmos arises through their relationship.
This Titanic scale has urgent contemporary relevance. AI, planetary networks, climate-scale agency, space travel, and technological amplification are giving human beings capacities of staggering reach, while our interpretive habits often remain intensely personal and human-centered. The Titans expose that mismatch. They invite and challenge us to imagine at a greater scale – to encounter powers larger than ourselves and allow our imaginations to grow in response. Their return may awaken us again to an enchanted universe and open new possibilities for envisioning the emerging Age ofAquarius: not as a promised future, but as a vast architecture of participation, shaped by relationship and desire, that challenges us to inhabit the world more responsibly.In this two-part presentation, the first session sets the stage through the Titan myth within the Great Astrological Ages and how our world became Titanic, then introduces each Titan through image and shadow, culminating in Eros. The second explores theTitans in relation to one another and closes with an experiential workshop: Encounter. Enlarge. Inhabit.
Saturday, February 13 & Saturday, February 20, 2027, 2:00 – 4:00 CST on Zoom
Shane M. Nygaard is a mythopoetic thinker, presenter, and cultural analyst exploring the symbolic threads linking astrology, archetypes, and the collective imagination. With more than fifteen years of talks for organizations including the Minnesota Jung Association and leading astrology organizations such as UAC, NCGR, and OPA, he is known for bringing timeless myth into conversation with contemporary culture. His presentations, from The Supernatural inPopular Culture to Pluto: Descent Required!, invite audiences to encounter the soul of culture through image, metaphor, and planetary symbolism. Published in The Mountain Astrologer andThe Evolving Astrologer, Shane continues this work through Mythic Currents, his YouTube channel and Substack, where he explores myth, archetype, and popular culture, and where his essay The First Powers first appeared.