2.7 The I maginal Realm and Mythopoeic Thought
I n the ninth century, the I slamic historian Tabari described a strange region,
a country of the imagination, the Earth of the Emerald Cities (Bloom, 1996:148).
Following on in the twelfth century, Al-Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din Yahya (1154- 91
C.E.), became a pivotal figure in the link between Gnosticism and I slamic mysticism,
founder of a new school of philosophy in the Muslim world, the school of
I lluminationist philosophy (hikmat al-ishraq). The most original feature of Al
Suhrawardi’s thought is his interpretation of Platonic I deas in terms of Zoroastrian
angels but more importantly he also elaborated the idea of an independent,
intermediary world, the imaginal world, alam al-mithal (Avens, 2003:131).
Next is the medieval Sufi master I bn ‘Arabi (1165-1240 C.E.) whose
influence on the general development of Sufism can hardly be overrated and whose
writings for Sufis after the thirteenth century constitute the apex of mystical
theories. I bn ‘Arabi’s thinking encompasses God, the cosmos and humankind and in
his work we meet an immensity requiring a spiralling upward and outward,
downward and inward until there is deepening understanding of all three
interconnected realities (Lewis, 2000:25). I bn ‘Arabi presents a world that is fluid
and ever changing, one that may be seen literally but also imaginally. The world of
I bn ‘Arabi is one of mystery and miracles, shamanic-like phenomena and shape
shifting. I n the image from one of Rumi’s poems, I bn ‘Arabi moves “ ... back and
forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch” and, indeed, the two poets
would seem to share a belief in the existence of an imaginal world (Lewis,
2000:285).
At around the same time the I talian, Dante Aligheri (1265-1321 C.E.), wrote
his great shamanic-cosmic vision as a poetic trilogy: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.
Taken on a shaman-like journey to Paradise, Dante is enlightened by divine
revelation, taken through the hierarchy of nine heavens and then guided by the
great contemplative mystic, Bernard of Clairvaux, towards the beatific vision, to
discern the whole universe in God; a literal description of a state of shamanic
participation mystique.
Perhaps the most visible example of the emergence of a mythopoeic text
occurred in the year 1499 C.E. with the anonymous publication of the most
extraordinary book of the I talian Renaissance, the enigmatic, polyglot