Recurring Creativity
Life is like a ship at sea, sailing on eternally;
Oft the anchor forth we cast, but never can make it fast.
— after Charles Dickens
Epic Poets
Today we pay tribute to Luís Vaz de Camões, the great Portuguese poet who died on 10 June 1580, a day now celebrated as Portugal's National Day. Camões is best known for his Os Lusíadas (1572), an epic poem in which Portuguese seafarers are likened to Greek Argonauts. The original epic about the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece was written in the 3rdC BCE by Apollonius of Rhodes, a previous incarnation of Camões. Two great poets, two great epics, one fine soul.
From Priest to Prophet
Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, is the subject of repeated scrutiny and speculation following his investments in data, AI, defence and weapons technology development. His entrepreneurial spirit and eccentric ideas earned him the title Philosopher King of Silicon Valley. Drawing on scientific and theosophical perspectives, classical and biblical narratives, he is also seen as the priest, prophet and saviour of a free transhumanist future — a future free from the control of a one-world state. A quick look at two of his past lives offers us a new perspective to this perplexing personality:
"Peter Thiel is linked to the biblical Ithamar, son of Asarharon (Aaron), the Levitical priest involved in the institution of the Tabernacle and its various associated cult-religious artifacts. He returned as Sir Thomas Browne, a contemporary of Sir Francis Bacon, and was among the first to espouse the Baconian method of observation and experimentation. This resonates with the work of Peter Thiel today. Bacon's scientific method was meant to inaugurate an era of science which would ultimately lead to a fusion with spirituality, to clairvoyance and higher spiritual perceptions, thereby rendering the clumsy scientific method redundant. Whether Peter Thiel will play a notable role in the coming paradigm shift we leave to the man himself." (El Ochre, 30 December 2025)