Cosmology Research

Cosmology is the branch of study that deals with discovering the origin, structure, and nature of the universe. Though it may not seem very pertinent at first, this idea actually fits within the 3 levels of interpretation that we learned about very well.

Within cosmology there are 2 separate branches, the microcosm and macrocosm. The first of these, the microcosm, is the smaller of the two branches of cosmology. It deals with individual groups inside the universe, such as the human race, or animal race. Lots of things even smaller than a whole race could be considered a type of microcosm. The ecosystem around a lake, for example, could be considered a microcosm. Even things as small as the germs and bacteria on the top of a cracker you eat could be classified as a microcosm.

The idea of groups of things, small or large, that make up the universe or world fits right into the middle level of interpretation we studied, the social level. The religion of the ancient Egyptians had a lot to do with microcosms. They believed that every group of people had their own role in society; this was the basis for their hierarchy pyramid. Those of noble birth were considered to be the higher microcosm, and were therefore placed on the top of the pyramid to guide and rule the people under them. From there the pyramid branches downwards into larger and larger, but increasingly less powerful, microcosms. At the bottom you have you and me, the average people who just go about their daily business doing the best that they can.

The other branch of cosmology, the macrocosm, deals with the universe as a whole. The macrocosm encompasses everything, just like the universal interpretation level that we studied. Gods and the celestial bodies that they are represented by were the macrocosm within the Egyptian religion. Gods like Ra, the greatest of all, commanded the power of nature. Ra specifically commanded the sun and light. The sun is the center of the universe and nothing else could exist without its life-giving light. This makes it the perfect object to personify a macrocosm. The universe as a whole and everything it contains, stemming out from the sun, is our macrocosm.

The idea of cosmology unfortunately, does not work very well with the individual level of interpretation. It generally deals with larger groups, but if you stretch the definition just slightly, you can even fit it to groups of thoughts within an individual. If you picture your brain as a macrocosm, then certain types of emotions like happy emotions, and sad emotions could be considered microcosms.

That is the long and short of cosmology and the way that it pertains to mythology and the Egyptian culture. There are examples of cosmology in almost every culture. I just used the Egyptians because their religion is centered around celestial bodies.