Re-enchantment of the world
🌍 What does "re-enchantment of the world" mean?
The term describes the process by which we bring the sacred, the mysterious, the living, and the soulful back into our worldview.
It is a response to the "disenchantment" that arose primarily through the Enlightenment, rationalism, materialism, and technocracy.
🧊 First came disenchantment:
The sociologist Max Weber said in the early 20th century:
"The world is disenchanted."
→ Everything is explained, measured, and controlled.
→ No more room for magic, spirit, soul, or myth.
→ Nature = dead mechanism
→ Humans = functional units in the system
He didn't mean that this was a good thing—but rather that it was a loss.
✨ Then came the call for re-enchantment:
People like:
Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophy)
Joseph Campbell (Myth & Hero's Journey)
Carl Gustav Jung (Archetypes & Collective Unconscious)
James Hillman (Psychology of the Soul)
Ken Wilber (Integral Theory)
Charles Eisenstein, David Abram, and many more
... attempted to reclaim the deeper, meaningful layers of the world.
🌿 What does re-enchantment mean specifically?
Nature is animated again – not an object, but a subject.
Myth and symbols regain meaning – not as fantasy, but as the language of the soul.
Spirituality is not escapism, but rootedness in mystery.
Everyday life is once again experienced as sacred – every action carries meaning.
Magic is understood as the effect of subtle forces, not as a trick.
Science and mysticism do not have to be mutually exclusive.
🧚♂️ In practical terms, this means:
Disenchantment Re-enchantment
"Only matter is real" "Consciousness permeates everything"
Functionality & Control Wonder, Connection, Intuition
Me versus the world Me in relationship to the world
Cynicism Depth, Meaning, Resonance
Consumption Devotion, Awe
🕯️ Spiritually speaking:
The world is a temple
The soul speaks through images & symbols
Every encounter is sacred
You are part of a living cosmos, not separate from it
📖 Beautiful terms & books on this topic:
"The Spell of the Sensuous" – David Abram
"The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible" – Charles Eisenstein
"The Re-enchantment of the World" – Andreas Weber (Bionomy & Spiritual Ecology)
"At the Heart of the Heart of the World" – Marion Woodman
💬 A short poem about this?
The world was never dead,
only our eyes became blind.
Now that we see with our hearts,
it begins to sing again.