5.2.2 |
THE FOUR DAYS OF NEUTRALITY |
The Metric Calendar relates earthly dates to the Sun on which all life on
Earth and also the state of inorganic things depend.
While our planet revolves about this incandescent body, its position
changes with respect to the latitude of places on Earth.
Movement is relative
tho, and while it
is this planet which revolves (most), it is as if the Sun moves across the
Earth's latitudes: from the equator to the southern tropic —as we
shall call it—, from the southern tropic to the equator, from the
equator to the northern tropic, and back to the equator.
The accompanying change of seasons is one of the most significant
phenomena of the natural world we live in, particularly in the
temperate and moderate regions.
Not only do many plants and animals around us depend on this yearly cycle
in which seasons succeed each other, but also the weather and —it is
sometimes said— even the mood of human beings.
Moreover, this seasonal diversity is timeless.
It is as old as the age of this planet,
and will remain with human beings so long as they inhabit this
planet. It has also acted a major role in the life of human
beings from the beginning on, or from the moment they migrated
from the tropical region to temperate and colder regions.
Those whose work was or is in the field have always related
their activities to the time of the year, that is, to the
movement of the Sun. (But, naturally, calendar names such as
Wine-Month, Frost-Month and Harvest-Month are
territorially exclusivistic, if
meant to be universal.) And they did not connect only their work with the
Sun and the seasons, but their world-view, too, often reflected their
immediate dependence on the land, the seasons and the Sun. Still today the
life of human beings is closely related to the orderly movement of the
planets about this star. This orderly movement is practically eternal,
and so is the succession of seasons. The regular movement of the
Sun across the Earth's latitudes epitomizes in this way the
fascinating order of the whole solar system we live in, if
not of nature itself.
Let us now describe the relationship between the Sun and the
Earth's latitudes in
catenical terms.
Of all these latitudes the equator is the central or
neutral one; places in the
northern hemisphere are located at a positive latitude, places in
the southern hemisphere at a negative one, or vice versa. One of the
predicates of the Sun is its position with regard to these
earthly latitudes. It is in a positive position when between the
equator and the northern tropic, in a neutral position when
above the equator and in a negative position when between
the equator and the southern tropic. This predicate concerns
only the position of the Sun with regard to our own planet, and it
does not have any universality, but since there is no question
of any universally (known) positive, neutral and negative
position, we may, being on Earth, relate the Sun to this planet
and its latitudes. Altho this is an exclusive choice from the
perspective of the whole universe (if there is such a perspective),
it is not exclusive with regard to the situation on
Earth, so long as we do not apply our conclusions or our symbols
to systems greater than or outside this planet (for example, to
other planets).
On the Equinoctial Days (Prime 14 and 40) the Sun is above
the Earth's equator and in a state of latitudinal neutrality.
After these days it starts to move away from the equator. The
force which causes the Sun to do this is, so far as this aspect
is concerned, an
unneutral-directed force, because
it brings this star in a state of latitudinal unneutrality. On New
Year Solstitial Day (Prime 1) the Sun reaches the southern tropic or
most negative latitude, and after this moment it starts to
return to the neutral latitude, the equator. The force which
causes the Sun to do this is then a neutral-directed force, and
a period of neutral-directedness has set in. A second period of
neutral-directedness commences on Midyear Solstitial Day (Prime
27), when the Sun returns to the neutral latitude from the
northern tropic or most positive latitude.
In the short term, taking the span of only one year, the
forces which make the Sun move from the equator to one of the
tropics, and back, are both neutral-directed and unneutral-directed
forces, neither sort being stronger than the other. But
in the long term, taking the life of our solar system, the force
which keeps the Sun moving across the Earth's latitudes keeps
this star on the average above the equator by perfectly
balancing the period of time it is above the positive latitudes
and the period of time it is above the negative ones. The
nanaic
force which maintains this latitudinal neutrality of the Sun
when differentiating over the life span of the solar system is,
of course, nothing else than the force of gravity. It is
gravitation which keeps our solar system (and also our galactic
system) in an orderly condition. And it is gravitation which is
the creative power behind the movement of the planets (and
stars), that is, the 'creator' of nature in a physical sense.
We are human beings who live in terms of years, the life span of a solar
system being something practically incomprehensible to us.
Having such a short life, the seasonal movement of the Sun means something
to us, ephemeral as it may be compared with the life of a solar system.
As throughout the universe, our world is a world of neutrality and
unneutrality, of
nanapolar and unnanapolar or
nan-nanapolar
catenality, and when the Sun is
above the neutral latitude, this may be regarded as symbolic of
ananicity; and when the Sun is above a
positive or negative latitude, but starts to move in the direction of the
equator again, this may be regarded as symbolic of nanaicity.
Those for whom these symbols are meaningful may observe the special days
that the Sun is above the neutral latitude, or has started to
move back again from one of the extreme latitudes. So the
succession of the seasons can be related to the all-nanaic and
the creative, nanaic or nonnanaic, transient forces; and it can
be related to the all-ananic and the neutrality or unneutrality
of momentary solar positions.
Yet, there is no obligation to observe the special days on
which one quarter succeeds the other, because by merely observing
them no-one is less or more nanaic (in a direct sense) than
anyone else to whom this symbolism does not appeal. But for
those who recognize these Sundays they represent ananicity and
nanaicity, and can rightfully be called "Days of Neutrality".
(It should be borne in mind that a name like Sunday is a
nondenominational one, whereas
Day of Neutrality is a denominational name typical of
the DNI's symbolism.
Moreover, we will discuss shortly why a Day of Neutrality is not
necessarily a Sunday.
If it is, however, one may always say "Sunday" instead of "Day".)
The DNI does not force its symbolism on anyone, even not on an adherent of
the Ananorm, but it forbids
the use of symbols or the perpetuation of symbolism incompatible with
the DNI's fundamental principles. This aspect of our doctrine carries
especially much weight on the four quarter days, regardless of
whether one personally observes the Days of Neutrality or not.
Thus, no person living under the denomination of the Ananorm shall, on a
Sunday in particular, accept or give away money contaminated with a
theodemonist or party-political
symbol or any other
antisymbol.
Thus, no person living under the denomination of the Ananorm shall, on a
Sunday in particular, recognize a state constitution, law or regulation
opening or closing with, or otherwise contaminated with, a theodemonist or
party-political symbol or any other antisymbol.
And thus, no person living under the denomination of the Ananorm shall, on
a Sunday in particular, submit to any forcible confrontation with religious
or party-political symbols, unless resistance to
religionism or political
dictatorship on such a day does not serve the supreme goal of
neutral-inclusivity in the end.
