087a - Claire Silver - "Love in the 4th Turning"

Artificial Intelligence, Digital, 2022. 

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and in that field of broken stone

that marked the place of what had been

in death and ice, a vibrant bloom

that wakes to reach with bending stem

to light, as children often do--

the tomb its mother, teacher, home

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her eyes upon fresh avalon

his eyes upon the churning sea

from rest, insula pomorum

hope transmutes into certainty

and turning, step now, two in one--

together toward the fires of dawn

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The concept of the 4th Turning comes from Strauss-Howe generational theory, according to which, there is a recurring generational cycle of archetypes throughout history. The Millennial Generation belongs to the 3rd Turning--a societal unraveling in which old systems are are mistrusted and sentiments of individualism are strong. The archetype associated this time is the Civic Hero. What comes after is crisis--the 4th Turning, predicted to begin, for us, around 2026. This is a time of the destruction of old systems, from which springs a new civilization, focused toward community, purpose, and the shared goal of rebuilding a better world. The archetype of this time is the Adaptive Artist. 

The generational shift we are experiencing echoes the late Medieval: the Heroes of the Arthurian Generation and the Adaptive Artists of the Humanists that followed. 

There comes an end to all systems, and in that chaos heroes and great artists are awakened. The cultural revolution of art as NFT, the adoption of decentralized economic and social orders, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence as augment for humanity are hallmarks of this shift. Those that watch the horizon with determination band together to become the architects of the greatest love story of our age.