"By the advice of the god of wisdom she took refuge in the papyrus swamps of the Delta. Seven scorpions accompanied her in her flight." (The Golden Bough, 422)

This Apocalyptic imagery of this passage has hopefully been noted. Because we have to make a distinction between literal eschatology(where, if you are idiot friends of my mother's, you believe that there is a specific historical time and moment where the world comes to an end once and for all) and mythical apocalypse(which is the end of the way you used to see the world). Do those who believe in a literal Apocalypse know they are engaging in a deep mythological patterns that run deeper than they can comprehend? Do college boys drink beer?

We also discussed the vast influence of The Golden Bough, throughout literary history, and also in terms of popular culture: it's one of the three books that Curtz has in his room in Apocalypse Now, alongside Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance(heavily influenced by GB) and the Bible.

We also prepared questions for the test, which will be apocalyptic for all of us, I am sure.