ABSTRACT
Until around the middle of the 13th century Europeans lived in what could be thought of as an animate world: one that was filled with correspondences, ‘sympathies’ and connections. Metals, for example, were born in the womb of the earth and the metalworker, miner, artist and alchemist acted as the midwives to nature, helping her in her striving for perfection. Time was cyclical and social space was as rich as an egg. In some ways the European worldview was not that different from that shared by many indigenous people across the world today.
