Speaker: Herman Bender

The programme, originally created for the Circumpolar Bear Cult exhibition at the CeSMAP museum in Pinerolo, Italy, explores the connections between the 18.61-year lunar maximum cycle, a bear effigy mound in eastern Wisconsin, and ancient circumpolar bear cult traditions. It discusses potential links between Old World and New World bear mythology, highlighting the significant roles women played within these cults as healers and shamans. Rich in symbolism, myth, and cosmology, the programme adopts a Jungian perspective. The speaker, Herman Bender, is an independent researcher, astronomer, geologist, founder of the Mid-America Geographic Foundation, and head of The Hanwakan Center for Prehistoric Astronomy, Cosmology and Cultural Landscape Studies. He is also the author of Lands of the Shamans.