Myth Matters

The Sumerian myth of the hero-king Gilgamesh may be the oldest story in recorded history and yet, his quest for meaning is poignant and powerful today. This podcast is part 1 in a 3-part series on this myth. In this episode we meet Gilgamesh and his friend and alter ego, the wild man Enkidu.

 Transcript and links to bonus material available at www.mythicmojo.com

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In the last podcast I told you the beginning of the Arthurian legend of Perceval and his quest for the grail, written by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes in the 12thcentury. This story, and others about King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable, were part of an important cultural conversation, a conversation about the rights and authority of the individual. 

Perceval’s quest for the grail is easily understood as a quest for self-realization, and an assertion of the need felt by each and every one of us, to know ourselves, be ourselves, and meet our destiny on our own terms. The right to make such a quest must be claimed over and over again.

Now I want to share the last part of Perceval’s story, about his fateful meeting with the Fisher King. This is an opportunity to consider the larger significance of the personal quest for self-realization, and its importance for our community.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com.Thanks for listening!

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“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or path, it is someone else's path [...] If you follow someone else's way, you are not going to realize your potential.” 

― Joseph Campbell

Some people seem to know the purpose for which they were born very early in life. Others of us stumble along searching for a long time. The Arthurian legend of Perceval and the Story of Grail can tell us something about how the quest for self-fulfillment begins. 

Mythologist Joseph Campbell loved these stories and found a touchstone or two in them that shaped his life. Maybe you will too.

 "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

(The Campbell quote above is from "The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life & Work").

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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“Tell me Muse, about the dear son of Hermes, the goat-footed, the two-horned, the lover of the din of revel, who haunts the wooded dells with dancing Nymphs who tread the crests of the steep cliffs, calling upon Pan the pastoral god of the long, wild hair…” Homeric Hymn to Pan

Many, if not all of the old gods, are embedded in what we now call the “natural world” in one way or another, so what makes Pan the Greek god of “nature?” How has he been treated by Western culture over the centuries, and what does this tell us about Western fears and prejudices?

In this podcast, we look at 4 of his defining characteristics: the significance of his trickster father Hermes, that he’s half man and half billygoat; his reed pipe; and his home in Arcadia—to find answers to these questions.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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What is the source of creative ideas and guiding visions, and how do they come to us? How do our creative ideas change and how do we change along with them? 

In this episode I share a Celtic story that offers an opportunity for meditation on these questions. The story of Aengus and Caer is based on myths that inspired the poet William Butler Yeats to write his poem “Wandering Aengus.” Here are a few words from Yeats about the creative life:

“The greater energies of the mind seldom break forth but when the deeps are loosed. They break forth amid events too private or too sacred for public speech, or seem themselves, I know not why, to belong to hidden things.”

Creative inspiration is commonly linked to artistic and poetic endeavors and yet, it is an essential ingredient for anyone who understand that a good life is made, that it is an adventure with purpose, form, beauty, and meaning. 

This is the life of the engaged imagination and fully utilized powers of perception, the life of the soul.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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Fairy tales are inherently subversive. If you sit with one, if you think about what puzzles, delights, or infuriates you, you will be changed. And there are thousands of fairy tales and stories in cultures around the world, that have this power. 

 “The Queen Bee,” a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, was new to me when I set out to record this podcast. It’s pretty short and I didn’t expect much. I didn’t love the story or think that it would find its way into a podcast, but the tale kept revealing new depths and I was compelled to follow the trail.

This fairy tale got me thinking about what kind of person I am and who I want to be, about hopelessness and surrender, belonging and miracles. I hope you find inspiration and food for thought here too.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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“These lofty words are an antidote for anyone sickened by extremism’s poison.” Attar

The Conference of the Birds is an epic poem from the 12thcentury written by Sufi poet Farid ud Din Attar.

The story is an enduring source of insight and inspiration for truth seekers everywhere. Rumi, said, “Attar is the soul itself.”

If you want a story to speed you down the path to your fulfillment then let Attar be your teacher.

If you are feeling lost, beat down, angry, or despairing, let the story of these birds and their quest to find a king, guide you and lift you up.

“The way of love is not subtle argument.
The door there is devastation.
Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling,
they’re given wings.”
--Rumi

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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“I sing of the great god Poseidon, mover of the earth and fruitless sea […] god of the deep, shaker of the earth […] tamer of horses and savior of ships […]” Homeric Hymn to Poseidon

After the Olympians defeated the old gods, Zeus and his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, divided the world into three realms. They drew lots to establish which of them would rule over each.

Poseidon was awarded the ocean.

In this podcast I talk about Poseidon and share some his myths, including his role in Homer’s Odyssey and the contemporary significance of his longstanding competition with the goddess Athena.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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In the Greek myth of Oedipus a king tries, unsuccessfully, to avoid fulfilling a horrifying prophecy. He doesn’t escape his fate and yet free will exists, doesn’t it? Did Oedipus make a critical mistake? Did he have other options? Do we? 

Reflections on the message and meaning of the tragic fate of King Oedipus and how it can illuminate the dance with fate and destiny today.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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How do you come to know yourself? What does this mean and how is this task accomplished? Most importantly, do you really want to know? 

The quest for self-knowledge lies at the heart of human experience and it is a quest surrounded by questions. Some of them are addressed in one of most famous Greek myths, the myth of Oedipus, immortalized in a trilogy of plays by Sophocles from the 5th century BCE.

In this podcast I tell the story of Oedipus and reflect on the connection between this story, the contemporary quest for self-knowledge and authenticity, and the patron deity of Greek tragedy and theater, the god Dionysus.

A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!

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