In our SEASON FINALE (with one bonus episode to come next week) we delve into a myth that's close to all of our hearts, whether we've heard of it or not. It's the story of Asclepius - the Patron God of Medicine dating back to Ancient Greece.

Asclepius was a student of the centaur Chiron and the son of Apollo and Coronis. His method of healing was to enter the dreams of his patients and either perform a healing there, or show the dreamer ways to heal in their waking life.

We discuss these mythic roots of Western Medicine and wonder about how and when the Western medical model lost track of this deeply personal connection to healing and wholeness. And, perhaps, how it might find its way back.

It's fitting that it's the 13th episode of the podcast - as Asclepius, aka Ophiuchus, has recently been called the 13th sign of the Zodiac. We'll get stuck into that topic too.

Here is a blog article on Asclepius & the roots of Western Medicine.

In this week’s third and last chapter of “The Raven,” we track Pascal’s final steps, as his longing to break the curse that has been placed on Raven-Daughter intensifies. We begin the episode with some wise and poetic words of William Stafford that remind us of “the way it is:” the sacred thread that is always there, connecting us to our destiny - as long as we hold onto it.  

However, in picking up the threads from where we left off last episode - in true mythic fashion, of course - things don’t necessarily work out so smoothly. We begin in yet another challenging place, waiting to ripen us further. We’re asked to face sorrow again, but this time with a little bit of wisdom intact. The words of Oscar Wilde echo from the mountainous obstacle ahead, whispering directly into the ears of our souls: “where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” Here, we hold onto the thread that has been there all along, and we explore the themes of destiny maps, mythopoetic identity (Bill Plotkin’s imaginings), hieros gamos (the holy marriage) and the union of opposites, and more.

With some magical-mythic survival resources in the bag and an intense longing crackling in the hearth, the story comes to a conclusion as we make our way towards rascal giants who  carry sacred gifts - that become the keys needed to complete the journey. And of course, what is "The Healer's Journey" without a wild and holy marriage that scatters seeds of revolution and wholeness for the community?

Resources: 

William Stafford poem - “The Way it is”
Bill Plotkin Books - “Nature & The Human Soul” & “The Journey of Soul Initiation”
Robert Johnson Book - “We: Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love”

On this week's episode, we continue to re-inhabit the story of "The Raven," gently picking up the mythic threads. Early on, we’re taken to the very wild and un-civilised understanding, as once shared by Robert Bly, that “accepting an initiatory task is more important than succeeding or failing at it.” 

With challenge accepted, we backtrack to the Old Woman’s hut, where grief and failure is our starting point. The road ahead seems impossible. But as we cross the initiatory thresholds of sorrow and remorse, something magical opens up and the Divine appears. Out of the tears of grief, sprout nourishing gifts and resources. A renewal of sorts happens. But where to go next, without directions from Google Maps, a Guru, or a fancy iPhone App? 

The only guidance we have are Raven’s calls that start to stir from within, or we might say, from in-tuition. An urge to simply walk follows. Footsteps lead to Human-Eating Giants. And Destiny-Maps are found. However, we'd be fools to think that the map and the territory were one in the same, right? Right. As we put down the map to scope out the territory, what waits for us are unexpected visitors and barriers - perhaps waiting to test and ripen us further.

And thus, the initiatory journey to find Raven Daughter and break the curse continues. 

Resources: 

Book by Francis Weller - “The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal & The Sacred Work of Grief” 

Book by Bill Plotkin - “Wild Mind: A Field Guide To The Human Psyche

Book by Marie Louise Von Franz - “Shadow & Evil in Fairy Tales”

Since the incredible work of mythologist, Joseph Campbell, “The Hero’s Journey” has been widely popularised in the western world as a preferred model of the human journey through initiatory processes. But what happens when the masculine-heavy map of the muscular Hero leads us out of the contours of soul-terrain? What kind of stories, then, can we turn towards? 

 The story of “The Raven,” originally collected by the Grimm Brothers, is one such story. Rather than the usual heroic journey, this fairytale leads us into the territory of the “Wounded Healer’s” journey. Superman doesn’t fearlessly and flawlessly come to save the day. He also doesn’t show up before harm is done and slay the dragons in perfect timing. Nor does he seamlessly power his way through trouble, unscathed. In fact, the muscular hero doesn’t show up at all. Instead, we encounter humility. We encounter exile. We encounter a journey that requires failure, grief, and intergenerational curses, in order to move onto the path of destiny. 

The Raven takes us on the very human journey of facing our core wounds and addictions, and guides us to befriend the Giants of the Psyche that hold important destiny maps - and through that journey - awakening our divine resources and genius. The story reveals how a holy marriage awaits us when we dare to step through the dream doors of inner and out nature. 

Alexandre opens with a poem by Bill Holm called Advice. From there we lament the loss of our Cinderella follow-up episode due to a Trickster in the Machine where we unfortunately lost some podcast gold to the great abyss of the internet.

This takes us to a deeper discussion on the lands we inhabit, of the cultural war on the imagination, the need for soul activism, what happens in holistic therapy, and much more as we dip in and out of the Grimm Brother's Cinderella, spending a lot of time sitting by the hazel bush, watered from the tears of lament, on mother's grave.

What does the name 'Cinderella' mean to you? Rags to riches? A coach turning into a pumpkin at midnight? Disney Princesses?

In fact, the story is a truly ancient one, appearing in cultures as diverse as China, Ireland and the First People's of North America in different forms. We will be exploring the Grimm Brothers version - a little bit more gritty than Disney - but pulsing with meaning and soul in a way that its modern cousin is not.

The story will take us on the journey from grief to desire and true purpose. In the backdrop we'll work through the south and north nodes of the moon - known as Ketu and Rahu in Vedic Astrology - the tail and the head of the dragon. Ketu, the south node, represents our past, our old karmic loops. Rahu, the north node, represents our own personal 'True North' - our soul's purpose in this lifetime.

We'll also be joined by our producer Emma Love, her first appearance on Tending the Sun Fire, as she walks us through her own personal experience of working with this story (and the nodes of the moon) in her life.

The Story on Abaton.blog
An article by the astrologer, Dana Gerdhart, on the Nodes of the Moon and Cinderella
A book with 29 versions of Cinderella from around the world and through history

This episode begins with an old Mayan tale, called Poder, which was traditionally told to young boys as an initiation story. Through this powerful story, we’re taken on a journey that gives us a glimpse into what may have contributed to the global crises we find ourselves in now. The story tells us about the nature of our gifts, the potential for what the world has to offer us, and the wrong kind of trouble that occurs when those inherent gifts are abandoned and disowned by the village and culture.

In this deep and heartfelt conversation, we speak to the lack of meaningful initiation and rites of passage that are missing from our westernised culture, the loss of elders and authentically initiated adults, and the grief of all that comes along with that.

We turn to this powerful myth, and other old tales from Greece, to look through the mythic lens to see if there are life-enhancing ways that might support us to proceed given the grand mess we find ourselves in. 

Resources

"The Genius Myth" - Book by Michael Meade 
“Nocaratanaje” - Ashaninka word for “healthy,” translates to "I carry harmony") 
“Tears & Threads of Unbelonging” - Poem by Alexandre Jodun
"The Rites of Passage" - Book by Arnold Van Gennep 

This episode opens with the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. At just one day old, Hermes wastes no time finding mischief and creating mayhem by stealing his older brother Apollo's 50 cattle and sacrificing two of them to the 12 gods of the Pantheon, including himself of course.

Come along for the ride as this 'delight maker' turns everything on its head and turns it into something else (such as the poor tortoise who becomes the world's first musical instrument). It's a playful journey, but a deep one in the end as we explore the place for the trickster in the world and in ourselves, and the energy that might be necessary as we more effectively challenge existing structures.

Astrologically, we'll be exploring Mercury, The Sun (Apollo) and Jupiter (Zeus) and their patterns in the sky both inner and outer.

References

Homer - The Homeric Hymns
Rafael López-Pedraza - Hermes and his Children
Karl Kerényi - Hermes: Guide of Souls
Lewis Hyde - Trickster Makes This World
Liz Greene & Howard Sasportas - The Inner Planets

What happens when we deny what's lurking in the shadows? What happens when we start denying the presence of Otherworldly, ancestral and non-rational ways of knowing? The old myths and stories tell us that something dangerous happens in those moments of chronic disavowal, which can eventually lead to a physical and mythological death of The Sacred.

In this week's episode, we begin with a telling of an old Scandanavian folktale, and rather chilling story, called "Erl-König (Erl-King)," that takes us into shadowy terrain where we begin to wonder about how, culturally speaking, we've found ourselves facing the current mythological monsters and trickster figures that deny The Sacred. We explore the loss of Soul within the modern psyche, the recurring theme of "the absent father" in our dominant modern culture, the missing medicine of healthy logos and masculinities, and the on-going conversation about the denial of femininities. 

Book, Poetry & Resource Mentions:
Erl-König Franz Schubert Orchestral/Visual Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS91p-vmSf0
"A Ritual to Read to Each Other" by William Stafford
"Seeing in the Dark" by Clarissa Pinkola Estés (Audiobook available at SoundsTrue)
"Dispelling Wetiko" by Paul Levy (Reference to “Aparticipatory Delusional Syndrome” or ADS)

In order to find your prince, you have to kiss a lot of frogs, right?

WRONG!

Not in the original story of The Frog King. Always the first story in their collection, the protagonist has a much more action-oriented and forceful role to play.

Chris and Alexandre break down the impact of this 'kissing frogs' myth on our collective psyche, and imagine what the world might look like if we were encouraged to take a stand for our sovereignty the way the Princess does in our story.