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Description:

On this episode I speak with Stephanie McKay, an educator and mentor in earth-based skills and ancestral ways, located on Gabriola Island, British Columbia.

Stephanie and I met when I attended one of her Mythology Club sessions and found that we shared a common passion for tending to old stories in a way that reveals their deeper layers of meaning.

In the first part of our conversation, we talk about her transition from working as a video artist to becoming a wilderness educator, and her 12-year participation in Martín Prechtel’s school Bolad’s Kitchen.

In the second half, we take a deep dive into the old Germanic folk tale Iron Hans, also known as Iron John, the subject of Robert Bly’s seminal 1990 book. Stephanie offers some unique insights into the historical layers of the story that are fascinating and surprising.

Even though I’ve read Bly’s book many times over the past 30 years and recently conducted an 8-week online group where we read and reflected on the story, Stephanie’s insights opened up a whole new area of inquiry for me. In the audio version of part two, I’ve included an afterword where I share some of that research.

If you have any interest in this story, or pre-Christian European culture and spiritual traditions, I highly recommend you check it out.

Listen to Part Two "A Deep Dive Into Iron John" here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/hitw124-mckay-pt-92425341

Links:

Stephanie's website: http://fianna.ca

http://brianjames.ca

http://instagram.com/brianjames.soulwork

http://youtube.com/@howlinthewilderness

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