Welcome to
The School of Mythopoetics
Humanity is undergoing a great initiation right now.
Uncertainty is the increasing measure of our days.
The control-oriented maps of meaning fail us here.
Instead, we must find other ways
to orient within the terrain of Soul.
We must learn to speak the soul’s language:
the mythopoetics that arise of birdsong, of thunderstorm,
of crossroad, of vision, of earth,
of symbol and metaphor.
This initiation requires us to court once again the wild powers of the world, both inner and outer.
This School is a container to find your way, embed your journey, and connect with your kin.
What is myth·o·po·et·ics?
It’s the practice of working with story, symbol, poetry, and myth to deepen a sense of meaningful connection to one’s soul path.
It’s the reawakening of the mythic imagination.
Join the School
We offer twice-monthly calls on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month focused on exploring mythology, symbolism, poetry, deep listening, imagination, and regenerating culture in the context of our troubled times.
Our calls are structured to provide a container for those in the midst of transformation. We provide a place for those in the midst of such processes to find insight relevant to their experience, and cultivate connection with themselves, as well as others who are in a similar place.
Meeting Structure
Each month we bring focus to a particular piece of content (i.e. an excerpt of writing, a poem, a story, a podcast episode) by or about the work of one of the many mythopoetic luminaries who have given us work to draw upon. This content will be sent to registered participants via email one week before our meeting to give ample time to engage with the material. We’ll use it to spur reflection and focus our conversations over the two meetings held in a single month.
Meeting Flow
1st Sunday Meeting
Grounding and Container Setting
Facilitated deep dive into our monthly content
Group Sharing and Reflection
3rd Sunday Meeting
Grounding and Container Setting
Group Sharing and Reflection
Revisiting content for deeper reflection
Sign up as a member for recurring payments of $25/month…
…or…
Register for a single month and try us out for $30
(See below for registration)
Note: The above is meant to provide a template, but meeting flow may vary depending on whats happening in the space and what is needed.
Upcoming Dates and Topics:
Dealing with the Devil
“I’d rather be whole than good.” - C.G. Jung
How do we grapple with mythic representations of “the adversary"? How do we distinguish between that which is malevolent and that which is merely “other”? Discussion of “the devil" and “evil" in the West snaps into either dogmatized literalism or pluralistic dead-ends. What might we gain from exploring how the embodiment of evil has been portrayed in different eras in the West? Might we develop more nuance and inquisitiveness in response to “demonization," when we witness it around us? If we want to know “good," do we not need to be able to identify what opposes it?
This Summer and Fall live-sessions in The School of Mythopoetics will focus on representations of evil in the West. We will explore the concept of Shadow in Jungian psychology, holding an awareness that the world cannot be reduced to a psychological theory. The mythic Trickster will dance alongside us as we endeavor not to conflate his generative and catalytic mischief with the diabolical, twister of goodness that plays such a prominent role in Western Cosmology.
Curriculum
Marie Lousie von Franz: Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales
Jeffrey Russell and Fr. Stephen de Young: Lucifer the Rebel
JRR Tolkien: Glaurung the Dragon and the Fate of Turin Turumbar
Donald Kalsched: Dis, Trauma, and The Divine Comedy
Daniel Deardorff, Bayo Akomalafe, and Lewis Hyde will accompany us as well, keeping Trickster by our side.
See below to see whats coming up…
May and June
1:30pm PST/9:30pm BST
Fallow Fields
In May and June The School of Mythopoetics will take a period of rest before beginning again in July.
July 5th and 19th
1:30pm PST/9:30pm BST
Topic:
Marie Louise von Franz and Shadow in Fairy Tales
Topic:
Marie Louise von Franz and Evil in Fairytales
August 2nd and 16th
1:30pm PST/9:30pm BST
More dates and topics to be announced…
Other writers, storytellers, and poets will include:
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Bill Plotkin
Eco-psychologist and writer
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Pat McCabe
Indigenous Wisdom-Keeper
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Michael Meade
Mythologist and Storyteller
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Jan Blake
Storyteller
-
Daniel Deardorff
Storyteller and Writer
-
Bayo Akomolafe
Philosopher and Author
-
Sophie Strand
Author and Poet
-
Kai Cheng Thom
Transgender thinker and Author
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Josh Schrei
Storyteller, Podcaster, and Educator
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Zhenevere Sophia Dao
Poet and transgender teacher of mystery traditions
-
Zamir Dhanji
Yogi and Storyteller
-
Manda Scott
Author
What we as stewards understand as “mythopoetics” has been practiced in response to a trend over many centuries in western cultures that views the world on a purely material/empirical level. Traditional cultures have always recognized animate forces and the emergent architecture of creation that the modern materialist perspective fails to recognize. The movement to turn back to myth, symbol, and ritual in recent decades represents a reclamation of our birthright as human beings.
We acknowledge that those who began and shaped the modern mythopoetic movement - such as Marion Woodman, Robert Bly, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, James Hillman, Joanna Macy, Michael Meade, and Carl Jung - were mainly white, middle class, cis-hetero folk and therefore had limitations in their perspectives due to the cultural moment they existed within. For those of us not represented by this subset of the culture, we will be exploring the richness and nuance of the much wider lens informed by our current time that includes queer, post-colonial and non-ableist discourses. To this end we will draw upon the work of thinkers such as Sobonfu Somé, Malidoma Somé, Bayo Akomolafe, Pat McCabe, Sophie Strand, Kai Cheng Thom, and Zhenevere Sophia Dao, amongst others.
We will honor and welcome this new guard of contributors to the mythopoetics of our current time, alongside the old guard whose torch we’ve picked up and carry forward.
Mythopoetics in our Culture
Who is the School For?
If you’re experiencing an initiation into the mysteries of soul…
If you’re drawn to story, myth, and imagination…
If you recognize the lack of imagination and grounding stories in the dominant culture…
If you long to connect with others in a supportive community…
If you are seeking perspective on your life’s journey and searching for meaningfully ways to participate in these times…
