Myth Matters

Send Catherine a text Message “Energy, creation, movement and harmony, development, all happen under the aegis of love, in the domain of eros. Desire is the cause of all movement, and movement is the character of all being. The universe is a process, and its method is change.” — Germaine Greer   The ideas expressed by Greer in this quote reflect the ancient Greek perception of a cosmic dynamic of...

Send Catherine a text Message "Some sisters said such things could never be, while others were convinced that anything was in the power of true deities---" - The Metamorphoses , Book 4, by Ovid translated by Allen Mandelbaum Ovid wove Greek myths of transformation to create his masterwork, The Metamorphoses. This poem describes a world of shapeshifting, ambiguity, and forms in flux. Of e...

Send Catherine a text Message “All things change; nothing perishes.”-- Ovid Ovid was a Roman poet who wrote his master work, The Metamorphoses or "Transformations," in 8 C.E.. He weaves more than 250 Greek myths together in one long poem to tell a story of transformation, and explore the complexities of love as an agent of change.  Ovid's voice has been influential over the centurie...

Send Catherine a text Message “The universe is a continuous web. Touch it at any point and the whole web quivers.” ― Stanley Kunitz I always dedicate the April episodes of Myth Matters to poetry as a way to celebrate National Poetry month here in the United States. This year, I'm turning to the work of Stanley Kunitz. Kunitz received nearly every honor bestowed upon a poet in this country. Hi...

Send Catherine a text Message "But people must be taught lessons. Without them, none of them will ever learn. People are dreams and awkwardness and gawk. They prick their fingers Bleed and snore and drool. Politeness is as quiet as a grave, Unmoving, roses without thorns. Or white lilies. People have to learn." -- excerpted from " Observing the Formalities" by Neil Gaiman   Our...

Send Catherine a text Message The Norwegian fairy tale of "Tatterhood" begins as many stories do, with a kingdom that lacks something essential. Each of us lives in a fairy tale kingdom or two, in an orderly system of protocols and social rules that structure both outer and inner worlds.  The stability of the kingdom is important. And yet, the structure eventually outlives its usefulness...

Send Catherine a text Message "We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars. "-- Jack Gilbert from "Tear it Down"  This episode revolves around a Hindu story, "The King and the Corpse," about a king who spends a long night with a talking corpse and realizes a profound truth. This is one of my favorite stories, rich in metaphor, humor, riddles, and insight. I do...

Send Catherine a text Message "Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. The warrior's approach is to say 'yes' to life: 'yea' to it all."-- Joseph Campbell How do you stay engaged with the creative potential of this time? How can you participate to bring something positive, necessary,...

Send Catherine a text Message The end of a year and our seasonal holidays invite evaluation, reflection on what the future holds, and longing for some type of renewal. A fresh start. A clean slate. Restoration. A new green world.  The Grimm fairy tale "The Goose Girl at the Well" is not a holiday story and yet, the symbolic language of transformation and value, of what truly matters in a...

Send Catherine a text Message “He who runs after two hares will catch neither.” Japanese proverb Feelings of emptiness, lack, greed, dishonesty--- are any of us immune from this experience? The number of stories that revolve around this problem suggest a near universal need to meet this challenge. We commonly associate greed with an insatiable need for more and more money, but one can be greedy fo...

Send Catherine a text Message The existence and importance of other worlds populated by other beings, non-human beings, is consistent across mythological traditions. Today, the dominant culture has a difficult time accepting these stories and yet we continue to tell them. We continue to need them.  In this episode, I share the Celtic story  "The Adventure of Bran" and reflect on what sto...

Send Catherine a text Message "We are all taking everything that we've learned from the past, and we're reformulating what we want to do with that and how we want to live. And so, one of the ideas that's embedded in that, for me, is that when you're in this period of history, like we are now, with AI and with the digitization of everything and with the resurgence of a fasc...

Send Catherine a text Message "Leaving home" is an interesting metaphor for the call to significant change. This episode is a reflection on intention, uncertainty, and how myths can help us listen to the soul and find clarity around the risks and purpose of the journey.  Thanks for listening and keep the mystery in your life alive... Support the show Email Catherine at catherine@mythicmo...

Send Catherine a text Message In this episode, we take a look at the fairy tale "The Valiant Tailor" or the "The Brave Tailor," collected by the Brothers Grimm. Honestly, I almost dismissed this story as a bit too silly and I didn't like the tailor much at the outset.  But what you don't like about a story can be a good prod to look more closely... The tailor's a...

Send Catherine a text Message “You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.”-- Joseph Campbell In this episode we explore the mythic theme of leaving home as a central part of answering the call to transformation. Drawing from myths such as Inanna’s Descent, Valemon the White Bear King , Psyche and Eros , and The Odyssey ,  we reflect on the symbolic and...

Send Catherine a text Message This is the last episode in a 4-part series on the Sumerian myth of Inanna: Dumuzi’s Dream and The Return . After Inanna ascends from the underworld, she chooses her lover-king Dumuzi as her replacement in the Great Below.  What happens to him? What meanings can we find in this action? Did the goddess betray her husband? Is this cruelty or compassion? I hope you find...

Send Catherine a text Message Special episode with guest singer-composer Kelli Scarr! Scarr released her new album Greater Mysteries, a musical journey through the spiraling cycle of transformation, last month. The Sumerian myth of Inanna is one of the touchstones in this beautiful work, and I'm grateful to Kelli for taking the time to talk with me about the making of the album, her engagemen...

Send Catherine a text Message She goes down As we go down We follow her underground Hail to Inanna Who died To become born. — Chant from the writer Starhawk and the Reclaiming Collective This is episode #3 in a four-part series on the Sumerian myth of the goddess Inanna and the part of the story that contains her descent to the underworld. It's a fascinating story and a very old one, which te...

Send Catherine a text Message “The Church says: the body is a sin. Science says: the body is a machine. Advertising says: The body is a business. The Body says: I am a fiesta.” ―  Eduardo Galeano, from  Walking Words   In this episode I tell the second part of Inanna's story, the courtship and marriage between Inanna and her honey man, the shepherd Dumuzi.  Ripe in every sense, Inanna engages...

Send Catherine a text Message In the first days, in the very first days, everything needed was brought into being and the goddess Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, took her place in the center of the Sumerian pantheon. This myth was recorded at the beginning of history and describes a pivotal time in human civilization.  We're reckoning with the developments of this time, today. Inanna'...

Send Catherine a text Message "We need joy as we need air." Maya Angelou Joy. Joy is my motivation, my desire and object in sharing some poetry with you in this episode. Joy---gladness, pleasure, delight, and rejoicing. Joy, a very precious freedom. How can you, how can we, build our capacity for joy? The belief that suffering alone lends you depth and nobility seems pretty common, and I...

Send Catherine a text Message The final episode in a three-part exploration of the mysterious Baba Yaga, a scary crone in Russian and Slavic fairy tales. Who or what is she?  The fairy tale "Finist the Bright Falcon" opens up some interesting possibilities. Support the show Email Catherine at catherine@mythicmojo.com Post a positive review on apple podcasts! Learn how you can work with C...

Send Catherine a text Message The Baba Yaga is a complex and scary crone in East Slavic and Russian fairy tales. She's a face of the earth goddesses and the fierce wildness of nature. Are some of us meeting the Baba Yaga right now?   There's a lot of chaos right now as institutions, laws, and norms of behavior that order our societies are attacked. Chaos that has a parallel in escalating...

Send Catherine a text Message Welcome to episode one of the new (7th) season of Myth Matters!  A new year and a time of change. Is this, as some say, the time of the wise, elder woman, the time of the crone? The Baba Yaga is one face of this archetypal energy. This episode is the first of two about the Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is a complex and multifaceted figure in Russian and East Slavic fairy tales...

Send Catherine a text Message “These lofty words are an antidote for anyone sickened by extremism’s poison.” Farid ud Din Attar, translation by Sholeh Wolpé T he Conference of the Birds is an epic poem from the 12th century written by Sufi poet Farid ud Din Attar. The poem tells the story of a group of birds and an arduous journey to find a mysterious king. Renowned for its depth and beauty, the C...