Myth Matters

Send Catherine a text Message "Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile, the world goes on..." --Mary Oliver, "Wild Geese"   The world that you and I knew has ended and many things are changing and yet, the sun still rises and sets, and the spring flowers are blooming here in the Mojave Desert. The earth--- our source and ground---is beneath our feet. ...

Send Catherine a text Message You and I are living through huge changes. My day to day is a roller coaster ride through grief and fear of loss, to joy at the birdsong, gratitude, inspired resolve, and anxiety. I'm energized and exhausted at the same time. Maybe you're riding a roller coaster too. It's tempting to devote all energy to practicalities and logistics, to the newsfeeds an...

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.” Joseph Campbell A lot has changed in a mere two weeks and I hope that you are safe and healthy.  In the recent podcast about Loki and the quantum cosmos, I suggested that we need to use our ability to question and cultivate a new state of openness...

Send Catherine a text Message Myths of the Norse god Loki combine with understanding of the quantum cosmos to offer insight into the necessity of chaos, and a perspective on the restructuring of our lives. Support the show Email Catherine at catherine@mythicmojo.com Post a positive review on apple podcasts! Learn how you can work with Catherine at https://mythicmojo.com Buy me a coffee. Thank you!

Send Catherine a text Message How can a thoughtful person think, in a useful and creative way, about the seeming insanity of many politicians and the turmoil in public life and community affairs? What does mythology have to do with the conflict, and do the old stories offer any insight? These are big questions. The role that mythology plays in shaping every aspect of communal life is too big for o...

Send Catherine a text Message Are we solitary and relatively powerless egos in a mechanical world, or do we belong to a community of seen and unseen Others? What does it mean to live the life of the soul, and why is this necessary?  “The Fire-bird and the Princess Vasilisa,” a Russian fairytale about a hunter and a horse, a king, a magical bird and a mysterious princess, offers a way into the imag...

Send Catherine a text Message In the last podcast I told you the fairy tale of “The Three Feathers” and talked about the connection between gratitude, imagination, and possibility. This was an invitation to look beyond what you perceive to be a limited situation and actively entertain the unknown, to unleash the power of imagination and the magic that arises from a place of willing curiosity.  The...

Send Catherine a text Message “we are saying thank you and waving dark though it is”--- W.S. Merwin The wise ones tell us that true gratitude, gratitude beyond the platitude, is gratitude for everything, even hardship and suffering. Easier said than done, right?  How can we move into a fullhearted posture of thanksgiving? How can the old stories help us reach this peaceful state of acceptance? In...

Send Catherine a text Message “Here is the epic of the fear of death.” Ranier Marie Rilke This program is the third and final episode in my telling of the ancient Sumerian myth of Gilgamesh, the hero-king of Uruk. When he was a young man he terrorized his people, but at the end of his story they say that Gilgamesh was wise, that he traveled the world and knew secret things.  What happened to Gilga...

Send Catherine a text Message In part 2 of this 3-part series, Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu venture into the sacred cedar forest to confront the demon Humbaba and make great names for themselves. These actions and motivations may seem questionable today, and raise questions about the enduring value of the ancient story.   What do these two have to teach us about the human condition? Do they sim...

Send Catherine a text Message 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 Suppo...

Send Catherine a text Message 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.  Per...

Send Catherine a text Message “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 t...

Send Catherine a text Message “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 on...

Send Catherine a text Message 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 “W...

Send Catherine a text Message 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 p...

Send Catherine a text Message “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. T he story is an enduring source of insight and inspiration for truth seekers everywhere. Rumi, said, “Attar is the soul itself.” I f you want a story to speed you down the path t...

Send Catherine a text Message “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....

Send Catherine a text Message 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...

Send Catherine a text Message 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 Sop...

Send Catherine a text Message When the moon shone, Artemis was present, and beasts and plants would dance.”  Karl Kerenyi An exploration of Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon, the hunt, and wilderness, and the myth of her fateful encounter with Acteaon, that may help you find your place in the family of things. A transcript of this episode is available at www.mythicmojo.com. Thanks for listening!...

Send Catherine a text Message Summer is almost here, bringing warm nights perfect for stargazing and communion with the moon. A full moon rises here in the United States on Saturday May 18th, so this podcast includes stories and information about two Greek moon goddesses, Selene and Hecate, and an invitation to develop your night vision and capacity for magic. Bathe in the silver shimmer, get moon...

Send Catherine a text Message “Without warning As a whirlwind Swoops on an oak Love shakes my heart.”  ---Sappho In this podcast I share some of the ancient Greek mythology about Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and Eros, the God of Desire, the force that brings people and things together. These are universal, timeless energies and the Greek ideas about them, personified in this Goddess and God, ca...