Myth Matters

“Epic shows us again and again the pattern of moving from the old myth to a new, carrying everything of value with it as it goes.” -- Louise Cowan

 Christopher Nolan's film version of the ancient Greek myth The Odyssey has been big news. Written down by "Homer" some 3-400 years after the destruction of the city of Troy, The Odyssey is a mythic account of rise of Greek civilization after the collapse of the Bronze Ag...

"It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, that then when we no longer know which way to go, we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings." ---- Wendell Berry

The situation that Berry describes is a creative edge, the place where the known meets the unknown, where what is and has been realized and understood fades into ...

“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 love and attraction, imagined as the god Eros. The...

"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 endless transformations instigated by passion: passionate feelings, fantasies, p...

“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 centuries. The Metamorphoses was an important touchstone for Dante, Chauc...

“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. His work is a marvelous blend of deep feeling and philosophy, ...

"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 myths and old stories play a complicated role in our personal and collective evo...

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. The old order stagnates, degrades, and loses meaning. The boundaries ...

"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 don't want to spoil it for you so I'll simply say that I've worked with this story several tim...

"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, unprecedented, into our constantly evolving world?

These questions are in the forefront of my mind. I...

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 good life, speak to the concerns and longings of December. Like many f...

“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 for all types of things: food, love, power, attention, se...

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 stories like this might offer.

“And there seems never to have bee...

"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 fascist movement, everything is up for grabs. 

You know, anything can happen, and that's t...

"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...

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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 adventures opened reflections on trickster strategies, courage, and the power of imagination. All ...

“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 literal meanings of “home,” and h...

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 value in Dumuzi's story and welcome your thoughts and com...

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 engagement with Inanna, and our collective transformation.

"What I hope that this...