Podcast Mythic by Boston Blake Episodes

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	Title	Pub. Date	Duration
	John Selig \| Stolen Fires: Myth and the Creative Process	17 Apr 2026	00:52:38
In an Instagram Reel, John Selig described this image — Mount Etna as a cosmological diagram: Typhon pinned underneath, his rage powering the volcano; Hephaestus at the forge above, that same rage transmuted into craft; Prometheus chained on the side, the fire bringer who suffered for giving us what the gods had kept for themselves; and Zeus at the crown, not a creator of fire but the one who directs it. It set my imagination ablaze! John’s handle is @stolenfires_. That name tells you everything about his approach: myth is Promethean fire, meaning held by the gods and waiting to be taken — not as belief, not as doctrine, but as a lens you can actually use. What he wants is for you to leave the conversation with something in your hands. We spent this episode inside Greek myth as a living, working system. We examined the Theogony as three successive orders of creation — and why Zeus’s is the first one generative enough to let everything be born, even the monsters. We read the Odyssey as the story of a man who cannot go home yet because his unconscious won’t let him — the sailors as impulses that thwart the ego until it’s ready. We talked about what happens to a culture that runs entirely on Athena consciousness while Poseidon goes ignored. And we talked about creativity, perfectionism, and what myth can do for people who are stuck. What We Cover We use Prometheus — the fire-bringer who stole meaning from the gods and handed it to ordinary people — as the lens for this conversation. Along the way we explore: Stolen Fires and What the Name Actually Means. The name is two things at once: a cosmological statement about myth as Promethean fire, and — as someone pointed out to John recently — an accidental description of a mythology hot-take platform. He didn't plan that second meaning. The Trickster did. The core idea: myth holds meaning the way the gods held fire. John's work is the theft. Myth Doesn't Require You to Believe Anything. Myth and history are not the same category. Mythologizing history breaks it. Historicizing mythology breaks it too. One lives in the world of the imaginal; the other is the world of record. You can work with myth — let it illuminate your life, your psyche, your moment — without making a single metaphysical commitment. Typhon, Hephaestus, and the Shape of Shadow Work. Zeus didn't destroy Typhon. He pinned him under Mount Etna, where his rage powers the volcano — and Hephaestus's forge sits at the top, transmuting that same rage into craft. Integration instead of obliteration. The energy doesn't disappear. It gets redirected. That's the shape of shadow work, and it's also the shape of the creative process. Satan and the Cultural Shadow. Monotheism needed a bucket for everything that didn't make the approved list, and Satan is what it built. A lot of what ended up in there isn't all that bad — it's just human. The qualities most associated with the mythic Satan map cleanly onto basic features of human nature, and the Greco-Roman roots of the image run deeper than most people realize. Three Orders of Creation. The Theogony gives us three successive cosmological regimes, each more generative than the last. Uranus won't let anything be born. Kronos swallows his children rather than risk displacement. Zeus frees everyone and starts an order in which everything gets to exist — including the monsters. The Greek pantheon is so crowded because Zeus's order requires it to be. The Sailors as Unconscious Impulses. The sailors in the Odyssey aren't named or characterized because they're not really separate people — they're the unconscious impulses that keep thwarting what the ego says it wants. Odysseus doesn't reach Ithaca until they're all dead. The friction isn't always the enemy. The sailors may be telling him something he isn't ready to hear yet. Athena Consciousness, Poseidon Consciousness, and What We've Left Out. Ian McGilchrist's hemisphere theory maps onto the Greek gods: Athena as the rational, ordering, left-brain mode; Poseidon as the holistic, oceanic, right-brain mode. We've built a civilization that runs almost entirely on Athena consciousness while Poseidon goes unaddressed — and John thinks the epidemic of depression among his generation follows directly from that. Spirituality and the Brain. The part of the brain that activates depression is the same part that activates spirituality. When the spiritual mode is engaged, it becomes physiologically impossible to be depressed. This isn't a spiritual claim. It's neuroscience. And you don't have to believe in anything to get there. The Tyranny of Heaven. Uranus and Gaia: heaven and earth, the ideal and the actual. Heaven wants the thing to be perfect. Earth wants the thing to exist. Any version of something is necessarily not every version of something — which is obvious, and is still the exact mistake most creatives make constantly, holding the work hostage to what it could be until it never becomes what it is. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 00:03:49 The Name Stolen Fires 00:04:56 Myth Without Belief 00:05:42 Typhon, Prometheus, and the Volcano 00:06:53 Satan and the Cultural Shadow 00:08:30 How the Volcano Became a Map 00:10:17 Zeus as Air, Not Fire 00:11:30 Three Orders of Creation 00:18:29 Into the Odyssey 00:19:31 The Sailors as Unconscious Impulses 00:21:57 Odysseus Isn’t Ready for Ithaca 00:26:42 Myth Is Fractal 00:34:20 The Modern Mind and Its Limits 00:35:10 Meaning, Depression, and the Missing Lens 00:41:45 Spirituality and the Brain 00:48:05 The Myth and Creativity Course 00:49:05 The Tyranny of Heaven 00:50:10 Where to Find John Memorable Quotes “The trick with myths is to not take them literally and to turn them into lenses that you can then look at your own life through.” — John Selig “Typhon is put underneath Mount Etna, and his fiery rage powers that volcano and then Hephaestus’s forge is at the top, turning that rage, alchemizing it into something beautiful.” — John Selig “That’s how it feels to do shadow work, to channel your grief into something creative, to face a part of you that you don’t wanna face. All of those things are in that image and it’s cosmic and natural and personal all at the same time.” — John Selig “Myth doesn’t require you to believe anything. These stories didn’t happen. Getting history and mythology confused is one of the biggest problems in our world today.” — Boston Blake “Mythologizing history or historicizing mythology. It breaks it. One lives in the world of the imaginal and one is the world of the historical.” — Boston Blake “If that spiritual part of your brain is activated, it becomes physiologically impossible to be depressed.” — John Selig “Any version of something is necessarily not every version of something.” — John Selig “Take the mess you’re working on and make it sacred.” — John Selig Resources & Links John Selig’s website: https://stolenfires.com Stolen Fires on Instagram: @stolenfires_ Stolen Fires on YouTube: @stolenfires Stolen Fires on TikTok: @stolenfires Stolen Fires on Substack: https://stolenfires.substack.com John’s Myth and Creativity Course (May 2026): https://stolenfires.com Episode page: https://bostonblake.com/mythic-podcast/john-selig-stolen-fires If this episode landed for you, feel free to add to the pot: https://bostonblake.com/contribute/ https://mythicpodcast.com About the Guest John Selig is a writer and educator specializing in the psychology of myth, symbol, and creativity. He has traveled the world visiting the sacred sites of many cultures and is currently writing a book investigating the deeper practical meanings hidden within the world’s myths and religious stories. A lifelong creative, John has worked in music, writing, game design, podcasting, and video, and coaches people in seeing their lives through mythic and symbolic lenses through his one-on-one Mythwork sessions. He has taught at Harvard, UCLA, and School of Rock. Learn more at https://stolenfires.com. About Mythic Mythic is a podcast about meaningful living through the power of myth, ancient lore, modern pop culture, and depth psychology. Hosted by Boston Blake — ICF Professional Certified Coach, and lifelong student of mythology and depth psychology — Mythic brings together the stories that have have something to teach us. https://mythicpodcast.com Topics Greek mythology, depth psychology, Jungian psychology, archetypal psychology, practical mythology, myth and meaning, mythology podcast, Prometheus, Typhon, Hephaestus, Zeus, Theogony, Hesiod, Odyssey,...
	Martin Bilodeau \| Keeper of the Dream: Tantra, the Inner Buddha, & Building a Utopia	04 Apr 2026	00:38:11
About This Episode This episode marks the return of Mythic after a year and a half — and what a place to come back from. I recorded this conversation live at Pachalegria, a retreat and healing center in Zipolite, Mexico, at the close of my first men's tantra retreat. The man who led it — and built the place — is sitting right next to me. Martin Bilodeau is a Québécois public figure, social psychologist, and bestselling author of Awaken Your Inner Buddha, A Practical Guide to Modern Tantrism and Chronicles of an Urban Buddhist (all currently available in French). His path runs through indigenous shamanism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Tantrism, with lineages from Osho, Yogi Bhajan, and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He spent half his life in India, Asia, and traveling the world before founding Pachalegria in 2020. This is Martin's first English-language podcast. What We Cover We use Martin's framework of four spiritual emergencies as Ariadne's thread into the labyrinth — not naming all four explicitly, but tracing the arc of a life spent following the thread of awakening from Buddhism into shamanism, Tantra, and finally into the act of building a living vision on a hillside in southern Mexico. Along the way we explore: Buddhism and the Inner World. Martin discovered Buddhism at 17 through the books of Alexandra David-Néal, the first Western woman to walk into Tibet. He consecrated his twenties to practice — two hours of meditation a day, temple visits in India and Nepal, annual retreats. But the real challenge wasn't the monastery. It was bringing the Dharma into daily modern life. Bodhicitta and the Belief That Changes Everything. The teaching that cracked Martin open: compassion as a way of seeing the world, not a feeling you wait to receive. The ego sees the world as something to take from. Compassion asks what you can bring. That single reorientation — from appetite to offering — underpins everything Martin does. Why "Emergency"? Martin spent nearly 15 years managing services for homeless, addicted, and delinquent youth in Québec. What he saw confirmed it: every wound is a wound of unlove. Every act of harm is a cry for it. If all our damage is created by the absence of love, love is the only thing that will heal it. That's not romantic. It's urgent. Tantra and the Body. We've never been more disconnected from our bodies than we are now. The body is always in the present moment — it's the mind that escapes. Tantra is the path that reconnects them: through breath, sensation, movement, and the radical act of feeling rather than managing life. The Minotaur in the Labyrinth. One of the most vivid mythic images in our conversation: the Minotaur as kundalini, as primal life force — not a monster to be slain but an energy that got trapped by the engineered maze of the mind. Daedalus built the labyrinth with his head. The Minotaur didn't need to be killed. It needed to be freed. And what frees it? Ariadne's love. Shame as a Control Mechanism. We were once invocators — beings who danced, screamed, and loved their way back to the divine. Then came 2,000 years of ideology that installed shame between us and our own bodies, our own power, our own direct experience of the sacred. Capitalism inherited that structure and kept it running. The antidote isn't permission. It's sovereignty. The King and Queen Were Never Meant to Rule Alone. Every true mythology pairs masculine and feminine — active and receptive, power and love, strength and empathy. A ruler disconnected from the soul force — the virgin princess in the tower, the yin inside — becomes narcissistic and abusive. Power without love is abuse. Love without power is passivity. They were always meant to be together. Shiva-Shakti and Cocreation. The feminine-masculine dynamic isn't about gender — it's about listening before acting, being receptive to what the world is telling you before you move. Martin guides groups this way: 70% listening intuitively before he leads. The Shiva-Shakti principle is the composition of wisdom. Zipolite and the Living Dream. And then there's the place itself — the last bohemian village, a hillside above the Pacific where people have been living freely since the early 1970s. No rules, no structure, naked on the beach at night, no violence. LGBT community, hippies, artists, locals, expats, tourists — all coexisting. The New York Times writes about it every year. And into this, Martin has built a utopia. Not finished. Expanding. Buying land, building with stones so the iguanas keep their nests, preserving what's real before the commercial wave arrives. We close with Joseph Campbell's line — dreams are private myths, myths are collective dreams — and the question it raises: what is the shared dream we're missing right now? What would it look like to stop begging for meaning from the outside and start imposing a little vision on reality? This is that conversation. Chapter Timestamps 0:00 Welcome Back to Mythic — Recording Live from Zipolite, Mexico 01:00 Introducing Martin Bilodeau: Author, Social Psychologist, Tantric Guide 02:00 Pachalegria: "I Created Boston" — On Being Recreated by a Place 02:30 The Four Spiritual Emergencies as Ariadne's Thread 03:00 First Emergency: Buddhism — Alexandra David-Néal and the Call of Tibet 04:00 Consecrating to the Path: Two Hours of Meditation, Temple Visits, Annual Retreats 05:00 Bringing the Dharma into Daily Life — The Real Challenge 06:00 Bodhicitta: The Belief That Changes Everything 07:00 Ego as Attachment and Aversion — vs. Compassion as a Way of Seeing 08:00 "The Best Way to Feel Love Is to Love" 09:00 Why It's an Emergency: 15 Years with Homeless and Addicted Youth 10:00 Putting Love Back at the Center — The Heart vs. the Mind 11:00 The Mind as Dissector; Love as Radical Return to Essence 13:00 Om Mani Padme Hum: Compassion as the Ultimate Protection 14:00 Tantra and the Body: The Body as Portal to the Present Moment 16:00 We Were Never This Disconnected From Our Bodies 17:00 Mexico as Sensual Reconnection — Sweat, Stone Walls, Fish from the Ocean 19:00 The Tantra Workshop at Pachalegria: Movement, Community, Breath 20:00 The Minotaur in the Labyrinth — Kundalini as Primal Life Force 21:00 Ariadne's Love: What Guides Us Back to Our Own Power 22:00 Freeing the Minotaur: The Primal Force Needs to Devour the Ego, Not the Self 24:00 The Real Fear Is Not Powerlessness — It's Power 25:00 Leaving the US: The Machinery of Fear and Division, Seen from the Outside 26:00 Shame as a Tool of Control: From Invocators to Beggars for Salvation 28:00 Capitalism Inherits the Shame Structure of Religion 29:00 "Where Is the Adult?" — Outsourcing Dignity and the Crisis of Sovereignty 30:00 The Father Archetype and the Dearth of Authentic Leadership 31:00 The King and Queen Were Never Meant to Rule Alone — Mythology as Template 32:00 The Knight and the Princess: The Soul as the Virgin in the Tower 33:00 Power Without Love Is Abusive. Love Without Power Is Passive. 34:00 The Mind Separate from the Ego — Tantra, Breath, and Reconnection 35:00 Shiva-Shakti: Cocreation and the Art of Listening Before Acting 36:00 Martin's Vision: Building a Utopia at Pachalegria 37:00 Zipolite: The Last Bohemian Village 38:00 Coexistence, Impermanence, and Preserving Authenticity 39:00 Is There Anything We Haven't Covered? — We Need to Be Dreamers 40:00 "Dreams Are Private Myths, Myths Are Collective Dreams" — Campbell 40:30 Our True Mythology Is Caring, Loving, and Sharing — That's It 41:00 Pachalegria as a Living Dream — and Our Responsibility to Keep Dreaming Resources & Links Pachalegria — Retreat & healing center, Zipolite, Mexico: pachalegria.com Martin Bilodeau — Awaken Your Inner Buddha: A Practical Guide to Modern Tantrism (French) Martin Bilodeau — Chronicles of an Urban Buddhist (French) Alexandra David-Néal — Explorer and writer; first Western woman to enter Lhasa, Tibet Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche — Tibetan Buddhist teacher; founder of Shambhala Yogi Bhajan — Kundalini yoga lineage Osho — Mystic and teacher Joseph Campbell — The Hero with a Thousand Faces The Minotaur myth — Daedalus, Theseus, Ariadne, and the labyrinth Bodhicitta — The Buddhist teaching of awakening mind; compassion as the path Om Mani Padme Hum — The mantra of compassion in Tibetan Buddhism Shiva-Shakti — The divine masculine-feminine principle in Tantrism About Martin Bilodeau Martin Bilodeau is a Québécois author, speaker, and spiritual guide whose work bridges social psychology, Tibetan Buddhism, indigenous shamanism, and modern Tantrism. He spent nearly half his life in India, Asia, and traveling the world, and worked for nearly 15 years as an organizer for services supporting homeless, addicted, and delinquent youth. He is the bestselling author of Awaken Your Inner Buddha and Chronicles of an Urban Buddhist (both in French), and the founder of Pachalegria, a retreat and healing center in Zipolite, Mexico. He is also
	Craig Chalquist, PhD - The Heart of Dionysus Beats in San Francisco	24 Oct 2022	00:46:58
Key Topics 01:39 Introduction to Dr. Craig Chalquist 03:35 Depth psychology, mythology, and terrapsychology 07:41 The terrapsychology of San Luis Obisbo 10:32 Dionysus and San Francisco (Burning Man, Emperor Norton, and the Bushman) 20:21 The Orphic myth playing out in San Francisco and the day of the orange sky 31:24 The Trickster in politics 35:20 Hermeticism Reborn - Hermes Trismegistus and the mage archetype 41.12 Virtual reality storytelling environments as training for the imagination Helpful Links: Dr. Craig Chalquist's website California Institute of Integral Studies Pacifica Graduate Institute Professor David Odorisio Hermeticism The Freud Museum James Hillman The Mythologium Connect and Support What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the Comments section below or tweet me @bostonblake. If you're enjoying the program, I'd love it if you share it with your friends and/or leave a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
	David Odorisio, PhD - Integrating Hero and Villain, Senex and Puer	21 Mar 2022	00:56:34
How does the Hero myth necessitate the Villain? What does a post-Heroic myth look like? What's the connection between the decline of patriarchy and the decline of organized religion? Dr. David Odorisio of Pacifica Graduate Institute shares his own synchronistic journey as we explore hero and villain archetypes in media and culture, as well as how the human potential movement must integrate the Senex and puer in order to outlive the personalities who founded it. Just a few of the topics we cover in this gripping conversation.
	Phil Jimenez - Greek Gods in Wonder Woman: Historia	25 Oct 2021	00:57:05
The month marks Wonder Woman's 80th Anniversary, and this interview is a love letter to Diana, whose origins are steeped in Greek mythology. In this fabulous conversation, award-winning comics artist Phil Jimenez reveals the secrets behind Wonder Woman: Historia, his upcoming collaboration with writer Kelly Sue DeConnick for DC Comics Black Label! Mythology has been central to some of Phil’s highest-profile projects, including War of the Gods and Gods of Gotham, and of course, Wonder Woman. And after 20 years of immersion in the topic, he has thoughts. We cover Dionysus’ gender, post-toga Olympian fashion, Hera's burden, and what makes Wonder Woman such an enduring character. In "Five Questions," Phil shares what brings him joy! For more, visit mythicpodcast.com.
	Jennifer Whetzel - Archetypes, Branding, and Self-Discovery	20 Sep 2021	00:53:31
Guest: Jennifer Whetzel, Ladyjane Branding Contact: jennifer@ladyjanebranding.com Website: https://ladyjanebranding.com About Jennifer: After more than 25 years in the marketing and advertising industry, and after finding significant symptom relief in medical cannabis and emotional support from community members, Jennifer Whetzel was inspired to use her professional expertise to help businesses in the cannabis industry. In 2018, she founded Ladyjane Branding using the power of Archetypes to help companies develop unique brands that lead to deep connections with consumers. Her background in compliance also led to development of an online course teaching FDA-compliant messaging for CBD and cannabis brands called Sell Joy! In 2019, Jennifer initiated “The Women in Cannabis Study,” an in-depth multimedia research project to understand the journey of women working in the cannabis industry. Results of the study will be forthcoming in a partnership with Hasty Storytelling and the basis of a book written by award-winning author of The Medicalization of Marijuana, Michelle Newhart. In 2020, she co-founded Independent Diamond Brokers, which focuses on B2B networking and events for local Maine growers & retailers. She is also on the Board of Directors for #thisisjaneproject, a non-profit focused on providing education and access to plant medicine for trauma survivors. A prolific reader and lover of nature, in her spare time Jennifer can be found either with her nose in a book or in the woods on her property in Maine. Things we mentioned in the episode: Book: The Hero and the Outlaw by Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen Book: Goddesses in Everywoman by Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen Book: Goddesses in Older Women by Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen Book: Circe by Madeline Miller Book: The Medicalization of Cannabis by Michelle Newhart Organization: Independent Diamond Brokers Organization: Women in Cannabis Book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Show: Moving Art - Netflix documentary Internal Family Systems
	Rise and Fall of the Titans	22 Jul 2021	00:28:27
Who were the Titans? And what was the word's original meaning? From the birth of Aphrodite to the rise of Zeus -- and what happened in between.
	Mother's Day Special: Mom-Goddesses of Greece	09 May 2021	00:10:04
In this special Mother's Day episode, Boston tells the story of four generations of mother goddesses from Greek mythology. Gaia. Rhea. Hera. Maia.
	Greek Creation Myth: The Beginning	06 May 2021	00:19:43
Host Boston Blake connects the dots between Wonder Woman, Aphrodite, and the origin of the world according to Greek mythology. Persons, places, and things mentioned in this episode: Wonder Woman (the movie) Wonder Woman (comics) Clash of the Titans Archetypes Joseph Campbell D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths Edith Hamilton's Mythology Mythos by Stephen Fry Hesiod Homer Apollodorus Wolverine Entropy
	Dr. Renita Wellman \| The Goddesses Within	29 Apr 2021	00:40:02
Organizational psychologist Renita Wellman discusses her journey from Catholic school to an intentional community, narrative therapy, her Jungian perspective, and how the goddesses in everywoman manifest in her.
	Trailer	22 Apr 2021	00:01:30
Do you love myths, legends, and folklore -- gods, heroes, monsters, fairies, elves, magical artifacts, and wild adventures that are also journeys of the soul? Then Mythic may just be your jam. Host Boston Blake weaves the fantastical into the ordinary world, connecting ancient archetypes to contemporary life. Media, culture, and the mundane become magical when viewed from a mythic perspective. Caution: May cause an increase in synchronicity.
	Michael DiPietro and Marcey Donnelly \| The Village and the Mountaintop: Integrating Peak Experience	17 Jul 2024	00:48:56
What does it mean to return to the village? Boston Blake chats with Michael DiPietro and Marcey Donnelly, coauthors of 'The Inside Guide: Breaking Through to Intuitive Wisdom and Inspired Living.' They delve into key themes such as intuitive wisdom, the hero's journey, integrating peak experiences into daily life, and understanding the role of desire and purpose. The conversation also covers their approaches to personal development and their vision for a more conscious, interconnected world. Tune in for practical insights and inspiring stories from two seasoned guides in the realm of inner work. 00:00 Introduction of Guests and Their Backgrounds 00:40 Michael's Journey and Approach to Inner Work 01:41 Marcey's Spiritual Awakening and Transformation 03:28 The Birth of Their Collaborative Book 07:19 Exploring the Hero's Journey and Integration 09:41 Living the Mountaintop Experience in Daily Life 19:50 The Role of Myth and Archetypes in Personal Growth 22:09 Synchronicity and Flow State 26:47 Purpose and Desire in Life 37:55 Connecting with Michael and Marcey 45:40 Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks The Inside Guide website: https://insideguideus.com Discount Coupon Code: GROUP25 Learn more about Boston’s free Mythic Burning Man workshop series at https://bostonblake.com/mythic-burn
	Dr. Jody Bower \| The Witch Isn't the Villain: The Heroine's Journey and Post-Heroic Power	14 Jan 2024	00:55:08
About This Episode The hero fights. He defeats the villain. He wins — and sometimes that's exactly when things start to fall apart. Cultural mythologist Dr. Jody Bower has been tracing a different story structure for decades, finding it across centuries of women's fiction, in biographies of famous women, in ancient myth, and now in Barbie. The heroine's path moves differently: not through conquest, but through learning. Not by destroying the witch — by going to her, humbling herself, and asking to be taught. Jody is the author of Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story and The Princess Powers Up: Watching the Sleeping Beauties Become Warrior Goddesses. She holds a PhD in mythological studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute and has spent years tracing what she calls "post-heroic" patterns of power — ways of moving through the world that don't depend on winning, but on discernment. On knowing what has value and choosing more of it. We covered a lot of ground: the shift happening right now from individual to collective heroism in film and story; why Barbie functions as a descent myth; the difference between a leaving story and a descent story and what each one requires; and the deep problem with applying heroic thinking to social and political activism. Near the end, Jody described a near-death experience from a couple of years ago — and what it showed her about the soul, about death, and about the fullness of life. What We Cover Jody's mythic origin story. Growing up without religious affiliation but with deep curiosity about how the world came to be — spending weekends at reservation dances with her family, visiting churches and synagogues out of fascination rather than faith. Discovering Jung and dream work in college. The serendipitous meeting that led her to Pacifica and the book that became Jane Eyre's Sisters. The shift in heroic stories. How the last twenty years of superhero cinema have quietly transformed the hero's journey. Love is no longer what the hero earns at the end — it's what distinguishes him from the villain at the outset. Harry Potter wins because of the love held in his heart, not because of his power alone. And the hero is increasingly not a lone individual but a fellowship: Stranger Things, Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings, even the new Masters of the Universe. The mythic shift from "I" to "we." Barbie and the descent story. Why the Barbie film works as myth and which kind it actually is. Jody draws a distinction between the leaving story — a woman who escapes a constrictive situation to build something new — and the descent story, in which someone who has been over-protected must go down into the dark to find what was missing. Barbie is the descent story. Not everyone needs the same map. Heroic thinking and what it costs us. Heroic thinking — right versus wrong, the single wondrous act, hero worship, the belief that one victory settles things permanently — shows up everywhere in our politics and our activism. Jody traces where it leads: to burnout when the load becomes impossible to carry alone, and in the worst case, to something far darker. The hero who wins either becomes a tyrant or discovers that winning didn't fix it. The heroine's alternative. The heroine doesn't fight the witch. She goes to the witch, humbles herself, and asks to be taught. She's handed impossible tasks — sorting a pile of seeds, separating what has value from what doesn't — and what these tasks teach her is discernment. Not what is evil, but what feeds people. Jody calls this "blameless discernment." The focus isn't on destroying what's bad. It's on choosing and growing what's good. On near-death, mystery, and ecstasy. Jody describes a catastrophic medical event and what she found in the darkness of it — complete peace, a choice, and something she couldn't explain. She also talks about what ecstasy has meant in her life, and why mystery isn't a problem to be solved. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:42 Jody’s mythic origin story 08:13 Love as the mark of the hero vs. the villain 12:18 From “I” to “we”: the collective hero 14:22 Barbie and the descent story 18:51 Heroic thinking in politics and activism 30:26 The heroine’s alternative 31:48 She goes where they tell her never to go 33:04 Sorting seeds: discernment over judgment 34:22 Blameless discernment 43:02 Jody’s near-death experience 50:59 On ecstasy 53:18 How to find Jody Memorable Quotes "She goes exactly where they tell her never to go." — Jody Bower "She humbles herself before the witch, and she says, teach me." — Jody Bower "The difference between them is that the hero can love." — Jody Bower "Heroic thinking is right and wrong thinking. I'm right. You're wrong." — Jody Bower "Blameless discernment. What do you want to foster in life?" — Jody Bower "The descent to the Cave of the Dark Goddess has no meaning for me because I grew up in that situation." — Jody Bower "I don't have to go down to the cave. I've been there." — Jody Bower "I was present in nothingness. And I was given the choice to go or stay." — Jody Bower "It's a chosen path chosen not out of belief, but out of experience." — Jody Bower Resources & Links Dr. Jody Bower: jodybower.com Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story — [Amazon / Indiebound] The Princess Powers Up: Watching the Sleeping Beauties Become Warrior Goddesses — [Amazon / Indiebound] Maureen Murdock — The Heroine's Journey [add link] Kim Hudson — The Virgin's Promise [add link] Christine Downing — [add link] Pacifica Graduate Institute: pacifica.edu Support the show: bostonblake.com/contribute/ More episodes: mythicpodcast.com About Dr. Jody Bower Dr. Jody Bower is a cultural mythologist with a PhD from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is the author of Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story and The Princess Powers Up: Watching the Sleeping Beauties Become Warrior Goddesses. She lectures, teaches workshops, and works with writers and filmmakers on archetypal story structure. You can find her at jodybower.com and on LinkedIn. About Mythic Ancient myths don't stay in the past. They are retold again and again in contemporary media. They also play out in the real world — our relationships, our politics, and in the moments when life suddenly feels larger than ordinary explanation can account for. Mythic is a podcast about meaningful living through the power of myth. I'm Boston Blake — a certified coach, a lifelong student of depth psychology, and someone who has spent most of his adult life studying what makes humans tick. Sometimes I sit down with mythologists, Jungian scholars, artists, and practitioners to trace the archetypal patterns alive in our world right now. Other times I go in alone — following a myth or an archetype wherever it leads, into ancient legend and modern headlines alike. If you've ever felt like there's more going on beneath the surface of your life — and that the right story, told in the right way, might help you understand what it is — this podcast is for you. Journey on.
	David Berger - Reimagining Myths for Redemption	07 Jul 2023	00:45:54
Author David Berger discusses Task Force Gaea and his mythic influences. Ovid's Metamorphoses, Clash of the Titans, Wonder Woman, and more! About David Berger David Berger was the boy under the blanket reading books by flashlight when he should have been sleeping, and he hasn’t stopped reading since. His creative fires started by reading Greek mythology, the stories of Olympian gods and heroes sparking a conflagration of learning that took him through novels—sci-fi, fantasy, or whatever he could find—and that, coupled with his love of comic books, especially Wonder Woman, brought him to writing. The act of putting pen to paper gave him an outlet he had never had, and the inspiration of the Muses pushed him forward. His love of fantasy prompted writing a Greek myth fantasy series, Task Force: Gaea, a Celtic fantasy trilogy beginning with The Quest of Wyndracer and Fyrehunter, as well as an anthology of his own short fiction and poetry, Hippocrene’s Promise. When he’s not teaching or writing, he’s living his best fantasy life playing Dungeons & Dragons. www.davidbergerbooks.com Twitter: CaptW0nd3r Key Moments 04:49 - David Berger's origin story 09:44 - Task Force Gaea 17:19 - Reversing Ovid's Metamorphoses: Artemis and Actaeon, Perseus and Medusa 20:38 - Year of Redemption: reflections on teaching high school during the 2020 Covid shutdown 26:35 - Clash of the Titans, Perseus is a dick. 34:46 - Odysseus, the rise of humanism, and the twilight of the gods Relevant Links The Great Greek Myths (Les Grands Mythes) - TV Series - IMDB David Berger's official website JLA: League of One by Christopher Moeller DC Comics Clash of the Titans (1981) - IMDb Metamorphoses - Wikipedia D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire \| Goodreads How a Medusa Sculpture From a Decade Ago Became #MeToo Art - The New York Times Music composed by Kevin MacLeod How You Can Support the Show Share it with friends and on social media Leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Become a patron by making a one-time contribution or sustaining subscriber Support Mythic
	Andrea Slominski, PhD - Regency, Rise of the Feminine Midlife Archetype	28 Jun 2023	00:41:40
Welcome to Mythic, where we explore meaningful living through the power of myth, including topics that span ancient lore, modern popular culture, and depth psychology. I'm your host, Boston Blake. Andrea Slominski, PhD - Regency, Rise of the Feminine Midlife Archetype About Dr. Andrea Slominski Andrea M. Slominski, Ph.D., is a women's midlife coach, speaker, and author. Dr. A’s coaching addresses the deep work of Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging, which can shift during midlife. In her Ph.D. research and study, she explored the new life stage for women that emerged over the past 120 years. Dr. A. names this new life stage from ages 45-70—Regency—and identifies it as women's new power years. Dr. A. created a proprietary coaching method for women 40+ to guide them through the often-tumultuous transformations of peri, midlife, and menopause. She has shared her passion for mentoring midlife women at conferences, workshops, summits, and corporate events. She is a published author and has given papers and addresses at international academic and cultural conferences. Since starting her practice in 2015, Dr. A. has supported over three-thousand women through her coaching, mentorship, online gatherings, journals, and Covid-19 support programs. Upcoming Offerings *1. Reclaiming Your Inner Wild Woman An 8-week group class* Love "Women Who Run With The Wolves?"Join Dr. A. in an 8-Week curated, deep-dive into the classic book on women’s mythology. We’ll explore the Wild Woman Archetype, and the mythology, folk, and fairy tales in Dr C.P. Estés groundbreaking book. Learn how to reclaim your Wild Woman energy, revitalize, and recreate yourself, for yourself. Learn skills that you will use for the rest of your life. Pack Runs July 5th. Eastern and Pacific sessions are available. Register and find out more info here https://www.drandreaslominski.com/reclaiming-your-inner-wild-woman Listener Coupon Codes: WILDWOMANEAST WILDWOMANWEST 2. All Women Over 40 Face Seven Realms of Change An 8-week group class Join Dr. A. in this transformative eight-week group class that explores the profound changes that women go through during perimenopause, midlife, and menopause. The physical, psychological, and spiritual shifts of midlife are pre-programmed into women’s bodies, minds, and souls. Because they all happen at the same time, it makes our lives hard to manage! To conquer these midlife changes and live their most authentic and fulfilled lives women must navigate Seven Realms of Change. The Seven Realms of Change are a woman’s changing: Body — Self-Image — Feelings — Needs — Roles — Priorities — Goals It’s Destiny. It’s an Unavoidable Voyage. Yet—It is possible to Influence, Direct, and Participate in all these changes! It is possible to understand what is happening to you and take control of the process. It is possible to design a map, chart a course, pilot the journey, and choose your destination. This transformative eight-week group class unlocks how to address the changes of midlife and successfully navigate the Seven Realms of Change. The Voyage begins July 6th. Eastern and Pacific sessions are available. Register and find out more info here https://www.drandreaslominski.com/the-seven-realms-of-change-group-class Listener Coupon Codes 7REALMSEAST. 7REALMSWEST Key Moments [03:43] The triple shift of women at midlife-physical, psyhological, and spiritual--and what it means that women are living longer than ever before [11:42] What myth can teach us about navigating these transitions [15:36] What is regency? [26:58] Some fascinating statistics on the rise in power of women. Helpful Links Dr. Andrea Slominski's website Music composed by Kevin MacLeod How You Can Support the Show Share it with friends and on social media Leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Become a patron by making a one-time contribution or sustaining subscriber Support Mythic
	Nicola Scott - Celebrating Wonder Woman and Making Historia	17 Jun 2023	01:36:35
Welcome to Mythic, where we explore meaningful living through the power of myth, including topics that span ancient lore, modern popular culture, and depth psychology. I'm your host, Boston Blake. Nicola Scott - Celebrating Wonder Woman and Making Historia https://bostonblake.com/mythic-podcast/making-historia-with-wonder-woman-artist-nicola-scott About Nicola Scott Nicola Scott is an Australian comic book artist working primarily in the American industry. With a history in theatre and in costume design Nicola started pursuing a comics career in 2001 and by 2004 was the first Australian to become a staple of the U.S. mainstream. She quickly became a fan-favourite working exclusively for DC Comics on iconic characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and team titles “Birds Of Prey”, “Secret Six”, “Teen Titans” and New York Times Bestseller “Earth 2”. 2016 saw the launch of her critically acclaimed creator-owned Image Comics maxi-series ‘Black Magick’ and DC’s ‘Wonder Woman: Year One’ to celebrate the characters 75th anniversary, both in collaboration with writer Greg Rucka. Also in 2016 Nicola partnered with DC Comics and The United Nations to create the key art for Wonder Woman’s Honorary Ambassadorship For Women and Girls. In 2022 she worked with Kelly Sue DeConnick on Vol.3 of the Eisner Awarding winning series Wonder Woman HISTORIA. Currently she’s working with Tom Taylor on TITANS. She’s appeared in W Magazine, Vogue Australia, Frankie Magazine, The New York Times art section, written for The Guardian, and guest judged on both Australian and U.S. reality shows. She’s given talks at Graphic Festival, ACAF, Araza Women Presents and gave a keynote at the 2018 Adobe Max Creative Conference. She lives in the Blue Mountains with her husband and their cat. Meaningful Moments 02:40 - The Origin of Nicola Scott 16:31 - Discovering the mythology-steeped George Perez era 22:36 - Wonder Woman and the waves of feminism 29:03 - Wonder Woman's stint as Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations for Women and Girls (Yeah, we're still mad, too.) 34:26 - Teaming up with Greg Rucka for Rebirth and Year One for new take on the Origin of Wonder Woman 43:16 - Love, Sex, and Steve Trevor 57:12 - Wonder Woman: Historia with Kelly Sue DeConnick 01:17:12 - Transgender Amazons and Dionysus, the nonbinary theatre god 01:23:05 - Recommended reading for mythology lovers: Madeline Miller's Circe and The Song of Achilles, and Colin McCullum's The Song of Troy 01:29:58 - On Manifesting Helpful Links George Perez - Wonder Woman Omnibus vo1. 1 \| DC Colleen McCullough -The Song of Troy Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller - Circe Black Magick \| Image Comics Nicola Scott's website Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons Music composed by Kevin MacLeod 3 Ways Support the Show Share it with friends and on social media. Leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Click below to become a sustaining member or make a one-time contribution. Support Mythic Thank you again for listening. You can find more information about the podcast at https://mythicpodcast.com. To learn about Mythic Coaching, visit https://bostonblake.com. Journey on!
	Monica Mody, PhD - Decolonizing Mythology	13 May 2023	00:49:24
Welcome to Mythic, where we explore meaningful living through the power of myth, including topics that span ancient lore, modern popular culture, and depth psychology. I'm your host, Boston Blake. Monica Mody, PhD - Decolonizing Mythology About Monica Mody Dr. Monica Mody is a transdisciplinary poet, educator and theorist working at the intersections of embodied regenerative consciousness, earth-based wisdom, and decolonial frameworks of wholeness. She is the author of KALA PANI and a forthcoming poetry collection BRIGHT PARALLEL. She holds a Ph.D. in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. LL.B. from the National Law School of India University. Her doctoral dissertation was awarded the Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology. Dr. Mody currently serves as Adjunct faculty in the Women's Spirituality Program at CIIS as well as in the Mythological Studies Program at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, and as core faculty in the Doctoral Program in Visionary Practice and Regenerative Leadership at Southwestern College Santa Fe. She was born in Ranchi, India, and lives in San Francisco (Ramaytush Ohlone territory). Key Moments 05:03 A very brief history of the Partition of India 11:46 Musings on kintsugi 14:05 Marija Gimbutas and goddesses of matriarchal societies 15:14 Athena’s role in the myth of Medusa 19:02 Saraswati and her wild river origins 27:43 Sita Sings the Blues Links for further exploration Tusheeta/Tushita, or, Joyous Motherlines - Dr. Monica Mody A Note on Writing “Sarasvati” - Dr. Monica Mody Sarasvati—a poem by Monica Mody - YouTube Website of Dr. Monica Mody
	Bonus: Five Questions with Becca Tarnas	13 Nov 2022	00:08:22
As a follow-up to the last episode, Becca Tarnas answers Boston's five questions, touching on dark matter, reincarnation, and astrological archetypes. What were your childhood stories? What do you believe? What's an extraordinary experience that has shaped you? How are you the same as your childhood self? When have you experienced ecstasy?
	Becca Tarnas, PhD - The Imaginal Realm: Astrology, Mythology, and Middle Earth	07 Nov 2022	01:09:48
Moments Becca’s Origin Story Connecting mathematics, mythology, and astrology A mythic interpretation of the December 2021 Venus-Pluto conjunction. Beauty, sexuality, and the arts meet the underworld extremes. Beauty and the Beast themes in the story of Pluto and Venus The story of Eros and Psyche plays out in the sky New tellings of myth from women’s perspective. Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes. Retelling of myths from vilified women’s perspectives as shadow work and integration. The Queen’s Gambit The Lord of the Rings as an inner journey into shadow and addiction. On encountering Tolkien and making the journey to Middle Earth. How The Lord of the Rings can be applied to real-world experience. Idealism in the face of waning optimism. How astrology can support humanity in turbulent times. (Saturn-Pluto alignment as an augur of global conflict and strife.) A break in the storm Spring 2022-2023 Jupiter-Uranus conjunction as a herald of positive change in 2024. Hidden births. The influence of Uranus — revolution, insight, technology, innovation What is the difference between imaginary and the imaginal? The term genius once referred to a spirit that seized a person, but now it is applied to the person. How can astrology apply?q Mentions Stanislav Groff Esalen Institute Richard Tarnas CIIS Pacifica Graduate Institute [Enantiodromia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiodromia) The Queen’s Gambit The Bioneers Conference Matthew Stelzner Prometheus James Hillman Carl Jung Henri Corban Samuel Taylor Colridge Mundus Imaginalis The Biographia Literaria

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