The Symbolic World

Latest Episodes:

323 - What It Means to Be Born Again Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

In celebration of Theophany (6 January) or Epiphany, as it’s called in the Western tradition, I discuss the meaning of baptism, starting with the baptism of Christ, what it means to be “born again” symbolically, and how Scripture, our sacraments, and the Theophany icon illustrate and explain this to us.
Join us for the Symbolic World Summit on Feb 29th, 2024. Learn more: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

322 - Janus, the Two-Faced God of January Dec 30, 2023

Show notes

For my last video of 2023, I discuss the pagan god Janus, after whom the month of January is named; why he has two faces, how it’s related to this time of year, the winter solstice, Christmas, and the general ambiguity and uneasiness of places of transition. Happy New Year!
Join us for the Symbolic World Summit on Feb 29th, 2024. Learn more: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

321 - Why Angels Appeared to Shepherds on Christmas Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

This video takes a close look at one sentence in the Christmas story. A great company of angels appeared to the shepherds in the field to announce the birth of Christ, and they sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests”. To many people this statement seems meaningless or abstract, but in celebration of the nativity I took some time in this video to take it apart and explain how it applies to our daily experience.
Christmas playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-4ZxpTTkqsa-7BSWVfiNM4YccYxhLc12&si=p_P8SNFQ7mIB_2-1
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

320 - Richard Rohlin - The Universal History of Christmas Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of the Universal History podcast, Richard Rohlin and I discuss Christmas, why it looks the way it does, how Christmas developed into what we have today, and why you absolutely should celebrate it if you’re a Christian.
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Buy the Beowulf Course (You have to have a profile on our Symbolic World community, you can create one for free): https://thesymbolicworld.com/news/the-beowulf-course-by-richard-rohlin-and-jonathan-pageau
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Join us at the Symbolic World Summit in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Date: Feb 29-Mar 2, 2024 Tickets start at $399: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit
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Related discussions:

Universal History: The Deep Symbolism of Groundhog Day | with Richard Rohlin: https://youtu.be/dX6PZBS1Q9Q?si=3m-oGjhKplytfAI4
Universal History: The Christian Continuation of Hanukkah | with Richard Rohlin: https://youtu.be/MKQc7AZvK2A?si=3LETrHV5Vj5Jm8h5
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as Modern Mythmaking: https://youtu.be/2z87XnoXrjo?si=csKtcE59MkSQIx6G

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💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

319 - The Symbolism of Aliens Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

This is a repost of an older video published on this channel in 2018. We are reposting it because the original video was blocked by YouTube in several countries. Now also seems like a good time to revisit the topics of aliens, encountering the strange, garments of skin, the consequences and dangers of technology, and all the tropes we have in our culture around the foreign, whether in the direction of vilification, or worship.
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

318 - Seraphim Hamilton - Re-Enchantment Now: Fairies, Aliens, the Occult, Prayer, and Divination Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

This is a repost of my recent discussion with Seraphim Hamilton on his YouTube channel. He asked me many good questions about universal history, re-enchantment, fairy tales, the occult, divination, carnival, war, prayer, and ritual, thinking symbolically about your own life, AI, and more. Enjoy.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/wXwi8r00-XU
Previous discussion: https://youtu.be/C9pNpJxY3kQ?si=RA6BckS-lvi3218r
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
🔒 BECOME A PATRON
Website: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pageauvideos
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
Join us at the Symbolic World Summit in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Date: Feb 29-Mar 2, 2024 Tickets start at $399: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit

317 - Fr. Joseph Lucas - Sacrifice: The Paradox of Salvation Nov 24, 2023

Show notes

Fr. Joseph Lucas published a thesis on the question of sacrifice, called Offerer and Offering: Cyril of Alexandria on Jewish and Christian Sacrifice. In this video, we discuss sacrifice in Scripture, how we should understand the crucifixion, and how the notion of sacrifice applies to the Christian life.
Bio: Father Joseph Lucas is an Orthodox Christian priest, theological scholar, and practical philosopher. He received his PhD. in Theology from the St. Irenaeus Orthodox Theological Institute at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegan, and his MDiv. with Distinction in Patristics and Church History from St. Tikhon Orthodox Theological Seminary.
Father Joseph is the author of Prayer of the Publican: Justification in the Desert Fathers. He is a Senior Editor of Rule of Faith Journal. Rule of Faith is an Orthodox Christian journal wherein scholars, clergy, and artists elucidate the culture of faith and engage the questions of our time.
Rule of Faith journal: https://ruleoffaith.org
Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/0FuO88QVlN0
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Coming up
0:42 - Intro music
1:06 - Introduction
2:01 - St. Cyril on sacrifice
2:59 - What is sacrifice for?
5:02 - Biblical sacrifice is not propitiation
8:11 - The scope of Scripture
11:46 - Yom Kippur: Two aspects of the same sacrifice
15:45 - Is the crucifixion an offering?
17:00 - Never disconnected from the Father
19:17 - My God, my God, why have You Forsaken me?
20:51 - The Garden of Gethsemane
22:43 - The prophesy, "for our sake"
25:05 - Symbol + intention
33:56 - Connecting this to Christian life
35:09 - The limits of René Girard
38:33 - The central pattern
46:08 - Applying this to politics
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💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

316 - DC Schindler - The Duality of Art (Climbing Mt Sophia) Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

This is a repost of a great discussion I had on the Climbing Mt. Sophia channel alongside DC Schindler. We discuss beauty, art, freedom, techne and technology, primarily exploring the question: what is beauty?
Original: Climbing Mt. Sophia - Beauty, Art and Freedom with Jonathan Pageau and DC Schindler: https://youtu.be/pIikYtFS4Q8?si=SlFG5MR0ZtbmcL9I
Jonathan’s video on contemporary art: The Search for Participation in Contemporary Art: https://youtu.be/EWc7TKm9jho?si=WuwCjk3Tb3Zdkpmg
David and Ken’s series on Freedom from Reality: Part 1; Good, Functionality and Unease with DC Schindler: https://youtu.be/kSoCVbcmXfg?si=qkmNLSc2J7DLcDQA
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Join us for the Symbolic World Summit in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Date: Feb 29-Mar 2, 2024
Tickets start at $399: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit
—
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
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📱 SOCIAL MEDIA
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976
A small portion of the audio content in this video belongs to Dirt Poor Robins. We have received explicit permission from Dirt Poor Robins to use their music in this video to advertise an event where they will be present as performing artists.
All video posted is merely for educational, commentarial, and informational purposes under Fair Use law. All rights and credit go directly to its owners. No copyright infringement intended.

315 - Fr. Turbo Qualls and David Patrick Harry - Beauty and the Ascetic Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

For this week’s podcast, I sat down with Fr. Turbo Qualls and David Patrick Harry to discuss beauty and iconography in the Orthodox Christian tradition, why beauty is a part of the Church despite Christ leading a simple life, giving back to God, the meaning and purpose of icons in worship, balancing beauty and charity, the question of idolatry, the duality of externals, and more.
Fr. Turbo Qualls is the rector at St. Mary of Egypt, Serbian Orthodox Church in Kanses City Missouti, where he lives with his wife Juliana and their children. He has lectured in various parts of the United States in regard to the work of evangelization and cultural outreach.
David Patrick Harry is a religious studies scholar and has a YouTube channel called Church of the Eternal Logos that’s devoted to Orthodox Christian apologetics, his academic work, as well as addressing topics such as comparative mysticism, Gnosticism, world religions, esoteric traditions, the spirituality of technology, and much more.
Check out David’s channel: Church of the Eternal Logos: https://www.youtube.com/@ChurchoftheEternalLogos
Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/awabHcHOY_k
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Coming up
0:50 - Intro music
1:16 - Introduction
1:46 - Aesthetics in the Orthodox Church
3:22 - Symbols and beauty in the Church
8:14 - Why the Church prioritizes beauty
13:12 - Give the best back to God
18:04 - An expansive view
20:47 - The beauty and the ascetic
25:39 - Synthesis vs confusion
33:33 - Reaching mankind through beauty
40:49 - Balancing beauty with charity
48:58 - The duality of externals
57:40 - A commodity
1:05:00 - A relationship
1:18:31 - The plateau
1:22:03 - A new context for beauty
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Join us for the Symbolic World Summit on Feb 29th, 2024, in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Learn more here: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
🔒 BECOME A PATRON
Website: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

314 - Dr Martin Shaw - The New Odyssey Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Martin Shaw will be a speaker at the Symbolic World Summit next year in Tarpon Springs, Florida. In this conversation we discuss pagan stories, including The Odyssey and The Iliad, our current moment in the West, the return of paganism and a desire for Kleos (imperishable glory) in modern life. We also talk about how much paganism differs from Christianity, wrestling with Scripture as a mythographer, and Martin’s journey to Orthodox Christianity.
Dr Martin Shaw is a writer, storyteller, and mythologist. Award-winning author of seventeen books, his most recent, Bardskull, was Guardian Book of the Day and described by the Sunday Times as “rich and transgressive.” He is a wilderness rites of passage guide and spent four years living in a tent. Shaw founded the Oral Tradition and Living Myth courses at Stanford University and is described by the Irish Times as an “interloper from the medieval.” An Eastern Orthodox Christian, over the last twenty-five years Shaw has introduced thousands of people to myth and how it speaks to our age. He is widely published: Orion, The Sun, Mississippi Review, Poetry International and many others.
Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/U4BVKOBrnTY
Dr. Martin Shaw’s website: https://drmartinshaw.com/
Substack: https://martinshaw.substack.com/
Join me and Dr. Martin Shaw and others at the Symbolic World Summit in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Date: Feb 29-Mar 2, 2024
Tickets start at $399: https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Coming up next
1:00 - Intro music
1:24 - Introduction
1:44 - The Symbolic World Summit
5:12 - What stood out rereading The Odyssey
10:13 - What paganism looks like
13:58 - The Iliad
14:57 - Christ in The Odyssey
20:28 - Struggling with Scripture
24:29 - Relating to Biblical stories
26:56 - Samson
31:16 - Pandemonium and understanding the West
33:07 - Tell me about the Summit
38:00 - Martin's transformation
42:01 - I'm not a classicist
—--------------------
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
🔒 BECOME A PATRON
Website: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pageauvideos
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

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