The Symbolic World

Latest Episodes:

423 - Catholic Unscripted - Violence as the New Normal Nov 28, 2025

Show notes

This is a repost of an interview I did a few months ago on the Catholic Unscripted Podcast after the Charlie Kirk assassination. We discuss the topic of violence, the end of the World War 2 consensus, Israel, enchantment, science and technology, sex and gender, architecture, the structure of a normal vs a crumbling society, and more. Enjoy.
YouTube version on my channel: https://youtu.be/TeCjedp6dJA
Original interview on Catholic Unscripted YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/SSn_q-HQeFg?si=K7RkdByVEFDnoP4j
The Catholic Unscripted Podcast is a UK online apostolate founded by Katherine Bennett, and Mark Lambert. Subscribe at https://www.catholicunscripted.com/
BLACK FRIDAY SALE. Get 30% off courses, 20% off books, and 25% off the Tales For Once & Ever bundle. Use code: BLACKFRIDAY2025 for courses, other discounts are applied automatically. Valid through Dec 3. Don't miss out: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com
Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

422 - Why Exaggeration Is Necessary in Storytelling Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

Given we're still in the fall season, I watched The Conjuring and it got me thinking about how real events can become exaggerated in story form. In this video, I look at how legends are created, and that exaggeration of certain elements of an event can help amplify the meaning and purpose of why we're paying attention to it in the first place.
Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/fA2cKrvYyTk
Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

421 - Deacon Seraphim (Richard) Rohlin - Recovering Our Heritage Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

I’m excited to share this powerful talk by Deacon Seraphim Rohlin, my collaborator at the Symbolic World Press and co-host of the Universal History Podcast. In this talk from the 2025 Touchstone Conference, he explores how we can recover our heritage and live an enchanted Christian life. The title of his talk originally was "The Deep Pattern: Re-Enchanting Time through Medieval Universal History".
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EtvIpApaSrE
https://www.touchstonemag.com/
Universal History podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_M2uZP3yW6EEiod3fGD6FD&si=iYKlCCZJSt_ob2oi
Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro by Jonathan
01:15 - Intro music
01:40 - Introducing Dcn Seraphim Rohlin
03:34 - Start of talk
15:20 - Paradiso class
17:08 - Resume talk
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

420 - How Free Will Actually Works Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

This was September 2025's patron video that we decided to make public. Thank you to my supporters.
I explore the question of free will, drawing on the insights of St. Maximus the Confessor. While thinkers like Sam Harris argue that free will is an illusion and always contingent on material circumstances, I show how the Christian understanding reframes freedom—not as arbitrary choice, but as submission to the good. True freedom is not transgression, but moving toward higher and higher goods, where life becomes more natural and effortless.
Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/burSzHmo4o4
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons can get 10% off)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

419 - Trick or Treat: Halloween Symbolism in Little Red Riding Hood Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

Pre-order Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf now and get a free audiobook read by me, as well as an exclusive Q&A: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/products/the-tale-of-little-red-riding-hood-and-the-big-bad-wolf
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

418 - The Symbolism of the Entire Divine Comedy in the First Canto Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

In this video, I read and reflect on the first canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy — the opening of Inferno. This incredible canto puts the entire poem in perspective, serving as a microcosm for Dante's journey through inferno, purgatory, and into paradise. I discuss in detail, line by line, the rich symbolism and meaning Dante conveys.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/7zzQRg0muMo
If you enjoy this kind of symbolic analysis, join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin as we continue through Dante’s Paradiso, starting live in November. You can get the early bird sale of 15% off if you use the code: EARLYPARADISO at checkout. Our past courses on Dante's Inferno and Purgatorio are also on a 50% sale during the month of October if you use code: DANTE50.
Courses:
-Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course
-Purgatorio:https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-purgatorio
-Paradise (upcoming): https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD-Get 15% off with the early bird sale through all of October with the code: EARLYPARADISO
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

417 - Three Things Christians Must Do to Rebuild Culture (Touchstone talk) Oct 25, 2025

Show notes

This talk took place at the 2025 Touchstone conference, Great and Wonderful Days: Rediscovering the Christian Life in a Post-Christian Age. The title of my talk was “This is the Day”.
https://www.touchstonemag.com/
Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/cnMk_GFpVbw
I explore how our modern world—built on endless disruption and self-expression—has reached its breaking point. We’re witnessing the collapse of a culture that forgot its source, but that’s also at the beginnings of renewal. From art and architecture to worship and storytelling, I share how Christians can remember, celebrate, and create once again—recovering beauty, meaning, and participation in the divine order. This is a moment of opportunity: to rediscover Christ as the pattern of reality and rebuild culture on that foundation.
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD
-Get 15% off with the early bird sale through all of October with the code: EARLYPARADISO
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
During October you can also get 50% off the Inferno and Purgatorio courses with the code: DANTE50-Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course
-Purgatorio: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-purgatorio
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

416 - Tangled: The Triumph of Self-Realization Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

I explore how Disney’s Tangled reimagines the classic Rapunzel story and what these changes reveal about our modern world. Tangled captures a pivotal moment in Disney’s storytelling where there was a shift from the traditional fairy tale’s emphasis on a marriage union, to a more modern emphasis on personal self-realization. I also reflect on how these themes connect to our own retelling, Rapunzel and the Evil Witch.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/o8BJcX61H08
Buy Rapunzel and the Evil Witch: https://rapunzelbook.com/
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD
-Get 15% off with the early bird sale through all of October with the code: EARLYPARADISO
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
During October you can also get 50% off the Inferno and Purgatorio courses with the code: DANTE50
-Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course
-Purgatorio: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-purgatorio
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

415 - Charlie Kirk's Assassination: We have gone beyond the pale Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

Huge changes are happening in the political landscape. In this video, I reflect on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and how this moment has deeply affected me toward recognizing how broken our unity has become. Drawing on symbolic insights, I explore the danger of turning opposition into real enmity and the need to return to truth, forgiveness, and higher purpose.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/NrDbHQurRpg
The recent interview with my brother, Matthieu, that I mention in the video: https://youtu.be/8-RWp1_lSEM?si=flnni77ae94jpuD-
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD
-Get 15% off with the early bird sale through all of October with the code: EARLYPARADISO
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
During October you can also get 50% off the Inferno and Purgatorio courses with the code: DANTE50
-Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course
-Purgatorio: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-purgatorio
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

414 - Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin (Universal History) - American Folk Magic and Christianity: From the Reformation to Mormonism Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Enchantment never truly disappeared from the modern world.
In this episode of Universal History Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I explore the world of magic and folk superstition in American Christianity.
What is magic? Where’s the line between prayer and magic? Why did Protestant reformers ban holy water but keep belief in the devil? How did treasure-hunting rituals lead to the rise of Mormonism?
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/o9rMy6lde0c
Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:37 - Intro music
01:01 - Introduction
04:54 - What is magic?
08:46 - The modern & Enlightenment ideas of superstition
11:00 - Prayers and psalms
13:30 - The Reformation's perspective
24:27 - Medieval understanding of superstition
26:53 - Example: the French "Dog-saint"
28:11 - Reformation conclusions
33:37 - You have an embarrassing illness
37:21 - Christian magic hacks
46:29 - Manifestation
52:03 - Scapegoating
54:31 - Categories of magic
56:47 - Divination
04:30 - Water witching
07:30 - Saint Porphyrios
08:51 - Finding water
09:57 - Finding other things
11:44 - Money digging
13:33 - How money digging works
17:34 - The symbolism of the New World
20:54 - Joseph Smith and Mormonism
24:18 - The human need for enchantment
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

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