The Mythic Masculine #73 | Courting the Feminine in Fairy Tales - Tad Hargrave
My guest today is my good friend Tad Hargrave.
Tad is the founder of Marketing for Hippies with a mission to restore the beauty of the marketplace. He teaches folks who have a desire to do good, but hate marketing, how to articulate their work with elegance and effectiveness.
Tad has spent years learning his ancestral language of Scottish Gaelic in Nova Scotia and on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. As well, for over a decade we have both attended the Orphan Wisdom School with Stephen Jenkinson in Ontario, where we have many fond memories in the teaching hall. In recent years, he’s turned towards studying ancient history, comparative mythology and Indo-European folklore.
In our conversation today, Tad has turned towards the fairy tale Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) and what it might have to stay about the indigenous memory of Europe.
Chances are, you’ve seen the Disney version of the story, though I would highly recommend you pause this episode and read the original Grimm’s tale before continuing.
Tad and I focus in on a particular moment, when after a 100 years of enchanted sleep, the prince approaches the briar hedge that encircles the castle and the Beauty lying within. We explore themes of seduction versus courtship and degradation of trust between men and women. We speak about the historical role of the Court and the tragedy of extracting too much from Nature’s innate abundance.
And finally, we explore how folk tales can hold practical wisdom for modern masculinity and how to sustain the mutual life between humans and the holy.
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DON’T MISS
Tad and his collaborator Kakisimow Iskwew have a number of deeper dives into the story of Briar Rose:
* Briar Rose - 6 Week Online Program Begins Jan 5th
* All details on Briar Rose Offerings
MORE LINKS
* Tad’s website Marketing for Hippies
* Tad’s Substack ‘On Culture Making’
SHOW NOTES
03:46 Welcoming Tad Hargrave
04:43 The Origin of Marketing for Hippies
05:47 Exploring the Fairy Tale of Briar Rose
06:56 The Symbolism of Briar Rose
11:50 The Dangers of Seduction and Coercion
14:11 The Pickup Artist Experience
25:14 The Concept of Courtship
25:33 The Etymology of Courtship
31:19 The Modern Mimicry of Courtship
39:19 The King's Riddle and Nature's Abundance
40:40 Indigenous Wisdom and Sustainable Harvesting
41:39 The Consequences of Mistrust and Overextraction
43:56 The Art of Courtship in Different Cultures
45:48 The Tale of the Tree of Life
50:22 Mentorship and the Importance of Timing
58:07 The Beauty of Courtship and True Love
01:08:29 The Wisdom in Stories and Elders
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