The Mythic Masculine

This episode is a live recording as part of a series of events leading to the Grand Opening of The School of Mythopoetics June 1st, 2022.  Consider joining as a Founding Member http://schoolofmythpoetics.comIn myth, the Underworld is a place of testing and initiation, but hopefully not a final destination. Within many stories the descent is the second element of a three stage process, leading to final grounding that is both redemptive and a gift to others.  Martin Shaw is suggesting in the West we have often made the Underworld so comfortable, so subtle, and in some case so chronic, we’ve become a two stage, not three stage culture. Without quite knowing it, the Underworld has become home.  In this state we experience the liminoid not the liminal, the rupture but not the rapture. Nothing grows, expect cynicism. Come and join Martin as he speaks old world stories and ideas into the malaise of our times. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Autumn Skye, a visionary artist whose work holds a significant presence with transformational culture around the world.I first had the pleasure of meeting Skye on a festival tour in Australia back in 2016, and since then we’ve kept loosely in touch from afar. Last year, when she released her two pieces, first Mary Magdalene and then Yeshua, better known as Jesus, I knew I had to reach out for an interview.Luckily, we live only a ferry ride across the water from each other, and so I was able to visit her in studio.In our conversation today, released on Easter Monday, we cover: how she wrestled her own relationship to the Church and the teachings of Jesus in her childhood. We speak about the function of visionary art to inspire a path through dark times, and finally, Skye reveals her own mythic saga of painting one of the greatest love stories on earth.I recommend checking the two paintings before listening to this podcast.- Jesus - Divine Humanity- Mary Magdalene - The Holy Grail Support this Podcast http://patreon.com/ianmackListen to more episodes http://themythicmasculine.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest for this Live Episode will be Nicholas Powers, author of The Ground Below Zero: 9/11 to Burning Man, New Orleans to Darfur, Haiti to Occupy Wall Street. He is a poet and an associate professor of English at SUNY Old Westbury with writings in Truth-Out, HuffPost, Alternet and The Indypendent.Nicholas recently published the essay “Can Psychedelic Masculinity Stop War?”, a poignant weaving of numerous threads I have explored here on The Mythic Masculine podcast. He weaves myth, psychedelics, culture theory, and more - I knew I had to reach out and make contact.Support this Podcast http://mythicmasculine.com/supporterListen to more episodes http://themythicmasculine.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Bill Kauth, the resident visionary and co-founder of The ManKind Project, one of the most recognized men’s organizations in the world.In 1984, Bill was working as a psychotherapist when he conceived and co-created the New Warrior Training Adventure. Since then, over 75,000 men in 12 countries have completed this neo-initiatory experience. In 1992, Bill also authored one of the first books for starting and running effective men’s groups: A Circle of Men.In our episode today, he shares about these early days of what became the mythopoetic men’s movement, including reaching out to Robert Bly during the heyday of Iron John. Bill shares  some of the hard lessons learned along the way, what inspires him about the current generation of men’s work, and the alchemical power of holding space for men to open their hearts to each other.Also: this episode is released in tandem with my forthcoming interview with Jason MacKenzie, one of the co-founders of Sacred Sons, a more recent men’s organization that grew in part from the soil of The ManKind Project. I’ve chosen to release both conversations in sequence, in order to offer a portrait of the similarities and differences between the generations.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guests today are Ophir & Dor Haberer, Jerusalem-born identical twins, who are, among many things, facilitators, ritualists, storytellers, chefs, and organizational consultants.The brothers bring together their connection to ancestral Arabic Jewish Roots with their love for ecology, healing, and village-building. They have been guiding men’s work for over 4 years, and have just launched their new organization and online platform called Kinhood.In our conversation today Dor and Ophir share what it was like to grow up on an Israeli kibbutz, and the culture shock they experienced when moving to the United States. They speak of their journey into men’s work and the power of a container to be vulnerable. They share some of the guiding stories and myths of Judaism, and the gift of connecting to one’s ancestral roots.And finally, Ophir shares two of his original poems to end our time together.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmackListen to more episodes http://themythicmasculine.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Steven Martyn, M.A. (traditional plant use), an artist, builder, and farmer who is also the founder of The Sacred Gardener School. Steven has spent more than 30 years of living co-creatively with the Earth, practicing traditional living skills of growing food, natural building, and nurturing community.He has written numerous books, including the newly released The Roundhouse: A Meditation and Guide to Building A Handmade House with Local Materials, as well as Sacred Gardening: Seeds for the Reemergence of Co-Creative Agriculture.In our conversation today, we speak of Steven’s four year period of solitude and what eventually drew him back to society. He reclaims the divine roots of agriculture and the wisdom of our neolithic ancestors. And finally, he speaks on the spirit of the Wild and what it might take to once again regrow a culture of reciprocity.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmackListen to more episodes http://themythicmasculine.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Robin Esrock, a global adventurer, travel writer, and author of the Great Global Bucket List.After a chance encounter on a Canadian TV talk show, Robin and I have remained friends for over a decade. We’ve shared countless experiences together, from working on his acclaimed international reality series Word Travels, to exploring the playa at Burning Man, and even attending the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City (where he was the Master of Ceremonies).Robin is a man who has done it all. In our conversation today, he shares about his life growing up in apartheid South Africa and his immigration to Canada. He details the fortuitous motorcycle accident that became his gateway to travel writing, and what he discovered about various rites of passage for men around the world.And finally, he shares key insights on how to travel with children (he has two), and what might remain on his list when it’s time to kick the bucket.Robin's official website http://robinesrock.comSupport the podcast http://patreon.com/ianmack This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

In this 60 minute conversation, Ian MacKenzie and Heather Pennell unpack the opening chapter of Iron John, the classic tale made famous by poet Robert Bly.JOIN THE NEW COURSE: REVISITING IRON JOHNhttp://revisitingironjohn.com The book almost single handedly spark the mythopoetic men's movement of the early 90's, which crested before heading underground. Now a new generation of men are discovering the power of story to illuminate the challenges and pathways of their lives.   What might this story reveal about the nature of men's sexuality in the culture, and how it might be liberated through reconnection to the Wild Man - the instinctual primal nature connected to the intelligence of life? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

REGISTER HERE http://revisitingironjohn.comIn 1990, Robert Bly’s book Iron John: A Book About Men ignited a generation of men towards what would become known as the mythopoetic men’s movement. Suddenly, men (at least in Western culture) had a map to their inner landscape and their outer experience. The exploration of a German fairy tale, alongside poetry and ritual, offered a pathway into the realm of soul work – and the book has continued to touched millions of men around the world.In 2022, the spiral has come around as a new generation discovers Iron John alongside an urgent crisis of masculinity. What might Iron John offer in the era of COVID, the #metoo movement, AI, post-truth, multi-generational trauma, and biospheric breakdown?Join Ian MacKenzie, host of The Mythic Masculine podcast, for this five part online exploration to discover once again the mythic ground of possibility amidst the peril. Each week, Ian will be joined by a number of Special Guests including Stephen Jenkinson, Sophie Strand, Stefanos Sifandos, Michael Gay and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today is Chris Fletcher, a counsellor that specializes in working with youth and their families. He is also the co-author of the forthcoming book The Nine Rings of Alignment, alongside his partner.I first encountered Chris many years ago while visiting his oceanside retreat sanctuary Halfmoon Haven. Over the years, we crossed paths only a handful of times, though I was touched by his grounded presence and passionate dedication to his family.In our conversation today, we speak about his own troubled adolescence and how intergenerational trauma played out in his life. He shares candidly about the dissolution of his first marriage, the journey into fatherhood, and the birth of the Nine Rings body of work.And finally, he shares key insights into parenting his boys and maintaining intimacy and connection as an integrated father, throughout their teenage years and beyond. 9 Rings Official Website http://www.9Rings.ca Read an Introduction to 9 Rings and Guided Meditation Attend the 2022 Nine Rings Retreat Listen to more Mythic Masculine http://themythicmasculine.comSupport this podcast http://themythicmasculine.com/supporter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themythicmasculine.substack.com/subscribe