The Mythic Masculine

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

My guest today is Red K Elders, a magical artist based on the Norfolk coast of England, who sketches powerful portraits of old gods and mythical beings. This bonus episode explores her recent work in bringing forth a depiction of Dionysus, the god of fertility, grapes and wine, of ritual madness and religious ecstasy.  Red was kind enough to send me a copy of this portrait, who currently hangs on the wall in my office.In our conversation today, we discuss her journey as an artist and the power of creating ritual space for courting in the Otherworld, along with practical guidance for developing a living relationship with the mythical creatures in our midst.Before you listen, I highly recommend you take a look at the Dionysus portrait, along with more of her incredible work.And now enjoy my conversation with Red K Elders.  We begin with a reading of a Hymn to Dionysus.Red K Elders Website https://www.redkelders.comSupport 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

Host Ian MacKenzie shares an update on the The Mythic Masculine Podcast, along with an announcement of our new series: The Pandemic Is A Prism. The Pandemic Is A Prism http://agatheringofstories.com/pandemicSupport the Podcast https://www.themythicmasculine.com/supporterJoin the Mythic Men's Lodge https://www.themythicmasculine.com/network 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 Sophie Strand, a writer who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Though she admits, it would be more accurate to call her a neo-troubadour animist with a propensity to spin yarns that inevitably turn into love stories.I first encountered her work on social media, reading her surprising and beautiful essays from her forthcoming book: The Flowering Wand: Lunar Kings, Lichenized Lovers, Transpecies Magicians, and Rhizomatic Harpists Heal the Masculine.In our conversation today, we explore the connection between mycelium and myth, and how various gods from Jesus to Dionysus, can be seen more clearly as related to specific ecosystems and specific times.  Sophie makes the case to dissolve toxic masculinity by dispersing it within a chorus of diversity, and why the Hero’s Journey would benefit from a little intentional pruning.And finally, we unpack the wild nature of emergent systems, and how wedding our wounds to the wounds of the earth could invite a kaleidoscopic empathy for an ecocentric activism rooted in participation, not salvation.Support this podcast http://patreon.com/ianmackJoin the network http://themythicmasculine.com/network 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 bonus episode, I share about my experience in the Patterns to Presence program, co-facilitated by Sabrina and Zamir on how to transform attachment patters with science and compassion. Learn more about their program here https://patternstopresence.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 Justice Schanfarber, an artist, marriage counsellor and couples therapist.He is also the author of a two books, including “Conscious Kink for Couples: The beginner’s guide to using kinky sex and BDSM for pleasure, growth, intimacy, and healing.”Our conversation today, we cover some intimate terrority, including: an introduction into the erotic terrain of kink, the power and peril of exploring ritual sex, and the mythic paradox between the underworld and the overworld and how to navigate power exchange between partners.And finally, we unpack the archetypal split between the Good Boy/Bad Boy dilemma that many men in this culture face and how to invite integration through conscious kink.Get the book Conscious Kink for CouplesSupport 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