The Disappearance of Rituals and the Exhaustion of Constantly Becoming
Nina Montagne offers a sophisticated analysis of the benefits of ritual inspired by the writings of Byung-Chul Han.
Psychology
“Girls Gone Greek”: The Bacchic Underpinnings of “Yellowjackets”
Sakhi Thirani writes for JSTOR on the Maenadic/Bacchic themes underpinning the TV series Yellowjackets: Forget the hype likening Showtime’s Yellowjackets to Lord of the Flies. Pungent, witty, and downright disgusting, the hit series about a high school soccer team whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness is far more than a rigid gender swap. Yellowjackets, set to launch its second … Read more“Girls Gone Greek”: The Bacchic Underpinnings of “Yellowjackets”
Mythopoetic Ritual as Deep Play
Mythopoetic ritual bypasses much of the intellect and engages the subjective senses, bodily movement, imagination and emotion. It shrugs – subversively, mightily – at color-coded spread-sheets. Ritual speaks in the immersive repetition of gesture, ullulation, mystic symbol and profuse sweat. It is profound meaning-making undertaken in a self-aware spirit of Deep Play. The role of … Read moreMythopoetic Ritual as Deep Play
Theurgy and Active Imagination: Two Paths to/Perspectives on Higher Consciousness
Inforgraphics by Joseph Carmosy.
“The Weird Travails of a Post-Satanist”
Stephen Bradford Long reflects on his time in the Satanic Temple: I didn’t have to work to see Satan as a hero. I didn’t have to contort my mind to see him — and the attendant iconography, dark though it may be — as beautiful and inspiring. Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t become a … Read more“The Weird Travails of a Post-Satanist”
“Is an Ethical Cult Possible?”
Jamie Wheal of the Flow Genome Project speaks on the Conspirituality podcast on his pet subject of ethical cults.
“Return of the Shaman”
James Parker reviews Manvir Singh’s new book Shamanism: The Timeless Religion for The Atlantic: Singh is less interested in the specific contents of trance states, or in a psychic map of shamanic otherness, than in shamanism as a world-historical phenomenon, popping up all over, almost a function of human consciousness. It starts, for him, in … Read more“Return of the Shaman”
“Finding my Religion: Poetic Faith and DIY Shamanism”
Advocate for soul, renegade psychologist, men’s coach, artist, musician, cultural activist and host of the Howl in the Wilderness podcast Brian James writes on Poetic Faith, the recent anthology Poetic Faiths: New Religions and Rituals as Works of Living Art and his own development of Archetypal Shamanism: Both Coleridge’s Poetic Faith and Keats’ Negative Capability … Read more“Finding my Religion: Poetic Faith and DIY Shamanism”
“Beyond Atheism: Finding Meaning in the Secular Age”
Freddie Sayers hosts John Vervaeke and Alex O’Connor, formerly known as Cosmic Skeptic, to explore the deep question of meaning in an increasingly secular world. They discuss the historical role of religion in providing purpose and narrative, the modern challenges of finding meaning, and the rise of non-propositional forms of knowledge and practice. O’Connor and … Read more“Beyond Atheism: Finding Meaning in the Secular Age”
“Cyborgs Need a Trustworthy Religion”
According to The Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth: If compassionate and wise beings don’t create the religion of this age, others will. In recent years, religion has evolved more quickly than any other force on Earth. Powerful leaders are now publicly claiming things that would have seemed absurd ten years ago, … Read more“Cyborgs Need a Trustworthy Religion”