Gambling with the Knuckle Bones of Wolves – The Mythic Masculine interview with Martin Shaw. Martin Shaw in conversation with Ian MacKenzie on the bardic role of the mythteller, why we are in the underworld (but don’t know it yet), how this time of coronavirus might be an invitation into our collective initiation, and more. (April 2020).
Valemon and the Wild Third Daughter is a jewel of a Scandinavian fairy tale. Epic, gutsy, funny, mysterious – it takes us through both the exhilaration and consequence of following your desire. One day a white bear arrives at the entrance to a castle and beckons you leap onto its back. There are no guarantees but your heart sings at the sight. What will you do? Safety or the deep forest? Read an extract from Martin’s commentary on Valemon and the Wild Third Daughter, from A Branch from
Read an extract from Martin’s commentary on the Russian story of Ivan the Bear's Son, from A Branch from the Lightning Tree. 'This is a point in our lives where we decide (or are forced) to throw the anchor down, to live in one place, have a teacher, dig in...' Throwing Down the Anchor This descent is characterized by the “black” stage of the initiation process. When one enters the black, a kind of sobering occurs, an awareness of things lost in the scramble for power and
In pondering whether the coronavirus serves as a rite of initiation, Martin Shaw offers five reflections on the agency that rests within opportunity, the alchemy of experience, and the beautiful learning that is being called forth from this moment over at Emergence Magazine. https://emergencemagazine.org/story/is-this-an-initiation/
"I've been signing the first orders and leaving them in a rose garden," says Martin Shaw, who is on lockdown at his Dartmoor cottage in the UK. "My friend Michael Martin then collects them and they get out to the world. It's good to see his distant but joyful face! "I want to thank you for supporting Cista Mystica, my small press. We have a major plan of action to be announced soon. In the meantime, please enjoy some free audio here on my website, and consider having
Banyen Books, in conversation with Dr. Martin Shaw: Pandemic & Mythic Meanings of this cultural moment. (April 2020).
Banyen Books, in conversation with Dr. Martin Shaw: Pandemic & Mythic Meanings of this Cultural Moment https://bit.ly/pandemic-mythic-meanings-cultural-moment-podcast
Martin Shaw for Emergence Magazine shares the op-ed Keeping the Smoke Hole Open: Seek Vigil not Isolation. https://emergencemagazine.org/story/keeping-the-smoke-hole-open/
In Siberian myth, when you want to hurt someone, you crawl into their tent and close the smoke hole. That way God can’t see them. Close the smoke hole and you break connection to the divine world. Mountains, rivers, trees. Close the smoke hole and we become mad. Close the smoke hole and we are possessed by ourselves and only ourselves. Close the smoke hole and you have only your neurosis for company. Well, enough of that. Really, c’mon. We’re grown ups. Let’s take a breath. We may
Despite the distractions and anxieties of the modern world, we still have the powerful capacity for wonder. https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2020/03/10/radical-power-storytelling/ Illustration by Okalinichenko