Mythologium 2023 welcomes Vanessa Valdez

Vanessa’s presentation is called “The Changing Myth of Jesus and Mary Magdalene”

The focus will be on the myth story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. What stories do they share? What were their dark night of the soul experiences, both as partners and in their individuation? These questions challenge us to rethink our understanding of these two mythical characters, their relationship and their teachings with potential to restore humanity from separation to unity. Perhaps, their partnership and sense of equality could serve as an illustration for harmony between men & women in today’s world.

Mythologium 2021 welcomes Annalisa Derr

Annalisa’s talk is called “Embodied Menstrual Rituals as Healing Praxis: Affirming Female Power in the Myth of Mary Magdalene”

Throughout Western history, powerful women, such as Mary Magdalene, have long been symbols of dangerous femininity. In particular, female bodies have been sites of patriarchal fantasies and projections of feminine danger. “The myth of menstrual danger” is one such feminine danger that has been a destructive legacy leading back to the early stages of Western civilization.

The dehumanizing depictions of “the myth of menstrual danger” have been used to control women’s bodies and devalue women’s place in society. Even more troubling, I believe this myth contributes to women’s internalized menstrual shame through a process termed “internalized sexism.”

Locating myself within the traditions of feminist spirituality, archeomythology, women’s history, and performative embodiment techniques, my presentation illuminates how I re-mythologize Mary Magdalene—and other goddesses and heroines—in ritual menstrual art performances to affirm female power and heal “the myth of menstrual danger.”

I do this in two primary ways: first, by framing Mary Magdalene within the Neolithic Great Goddess worshipping traditions, and second, with enactments of ritual performances that re-potentiate menstrual blood to symbolize feminine powers of death and regeneration. By remythologizing Mary Magdalene within a tradition that views the bleeding female body as life-affirming, menstrual embodiment becomes a radical act of self and collective healing.

About Annalisa

Annalisa Derr is a professional actress turned ritual theatre creatrix, budding goddess scholar, and doctoral candidate in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute. The working title of her dissertation is _Healing “the Myth of Menstrual Danger”_. Her current performance series, “She Bleeds the World into Existence,” utilizes menstrual art as an embodied research method and as sacred activism. She is founder of Journey to the Goddess TV on YouTube, an interview and soon-to-be travel series with the aim to regenerate ancient feminine wisdom for modern women.

Mythologium 2020 welcomes Dr. Nicola Tannion

Nicola’s presentation is titled, “Joaquin Phoenix: A Messenger for the Zeitgeist”

The two films Mary Magdalene and Joker are on the surface joined by one common element: American-born actor, director, and producer, Joaquin Phoenix. Both films are vastly different in the time period, costumes, make-up, and context. As the protagonist in each film, Phoenix’s ability to traverse the worlds through the characters of Jesus and Joker indicates the presence of the mythological figure Hermes. Film, in general, reveals the underlying concerns of the populous, and as such the polarity of the choices we in the zeitgeist face today. This presentation will use archetypal, mythological, and depth psychological perspectives to examine Phoenix as a conduit for the Divine Messenger archetype both on and off the screen, the messages themselves, and the possible future realities for America.

About Nicola:

Nicola Tannion holds a PhD in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA (2017). As writer, teacher, and bridge-builder she is adept at creating an awareness of the connections between different cultures and worlds, ideas, and communities. Nicola has presented at national and international conferences: Popular Culture conference (United States 2018, 2019), Australasian Irish Studies Conference (Australia 2018), and as adjunct faculty at Antioch University Seattle.

Visit Nicola’s website at www.nicolatannion.com.