Category: Mythologium 2021

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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Dr. Olivia Happel-Block

Olivia’s talk is called, “The Therapy of Prythian: Writing Psychological Trauma and Dealing with it in New Adult Literature”

Sarah J. Mass’ inventive 2015 New Adult fantasy novel, A Court of Thorns and Roses, plays on familiar fairy tale archetypes such as Beauty and the Beast, Hades, and Persephone. Despite putting her characters through challenging tasks, adventures, and the occasional torture session, Mass answers the question of what happens after the trauma of returning from the underworld. In this series, the reader is taken through an imaginative faerie realm where magic powers the universe, humans fear their fae neighbors, and an evil queen has cast a plague upon the land. This presentation examines the powerful mythic images present within Mass’ universe along with the inclusion of mythic themes and archetypes to create a psychologically compelling narrative in the bourgeoning genre of New Adult. Mythical ideas and concepts have long been a fantastic resource for authors, but this emerging genre provides a vehicle for telling stories that acknowledge and process the traumatic events of life. What mythical truths can these New Adult novels provide to audiences? Where and how do these novels fit within the “canon” of academic literature? What value might they hold for entertainment and scholarship?

About Olivia

Olivia Happel-Block, PhD, is a Mythology, Theory of Knowledge, English, and Film Studies teacher at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, CA. There she serves as the Extended Essay Coordinator (a four thousand word research essay composed by IB students over the junior and senior year). She has created her own curriculum for both the Mythology and Film Studies course at DPHS. Her dissertation, That Which Is Not Yet Known: An Alchemical Analysis of Michael Maier’s Arcana Arcanissima explores themes of mythology, alchemy, and religion. Olivia serves as the Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association’s Vice President. She has presented at the American Academy of Religion Regional Conference as well as the Pop Culture Association’s Regional and National Conference. Her academic interests include myth, religious studies, alchemy, and classics. She seeks to pursue the #immutablediamondbody throughout her life, scholarship, and career. Follow her on Instagram @doctorhappel.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Dr. Katherine J. Bailes

Katherine’s talk is called “Healer and Bringer of Plagues“

Grace Dammann, physician and survivor of a near-death accident once said in an interview: “…I know healing when I am in the presence of it. It’s mysterious, magical and God-given.” Healing is numinous and so, it seems, is sickness; they are part of the same archetypal process. In this presentation, we will explore mythic expressions of ancient divinities known for their gifts of healing and plagues such as the Hebrew god Yahweh-Rapha, the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, the Greek god Apollo and the Fir Bolg, early chthonic inhabitants of Ireland. We will follow this unitive thread through contemporary perspectives on medicine, vaccines, and viruses to ask: What is the message of the plague as it swirls through humanity? What is the unasked question that can heal us now, individually and collectively?

About Katherine

Katherine J. Bailes, JD, PhD is a practicing attorney and an adjunct professor of mythological studies at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. Dr. Bailes holds a BFA in painting from the University of North Texas and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Kansas, School of Law. She later obtained a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, California. Her dissertation topic entitled “The Themis Principle: Mystery and Irrationality in the U.S. Legal System” focused on the mythological aspects of the law as expressed in ancient cultures through goddesses such as Athena, Themis, Inanna and Maat. She has received numerous awards and served in a variety of leadership positions in art, law and teaching, successfully combining these fields through her understanding of story and the human capacity for myth making.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Dr. Karin E. Zirk

Dr. Zirk’s talk is called, “Tackling the Great Divide in American Culture from a Mythological Perspective”

Where logic, reason, and argument fail, mythology provides new possibilities for healing by engaging with individuals using imaginal methods that reveal the deities and/or archetypes at work. Only when we know who is there, can we create relationships that heal the great divide in American culture.

Dr. Zirk conducted a research survey using a mythic questionnaire that collected perspectives on culture, society, and the great challenges of our time. The questionnaire used a combination of free-form and multiple-choice questions that were text and image-based. Then using the methodology of Mythic Amplification on the survey responses, the results were analyzed to identify trends, cultural beliefs, and areas of contention in archetypal motifs.

The mythic artifacts used in the questionnaire are not necessarily grounded in their cultural lineage, but are floating through a multi-cultural, often polytheistic, postmodern world of mix-and-match beliefs and reveal themselves through film, art, fiction, music, and sacred texts. In other words, the responses to the questionnaire were provided by laypeople who used their own knowledge to provide responses to deep questions of identity, “the other,” and the world around them. This often results in cultural appropriation, misunderstandings of cultural mores, and a method of providing mythic responses to the survey questions. However, Dr. Zirk relies on the socio-historic context of the actual mythic figures in the process of Mythic Amplification.

This presentation intends to provide mythologists with methods on using mythic questionnaires in the field of cultural mythology to understand the great divide in American culture and its underpinnings in our mythic perspectives.

About Dr. Zirk

Dr. Zirk earned her doctorate in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute where her dissertation focused on enhancing well-being in family caregivers using mythological methods. Her research has been presented at the American Academy of Religion Western Region and National Conferences as well as at the Fates and Graces Mythologium — a conference for mythologists. Her article “The Rainbow Gathering and COVID-19” appeared in Communities: Life in Cooperative Culture, Winter 2020. Her novel, Falling From The Moon, came out early last year. Her recent workshops include “Covid-19 and Mythic Monsters;” “Re-Imagining Our Relationship with Mother Earth;” and “Imaginal Mythology and Climate Change.”

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Dr. John Bonaduce

John’s talk is called, “The Healing Power of the Lullaby”

Trace the lullaby backward in time from, say, Billy Joel’s “Goodnight, My Angel,” to lyrics found on a five-thousand-year old Sumerian cuneiform tablet and you realize that the texts have more to do with the anxieties and existential dread of the singer than of the baby. Even the word “lullaby” suggests a broader application. A widely accepted folk etymology traces the nightly practice of the lullaby to “Lilith-Abi,” Hebrew for Lilith Begone! Without such precautions, there was always the risk of the demon herself showing up to steal the soul of the child. Mothers have feared such abductions since Hades/Pluto grabbed Persephone and whisked her to the underworld. They fear still.

Protection against demons does not have a place in modern child caregiving, but emotional health is still front and center. According to Dr. Mark Tramo of UCLA’s famed neurology department and, significantly, a lecturer at the Herb Alpert School of Music, preterm babies responded favorably to the sustained presentation of lullabies which not only induced sleep but ameliorated the pain normally experienced after, say, a heel stick procedure (which is how blood is drawn from neonates).

I would suggest that, as mythologists, we have underestimated not only the significance of the lullaby as generative of story, myth, and even scripture, but the significance of sound itself. The experience of intrauterine sound, I will argue, is the fertile field from which image arises in perinatal consciousness.

If that doesn’t disturb your sleep, nothing will.

About John

John has a PhD in mythological studies and a Master of Music in conducting. He knew this day would come. His studies are briefly merged.

John and his wife Eileen direct the well-known sacred ensemble Shantigarh (a Hindi word meaning “House of Peace”). John is also the curator of resources for the Joseph Campbell Foundation.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Pegi Eyers

Pegi’s talk is called “The Life Force: Restoring Sacred Myth”

Our era calls out for a renewed recognition of the force that not only animates life, but is the spark itself: the essence that causes the seed to sprout season after season, and new beings to originate, germinate, or be born. In a world of materialism, and with the commodification of all that is alive and sentient, our society has come to take this spark for granted. But in times of looming extinction, a more grounded analysis is needed. How can we align with the “green fuse”? How have cultures across time and space paid tribute to the essence of life in perennial myths redolent with renewal and beauty?

Delving into mythologies both old and new will bring the originator force–the green mystery–back to the forefront of our consciousness where it belongs. Against all odds, the driver for the life spark continues to arise in Earth Community–including human fertility–even as Empire attacks and decimates the natural world. Through millennia, rising and fading away, the foundation of our unique planet has always been fecundity. Join Pegi Eyers for an empowering look, through the lens of mythology, at the sacredness of life itself.

About Pegi

Pegi Eyers is the author of the award-winning book Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, a survey on social justice, nature spirituality, earth-emergent healing, and the holistic principles of sustainable living. Pegi self-identifies as a Celtic Animist, and is an advocate for the recovery of authentic ancestral wisdom and traditions for all people. She lives in the countryside on the outskirts of Nogojiwanong in Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg territory (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada), on a hilltop with views reaching for miles in all directions.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Chanti Tacoronte-Perez

Chanti’s talk is called “Honoring Her Tongues: Art as the Language of the Liminal”

Women, marginalized populations, and “othered” cultures live hypnotized under Apollo’s overpowering spell of rigid rules and toxic masculinity. Unable to survive infinite amounts of persecution, oppression, and isolation, we might pack the little we have left and migrate away from the wisdom and sovereignty of the body. We can instead enter the psychodynamic portal of imagination and creativity, partnering with the mythic images of Dionysus and Olokun to express our wounds and explore the process of healing and integration through dismemberment, dance, and collaboration. Healing, a layered continuum central to soul-making, benefits from acknowledging those graven images—both numinous and grotesque.

This presentation invites you on a journey where the images—the art—share the psychic wound and the healing salve. It provides a space for art as a way of knowing, in and of itself. Perhaps we need new ways of presenting and sharing these images—which, too, is healing.

About Chanti

Chanti Tacoronte-Perez is a Cuban-American creatrix, ritualist, and author. She believes that images speak a profound language; her life’s work is as a translator of the unseen and advocate for the imaginal. She holds a Masters in Engaged Humanities and a Masters in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is currently working on her dissertation on the image of woundedness in relation to the imagination and the creative process as a portal to recovering the marginalized, forgotten, and silenced. Her work and teaching centers imagination, creativity, and deep rest. She teaches workshops and collaborative training focused on creativity, dreaming, intuitive movement, restorative yoga, and yoga nidra. Her passion and aim are to inspire all to rediscover their creative nature by weaving the blessings with the wounds while honoring the land and ancestors.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Selena Madden

Selena’s talk is called “Reintegrating with Nature Through Our Body and Magickal Rituals”

Our connection with nature has been lost amidst the chaos and hustle of modern Westernized society. Not only has this disconnect separated us from our natural environment, it has created disharmony with our own bodies and our sense of peace and fulfillment, and weakened our ability to traverse life’s obstacles. To be estranged from nature creates discord within ourselves, for we are of nature and not separate entities. You cannot have a relationship with your body if you do not have a relationship with nature. Spiritual traditions from many cultures are rich with practices that foster coalescence with nature. One such tradition is witchcraft, and I will examine modern witchcraft rituals that can be utilized in today’s society by those who feel disconnected. Additionally, I will address specific deities who cultivate methods of connecting with our natural divinity. I will share insights from particular movement arts that foster intention, awareness, and mindfulness. Utilizing my extensive experience as a dancer, martial artist, and practitioner of traditional witchcraft I will offer tools to reintegrate mindful movement, reverence to nature, and reverence for ourselves into our lives.

About Selena

Selena Madden believes magic is a part of all of us and can guide us through life’s obstacles. She believes in fostering connection with one’s intuition, which to her, is akin to connecting with the divine. She carefully and respectfully works with deities from various pantheons, such as Hindu traditions, Celtic, Egyptian, Greek, and Yoruban.

As a trained dancer and martial artist, she has cultivated her learnings and passion into a shareable practice designed to help women (re)connect with their inner warrior, lover, and other archetypes. Her training stems from bellydance, snakedance, ballet, Capoeira, Filipino Lameco, Kung Fu, and Aikido. She is actively working on her dissertation for her PhD in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she earned her M.A. Pacifica has provided her the academic foundation to support her array of spiritual practices and holistic approaches for cultivating a powerful, loving, and nurtured feminine. She is currently working with her partner, Orpheus Black, in his thriving coaching practice around sexuality, intimacy, kink, and interpersonal power dynamics.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Dr. Margaret (Maggie) Mendenhall

Maggie’s talk is called “Healing Science Fiction: Hillman’s Revisioned Psychology as seen through the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode ‘Darmok'”

Carl G. Jung uses myth to expand upon his depth psychological teachings about how to heal one’s psyche, or soul, by becoming more whole through individuation, an ongoing process of acknowledging, accepting, and integrating different aspects of our unconscious with our conscious ego. James Hillman expands upon Jung’s use of myth by introducing four moves he believes one’s psyche goes through to heal itself, in his concept of Re-Visioning Psychology: personifying, pathologizing, psychologizing, and dehumanizing or soul-making. This presentation will use the episode “Darmok” from Star Trek: The Next Generation to illustrate Hillman’s thesis. In this episode, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is stranded on a planet with the captain of an alien ship–from a race that communicates only through metaphor and uses each of Hillman’s four moves in order to save his own life and that of the crew of the Enterprise.

About Maggie

Margaret (Maggie) Mendenhall, PhD, currently resides in Long Beach, California and is a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Mythological Studies Program. She is also currently a student in Pacifica’s Depth Psychology Program, specializing in Jungian and Archetypal Studies. Margaret has presented papers on Star Trek related topics at various conferences, including last year’s Mythologium, the Science Fictions, Popular Culture Academic Conference, the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology, Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Mythgard Institute and the American Academy of Religion, Western Regional Conference. She writes a blog, My Daily Soul Trek analyzing each Star Trek episode and film from the beginning in chronological order through a depth psychological perspective. As an edutainer, she has written, performed and produced two myth based one-woman shows: Dancing to the Edge of a Cliff: A Mythical Journey Toward Wholeness and Soul Trek: My Sci-Fi Journey Toward Wholeness, and produced and hosted the public access television series Myth Is All Around Us. Margaret has also been published in legal journals and Pacifica’s Mythological Studies Journal (online) and the Between literary review.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Dr. Edward M. Smink

Edward’s talk is called “What Have I Done to Deserve This? Are the Gods or God Punishing Me?”

My intention in this discussion is not to go into a psychospiritual or philosophical discussion about the meaning of suffering. Rather, I want to focus on the fact that this question still resonates to this day, a question steeped in the human experience of the ancients and in their mythology. Somehow, we inherited the notion that only the gods or God heals. No wonder we ask the above question. I want to explore with you these ancient mythologies and how they affect us centuries later. I will also bring into perspective some of the depth psychologists that have addressed these issues.

About Edward

Edward M. Smink, PhD defended his doctoral thesis, “Thresholds of Afflictions: The Heroic Journey of Healing,” at Pacifica in May of 2010 and graduated with a PhD in Depth Psychology. He has over forty years of experience in healthcare as a nurse, crisis and pastoral counselor, executive leader, facilitator of mission, ethics, value and leadership formation and community health. Since his last presentation at the Mythologium in 2019, titled “Who Hugs the Hugger, A Mythology of Self-Care,” Edward has reached out to caregivers suffering from compassion fatigue as a life coach, presenter, and speaker, and promoted his book The Soul of Caregiving, A Caregiver’s Guide to Healing and Transformation. He has been a guest on several bogs on Caregiving and is in the process of coming out with a revised edition of his book and creating an on-line webinar course. More about him and his work can be found on his website.

2021 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2021 welcomes Arthur George

Arthur’s talk is called “The Many Levels of Jesus as a Healer”

Jesus was the greatest healer in the Judeo-Christian tradition, whose healings were performed in a mythical setting and described in a mythical text. The stories yield meanings at several levels, which are often as important today as when the stories were first told.

At one level, they are about compassion and love, where the “healer” acting out of such motivations is both developing his/her own spirituality, as well as contributing to social harmony within the community.

At a second level, the healings fit within early Christian theology and thus further the Christian myth. In particular, the stories of healings fit into Jewish and Christian apocalyptic/eschatological mythology whereby the healings, exorcisms, feedings of the multitudes, etc., by Jesus exhibit characteristics of the promised Kingdom of God (e.g., no hunger or disease), meaning that the Kingdom is beginning to appear (called “realized eschatology”).

A third level is that of spiritual healing where the figure of Jesus and his teachings and acts involve concepts of depth psychology that can stimulate individuation and lead to wholeness. In Jesus’s healings, the sick do much of the healing themselves, through faith in what the figure of Jesus represents.

About Arthur

Arthur George is a mythologist, cultural historian, blogger, and winemaker; formerly he was an international lawyer. He has written the award-winning The Mythology of Eden (2014) about the mythology of the biblical Eden story, and before that the leading and award-winning history of St. Petersburg, Russia, entitled St. Petersburg: the First Three Centuries. More recently he has written the peer-reviewed The Mythology of America’s Seasonal Holidays (2021) and The Mythology of Wine. (2021) He has a mythology blog, frequently speaks at scholarly conferences, institutes, JCF Roundtables, and other audiences on mythological topics, and authors articles on the same. You can find his blog and connect with him at www.mythologymatters.wordpress.com.

2021 Mythologium program