340 episodes

Jonathan Pageau looks at symbolism in all its forms, from its source in sacred stories and images to contemporary culture and ultimately how it shapes the world we encounter.

The Symbolic World Jonathan Pageau

    • Education

Jonathan Pageau looks at symbolism in all its forms, from its source in sacred stories and images to contemporary culture and ultimately how it shapes the world we encounter.

    342 - Paul Kingsnorth - Becoming Gods Without God

    342 - Paul Kingsnorth - Becoming Gods Without God

    In this conversation with Paul Kingsnorth, we discuss his main takeaways from his Substack series on The Machine, technology, artificial intelligence and silicon valley, civilization, principalities, the act of creation and desiring to be God, yet also creating the space for our annihilation. We also touch on environmentalism, storytelling, and art, including Tolkien and The Matrix. Enjoy.

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/BCIRA9wRkIA
    His Substack: https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/

    Join me and Richard Rohlin for the Symbolic World course on Dante's Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses-pages/dantes-inferno

    Previous conversations with Paul Kingsnorth:
    - Civilization and Control: https://youtu.be/QetAHfg7w8s?si=mVSI0fOTFiroIwTb 
    - Environmentalism, the Tower of Babbel, and the Disintegration of Culture: https://youtu.be/uqDWGdJJx1Y?si=At5HMZaDohzgAFvm

    Timestamps:
    00:00 - Coming up
    01:01 - Intro music
    01:26 - Introduction
    02:11 - What are your main insights?
    07:19 - Can this serve God?
    10:53 - Become dependent on tools
    13:05 - The god of economy
    14:44 - The short history of progress
    16:05 - No conspiracy needed
    19:35 - A desire to supplant us
    22:12 - Theosis
    24:27 - Making vs giving birth
    27:02 - Creation myths
    28:09 - The environmental narrative
    35:54 - How has your perception on story changed?
    39:33 - Changing Paul's writing
    41:47 - Language and AI in Writing
    45:32 - The Influence of art
    53:19 - Tolkien and a simple ending
    56:54 - New stories

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
    🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

    📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

    • 1 hr 5 min
    341 - The Last Judgement: The Culmination of Christian Symbolism

    341 - The Last Judgement: The Culmination of Christian Symbolism

    This is a talk I gave for Ralston College on the Icon of the Last Judgement, exploring Orthodox Christian imagery to understand ontology, theology, and how identity, symbolism, and fractals work in the medieval worldview.

    Youtube version: https://youtu.be/APFPO4LXFIs

    Ralston College website: https://www.ralston.ac/ 
    Ralston College: Rethinking the Last Judgment: Cosmic Symbolism & the Metaphor for Self-Discovery | @JonathanPageau: https://youtu.be/30nx25GjCYI?si=D0nB-5iLQkycrJlQ 

    ---

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
    🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

    🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

    • 1 hr 18 min
    340 - The Icons of Holy Week

    340 - The Icons of Holy Week

    This talk took place in April 2024 at the Maliotis Cultural Center, hosted by Hellenic College Holy Cross with Dr. Timothy Patitsas. In this talk, I take you through all the icons of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to the Anastasis, the icon of the Resurrection of Christ. 

    Original YouTube video: https://youtu.be/vFW5nYC4CcM

    Hellenic College Holy Cross: https://www.hchc.edu/
    Originally posted on the Maliotis Cultural Center channel: https://www.youtube.com/@maliotisculturalcenter

    Timestamps:
    00:00 - Intro music
    01:29 - Introduction
    05:07 - Center intro music
    05:48 - Jonathan's talk
    07:52 - Palm Sunday
    12:49 - Bridegroom Matins
    16:44 - Washing of the Feet
    22:46 - The Last Supper
    24:59 - The Crucifixion
    32:58 - The Descent from the Cross
    35:55 - The Anastasis
    50:23 - Q&A

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
    🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

    • 1 hr 22 min
    339 - Richard Rohlin - Universal History: The Greatest Work of Western Literature

    339 - Richard Rohlin - Universal History: The Greatest Work of Western Literature

    In this week’s episode of Universal History, Richard Rohlin and I give an introduction to Dante’s Divine Comedy, discussing its historical and political context, Dante’s motivations and his point of view, and why the Comedia is the greatest work of Western literature. 

    Join us for the first course on the Divine Comedy, starting May 8th. Dante’s Inferno: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses-pages/dantes-inferno 

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/K5R939cIWg4

    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
    🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

    📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

    • 1 hr 2 min
    338 - Richard Rohlin - Universal History: The End of Babel

    338 - Richard Rohlin - Universal History: The End of Babel

    This is part two of our discussion about the Tower of Babel in the context of Universal History. Richard Rohlin and I recap and continue our discussion on the Book of Jubilees and Pentecost, discussing more in-depth the Feast of First Fruits, and what it means as a structure by which communion between heaven and earth can be facilitated - of unity and multiplicity. The duality of Pentecost explains several strange moments in Scripture and the apocryphal texts, most notably the laws of Noah, the covenant of Abraham, the scandal of Lot, and of course the Tower of Babel itself.

    Previous episode on the Tower of Babel: https://youtu.be/wj9EK0QAW54?si=ClSLEQzKUaSFjeRl 

    Content mentioned:
    - Apocrypha: An Introduction to Extra-Biblical Literature by Fr. Stephen DeYoung: https://store.ancientfaith.com/apocrypha-an-introduction-to-extra-biblical-literature/ 
    - Biblical Symbolism: Uncovering Your Father’s Nakedness - Fr. Stephen De Young: https://youtu.be/GQgOYkzj0ek?si=VbkBfKvm56pHVHRv 

    Sign up to be notified when our course on Dante’s Inferno goes live. Class starts on May 8th. https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/109126/117615160942658931/share 


    Timestamps:
    00:00 - Coming up
    00:41 - Intro music
    01:05 - Introduction
    02:37 - The book of Jubilees
    05:10 - Feasting and sacrifice in the Book of Jubilees
    08:48 - What is Pentecost
    11:11 - Laws of Noah
    17:37 - The double aspect of the Feast of First Fruits
    20:30 - The scattering of the nations
    23:32 - The prayers of Noah
    26:02 - Raphael
    28:42 - The City of Babel
    30:15 - The Idolatrous Tower of Babel
    32:45 - Abraham celebrates Pentecost
    35:24 - A case of drunkenness?
    38:45 - The big reveal
    41:57 - Splitting in half
    46:01 - Lot’s drunkenness
    47:03 - There's only one Pentecost
    50:31 - History
    56:14 - The spirit descends
    1:08:13 - This is what Universal History is


    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
    🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

    📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

    • 1 hr 11 min
    337 - How to Survive the End of a World - A Parable of Christ

    337 - How to Survive the End of a World - A Parable of Christ

    This video will premiere tomorrow, Saturday, April 13th at 10 am EST.

    In this short reflection, I will explain the parable of Jesus that’s the most difficult to understand, the Parable of the Penitent Steward, or the Unjust Steward. Recently I teamed up with Jordan Peterson, Daily Wire, and the same panel of the Exodus series, this time to film a series on the Gospels. The discussions pushed me to finally understand the parable after many years of pondering. 

    Sign up here to stay informed about our upcoming Symbolic World Course on Dante’s Inferno with Richard Rohlin: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/109126/117615160942658931/share


    💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
    🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
    🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
    🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

    📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld 
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau

    Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
    My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

    • 15 min

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