The Symbolic World

I sat down with Martin Shaw to talk about the underworld and the deep pattern of descent and return. He also gave his own fresh perspective on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey movie. We explored what it means to come home changed, how these ancient stories illuminate the Bible, and why resurrection is inseparable from the journey through death.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/vLHZ-IQzltA

Join us September 24–26, 2026 for a summit, hosted by Symbolic World in St Giles’, Oxford, United Kingdom at Pusey House: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/

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Into the Underworld: Tales of Spiritual Initiation in Martin Shaw’s online course that launches in September. It's Martin's most ambitious course yet, venturing into entirely new territory: stories from the Bible and the lives of the Saints.

The course includes more than 6 hours of recorded teaching from a live workshop, plus a limited number of seats for an intimate series of live lectures and interaction over Zoom. Enrollment will be open for a limited time, and space for live sessions is scarce - sign up for the waitlist at JAWBONESTORIES.COM to get early access to Enrollment. Also, get a special surprise from Martin just for joining the waitlist! https://www.jawbonestories.com/
In this course, Martin will tell and teach on: Joseph, Jacob and Esau, Ruth and Naomi, Blind Tobit, The Voyage of Brendan, St. Patrick's Bell.
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Register now for the Universal History Masterclass: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/universal-history-masterclass

http://www.thesymbolicworld.com

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

In this video, I compare The Odyssey and Masters of the Universe to explore two very different visions of masculinity and heroism. While one reduces masculine strength to fantasy, insecurity, and mockery, the other confronts its dangers while still moving toward repentance, reconciliation, and the return home. The difference is not simply political. It is the difference between a story that despises the hero and one that seeks to restore him.

Join us September 24–26, 2026 for a summit, hosted by Symbolic World in St Giles’, Oxford, United Kingdom at Pusey House: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/

Register now for the Universal History Masterclass: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/universal-history-masterclass
Price: $180 USD (Get 10% off if you're an Involved patron)
Course Length: 6 weeks, 12 hours
Live classes are on Wednesdays at 3-5 pm Eastern Time, starting August 5th through September 9th, 2026

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5
-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488

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

It's not hard to find your tribe. The real challenge today is not losing yourself within one. Luke Burgis and I discuss why we struggle as modern people to belong without losing ourselves, how technology fragments our desires, why family, friendship, and real communion are essential to becoming a person, and also the opposite, that to really connect with others you must be true to yourself.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/bZfRs9TWSIg

Luke's book, The One and the Ninety-Nine: https://www.amazon.com/One-Ninety-Nine-Forging-Identity-Contagion-ebook/dp/B0FLYVP6WD

Join us September 24–26, 2026 for a summit, hosted by Symbolic World in St Giles’, Oxford, United Kingdom at Pusey House: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/

Register now for the Universal History Masterclass: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/universal-history-masterclass
Price: $180 USD (Get 10% off if you're an Involved patron)
Course Length: 6 weeks, 12 hours
Live classes are on Wednesdays at 3-5 pm Eastern Time, starting August 5th through September 9th, 2026

Timestamps:
00:00 – Coming up
02:38 – Introduction
02:52 – Luke Burgess and The One and the Ninety-Nine
03:19 – The tension between individuality and belonging
04:10 – The lost sheep, the one, and the many
06:30 – Why the modern self has become fragile
08:57 – When celebrating difference turns into isolation
10:50 – Why “selling out” no longer carries the same stigma
12:01 – Differentiation, imitation, and false individuality
12:55 – Choosing a vocation beyond market niches
15:18 – Symbolic World Summit in Oxford
17:31 – How technology reshapes the human person
18:02 – Social media as a source of mimetic desire
20:02 – Why online models become so powerful
20:48 – Technology, distraction, and the loss of strong desire
23:09 – Parasocial relationships and vicarious participation
24:42 – Can religious identity become another performance?
25:22 – Thin religion, online faith, and performative belonging
27:39 – Receiving an identity rather than inventing one
29:22 – Suffering, friction, and the consequences of the Fall
31:56 – Is it acceptable to “fake it until you make it” spiritually?
33:38 – False piety and performative religion
34:51 – The danger of the online “Orthobro”
36:16 – The family as a school of communion
38:32 – Differentiating yourself from your family
40:57 – Homogenization versus communion
41:09 – Teenage rebellion as hostile individuation
42:00 – Rebellion as a substitute rite of passage
43:51 – Why identity must serve something higher
45:43 – The family should not become an isolated unit
47:26 – Does it take a village to raise a child?
48:47 – When political identity is built through opposition
49:34 – Internal family systems and the divided self
52:23 – How algorithms feed fragmented parts of ourselves
53:21 – Monetizing anger and online performance
54:56 – What hope is there for young people?
55:47 – Give young people a name, not a niche
58:05 – Communities we cannot easily abandon
01:00:04 – Choosing deliberately what previous generations inherited naturally
01:02:25 – Friendship, commitment, and cultural renewal
01:04:03 – Final thoughts on individuation and communion

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5
-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488

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

Deacon Seraphim Rohlin joins me for an emergency Universal History episode to debate Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey. We discuss what the film gets right and where it misunderstands the ancient world.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lKIxTvWNDNw

Join us September 24–26, 2026 for a summit, hosted by Symbolic World in St Giles’, Oxford, United Kingdom at Pusey House: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/

Register now for the Universal History Masterclass: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/universal-history-masterclass
Price: $180 USD (Get 10% off if you're an Involved patron)
Course Length: 6 weeks, 12 hours
Live classes are on Wednesdays at 3-5 pm Eastern Time, starting August 5th through September 9th, 2026

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau

🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5
-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488

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

Spoiler alert. In this video, I offer a full symbolic breakdown of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, going through the entire film sequence by sequence to examine its use of trickery, guilt, hospitality, memory, and the return of the father. I explain that I think Nolan is deliberately unsettling both the left and the right, and why the story he tells is definitely a contemporary retelling, but ultimately more traditional than many viewers realize – and that’s exactly why it’s needed in our world right now.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ESIzQNfmAo4

Register for Universal History Masterclass during the month of July and get 15% off: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/universal-history-masterclass

🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast:
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5
-Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488

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