Mythology & deities
Gods and myths of ancient traditions read in a symbolic and initiatory key.
Amaterasu and the heavenly cave: Japan's myth of light regained
Amaterasu in the Kojiki: her birth from Izanagi, Susanoo's offences, the retreat into the cave, the sacred dance, the mirror and the sun's return.
Baldr and Ragnarök: the death of the shining god and a new world
The Norse myth of Baldr: ominous dreams, the mistletoe, the weeping of all things, Ragnarök and the new earth that rises green from the sea after the end.
Cernunnos, the horned god of the Celts: what we really know
Cernunnos between sources and symbols: the Pillar of the Boatmen in Paris, the Gundestrup cauldron, the torc, the ram-headed serpent and renewing antlers.
Cronus and Saturn: the devouring father and the golden age
Cronus who devours his children and the Latin Saturn, king of the golden age: the sources, the sickle, Hesiod's five races and the symbolism of time.
Cupid and Psyche: Apuleius' tale as the journey of the soul
Cupid and Psyche in Apuleius' Metamorphoses: the invisible husband, the lamp, the four trials set by Venus and the initiatory meaning of the story.
Dionysus, the twice-born god: ecstasy, mask and rebirth
Dionysus in Greek tradition: the double birth from Semele and Zeus, Zagreus and the Titans, Euripides' Bacchae, the theatre mask and an initiatory reading.
Ganesha, lord of obstacles: myths and symbols of the elephant god
Ganesha in Hindu tradition: his birth from Parvati, the elephant head, the broken tusk, the mouse, the race around the world and the meaning of obstacles.
Gilgamesh and the quest for immortality: the king of Uruk
The Epic of Gilgamesh read symbolically: friendship with Enkidu, grief, the journey to Utnapishtim, the lost plant and the walls of Uruk at the end.
Hecate, goddess of the crossroads: torches, keys and three faces
Hecate in Greek tradition: Hesiod's praise, her role in the myth of Persephone, her triple form, crossroads offerings and her role as guide in choices.
Hermes the psychopomp: the Greek god of thresholds and passages
Hermes, messenger of the gods: his birth on Cyllene, the theft of Apollo's cattle, the caduceus, the herms at crossroads and his role as guide of souls.
Inanna's descent to the underworld: the seven gates
The Sumerian poem of Inanna's descent into Ereshkigal's realm: the seven gates, the garments left behind, death, Enki's rescue and the fate of Dumuzi.
Two-faced Janus: the Roman god of beginnings and doors
Janus, a distinctly Roman god: his two faces, the temple doors left open in war, his first place in prayers, Ovid's Fasti and the meaning of thresholds.
Kali, goddess of time: the terrible Mother and her compassion
Kali in Hindu tradition: her birth in battle in the Devi Mahatmya, the demon Raktabija, the dark goddess's iconography and her face as liberating Mother.
The twelve labours of Heracles as a path of transformation
The twelve labours of Heracles read symbolically: the origin in guilt, the lion, the hydra, the Augean stables, the Hesperides, Cerberus and apotheosis.
Loki, the Norse trickster: the chaos that creates and destroys
Loki in the Norse sources: the wall of Asgard and Sleipnir, the dwarves' gifts, his monstrous children, the Lokasenna, his binding and the trickster role.
Maat and the weighing of the heart: truth and order in Egypt
Maat, goddess and principle of Egyptian cosmic order: the feather, its opposite isfet, the negative confession and the heart weighed on the scales.
Odin and the price of wisdom: the eye, the tree and the mead
Odin in the Norse texts: the eye left in Mímir's well, nine nights hanging on the tree, the mead of poetry and the ravens Huginn and Muninn as symbols.
Orpheus and Eurydice: song, descent and the backward glance
Orpheus and Eurydice in Virgil and Ovid: the power of song, the descent to Hades, the ban on looking back and the gold tablets of the Orphic tradition.
Osiris: the myth of dismemberment and rebirth
The myth of Osiris, killed by Seth and reassembled by Isis: the ancient sources, the djed pillar, sprouting grain and an initiatory reading of the story.
Perseus and Medusa: the petrifying gaze and the saving reflection
Perseus and Medusa: the Graeae, the gifts of the gods, the shield used as a mirror, the birth of Pegasus and a symbolic reading of facing what paralyses.
Prometheus and the stolen fire: the myth of awakening awareness
Prometheus in the Greek sources: the trick at Mecone, fire hidden in a fennel stalk, the punishment on the rock and the symbolic meaning of his gift.
Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent: Mesoamerican myth and symbol
Quetzalcoatl in Mesoamerican tradition: his name, wind and morning star, the descent to Mictlan to create humanity and the fall of the king of Tollan.
The night journey of Ra: the twelve hours and Apophis
Every night the sun god Ra crosses the underworld: the day and night barques, the Amduat, the serpent Apophis and his rebirth as the scarab Khepri at dawn.
Shiva Nataraja: the meaning of the god's cosmic dance
Shiva Nataraja, lord of the dance: the drum, the flame, the hand gestures, the dwarf Apasmara, the ring of fire and the five divine acts of the tradition.
Thoth: the Egyptian god of writing, the moon and measure
Thoth, the ibis god of ancient Egypt: scribe of the gods, lord of the moon and of reckoning, healer of the Eye of Horus and keeper of the ordering word.