The Symbolic World

By: Jonathan Pageau
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  • Summary

  • 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.
    Copyright Jonathan Pageau
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Social Sciences Spirituality
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Episodes
  • 375 - Paul Kingsnorth - Western Civilization Is Already Dead

    375 - Paul Kingsnorth - Western Civilization Is Already Dead
    Jan 12 2025
    Paul Kingsnorth gave a provocative talk for First Things' Erasmus Lecture of 2024, titled "Against Christian Civilization". In this episode, we discuss the essence of his argument, delving into the fundamental tensions between Christianity and civilization. How does faith interact with culture? What is the Biblical narrative around cities and governance? Are we misusing Christianity as a tool for cultural preservation over pursuing true spiritual transformation? Is Western Civilization as we know it even salvable at this point?

    -Paul Kingsnorth’s First Things talk: "Against Christian Civilization" | 2024 Erasmus Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/live/Y3hMSZqatHI?si=bmT1rqPyEF-LvR0_
    -Written article version of his talk: Against Christian Civilization, January 2025: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2025/01/against-christian-civilization

    ==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========
    Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

    ==========TIMESTAMPS==========
    00:00 - Coming up
    01:31 - Intro music
    01:56 - Introduction
    03:02 - The essence of Paul's talk
    07:13 - Civilization and Revelation
    12:02 - A Christian's challenge
    16:45 - The Biblical vision
    31:13 - What about the rulers?
    37:01 - Buildings
    42:10 - Brands and idols
    47:27 - The seed and the fruit
    49:24 - Celebrating 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: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
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    59 mins
  • 374 - The Role of St. John the Baptist

    374 - The Role of St. John the Baptist
    Jan 6 2025
    In celebration of the Feast of Theophany I discuss the role of St. John the Baptist, or St. John the Forerunner, as he's known in the Orthodox tradition. Why does Christ need a forerunner? What is he actually doing, symbolically? And how does his appearance, behavior, and death participate in the pattern that's already being set up in the Old Testament?

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/dvUQXKdpJy0
    💻 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

    ==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========
    Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. If you register before Thursday, 8 pm EST, you can get 15% off with the discount code: LEWIS2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

    ==========TIMESTAMPS==========
    00:00 - Introduction
    00:32 - Intro music
    00:57 - The role of St. John
    04:05 - Prefigurations of St. John
    04:21 - The flood of Noah
    05:15 - The Tower of Babel
    06:06 - The Exodus
    07:55 - Elijah
    09:37 - St. John in the wilderness
    12:36 - The voice in the desert
    13:51 - Wild
    15:58 - Stability in Logos
    17:55 - Elijah will return
    21:49 - Taken up before the end
    23:21 - Joseph in Egypt
    26:16 - Conclusion

    📱 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.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • 373 - Matthew Wilkinson - Mystical Bach and the Breakdown of Music

    373 - Matthew Wilkinson - Mystical Bach and the Breakdown of Music
    Jan 5 2025
    For this interview I have a great discussion with organist, pianist, conductor, arranger, and recording artist Matthew Wilkinson, who also happened to put together the Symbolic World intro music. We delve into the symbolism of music, particularly focusing on Bach's organ works. The discussion also touches on the evolution of musical styles from the Baroque period to the Classical, modern and postmodern eras, the historical context of music, from the music of the spheres to modern dissonance, and how these concepts reflect broader ideas about hierarchy and opposites.

    Support Matthew Wilkinson's wonderful work:
    Check out his website and buy his CD: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/24DSGAdbVt7by0JHEqTwMh?si=ZJlpdMkcSg6SfMvz7YbkFg
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@matthewwilkinson2276?si=m1gbZgTSpOALVdq5

    Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Learn more here: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford

    Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/d-9FRODiDKM

    Timestamps:
    00:00 - Coming up
    00:56 - Intro music
    01:21 - Introduction
    02:18 - The album on Bach
    05:38 - Trinitarian symbolism
    14:49 - Meaning in structure vs outside it
    20:15 - The hero's journey
    22:05 - Signatures
    25:06 - Subject and countersubject
    26:19 - The organ
    29:25 - Going through the entrances
    32:39 - Various subjects
    35:03 - Baroque
    36:37 - Counterpoint
    37:21 - Duality in music
    40:14 - Music of the spheres
    43:54 - Hierarchy in beats
    47:15 - Glenn Gould
    49:19 - The dialectic
    51:04 - Hierarchy in music
    55:16 - Music in the modern era
    01:07:45 - Postmodernism

    💻 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.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 21 mins

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Profile Image for James Dixon

Essential Jonathan Pageau

Always essential listening for anyone curious about the symbolic meaning of all around us. Jonathan has been critical for my own personal journey back into faith, breathing life over the cold rocks of a religious education that left me, and many others, nihilistic, morally relativistic and confused. His discussions and monologues are more akin to reading Teresa of Avila than anything else as it provides a sense of kinship with those artists, speaking personally, who encounter and exist in the liminal space between the narrative world and the profane and would otherwise feel thoroughly insane. When you experience the synchronicities in the world, reading the mystics, learning from artists like Cecil Collins and listening to the words of Jonathan Pageau and his network is a restorative balm. Thanks Jonathan, you're a legend

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Profile Image for Ian Archer

Not worth my time

Podcaster's way too bothered about the portrayal of strong women in pop culture. Boring.

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