Awakening Mythic Imagination

Our greatest ability and gift as a species is the imagination. We imagine new possibilities. We imagine ourselves into new futures. Human imagination is uniquely forward reaching, and world creating. The imagination is an inner mirror upon the world itself, reflecting back to us who we really are what the world really is. We are homo poeta, human meaning makers. We bear the burden and gift of this capacity for mythic imagination.

Myth is not a ‘persistent lie’ or a fantasy, it is the “wildest way of telling the truth”, in the words of mythologist Martin Shaw. Myth is not just old stories that held the morals, beliefs, and identity of peoples past. But it is a living speech, an infinitely creative and deep pattern, a root system of the imagination of the world of which we are intimately a part.

Today, mythic imagination has been all but lost to us. Our collective imagination today has become unmoored from these ancient mythic root systems, it has become paralyzed and pathological. Religion has abstracted and disembodied what was once intimate knowledge and rapport with the animate forces of a mysterious world. Our exile today is a loss of consciousness with catastrophic results on our ecosystems and biosphere, alienation from a living and dreaming Earth. Only mythic imagination can help us navigate this dangerous and initiatory moment. 

To awaken mythic imagination is to return to the headwaters of meaning and purpose latent in Earth for us as a species. The mythic wellspring of religion and culture.

In this episode “Awakening Mythic Imagination” we will explore the nature of myth as a conversation between the Earth, humanity and the divine. Myth is the only language large enough to contain the initiatory energies that alone can reforge human consciousness. Mythic imagination is what gives life meaning and depth, it is the heart of community, offers a path of individuation and growth. And truly represents what Jung called the “religious function” re-connecting the mundane with the sacred.

If you are new to this space and it resonates with you, and you want to support the podcast, the works that goes into it and promoting the vision. Please consider becoming a Patron, it only costs as little as 6$ a month. If you appreciate the vision and want to support find out more at, patreon.com/mythicchrist. All patrons get access to early release of episodes and a complementary downloadable guided meditation practice, at other levels patrons get new content and bonus episodes, advanced downloadable practices, complementary mentoring session with me in dreamwork, deep imagery, coaching, and discounts on upcoming online immersions and our Awakening Mythic Imagination Eco-Depth Yearlong program. The program is currently full but there is a waiting list for next September 2023. If you would like more information email me at matt.syrdal@mythicchrist.com.