Content & Media
The Symbolic World provides content which attempts to awaken a new symbolic vision of the world. Jonathan Pageau explores traditional symbolism from religious imagery as well as other legends and stories. He also uses symbolic patterns to interpret the modern world, its cultural manifestation and historical movements. Most content featured here appears as YouTube videos, podcasts made by Jonathan as well as guest appearances on other platforms.
How the Lord’s Prayer Contains All of Creation
This post is a transcript of a video released in March 2020. Thanks to Heather Lee for the transcription, and to JP Marceau for the edition. One of the things I have been trying to communicate with you guys is that the world manifests itself through a basic pattern. I...
Gods, Angels and Demons – With Fr. Andrew Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young
Fr. Andrew and Fr. Stephen are hosting a new podcast called Lord of Spirits which explores the reality of gods, angels, demons and spirits. They look at the Bible and Tradition to help modern people understand how the term “monotheism” does not apply to traditional Christianity.
The Meaning of Prince Ivan and The Gray Wolf
Prince Ivan and The Grey Wolf is one of the most famous Russian fairy tales. In the wake of the new podcast “In a Certain Kingdom” by Nicholas Kotar, where he will tell and discuss these Russian tales, I interpret the Prinve Ivan story in detail, looking at how it maps unto the pattern of reality.
Why Symbolism? – from Focul de Tabără (Campfire podcast)
We look at a basic defense of Symbolism and how it is different from hermeneutics. This is an interview I gave for the Romanian “campfire” youtube channel.
Jesus vs Barrabas
In the Gospel, we are presented with a choice between Jesus and Barrabas. This relationship is emphasized by the text itself, but it also acts as a fail-safe in the Christian story to avoid certain excesses.
August 2020 Q&A
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
Emergence and Narrative – Vervaeke, Vanderklay, Pageau
John Vervaeke, Paul Vanderklay and myself discuss the question of the meaning crisis, the reality of emergence/emanation and the value of narrative. This conversation brought about many elements we have not discussed before in our one our previous encounters.
Postmodernism is a Virus
We look at how postmodern theory informs its activism by explicitly using the pattern of the virus and disease to describe their activities. Jacques Derrida himself said: “All I have done is dominated by the thought of a virus, what could be called a parasitology, a virology”. This pattern of virology butts up in an extreme way against WWII propaganda and the narrative surrounding the current pandemic.
The Consolation of Fantasy
In my previous post for The Symbolic World, I tried to show how telling and enjoying fairy tales is not a childish or simple-minded pursuit. It's a noble calling, in some ways, especially in times of chaos. Famed fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien takes this thought...
The Silicon Monster
Some years ago, a scandal broke out over whether a young man was cheating in an international chess tournament. Nobody knew for sure, but the strange goings-on suggested other forces at work. In December 2012, a 25 year old man from Bulgaria, Borislav Ivanov, turned...