Martin Shaw - Until the Illumination Arrives

Martin Shaw is, among many things, a writer, mythologist, teacher, and rite-of-passage guide. He's director of the Westcountry School of Myth in the UK, originated and led the Oral Tradition course at Stanford University. Perhaps most crucially, he lived for four years in a tent. It was a great pleasure to discuss with him storytelling, pagan and Christian tales, the Irish figure John Moriarty, and quite a bit more. Contents: 00:29 – Introduction 01:50 – The Storyteller: “Take your imagination for a walk in public” 13:28 – Old stories and contemporary minds 17:03 – Martin's geographic area of interest 19:03 – “The eagle attracts the hunter” - Martin goes to the woods and is astonished by Christianity 24:05 – Is there a wall between the Christian and 'pagan' worlds, and is it permeable? 34:08 – Reconciling pagan and Christian sensibilities, and facing objections from either end 38:18 – Is the Orthodox church in Alaska a back door to a better communion between mainstream and native cultures on the American continent? 42:24 – The catastrophe of fear-based religion 46:11 – Who was John Moriarty? 51:09 – The Chant 56:51 – No Christmas for the animals: Moriarty's search for locating meaning 1:02:38 – Moriarty's Joycean walk home from the pub, and reenchanting our daily lives 1:08:06 – On goodness 1:14:25 – On this moment 1:17:51 – New steps and projects for Martin https://martinshaw.substack.com/ For more relevant links to material covered in this conversation, visit: https://www.thecommontoad.com/single-...