This is a repost of a talk given at St-George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Montreal, originally posted in 2018.
The Nativity icon is not only the image of an event that happened two thousands years ago, but rather by its form and the hierarchy of its elements, shows us the inner working of how the Divine Logos creates the world and how His incarnation acts as the anchor, the fulcrum around which all manifestation holds together.  

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/i8xow567P74
Don’t forget to check out our Christmas Symbolism playlist of all the videos I made about Christmas over the years:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY9MeGP5IILeRzu62Q1NPT4C

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:10 - Intro music
01:34 - Introducing the talk
03:50 - The fast
05:29 - Elements of the nativity icon
08:04 - St. Joseph tempted by the devil
10:44 - The bullseye
13:24 - The ass and ox
15:40 - Why born in a cave?
20:31 - God with us
25:44 - The real question
32:44 - Q&A: The river gods
35:20 - Q: The axe
35:50 - Q: Early icons
37:08 - Q: Children baptized
38:12 - Q: Snakes under the door

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

In this episode, I explore a dark narrative aspect of the Christmas story: the Massacre of the Innocents at the hand of King Herod, connecting it to various Old Testament variations on the pattern: Joseph and the Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau, and David and King Saul. Christ brings all of these stories together in a unique and mind-blowing way, not just in the Gospels, but also in what happens in history afterwards…

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/cGZn-hv7dis
Check out my other videos on Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY9MeGP5IILeRzu62Q1NPT4C

💻 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 
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00:00 - Introduction
01:42 - Intro music
02:07 - The text
03:39 - What's going on?
03:59 - Pharaoh kills children in Egypt
05:48 - Joseph son of Israel
07:11 - Jacob and Esau
09:22 - King Saul and David
10:31 - The story of Jesus
12:11 - A prophecy: killed by His brothers
13:43 - The conversion of Rome
14:47 - Going back in time
16:38 - Why is this part of reality?

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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

This is a repost of the November 2024's patron video where I take a closer look into the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris. After a devastating fire in 2019, and 5 years of reconstruction, Notre Dame is now officially open. But did they get it right in how they rebuilt the church?

🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

I sat down with Fr. Josiah Trenham, archpriest at St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California, and founder and director of Patristic Nectar Publications. With over 30 years of experience as a priest in America, Fr. Josiah has a wealth of knowledge about the state of Orthodoxy in the West and the challenges converts face. We discuss various aspects of Orthodox and contemporary life: beauty, money, politics, sexuality, the youth, psychedelics, artificial intelligence, and more. Enjoy.

Support Fr. Josiah’s work at Patristic Nectar Publications: https://patristicnectar.org/
 @PatristicNectarFilms  

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nSlZMeYD-PE

==============Timestamps==============
00:00 - Coming up
01:07 - Intro music
01:32 - Introduction
03:06 - The state of Orthodoxy in America
11:09 - What happened?
18:07 - Change and the conversion of young men
24:00 - Prioritizing beauty
35:31 - Balancing the budget
38:37 - Orthobros
42:41 - Bear yourself
50:16 - The ancient pagan world vs modern secular world
55:15 - Psychedelics
59:34 - The future is religious
01:01:15 - Artificial intelligence
01:07:38 - Intuition about what's coming

💻 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 
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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.

A clip has been circulating from the upcoming Christianities movie, hosted by John Heers, of Tucker Carlson recounting a terrifying experience he had where he woke up with bleeding claw marks on his sides and is convinced it was a demonic attack. In this video I discuss such experiences. How is it possible that a spiritual entity can physically manifest?

Support the Christianities movie and check out the sneak peak clip of Tucker Carlson recounting his experience of a demonic attack: https://www.christianitiesmovie.com/sneak-peak 

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/YJAWgfCJv8E


======SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSES: 50% OFF BLACK FRIDAY SALE======
Did you miss out on a Symbolic World course this year? Here’s your chance! This Black Friday, enjoy 50% off six of our Symbolic World courses and 25% off my carving courses.

Use the code BLACKFRIDAY2024 at checkout between 12:00 AM EST on Friday, Nov. 29 and 11:59 PM EST on Monday, Dec. 1.

Courses on Sale:
-Universal History: Beowulf with Richard Rohlin and Jonathan Pageau
-Inferno: The Symbolic World Goes to Hell with Richard Rohlin and Jonathan Pageau
-Purgatorio: The Symbolic World Ascends the Mountain with Richard Rohlin and Jonathan Pageau
-Symbolic World Metaphysics with JP Marceau
-C.S. Lewis and the Cosmic Trilogy with Annie Crawford
-The Symbolic World Summit 2024 Video Package (includes all lectures and breakout sessions)

Carving Courses (25% Off):
Use the same code, BLACKFRIDAY2024, to get discounts on my Thinkific carving courses:
-Carving an Icon of the Holy Virgin
-Carving St. John the Baptist

Please note: The discount applies to one-time purchases only. Ensure you're logged into the Symbolic World Circle platform before making your purchase.



==============CHRISTIAN WONDER TALES==============
Join Dr. Martin Shaw for his first ever online course on Christian Wonder Tales! This is our most highly anticipated course yet, with more sign-ups than any other we’ve hosted on The Symbolic World. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to participate live, with Martin’s awe-inspiring storytelling and insights now part of the growing initiative for re-enchantment. Register today and fall in love with stories that will bring symbolism to life: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 

• Dates: Tuesdays, November 12 - December 10, 2024 (no class November 19)
• Time: 2 - 4 pm EST
• Where: The Symbolic World Circle Community Platform 
• Cost: $190 (4-installment payment option & 10% Involved supporter discount available, apply code at checkout)
• Get immediate access to a recommended reading list
• All lesson recordings will be made available to participants with downloadable audio

==============LINKS==============
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

Rod Dreher and I had a great discussion about his latest book, Living in Wonder. We discussed re-enchantment, UFOs, AI, attention, the internet, and more. Enjoy!

Get Rod's book - Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Wonder-Finding-Mystery-Meaning/dp/0310369126

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/KvNM1AefXN0

===========Book description===========
The West has become "disenchanted"--closed to the idea that the universe contains the supernatural, the metaphysical, or the non-material. Christianity is in crisis. People today are leaving the Church because faith has become dry and lifeless. But people aren't leaving faith for atheism. They are still searching for the divine, and it might just be right under their noses.
In Living in Wonder, thought leader, cultural critic, and New York Times bestselling author Rod Dreher shows you how to encounter and embrace wonder in the world. In his trademark mixture of analysis, reporting, and personal story, Dreher brings together history, cultural anthropology, neuroscience, and the ancient Church to show you--no matter your religious affiliation--how to reconnect with the natural world and the Great Tradition of Christianity so you can relate to the world with more depth and connection.
He shares stories of miracles, rumors of angels, and outbreaks of awe to offer hope, as well as a guide for discerning and defending the truth in a confusing and spiritually dark culture, full of contemporary spiritual deceptions and tempting counterfeit spiritualities.
The world is not what we think it is. It is far more mysterious, exciting, connected, and adventurous. As you learn practical ways to regain a sense of wonder and awaken your sense of God's presence--through prayer, attention, and living by spiritual disciplines--your eyes will be opened, and you will find the very thing every one of us searches for: our ultimate meaning.

===========Other books mentioned===========
- Passport to Magonia: https://www.amazon.co.za/Passport-Magonia-Folklore-Flying-Saucers/dp/0987422480 
- Free version: https://archive.org/details/passporttomagoni0000vall_m8g5
- American Cosmic, by D.W. Pasulka: https://www.amazon.com/American-Cosmic-UFOs-Religion-Technology/dp/019069288X 
- The Mountain of Silence, by Kyriacos C Markide: https://www.amazon.co.za/Mountain-Silence-Search-Orthodox-Spirituality/dp/0385500920 

===========Christian Wonder Tales course===========
Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 

===========Timestamps===========
00:00 - Coming up
01:13 - Intro music
01:38 - Enchantment is having a moment
06:54 - A strange enchantment
21:20 - A positive aspect of this
23:19 - Psychedelics and the Californian Buddhist
25:37 - Rod's journey to Christianity
30:23 - What's on the horizon? AI
33:01 - UFOs and the great religious deception
38:39 - UFO spiritual influences
40:37 - Pay attention
46:04 - Rod's book's reception
49:35 - Propositional vs being in person
52:24 - Embodiment
55:08 - Christian re-enchantment

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

This episode is part of our miniseries of Universal History episodes focused on Ireland. We talk about the voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator, one of the mythical founders of Ireland, along with a general exploration of what it takes to create culture and being a Christian in the world.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nlzEUV5sV2o

Previous UH episodes on Ireland:
1. Universal History: Ireland, the Remnant: https://youtu.be/PBNkmLxUYHk?si=QQPkLg6VVx57o2GC 
2. Universal History: The Surprising Irish Origin of Purgatory - with Richard Rohlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBdXgwl1VYU 

Read more about Irish saints. The book Richard recommends is in two volumes: The Lives of Irish Saints, edited by Charles Plummer. Links:
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Saints-Oxford-Reprints-Volumes/dp/0198213891
- Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/bethadanemnr01plumuoft/page/n7/mode/2up

---

Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales, starting November 12th. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 
Mythographer, writer, and storyteller Dr Martin Shaw takes us deep into the heart of what he calls Christian Wonder Tales. Profoundly mythic, these teaching stories range from the early saints through to the grandeur of the Round Table and Arthurian tradition. Shaw emphasises these stories as remerging providentially on time for the perils of modern life. Filled with vocation, sacrifice, and courage, these are an inheritance many of us simply didn’t know we had.

🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

---

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:46 - Intro music
01:12 - Start
03:04 - A corrective to the Universal History series
12:05 - The 12 apostles of Ireland
14:19 - St. Brendan
21:25 - Fun stories about St. Brendan
39:26 - Next episode of the Voyage of St. Brendan
46:13 - The foundation of a church
49:09 - How to keep the liturgical calendar
56:14 - The torment of Judas
01:04:30 - Did Brendan go to North America?

---

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Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

This talk by Fr. Stephen DeYoung is from the Symbolic World Summit that took place in Florida on the weekend of February 29th, 2024. All other talks and discussions from the event can be accessed through the Symbolic World website if you buy the video package. Other speakers included myself, Jordan Peterson, Dr. Martin Shaw, Richard Rohlin, Neil DeGraide, Fr. Dcn. Nicholas Kotar, Vesper Stamper, and Fr. Silouan Justiniano. 

• Buy the Symbolic World Summit Video Package: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/summit-2024
• Symbolic World Summit photo gallery: https://thelightboxphotography.pic-time.com/-symbolicworld/gallery

Timestamps
00:00 - Coming up
00:57 - Intro music
01:23 - Introduction
03:22 - What happens when you die?
07:34 - The body
12:42 - How identity works
16:25 - Find our identity
17:41 - The bodily resurrection
19:00 - Relating to time
31:53 - The triumph of joy
35:00 - In Scripture
41:29 - One life
44:13 - What about the dead
48:48 - Fr. Stephen's answer
50:02 - Eternal death and hell

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

WARNING: The following episode discusses difficult subjects and may not be suitable for children.

This is a repost of January 2020's patron-only video where I talked about a book called Malleus Maleficarum, translated as The Hammer of Witches, which appeared in the late 15th century. This controversial book has become the central point of our imagination about witches and exemplifies the uneasy transition between the medieval worldview and what would become the modern worldview.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/S75AfTuzLQg

We decided to make this video public for Halloween. Please consider supporting us for exclusive patron videos like this. https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

---

Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales, starting November 12th. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales

Mythographer, writer, and storyteller Dr Martin Shaw takes us deep into the heart of what he calls Christian Wonder Tales. Profoundly mythic, these teaching stories range from the early saints through to the grandeur of the Round Table and Arthurian tradition. Shaw emphasises these stories as remerging providentially on time for the perils of modern life. Filled with vocation, sacrifice, and courage, these are an inheritance many of us simply didn’t know we had.

---
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 

📱 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.

In this video, I discuss the double symbolism of St. Peter as described in the Scriptures. This is related to my last video about Lucifer and the issue of how a representative or a vicar is always in a dual situation where they can become transparent to authority from above, or take authority for themselves...

My previous video on this topic: The Real Meaning of Lucifer: https://youtu.be/qaoSLwmPARk?si=i2EVHFBPVpVbxTyG

---
Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales, starting November 12th. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales 

Mythographer, writer, and storyteller Dr Martin Shaw takes us deep into the heart of what he calls Christian Wonder Tales. Profoundly mythic, these teaching stories range from the early saints through to the grandeur of the Round Table and Arthurian tradition. Shaw emphasises these stories as remerging providentially on time for the perils of modern life. Filled with vocation, sacrifice, and courage, these are an inheritance many of us simply didn’t know we had.

🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
Become a Symbolic World patron and get access to exclusive content like a monthly patron Q&A and an extra symbolism video every month, as well as sales on our courses: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 

BUY OUR BOOKS NOW ON OUR SYMBOLIC WORLD PRESS PRE-ORDER SALE: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com 

Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

"The soul is not fed entirely by logic, we are fed by images. Ideas are interesting, but when we want to be absolutely poleaxed by wonder it is a story that's going to do it."

I had a wonderful discussion with the captivating storyteller and mythographer, Dr. Martin Shaw, about the value of - not only understanding - but also telling and entering into stories. We talk about the various traditions of storytelling covered in his upcoming course, how to approach these tales of our inheritance, the modern taming of Christianity, and how Bible stories are different from pagan and more peripheral myths.

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/uPQdfx5a-R4

Sign up for Dr. Martin Shaw's first-ever live online course, Christian Wonder Tales, starting November 12th. This 4-week, 8-hour course is hosted on the Symbolic World Circle Community. Patrons at the Involved level or higher get 10% off, apply your discount code at checkout: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/christian-wonder-tales

Mythographer, writer, and storyteller Dr Martin Shaw takes us deep into the heart of what he calls Christian Wonder Tales. Profoundly mythic, these teaching stories range from the early saints through to the grandeur of the Round Table and Arthurian tradition. Shaw emphasises these stories as remerging providentially on time for the perils of modern life. Filled with vocation, sacrifice, and courage, these are an inheritance many of us simply didn’t know we had.
---
Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:44 - Intro music
01:09 - Start
01:52 - A failure that makes honey
05:46 - Pre-Christian Ireland
08:05 - The Arthurian tradition
09:53 - A rule for life
12:29 - Follow an animal
16:09 - Return to these stories
20:20 - The soul is not only fed by logic
24:53 - Why has Christianity become so mundane?
33:39 - Stories that are too strange
36:00 - How were they preserved?
38:08 - Stories that Martin and Jonathan struggled with
44:54 - The Bible
48:57 - You can't draw Jesus with one line
53:07 - The Gospel seminar
56:06 - Let the stories do the work
---
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ 
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.