Exploring the Mycoverse: Queer Ecological Storytelling & The Flowering Wand

What isExploring the Mycoverse?It's afungi-focusedcommunity education group exploring the many ways fungi can teach us about the inextricable interconnectedness of all life. The group regularly meets to discuss fungi media such as texts, books, articles,  films, and podcasts!

Aaron Tupac

How are myths the “fruiting body mushrooms” of underground mycelial ecologies of culture?

Arlington Garden

<h3>Exploring the Mycoverse Presents... </h3><h3>The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine</h3><h3>Lunar Kings, Lichenized Lovers, Transpecies Magicians, and Rhizomatic Harpists Heal the Masculine</h3><h3>[Part II of II]</h3>Just as fungi taught plants how to root into the soil, so do myths teach us how to root into our ecological and social ecosystems. Mycorrhizal fungi map the relationships in a forest just as myths map the specific relationships of a community rooted in place. Tracking the vegetal gods of the Mediterranean as a case study, Sophie uses modern advances in biology, mycology, and forest ecology to resurrect the forgotten root-system of earth-reverent mythologies suppressed by current paradigms of domination.Strand reseeds our minds with new visions of male identity and shows how each of us, regardless of gender, can develop a matured ecological empathy and witness a blossoming of sacred masculine powers that are soft, curious, connective, and celebratory.Before the discussion, we invite you to:<ul><li>Part II: Healing the Wound (Chapters 15-33, pages 78-158)</li><li>Watch <a href="https://youtu.be/e1V8ij_E4t8?si=UTG65qCDPZexIMVG" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life, discuss mycological storytelling with Sophie Strand</a> (Jan 2023)</li><li><a href="https://www.welcometomushroomhour.com/blogs/podcasts/ep-162-the-flowering-wand-rewilding-the-sacred-masculine-feat-sophie-strand" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Mushroom Hour Podcast Interview with Sophie Strand</a> (What timing! Just came out last month!) </li></ul>Y﻿ou can purchase the book from the <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Flowering-Wand/Sophie-Strand/9781644115961" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">publisher's website here</a>.From the publisherA deep exploration of the regenerative and magical secrets of sacred masculinity hidden in familiar myths both ancient and modern• Reveals the restorative fungi archetype of Osiris, the Orphic mysteries as an underground mycelium linking forests and people, how Dionysus teaches us about invasive species and playful sexuality, and the ecology of Jesus as depicted in his nature-focused parables• Liberates Tristan, Merlin, and the Grail legends from the bounds of Campbell’s hero’s journey and invites the masculine into more nuanced, complex ways of dealing with trauma, growth, and self-knowledgeLong before the sword-wielding heroes of legend readily cut down forests, slaughtered the old deities, and vanquished their enemies, there were playful gods, animal-headed kings, mischievous lovers, trickster harpists, and vegetal magicians with flowering wands. As eco-feminist scholar Sophie Strand discovered, these wilder, more magical modes of the masculine have always been hidden in plain sight. Sharing the culmination of eight years of research into myth, folklore, and the history of religion, Strand leads us back into the forgotten landscapes and hidden secrets of familiar myths, revealing the beautiful range of the divine masculine, including expressions of male friendship, male intimacy, and male creative collaboration. In discussing Dionysus and Osiris, Strand encourages us to think like an ecosystem instead of like an individual. She connects dying, vegetal gods to the virtuous cycle of composting and decay, highlighting the ways in which mushrooms can restore soil and heal polluted landscapes. Exploring esoteric Christianity, the author celebrates the Gnostic Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas, imagining the ecology that the Rabbi Yeshua would have actually been referencing in his nature-focused parables. Strand frees Tristan, Merlin, and the Grail legends from the bounds of Campbell’s hero’s journey and invites the masculine into more nuanced, complex ways of dealing with trauma, growth, and self-knowledge. Strand reseeds our minds with new visions of male identity and shows how each of us, regardless of gender, can develop a matured ecological empathy and witness a blossoming of sacred masculine powers that are soft, curious, connective, and celebratory.About the author<a href="https://sophiestrand.substack.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Sophie Strand</a>Sophie Strand is a poet and writer with a focus on the history of religion and the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous projects and publications, including the Dark Mountain Project and poetry.org and the magazines Unearthed, Braided Way, Art PAPERS, and Entropy. She lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.&gt;﻿&gt;&gt;Join our mycelial network: <ul><li>Sign up for our <a href="https://aarontupac.substack.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Substack email newsletter.</a></li><li>Follow Exploring the Mycoverse on<a href="https://instagram.com/mycoverse_?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> Instagram</a>.<a href="https://www.instagram.com/exploring_the_mycoverse/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a></li></ul>

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Exploring the Mycoverse: Queer Ecological Storytelling & The Flowering Wand

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Exploring the Mycoverse: Queer Ecological Storytelling & The Flowering Wand

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