Six Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
Mondays, September 28 - November 2, 2026
7:00 - 8:00pm ET (NYC Time)
$150 Paid Patreon Members / $170 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Mythology, psychology, anthropology, religious studies, literature, and ritual all ask enduring questions about how human beings create meaning. This course will bring these conversations together through stories, symbols, dreams, ritual, and the living world, revealing the patterns that emerge when they are considered in relationship.
Across six weeks, we will explore recurring mythic patterns, the language of symbols, the role of ritual, and the ways human beings have cultivated meaning across cultures and throughout history. We will consider how dreams, storytelling, seasonal practices, and ritual can deepen our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world, and endeavor to cultivate thoughtful and somatic attention, symbolic awareness, and contemplative practices.
Each class will begin with a brief ritual that marks our transition into shared symbolic space. We may light a candle, take a collective breath, reflect on a poem, or simply sit together in silence before moving into lecture and discussion. These simple practices create a rhythm for the course while inviting us to experience one of its central insights: sacredness is cultivated through the meaning, attention, respect, and devotion we bring to our lives.
Every human life unfolds within a web of meaning. We inherit stories. We dream symbols. We encounter meaningful coincidences. We gather in circles, create rituals, fall in love, grieve, and search for purpose. Together, these experiences invite us into relationship—with ourselves, with one another, with the natural world, and with the mysteries that shape our lives.
This course offers an opportunity to recognize the hidden patterns connecting story, symbol, ritual, and lived experience. Together, we will cultivate a richer relationship with the web of meaning that surrounds us.
Suggested Ritual Items (Optional)
To support our opening contemplative rituals, you are warmly invited to gather any of the following items before each class. These are entirely optional. Meaning is created through your presence and attention—not through the objects themselves.
- A candle (real or LED)
- Matches or a lighter
- A small bowl of water
- A stone, crystal, shell, feather, or other natural object
- A journal and pen
- A favorite poem or meaningful passage
- A meaningful object from your home or travels
- A small seasonal item (flower, leaf, acorn, branch, seed, etc.)
- A cup of tea or another comforting beverage
Each week, you may also be invited to bring an object related to that evening's theme—a photograph, a symbol from a recent dream, something discovered on a walk, or another item that has quietly asked for your attention.
Dr. Selena Madden is a mythologist, educator, and ritualist whose work bridges movement, myth, and depth psychology. With reverence for ancient wisdom and symbolic ritual, Selena facilitates journeys inviting participants to embody archetypal energies, rediscover their inner landscape, and reclaim the luminous threads of their own mythic stories.
Images: Boreas, ca. 1903, John William Waterhouse; Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, ca. 1909, John William Waterhouse;The Soul of the Rose, ca. 1908, John William Waterhouse.
Six Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
Mondays, September 28 - November 2, 2026
7:00 - 8:00pm ET (NYC Time)
$150 Paid Patreon Members / $170 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Mythology, psychology, anthropology, religious studies, literature, and ritual all ask enduring questions about how human beings create meaning. This course will bring these conversations together through stories, symbols, dreams, ritual, and the living world, revealing the patterns that emerge when they are considered in relationship.
Across six weeks, we will explore recurring mythic patterns, the language of symbols, the role of ritual, and the ways human beings have cultivated meaning across cultures and throughout history. We will consider how dreams, storytelling, seasonal practices, and ritual can deepen our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world, and endeavor to cultivate thoughtful and somatic attention, symbolic awareness, and contemplative practices.
Each class will begin with a brief ritual that marks our transition into shared symbolic space. We may light a candle, take a collective breath, reflect on a poem, or simply sit together in silence before moving into lecture and discussion. These simple practices create a rhythm for the course while inviting us to experience one of its central insights: sacredness is cultivated through the meaning, attention, respect, and devotion we bring to our lives.
Every human life unfolds within a web of meaning. We inherit stories. We dream symbols. We encounter meaningful coincidences. We gather in circles, create rituals, fall in love, grieve, and search for purpose. Together, these experiences invite us into relationship—with ourselves, with one another, with the natural world, and with the mysteries that shape our lives.
This course offers an opportunity to recognize the hidden patterns connecting story, symbol, ritual, and lived experience. Together, we will cultivate a richer relationship with the web of meaning that surrounds us.
Suggested Ritual Items (Optional)
To support our opening contemplative rituals, you are warmly invited to gather any of the following items before each class. These are entirely optional. Meaning is created through your presence and attention—not through the objects themselves.
- A candle (real or LED)
- Matches or a lighter
- A small bowl of water
- A stone, crystal, shell, feather, or other natural object
- A journal and pen
- A favorite poem or meaningful passage
- A meaningful object from your home or travels
- A small seasonal item (flower, leaf, acorn, branch, seed, etc.)
- A cup of tea or another comforting beverage
Each week, you may also be invited to bring an object related to that evening's theme—a photograph, a symbol from a recent dream, something discovered on a walk, or another item that has quietly asked for your attention.
Dr. Selena Madden is a mythologist, educator, and ritualist whose work bridges movement, myth, and depth psychology. With reverence for ancient wisdom and symbolic ritual, Selena facilitates journeys inviting participants to embody archetypal energies, rediscover their inner landscape, and reclaim the luminous threads of their own mythic stories.
Images: Boreas, ca. 1903, John William Waterhouse; Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, ca. 1909, John William Waterhouse;The Soul of the Rose, ca. 1908, John William Waterhouse.
