We begin with reflections on what’s left out of current conversations around the Odyssey after Christopher Nolan’s reboot. Is it possible to see the good news in the groundwater of contemporary discourse? How might we adopt a position of hanging back, looking as if to see, letting the message behind the messaging come through? These questions lead us into Cameron’s backstory as an investigative crime reporter receiving messages from and writing poetry alongside the dead in the Deep South of the United States. People enjoy quoting the imminently quotable Simone Weil these days — “attention is the purest form of devotion” and “to know truth is to accept death” — but what does the mystic really mean with these statements? How does proximity to death trick us, even when we’re apparently seeing beyond it, never mind accepting it? What’s the difference between performing bravado — an apparently unflinching devotion to the facts of life, in the face of death — and a strength that comes precisely from a recognition of one’s humility and madness? What’s the difference between turning a tarot card over in an attempt to know and reading the cards as part of the mystery of love? Can you honestly tell when you’re doing one thing or the other? Can you know which voice is speaking to you in the dark? We explore these questions and more in a pursuit of a “higher order of relationship altogether.”
Mentioned in the show:
The Odyssey by Homer
The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds
"Sing for Our Time Too! The Divine Song of the Odyssey" by Mark Vernon
The Red Book: Liber Secundus, Chapter Three, "One of the Lowly" by CG Jung
Magick Without Tears by Aleister Crowley, edited by Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford
Gravity and Grace by Simone Weil
The Creative Tarot by Jessa Crispin
"What is Spiritual Development For?" Episode 241 of Conner Habib's podcast Against Everything With Conner Habib, with guests Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford
Duncan Barford's work and books, all found at Occult Experiments in the Home
Alan Chapman's Magia
Cameron's writing on her newsletter "interruptions"
Cameron's new book Interruption: Divinatory Essays on Illness and Narrative, published by Sul Books next week
The title of this episode comes from Cristina Campo's wonderful essay collection The Unforgivable
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