Sophie’s talk is called “Myth and Mycelium”
I have been thinking of myths as the “fruiting body mushrooms” of underground mycelial mythic systems. I have come to the conclusion that you can only understand a myth in its particular ecosystem. Just like mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of underground mycelial systems, so are myths the particular above-ground mushrooms of a specific ecology. We can think of mythologems and mythic figures as being like the giant (perhaps 7,000-year-old) honey fungus in Oregon. It stretches for miles underground and fruits up as mushrooms that superficially look like individuals.
The cattle cults that spread across the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age are like the honey fungus. Orpheus and the Orphic hymns are now treated more as a title than a specific mythic figure. Lyric prophets stepped into the role of Orpheus. Perhaps my favorite example is Dionysus. Dionysus “fruits” up across the Mediterranean, in different cities, often looking different, offering a variety of fermented beverages as suited to the different ecologies. But the real Dionysus is the mycorrhizal system of vegetal gods underground, weaving a net that is ready to pop up and proliferate wherever nature-based, ecstatic wisdom is needed.
About Sophie
Sophie Strand is a writer based in the Hudson Valley who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Her first book of essays The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine will be published by Inner Traditions in Fall 2022 and is available for pre-order. Her eco-feminist, historical fiction reimagining of the gospels The Madonna Secret will also be published by Inner Traditions in Spring 2023. Subscribe for her newsletter at sophiestrand.substack.com, and follow her work on Instagram (@cosmogyny) and at www.sophiestrand.com.
To hear Sophie’s talk and many others, join us at the Mythologium!
The Mythologium is a conference and retreat for mythologists and friends of myth, held July 29 – 31 via Zoom in the Pacific time zone. Join us to rekindle your mythic spark!