Why Stand Up For the Gods? What’s this all about?
We’re here to talk about the intersection of myth, religion, psychology, and the occult — and the practical implications these topics can have for all of us. Whether you see them as myth, metaphor, spirit, psyche, or symbol, the gods play a role in our lives and in our world — maybe now more than ever.
Our culture puts a hyper-focus on rationality, logic, science, and individualism — all of which are excellent, but they’re not complete. As we move away from the medieval Christian worldview, we’ve over-corrected so hard that we fail to realize that myth and symbol are absolutely inseparable from human pursuit: art, literature, psychology, philosophy, music, and yes, even the sciences have been intertwined with this stuff, from the very beginning.
What we get wrong is the literalization of symbols and rituals. We think that the ancients believed that a bearded dude named Zeus shot lightning at their enemies if they prayed hard enough, and we chuckle at their primitive assumptions. But we have heaps of evidence that demonstrate that this just wasn’t what they believed — and the truth was far subtler, far more compelling. We’ll dive into the specifics over time, but whether you’re an atheist, a scientist, or a priest, there’s much to gain from a thoughtful, open-minded examination of these topics. We’ll focus on actionable, practical approaches to making life a little better through an engagement with these topics, regardless of what perspective you’re coming from.
Scientific rationalism and the march of progress have brought us far, and we absolutely should not reject these things; but we live in an aching world, one where meaning is drained from our lives just as the life-blood is drained from the earth. We’re expected to conform to one-size-fits-all boxes — school, work, family, politics, even social platforms like these that promised to showcase our individuality — and then we watch idly as rates of depression, mental illness, and suicide climb exponentially. Our individual will becomes a sacrifice to the gods of society, of comfort, of… algorithms. I’m not a radical: society is good! I like my comfortable home! I wrote this on a laptop! But balance and meaning are missing, and the consequences are becoming clearer by the day.
The sun god Apollo represents the light of consciousness, rationality, and progress — but when Apollo goes too far, he’s symbolically equivalent to the worst aspects of Lucifer: Milton’s Paradise Lost is basically one big metaphor for the rampaging intellect severing connection to meaning. When Saturn — the binding god of boundaries, order, and cycles — loses control, he becomes the devouring father, trapping his children and stopping all progress. Even wise Athena, when taken to an extreme, sees only Medusa in her reflection. These examples are just “scratching the surface of the tip of the iceberg”: myths are not just quaint stories. When you dig deep enough, they contain useful wisdom and, crucially, important warnings. Dismissing them leaves us vulnerable, and the price we pay is the erosion of meaning — or worse. Whether you look at this spiritually or metaphorically, we desperately need to bring a little more balance back to our lives — to give all the gods a seat at the table.
If you believe that we live in a strictly material universe filled with dead matter, welcome.
If you believe that the gods are not outside, but within us — aspects of our complex psyches, welcome.
If you believe the gods are real spirits with power over the world, always watching us, welcome.
If you just like story, myth, and metaphor, welcome.
And if you don’t know what you think, welcome, welcome, welcome!
Whatever you do believe, stand up! Let’s talk about what it means. Everyone, no matter their position, has thought about these things in some way, shape, or form — but it’s becoming increasingly less acceptable to discuss it openly. Reject that — stand up for the gods!
Thanks for reading, and for joining us on this journey! ⚡️
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What we do:
- we write about mythology, psychology, the occult, and beyond
- we dig into the way myth, symbol, and metaphor can make a real, practical impact in our daily lives — grounded in psychological inquiry
- we design cool shit to remind us that “hey, life is pretty magical”
- we teach and talk about why all this stuff is worth pursuing — whether you’re an atheist, agnostic, or anything else
- we also designed the Panopticon Symbolic Oracle — a tarot deck for the rest of us. It focuses on using symbolism in a practical way for psychological self-inquiry — https://panopticon.cc
There are thousands of years of topics to cover, and we’re just getting started — stay tuned for articles, books, and courses like these:
- Esoteric Norse Mythology
- Know Thyself: A Practical Framework for Self Inquiry
- Panopticon: Symbolic Oracle Deck — Pre-order now! https://standupforthegods.com
- Why Tarot works, regardless of what you believe
- Biblical Mythology: Meaning, Symbol, and Psychology — A Comparative Psychological Approach
- Greco-Roman Mythology and Symbolism in Modern Culture
- Bound By the Gods: Myth, Meaning, and Satan — Better Living Through a New Understanding of the Adversary
- The ABCs of Myth: Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite, and More Mesopotamian Mythology
- Carl Jung For the Rest of Us
- Jupiter’s Bounty: The Depth of Meaning in Mythology
- The Art and Science of Magic and Will
- As Above, So Below: Astrology, Alchemy, and Psychology
- Why Ritual Works for Atheists
- Tonos: Polarity and Difference in Degree
- Stand-up For the Gods: Jokes and Stories for the Mythology Nerd in Your Life
- How and Why to Read the Tarot Psychologically
- Joey Campbell’s Big Adventure
- The Panopticon: Tarot, Symbols, Myth, and Meaning — A Reference Guide for Tarot and Symbolism
- Structure and Ritual: An Agnostic Handbook of Ritual Practice
- The Seven: Daily Reflection and Ritual
- Occult Daily Wisdom
We’re also preparing to launch the Stand Up For the Gods! podcast —since you read this far, reach out if you’re interested in collaborating!
—Thanks for reading! John D. Selig is writing and making stuff that lives at the intersection of myth, psychology, and the occult. Follow at @standupforthegods