I've been revisiting Ursula K. Le Guin's brilliant essay "The Child and the Shadow". Le Guin was defending fantasy against the sterile modernism of her era—but what happens when that defence needs to evolve? We're no longer fighting a battle between "good" and "bad" fantasy. Instead, we're caught in something potentially more insidious: the tension between authentic imagination and the ersatz.

From the disaster of Rings of Power to the destruction of Star Wars, from AI-generated Jung content flooding YouTube to the Soviet-style creative orthodoxy dominating our cultural institutions—we're witnessing the systematic neutering of the imaginal. But here's the thing: they can't actually touch the real. They break upon authentic creativity like waves upon rock.

Through Le Guin's profound analysis of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Shadow" and Jung's psychology, I explore why confronting our shadow isn't just personal development—it's the key to understanding why authentic fantasy endures while corporate imitations crumble. Plus, I reveal how Bulgakov got there first in The Master and Margarita, showing us exactly what happens when the vital imaginal meets bureaucratic control.

This isn't just about books or movies. It's about the difference between surface-level engagement and the depths where real creativity lives.

Chapter Timestamps:

0:00 - Opening: The Shift from Good vs. Bad to Ersatz vs. Genuine
3:45 - Le Guin's Defence of Fantasy in the Modern Era
8:20 - The Rings of Power Problem: When Creators Think They're Fans
12:15 - AI Jung Slop and the Corruption of the Imaginal
16:30 - Bulgakov's Prophecy: The Master and Margarita's Cultural Critique
22:10 - Reading "The Child and the Shadow": Andersen's Dark Fairy Tale
28:45 - Jung's Psychology: Ego, Shadow, and the Collective Unconscious
35:20 - The Ethics of Fairy Tales: Why Gretel Can Push the Witch
42:15 - Tolkien's True Complexity: Frodo, Sam, and Gollum as Psychic Journey
48:30 - Why Fantasy is the Language of Moral Truth
52:40 - The Problem with "Realistic" Children's Literature
57:25 - Luke in the Cave: Star Wars as Genuine Imaginal Work
60:10 - Closing Thoughts and Shadow Project Tease

Last night I got halfway through a Substack post on a related issue to some of the subjects that came up on my appearance on the Disintegrator podcast. When I went to link to it, it suddenly dawned on me I had only shared it on the Rune Soup Premium Members Mighty Network. (Join below.)

So here it is! We recorded this soon after my arrival in Paraguay, so I think it was early February. It’s an excellent discussion, so I’m pulling an Alex Hormozi and sharing it with my own listeners. (Sub to Disintegrator, too.)

Here is why AI thinks you should listen:

In this high-energy episode I sit down with Marek and Roberto to talk about why barrels are meant for rolling and why reality is much bigger than the academic cubicles that try to contain it. We start with the ancient tale of the Watchers (the OG tech-bros from the Book of Enoch) and use it to kick open a door marked Technology, Magic & the Human Experiment. From there we dive straight into animism, the “community-of-beings” cosmos, and why a living universe renders most hand-wringing over “anthropocentrism” moot unless you’re prepared to vault clean out of the academy’s marble-floored worldview.

What you’ll hear me unpack

• Barrel-Rolling Out of Academia – how to exit the cathedral politely, become “invincible,” and treat academic credentials like LinkedIn endorsements in a living cosmos.

• Markets, Magic & Capitalism – capitalism viewed as a resonant tool of a larger Ahrimanic being; why the market is archetypal, but turning it up to 120 % comes with karmic interest.

• Mineral Intelligence & AI – awakening the silica, ayahuasca visions of stones teaching in a galactic lecture hall, and why “artificial” intelligence might be a mis-nomer in an ensouled universe.

• Comparative ≠ Colonial – embracing perspectivism (à la Viveiros de Castro) as the clean way to decolonise knowledge without the usual Protestant guilt trip.

• Astrology & World Politics – the U.S. Pluto/Uranus returns, fourth-turning turbulence, and the astrological case for an amicable national “divorce” over a civil war redux.

• Practical Magic – why Ouija boards, jungle dieta, and good old-fashioned ghost stories still outperform peer-reviewed PDFs when it comes to proving the universe is alive.

Join the world's leading online magical training community, Rune Soup, here.

Magical objects aren’t just forged—they’re found. In this solo episode, I explore the secret life of enchanted tools: the knife with a story, the crystal touched by a world-mountain, the wand bought in a witch town that still summons fairy queens.

What gives an object its power? Sometimes it’s planetary timing and whispered invocations—but sometimes it’s stranger tales than that. This is a medium salsa reflection on self-initiation, storycraft, and the agency of objects that choose you.

Note: Here’s a link to the YouTube video about self-initiation I mention in this episode.

1. Who Chose Whom?

   Opening questions on agency, destiny, and magical initiation.

2. What Makes an Object Magical?

   Beyond grimoires—why backstories matter as much as consecrations.

3. Salsa Scale and Self-Initiation

   How this podcast fits into your current content taxonomy.

4. Denethor, Pippin, and the Agentic Object

   Tolkien’s Anglo-Saxon worldview and the power of mythic artifacts.

5. Crystals in the Andes

   Live tale-weaving on sacred mountains and magical stones.

6. The Library Angel & YouTube Algorithms

   Synchronicity, digital spellwork, and unexpected transmissions.

7. Strange Tales and Warped Realities

   How magical items—and magical people—bend the world around them.

8. Grimoires vs. Found Objects

   Cutting Hawthorn at dawn vs. fairy queen summoning from a witch-town wand.

9. Your Life Already Has Strange Tales

   Suburban magic, Red Cross births, and the imperative to gather and weave.