390 - Genesis: Symbolism in the Creation Story

The Symbolic World

Jonathan Pageau

Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 824 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2025

⏱️ 117 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is a talk I did a few years ago for the Jung Society of Montreal. In it I explore the creation story in Genesis not just as myth, but as a fractal map of how identity, being, and purpose function. In breaking down the symbolism I also make a case for why intelligence isn’t an accident, why rituals matter, and why participation of intelligent beings is foundational to reality. In the Q&A section we touch on group identity, exclusion, dreams, and the meaning of the Last Judgment among other topics. I hope this lecture gives you a sense of the tone and depth of our upcoming Symbolism Masterclass. If you want to learn more, register today.
https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/symbolism-masterclass

SYMBOLISM MASTERCLASS
Join me this April for the Symbolism Masterclass, a 6-week deep dive into the essentials of symbolic thinking. Over 18 immersive hours, I'll guide you through the framework behind everything I've explored in 500+ videos—from heaven and earth to dragons, fairies, kings, conspiracies, Darwin, the Bible, and beyond.
🗓 Dates: Live classes every Wednesday at 1-4 PM Central / 2-5 PM Eastern time: 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14, 5/21, 5/28
⏰ Class Length: 3 hours each session
💰 Cost: $175 (Patrons at the Involved tier or higher qualify for 10% off)

Join us for the ORTHODOX ARTS FESTIVAL, learn more here: https://www.orthodoxartsfestivaldfw.com/

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/YArpxigY5xY?si=QrMqUuJixHQ3DnXy
Original video published by Jordan Peterson: https://youtu.be/ZQ43i5nKuZk?si=XB-bgj9VMc0NxBdT

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:01 - Intro music
02:26 - Observing the observer
08:06 - Ritual and a return to ancient thinking
13:58 - Ritual in groups
21:34 - The argument
27:49 - The start of Genesis
36:39 - And God said
42:06 - Vegetation
44:30 - The sun, moon, and stars
45:49 - Creatures of the sea
49:32 - Animals
51:57 - The creation of man
56:28 - Genesis 2
59:43 - The center of the world
06:42 - Iconographic examples
12:39 - Questions from JBP
18:22 - Q: Elaborate on what you mean with "above" and "below"
20:15 - Q: Are people who try to tame wild animals violating the pattern you pointed out?
21:51 - Q: How sure are you of the heaven and earth distinction?
25:36 - Q: What's the meaning of when God says man is very good and everything else good?
30:03 - Comment about Jung
31:24 - Q: How did Darwin bring Plato back?
37:03 - Q: How would you work with exclusion / inclusion patterns in these times?
48:51 - Q: What's the intelligence of dreams?
51:45 - Q: If the teleological patterns of being constitute heaven, what is the abode of the human soul?

💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe \
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

Transcript

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0:00.0	A few years ago, I was invited by the Jung Society of Montreal to give a talk.
0:05.9	I was a little overwhelmed, of course, because, you know, people know that I'm not that big of a fan of Jung,
0:13.1	but also I know that many of the people that read Jung are quite intelligent and do have a good
0:18.4	sense of symbolism.
0:20.0	You know, the reasons why I struggle with Jung,
0:22.7	sometimes he does have good insight. That's not the reason why I struggle with him. Anyways. And so I
0:28.3	accepted to do it and I thought I'm going to really try to up my game and I'm going to try to
0:32.6	pull the story of Genesis together into a symbolic description, made a lot of effort to bring it together.
0:40.5	And it turned out to be one of my more successful lectures, I believe.
0:44.6	And in fact, it's already been posted online on Jordan Peterson's channel.
0:48.1	And it's the only video I've done that it's just me talking that has more than a million
0:53.0	views.
0:53.6	And so I think that I did hit the nail somewhere.
0:56.5	Interestingly enough, in this video,
0:59.2	I didn't know that Jordan Peterson was actually going to be in the audience.
1:03.5	And, you know, I had the Zoom in front of me with all the different people,
1:06.8	and I'm giving my lecture.
1:08.2	And at some point, I see that Tammy Peterson is there.
1:11.4	And I'm like, oh, Tammy's there.
1:12.9	And then all of a sudden, I see Jordan appear in the Tammy Peterson window.
1:16.2	And I was like, oh, that's hilarious.
1:17.8	And it was at a time when he was still kind of coming back from his disease.
	...

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