EP 243: Eating the Shadow – Mythopoetic Men’s Work, the Lover Archetype, and Repair in a Villageless World with Ian MacKenzie

In this episode, Kimberly speaks with Ian MacKenzie, filmmaker, writer, mythosomatic guide, and host of The Mythic Masculine, about what men’s work looks like in 2026. A fellow Orphan Wisdom scholar, Ian traces the mythopoetic lineage back through Robert Bly’s Iron John, Carl Jung, and Marie-Louise von Franz, and describes how discovering Bly’s book in his late grandfather’s study set him on this path alongside his film work on feminine archetypes (Amplify Her). They talk candidly about the cultural moment — the “Rape Academy,” the Pelicot case, the question of where the men are, and why the issues that feel omnipresent in some circles remain invisible in others curated by algorithm. Ian unpacks the medicine of mythopoetic men’s spaces: how men can “put down the masculine pole” when others hold the container, why porn functions as a “toxic mimic” of intimacy, and how the shadow we exile grows hostile and acts out. They explore the lover archetype and erotic rites of passage rooted in his time at the Tamera community in Portugal, the “road of ashes” and why real men’s spaces are composed of “failed heroes,” and how to tend rites of passage for our own children by building real relationships with other men long before adolescence. The conversation closes on accountability and repair in a “villageless” culture, erotic leadership, and the inaugural Cascadia Men’s Conference.

 

Bio

Ian MacKenzie is a filmmaker, mythosomatic guide, and the founder of The Mythic Masculine - a platform devoted to stewarding the soul work of men. For two decades, Ian has tracked the emergence of imaginal culture - from the fires of Burning Man to the streets of Occupy Wall St - amplifying the voices of visionaries, artists, and wisdom keepers working toward a more regenerative world. A 15-year scholar of the Orphan Wisdom School, and a four-time pilgrim to the Tamera peace research community in Portugal, he has dedicated himself to expanding the terrain of what men's inner work can be: weaving ritual, ancestral story, and somatic reclamation into a living path toward sovereign purpose. He is the co-founder of The Deep Masculine Journey, a 12-week initiatory program for men, and the host of The Mythic Masculine podcast. His films include Sacred Economics, Occupy Love, Amplify Her, and The Village of Lovers. He lives on Vancouver Island with his partner and son.

 

What He Shares

• The mythopoetic lineage of Bly’s Iron John, Jung, von Franz and finding the book in his grandfather’s study in his mid-30s

• How exploring feminine archetypes through Amplify Her opened the question of masculinity for him

• Why the “where are the men” moment is so confusing for men who want to speak but fear getting it wrong

• The “hungry ghost” pattern: what happens when men locate all their Eros and vitality in women

• Porn as a “toxic mimic” (Caroline Casey’s phrase) of real intimacy and reciprocity

• “Putting down the masculine pole” how men can finally fall apart when others hold the container

• “Eating the shadow” creating space for men to reveal trespass and explore real repair

• Erotic rites of passage and the lover archetype, drawn from his time at Tamera

• The “road of ashes,” failed heroes, and the difference between olders and elders

• Tending rites of passage for our kids and why a parent is “disqualified” from leading their own child’s

• Accountability and repair in a villageless culture, and the vision behind the Cascadia Men’s Conference

 

What You’ll Hear

• What “the mythic masculine” means and where the mythopoetic tradition comes from

• Whether the erotic is “feminine”  anima, animus, and locating aliveness inside vs. outside

• How algorithmic bubbles make the same cultural crisis omnipresent for some and invisible for others

• The critique of men’s work as apolitical self-improvement  and the Mankind Project’s stance

• Dyads, Forum, and psychodrama as practices for meeting the shadow

• The “dogs in the basement” story. Shadow, ancestors, and what we exile

• What an erotic rite of passage weekend actually looks like, and the core wound it surfaces

• A hard, honest exchange about campus assault and what real accountability could look like

• Erotic leadership, deep attunement, and meeting a partner stepping into her own fullness

• Details on the Cascadia Men’s Conference “Courting the Divine Spark”

Resources:

Main Website: http://themythicmasculine.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianalexanderm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ian.mackenz/