The turn of the calendar is associated with new beginnings as we cross a numerical threshold that symbolizes a fresh start. We set goals and try cramming all our life’s ambitions into the next twelve months making the labors of Hercules seem like a to do list (for January, I’ll try to muck the stables of King Augeas and in February, figure out how to kill the nine-headed serpent). For a time, we are vigilant but there are no straight lines in nature so we soon re-learn that the key to survival, creativity, and tackling mythic tasks is adapting as new challenges enter our paths with experience guiding us. By spring (if not earlier), we soon realize that we must become shapeshifters with our goals and achievements, allowing new forms to emerge.
...there are no straight lines in nature so we soon re-learn that the key to survival, creativity, and tackling mythic tasks is adapting as new challenges enter our paths with experience guiding us.
Proteus, the old man of the sea who tends Poseidon’s flock of seals, is a shapeshifter who can foresee the future. In Metamorphoses, Ovid writes:
But there are some / who have the power to take on many forms: / and Proteus, you who live within the sea / that clasps the earth, indeed are one of these. / For men have seen you as a youth, a lion; / you’ve been a raging boar; you’ve been a serpent / men fear to touch; at times you have won horns, / become a bull; you’ve often seemed a stone / or seemed a plant; sometimes you’ve had the guise / of flowing water, seemed a stream; at times / you’ve been fire, water’s opposite. (277)
Both Homer and Ovid write about the need for a seeker of truth to hold on to Proteus, through all his bodily changes if one wants to get to the truth of a question. The tricky part is to cling to Proteus’ various shapes until he stops at the fixed form of man. If successful, the shapeshifter is forced to answer the seeker’s specific questions, which is done through prophecy.
At ISM, we wrestled with changes in form as we officially launched in March of 2024 and tackled some of the Herculean tasks of starting a new business. While we had labors of initiation, they were labors of love. No mythical monsters have been killed (so far) to prove our mettle. Instead, we asked for Hermes’ help when creating a website, newsletter, blog, video recordings, and a special zoom portal for the Mythologium. Hestia blessed us as we hosted dynamic speakers engaged with the community graciously sharing their mythic insights and inspirations. A council of the gods/goddesses guided and informed the shape of the Mythologium myth conference as beautiful art, poetry, and stories were unveiled, with knowledge about everything from the power of animals and nature to prophecies about artificial intelligence’s impact and everything in between.
One of the many lessons of mythology is that change is how we adapt and survive. We, at ISM, always welcome feedback from the community and will continually aim to provide a space that fills these needs. From what we have heard, networking, connection, inspiration, and collaboration top the list. As we move forward into 2025, new goals are coming into focus as we work to provide some additional offerings and/or tweak what we did in 2024. Some of our priorities include holding a monthly PNC (Professional Networking & Conversation) during the day so our international members can be included; offering classes and workshops taught by professionals and ISM members; host two mini-myth conference days (April and November); an active Discord Channel (this was popular during the Mythologium); a women’s support group; and a literary journal. These are just some of the many ideas we are tackling.
One of the many lessons of mythology is that change is how we adapt and survive.
Every one of these efforts takes an enormous amount of energy as it is organized and shaped by the ISM staff on a volunteer basis while we juggle full time jobs and other commitments. The ISM membership fees cover our costs but not our time. We do this as a labor of love while we take steps for ISM to be a self-sustaining organization. As with all new goals and startups, there is a time of initiation as we shape shift and adapt while the vision becomes clearer. The support from the mythological community has been invaluable in helping bring these visions to fruition. We are inspired by how each of you is incorporating this material into the world. As Hercules has shown us, it takes a lot of work to achieve one's goals, and as Proteus illustrates, there are many forms needed to achieve stability. We thank all of our ISM members and those who support our mission. We plan for 2025 to be another stellar year as we step into the mythic truth.
2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
ISM Hosted 11 Monthly Speakers and over 40 speakers at the Mythologium Myth Conference in 2024. This included:
Dennis Slattery. Prejudices, Assumptions and the Facts that Shape Them.
Maryam Sayyad. UFO as Myth and Reality.
Chris Downing and Emily Lord Kambitsch. Ovid and the Other.
Glen Slater. Depth Psychology and Mythology in a Posthuman Age.
Jody Bower Possession, It’s Not What You Think. Physical, Religious, Cultural, and Psychological Aspects of Posssession.
Craig Chalquist. Mythopoetics of Enchantment: Fiction and Imagination for Lasting Change.
John Bucher. Beyonce and the Mythology of Cowboy Carter.
Kwame Scruggs Transforming Lives through Myth: The Simplicity of it all.
Robert A. Ryan aka Mato Topa. Lakota Creation Story: An Oral Tradition.
Egyptologist Edmund Meltzer: The Eternal Feminine Draws us above.
The Mythologium with keynote speakers Michael Meade and Devdutt Pattanaik, panels by the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM), the Fates & Graces, and many panels with nearly 40 presentations.
Dylan Odhner. Batman/ Dionysus, Superman/Apollo: Nietzsche Dichotomy in modern media.
In addition we had 9 Professional Networking Sessions, with mythologists leading discussions in music and myth (Charlotte Moroz), Dungeons and Dragons (Jason Batt), Mythos vs Logos (Nathan Hogan), and how to create workshops (Liz Andres) among other topics. We launched our Mythological Times Blog and hosted several Mythology Trivia nights which was a lot of fun.
2025: Looking Ahead
We can’t wait to see what 2025 brings. Check out our ISM Events page to see how the year is already shaping up. This includes:
January 14th PNC at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET (Professional Networking & Conversations for ISM Members).
NOTE: We expect to announce a second PNC for January that will occur at 9am PT/Noon ET to allow more international attendance. Stay tuned for this date.
Professional Speaker Series (Tuesday nights, 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET). All talks are recorded.
January 28th: Gail Nyoka: Origin Stories From Ghana’s Volta Region
February 25th: Michael Bazzeth: The Popol Vuh: Echoes, Resonances and Relationships with Lands.
March 25th: Joan Chichon. Uses of Mythology in Understanding Ancient Cultures.
April 26th: Mini Myth Conference. Details to be Announced
May 20th: Moyia McTieer. Explore Myth And The Universe with Moyia McTier, Astrophysicist and Folklorist.
June 17th: Monica Mody: Technology and Being Human: Building Indigenous and Decolonial Epistemologies.
The Mythological Times is dedicated to showcasing the voices of our community. The opinions expressed in each Mythological Times blog post are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the International Society of Myth.
Subscribe to our blog, The Mythological Times, to read insights about mythologies from different disciplines, cultures, and perspectives. We anticipate featuring different writers each week. If you are an ISM member and would like to contribute to our blogs, please contact us at Info@ISMythology.com with a 250-word abstract.
Works Cited
Ovid. Metamorphoses. The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, A Harvest Book, 1993.
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