Jonathan PageauEducation
Jonathan PageauEducation
Jonathan PageauEducation
Jonathan PageauEducation

About

Jonathan Pageau looks at symbolism in all its forms, from its source in sacred stories and images to contemporary culture and ultimately how it shapes the world we encounter.

  • 461 - Rachel Wilson - Feminism Is the Political Arm of Witchcraft
    In this conversation with Rachel Wilson, we discuss the strange inversion at the heart of modern feminism, its occult and anti-Christian roots, and the way it has turned women against motherhood, marriage, the family, and even the feminine itself. We...
  • 460 - Dn. Seraphim Rohlin - Universal History: The Origin of the Nephilim
    In this conversation with Deacon Seraphim Rohlin, we continue our exploration of Genesis through the Syrian tradition, looking especially at Seth (Adam and Eve’s son after Cain and Abel), the Nephilim, and the fall of the sons of God. What begins as a...
  • 459 - The Future Belongs to Humans (Ottawa talk)
    This is a talk I presented at Chesterton Academy of Ottawa earlier this year. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/ETaRAauDxS0 Buy Little Red Riding Hood now during the month of June and get the audiobook with for free:...
  • 458 - What's at stake with The Odyssey (2026) by Christopher Nolan
    There’s a lot of expectation and noise around Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie, The Odyssey (2026). For decades after WW2 we were unable to tell many stories about kingship and fatherhood. As we move through the turbulent end of the WW2 consensus,...
  • 457 - Backrooms (2026): A Strange Return to Normal
    Backrooms (2026) is a recent horror/thriller film based on a creepypasta —an internet urban legend— that emerged around the time of the Covid lockdowns. A man discovers an infinite, labyrinthine expanse of "backrooms" that becomes increasingly...
  • 456 - Gavin Ortlund - Who Can Be Saved?
    I had a discussion with Gavin Ortlund about the Orthodox Church's position on salvation outside the church. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/RtC8ENpbOW4 Buy Little Red Riding Hood now during the month of June and get the audiobook with for free:...
  • 455 - Disclosure Day: The Last Boomer Propaganda Movie
    I went to see Spielberg’s Disclosure Day and found myself watching a strange, late-stage piece of boomer propaganda about aliens, media, religion, and who we are supposed to trust. Here are my thoughts on the symbolism of the film. Watch on YouTube:...
  • 454 - The Enemy Who Pretends to Be Your Friend
    We often think of enemies as those who attack us openly, but fairy tales also warn us about another kind of enemy: the one who comes close, pretends to be our friend, and destroys from within. I also discuss how this pattern appears in Scripture,...
  • 453 - Seraphim Hamilton - Isaiah: The Fifth Gospel
    I’m joined again by Seraphim Hamilton to discuss his upcoming Symbolic World course on Isaiah, beginning June 15th. We talk about why Isaiah is central for understanding Christ in the Old Testament, the relationship between prophecy, exile, the...
  • 452 - Hillsdale talk - Mythological Thinking: The Crossroads of Psychology and Theology
    This is a talk I did at Hillsdale College in March 2026. In this talk, I explore mythological thinking as a way of understanding how facts become meaningful. Facts do not present themselves to us neutrally. They are always organized by care,...
  • 451 - Universal History: What Really Happened in Eden - Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin
    A telling of the events in Genesis that you might never have heard before. In this episode of Universal History, Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I return to Genesis through the Syriac tradition, especially the Cave of Treasures. This is the groundwork for...
  • 450 - An Exploration of Modern Dysfunction: What Pluribus is Actually About
    In this video, I look at the symbolism of the recent TV show, Pluribus. There's a lot of speculation about whether it's an allegory for AI, the internet, totalitarianism, or resisting tyranny. But I would argue that it's not allegorical at all, rather...
  • 449 - Decapitation Symbolism: The Glory of Losing Your Head
    In this video, I explore the symbolism of decapitation in the Bible and Christian tradition. Beginning with Joseph’s interpretation of the baker and cupbearer in Genesis, we trace a pattern of “lifting up the head” through Scripture, martyrdom, the...
  • 448 - Fr. Josiah Trenham - How to Integrate Faith, Family, and Nation
    I sat down with Fr. Josiah Trenham to talk about something that’s becoming harder to ignore: how to properly order your loyalties. We discussed the tension between faith, nation, family, and personal identity, and what happens when those come into...
  • 447 - Annie Crawford - The Cosmic Alchemy of That Hideous Strength
    In this conversation with Annie Crawford, we explore the role of alchemy in C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength. While alchemy is often dismissed as occult or irrelevant, Lewis uses its symbolism in a precise and meaningful way. We look at how the...
  • 446 - Universal History: How Kabbalah Shaped America: the Land of the End
    This is the final episode of our Universal History series on the American Religion. Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I look at the religious ideas behind the American project, especially the influence of Kabbalah and the search for a “pure” and universal...
  • 445 - Understanding the Icons of Holy Week
    This is a repost of a past video where I discussed the icons of Holy Week in the Orthodox Church and how they relate to each other as a unified symbolic pattern. Have a blessed Pascha. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/h55O4Kxs6tU Join us at the...
  • 444 - "FATHER": A symbolic analysis of Kanye West’s song and music video
    With the release of Ye’s new album, Bully, many have asked about the music video for the song called “Father.” While the video is surreal and AI generated, it is not without meaning or structure. If you pay attention to broader, context, patterns, and...
  • 443 - Kale Zelden - There’s Still Time to Read the Great Books
    Kale Zelden is a literature teacher and writer and in this video he joins me to discuss reading, the "Great books", and what it means to recover the reading tradition in a modern context. We talk about how to encounter old texts, what reading can...
  • 442 - "Historical Accuracy" Can Miss the Point
    We often assume that being “historically accurate” means getting closer to the truth, but that’s not always the case. In this video, I explore how modern, mechanical thinking can actually invert meaning, using the example of Christ’s crucifixion. ...