St. John’s Wisdom:

In a time marked by cultural unraveling, spiritual hunger, and the relentless pull of distraction, a new figure is required within the psyche—not the hero, not the martyr, but the Sage.

This four-part online seminar with Jungian analyst Muriel McMahon explores the development of the Sage archetype through the life, symbols, and visionary consciousness of St. John the Evangelist.  Valuable for men and for women who want to grow within and without.

Drawing from her book,  St. John’s Wisdom and in deep continuity with last year’s work from  Baba Yaga’s Wisdom, this series invites participants into a mature psychological and spiritual stance—one capable of perceiving truth in times of chaos, holding paradox, and speaking from a place of grounded vision rather than reactivity.

Through lecture, symbolic amplification, guided reflection, and active imagination, we will explore how the Sage emerges not as an escape from the world, but as a way of seeing it rightly.

Session I — January 9

Exile and Initiation: The Making of the Seer

The Sage is not born in comfort. He is formed in exile.

In this opening session, we enter the psychological and symbolic terrain of Patmos, where John is cast out of the known world and into radical solitude.

We will explore:

• Exile as a necessary condition for the emergence of vision

• The breakdown of persona and the loss of collective identity

• The distinction between isolation and initiation

• The early stirrings of the Sage archetype

Practice: Guided active imagination — Entering the Cave

Session II — January 16

Vision and Symbol: Learning to See in Images

The Sage does not interpret the world literally—he sees symbolically.

This session explores John’s visionary language and its resonance with Carl Jung’s understanding of the psyche.

We will explore:

• The symbolic imagination vs. literal consciousness

• Apocalypse as unveiling—not prediction

• Archetypal imagery: beasts, cities, angels, fire

• The danger of concretizing vision

Practice: Image amplification and reflective writing

This seminar unfolds as a movement—from exile to vision, from collapse to clarity, from fragmentation to the steady gaze of the Sage.

If Baba Yaga initiates through ordeal,
St. John teaches us how to see after the fire.

Arc of the Series

Across these four weeks, participants will be invited to:

• Deepen their relationship to symbolic consciousness

• Recognize the signs of the Sage archetype within themselves

• Develop psychological and spiritual steadiness in uncertain times

• Move from reactivity to visionary presence

St. John’s Wisdom:
Awakening the Sage in an Age of Revelation

with Jungian Analyst Muriel McMahon

LIVE-video WORKSHOP SERIES

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4 Sessions
SATURDAYS
January 9, 16, 23, 30, 2027

9-11am pacific / Noon-2pm eastern
/ 4-6pm GMT / 5-7 pm BMT
+ Video recording will be available

Sale price ends

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Session III — January 23

The Collapse of the World: Holding Steady in Times of Revelation

The Sage does not turn away from collapse—he endures it without losing sight.

Here we engage Revelation as a psychological map for our time.

We will explore:

• Cultural and personal apocalypse as psychic process

• The collapse of false structures (inner and outer)

• Inflation, fear, and projection in times of crisis

• The Sage as one who can witness without being overwhelmed

Practice: Containment ritual — Standing in the Fire Without Burning

Session IV — January 30

The Voice of the Sage: Speaking from the Center

The final movement is not silence—but true speech.

The Sage speaks not to persuade, but to reveal.

We will explore:

• The emergence of authority rooted in the Self

• Logos as living word

• The integration of suffering into wisdom

• Becoming a voice that carries truth without violence

Practice: Writing from the Sage — A Letter to the World

with Jungian Analyst
Muriel McMahon

Muriel McMahon, M. Ed., is a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst

Words, nature, dreams and story are sacred texts. They inscribe and articulate the pattern and the meaning of our lives. As a literature teacher, writer, and a Jungian analyst for close to 40 years, Muriel McMahon’s professional experience is vast and varied.  Her personal passions include writer, iconographer, teacher, grandmother and steward of 100-acres of woods in Ontario, Canada. You can find samples of her writing @ Substack

recommended reading

Baba Yaga's Wisdom by Muriel McMahon

The Feminine In Fairytales: Marie-Louise von Franz