#73 | Courting the Feminine in Fairy Tales - Tad Hargrave

My guest today is my good friend Tad Hargrave.

Tad is the founder of Marketing for Hippies with a mission to restore the beauty of the marketplace. He teaches folks who have a desire to do good, but hate marketing, how to articulate their work with elegance and effectiveness.

Tad has spent years learning his ancestral language of Scottish Gaelic in Nova Scotia and on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. As well, for over a decade we have both attended the Orphan Wisdom School with Stephen Jenkinson in Ontario, where we have many fond memories in the teaching hall. In recent years, he’s turned towards studying ancient history, comparative mythology and Indo-European folklore.

In our conversation today, Tad has turned towards the fairy tale Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) and what it might have to stay about the indigenous memory of Europe.

Chances are, you’ve seen the Disney version of the story, though I would highly recommend you pause this episode and read the original Grimm’s tale before continuing.

Read the Grimm’s version here

Tad and I focus in on a particular moment, when after a 100 years of enchanted sleep, the prince approaches the briar hedge that encircles the castle and the Beauty lying within. We explore themes of seduction versus courtship and degradation of trust between men and women. We speak about the historical role of the Court and the tragedy of extracting too much from Nature’s innate abundance.

And finally, we explore how folk tales can hold practical wisdom for modern masculinity and how to sustain the mutual life between humans and the holy.

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DON’T MISS

Tad and his collaborator Kakisimow Iskwew have a number of deeper dives into the story of Briar Rose:

* Briar Rose - 6 Week Online Program Begins Jan 5th

* All details on Briar Rose Offerings

MORE LINKS

* Tad’s website Marketing for Hippies

* Tad’s Substack ‘On Culture Making’

SHOW NOTES

03:46 Welcoming Tad Hargrave

04:43 The Origin of Marketing for Hippies

05:47 Exploring the Fairy Tale of Briar Rose

06:56 The Symbolism of Briar Rose

11:50 The Dangers of Seduction and Coercion

14:11 The Pickup Artist Experience

25:14 The Concept of Courtship

25:33 The Etymology of Courtship

31:19 The Modern Mimicry of Courtship

39:19 The King's Riddle and Nature's Abundance

40:40 Indigenous Wisdom and Sustainable Harvesting

41:39 The Consequences of Mistrust and Overextraction

43:56 The Art of Courtship in Different Cultures

45:48 The Tale of the Tree of Life

50:22 Mentorship and the Importance of Timing

58:07 The Beauty of Courtship and True Love

01:08:29 The Wisdom in Stories and Elders

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