Archetypes of the “Trickster” & the “Antichrist” in this Historical Moment
Tonight, Tuesday, is the second round of our gathering called “From Darkness to Dawn” consisting of four “conversations” with host Cameron Trimble, myself, and four notable spiritual teachers and activists. The title acknowledges what many are going through this critical moment of history when we recognize how Project 2025, called a “blueprint for fascism,” is being applied in a rush ever since inauguration day six weeks ago.
I am receiving lots of mail from many places that pose wrenching questions the actions of the new regime and Republican Congress are bringing about. Yesterday my sister-in-law living in Iceland, who was widowed this past year, wrote wondering if her Social Security would be abolished. Over 70 million recipients of Social Security—and their loved ones—are asking questions like these.
Countries that were once our allies through thick and thin are confronting the US over tariffs and support or lack of support for Ukraine which is fighting to sustain its democracy against Trump’s ally, anti-democratic oligarch Putin. And then there is the continuing genocide in Gaza.
In our first Conversation, Mirabai Starr and myself interacted on the topic of “The Dark Night and the Call to Courage.” Response to the conversation and discussion was profound.
For my reflections, I led with the wisdom of Mechtild of Magdeburg, the 13th century Beguine from Germany who talked about the “dark night” in her own language 300 years before John of the Cross who is usually credited with the concept.
Mirabai, who has translated John’s book on the dark night, offered her seasoned reflections on the experience that we are all going through today: What I call not just the dark night of the soul, but also a dark night of society (Rabbi Heschel’s term), and indeed a dark night of our species.
Mirabai was so taken by Mechtild’s teachings that afterwards she asked me where she could get the Mechtild. I steered her to the book I was citing, Meditations with Mechtild of Magdeburg, written by a student of mine, Sue Woodruff, as her master’s thesis in our Institute in Creation Spirituality and Culture (ICCS). Unfortunately, it is currently out of print but one can find used copies on line.
Then I realized that I have written about Mechtild and her teachings on the dark night in Mechtild of Magdeburg on the Dark Night – Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox.
In tonight’s Conversation with Andrew Harvey, we will be engaging on the topic of “The Trickster Unveiled – Archetypes in the Age of MAGA.” Of course, the archetype of the antichrist, evoked often in Christian art and theology over the centuries by people such as Hildegard of Bingen, Luca Signorelli, Martin Luther, is such a concept important to our moment in history.
The MAGA movement represents more than political ideology—it embodies archetypal forces of chaos and deception. How to respond to these archetypes with wisdom and resilience?
How do we, as people of faith and conscience, respond to this moment of a profound moral and spiritual crisis? How do we find the courage to confront injustice while nurturing hope and healing in our communities?
Next week, our third guest in this 4-part series will be Bishop Yvette Flunder who will speak to how prophetic faith communities can rise with courage, embody hope, and lead transformative action in these challenging times.
In our concluding session, Father Adam Bucko and I will explore how we turn reflection into meaningful action. We will share insights on how to sustain courage and resilience, build communities of compassion, respond to injustice with love and clarity, and move forward with purpose and hope.
See Matthew Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
And Fox, “Warriors for Ecological and Economic Justice: Meister Eckhart Meets Dorothy Stang, Karl Marx, David Korten, Serge Latouche, Anita Roddick, and Howard Thurman,” in Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, pp. 221-230.
And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
And Fox, “Spiritual Warriors” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104.
And Fox, “Spiritual Warriorhood,” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Faith Traditions, pp. 404-422.
Banner Image: Event poster of the new course, “From Darkness to Dawn: Spiritual Courage and Political Action in the Age of MAGA.”
Queries for Contemplation
How are you wrestling with archetypes like the Trickster and the Antichrist and finding allies doing so while still taking care of yourself in these troubled times?
Recommended Reading
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time
While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang.
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit