'Smoke Trails From The Ashes' is a series of monthly mythopoetic musings on culture, philosophy, poetry and storytelling by Asher Packman, founder of The Fifth Direction.

The Fifth Direction is a welcome community for everyone. This includes people of all genders, faiths, backgrounds, orientations, ages and abilities.

Smoke Trails From The Ashes

ABC Radio National 'Soul Search' - Asher Packman

'She-King': The Mythopoetic Reunion of Masculine and Feminine

A Lecture to the Jung Society of Melbourne by Asher Packman (May 2022)

“To separate masculine and feminine is unnatural. Their struggle to come together is the struggle toward consciousness, a process in which we slowly come to understand what, in the unconscious, always already is.”

– Marion Woodman (The Maiden King)

Asher Packman brings us his perspective on the necessity of masculine and feminine reunion, both within and without, for individual consciousness and the healing of the world. He examines it through the lens of Robert Bly and Marion Woodman’s 1999 treatise of an ancient Russian fairytale, The Maiden King. At its essence, this is a tale about the return of powerful feminine energy into the world. It is woven of an absent father, a possessive stepmother, a false tutor and a boy overwhelmed by a beautiful maiden. When the young man’s response has her retreating in anger, he must go on a quest of self-discovery. Asher will cover the immature masculine tendency toward impotence in the full face of the feminine, corresponding traits in the feminine such as rage, and being at ease with oppositional thinking, which even the lecture title invokes.

'She-King': The Mythopoetic Reunion of Masculine and Feminine (Lecture to Jung Society of Melbourne)

Meditations on death are some of the oldest practices in Buddhist traditions. In the words of the Buddha, "of all the footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all meditation, that on death is supreme." Die before you die.

Tibetan Eight-Stage Death Meditation

Red Bead Woman & The Crow King

Psyche & Eros (Asher Packman)

The Maiden King (Asher Packman)

The Firebird (Asher Packman)

'Smoke Trails From The Ashes' is a series of monthly mythopoetic musings on culture, philosophy, poetry and storytelling by Asher Packman, founder of The Fifth Direction.The Fifth Direction is a welcome community for everyone. This includes people of all genders, faiths, backgrounds, orientations, ages and abilities.

Smoke Trails: A Basket Full of Ashes (April 2025)

Smoke Trails: Behind The Mask (May 2025)

Smoke Trails: Where The Wild Words Are (June 2025)

'Smoke Trails From The Ashes' is a series of monthly mythopoetic musings on culture, philosophy, poetry and storytelling by Asher Packman, founder of The Fifth Direction.

Smoke Trails: What The Flowers Say (July 2025)

Smoke Trails: Finding Your Way (August 2025)

Smoke Trails: Walking The Moon Road (December 2025)

Smoke Trails: Ashes Upon The Ocean (November 2025)

Smoke Trails: The Wild Road Home (September 2025)

Welcome to The Fifth Direction. We are a global community for those seeking deeper meaning in today’s distracted world. Rooted in mythopoetic practice, we gather together to explore the hidden undercurrents of life. This is a space to slow down, rekindle your imagination, and remember the path that leads to soul.

Founder Asher Packman is a depth teacher, writer and storyteller.  He is a former president of Meditation Australia.

The Fifth Direction

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