Charleston, SC: American South, Caribbean North

Charleston’s foodways, language, folklore, art, architecture, and history all reveal connections to the Caribbean that shaped not only the city itself, but the entire South as a region and the U.S. as a nation as well.

January 23, 2020August 14, 2021Essays & Articles by M. Lucero

Behind the Mask:
An Enneagram Analysis of the Star Wars Saga

Like Vader, we all hide behind masks that protect us from the harsh, sometimes toxic outer world; and as with Vader, healing means learning to remove the mask, to return to and reveal our truest selves.

July 16, 2019August 14, 2021Essays & Articles by M. Lucero

Inside the Walls:
An Enneagram Analysis of Stranger Things

The Enneagram reveals nine ways the ego hides our essence behind a mask — like Will Byers hidden in the Upside Down, looking out at the world through the walls of his own house, waiting to be found and freed.

June 1, 2019August 14, 2021Essays & Articles by M. Lucero

Turning the Wheel:
An Enneagram Analysis of Lost

An ancient wisdom tradition with roots in Sufi, Jewish, Christian, and Buddhist mysticism, the Enneagram is a fitting lens for viewing and understanding the characters of Lost, and maybe — by seeing ourselves in their stories — uncovering our own secret strengths and wounds.

Pokémon One Hundred Fifty-One Demon Night Picture Scroll

August 31, 2018September 3, 2021Essays & Articles by M. Lucero

Yokai: The Folklore Roots of Pokémon

When Pokemon GO! released in the summer of 2016, it wasn’t my first encounter with a breed of monsters and ghosts unlike any elsewhere in the world: yōkai, the supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore…