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.

Turning the Wheel: <br><small>An Enneagram Analysis of <i>Lost</i></small>

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…