The Numinous Podcast

TNP171 Crystie Kisler Is Connecting Land And Food

It’s wonderful to have a genuine friend named Crystie Kisler with me on the podcast today. Crystie Kisler is the co-founder of Finnriver Farm & Cidery, (@finnriver) and is a mother, farm wife, and community networker in the Chimacum Valley, on an organic farm located along a salmon stream on the north Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Her partner, Keith, is farming heritage wheat at @finnrivergrain
I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing Crystie’s warmth and generosity in circles together, workshops together, and could feel it in the atmosphere when I visited Finnriver on a trip for my son’s 16th birthday. If I had a farm-based business, I would use Finnriver as the model and template.
 
Where Crystie and I could spend probably forever talking and visioning and activating dreams together is where land-based spiritual connection and social justice meet, where business ownership and equity and advocacy intersect, where dismantling supremacy culture meets building a worthwhile and beautiful and delicious future.
 
This is a conversation between two white ladies grappling with what it means to connect to land you don’t come from, and how we might try to learn how to belong there.
Here is the poem that Crystie wrote and read to us:
 
Belonging (draft)
 
What will it take
to belong here truly
 
To a land I was not
born to, nor my parents
or theirs or theirs?
 
Once I have learned
the timing of the swans’
swooping return?
 
The names of the many 
feathered ferns?
 
Once I am on familiar terms
with all the wild berries?
 
Been covered head to heel
by nettle stings 
and blackberry briars?
 
Immersed myself 
in the sea 
wrapped in kelp?
 
What if I smeared 
Semiahmoo Muck
all over my body? 
 
What if I packed it 
in my mouth?
 
What if I ate only
from this ground?
Drank only rainwater 
and creekrun 
from these clouds?
 
What if my feet never left 
this land again?
 
If the birds knew me by scent 
and did not scatter 
when I went by?
 
If all my neighbors waved?
If I knew the names of all
the bones and stones
I found on the beach?
 
Is there any way
to belong here? 
In this place. 
This time and space?
 
Will I always feel
Extraterrestrial? Invader?
 
What would cedar say
about me?
 
Could I become familiar to here?
Make family? Grow roots?
On a farm? 
Can I untangle from harm?
 
Could I learn the real word 
for home?
 
Could I assemble myself 
whole among the mycelium?
 
Could I find my way 
by the feel of it 
under and through me?
 
Is it morbid to say
I feel like I will only
fully belong
when I am buried here?
 
When I have given
All of myself
back?                 
 
~Crystie Kisler, 8/2

TNP170 Flower Essences from the Witch’s Garden with Nicholas Pearson

I’m thrilled to welcome back to the podcast, Nicholas Pearson - longtime listeners will remember him from episode 158 (Beyond Crystals Basics). Nicholas is an author, healer and teacher and today we’re talking about Flower Essences and how they can be so safe yet still effective, and how to work with them if you’re new to this as a healing modality or ritual tool, including some really unique methods I haven't seen anywhere else. 
Check out Flower Essences from the Witch's Garden: Plant Spirits in Magical Herbalism
Nicholas has recently announced some very exciting new offerings including an expanded pocket version of Crystal Basics with over 450 gemstone listings – follow Nicholas on Instagram @theluminouspearl to hear when pre-orders are available.
Plus he’s co-leading a pilgrimage to Glastonbury in spring of 2023 to visit sacred wells, stone circles, and ruins, and to meet the crystal and gemstone guardians of the landscape. Amazing! Find out more here.
To join my 7-week psychoeducation course, Contact Nutrition 101, simply sign up for The Numinous Network. 
 
Here's a transcript of this interview.

TNP169 Sophie Macklin on Antifascist Folklore and Ungovernable Bodies

Sophie Macklin is an anarchist mystic living on Tongva land, near the Los Angeles river. She’s lived in California for fifteen years but comes from Canterbury, England.
She practises brythonic polytheism, antifascism, devotion to an animate world, and anarchist living. She specializes in topics related to anarchism, mysticism, radical history, communication with the human and more than human world, anti-capitalism, antifascism, reclaiming the commons, anti-ableism, and exploring different ways of knowing.
Sophie is the person I chose to be the first reader of the manuscript for my book, The Spirited Kitchen. From the very earliest kernel of thought I had about potentially writing a book, she came to mind as the person I wanted to give me the first pass of honest feedback. Why? Because I think she might be the smartest person I know. Her cultural analysis is tops and I have learned so, so, so much from her way of teaching and of being in business.
And at the time, I still had some things to unpack in my own mind about what to valorize and what not to valorize in a book about ancestral veneration, as a white settler under capitalism, in a time of increasing fascism. I knew there was nuance needed and also some firmness and boundaries so that my work couldn't be pressed into the service of white supremacy. I’m so grateful for Sophie for helping me see how I could improve my manuscript.
Here we are jamming on anarchy, antifascism, ableism, and ungovernable bodies.
Check out Sophie's work here:
Beyond the Blood
Ungovernable Bodies
Radical Well Tending: Living Folkways of Care with Sophie & Becka
I also mentioned RCCX Theory. This is a model we often use when we discuss sickness in The Numinous Network, particularly within the Sensitive Nervous Systems + Long Covid Connection group.
***
Have a question or comment? Looking for life advice? Need some witch wisdom? Maybe I can help – listen for my response in an upcoming episode!
Click here to leave me a voice or written message.
 

TNP168 Somatics for White-Bodied Folks Recovering Ancestral Wisdom with Marika Heinrichs

Marika Heinrichs is the granddaughter of German Mennonite, British, and Irish settlers to the part of Turtle Island colonially known as Canada. She is a queer, femme, somatics practitioner and facilitator whose work focuses on the recovery of ancestral wisdom through body-based ways of knowing, and challenging the appropriation and erasure of Indigenous knowledge in the field of somatics. Marika resides on Attawandaron, Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe territory (a.k.a. Guelph, Ontario). 
Kai Cheng Thom
Susan Raffo's Piece on the origins of craniosacral therapy
Susan Raffo's piece on acknowledging the lineages of healing practices
Bear Hebert on quitting yoga
Michael J. Morris
Prentis Hemphill
Don Hanlon Jonhson
Camille Barton
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Resmaa Menakem
generative somatics
NeuroAffective Touch
Focusing
Marika's blog post on Bealtaine
Marika's course for practitioners
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Have a question or comment? Looking for life advice? Need some witch wisdom? Maybe I can help – listen for my response in an upcoming episode!
Click here to leave me a voice or written message.

TNP167 Lessons Learned from Ira Glass, Roxane Gay and the Making of The Spirited Kitchen

The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes and Rituals of the Wheel of the Year is now available for pre-order! (Check it out here.) In this episode, I'm sharing how and why I wrote this cookbook – the stories, friends, mentors, and supports that helped me navigate the fear, creative blocks, and emotional paralysis that came up in the process. 
Resources In This Episode
Sarah Selecky
Nerys Patterson's Cattle Lords and Clansmen
Michael Newton, HiddenGlen.org
F.Marian McNeill, The Silver Bough and The Scots Kitchen
Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch
Quaker Committee of Care 
Sophie Macklin's courses: Ungovernable Bodies and Beyond the Blood
Lauren Bacon: Curious For A Living
Cyndi Brannen, PhD.
Ira Glass quote about having killer taste that exceeds your skill level
Roxane Gay's writing Masterclass
 
Check out the pre-order bonuses! If you place a bulk order, or have a group of Spirited Kitchen fans who'd like me to visit your bookclub, please reach out to: admin@carmenspagnola.com
Come hang out with us in The Numinous Network where I'll be doing cooking demos in Carmen's Cookbook Club and holding online Wheel of the Year rituals for each solstice, equinox and halfway point in between. 
The book hits stores on October 18, 2022. Pre-order today and save $10 per copy!
 
 

TNP166 Cultivating Sisterhood at (Trans) Midlife with Aurelie Richards

Aurelie Richards is a writer, educator, beekeeper, witch, performer, community builder, gardener, wounded healer. She's a Jewish woman with trans experience, living in Germany. She's long been an advocate for queer rights, trans community building, and domestic violence prevention, especially in rural and small-town contexts. And she's the manager of The Numinous Network and very dear to me.
Aurelie had feedback for me about something I said in my last episode with Nikiah Seeds, so we've continued the conversation here. Listen in as we work through differences and bring in more context and practice repair skills like the soft start up, balancing power, and dropping in to deep listening.
Check out her work at AurelieRichards.com
Hang out with us in The Numinous Network

TNP165 Embracing Sovereignty at Midlife with Nikiah Seeds

Welcome back to the podcast, Nikiah Seeds! Nikiah has been a ceremonialist and teacher of ritual, myth, and ancestral veneration for a couple decades now since her early years as a doula. She’s founder of the Red Moon Mystery School and co-author of the book Moon Mysteries about connecting with your menstrual cycle, and she’s been leading sacred drum-making retreats for years and years.
 
Nikiah was last here in 2017 when we talked about sacred beekeeping. But we’ve actually known each other since about 2007. We've witnessed each other grow and our careers evolve over the years so it’s fun to be able to have a visit and talk about the thresholds we stand upon now as women at midlife. Originally we were going to talk about ageing and elderhood and Embracing the Crone and how that archetype speaks to us, but actually…it turns out there’s still a lot to figure out about this in-between phase of becoming the cunning woman who stands between maidenhood and cronehood. 
 

TNP164 The Astrology of Midlife with Danielle Blackwood

Danielle Blackwood last appeared on the podcast in 2019 when we talked about her previous book, The Twelve Faces of the Goddess. Now she’s back with a fabulous book that I highly recommend to people aged 25 to 55 especially - it’s called A Lantern In The Dark: Navigate Life's Crossroads with Story, Ritual & Sacred Astrology.
We're talking not only about the famous (infamous?) Saturn Return (age 28-30), but also about the lesser known major Midlife Transits:
• the Pluto Square (age 36 to 48)• the Neptune Square (age 39-43)• the Uranus Opposition (age 41 - 45)• the Saturn Opposition (age 44 -45)• the Second Saturn Return (age 58 - 60)
Learn more about Danielle's work here.
Sign up for my newsletter to get the link for Free Week in the Numinous Network happening June 16 - 22, 2022.

TNP163 Halfway Through 2022

A preparatory episode as we approach the midsummer solstice. Let's check-in with ourselves and our goals, self-regulate, and recalibrate, so we can hit our stride mid-June. I offer a brief and simple somatic practice, plus a really cool (time-sensitive) announcement!

TNP162 Entering Hekate’s Garden with Cyndi Brannen, PhD

Cyndi's Brannen's most recent book, Entering Hekate's Garden: The Magic, Medicine & Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft, is a rich and enchanting journey with 39 plants, along with 39 ways to work with botanicals in your daily life and deeper rituals.
Learn more about Cyndi's online programs at KeepingHerKeys.com
Listen to her podcast, More Than This: At the Crossroads of Modern Life and the Deeper World

TNP161: Collapse in a Nutshell with Carmen Spagnola

What is "collapse awareness"? How do we navigate collapse without losing our joy? What skills are needed in times of prolonged periods of overwhelming stress? This episode is an overview and recap of a topic I've talked about every year (multiple times) since the start of this show in 2014. Here, once again, is my annual report on the state of collapse.Find a round-up of past collapse episodes here. 
Preparing For A Beautiful End, Geez Magazine (Winter 2014), Utne Reader (Summer 2015)
Join us in my course, Collapse 101, in The Numinous Network
The Spirited Kitchen
***
Have a question or comment? Looking for life advice? Need some witch wisdom? Maybe I can help – listen for my response in an upcoming episode!
Click here to leave me a voice or written message.

TNP160: The Bruce Springsteen Soundtrack

Today, I’m going to make a few people really happy because this is the Bruce Springsteen Niche Episode that more than a handful of you have been waiting for. The episode where I explain the long-lasting appeal of Bruce Springsteen as told through select Springsteen tracks arranged in order of progressive maturity of narrative voice. The journey takes us from frustrated youth in a small town, to emergent adult getting into trouble, an adult desire for love and reconciliation with the past, deepening radicalization as the hardships of life are revealed to be so often caused by oppressive systems of class and hierarchy, and finally a swell of hope and resilience as a more mature voice of elderhood emerges. Features 15 of his 60+ albums.   I have created this playlist in Tidal but I’m going to add a list of each track and the specific album it appears on - because the specific recording matters. This is a musician who is known for tireless touring having played over 2,600 concerts since he signed with Columbia Records in 1972. But of course, he had a career before that - Bruce Springsteen has been the front man of a rock and roll band since his first gig as a 17 year old with his band called The Castiles in 1965 and he’s never had any other job since. Never had a workin man job. Not a day. But his dad did. His dad had lots of jobs, it was hard for him to keep jobs. Partially because of declining industrial jobs around New Jersey intensifying in the mid-60s, but also because Bruce’s dad struggled with alcoholism and undiagnosed depression and schizophrenia, and that became a defining feature of Bruce’s life and his music, wrestling with intergenerational demons and the mirroring of one family’s life in the larger decline of America as a country and an idea at the end of the 20th century. Follow along with the songs with a free trial on Tidal (credit card required) or search the following recordings wherever you get your music, (possibly even YouTube). Playlist Growin’ Up, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) Born to Run, Born To Run, (1975) Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 1975-1985 The River, The River (1980) Working on the Highway, Born In The USA (1984) Johnny 99, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 1975-1985 (1985) Badlands, Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) Dancing In The Dark, Born in the USA (1984) I’m on Fire, Born In The USA (1984) Human Touch, Human Touch (1992) Brilliant Disguise, Tunnel of Love (1987) My Hometown, Born In The USA (1984) Born In the USA, Born In The USA (1984) Bring ‘Em Home, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) The Ghost of Tom Joad, The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) Devils & Dust, Devils & Dust (2005) Shenandoah, We Shall Overcome (2006) Blood Brothers, Greatest Hits (1995) O Mary Don’t You Weep, We Shall Overcome (2006) Pay Me My Money Down, We Shall Overcome (2006) We Shall Overcome, We Shall Overcome (2006) This Land Is Your Land, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 1975 - 1985 (1986) Reason To Believe, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 1975 - 1985 (1986) Better Days, Lucky Town (1992) Hello Sunshine, Western Stars (2019) References Covers and Springsteen Songs by Other Artists Blinded By The Light, Mannfred Mann's Earth Band (1976) Because The Night, Patti Smith (1978) Because The Night, 10,000 Maniacs (1993) Because the Night, Co.Ro (1992) Movie: Blinded By The Light, Gurinder Chadha (2019) Netflix: Springsteen on Broadway Album: Traveling Wilburys, Vol.1 Pete Seeger on the Johnny Cash Show: Bring Them Home (1970) Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live at C.W.Post College, Greenvale NY (1975) Autobiography: Born To Run (2016)

TNP159 Norse Ritual Animism and Seidr with Maris Bergrune

Maris Bergrune is a ritual animist, a spirit worker, a sound medium, and singer/musician. I’ve taken two of her programs - one on Norse animism and one on seidr mediumship and we’ll talk about them in detail today. Maris teaches skill development in intuitive perception, boundaries and discernment, and offers a very good foundation in animist ritual and relational practices with the Other Than Human worlds. She focuses on developing healthy relationships with spirits and ancestors and also on accessing self-sovereignty and voice. As you’ll hear in this interview, her practice is characterized by this very clear intention to partner with only the most compassionate aspects of spirit. I find her approach very grounded and practical; and she’s clear that this approach is not a way to bypass the challenges of humanity but are rather offers ways to be deeply resourced while facing these challenges.  Here's her website: https://livingvoicemedicine.com Click here for her program, Gather at the Well: Norse Ritual Animism Resources Mentioned: Betsey Bergstrom Tom Kenyon Annette Höst Seed of Yggdrasill, by Maria Kvilhaug  

TNP158 Beyond Crystal Basics with Nicholas Pearson

I'm thrilled to welcome to the show Nicholas Pearson, author of several books including, Crystal Basics: The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 200 Gemstones. Nicholas studied mineral science in university and worked for several years at a museum featuring the largest mineral collection in the southwestern US. In this episode, Nick explains the science of why and how crystals work including concepts like entrainment, amplification and coherence.  Check out his website and links here: www.theluminouspearl.com www.linktr.ee/theluminouspearl www.facebook.com/TheLuminousPearl www.Instagram.com/theluminouspearl https://www.innertraditions.com/author/nicholas-pearson/ https://www.amazon.com/Nicholas-Pearson/e/B01E4TQMJU

TNP157 Ritual and Belonging with Becca Piastrelli

My guest today is Becca Piastrelli, author of the new book, Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways To Connect To Land, Lineage, Community and the Self. It’s a charming, full colour, illustrated guide to fundamentals of creating connection with spirits of place and ancestors. I’d describe it as a fresh update on modern self-directed spirituality because it foregrounds how white feminism of the past and today has a tendency to appropriate spirituality from anywhere and everywhere. Becca’s book clearly aims to recognize white privilege, give credit, and walk humbly on the spiritual path. Find out more about Root & Ritual here. Find out more about Becca and her podcast, Belonging, here. Find out more about Constellation work here.

TNP156 Elaine Alec on Calling My Spirit Back From Trauma

Elaine Alec is a co-founder of Alderhill, an Indigenous-owned-and-led company of leading experts in the area of Indigenous Community Planning. She’s led comprehensive community planning and engagement processes, been a political advisor, and recently the bestselling author of Calling My Spirit Back which links a personal examination of her lived experience to a much broader overview of serious sociological concerns of national importance for people in Canada and beyond, along with tangible steps to address them. I also know that Elaine and her family share the same strong commitment to co-parenting and secure attachment in a blended family as I do, and I wanted to jam on that a bit. Content warning: Discussion of cultural genocide and the legacy of Indigenous residential institutions in Canada. Learn more about Elaine and the book, Calling My Spirit Back, here. Find out more about Alderhill for Indigenous community planning and engagement here.

TNP155 Growing Giant Pumpkins with Dave Chan

Today I’m speaking with British Columbia record-breaking pumpkin grower, Dave Chan. Dave has grown the heaviest pumpkin in BC’s history at 1,911 pounds! Dave has been growing for many years and finally achieved his dream and I’m thrilled to have him on the show today to share all his secrets. Stay tuned for a Rubenation at the end. GiantPumpkinsBC.com (to see Dave's pumpkin!) BigPumpkins.com The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth Master Carver, Scott Cully, who appeared on the Johnny Carson Show in 1985, inspiring Dave's lifelong passion for pumpkins  

TNP154Capitalism But Wait What is Capitalism Exactly with Toi Smith

Toi Smith is my guest today! Toi is a business and growth strategist, a writer and teacher.  She's also host of an online community called Business For The People for entrepreneurs, creatives, healers, and guides trying to do business differently. Toi also works with mothers who desire to return to themselves, and Black women who want more joy and pleasure. toimarie.com businessforthepeople.com Sylvia Federici's books Combahee River Collective Statement  American Capitalism: A History (Cornell University podcast) RAVEN Trust is the place where I give a percentage of my income every month if you're interested in helping support legal challenges to fight for Aboriginal Rights & Title in British Columbia. Reciprocity Connects is where I've pledged to make payments to the local nations whose territories I live upon.

TNP153 Parenting a Trans Teen with Paria Hassouri

Today’s episode is especially dedicated to all the parents out there of tweens and teens who are exploring their gender identity. Paria Hassouri is a pediatrician, mother of three and writer whose work has appeared in the NY Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Huffington Post.  She and her family live in LA, where she practices pediatrics at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. And she’s the author of the book, Found In Transition: A Mother’s Evolution during her Child’s Gender Change, a very frank, sometimes painfully honest account of parenting a transgender teen. Paria chronicles what amounts to a dual transition: as her child transitions from male to female, she navigates through anger, denial, and grief to eventually arrive at acceptance. Blindsided by her child’s gender identity, Paria is also forced to examine how she still carries insecurities from her past of growing up as an Iranian-American immigrant in a predominantly white neighborhood.  Follow Paria: pariahassouri.com Buy the book: Found in Transition: A Mother's Evolution During Her Child's Gender Change Instagram: @laparia Twitter: @pariahassouri Contact Paria Hassouri, M.D., at Cedars Sinai Medical Group

TNP152 Conscious Grieving with Taraneh Erfan King

Taraneh Erfan King is a registered counsellor with a specialty in expressive arts and a broad background in psychology, body-centered practices, and mysticism, including her hereditary lineage of Sufism. Born in Iran, she immigrated to Canada as a child with her family, and has lived and worked in several parts of the world including Guyana, France, Switzerland, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka. Her book, Conscious Grieving: The Path of Awakening Through Loss, is a compassionate companion for all grievers and a source for poetry and prayers you'll return to again and again. Visit Taraneh's website mindonspirit.com for more information about her programs and services, and find her book online at major outlets as well as your favourite independent booksellers. Follow her on Instagram @mindonspirit Check out The Numinous Network for all my current offerings.