The Numinous Podcast

TNP105 Tending The Threshold With Tannur Shewrightz Ali

Tending The Threshold is an event happening in Ashland, Oregon, on May 26 and 27th, 2018. Tickets can information can be found at tendingthethreshold.com It is a gathering of Change-makers, Bridge builders and Edge Dwellers, with no agenda other than to practice being together, and to learn how to take care of each other and the world, in these challenging times. The container at this un-conference will be held by a group of ten co-facilitators from three countries and many walks of life. The group includes: Poet and spoken word artist, Tannur Ali Conflict Engagement and Resolution practitioner, Aftab Erfan Equity and Inclusion Consultant, Desiree Adaway Clinical Psychologist and Author, Bayo Akomolafe Social Entrepreneur, Donnie Maclurcan Artist and Death Doula, Rachael Rice Educator, facilitator and Indigenous rights activist, Aaron Ortega Videographer and artist, Bec Stupak Therapist, ritualist and conference founder, Holly Truhlar And myself, Carmen Spagnola. *** Tannur “Shewrightz” Ali is the emcee and story weaver for our conference. She's a poet, workshop facilitator and vessel of divine flow. She has been featured in every region of the country, as well as in Europe, stunning audiences with the insightful power of her words and voice. Tannur’s "Dancing Between Realms National Tour" visited 25 cities throughout the U.S. during 2016-17. The tour came on the heels of her winning the 2016 International Poetry Slam in Bled, Slovenia. A prolific writer and relationship-builder, Tannur uses her poetry and poetic spirit as a force for engaging creative energy and power, and as a rallying cry to build artistic and civic community. https://www.shewrightz.com *** https://tendingthethreshold.com

TNP104 Magical Cookery Ecofeminism with Danielle Prohom Olson

I’m delighted to share with you this vibrant, passionate and also at times very tender conversation I had with Danielle Prohom Olson of Gather. Danielle is a wildcrafter and herbalist, and Gather is her creative collaboration with Jennifer Aikman, where they teach, write, and host events dedicated to ancestral foods, magical cookery and seasonal celebrations. Thousands of people around the world follow and appreciate their work through their website and newsletter, as well as their Patreon and Facebook accounts. But for me, what really comes through their work, is that Gather is about more than just events and recipes and articles. Check out Danielle's essay, The Magical Herstory of Food.

TNP103 Witchcraft and Parenting Wisdom with Beth John Threlfall

This is a long-overdue episode. Two of my city's most interesting residents live right next door and we've finally had a chance to sit down for a proper interview.   An artist and mother, Beth Threlfall is a black cord priestess with Thirteenth House Mystery School in Victoria BC. She works hard to bring her art into the world on a day-to-day basis: believing that art is a way of living — not a thing to do — has helped her experience community through her artistic practice. She is also a children’s art instructor with the non-profit organization ArtsReach, and works with the Pandora Arts Collective in her home community of Fernwood. Beth is best known as the originator of Fernwood’s famous Pole Painting Project, which she started back in 2008 and has not only transformed the look and feel of the streets in her neighbourhood but has also inspired residents to artistically engage with and participate in their local surroundings.    A practicing witch since his initiation in 1986, John Threlfall is a black cord priest with Thirteenth House Mystery School. A freelance writer for nearly 30 years, John has had a typically eclectic career—including working as a stage manager, wedding DJ, technical director for a haunted Gold Rush theatre, co-host of a motorcycle TV show, four seasons as the on-air "walking encyclopedia of popular culture" for CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, and 12 years as a staff writer for Monday Magazine, where he ultimately wound up being Editor-in-Chief. He’s currently the Special Projects and Communications Officer for the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Victoria, and has been teaching with UVic’s Department of Writing since 2006.    Thirteenth House Mystery School is one of the Victoria's oldest and largest covens. Started in 1993, Thirteenth House has also been running introductory public classes in the practice of witchcraft since 1998.   

TNP102 Sarah Selecky Radiant Shimmering Light

Sarah Selecky is the author of This Cake Is for The Party, a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, arguably Canada's highest literary award. The New York Times called her stories "utterly fascinating". Sarah is also the founder of the Sarah Selecky Writing School. I've always loved its tag line, Write what you want to read. I have to say, though, that I'm quite taken aback that Sarahs new novel, Radiant Shimmering Light, is exactly what I want to read. I couldn't put it down! I devoured it in two sittings stopping only to sleep. I was absolutely taken in by the story, the characters, the details and the familiarity of this work. This world is so familiar to me that when the scenes weren't totally cracking me up, it was because they were making me really uncomfortable. Radiant Shimmering Light is going to be found in the Womens Literature section of your local bookstore, what is often called ChickLit. For the past fifteen years I have read almost exclusively works of non-fiction. And I rarely wander the shelves of the bookstore looking for feel-good beach reads. But if you listen to this podcast, you need to buy this book. Sarah wrote this book for us. She gets us. She's one of us. She has written what we want to read, a story about us. Find out all about Sarah's work at sarahselecky.com

TNP101 Layla Kristy Feghali on Plantcestral Medicine

Let's talk about talking to plants. Like, really being in relationship with the plant realm. My guest today is Layla Kristy Feghali, of River Rose Apothecary. I was drawn to seek out Layla as a guest because of her beautifully soft, gentle, and sweet relationship with plants and in particular, one of my favourites, roses.

TNP100 Cocktail Pairings For Your Listening Pleasure

Holy moly! One hundred episodes. I am indulging quite a bit with this episode; I offer you nothing new here except some tasty cocktail recipes. The recording quality here may be unrefined but the beverage pairings are exquisite! This is me and Ruben reminiscing, sharing some of our favourite episodes from a behind-the-scenes perspective and pairing them with cocktail recipes inspired by the guest or interview content. In this episode, we refer to our upcoming workshop at Hollyhock, Ritual + Practice For The Urban Homestead. We hadn't planned to promote that retreat so much but the topics in several of our favourite episodes are quite complementary so it makes sense that we'd naturally bring that up. Maybe we'll connect with some listeners there in real life!  

TNP99: John Michael Greer on Monsters + Magical Beings

Yes, Monsters. Today's topic is on the fringe of the mainstream which is ironic considering so many people have ghost stories and tales of strange and bewildering encounters with mysterious phenomena. I'm speaking again with John Michael Greer, digging a little deeper into his best selling book, Monsters: An Investigator's Guide To Magical Beings. Once again, John goes above and beyond to provide additional resources and source materials: The Mothman Prophecies Michelle Belanger - psychic vampire The Doctrine And Ritual Of High Magic: A New Translation, by John Michael Greer and Mark Anthony Mikituk The Secret Commonwealth: An Essay On The Nature And Actions Of The Subterranean (And For The Most Part) Invisible People Heretofore Going Under The Name Of Elves, Fauns And Fairies The Kybalion, by William Walker Atkinson

TNP98 Priestess Shaman Mystic Scapegoat with Sarah Kerr

Sarah Kerr, PhD, is a death doula and ritual healing practitioner. I've connected with Sarah and her work a number of times and was keen to follow up with her regarding a lecture she gave on the Shamanic Archetype, (part of a series, and just one of many resources she offers on contemporary archetypal shamanism). In this conversation, I ask Sarah to explain the difference between The Priest/ess, The Shaman, and The Psychopomp as archetypes. (We also toss The Mystic in there for good measure). We consider the implications of being white women doing work that is often called "shamanic", and share our different perspectives and comfort levels around that. (It's a site of struggle for each of us in our own way). I also dig a little into a section of Sarah's dissertation, Dreams, Ritual and the Creation of Sacred Objects: An Inquiry Into A Contemporary Western Shamanic Initiation. It's a worthwhile read and this part of our dialogue will appeal to those who've long walked between the worlds but didn't know what to do about it, or have had spontaneous initiation experiences and few places to turn for support. We talk specifically about how the Shamanic Archetype is often scapegoated by society, and how one way to heal through the Journey of the Walkaway is to choose to Return as Teacher/Interpreter. Finally, Sarah shares a bit about her own initiation ritual and some personal parts that felt powerful for her. Some good ideas in there for those of us who adore that sort of thing. If you're in the Calgary area and you'd like to work with Sarah more closely on an on-going basis, you might want to check out the Calgary Community Healers' Council.

TNP97 Ancestry Funerals and Writing at 4am with Leesa Renee Hall

Leesa Renee Hall is a speaker, writer and tech industry veteran. I first became aware of Leesa's work when she introduced me to the notion of the "Like" fast and social media algorithms that are inherently racist. But I was fascinated when I learned she has been the organist at hundreds of funerals. In this conversation, we begin with sharing about our ancestry and some of the genealogy research we've done. We learn about Leesa's early experiences in church and how she became an organist. We discover her approach to curious inquiry and expressive writing (Why at 4:30am specifically?) and we drift into a discussion of white fragility. Be part of Leesa's Patreon community and find her excellent Writing Prompts for White Fragility.

TNP96 Secrets of the Temple with John Michael Greer

In this episode, we're talking with popular guest, John Michael Greer, about his book, The Secret of the Temple: Earth Energies, Sacred Geometry, and the Lost Keys of Freemasonry. He explains how ancient temples around the world and from different eras are actually forms of technology that affect agricultural fertility and bind human communities in a material way with the larger forces of nature. Our conversation tours history and humanity, stopping off to look at the Temple of Solomon, the Freemasons, and his take on the two shapes of time. John also expands the function and importance of bread, blood, chanting and incense as related to temple technology. Once again, a conversation that is both broad and deep. Find all of John's 40+ books (!) here, and his essays here.

TNP95: Preparing for Quest with Ashley + Patricia

Ashley asks some great questions and Patricia (who's a veteran attending her second Quest this spring) dishes on the details. We talk about our daily agenda over the twelve days, how and why I chose this specific location for Questing, and what it's like to be on this kind of journey with my husband, Ruben, and me. Ashley asks me, How can someone know if it's time for them to go on Quest? and Why is it important to leave our familiar world to go do this soul craft work in the natural world? I go beyond the obvious answers. (It's not always because you're in transition.) Quest is happening from June 19 - July 1, 2018. Deposits are due April 1. Learn all about Quest here.

TNP94 Mapping Reclamation with Rachael Maddox

Rachael Maddox is a trauma resolution educator, coach and guide. In this conversation, she shares with us her Map of Reclamation and a generous amount of psychobiological and theoretical information about what trauma really is. Rachael generously and gently takes us through 7 core trauma wounds, what the hyper- and hypo-araoused responses (ie: inner escalation or collapse) can look like, what a more regulated (grounded, calm, empowered) response might feel like, and how we can find our way back to health and wholeness. It's an excellent overview and there's so much value offered here in her model. Rachael includes Digital Isolation as a core trauma for our age and we explore the notion of re-villaging as one potential antidote. Naturally, since we're talking about trauma in general, it's very common to have specific, personal examples come to mind – likely some part of this will be very relatable for most people. Remember to go slow: it takes the body a little while to metabolize this kind of information. Press pause, take breaks, fast forward. Listen to your body as you listen to our voices. And remember that we're real people. You can always book in with either of us if something comes up that you'd like to explore. If you'd like to go deeper with Rachael, she has a free video series called Becoming A Grown Goddess that includes topics like Trauma 101, Boundaries & Belonging, Sex After Trauma, and more. Read all about Rachael's offerings on her site, rachaelmaddox.com

TNP93 Queer Nature with Pinar and So Sinopoulos-Lloyd

This interview featuring Pinar and So Sinopoulos-Lloyd holds a special place in my heart; it's not often I meet people who speak my mind so clearly. I love them and the work they're doing with Queer Nature, a growing Colorado-based project dedicated to cultivating earth-based queer community through traditional skill-building. In this conversation, we dive deeply into the questions: why Quests? why for queer folk? why for queer youth, in particular? and why at this moment in time? Along our exploration, we pause to examine relationships between queerness and landscapes, relationships with the more-than-human world, the language of "quest", and the role of ancestral skill reclamation in dismantling and repairing the legacies of settler colonialism. (!!!) I LOVED THIS CONVERSATION. After this, read Pinar's excellent essay, Queer Futurism: Denizens of Liminality. Enjoy!

TNP92 Sufism Dreamwork and Belonging with Toko-pa Turner

I'm thrilled to welcome esteemed dreamwork practitioner, Toko-pa Turner to the podcast today! Although we live relatively close to each other and have several friends in common, this is our first ever conversation. I'm excited to have more of them because we just barely touched on the interests we share. I love how Toko-pa articulates her approach to investigating the personal unconscious and the work of being part of the collective. Her new book, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, is the jumping off point of our conversation. It leads us into an exploration of her Sufi upbringing, her perilous journey through the foster care system, acknowledging white privilege, elder wisdom, turning to face the Dark Dream, and how dreams can help lead us back to ourselves and each other. Learn all about her dreamwork offerings on her website, toko-pa.com.

TNP91 Emelia Is Trying To Be Good

Buckle up for a wild conversation that explores the highs and lows of spiritual self-help, addiction, parenting, trauma, relationships, bereavement and motherhood. Emelia Symington Fedy is an artist and storyteller. Her new audio memoir is called Trying To Be Good: The Healing Powers Of Lying, Cheating, Stealing And Doing Drugs. Emilia is a new friend of mine, a friend of a friend, and a kindred spirit in many ways. So it felt good and safe for us to "go there" in this interview. Content warning: we go into topics like teenage sexuality, sexual assault and rape, death and dying, all of it. It's intense at times. It's also funny and tender. It's very real. Do you ever feel alone in your trauma, or your shame, or your dark thoughts? We're right here with you. We had this conversation with you in mind. Here's where you can purchase the audio memoir, read Emelia's articles, and hire her creative genius.

TNP90 The Celtic Golden Dawn with John Michael Greer

Are you ready for a deep dive into mystery schools, Druidry, the Kabbala, the Tree of Life, the Gnostics, and geomancy? What?? All in one conversation? YES! This conversation is an incredible treat. Returning to The Numinous Podcast for the third time is my guest, John Michael Greer. He's a world-renowned authority on a million things, and today we're focusing on his excellent handbook, The Celtic Golden Dawn: An Original & Complete Curriculum of Druidic Study. It is well worth your time to peruse John's Amazon author page, and try to grasp just how much research has gone into his life's work to this point. I own several volumes and I can tell you, there are not light reads. The are not superficial forays. These are reference libraries you can hold in your hand – the bibliographies alone, people. The bibliographies! Magical keys to unlock the knowledge of the ages, I tell you. Read John's essays at ecosophia.net.

TNP89 Journey of the Psychopomp with Cat Webb

Classically speaking, a psychopomp is a deity or supernatural being who would guide the souls of the dead to their resting place in the afterlife. In modern parlance, a psychopomp acts as "an energetic Soul Midwife to the dead or dying". Cat Webb is a psychopomp, oracle, creatrix, mystic and teacher. So naturally, this was a fabulous conversation! We talk about patriarchy, good spiritual hygiene, dealing with a death-phobic society – specifically how to care for the dying when there are family members resisting – and so, so, so much more. Follow her on Facebook or join her group PsychopompLifeChat.

TNP88 Monique Gray Smith is Speaking Truth

I'm so pleased to be speaking with Monique today about her new book, Speaking Our Truth: A Journey Of Reconciliation. You can purchase all of Monique's books for children online at Orca Books. Learn more about the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission here. Read their 94 Calls to Action here. Explore more youth titles by Indigenous Canadian authors.

TNP86 Channelling Change with Jenn Richardson

"Not everyone can be saved, but everyone is worth loving." Jenn Richardson Jenn was a Mentoring client, who came to a couple of my retreats, and then Quest and is now a dear, dear friend and soul sister. More importantly, she is now coming out as a professional intuitive - hooray! Jenn is a queer feminist poet and yoga instructor and banshee-at-large, a fascinating person to know and observe as she moves through the world and comments on it. Today we're talking about growing up with an alcoholic and homeless father and how his death has impacted her life. She shares what I think many of us have experienced around the mystery of death and how covered-up it can be in western culture. And she talks about grieving as a physical process. It's an intense, close-up, very real conversation. Learn about Jenn and her intuitive readings on her website, jennthepoet.com Check out her art and poetry on Instagram. Listen to her in conversation about Quest with her fellow participants. Jenn references Clarissa Pinkola Estes' book, Women Who Run With The Wolves, and  we talk about the keeners and the banshees.

TNP85 Therese Cator on Shadow Alchemy Life As Ceremony

Thérèse Cator is a Spiritual Leadership Coach + Teacher, Shadow Alchemist, and Soul Artist and comes from a lineage of healers, spiritual teachers, intuitives, artists and activists. She was born in a country ruled by a dictator, her first language is French, and she's as comfortable working with Fortune 500 companies as she is teaching students in South Central LA or acting in Hollywood. In other words: she's got some stories! Today, we're talking about ancestry, grieving, life as ceremony, and she tells a harrowing story about being racially profiled and how that led to the liberation of her own Light. Learn more about Agape International.   Learn more about Vipassana Meditation.   Thérèse is leading a Shadow Alchemy Retreat in Tulum, Mexico. Explore her world at theresecator.com