On the Soul's Terms

In this episode we explore the first water sign of the Zodiac: Cancer. Ruled by the moon, Cancer is linked to the archetypal mother and so rules over the lunar side of our consciousness; fluid, emotional, imaginal, creative, nurturing and receptive.
As this 'night world' consciousness responds best to images, sounds and sense impressions, the episode begins with a look at a few Cancerian artists; DJ Shadow and Frida Kahlo. We then settle in to a look at Cancer key words and ideas, followed by a deep dive into the crab itself as it scuttles sideways between land and see, carrying its home on its back.
Mythologically Hestia, goddess of the hearth comes to the table. Tantalus shows us what not to do at a dinner party, especially one where the gods are the guests. We look at the Earth Mother lineage of Gaia, Rhea, Hera. And then go deep into the tensional point between Hera and Herakles as it plays out through the image of the terrifying nine-headed water snake, the Hydra.
Resources for this episode:
Mort Garson - Cancer 1969
DJ Shadow's album Entroducing... especially the song Changeling.
Frida Kahlo - The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth, Myself, Diego and Senor Xolotl, 1949 (cover art)
Brian Clark - Mythic Signs
Crabs Trading Shells - BBC Earth
Nami · Chihei Hatakeyama · Federico Durand

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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The word ‘Pandemic’ comes from two Greek words: Pan - all; and Demos - people. We use it to imply that it is affecting all the people. But the word ‘demos’ aslo has a close link to the word ‘demon’. Pandemic - all the demons. And it has felt as thought this time has aligned with the opening of Pandora’s Box. Pandora, of course, meaning ‘all the gifts’.

Such is the way when it comes to words. They’re ruled by the god Mercury/Hermes and are often betraying double meanings. (Before Freud’s rebrand, the Hermetic Slip was the trickster getting your tongue. Not necessarily a revelation of some sexual compulsion, as was the place all of Freud’s roads led.)

Pandemic suggests, then, that we’re all in this together. And so are all of our demons. Not to mention all of our gifts.

At this point, it’s likely that we all know someone who has had the virus and has experienced long term effects or has died. We also know many negatively affected from the response to the virus: loss of employment and livelihood; suffering from isolation, anxiety, depression, hopelessness. We might know people suffering from adverse reactions to the shot, some also severe and long lasting.

The numbers might be telling us a story, and our felt experience telling us something quite different. Data vs Anecdotes.

We are all in several double binds. For instance, personally, I’m thankful for the fortress that is Western Australia for keeping this thing away from my mother and her chronic lung condition. Whilst I’m frustrated that I can’t enter that fortress and be with my dear aunt who has a rare and relentless form of cancer as she tries whatever experimental medicines are available to her to survive. Precious moments I won’t get back.

Like Theseus, we may have taken up our sword and shield and attempted to enter the labyrinth of the internet to work out what the hell is going on - only to have found ourselves confounded and confused by all the conflicting information. Or maybe we discovered ‘The Truth’, but it took its toll on our body, mental health and relationships and left us in a state of paranoia or nihilism.

I haven’t spoken to much of this in my podcast. For many reasons. The confusion in the field. Not wanting to be just another conflicting voice. Fear of persecution (it’s a very real fear for the more mystically oriented - and for good historical reason). And the big one - what if I’m wrong?

In today’s podcast, however, inspired by the Gemini Full Moon, symbolic of our need for critical thinking, open communication, questioning authority and acknowledging the ‘dark twin’, I’ve decided to step into the polarising field like The Fool stepping into the great abyss.

I’ve brought some magical helpers with me. The Greek Myth of Eris, who isn’t invited to a wedding banquet so does what any rational Goddess would do; starts the Trojan War. And my spirit companions - C.G. Jung speaking to the Clergy and the Astrologer, Rob Brezny, from his book Pronoia: The Antidote for Paranoia.

I’ve spent way too much time on it, as well as this blurb. My wish is that it is coherent and that it helps us think beyond our fixed positions, if only for a moment.

Thanks for reading. Thanks even more for listening in.
Astrology Art by Johfra.

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Melanie Reinhart has been a professional astrologer since 1975. She is a patron of the Faculty of Astrological Studies and in 2004 received the Charles Harvey Award from the Astrological Association of Great Britain for 'exceptional service to astrology.'
This is Part One of a two part conversation. We begin, as is the custom on the show, with land acknowledgements. This takes us on a fascinating journey into Melanie's lineage and how synchronicity played a big role in connected her back to her ancestors, just as Chiron was crossing over her IC (the lowest part of the chart and connected to our unseen origins).
This leads us into a deeper dive into the world of Chiron and the Centaurs and their position in the Kuiper Belt of the solar system. An astronomy magazine once referred to the Kuiper Belt as 'the pristine remains of our celestial origins.' We dream along with this concept and wonder if Chiron might, in fact, take us back to our very roots, so long as we're willing to see the world from his viewpoint.
Towards the end of the episode Melanie is inviting us into the ancient world view that we can commune with plants and when we do their extraordinary healing potentials are often revealed.
It's there that we take a break, and pick up the flow again in Part Two.
To hear the story of Chiron on this podcast go to Apple or Spotify or simply scroll back to hear Alexandre and I discuss the story when we were Tending the Sun Fire.
For more about Melanie visit her website here.
Thank you to Marlia Coeur who has provided us with a new soundtrack for the show.
You can find her on Spotify and YouTube.
Cover Art: Hendrick Goltzius, Apollo Entrusting Chiron with the Education of Asclepius. Circa 1590.
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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Tara Judelle is a world renowned yoga facilitator moved by bringing humans into their innate sense of freedom and purpose. After 30 years experimenting in all forms of movement, Tara co-created the School of Embodied FlowTM in 2014, making her one of the first yoga teachers to bring the work of Body Mind Centering and Tantra together. From a background in literature, film writing, directing and dance, Tara brings students on a journey of discovery of their numinous self through laughter, meditation, embodiment, movement & inquiry.
Tara was one of the first five teachers on the platform called Yogaglo which was one of the first online yoga platforms (launching in 2009). Her deepest inquiry is how to bring the felt sense of capital S self into the felt sense of our embodiment to facilitate awakening. She is also interested in using the body as a gateway into flow states, and how to bring the meditative awareness into open eyed interactive awareness. Teaching reciprocity and yielding is one of the things closest to her heart.
Recently she has been studying more somatic psychology and Internal Family Systems, and looking at how the energy of what we could call Core Self radiates as a frequency that tends to heal/melt held patterns or parts.
"I suppose if I could do anything in the world it would be to help humans to remember their creative, dynamic felt sense of Self energy and to melt the masks that we have learned to take on. "
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What's that mesmerising soundtrack? That's Marlia Coeur: Spotify | YouTube.

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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Today I’m joined for a third time on the podcast by Astrologer, Brian Clark.

We recorded this podcast on October 2nd and release it now on October 13th on the eve of the solar eclipse in Libra. The episode continues on with the year-long exploration of the signs of the Zodiac, with interviews with people who have strong signatures of the sign that we’re delving into. Brian is no exception to this rule with his Sun and several other planets inhabiting the sign of the scales.

It's special for me to have Brian on the show as he is a mentor of mine, as he is with so many others. I have been the benefactor of his lifelong engagement with Greek Mythology. In fact, Brian even helped map out the ancient sites of Greece for me, opening the imagination to where these old stories were dreamed up in the first place.

In this episode we focus on a mythic moment where the Goddess Athena, daughter of the great god Zeus, is asked to deliberate on a jury that is hung six-six. The tension point is between the ancient and the modern of their time. We use this myth to explore a moment in Australian history, tomorrow in fact, where the Australian people decide yes or no on whether to add an indigenous voice to parliament.

Whatever your stance on this moment, I ask you to hold an open mind to our mythic wanderings. I also remind you to, as always with this podcast, try to think less literally and more mythologically; especially when we enter the depth of the mythic material. When we discuss male, female, mother, father, we are talking about timeless archetypal experiences that are alive within us all. The interior world of Soul. Rather than roles and positions in society at large.
Brian's Website
Chris's Website
Uluru's Statement from the Heart
Cover Art is from John Singer Sargent - Orestes Pursued by the Furies - 1921

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.