#160 - Perdita Finn: Mothers of Magic - Summoning the Wisdom of our Ancestors

"Mythology, resistant to time and age, has long instructed humanity in the ancient truths of life's mysteries. The Tarot, as a mythology of human existence, is no different. Mythology, within a psychotherapeutic framework, functions through personification." ... "The use of the Tarot in therapy is therefore parallel to the use of projective tests such as the Thematic Apperception Test. The Tarot arguably holds an advantage over the TAT in that it is inherently encoded with cultural, psychological, and philosophical symbolism." (Quotes from Bryan De Justin's book, the focus of this episode.) Excited by these quotes? So am I!! Join me for a rich conversation with author, life coach and hypnotherapist Bryan De Justin as we speak about: -What is Tarot Psychology? -The psychology of our species -Projections in Tarot and mythology to engage with it -Our different bodies and their perspective -Symbolic thinking -What a Freudian perspective in this case means -Hypnotic portals ! -How the Gods are US -The Imaginal Symbol Induction Technique -Eye fascination -The most important number three !!! and what it represents and how 3 is the basis of our psychology -Unmet develpmental needs and how to use tarot for that -Engaging with the unconscious -and not to let other's unconscious effect your interpretation -The importance of the therapist's own journey with the tarot -The hidden warning in each card -Tarot is myth and it explains us -Psychological unity -Involuntary celibate -The upsurge of the Demiurge -Chiron in sagittarius (remember, we only touch on a few key points, there are many more meanings to such an archetype) -I also mention the generation that Bryan belongs to, and I love how he also reminds us of the shadow side of uranus in aqurius -being super intelligent yes, but there are real challenges in too high a mind, that is not embodied like the challenges we see in AI. I hope you enjoy this, TRULY RICH interview, but just one last wonderful quote from Bryans book: "The foundational premise of all psychoanalytic psychotherapy is that the unconscious knows all that consciousness does not. If one cannot accept this (as many cannot), then one cannot accept psychoanalysis at all. The fact remains that there are deep and repressed aspects of the human being that are as dark and minacious as the profundity of the sea. These aspects exist within all individuals, and it is one of the chief tasks of life to venture into the darkness of the earth in order to confront the darkness within oneself and emerge transformed."

"The Soul must gradually strip away the armor of perceived safety—the identities, defenses, and strategies formed under threat, and risk becoming essential once again. Vulnerable. Present. Alive." This is a quote from my guest in this episode- I speak with Kristin Fontana, Evolutionary Astrologer and teacher at the School of Evolutionary Astrology, about her new book "Amazon Rising: Awakening the Wild Feminine", 2026. I must say a very inspiring book!! The Amazon is the female expression of the Warrior Archetype, and in the birth chart the asteroid Amazone (#1042) marks the place where courage is summoned. We talk about the Amazon as a an archetype, what it means to live FULLY, and the spear that can never be broken! Tap in with us as we explore: -Easter Sunday 1999: Pluto transiting Kristin's Sagittarius stellium& Jeffrey Wolf Green's Saturn lecture on natural versus conditioned Saturn, and the day she "died" -This Amazon activating dormant courage in us -Deconditioning from lifetimes of hiding and running -Daemon Souls and living in harmony with nature -Mars and Amazone: why all Amazons are a Pluto–Mars culture -Natural guilt versus learned guilt: Saturn in Pisces squaring the nodes, Joan of Arc, and centuries in hiding -The body remembers: cellular memory -The evolutionary states - What it is to be WILD -Not all spears are meant for battle!!! -The body and the Amazon's natural sexuality: open, unlocked, following desire -Desire as the voice of the Soul: Mars as the younger brother of Pluto -Uranus as "he soul's vibration, but also all the memories that are held in the cells that allow for the vibration of who you are. It reflects your song, your signal, your radio signal" -Sexuality and pushing limits -Stripping down conditioning -Collectively we have Venus retrograde in Scorpio, which is about choosing to culminate or continue relationships -How Kristin became a writer: Pluto in the 3rd house, writing from the emotional body rather than the head, and her first astrology column -The spear can never be broken: like the Soul, it can be set down, but it is always waiting for our return ! LINKS: Kristin Fontana: https://kristinfontana.com/ the book: https://a.co/d/061Y5vRL Mannah: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/

Astrologer Linda "Moon Rabbit" Zlotnik has practiced astrology since 1975. When her identical twin, Lou Ann, died in 2005, Moon cast a chart for the moment of her sister's last breath, and a decade of healing and study led her to devote her work to death charts and the bereaved. For Moon, the death chart is a special gift to those left behind: commonly thought of as an ending, it becomes a different kind of beginning!! In this episode we talk about her new book "Death Charts: An Astrological Tool for the Bereaved" - TAP in with us as we explore: -How astrology can help the bereaved see the cosmic role their particular loss plays -The therapeutic and healing dimension of death chart work -The importance of grief -Why guilt so often accompanies loss -Leaning into being EVEN MORE ALIVE after losing your twin -How birth charts hint at the most profound losses we will face, through a symbolism that is cosmic and free of judgment -Life as a labyrinth: the astrological cycles that represent lessons -Eclipses as a key to death charts: how they work differently from transits, and how the Solar Eclipses before and after a death speak to the natal chart of the one left behind -Being aligned with the death -EXIT POINTS -when the soul choses to leave All of this points to that astrology has a lot to offer people who are grieving... Thank you for being with us for this sensitive topic LINKS the book we speak of: https://a.co/d/0cWqNOGu Moon: https://astrologybymoonrabbit.com/ Mannah: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/ youtube edition: https://youtu.be/xURAMzcIMzk

Evolutionary astrologer Redwood Naragon joins me to talk about the collective planetary nodes, a speciality he has develop into over many years, inspired by Jeffrey Wolfgreen and the EA School. Here you will hear Redwoods take on what the nodes say about the evolutionary direction of humanity as a whole. We start with the nodes of Pluto, to align with the EA Pluto Paradigm. From there Redwood alo goes into Venus–Uranus nodal conjunction, which carries the long arc of literacy, trade, technology and travel, and alongside it the recurring experience of social alienation, cultural outcast patterns, and migration. TAP in with us as we look into: -Honoring the original teachings while expanding them -The meaning of the cancer archetype, to be full of care for one -Individuating souls who no longer feel at home in their own land -How the nodes of planet work and how Plutos point to a certain crisis -The exact conjunction of the 1330s bringing shipbuilding and the plague -The arc of Venus-Uranus-Gemini for connecting and instant messaging and social disruption -Nodes of Uranus into sag -gemini leading to spiritual traditions in written form -The risk of climate displacement- the risk of becoming a refugee -The extreme of unequal exchange In the end I felt we spoke so much astrology, that I'd rather know about Redwood's own life philosophy !! This is a conversation to be continued...Meanwhile, check the links: LINKS: Check Redwood here: https://www.redwoodnaragon.com/

"The further we step outside the constructs of monogamy, the more we inevitably come to see our relationships through new eyes, and sometimes we may not like what we see. Whether you are brand new to CNM, or have been living some form of it for years, the changes that come as you or your partner develop new relationships can radically alter your life in unpredictable ways. For many, the changes that CNM can bring act like a pressure cooker, heating things up and bringing to the surface all kinds of feelings, issues, and dynamics that you were potentially never aware of, such as unprocessed trauma, unresolved ruptures, power imbalances, lingering resentments, poor communication habits, codependency, or even deal-breaking incompatibilities. As CNM forces us to confront some of the exposed cracks in the foundation of our relationships, it can be helpful to remember they are not necessarily the result of personal shortcomings on our part, but often the remnants of relational dynamics that were most likely masked by the closed container of monogamy, or the ostensible security of more hierarchical polyamory." Quote from Polywise, 2023, written by my guests today. Jessica Fern is a psychotherapist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and the author of "Polysecure" from 2020. David Cooley is a restorative justice facilitator and the creator of the Restorative Relationship Conversation Process. Together they wrote "Polywise" in 2023 and "Transforming the Shame Triangle" in 2026 I feel this interview about different factors in consensual non-monogamy (CNM) is so important, because I personally think we are living through a major relational shift due to the ways we can now connect, and in the ways we are now able to see beyond what's considered normal and accept more diversity. This is about how we live with each other, and how we are able to love within different structures. And I'm telling you: as a Pluto in Scorpio gen, it is so refreshing to hear information that dismantles the marriage ideal I was never able to live up to, and yet for any gen it is "a painful process of releasing your attachment to a relationship that can no longer give you either what you need or what they want and what they need".. That's me personally, referring to PolyWise - what about you? I hope you enjoy this one as we speak of: How we are swimming in the paradigm of monogamy Love is infinite. And yet, attachment isn't !!! Attachment as a choice rather than an accident The many shapes of CNM could be hierarchical and non-hierarchical polyamory, solo polyamory, swinging, and Life partners where you are formerly married, now sharing a home - how does a new partner fit into that?? For who does it in monogamy "feel like they're dying"? Legislation making polyamorous people a protected class Relational intelligence !! Quite a bit more!!! In this episode we basically go from the books PolySecure & PolyWise to Transforming the Shame Triangle. As we learn throughout there are several links from the work with parts to CNM, in Polywise Jessica Fern also uses the parts-work approach to explore why CNM can activate such strong emotional reactions. Parts that react on CNM may be: a child part afraid of being abandoned or having its needs unmet a hurt part carrying experiences of betrayal or infidelity a competitive part afraid of being replaced a "princess" part wanting to be the only special person a critical part that distrusts non-monogamy altogether insecure parts that fear not being enough The parts are trying to protect important needs for safety, attachment, love, recognition, choice, and belonging. Now in Jessica and Davids latest book: "Transforming the Shame Triangle: From Shame to Love Using Parts Work" this way of relating to yourself is even further explained, and giving voice to shame and the possible transformation process, which we also touch on in this interview. Let's continue the conversation on alternative relating!! Many of