It’s a great pleasure to welcome not one but two of the most fabulous astrologers I know to the show this week, the inimitable Colin Bedell and mizChartreuse. We became acquainted through the astrology conference world and I reached out to have a conversation with them regarding A Course in Miracles, the seminal 1976 book which has been influential in both of their lives and for thousands (if not millions) of other individuals. ACIM has been an influential source text for both of them, and they've got some utterly fantastic insights to share with us. My idea for this episode emerged out of my own recent re-engagement with the tradition of New Thought. I think the conversation is a timely one considering Marianne Williamson’s current presidential campaign and the cultural resurgence of conscious living as, gosh, a possible force for changing the world for the better. Could you imagine? We've got not one but TWO bonus episodes, one on ACIM & Astrology, and another reflecting on Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign and the role of consciousness in political discourse. Become a patron today to get access to those when they're released: www.patreon.com/jailbreakthesacred Connect with Colin on Twitter @queercosmos and online at queercosmos.com Connect with mizChartreuse on Twitter @mizChartreuse and on the web at thevenusacademy.com Music by www.purple-planet.com
This week it's a pleasure to welcome my friend Bryan Nashed to the show. Bryan is a spooky boi, tarotist, and podcaster, coming to us from the wild and wooly world of Seventh Day Adventism. Bryan co-hosts the Badventist podcast with Anthony Rodriguez, which, aside from winning this week's portmanteau award, serves as a space for those who grew up Adventist to work on jailbreaking their own sacred stories. The conversation covers: Seventh Day Adventism Staying within a tradition and critiquing it from the inside Ancestry, the numinous, and a beautiful (and completely sober) digression into the very nature of time and sacrament Encountering meaning via the high strange Connect with Bryan on Twitter here: @jefebesos Don't forget about becoming a member of our Patreon! We've got some really fantastic bonus episodes coming your way as a treat for our supporters: www.patreon.com/jailbreakthesacred Music by www.purple-planet.com
Today's chat features a lovely conversation with Arthur Lipp-Bonewits. Arthur is an all-purpose diviner, astrologer, occultist, and ecumenical medium based in New York City where he is studying psychology, gender, and sexuality. Today we're sitting down to talk growing up neopagan and the confluence of religious, spiritual, and magical practice at the margins. Mile markers for our conversation: Growing up neopagan and present challenges with even defining what "neopagan" is Developing sensibility to the more-than-material magic, how do it do Neurodiversity and pneumadiversity Gender identity and the Venn Diagram circles of spooky culture, neurodiversity, and sexual/gender minorities gender is complicated Check out Arthur's work at arthurlippbonewits.com and connect with him on Twitter @lipandbone Don't forget about our Patreon, too! Support the Great Work by becoming a patron at patreon.com/jailbreakthesacred Music by purple-planet.com
Today on the show it’s my privilege to welcome my friend and clergy colleague, the Rev. Dr. Sarah Kye Price. Mother Sarah and I met during the trial-by-fire known as Clinical Pastoral Education back in 2015, and she was recently ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. In addition to living out her priestly vocation as the priest affiliate at Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Sarah is the associate dean for faculty development at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. This conversation was long in the works and I'm excited to share it with you. Some audio quality gremlins but nothing insurmountable! Points of interest: Formative experiences of the numinous Reclaiming troublesome language The intersection of social work and priestly ministry De-colonizing Christianity Learn more about Mother Sarah at https://socialwork.vcu.edu/about/our-team/administration/sarah-k-price-phd.html If you like the show, remember to connect with us on Patreon, too! patreon.com/jailbreakthesacred Music by www.purple-planet.com
A little late on the release due to ECLIPSE MANIA, but here we are. It's a privilege to welcome my good friend Andrew Lamont to the show. Andrew is a fiber artist, magician, and astrologer based out of Rhode Island, and today we're sitting down to talk about the process of jailbreaking Catholicism, embodiment and desire, and the importance of ritual work in developing connection to community across the boundaries of space and time. Glad to have a fellow Maryboi on the show. Growing up Deadhead/Catholic, now spooky Ritual as guide into embodiment MARY Embodiment and desire as process—spiritual dimensions thereof. The reciprocal flow between mysticism and eroticism. Ancestral work—sanctioned or otherwise Connect with Andrew on Twitter @patron_sailor. Music by purple-planet.com
Today on the show it’s my privilege to welcome my good friend Jo Gleason! Jo is an astrologer, former ballet dancer, and writer based out of Oklahoma City. She currently serves as the vice president of the Association for Young Astrologers. This free-form conversation tracks Jo's story through her GOOD CHRISTIAN KID upbringing. We talk about disarming the fear of deconstructing one's beliefs and presuppositions about the world in order to find even deeper foundations in the mystical. Our thread also turns towards a re-emergence of a jailbroken Christianity through the influence of ancestor work and the importance of having ethical guardrails. Connect with Jo at jogleason.com and on Twitter @justjogleason Music by purple-planet.com
Today on the show, I’m sitting down with my friend Flan Park. Flan and I have been in each others orbits for several years now, having connected with one another via Gay Christian Twitter. Flan is a children’s librarian living and working in Philadelphia. Their work focuses on bringing whole person, whole family literacy and learning support work to underserved and underrepresented populations throughout the city, as well as researching and generating educational materials around gender affirming child development frameworks. While not in the library, they work alongside the young adult outreach of St. Mark’s Church, an Anglo-Catholic parish of The Episcopal Church in Center City Philadelphia, helping to coordinate a bread baking and community learning workshop called Rise. Being an Episcopalian. Milquetoast WASP-ism vs living tradition with social impact. Importance of Philly Episcopal churches roles in women’s ordination, LGBTQ inclusion in the Church, support of community during AIDS crisis. Article from RNS about St Stephen’s in city center. https://religionnews.com/2019/06/20/philadelphia-episcopalians-explore-what-happens-when-church-is-separated-from-sunday/ A Christian Post article that covers the work Rise has been doing in South Phila and Center City: https://www.christianpost.com/news/how-innovative-ministries-are-bringing-millennials-back-to-church.html?fbclid=IwAR0WQ51P0eZyLPgFjIi1SWWQ0YY6gcw8gYfnMSOBnMEEbvrNx1A9aVdyFLs, relevant info is on pg 3) Radical Faeries Kitchen work as a means of cultural transmission. The mundane becoming magical, the ordinary become extraordinary… connexions to Eucharist and to magic as well. Spiritual significance of sourdough work. Cultural transmission as a crucial factor in sound spiritual praxis as well as activism. Connect with Flan on Twitter at @asunflowerpose and on Instagram @cyclingsunward Music by www.purple-planet.com
Today on the show I’ve got the privilege of welcoming my friend Sam Block, with whom I became acquainted through Spooky Twitter, only to find out that he lives in my hometown, the forested wilds of Northern Virginia. Sam wears many hats; in addition to being a software developer, talented geomancer, and all-purpose magician, Sam is a prolific writer and has a robust online presence through his website, The Digital Ambler. He’s also a fully initiated priest in the Afro-Cuban spiritual tradition known as La Regla de Ocha Lucumí (also known as Santería). Today we’re talking spiritual lineage, sacred story, the ethics of magic, and the power of alternative spiritual practices and stories to shape the world for the better of all. Our conversation covers: a theory of magic (WHO IS SHE!?), the similarities between henosis in the Hermetic tradition and theosis in the Christian tradition, the role of the occult in shaping a healed world, the intricacies of being a white person in a non-white tradition, and several other stopping points along the way. An absolute joy of a conversation. Connect with Sam online at www.digitalambler.com and on Twitter @polyphanes. This week's bonus episode for Patreon subscribers (which will come out later this week) will be an introit into geomancy, with a live geomancy session! And no, it's not the terrain-based support skill from Final Fantasy. Pop over to Patreon and support the JTS community for access to that!
This week, I sat down with Drew Levanti, a new friend I connected with at the Northwest Astrology Conference in Seattle. Drew is a student of anthropology and of Hellenistic astrology (with some forays into archetypical models of symbolism). Our conversation wends its way through his experience growing up around a heavy-duty New Age community, his work as a student of anthropology, and the role of ethics in shaping our creative engagement with cycles of time measured astrologically. This conversation was a delight! Connect with Drew @FortunateFire on Twitter and @anthrostrologist on Instagram. Bonus episode is forthcoming for Patreon subscribers on the $10 tier! Music by www.purple-planet.com
We're on a weird release schedule these days due to circumstances beyond my control, but I'm glad to be back! This time around, it’s my pleasure to welcome to the show my friend West Ardere! West is an astrologer and former evangelical based out of Seattle, Washington. Our lovely conversation today circles the drain on ritualized prayer, folk catholica, ancestor veneration, Tolkien, and the role of the imaginal in spiritual practice and the development of a constellation of mythic narratives—aka, a jailbroken engagement with the sacred. West's work can be found at ardorastrology.com, and you can connect with them on Twitter @westardere.