Therapeutic Astrology Podcast

#148 - Bob Falconer: You Can't Heal from Major Trauma Without Connecting to Spirit - Beyond IFS

Robert Falconer (Bob) is with us for the third time, and it is such a rich hour. Listen to this one if you want to learn more about what dialoguing with Spirit is, how a domination structure does not want people to have connection to spirit, how it is essential to heal from trauma, and why desire is a very good thing!! TAP in with us and learn more about: -How to let go of the raft (the tools, worldviews, and methods that once helped us can later become limitations if we cling to them) -Distinctions between channeling and dialogue with spirit -Jung's active imagination as it relates to IFS -How IFS is a raft! Bob's staircase truly excites me -How confusion, cognitive dissonance, and uncertainty are actually the fastest way to grow -ASK: "How do I develop my relationship with this?" -Stand on the Abyss !! -Any person remains fundamentally mysterious!! -the alternative to the "attempt to kill the psyche " -Neoplatonism, theurgy, and the embodied descent of divine energies -Ecstatic energy -REVISION the history of spirituality in the West -Hunger, yearning, and loneliness are not signs of failure but forces that can carry a person home to the divine. Desire becomes distorted only when reduced or controlled -Spirit being plural -How Spirit after the book said: "You have tried to storm the Palace of Wisdom through its sewer system" -How demons keep people chained as long as they remain afraid of them but the way forward is not to violently cut cords -His comments on lasting transformations: be curious about the parts that brought the old structures back, it is a SLOW PROCESS BASED ON LOVE -we go into Bob's current transits as he has Uranus right on his Venus now (29 degrees) and have an upcoming transit of Saturn to his Sun. Major development about to give way it seems and I think his current studies of tantra could be related to his Venus in taurus and his upcoming major book project could be related to Saturn approaching, as he has felt some resistance to it and it is a major work. But it could be many other things going on this life that I do not know about, remember in these interviews I always just guess a bit from what I know whereas in a deep conversation about life events, I would understand the symbolism better- but it does point to that something does not satisfy Bob anymore, it is as if another wisdom establish, that could be a broad way to look at the current and coming energy for him. Of course, as an Aries, he marches to his own drummer regardless. youtube video here: https://youtu.be/JW_uCCi0wfk [https://youtu.be/JW_uCCi0wfk] check Bob out here: https://robertfalconer.us/ [https://robertfalconer.us/] the book we speak about here: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Robert-Falconer/dp/B0G2GJTHR3 [https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Robert-Falconer/dp/B0G2GJTHR3] and me here: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/ [https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/]

#147 - Joel Blackstock: Mystical Experiences in Therapy - BrainSpotting & Emotional Transformation

Our guest today, Joel Blackstock, is deeply inspiring. Whether you're passionate about therapy or simply curious, this conversation is getting you there - we explore the natural therapeutic evolution, how pattern recognition is central and then Joel breaks down the differences between EMDR and Brainspotting, and then takes us further into Emotional Transformation Therapy. I highly recommend listening to this one. He shares so many powerful reflections, including: "I want my shadow in the room, so I know where it is" which feels especially resonant coming from a fellow Pluto in Scorpio gen. He also shares his own breakdown and how he had to go through the process himself. He also speaks beautifully about the shift from writing against critics to writing for the people who can actually be helped by his work. We of course also speak of Joel's astrology, where I put an emphasis on his Gemini signature to reflect his ability to research and understand neurology and the brain. It is also his Gemini nature that helps him apply different perspectives at once—and in terms of the current transits, we are looking straight at his Mercury, Jupiter, Sun, and Ascendant, which might mean that in this period of time he will make big decisions around central elements of his life. He will do so with his shadow in the room, as he says, and Chiron is in the room too, meaning his personal trailblazer signature showing itself also on the basis of his willingness to stay present with discomfort, allowing it to evolve into purpose and meaningful action. It is truly life changing transits, but it is also the long term perspective on projects- in fact all these major transits speak of change over a long time, over several years. Mind you that the outer planets make the strongest effect on us, however it often takes a while, as they retrograde and come back around. This means we got time to think for ourselves, then rethink the thinking and then rethink the foundation of ever having thought so... It certainly means that we are in a maturation process. NOW: Lean back, enjoy the conversation, and check out the links below: https://gettherapybirmingham.com/ [https://gettherapybirmingham.com/] Joel's podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@GetTherapyBirmingham [https://www.youtube.com/@GetTherapyBirmingham] Here is the first in the series we mention about the history of psychotherapy: https://youtu.be/aFCWDKd4xCg?si=M6aUTKK-kL6Xjgex [https://youtu.be/aFCWDKd4xCg?si=M6aUTKK-kL6Xjgex] or here: https://gettherapybirmingham.podbean.com/e/a-psychohistory-of-american-psychology-part-1/ [https://gettherapybirmingham.podbean.com/e/a-psychohistory-of-american-psychology-part-1/] Mannah: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/ [https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/] see our consversation on youtube here: https://youtu.be/On7OIcrAvKc [https://youtu.be/On7OIcrAvKc]

#146 - Justin Wilford, PhD: Your Parts Have a Spiritual Core - Healing Unattached Burdens as Lost Souls in Internal Family Systems

This is such a rich episode! Meet Justin Wilford (IFS practitioner, writer, and former academic) who for some sick reason has two PhD's. But that is all in the past. Now he is full time working with IFS (Internal Family Systems therapy) both client-work, teaching groups and retreats. COME and be with us as we explore the core ideas of IFS, including multiplicity, Self, burdens and the UB's, and the insight that our parts are not just protective, but sacred. Justin shares how his thinking has evolved from viewing parts as mechanisms or metaphors to experiencing them as beings with their own spiritual core. We also go into the theme of religious trauma and the difficulty of reconnecting with biblical language after religious trauma - which is just nice that someone else feels as well, but of course through healing those parts with religious trauma there can open a different path into inner freedom. We also speak about unattached burdens as lost souls and the whole the spiritual dimension of healing, and how Justin understands these phenomena through direct clinical and personal experience as his sagittarius ascendent would want. We also touch on Tarot and a deep explanation of the underlying nature of reality. I truly enjoy diving into these important topics that Justin clearly cares about too and are able to articulate in such an informing and felt way. youtube version: https://youtu.be/FDkZ-FT4AqM [https://youtu.be/FDkZ-FT4AqM] Check Justin out here: his substack I mention: https://substack.com/@justingwilford [https://substack.com/@justingwilford] his website: https://www.justinwilford.com/ [https://www.justinwilford.com/] Mannah: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/ [https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/] And listen here: https://podimo.com/dk/shows/therapeutic-astrology [https://podimo.com/dk/shows/therapeutic-astrology]

#145 - Jason D. Batt, Ph.D. - Depth Psychology, Myth and Artificial Intelligence: Soul and the Machine

"What are the deeper psychological needs trying to be met through this new technology? What are the hidden archetypal patterns at play in turning to the prospect of a different kind of mind, a mind not quite human, perhaps a mind that is more than human? In this liminal space, we find a spectrum of fantasies ranging from a coming utopia ushered in by the potentials of these immaculately conceived technologies, to the enslavement or destruction of humanity by rogue AI that has outsmarted its programmers."* WELCOME to such a rich episode, where technological philosopher, mythologist, futurist and author Jason D. Batt is talking in depth with me about AI in a psychological view. Here are some of the themes we go through together - and let me tell you, this is perspective shifting, and AI is going to be completely normal soon, so lets talk about it, here close to the ingress of Uranus into Gemini. -How the book Depth Psychology, Myth and Artificial Intelligence- SOUL AND THE MACHINE came to be -Who decides what soul and humanity is? -What are the deeper psychological needs trying to be met through this new technology? -What is AI really reflecting back to us? How is it the collective unconscious and the deeper patterns shaping humanity? -How humans have always imagined "the other" in robots & artificial beings and AI is now becoming a real version of that -Sci-fi stories have already imagined the reality we are now entering -The importance of being kind to AI as it will develop consciousness (plus it's better for oneself as well) -The myth we are in now -How Artemis II right now will capture a new "Earthrise" -The separation of astrology and astronomy -What Jason thinks of therapy with AI Thank you so much for being with us - Share it with friends and let me know what you think Mannah LINKS: this episode on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N6MUYAZOuA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N6MUYAZOuA] the book we speak about: https://www.amazon.com/Depth-Psychology-Myth-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/3031941047 [https://www.amazon.com/Depth-Psychology-Myth-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/3031941047] Jasons website: https://www.jbatt.com/ [https://www.jbatt.com/] His writings on substack: https://xenomythology.substack.com/ [https://xenomythology.substack.com/] Mannahs web: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/ [https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/] *Depth Psychology, Myth and Artificial Intelligence: Soul and the Machine, page 3

#144 - Kingsley Dennis (p.2) Beyond Conditioning - Connecting to Something Higher - The Modern Seeker & Sage Talks

This is the second part of our (yes, yours and mine!) meeting with Kingsley L. Dennis, who holds a PhD and works as a full-time writer and researcher. He is the author of more than twenty-five books and numerous articles, making it no small task to choose what to focus on!! But today is long planned job (planned by myself Mannah)of me bringing some challenging questions to Kingsley, as I recently read his 2020 book "The Modern Seeker: A Perennial Psychology for Contemporary Times." We explore what the perennial path is, and how it can be expressed through the modern language of psychology. What are the dangers of going into the occult/spiritual domain if not emotionally stable and how can therapy work together with the perennial need to decondition? Kingsley is AS WE SPEAK ready with a new book for the public called "Sage Talks: Conversations with Gods, Deities, and Avatars" (march 31, 2026) and we of course dive into that too in the later part of this interview. But mostly we go at it with bridging tools/paths for emotional health and a spiritual growth. Modern therapy and the perennial path are not necessarily opposed - but the interesting part is how we get to this point, the process of us understanding each other in this conversation I think. DEconditioning and reprogramming is a HUGE important task. Now then what? What do we replace the old programme with? Well Soulmaking, in his language, is about nourishing the soul with what truly feeds it, rather than living on distractions, substitutes, or forms of "fast food" for the psyche. A central thread in the conversation is that real development requires openness, critically questioning, flexibility and humor! And an underlying theme is the art of communication, because as Kingsley says in the end of this episode: "We are a communicative species." In astrological terms, we speak of a Mars Mercury conjunction (powerful communicator!) and Libra rising, which points to a soul emphasis on equal relationships. I find this very pronounced in Kingsley because he is always very easy to talk to and consistently invites me into a space of co-creation. Also in this conversation he speaks of allowing others perspectives - that is a Libra skill for sure!! I hope you enjoy it and will reflect with us on these existential and important topics -Mannah link to this episode on youtube: https://youtu.be/F5Sm4hz067w [https://youtu.be/F5Sm4hz067w] Kingsleys substack: https://kingsleyldennis.substack.com/ [https://kingsleyldennis.substack.com/] Mannah: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/ [https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/]