Living Open | Modern Magick and Spirituality for Mystics and Seekers

Jeanna Kadlec (she/her) is a writer, astrologer, former lingerie boutique owner, and recovering academic. Her writing has appeared in ELLE, NYLON, O the Oprah Magazine, Allure, Catapult, Literary Hub, Autostraddle, and she's the creator of the New York Times-featured newsletter Astrology for Writers. A born and bred Midwesterner, she now lives in Brooklyn. HERETIC is her first book. In this episode, Eryn and Jeanna talk about: Jeanna's journey with Christianity & deconstruction Grieving the loss of religion Not just replacing christianity with cut/copy/paste spirituality but actually figuring out what we believe Navigating having conservative, evangelical families Believing in people's capacity to change Having hard conversations with family The particular loneliness of strained and estranged relationships with parents Reparenting ourselves Check out the blog for this episode at erynjohnson.com/blog/jeanna-kadlec   Check out my recent essay in Insider. Subscribe to Joy Notes and check out the Religious Trauma workbook. Connect with Jeanna on her website, social media. Read her book, Heretic, and check out her substack Astrology for Writers.

Victoria Albina (she/her/ella) a Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner, an herbalist, and a nervous system expert.  In this episode, Eryn and Victoria discuss: Her journey with health and healing How the stories we tell about ourselves and the world impact our somatic experience of life Vagus nerve and polyvagal theory! Different nervous system states Perceiving threat Finding safety in the nervous system slowly and steadily Allowing your body to complete the energy of what it wanted to do in a challenging moment  Hypervigilance after trauma Self-love The fawn response, codependence, and people pleasing Attachment theory All of this existing in context of oppressive systems Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/maria-victoria-albina  Connect with Eryn on their substack, Joy Notes. Explore the Religious Trauma Support workbook. Download Victoria's free suite of meditations and nervous system orienting exercises.  Tune into Victoria's Feminist Wellness podcast and connect with her on Instagram @victoriaalbinawellness.

Laura (she/they) is a writer, editor, and book coach who works with intuitive and magical writers who want to unearth their own writing stories and create a sustainable writing practice. In this episode, Eryn and Laura talk about: Laura's journey with creativity, writing, magic, and spirituality Using frameworks and support for our writing (and not) Pinning down key emotional moments and using them as a basis for fiction writing Unearthing and softly excavating our deepest stories Collaborating with the parts of you the story is coming from Figuring out the story you're trying to tell Being open to the nonlinear creative writing process Rituals Laura uses in their writing process Different stages of the creative process where feedback may be more or less helpful Experiential learning through the writing process The inner work that goes along with writing Identifying learned myths in creativity Writing the true book that you're meant to write Creating a sustainable writing practice Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/laura-ellen-joyce  Connect with Eryn on their substack, Joy Notes. Explore the Religious Trauma Support workbook. Connect with Laura on their website and their new Substack!

Chelsey Pippin Mizzi (she/her) is a writer, tarot reader, and the founder of Pip Cards Tarot, a tarot consultancy helping creatives unblock, generate new ideas, and connect to their inner artist through tarot. In this episode, Eryn and Chelsey talk about: Chelsey's journey with creativity, writing, and tarot Images in the process of writing Using your tarot deck to have conversations with your creativity Using tarot to write better stories and better-developed characters Doing tarot spreads for your characters Holding the cards loosely! Lessons from Chelsey's book-writing process Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/chelsey-pippin-mizzi Connect with Eryn on their substack, Joy Notes. Some of their writings on creativity and creative process over there: devotion to creative transformation telling the story that wants to be told play and nourishing the creative self a mini creative reset  the next thing leads to the next thing scent-sual creative aliveness with Mary Adelle Connect with Chelsey on Instagram, her website, or her Substack, The French Dispatch. Mentioned in this episode: The Querant by Alexander Chee Character development tarot spread Chelsey's Tarot for Novelists ebook Chelsey's book, The Tarot Spreads Yearbook

Gina Badger (they/she) is a clinical energetic herbalist. They offer care through their private practice, Long Spell, and collaborative projects such as Wet Coast mutual aid kits. Gina is a queer nonbinary femme of mixed Western European ancestry born in Treaty 6 territory and currently living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations (Vancouver, Canada). In this episode, Eryn and Gina talk about: Gina's journey with plants! Building an embodied relationship with plants Personal healing-oriented plant communication Looking to the plants as teachers Orienting toward plant relationship Ways to give plants attention What relationship with plants looks like for them in the winter Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/gina-badger  Subscribe to the Joy Notes substack here and get a copy of the Religious Trauma support workbook here. Connect with Gina on their website, Instagram, or over email at gina@longspellherbs.com. Footnotes from Gina: Episodes from KPFA radio show the Herbal Highway: “Herbal Energetics” (15/Feb/2023, originally aired 1/May/1999) and “Honoring our Elders: Karyn Sanders,” (2/Nov/2022) Joanna Macy's Work that Reconnects Chani Nicholas's Week Ahead Podcast for the week of 30/Jan/2023

Sherry Shone (she/her) honors her Black, White, and First Native heritages using hoodoo work. She has two books on the subject and working on her first divination deck.  In this episode, Sherry and Eryn talk about: Sherry's journey with spirituality and hoodoo Doing hoodoo before even understanding what she was doing Intention, faith, and direction The roots of hoodoo What sherry means when she says hoodoo is for everyone Healing lineage wounds and not arriving to other practices with no connection to your own Hoodoo for liberation Simple and effective magic How it can scare people around us when we're changing and becoming more of ourselves Connecting with ancestors and shared ancestors Her relationship with the bible now Simple hoodoo spells CW: brief mention of physical violence Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/that-hoodoo-lady  Check out the Religious Trauma workbook, a 110-page digital workbook full of prompts, reflections, meditations, rituals, and somatic exercises to support folks on a journey of deprogramming and healing from dogmatic religious backgrounds. Subscribe to the Joy Notes substack for upcoming writings like: TELLING THE STORY THAT WANTS TO BE TOLD, I'LL NEVER WRITE SOMETHING AS GOOD AS MELISSA FEBOS AND THAT'S OKAY, BOOKS I LOVE, GETTING INTO YOUR BODY WHEN YOUR BODY CAN FEEL LIKE A STRANGE OR UNKIND PLACE. Connect with Sherry on her website and Instagram. Get a copy of Hoodoo for Everyone. Tarot for Top Surgery.

Grace (they/them) is an artist, a quilt maker, and a writer. Their work falls under the broad canopy of “women's work” and they are intentionally digging into what it means to look at that work through a queer, non-binary lens. They're self taught and often work in unconventional methods and reclaimed materials to achieve pieces that represent their experiences and interests as a German-American midwestern lesbian. But sometimes, too, they just make socks because they have cold feet. In this episode, Eryn and Grace talk about: Grace's journey with creativity, quilting, writing! Getting into quilting Family histories of quilting Making wonky weird quilts! Working with reclaimed and recycled fabrics Queerness & quilting What it means to do women's work through a queer, non-binary lens Home-making without heteronormative gender roles Grace's connection to their German ancestry Queer culture and how we create it by living it! Grace's writing practice Telling stories with words and textiles Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/grace-rother  Check out the latest joy notes and share your creative intentions for the year here. Subscribe to access an archive of writings on creativity, healing, aliveness, beauty, and grief. Connect with Grace on their Substack, Instagram, and website.

Jasper Joy (they/he) is a white genderqueer witch, tarot scholar, community chemist, Venusian writer, and elder-babe residing among the rightful homelands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee people, both past and present. In this episode, Eryn and Jasper talk about: Jasper's journey with healing & tarot Queer conjuring Coming into their own spirituality from a Wiccan background Spiritual integration! Manifesting “bad things” Queer witch as an embodied archetype Honoring Medusa as a queer witch! Tarot for top surgery The queens of the tarot and water Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/jasper-joy Read the latest joy notes: THE NEXT THING LEADS TO THE NEXT THING. Subscribe for a free 7-day trial to read paid essays! Join Virtual Solstice Breathwork for Grief, a gathering on Tuesday, 12/20 at 7 pm EST to be with and tend to grief. Connect with Jasper on Instagram, and their website. Find Tarot for Top Surgery here!

Mina Hiebert (she/her) is an art therapist who believes in the power of making art with intention, connection, and the spirit of play. She currently works as a counsellor in elementary schools and with adults online through the therapeutic art group “Oracle Lab”. Mina's main method of creative practice is garment sewing, through which she explores expression, colour, and her body. She lives on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territories of the Lekwungen/Songhees and Esquimalt peoples, also known as Victoria, BC. In this episode, Eryn and Mina talk about: Mina's journey with art, creativity, and healing Making art but not feeling like an artist / feeling like an artist! Untangling the idea of only being an artist if you're producing something not just if you're experiencing The identity of artist Queerness & art making Giving our own meaning to our art Permission to play, make mistakes, make a mess, use your nice supplies! Mina's journey with textile arts! The transformation her sewing practice has gone through Making garments as a political statement Slow creative magic! Being open to being touched by what's happening around us Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/mina-hiebert  Read the latest joy notes: THE NEXT THING LEADS TO THE NEXT THING. Subscribe for a free 7-day trial to read paid essays! Join Virtual Solstice Breathwork for Grief, a gathering on Tuesday, 12/20 at 7 pm EST to be with and tend to grief. Connect with Mina on her website and Instagram.

Rebecca Scolnick (she/her) is an emotional witch, forever seeker, and queer human lady, who uses magic and storytelling to support unlearning work and inspire new meaning-making. In this episode, Rebecca and Eryn talk about: Rebecca's journey with healing & spirituality Evolving our spiritual practices & why neither of us read tarot for ourselves very much anymore Spirituality as part of capitalism world The responsibility of both facilitator and participant to do Hierophant work Abandoning ourselves and calling it spirituality! How we embody & interact with surrender Numerology magic! Angel numbers exist & don't exist! Working with these systems and tools (like tarot and numerology) intuitively Lineages of numerology Life path numbers and what you can learn from them Entry points to learning about your own numerology Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/rebecca-scolnick Get the Religious Trauma workbook, a 110-page digital workbook full of prompts, reflections, meditations, rituals, and somatic exercises to help you deprogram, heal, and reclaim who you are after religion. Read the latest edition of joy notes: DEVOTION TO CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION Read Abandoning Myself and Calling It Surrender. Connect with Rebecca on her website and Instagram. Get a copy of her book, The Witch's Book of Numbers!

Today I'm reading you the October Joy Notes essay for paid subscribers as a little freebie, called THE LINEAGES WE CARRY IN OUR BODIES: thousands of ghosts, emergent ancestor ritual, and remembering who we are in our grief. Joy Notes is my twice-monthly publication featuring writings on being stretched wide by beauty, grief, and the full spectrum of aliveness. I want to invite you to subscribe to joy notes for $5/month - there is also a free tier - but paying helps support a working writer & makes writing sustainable! Click here to subscribe and get access to other pieces including: SCENT-SUAL CREATIVE ALIVENESS WITH MARY ADELLE ABANDONING MYSELF AND CALLING IT SURRENDER INSTRUCTIONS FOR BEING ALIVE LETTING OURSELVES CHANGE & TRANSFORM

Christina Carlson (she/they) is an Embodiment and Intuitive Coach, and the Host of the Podcast Bitches, Witches, and Queers. In this episode, Eryn and Christina talk about: Christina's journey with healing and spirituality coming from evangelical Christianity Following her body's lead Finding a space of internal safety Being with parts of yourself that are difficult for you Not dominating yourself into being the “best” version of yourself Cultivating compassion and kindness to accept yourself Going back to church experiences (weddings, funerals, etc) as ex-Christian people How harmful religious ideas can be replicated in spiritual spaces too The basic human need to belong Creating new community and relationships after religion Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/christina-carlson Get the Religious Trauma workbook, a 110-page digital workbook full of prompts, reflections, meditations, rituals, and somatic exercises to help you deprogram, heal, and reclaim who you are after religion. Read the latest edition of joy notes: abandoning myself and calling it surrender. Connect with Christina on their website and Instagram. Listen to my episode on their Bitches, Witches and Queers podcast!

Kaitlyn (they/them) is a queer, non-binary trans* Espiritista, psychic medium, diviner, and occult educator in Los Angeles, California. Kaitlyn specializes in facilitating conscious connections between the mortal and spirit realms, uncovering authentic, ancestrally guided spiritual practices, spiritual healing through mediumship, and exorcism. In this episode, Kaitlyn and Eryn talk about: Kaitlyn's journey with spirituality and healing How Kaitlyn's kids are part of their spiritual practice Becoming the parent their kids need Loneliness Espiritisma and how they connect with spirits, how the spirits move through them Working with troubled spirits Helping spirits pass over to the next realm What spirits are motivated by The healing work that their spirits do What they've learned about life from the spirits Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/kaitlyn-grana Subscribe to Joy Notes, Eryn's new twice-monthly Substack newsletter about being stretched wide by beauty, grief, and the full spectrum of aliveness. Join HOLY, a seven-week reclamation circle for ex-religious folks who want to create community and healing together. Connect with Kaitlyn on their website, Instagram @spiritgardentarot, and TikTok @crynowcrylater. My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes.

Lisa Fazio (she/her) is an Irish/Italian American herbalist, astrologer, writer, mother, grandmother, and educator. In this episode, Lisa and Eryn talk about: Lisa's journey with plant magic, astrology, and spirituality Secure attachment through plant relationship and physical & somatic anchors with plants Being in service to plants Working with plants on indigenous stolen land Finding home with plants Animism She reads us her poem, “how to love a polluted river” Lisa's relationship to poetry Poems as living things How her spiritual practice has evolved from growing up Catholic Italian folk medicine! Plants and ancestral connection Simple ways to start to reconnect with ancestral lineages How ancestral work can disempower white supremacy Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/lisa-fazio Subscribe to Joy Notes, Eryn's new twice-monthly Substack newsletter about being stretched wide by beauty, grief, and the full spectrum of aliveness.  Book a sliding scale breathwork session with Eryn. Join the waitlist for HOLY. Connect with Lisa on her website. Stay tuned for her book, Della Medicina: Plants of Italian American Folk medicine - out next year.

Yana Tallon-Hicks, LMFT, (she/her) is a sex therapist specializing in LGBTQQ+, kinky, and non-monogamous relationships. She is also a consent, sex, and sexuality columnist and educator. Her work centers around the belief that pleasure-positive and consent-based sex education can positively impact our lives and the world. In this episode, Eryn and Yana talk about: Yana's journey with pleasure, queerness, kink, polyamory Integrating sex education facts with making our dreams about sex and sexuality feel real and settled Working with shame and other barriers from moving towards the sex lives and relationships with sexuality we want Talking about sex with your sexual partners Shame monsters! Attachment & sex Getting comfortable with our desires Shattering myths about good sex! Meeting and not meeting our own personal ideals of sex Dealing with our own personal baggage around sex in our bodies How to set big and small sexual goals that are aligned with your values Integrating sex into your daily life (if you want to) Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/yana-tallon-hicks  Subscribe to Joy Notes, Eryn's new twice-monthly Substack newsletter about being stretched wide by beauty, grief, and the full spectrum of aliveness.  Book a sliding scale breathwork session with Eryn. Join the waitlist for HOLY. Check out Yana's book, Hot and Unbothered. Follow her work on Instagram @the_vspot and connect with her on her website.

Kris (they/them) is a radical black queer Jamaican Obeah Enby and Olorisha in the Lukumì tradition. They are the owner of the Spiritual Abolitionist and the creatrix of The Spiritual Abolitionist Oracle Deck, the only handmade, black-centric, ungendered oracle deck in existence (currently available for preorder). They provide spiritual wares, “twerkshops”, and services that center the safety of black, queer, trans and intersex folx in spirituality and believe that there is no revolution without ancestral healing. In this episode, Eryn and Kris talk about: Kris' journey with spirituality, creativity, and ancestral connection What started Kris' deconstruction from Christianity Ancestral healing as liberation, especially for Black queer & trans folks Connecting with queer & trans ancestors who aren't going to reject you the way your living families may have Reparative care with ancestors Decolonizing our notions of ourselves Returning to spiritual pre-Christian roots Faith & doubt The process of creating The Spiritual Abolitionist oracle deck Poetry as a spiritual through line of their life Not being stuck in versions of yourself that don't resonate anymore Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/spiritual-abolitionist Connect with Eryn on their Instagram. Book a sliding scale breathwork session with Eryn. Join the waitlist for HOLY. Connect with Kris on Instagram and their website. Preorder the Spiritual Abolitionist Oracle deck.

Britta Love (they/she) weaves between the worlds of conscious sexuality and psychedelic ritual, with a through line of social justice and embodied consent. They became an advocate for sex worker's rights as an undergraduate at the London School of Economics in 2007 and have been a writer and activist pushing for the decriminalization of drugs and sex work ever since. Britta is a certified somatic sex educator through the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education, has trained with Betty Martin's School of Consent and is a certified circle keeper with the Planning Change Restorative Justice Certification Program under the tutelage of Kay Pranis. Britta is currently completing a research-based memoir about healing and awakening through altered states induced by sex and drugs, based on her Consciousness Studies thesis at Goddard College, and is in the process of organizing a Sex Strike // Strike for Pleasure in response to the U.S. abortion bans. In this episode, Eryn and Britta talk about: Britta's journey with healing & sexuality Navigating consent in long term relationships The Betty Martin wheel of consent - “some of the most psychedelic, life changing work” for them Getting clear on what our desires are, what we want to take, what we want to allow Allowing versus enduring Understanding our patterns within the wheel of consent Not assuming people have easy access to their choice & their voice Receiving no's Cultivating consent in psychedelic spaces Not transferring hierarchies of power Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/britta-love Connect with Eryn on their Instagram. Book a sliding scale breathwork session with Eryn. Connect with Britta on their website and Instagram. Check out the Strike for Pleasure on Instagram and the website!

Yvette (they/she) is a somatic/movement psychotherapist focused on integrating the neurobiology of trauma into relational movement practices. In this episode, Eryn and Yvette talk about: Yvette's journey Their spiritual initiations Trying our actual selves on in spaces where we didn't really know anyone How they went from wanting to be a nun to finding a more fluid & open spirituality Craving community with elders and decolonizing mentorship Retraumatization in spiritual communities Rooting into our power in healthy and helpful ways The role of somatics in our empowerment & disempowerment Not putting judgements on contraction or expansion Healing together in community Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/yvette-lalonde Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, officially out everywhere! Join the waitlist to get updated when HOLY is back. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook. Connect with Yvette on their website and Instagram.

Flory Huang (she/they) is a deep feeler, seeker and seer with diverse experiences and skill sets that enable her to establish containers for deep inquiry, relation and being. In this episode, Eryn and Flory talk about: Flory's journey with spirituality & healing Holding hope, possibility, and change The space between the person you are and the version of yourself you know you can be Being perceived in our wholeness The somatics of possibility The contraction before the expansion How contraction teaches us about restedness The beloved ~ meta emotions ~ Having roots within the swirl Hot takes on the “always expanding” culture of spirituality! Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/flory-huang  Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, officially out everywhere! Join the waitlist to get updated when HOLY is back. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook. Connect with Flory on their website and Instagram.

Ash Canty (they/he) is a Psychic Medium, Death Guide & Spiritual Life Coach. They support others in liberating their souls, deepening relationship with death and connecting folks with their loved ones on the other side. In this episode, Eryn and Ash talk about: Ash's journey with healing and spirituality Deepening our relationships with death & being in connection with death in a way that makes us more alive Living in the paradox of grief and praise Living with death in mind Being fully in this life & feeling liberation Letting go and being held The invitation to continue opening up even when death is inevitable Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/ash-canty Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and download their free 7 minute breathwork meditation. Connect with Ash on their website and Instagram.

Bex Mui, MEd, she/her, is a biracial, first generation, queer, lesbian advocate and equity consultant committed to the work of LGBTQ+ affirmation at the intersections of spirituality and sexual and mental wellness. A queer witch, energy worker, and spiritual organizer, Bex founded House Of Our Queer, a QTBIPOC-centered spiritual playspace where she shares affirmations for the queer and trans community. In this episode, Eryn and Bex talk about: Bex's journey with religion, queerness, and spirituality Allowing ourselves to have expansive “yes and” spirituality after/beyond dogmatic religion Taking what we've been harmed by and shaping them into something that serves Reframing what ritual is and can be Why Bex felt so called to create House of Our Queer Queering spirituality Reframing Jesus and reframing femmes and femininity in the bible Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/bex-mui  Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, officially out everywhere! Join the waitlist to get updated when HOLY is back. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook: https://www.living-open.com/religious-trauma-workbook Read “wonderland” and “are you really queer?” in mosaic magazine. Connect with Bex on her Instagram and website. Order her book: House Of Our Queer: Healing, Reframing, and Reclaiming Your Spiritual Practice. 

Edgar Fabián Frías works in installation, photography, video art, sound, sculpture, printed textiles, GIFs, performance, social practice, and community organizing, among other forms.  In this episode, Eryn and Edgar talk about: Edgar's journey with creativity, spirituality, and healing The doorway that “confusing” art opens Existing in states that aren't as valued by capitalism Bridging western medicine and other ways of healing and bodies of wisdom Staying connected with the dreamworld ( a love letter to dream witches) Divination witchery! Practicing tactical magic in the moment you need it Trusting what you receive in divination Reminding yourself of the support of the universe and ancestors Imagining and creating ancestor connection The power and magic of imagination Divination & art practice The interconnected cycles of creativity Vulnerability as a fertile space Feeding our wholeness especially when there is such pressure to constantly be creating Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/edgar-fabin-fras Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, officially out everywhere! Join the waitlist to get updated when HOLY is back. Connect with Edgar on their website, YouTube, and Instagram.

Euphemia, (they/them) is a somatic and pleasure coach, facilitator, and author. In this episode, Eryn and Euphemia talk about: Moving towards more aliveness The deep why behind somatics with a pleasure focus for Euphemia Ancestors & pleasure Cultivating other choices and ways of being besides the “fast” default Slow pleasure! Exploring your pleasure dial Spirituality in mundanity Connecting down to draw up Connecting with the body & pleasure even when there's trauma and chronic pain Cultivating pleasure and embodiment practices to support us in moments when we feel less resourced and have less capacity Savoring practices What the book writing process taught them about creativity, the body, and pleasure Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/euphemia-russell Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, officially out everywhere! Donate $20+ to Octavia's GoFundMe & then email me your mailing address to get a free copy. Giveaway details here & GoFundMe link here! Connect with Euphemia on their website and Instagram. Get their book, Slow Pleasure, here!

Liliana (she/her) is a first generation Xicana Indigena, cosmic channel, psychic medium and artist.  In this episode, Eryn and Liliana talk about: Liliana's journey with spirituality and healing How Reiki connected her to her intuition and helped her open her psychic channel Tarot as part of her journey Discerning a gut feeling from your ego How Liliana recommends folks start to connect with spirit and understand what spirit is for them Being both connected to spirit and grounded in the Earth The art of letting go of what you can't control Cultivating the ability to hold a whole range of feelings Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/liliana-perez  Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, released everywhere May 20th! Donate $20+ to Octavia's GoFundMe & then email me your mailing address to get a free copy. Giveaway details here & GoFundMe link here! Connect with Liliana on her website and Instagram.

Lauren (she/her) supports creative individuals with artistic blocks or wounds move through those barriers and into their authentic flow. In this episode, Eryn and Lauren talk about: Lauren's journey with art, creativity, and spirituality Working through artistic wounds Taking the pressure off of making art Why we get blocked from feeling blocked from getting messy, creative and curious Making art under capitalism Feeding our creativity Creating an art practice that supports your mental health and connection to self and intuition ‘ Her big feelings coloring book Unlearning toxic new-age beliefs How affirmations can be supportive without being spiritual bypass-y Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/lauren-schwind Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, released everywhere May 20th! Join the waitlist to get updated when HOLY is back! Connect with Lauren on her website and Instagram. Support the Big Feelings Coloring Book on Kickstarter!

Raina LaGrand (she/her) is a somatic therapist and coach providing trauma-informed and liberation-oriented care to help anxious and sensitive people embody confidence and cultivate secure relationships. In this episode, Eryn and Raina talk about: Raina's journey Liberation through joy, play, pleasure, and movement Centering choice Living honestly and authentically Finding a balance with our feelings when we value feelings so much & also don't want to get stuck in them Developing discernment Reparenting our parts Not making creativity a to-do list item Building confidence in security in relationship Big and small ways to be honest about who we are Digging into the work of relationships with other people who want to do that, too Allowing ourselves change and fluidity Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/raina-lagrand  Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and check out moon sign, released everywhere May 20th! Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and their article in Salty World Mag. Connect with Raina on her Instagram and website, or through email at raina@roottorisesomatics.com.

Hannon (they/them) is a white nonbinary queer creative and care worker. They are a facilitator of introspective space, a former residency creator, and currently steward their bathing project, Tender Tank, drawing baths in conversation with bather's internal tides. In this episode, Hannon and Eryn explore: Hannon's journey with healing and coming to care work Reclaiming care work and feminized labor What home means to them and how connection to ancestors is part of that The spaciousness and freedom of queerness Offering space for self-inquiry through the tender tank project Being in right relationship with all that's around you Their connection to spirituality What does it mean to worship? Releasing control The lifelong project of relationships Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/hannon Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and join their email list to be the first to know when moon sign is released late May! Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and their article in Salty World Mag. Connect with Hannon on their Instagram and their website.

Sophia (she/her) is a Channeler, Explorer of The Akasha, and Conduit. Hailing from a family of root-workers, she operates as a conduit for frequencies that bridge you to your soul's remembering and connecting you to the wholeness of your Supreme Self. In this episode, Eryn and Sophia talk about: How Sophia's spiritual journey and life has unfolded and changed over the pandemic Accepting your weird magic Finding acceptance and grace Being more of yourself Hyper individuality and accepting help Libra/Aries polarity Communicating with angels Learning the language of her guides The healing modality she channeled over the past few years to help us attune to trust Spirituality as just part of life Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/sophia-hornyak  Connect with Eryn on their Instagram and join their email list to be the first to know when moon sign is released for regular orders late May! Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and their article in Salty World Mag. Connect with Sophia on her website, YouTube channel, and Instagram.

Onyi Love (she/her) is a healing artist and priestess, and the founder of the company and brand ONYI LOVE. In this episode, Eryn and Onyi talk about: Onyi's journey with spirituality and healing How Onyi views life and spirituality Lessons Onyi learned on her recent trip in France Listening to the universe Integrating and reflecting out your healing work into the world Grounding in your peace Opportunities to practice what we've been learning Resting and finding balance with yourself Tapping into ancestral traditions that connect you with peace Learning how to be in silence Not appreciating the subtle because we think our experiences have to be extreme Being a reflection of the version of earth you desire Using our reflections in other people to break through our own stuff Stepping into your courage Listening to your body Life as play Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/onyi-love  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Preorder their poetry collection, moon sign, now through April 15th! Connect with Onyi on her Instagram and her website.

Brittany Carmona-Holt (she/her), aka The Birth Witch, is a full spec­trum doula, facilitator for a community-based doula training program, birth assistant to a community based midwife, Tarot reader, poet, reproductive justice advocate, amateur herbalist, and author of the book Tarot For Pregnancy: A Companion for Radical Magical Birthing Folks coming out this June. In this episode, Eryn and Brittany talk about: Brittany's journey to birthmark Her ego check around her own birth experience Her poetry Letting our creativity flow in seasons Tarot for pregnancy and how tarot can support pregnancy Ace through 10 as the pregnancy journey Contributing to the conversation without knowing everything Postpartum time & showing up for folks postpartum Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/brittany-the-birth-witch  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Preorder their poetry collection, moon sign, now through April 15th! Connect with Brittany on her Instagram and website. Buy her book, Tarot for Pregnancy: A Companion for Radical Magical Birthing Folks. Mentioned in this episode: Ep. 112: Intuitive Birth and Trusting Your Body with Birthkeeper Clarke Lunara.

Tune into this episode for a collective tarot reading for the spring just after the spring equinox. We explore themes of desire, power, binary thinking, and more. Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Preorder their poetry collection, moon sign, now through April 15th!

Ari Felix (they/them) is a counseling astrologer, writer, poet, and bruje providing emoceanal support for apocalypse. In this episode, Eryn and Ari talk about: Ari's journey with astrology and healing Seeing everything as god Their religious background as the bones of their spirituality Ari's words for folks who have rejected the religion they grew up with and want to cultivate connection to spirituality that is true to them Developing spiritual sovereignty Not replacing dogma with another dogma Applying critical thinking with your whole mind-body to everything The power and point of storytelling and myth Shedding orientation towards the destination Truth and certainty, truth as mutable Why Jupiter and Saturn need each other Learning about alignment through being misaligned Blog for this episode: http://www.living-open.com/blog/ari-felix  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Preorder their poetry collection, moon sign, now through April 15th! Connect with Ari on their website and Instagram.

Sanyu Estelle (she/her) is a Claircognizant Soothsayer also known as "The Word Witch" because of her deep love for word origins and word culture. In this episode, Eryn and Sanyu talk about: What Sanyu has been learning, experiencing, and healing through during the pandemic The best defense as opening up Living amidst everything we that's beyond our control Creating reality with our imaginations Dynamic neutrality Choice as a spectrum Quantum energetic tools like biocompassing Choosing to be the selves we most prefer The Hierophant's journey Acting the way you want to feel Our 2022 lovers year! Creating a self-loving relationship Dreaming as support for being your authentic self Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/sanyu-estelle  Register for Breathwork for Care on March 1st. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook. Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Connect with Sanyu on her website and Instagram. Email her at sanyu@sanyuestelle.com. Listen to Sanyu's first interview on the Living Open podcast: Dreamscapes with Tara Burke and Sanyu Estelle

Laura Mae Northrup (she/her), MFT is an author, educator, somatic psychotherapist, and podcaster. Her first book Radical Healership is a spiritually-informed, anticapitalist guide for healing practitioners who seek to build a values-driven healing practice. And it's out today!  In this episode, Eryn and Laura talk about: Her journey writing her new book Emotions & book writing! Surrendering & letting emerge Overshaping our experiences Living in complexity Grappling with money (and charging money!) within capitalism The degradation of spirituality and healing The history of taking away people's access to healing and spirituality as an intentional strategy of domination and disempowerment How psychedelics and entheogens help us heal sexual trauma Trauma as a spiritual wound The need to experience so much joy and beauty as people in care roles Right sized-ness How you sustain the path as a facilitator of healing work ENTER THE BOOK GIVEAWAY ON INSTAGRAM. Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/laura-mae-northrup  Register for Breathwork for Care on March 1st. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook. Connect with Eryn on Instagram. You can learn more about her work here: www.lauramaenorthrup.com. Follow her on Instagram, check out her podcast, and buy the book wherever you buy books (especially from your local small bookstore!).

Eli is a gender doula - supporting folx as they question, explore, and transition their gender. In this episode, Eryn and Eli talk about: Eli's journey with sexuality, gender, and spirituality “Is it my gender or sexuality, or is this just my trauma?” Queerness as a dream outside of the realm of our existence as kids His work as a gender doula Tarot's role in his gender journey What Eli wants to tell people who are on a gender journey of some kind Why Eli thinks everyone should go on a gender journey Fluidity and changeability around identity and labels Labels & how they can constrain us Holding our own complications & other people's complications, too Transness and queerness as vectors of spirituality and connection to nature, land, and community Different timelines for queer and trans people Tarot as support for gender exploration Grief as part of gender and sexuality journeys Ritual in gender journeys Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/eli-lawliet  Register for Breathwork for Care on March 1st. Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Connect with Eli on his website, Instagram, and TikTok. Sign up for his newsletter.

Anabel Khoo (she/they) is a psychotherapist, facilitator, interdisciplinary artist, and writer dedicated to cultivating holistic collective healing and social justice. They are also a queer, non-binary, diasporic Chinese person, and their lived experience has moved them to help other marginalized people to process intergenerational pain and to fully embody one's power and worth. In this episode, Anabel and Eryn talk about: Anabel's journey with healing and somatics Coming to believe something through experiencing it in your body Creativity & the body How their interest in ceremony, ritual, and spirituality came about The importance of ceremony and ritual Doing ritual only when you feel moved to do ritual Somatics & collective liberation & collective healing Embodying body and mind at the same time The uncomfortable middle ground in healing Practicing being with what is totally intolerable Fear of stepping into painful places Working through the shame of being where we're at Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/anabel-khoo Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and the Religious Trauma meditation album. Read Eryn's poem, breakfast poem, in orangepeel mag. Connect with Anabel on Instagram and their website. Related: Ep. #242: Accessing States of Liberation, Imagination and Possibility Through the Body with Marika Heinrichs

Tara is a biracial non-binary Japanese Mystic who leans deeply into the wisdom of elemental magick and metaphor to connect. In this episode, Eryn and Tara talk about: The invitation of the Lovers for our collective Lovers year! Tara's experience with their cards of the year of 2021 “Cringe” tarot cards The different energies of death and tower cards The too much archetype Structure that creates ease and flexibility  Capricorn and Aquarius season energies Unpacking our why's Haiku creative magic! Words and prayers as spells Creative expression, spirituality & dreams Healing with dreams Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/tara-burke  Stay tuned for Eryn's poetry collection, moon sign, out this spring! Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and the Religious Trauma meditation album. Connect with Tara on Patreon, Instagram, TikTok, and their website. Check out my first conversation with Tara: Ep. #214 Dreamscapes with Tara Burke and Sanyu Estelle.

Alissa (she/her) of Akasha Apothecary is a folk herbalist and facilitator. In this episode, Alissa and Eryn discuss: Alissa's journey with plants, healing & spirituality What the land is like by her right now Death, complete upheaval and ripping away all that is untrue Resisting death & gripping to untrue stories Life/death/rebirth cycles Opening to ancestral layers of loss Embodiment practices for staying with yourself Cultivating self trust How to know if you're abandoning yourself The willow tree, compassion, and rage Cultivating safety in yourself to feel rage Integrating spiritual experiences Letting contradiction live within people Staying curious and open Polarized thinking as a fight or flight response Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/alissa-akasha-apothecary  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Learn more about + apply for HOLY, a 7-week reclamation circle and support group for ex-religious folks to create community and heal from the impacts of dogmatic religion together. Connect with Alissa on Instagram and her website.

Danica Boyce (she/her) is a pagan educator and coach, guiding folks to shed limitation and imperialism by reconnecting with pagan abundance, animism & folklore. She specializes in religious history, folk song, and the energetics of holding epic, love-filled visions for humankind and the earth. In this episode, Eryn and Danica explore: Danica's journey with paganism and folklore Shame around the life-sustaining magic of imagination and play What it was like spiritually in Europe before Christian colonization Expanding our thinking beyond purity of European nation-states when it comes to our ancestry Connecting with European folk culture Abundance and scarcity in cultural practices Innovating within cultural practices Europeans displaces from their lands carrying the model of theft and control to America Long lineages of loss of culture Grief & belonging Holding other people in gentleness The flattening of death in Christian culture Capitalism, exchange, and trade Cultivating an abundance mindset in a not weird & toxic way! Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/danica-boyce  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Learn more about + apply for HOLY, a 7-week reclamation circle and support group for ex-religious folks to create community and heal from the impacts of dogmatic religion together. Connect with Danica on her Instagram & podcast. Email her at fairfolkcast@gmail.com. Mentioned in this episode: Ep. #217: European Folk Ways & Ancestor Work with Megan McGuire.  

In this episode, your host Eryn shares some of their learnings from 2021 around healing & spirituality. Enjoy! Email Eryn to be added to the waitlist for the winter round of HOLY: eryn@living-open.com  Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and Religious Trauma meditation album.

Roshni (they/them) is a self-worth coach and tarot reader for South-Asian women, LGBTQ+ folks, and people who identify as the black sheep of their family.  In this episode, Eryn and Roshni talk about: Roshni's journey with healing, self-worth, and religious trauma  How struggling with self-worth is connected to religious trauma Connecting back to their family's spiritual & folk practices and rituals before Christianity Learning how to engage with spiritual and religious practices in different ways than we did in dogmatic religion Witchcraft as something that connects us to personal power Playing the role of “black sheep” in your family in the context of queerness & religion specifically Complicated family relationships & setting boundaries Letting go of the inner critic Not waiting to feel free Healing around self-worth & shame Making patterns in our healing work Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/roshni-patel  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and Religious Trauma meditation album. Email Eryn eryn@living-open.com to be added to the waitlist for winter HOLY. Connect with Roshni on their website and Instagram. My interview with Samara Kasai on tarot to break oppressive systems + bridging justice and tarot.  

Mona Eshaiker, LMFT (she, her) is a licensed therapist and mental health consultant. She specializes in burnout recovery and prevention on the individual and systemic levels. She is passionate about work-life balance and psychological safety for historically underrepresented folks. In this episode, Eryn and Mona talk about: Mona's journey with burnout and mental health How rest makes space to figure out what you actually want The power of pause What's happening with burnout emotionally, physically, and spiritually What to do when you know you need to rest but you're required to keep producing! Rewriting stories around rest, “laziness,” and productivity Centering community care without burning out Becoming a stranger to yourself when you repress your feelings Losing touch with your yeses and no's when you burn out Honoring and feeling your feelings Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/mona-eshaiker  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Check out the Religious Trauma workbook and Religious Trauma meditation album. You can connect with Mona on her website and Instagram.

This episode is a soft collective tarot reading to sink into for the winter solstice + winter season ahead, plus some reflections on grief and wintertime. In the reading we talk surrender, expanding into the full spectrum of our wholeness, being with pain + more. Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/winter-solstice-medicine  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Join us for the Virtual Solstice Breathwork for Grief gathering on Wednesday, Dec 22nd (recording included for all who register).  Get the Religious Trauma Meditation Album, on special launch price until December 23rd.

Luna Dietrich (she/they) is also known as the P*ssy Witch! They help feminist witches and exhausted activists disrupt pleasure oppression and root into fierce self love…all while fighting for more. In this episode, Eryn and Luna talk about: How Luna has changed and evolved over the past couple of years and over pandemic time Not getting addicted to heightened, unsustainable energy Figuring out what's sustainable and enough for you Expanding capacity in a more titrated way Learning to base everything in pleasure and safety Creating a deep well of safety and resource How changing relationship with money has changed their relationship with safety Understanding how we really want to feel and how to bring that into our everyday Fluid relationships with money & healing relationships with money Working with the archetype of money Separating anger at systems of oppression from anger at money Building somatic capacity for abundance and pleasure Finding safety even when things aren't totally harmonious Taking shame out of the equation when it comes to our feelings Fierce self love! What has really impacted her from being raised Catholic Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/luna-dietrich-2 Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get the Religious Trauma Meditation Album, on special launch price until December 23rd. Check out the Virtual Solstice Breathwork for Grief gathering. Connect with Luna on Instagram and their website. Register for their free mini course, Pleasure Witch Practice. Mentioned in this episode: My first interview with Luna: Luna Dietrich on Following Pleasure, Taking Up Space, Sex Magick and Sex as a Radical Act Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr. Devon Price

Christi Johnson's (she/her) art combines cosmic visions and botanical beauties, a hypnotic dance of symbols stitched slowly and methodically into fabric. In this episode, Eryn and Christi talk about: Christi's journey with magic & creativity & art Why she loves working with textiles Femininity & working with textiles Magic, ritual and symbolism as part of the embroidery process What it looks like to make embroidery with ritual and magic Creating more spaciousness to receive inspiration and ideas Dreams inspiring embroidery! Leaning into the slowness & seasonality of the embroidery process Crafting talismans from textiles Not forcing creative work & untangling productivity addiction Cultivating creative skills How to get started with embroidery if you're new to it Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/christi-johnson  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get the Religious Trauma Meditation Album, on special launch price until December 23rd — a collection of 17 meditations intended to support your healing from dogmatic religion through your body, your subconscious, and your feelings. Check out Christi's book, Mystical Stitches. Follower her on Instagram. Check out her website and podcast, Stitch Wish Radio.

Marika Heinrichs (she/her) is a cis queer femme of (Soviet) German, British, and Irish ancestry who believes that reconnecting with the wisdom of our bodies is vital to ending systems of domination and supremacy. She has practiced as a somatic therapist and educator within social movement spaces for over a decade, trained in the lineages of generative somatics (gs), Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST), Focusing, and NeuroAffective Touch and is currently a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies.  In this episode, Eryn and Marika talk about: Marika's journey with healing & somatics coming from a community organizing background Trauma, justice and somatics as inherently in relationship Accessing states of liberation, imagination and possibility through the body What happens when we drop into connection and spaciousness Trauma responses to systems of oppression and domination Finding spaces where there is the opportunity to access some safety so we can soften and connect Safety as shades of gray and not as a binary and the absence of discomfort Respecting and honoring the ways bodies and nervous systems are designed Christian supremacy culture infusing and shaping radical spaces and organizing communities A practice of being in deep reverence and relationship with lineage Somatics as inherently politicized and radical Appropriating our own lineages Holding grief when it's pathologized and we're disconnected from our cultural practices and ritual around grief Doing what we don't know how to do Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/marika-heinrichs  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get a copy of the Religious Trauma Workbook. Connect with Marika on her website and on Instagram. Mentioned in this episode:  A Language Older than Words by Derrick Jensen Generative Somatics Paul Kivel Lisa Fazio @therootcircle  Mary Oliver grief poetry Michael J. Morris

In this episode, Eryn shares a meditation for grief from their upcoming Religious Trauma Support Meditation Album, coming out on December 1st. Join her email list to get first access to the album when it comes out. Register for Virtual Solstice Breathwork for Grief, a gathering of breathwork, journaling, sharing & ritual intended to support anyone who is working with grief during this time. 

Nadia Payan (she/they) is an educator, speaker, artist, third culture human and Montessorian whose life is filled with reverence towards creativity as a pathway to healing and power. Nadia explores and cross pollinates her own creative expression with her experiences as an early childhood educator, a spiritual practitioner and artist. In this episode, Eryn and Nadia talk about: Cycles of death and rebirth Being held through the decay Asking for support The interconnectedness of all things Moving through life more slowly & in more spacious ways What Nadia has learned about life and creativity from working with and spending time with children Seeing the world in different ways Being in devotion to creativity The power of creativity Being indoctrinated into thinking creativity isn't part of us and it's something that we gain versus be Embracing creativity as reclaiming power from capitalism and other systems of domination Expanding what creativity means Witnessing art-making Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/nadia-payan  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get a copy of the Religious Trauma Workbook. Register for the virtual erotic poetry writing class. Connect with Nadia on Instagram, her website, or over email at nadia@nadiapayan.com. Check out Aligned Visionaries.

Rasia (she/her) is a Priestess in the tradition of Palo Kimbisa, an ancient practice that has its roots in the Congo Basin. Rasia has been a practitioner for 20 years. In addition to this, she utilizes quantum healing, crystal energetics, tarot, astrology, and her Clair abilities in her practice. Rasia provides services to her clients as a Certified Intuitive Life Coach, Spiritual mentor and holds a Masters degree in mental health counseling. In this episode, Rasia and Eryn talk about: Rasia's journey with healing and spirituality Being initiated by her dad into Palo Kimbisa and becoming a priestess in this path Pushing away her spiritual gifts Plant medicine as a support for trauma healing and connecting to yourself Ethics of plant medicine & deciding what plant medicine is right for you The plant medicine Rasia recommends for folks who are just beginning their plant medicine journey Choosing a practitioner to support your plant medicine journey Integration processes after plant medicine or any spiritual experience Moving through transformation cycles of death and rebirth The energetics of fall and winter Resisting the process of death Healing our lineages How being a mother to six kids has changed her and her spiritual practice The messiness of change and growth Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/rasia-pouncie  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get a copy of the Religious Trauma Workbook. Register for the virtual erotic poetry writing class. Connect with Rasia on Instagram and on her website. Mentioned in this episode: Living Open podcast interview with Aja Daashuur on communicating with your spirit guides and embracing your magic.

Chaune Schafer (she/her) is a queer non-denominational follower of Christ, which is a product of being a part of several denominations, heavy deconstruction, continued therapy, much study, and constant reconstruction. In this episode, Eryn and Chaune talk about: Blog for this episode: www.living-open.com/blog/chaune-schafer  Chaune's journey with religion & healing Repressing sexuality in christianity Finding wholeness Doubt in religion Not reaching for black and white answers What it would mean to live like Jesus today Finding authentic community Moving towards what is life-giving Setting boundaries with non-affirming family Grappling with accountability for folks who caused harm around queerness within religion Who we are at our core Worthiness & moving at our own timelines Trusting ourselves Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get a copy of the Religious Trauma Workbook. Register for Breathwork for Ex-Religious and Deconstructing Folks. Book a peer support session with Chaune over on Shrimpteeth for support processing religious-based harm and moving towards sensual embodiment. Mentioned in this episode: Untamed by Glennon Doyle Ep. #235: Choosing Your Life + Queerness, Polyamory + Kink with Sam of Shrimpteeth Julie Rodgers' interview on the Coming Out Podcast Pray Away documentary

What a pleasure to have these two wonderful humans back on the podcast, together, as returning guests! Davis Carr (she/her) is a consulting astrologer and tarot reader. Erin Alise Borzak (she/her) is an illustrator and witch. Together, they created the Hollow Valley Tarot.  In this episode, Eryn, Davis, and Erin talk about: Their transformations and Fool's leaps through COVID The Fool card What we would tell ourselves before a big Fool's leap! Shifting from “shoulds” to authentic goals and desires Being in creative partnership Encountering monsters on your path The process of creating the Hollow Valley Tarot together Elements and numerology in the Hollow Valley Tarot Associating the minor arcana cards with the decans of the zodiac The role of pictorial sigils in the tarot deck Davis' 5 line theory for the major arcana 5s as gateways  The tarot as a living art that we all get to evolve the meaning of  Connect with Eryn on Instagram. Get a copy of the Religious Trauma Workbook. Register for Breathwork for Ex-Religious and Deconstructing Folks. Check out the Hollow Valley Tarot on Kickstarter and Instagram! Related episodes: Fostering the Magic Inside of You + Creative Nourishment with Erin Alise Borzak Finding Your Medicine, + Healing and Understanding Patterns through Astrology with Davis Carr