The Architecture of Poetry

This episode is a really fun one for me. I only knew my guest Eva Yaa Asantewaa from a handful of interactions on Substack. I always enjoyed the things she wrote or restacked, and I noticed her generous enthusiasm for amplifying other voices. Since Eva does so many things — writer, editor, dance critic, novelist, Tarot guide, animist spirit worker — I wasn’t sure how to approach the theme of this conversation. Then I noticed a very familiar line at the end of her bio — one that coincided with a gift I made my best friend, whose birthday happens to be shared with the poet of that line, Emily Dickinson.

I DWELL IN POSSIBILITY artwork.

So instead of analizing alchemical idioms, in this conversation, we spent our time like two friends visiting rooms in a museum, wading in the words of this poem and in the visual branches of a treehouse painted by Francesco Clemente, and opening up to the realm of possibility.

MY TREEHOUSE by Francisco Clemente

Eva recommended The NY TIMES 10-Minute Challenge if you’d like to increase your visual insightfulness like we experienced in this episode.

For you visual peeps, we also have video. Please subscribe on youtube if you are there!

If you enjoy this audio podcast, please like, follow, subscribe, rate, or write a quick review on whatever platform you listen. (Substack, Apple, Spotify, etc. It just takes a second and helps me out a lot.

Emily Dickinson (by Me)

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This episode’s guest is “Curator or Awesomeness,” Scott Erikson (aka Scott the Painter on his popular instagram account.) Scott is an artist, author, and performance speaker, who is passionate about creating a visual vocabulary for spiritual contemplation. He’s the writer and performer of two one-man shows, the author of 5 books, and the illustrator of countless “visual prayers.” We talk about the alchemical symbol of the peacock, the process of transmuting painful seasons into glimmering insights, and how that transformation lights the path forward for each of us.

Check out more of Scott’s work and life on his website.

If you would like to watch this interview on Youtube, you can do that here: https://youtu.be/mPFWE_gtlX8

Today’s guest is Claudia Bonnie — a painter based in southwest England, whose artwork conjures mythical heroines, saints, goddesses, and epic animal icons. Her paintings live in that delicious space between mysticism and myth, where superstition is sacred, relics can heal, and a painting can work like medicine. With a background in education and therapy, Claudia is endlessly drawn to what’s happening just under the surface — the real, raw stuff of human experience. When she’s not in the studio, she’s also the official hedgehog rescuer in her area, which honestly feels very on brand for someone whose entire life seems like a waking fairytale. In today’s conversation, we get into the fascinating differences between American and British mythology, and ask the very important question: is spotting Bigfoot in the woods really any different from a fairy sighting in the English countryside? You can follow her wild and wonderful world on Instagram at Claudia.Bonnie. If you are in the area, you can see her paintings in person at the Kittoe Contemporary Gallery in London.

In this episode, we touch on the alchemical theme of SUBLIMATION (more on that here), and we discuss some of these images as well.

Our Days Were a Joy and Our Paths Through Flowers (1971-72) by David Inshaw

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archeypes of the Mature Masculine by Douglas Gillette and Robert Johnson

Sasquatch Chronicles Podcast

Claudia’s Instagram

Allison’s website.

Hope you enjoyed! Come back soon!

Allison

Allison’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Today’s esteemed guest is Cyril Coetzee, an internationally esteemed lecturer in Art History & Esoteric Science and a renowned portrait artist whose work spans continents and collections. He’s also regarded as the favorite portrait artist of Nelson Mandela (which we talk about a bit in this episode as well.)

I discovered Cyril and his ability to teach about mystical creativity through a series of courses through the Center for Applied Jungian Studies about five to six years ago. It was his insights into alchemical symbolism of birds first sparked my curious and led me down the rabbit hole that became my oracle deck project as well as this podcast.

In this visually-oriented episode, we’ll unpack how Cyril uses symbols to convey deeper states of consciousness, and how visionary art can illuminate our understanding of creativity and self-realization. If you’re strictly listening to this episode, check the show notes for links to the artworks we discuss, or watch the video version on Youtube or Substack to see Cyril’s references up close.

Also if you enjoy this episode, please follow the links to his website and like, follow, subscribe, etc to my page here. Thank you for listening and for all your support.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Cyril’s chosen art-piece is the Kabbalistic “Teaching” Panel of Princess Antonia of Bavaria. If you love art history and are curious about esotericism, he is brilliant at expressing the combination. I knew very little about this painting before, although I did recognize the lady with the lamb. I didn’t yet know that she was one of a group of educated women who studied and passed on the language of these spiritual mysteries in artful secrecy—they protected the esoteric traditions while the men were off being killed in the wars.

If you want to read more about Princess Antonia ( “the Green Lady at the beginning of her spiritual journey,”) and her altarpiece, this page is a great resource.

(Cyril’s portrait of Nelson Mandela also became a South African postage stamp, commemorating the great man’s 90th birthday.)

I hope you enjoyed learning from Cyril Coetzee as much as I have. There is so much depth in these layers of symbol. I’m so grateful for his nudge toward alchemical study that I felt those years ago when I first heard him describe the five birds, and it was a great honor to interview him here and pass on a bit of his knowledge with others.

Cyril’s website

Allison’s website

If you want to learn more about the birds of alchemy from other wonderful guests of this podcast, I have so far uploaded episodes on the Phoenix of the Rubedo and the Swan of the Albedo. Next, I’ll be sharing a spirited interview with illustrator Scott Erikson (Scott the Painter) on the alchemical Peacock. It’s all so inspiring!

Fly high, soar free, and go ruffle some feathers,

Allison Adams

Allison’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

My guest, Matthew Ashdown, is joining me from Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, though he spent much of his early life growing up in Great Britain — a landscape rich with the tradition of Arthurian legend and Tolkien’s magical worlds — and as you’ll hear, those stories have left a lasting impression on the way he thinks and works.

I know Matthew through our shared work in the Gene Keys and the Dream Arc systems, and while we’ve had a number of conversations over the years, this is actually the first time the two of us have sat down together to record one.

Today we’re exploring myth, storytelling, and spiritual symbolism — touching on themes like the Phoenix, the alchemical rubedo stage, the Grail myths, and The Lord of the Rings— and what these stories reveal about our personal and collective transformation, both personal and collective.

You can read the description of the Rubedo/Reddening from Allison’s Alchemical Oracle (which we discuss in this episode) here.

If you want to watch on YouTube, here’s video (edited by me… I think podcasts have better sound bc my brilliant musician son Maki, who masters the levels. (Subscribe there too if that’s your jam!)

Matthew’s Instagram

Allison’s Art Website

I encourage you to support the endangered art of connective storytelling (and meaningful mythos) as often as you are able! Keep the fire of HUMANITY going. Support the Arts or tell your OWN story. Most of us don’t have the luxury of passive observation anymore. Start where you are. Thank you for your service!

Happy new moon. Dream bigger!

Love,

Allison

Today’s guest has spent her life turning pain into prose — and teaching others to do the same. I am really proud of this episode…I loved chatting with Erika, and I feel honored and inspired to keep championing survivor’s voices. Erika’s voice is especially rich, out loud and on the page.

Erika Schickel is a memoirist, teacher, and storyteller whose second book, The Big Hurt, published in 2021 is a fearless memoir tracing two passionate, predatory, life-altering love affairs set twenty-five years apart. Erika grew up as the daughter of writers in fashionable New York of the 1970s, part of what she describes as a culture “that offers young women to men in power as sort of prizes for their accomplishments and ignores the humanity of the girls being offered.”

In today’s conversation, we dig into generational wounds, the revolutionary power of using your voice in writing, and what it means to hold your family’s story in your hands — and then lose it, as Erika feels she did when the Eaton Fire destroyed her home in January 2025. Be sure to check out Erika’s fantastic Substack page, "Girl of the Burning West,” where she’s processing her next book by the same name. Her writing voice is just as cool and intelligent as her speaking voice. Be sure to check out her writing memoir workshops too. She gives a lot of her teaching secrets on this episode. So writers and readers and SA survivors, this one’s for you!

If you want to watch, rather than just listen, here’s the video interview:

Please remember to like, subscribe, and share. Or leave a review where you get your podcasts. I appreciate it greatly. This should be available every place you get your podcasts.

This is a conversation about loss, accountability, legacy, and the irreplaceable value of telling your own story — in your own voice. And bearing witness to the women brave enough to tell theirs when they are ready.

Portrait of Therese Bernard by Renoir

Erika’s Website

Allison’s Website

My guest is Katja Swan, a personal embodiment coach in Germany. Katja and I met a few years ago through a Gene Keys course, and when I first heard her origin story, I was fascinated and curious to find out more. We are about the same age, both teenagers during the Cold War, but I’d never met anyone who had grown up in East Germany. Katja and her family fled the GDR when she was just 17, four months before the Berlin Wall came down, rebuilding her life as an young adult in a drastically different world. Through the unusual and unexpected circumstances in her life, Katja has become an example of resilience and adaptability that we can all use about now. The alchemical theme of this episode is PRESERVATION which asks the question: What do you want bring forward with you from your previous reality into the unknown future! For Katja, the answer is LOVE.

Prefer to watch our rough-edit interview on YouTube? Check out the episode here.

Now, just a gentle reminder to like, subscribe, and share this channel and episode. These things really do help get these stories out to more listeners who will benefit from them.

Katja chose a piece called PRESENCE by French visionary painter, Quentin Pouyat.

You can find more about Katja’s gentle embodiment coaching and Gene Keys guidance on her website.

Films recommended in this episode: The Lives of Others, Goodbye Lenin, and Sonnenallee.

To connect with Allison, please visit my online gallery and website.

Allison’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hi everyone. I wanted to get this out before the Lunar New Year on Feb 17th, which brings in the Fire Horse of the Chinese zodiac wheel.

For the past 12 years, Shannon Nicole, founder of Wild Heart Pilgrimage is my knowledgable and passionate guest. For the past 12 years, Shannon has used Chinese astrology as a transformative self-discovery tool, finding it to be an invaluable guide for understanding lunar cycles, natural elements, and the wisdom of animal archetypes. This is a very informative and practical interview, chock-full of useful archetypal hacks for the collective energy cycle at hand. If you haven't felt it yet, start paying attention, this horse is chomping at the bit, stomping at the gate, and ready to run! As Shannon says in the episode, this is not a horse to tame, but one that can inspire us into our own wild natures. More important here, is the element of FIRE! Shannon suggests that this what we should be most aware of, as according to the Chinese wheel, it will be blazing for the next two years.

If you prefer to watch, here’s our video. (Please subscribe if you prefer YouTube.)

This episode was recorded on January 17th, one month before the Lunar New Year (and solar eclipse) on February 17th — closing out of the year of the Snake and all its cyclical shedding and two years in the earthy Wood element. As these are archetypal concepts, we expect them to expand over the whole year ahead, so this episode should remain relevant for quite awhile. You are welcome to return to it anytime and compare notes or get a refresher.

Shannon Nicole will also be doing personal Chinese zodiac readings all year. You can find more about those and her other generous offerings at www.wildheartpilgrimage.com or Instagram.

Visit Allison’s website.

Learn more about Salvador Dalí’s Phoenix painting here.

Allison’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Welcome, February! Today is Imbolc (the seasonal marker between winter and spring) and the moon is full in the FIRE sign of Leo (That’s MY personal moon, btw!) Coming up later this month is the Lunar New Year, which introduces the elemental animal of the FIRE HORSE. Lots of hot, igniting energy in the collective field—I’m sure you have been feeling it too.

Above is a snippet my interview with Shannon Nicole, who shares her deep dives into this timely element of fire …equipping and preparing our spirits for a wild and safe year ahead! Exciting stuff! Check out the clip a preview, and come back in a couple days for the episode.

And without further ado, here is our Alchemical Word of the Week:

Ignis/Fire 🔥

“But what is passion, what are emotions? There is the source of fire, there is the fullness of energy. A man who is not on fire is nothing: he is ridiculous, he is two-dimensional. He must be on fire even if he does make a fool of himself. A flame must burn somewhere, otherwise no light shines: there is no warmth, nothing.” —C.G.Jung

In the realm of Symbolic Alchemy, the element of Fire is the most fundamental, as it quickly transforms everything it touches. The alchemist was, above all else, a fire-tender, using various stoves, ovens, and bellows with which to control it, turning it up here, turning it down there. Fire brings warmth, it brings light, it purifies—and unchecked, it has the power to burn and destroy anything in its path. Only when Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mortals, were they able to survive as individuals and build their own worlds.

Fire is the element associated with energy, activity, creativity, assertiveness and passion. Rage, hate, and anger are considered “fiery” emotions. Despite it’s dangerous, wild nature, we need that inner fire to move us forward. And to keep the momentum going, the flame must be continually fed. The alchemists spoke of the fire as a baby that needed constant attention. This was the most important task of all, above any experiment at hand.

Has your inner fire grown cold or is it thriving? What can you do to boost and sustain its energy? Some advice from the Sufi poet Rumi: “Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.”

And as always SAFETY FIRST.

Allison

“Grief is the the growing up of the heart that bursts boundaries like an old skin or a finished life.” —adrienne maree brown

Today, we’re joined by Paul Bond, an award-winning oil painter whose work exists in that liminal space between dreaming and reality. Drawing from the Latin American tradition of Magic Realism, Paul creates what he calls “fairy tales for adults”—canvases where symbolic and fantastic elements blend with realistic atmospheres, revealing worlds where anything is possible. But beyond their visual beauty, Paul’s works have become something more profound—tools of communication and comfort, both for himself and for those who encounter them.

In our conversation today, we explore grief, loss, and the healing power of art. We’ll discover how Paul’s paintings have become a language for the unspeakable, a bridge between sorrow and solace, and how creating these images has helped him—and others—navigate some of life’s most difficult moments.

Please visit Paul’s website here for more of his magical paintings.

The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller

You can also watch if you prefer video over purely audio:

These are the paintings Paul shares in this special episode:

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did! I invite you to like, share, subscribe, (and leave a review if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.) All these things help this podcast gain traction and get the stories of my guests to more ears that need them. Can you believe it’s been a year since I began this podcast? And what a year it has been. Im grateful for the amazing guests who kept my vision and vibration high. And thanks to all of you who have listened in and supported this concept.

For more of my work and offerings, please visit: www.allisonadams.net