Part Two of our wanderings with Iron John/Hans. The episode begins with the moss bed made for the boy in the forest. Ryan shares soulful reflections on moss itself; known as a 'boundary layer' that draws moisture not from the ground up but from the air down. Moss forms little cups to gather water from the electricity in the air, which must be one of the most Aquarian/11th House symbols I've ever heard. 

We re-enter the story where we left off in part one; the boy is learning to listen in to his inner most knowing. In speaking for the scent of the wild flowers he shows us that his time asleep on the moss transformed his sense of reality. He is becoming ready to work with the gold/wound split in his consciousness.

In the second half of the story we encounter much Chironic imagery. A three-legged 'hobblety jig' horse speaks to our current moment as Chiron moves through the last phase of Aries and Saturn/Neptune through the first. What does this story tell us about Aries energy, wounded kings, lost wildness and the world's deep thirst?

It's a longer episode than most, but once you listen in you'll see why. To get the most nourishment from this story we needed to move more with Kairos time than Kronos. The result, however, is a very nourishing alchemical brew. 

So grateful to Ryan's wife, Holly Parson Nielsen, for the artwork for the episode. It conjures the movement of the story so well from the well to the moss to the gold. Thank you Holly. 

If you'd like to know more about Ryan's work, or perhaps book a session with him to explore his approach to astrology, mythology and the dreaming body, go to yourveryownmyth.com.

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Ryan Nielsen joins the podcast again (see episode 104 for our circuitous meanderings on Allerleirauh) to explore the Grimm tale of Iron John (or Iron Hans) whilst reflecting about the cusp between the known and unknown worlds (the 11th and 12th house cusp). 

Iron John is a story that was made famous by the poet Robert Bly in the 1990s. It became the central story that he worked with in his book by the same name. Robert uses the story to illustrate the many trials and tribulations in the process of becoming a man in the modern world. 

Ryan and I pick the story up not from the hands of Bly but from the creative commons of the story itself. We let the images lead us. The story comes alive in a new way in this conversation as we riff and bounce and feel and atune to it with the backdrop of the 11th and 12th house to guide us. 

If you'd like to connect with Ryan he has just launched his new website: yourveryownmyth.com.

Join us on Patreon to discuss the episode! You can join in for free or pledge some appreciation. 

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Astrologer Jason Holley joins me again on the podcast today to delve into the 11th house - the house of groups, the polis, mass media, theatre, the audience, 'the people'.

It’s a rich and far-reaching conversation that, we both felt, got right to the heart of this complex and often misunderstood house that takes us into the entangled world of collective consciousness. 

Along the way we speak on:

• diurnal motion as the lived logic of house meanings
• the 11th as context maker for 10th house vocation
• Jupiter’s joy, morale, and shared vision
• theater, polis, and mass media as 11th house arenas
• fifth–eleventh polarity of eros and audience
• Athena’s birth as vision turning into action
• Medusa’s image as power carried into public life
• hopes and dreams versus cynicism and dissociation
• worldwork, conflict, and group process as remedies
• all our relations beyond humans in the group field

Cover Artwork: James Gurney - Clashing Rocks

Further reading

• Homer — The Iliad (Zeus, “the plan of Zeus”, collective order and fate)
• Homer — The Odyssey (Athena as Mentor; Telemachus and guidance/destiny)
• Ovid — Metamorphoses (mythic transformation as a living psychological process)
• Roberto Calasso — The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony (brilliant modern retelling/interpretation of Greek myth)
• Arnold Mindell — Sitting in the Fire (worldwork, group fields, conflict as an intelligence)
• Jacob L. Moreno — Who Shall Survive? (psychodrama and group dynamics foundations)

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

What happens when personal destiny meets the wider world of friends, teams, and the public square? We dive into the Eleventh House as the arena where your hard‑won calling turns into collective contribution, guided by Aquarius’s twin rulers—Saturn, who sets the frame, and Uranus, who refreshes it. Along the way, we unpack how projection travels from siblings to partners to society, why the traits you disown often show up as “the group,” and how to retrieve that gold without losing yourself.

We lean on myth and psychology to make it practical. Jupiter, in joy here, models leadership that holds tension without collapsing into control or chaos. Athena shows how to carry real achievement into service with clarity. Hermes, the psychopomp, translates Twelfth‑House visions into language the public can actually use. And the dance of Apollo and Dionysus reveals why cultures need both order and creative disruption to stay alive. From festivals that loosen roles to structures that protect dissent, the message is simple: give the trickster a seat and the rules a spine.

You’ll also hear how Hercules and the Argonauts illustrate an Eleventh‑House upgrade to leadership—when the central hero steps aside, the system wakes up and many gifts emerge. We explore participation mystique in both its light and shadow: the ecstasy of healthy belonging versus the danger of melting into the mass. Expect grounded cues for spotting the difference and for building teams that are resilient, creative, and humane. If you’re ready to turn personal genius into public good—without burning out or blending in—this conversation will meet you where you are and stretch you where you’re going.

If this sparked something, subscribe, leave a quick review, and share it with a friend who leads or longs to belong. Your support helps more thoughtful listeners find the show.

* the above was autogenerated by Buzzsprout's AI.

The podcast art is oil painted on canvas by Leonid Ilyukhin - Apollo and Dionysus.

I mentioned a book by Arnold Mindell called Sitting in the Fire (but I mistakenly called it Standing in the Fire. Also an option but not the correct name of the book). This book is well worth looking into if you'd like to find out more about how Process Oriented Psychotherapy works with groups. Truly visionary stuff for our times. 

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Michael Meade rejoins the podcast to discuss all things 11th house; the house of collective consciousness, groups, teams and the Polis: society at large. The 11th is where the great mystery occurs in the interaction between the individual cell and the whole organism. 

Michael's words act as a steadying force in unsettling times. He brings us back to a sense of cohesion and collaboration, reminding us of our internal spark of life that he calls the Genius. In his vision, that he draws from ancient wells, he sees a world of individuals waking up to the truth within their souls and participating in the creation of a new world as the current paradigms collapse. The more this happens the more gold within the cracks of the world are revealed.

In these times of upheaval and uncertainty, Michael gives us a soothing balm whilst encouraging us to step forward and participate in the great theatre of life. 

Within this episodes theatre we meet the following characters:

• Phaëthon
  The figure who takes power without inner maturity; the danger of inflated authority disconnected from soul.
• Christ
  The one nailed to the crossroads of collective tension; sacrifice, revelation, and the danger of myth hardening into dogma.
• Dionysus
  The twice-born god; Eros, ecstasy, dismemberment, and the return of soul energy that culture tries to repress.
• Tiresias — the blind seer; inner sight over literal vision; prophetic knowing that comes through loss, transition, and a life lived between worlds.
• Hermes
  The trickster and messenger; boundary-crosser, mediator between worlds, carrier of transition.
• Vishnu
  The cosmic dreamer; the world inhaled and exhaled through cycles of dissolution and renewal.
• The Trickster
  Disruptor of rigid systems; brings medicine through paradox, humour, and mischief.
• The Genius
  The indwelling spirit unique to each person; purpose as something listened to rather than achieved.
• The Outsider
  The one on the margins; carrier of renewal and new imagination when the centre collapses.
• The Bodhisattva
  The figure who returns to the broken world rather than escaping it; compassion in times of collapse.

Visit Michael Meade's website here where you can find links to his podcast, books and offerings.

Cover Art: The Fall of the Rebel Angels - an oil-on-panel painting created in 1562 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Calling doesn’t arrive as a neat job title. It asks for consent. In this deep, playful, and piercing conversation with Thomas Moore—author of Care of the Soul—we explore how the Midheaven (tenth house) points not to status but to a life that can bear its own meaning in public. Thomas shares how fifty years of quiet preparation—monastic study, Latin and Greek, music, Jung—suddenly opened into visibility, and how he learned to stand on big stages without losing the cave within.

We trace practical pathways from symbol to life. Ficino’s Renaissance astrology and the idea of stellar rays become a usable art: choosing textures, colors, plants, and music that genuinely nourish temperament. Beauty shows up as medicine, a missing ingredient in clinical spaces shaped solely by science. From there we wade into the myths that guide us—Rapunzel’s root hunger, Pegasus striking the spring of the Muses—and ask what it means to descend to our roots so we can rise well. Depth versus height, “higher” education versus lower, richer knowing; Thomas prods us to find what truly feeds the soul.

The heart-work is also gritty. Parents and culture can shrink a life. Angels—those messenger moments—ask for an answer. Sometimes you jump in the river, sometimes you wrestle toward a yes, but either way the next step is usually the truest one. We talk late blooming, saving depression rather than erasing it, Saturn’s gifts, and why aiming higher than your current story of yourself is an act of care. If you’re feeling adrift, this is a map and a nudge: let your roots inform your reach, let the muses tune your work, and meet your calling as it unfolds.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—then tell us: what’s the next step your calling is asking you to take?

*The above blurb was auto-generated by Buzzsprout's AI

Thomas Moore's website where you can find his books, teachings and more. 

Episode Artwork: The Alchemist c. 1558 - Philip Galle after Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

A tower without roots looks impressive until the wind picks up. We follow Rapunzel and The Six Swans to uncover how a real calling demands both height and depth: the Midheaven’s shine, the IC’s ground, and the sixth house’s quiet craft. Using vivid fairy-tale images, we explore the earth-house triad—second, sixth, and tenth—and what happens when desire for “more” outruns our sense of enough. From stolen rampion and severed hair to a desert reunion healed by tears, Rapunzel shows the cost of ambition cut off from home and body. The Six Swans answers with a different power: six years of wordless work, sewing starwort shirts under accusation, modeling the discipline and devotion that transform ideals into form.

I share how scarcity in the second house morphs into compulsion, why the IC’s hearth practices restore vision when the public gaze distorts, and how the sixth house rescues the tenth from burnout by dignifying humble routines. We talk Thomas Moore’s insight on moving both up and down—growing and deepening—so authority stays human. Expect practical reflections: crafting a resource plan that feels like “enough,” creating rituals that anchor memory and grief, and building systems for deep work that keep you steady when attention splinters. The ending isn’t neat by design—one brother keeps a wing—because meaningful work is always incomplete and that’s the point.

If you’ve felt visible yet unmoored, driven yet depleted, these stories offer a map: braid your golden ladder back to living soil, let tears restore sight, and keep stitching the star into the everyday. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s rethinking their path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

* the above blurb was auto generated by Buzzsprout's AI

Thomas Moore: A Life at Work

Episode Artwork is here and here. 

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

What if your calling isn’t one narrow lane but an oak with many strong branches? We open the year by climbing from the ninth house of vision to the tenth house of visibility, where ideals must learn to walk, speak, and serve a real-world “whole.” The Midheaven becomes our threshold: a place to meet power, define vocation, and decide how to be seen without cutting off the roots that feed us.

We ground the theory with living images. An ancient oak oracle in Dodona shows why vocation can have many limbs that still belong to one tree. The seagoat reveals a body-wisdom path from the IC to the MC, and we guide a simple spine practice to carry soul upward without burning it out. Then myth raises the stakes: Zeus, fed on goat’s milk, dons the pelt and faces Cronus across a decade-long crucible. Jupiter’s expansion and Saturn’s restraint become two necessary “horns” you must use to gain purchase on your mountain.

Drawing on Dane Rudhyar, we reframe the “world” as the largest whole you can genuinely participate in with competence—your village, your nation, or humanity. Achievement, he says, is becoming chief, but a head is useless without the body that sustains it. We explore how to right-size ambition, avoid the twin traps of self-inflation and self-shrinking, and translate ninth-house understanding into tenth-house mastery. Along the way, we highlight Thomas Moore’s many-layered path as proof that one seed can unfold through multiple forms without losing coherence.

If you’ve ever felt pressured to choose a single label, this conversation is a relief and a challenge. The tenth house isn’t just career; it’s your second gestation in public, where authority, authorship, and authenticity share a root. Find the whole you can serve, claim the power you can responsibly marshal, and let your branches grow from the same living trunk. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who’s rethinking purpose, and leave a review to help more seekers find the show.

* The above blurb was generated by Buzzsprout's AI.

This book by Dane Rudhyar is referenced in the episode. 

The TV show from my childhood - Monkey - is also in here. 

Podcast art is here.

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

A winter wish, a juniper tree, and a song that won’t be silenced. We read and unpack The Juniper Tree through the lens of myth and astrology, following a stark arc from dismemberment to remembrance, from underworld descent to the ninth house return of voice. The tale’s violent turn isn’t spectacle—it’s symbolic. A sister gathers bones and lays them at the roots; a bird rises from fire, sings what happened, and earns a golden chain, red shoes, and a millstone. Each gift answers a wound: the chain restores the severed link, the shoes return movement and joy, and the stone delivers the kind of Saturnian justice that ends what cannot be integrated.

Along the way we explore why juniper is a liminal, funerary, protective tree and why solstice is the perfect time for a story about death and the slow return of light. We trace resonances with Snow White, the Raven, Medusa, Osiris and Isis, and even the Christian ritual of remembrance that turns body and blood into bread and wine. The ninth house shines through as the realm where hard-won wisdom gets sung aloud, where fair exchange dignifies art, and where truth becomes beautiful enough for others to bear. This is not a call to bypass grief; it’s a ritual map for metabolizing it.

If you’ve ever felt your voice frozen in the underworld, this story offers a path: gather the bones, honor the roots, set a boundary around your song, and let the wings come back. As the year turns, join us for a solstice myth that holds both the darkest night and the first hint of dawn. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves deep stories, and leave a review to help others find the show.

*the above blurb was generated by Buzzsprout's AI

Podcast Artwork: Warwick Goble - Out of the fire flew a beautiful bird.

The Juniper Tree from the Grimm Collection.

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

A sun at rest can see farther. That’s the mood we step into as we explore the Ninth House with artist-astrologer Amanda Simon—an airy, unhurried place where conviction meets humility, myth meets method, and meaning proves itself alive. We trace how the Ninth becomes the sun’s joy, not as a grind toward achievement but as a space to linger, radiate, and speak from what you truly know. The conversation moves between lunar nearness and solar reach, pairing the Third House’s intimate tending with the Ninth House’s bold broadcast so ideas stay touchable and true.

We look at conviction’s double edge—how it opens futures when rooted in experience, and how it burns when it ossifies into dogma. From Speaker’s Corner to Orpheus in the underworld, we track the classic arc of ordeal, boon, and return, and name the cultural wound of skipping the return in favor of productivity. Hestia’s inviolate flame threads through, a reminder that the inner light doesn’t go out; it can be faint, but never extinguished. That insight pairs with the first–fifth–ninth triad—“I am, I want, I know”—as a living check-and-balance against ego, hedonism, and rigid belief.

To make all this usable, Amanda introduces techne: the practices that invite reciprocity with the more-than-human world. Writing, sculpture, breathwork, pilgrimage, ritual—these repeated gestures create a reliable bridge for insight, a ladder you can climb without claiming to own the heavens. We close with Michelangelo’s almost-touching hands, honoring the gap between human and divine as the Ninth House’s sacred tension: reach without grasp, radiate without rush, know without certainty. If you’ve been craving a wiser tempo and a more generous voice, this is your invitation to dwell well, then share what you’ve seen.

If this conversation lit a spark, follow, rate, and review the show, or share it with someone who needs a slower sun today.

*Above blurb auto-generated by Buzzsprout's AI companion.

Cover Art: Creation of Adam, Michelangelo (1475–1564), circa 1511

If you would like to journey with Amanda here are some new 2026 offerings

Group processes to cultivate astrological sensitivity 

Primal Astrology the art of Cosmological listening with Claire Loussouarn (hybrid) starting Feb 2026  

Chiron and other centaurs who hear timeless whispers with Amanda Simon - an online 8 month experiential journey to grow felt relationship with centuaric consciousness as Chiron moves from Aries to Taurus - starting Feb 2026 

Temple tending - tender temples with Milena Kadziela - practice group working with the cycle of the year to support cultivating intimacy with the living sky through growing a basis of being & poetic basis of being through somatic and creative practice . 

In person and on line starting March 2026 please email [email protected] for interest and to arrange a call to explore further 

Fire Signs experiential elements course through Hermes Hestia centre

For 1 : 1 consults and longer journeys please visit amandasimon.co.uk or email [email protected]

Join the Newsletter!

Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
Please consider becoming a Patron to support the show!
Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.