The 12th and final house of astrology is often given a bad wrap. It's considered the house of hidden enemies and of our own undoing. It rules over places we'd rather not be such as prisons, hospitals and asylums.

And yet, deep in this oceanic place in our charts we may meet the gods themselves. Figures from the collective unconscious who shape shift and morph, reveal and conceal themselves into and out of our minds.

It's a place that has associations with Neptune, Jupiter and Pisces; the deepest places of the ocean where our surface world probes can't reach. A place where Saturn, brooding and moody as he is, is in his Joy. Yes, that's right, Saturn has a joyful place.

In order to enter this house we need to leave our conscious tools at the door. We need to journey away from the known world on a wonderful sea journey with fantastic companions.

Hercules' 12th labour, Ariadne abandoned on Naxos and Hephaestus, the wounded goldsmith whose workshop is in a cave under the sea, will help us get a better feel for this place. Help us take a good look around and see what it is that we might be missing about this much maligned house, and what secret treasures it might be already, right now, shaping and re-shaping in the forge.

Carl Jung – Modern Man in Search of a Soul

James Hillman – The Myth of Analysis

Arnold Mindell – Process-Oriented Psychology

Mircea Eliade – The Forge and the Crucible

Walt Whitman – Song of Myself, from Leaves of Grass

Roberto Calasso – The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony

The Delphic Maxims (including “Know Thyself”)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphic_maxims

• Heracles and Cerberus • The Labours of Heracles
• Theseus and the Minotaur
• Ariadne and Dionysus on Naxos
• Hephaestus and the forge beneath the sea
• The Golden Net of Ares and Aphrodite
• Cronus and the Golden Age

• The Twelfth House • Neptune and the Oceanic Realm
• Saturn’s Joy in the Twelfth House
• The Water Houses: 4th, 8th and 12th
• The Ascendant as Threshold (the “door-slab” of the chart)

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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.

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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.

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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)

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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.

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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.

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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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.

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Podcast Musician: Marlia Coeur
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