Soror Mystica
by Cristina Farella and Mariana Louis
Explore the world around you in all its rich, magical symbolism by tuning in to Soror Mystica, a series of insightful, imaginative conversations between mythopoetic astrologer Cristina Farella and archetypal tarotist Mariana Louis. With their shared background in depth psychology, myth, art, and literature, best friends Cristina and Mariana explore the realms of modern spirituality, guiding listeners with equal parts scholarship and warm-hearted humor. Whether deciphering archetypes of the occult or interpreting the dreams of listeners, Soror Mystica, the “mystical sister,” is here to spark your imagination, and support you on your unique path of becoming.
Episodes
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Episode 52: The Symbol of the Question
Questions form the very basis of inquiry. They can be philosophical or mundane. You've probably asked a dozen questions of yourself, already, today. In this episode, we explore the symbol of the question, itself, contemplating what questions allow us to do. A question can be an initiation…
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Episode 51: The Symbol of the Unicorn
The unicorn is one of the most potent, and mysterious, mythical beasts the imaginal wilderness has to offer us. These creatures carry fascinating symbolic weight with them, and are present in the texts of cultures the world over. Join Cristina and Mariana as they explore the history of the…
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Episode 50: The Meaning of Magic
As the veil thins and the days darken, many are inspired to turn toward a magical practice for reflection, inspiration, and spiritual support. Magic is a powerful tool with a deep historical context, but living in our technologized, modern world can make approaching ritual and magic feel strange,...
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Episode 49: The Symbol of the Great Mother
The Great Mother is one of the most primordial archetypes, and one today that has lost some of her original potency. We either tend to wash away her intensity by reducing her to "creativity" or "nurture" or project her power outwards, turning it into the witch, the monster, the devourer. In this...
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Episode 48: The Symbols of Alchemy
Alchemy is an ancient practice that continues to enchant and mystify us today. There are so many symbols to explore, paths to follow, and often our investigation of alchemy is quickly derailed by the intimidation of it all. In this episode, Mariana is joined by alchemical expert Alyssa Polizzi to...
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Episode 47: The Symbol of the Tower
The tower, a symbol of ascent to the heavens, and eventual destruction. In the practice of pulling tarot, drawing this card can inspire anxiety, as we gaze upon the image of the figures falling from a great height, struck by lightning from the heavens above. In this episode, we explore this…
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Episode 45: The Symbol of the Eclipse
To be eclipsed is to fall into shadow. Astronomical eclipses occur about four times a year, when one of the luminaries is cast into darkness. We too can be cast into darkness, thrown into life experiences that bring us down into the depths of our personal underworlds. Just as the Sun and Moon go...
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Episode 44: The Symbol of the Lover
One of the most archetypal experiences we undergo in this lifetime is the search for the "other." We move through the world as individuals, learning and growing on our own path of development, but eventually, we begin to yearn for another to share space and time with. Enter the symbol of the…
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Episode 43: The Symbol of the Collective Unconscious
The collective unconscious lives and breathes between us all, a mysterious web of connectivity, sign, and symbol. Join us in this fresh episode where we contemplate the origins of the concept of the collective unconscious, and how it’s functioning in its highly activated state, in our present...
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Episode 42: The Symbol of Alchemical Marriage
We're back! After a break (and by the way, how fitting that our previous episode was about retrogrades and reversals), we've returned to the pod, to explore the symbol of alchemical marriage. This discussion is inspired by the fact that Cristina got married in late September, with, of course,...
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Episode 41: The Symbol of Reversals & Retrogrades
What does it mean to be forced to reverse course? How do we contend with the moments in our lives where we cannot push forward, as expected? In this episode, we explore the concept of reversals, retrogrades, and what it means to embrace moments of inversion, or opposition. In Mariana's modality,...
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Episode 40: The Symbol of the Ocean
The ocean is our primordial origin, the place from which all life emerges. Symbolically, the ocean represents the waters of the unconscious, which shape and give form to the solid earth on which we live. Join us in this episode where we explore the magic and mythos of the sea! From the stories of...
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Episode 39: The Symbol of Macro & Microcosm
"As above so below, as within so without," is one of the most famous maxims of the occult world, a phrase shared and repeated by those who explore the wonders of the mythic and the magical, the symbolic and the unknown. This phrase comes to us from the Emerald Tablet, a Hellenistic text by Hermes...
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Episode 38: Listener Q/A
In this special episode, we had the rare opportunity to be in the same place at the same time! And so we sat on Mariana's couch, and answered questions submitted by our dear listeners. Tune into our thirty-eighth show, where we explore topics both personal and magical, chatting about the story of...
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Episode 37: Interpreting Your Dream Language
While it's typical to, after a dream, turn to a dream symbol dictionary to puzzle out the meaning of what we saw while we were asleep, dream experts urge us to connect with the symbols and images of our dreams in a personal, particular manner. But how can we do that, when we feel we have no...
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Episode 36: The Symbol of the Star
The Star: a beloved major arcana card in the tarot, and a beautiful feature of the natural world. Stars glitter in the dark, reminding us of the vastness of the cosmos, and our smallness within it. But the star is never solitary - it is grouped in clusters of its fellow stars, forming...
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Episode 35: The Symbol of the Garden
As the season of spring unfurls before us, we contemplate the symbol of the garden. Different from the lush vitality of wild nature, the garden tends to be protected by a fortress, guarded by angels, with something sacred and special at its very center. Join us as we explore the meaning of the...
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Episode 34: The Path of the Healer
This episode offers a conversation a bit more personal, and more candid, about our experiences of working in our fields of tarot and astrology. Both of our disciplines can be considered healing modalities, but what does it really mean to be a healer in the modern age? How can we keep our work...
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Episode 33: The Symbol of the Cosmic Egg
The egg, or the cosmic egg, is a primal symbol of creation. In honor of spring truly getting underway, episode 33 of Soror Mystica explores the egg in all its procreative glory. Eggs are present in mythologies the world over, often coming up in explanations of the birth of the world, which…
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Episode 32: The Symbol of Spring
In honor of the Vernal Equinox, this episode is dedicated to the shimmering, gently unfurling symbol of Spring! With winter behind us, the Sun and his warmth grows wilder and more golden with each passing day. But there is more to this season than the warming of the world. Spring is associated…
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Episode 31: The Symbol of Oracular & Prophetic Vision
Oracles and prophetic vision were paramount to life in the ancient world. Along with astrology and haruspicy, consultation of the oracle was recognized as an important way of connecting with the will and vision of the divine. We live in a world that has stripped away the importance of the oracle...
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Episode 30: The Symbol of the Ouroboros
The ouroboros is one of our most mysterious and powerful symbols, denoting the simultaneity of life, subsequent endings and beginnings, death and rebirth, completion and totality, solar power and bravery, an encircling of the world... As an alchemical concept the ouroboros represented the…
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Episode 29: The Symbol of the Heart
When it comes to romantic love, the heart is the symbol that most immediately comes to mind. When we're passionate, we move from the heart, and when we're disappointed, our hearts can break. The heart is central, literally, to our functioning, and so in this episode, we explore different ways of...
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Episode 28: The Symbol of the Threshold
What does it mean to approach a threshold? Prevalent in myths, fairy tales, sagas, ancient hymns, thresholds represent a point of departure from the profane to the sacred. Thresholds demarcate the space between realms, and our passage through them is transformative. But how do we know when we’re…
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Episode 27: The Symbol of the Lion
The lion! A symbol of sovereignty, regality, solar power, and bravery, associated with kings of all kinds. These are the primary associations we call up, when asked to contemplate the lion in all his golden glory, but upon a closer look, the lion holds more than meets the eye. At the beginning of…
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Episode 26: The Symbol of the Winter Solstice
We enter into the depths of December and are immersed in a maelstrom of commercialized holiday ~cheer~. This time of year can be exceptionally stressful, with its emphasis on the weight of our purchases. Looking back in pre-Christian history, the winter solstice was frequently celebrated as a...
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Episode 25: The Symbol of the Angel
Angels are most famous as god's messengers, often depicted in flowing white robes, surrounded by choirs of harps, and bewinged. What superficial depictions of angels tends to miss is their terrifying power. To be a messenger of god can mean so many different things--angels can deliver god's…
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Episode 24: The Symbol of the Shadow
We talk so much about “shadow” in our work as diviners, but what does the shadow really entail? And what is shadow work?! The shadow is an expression of what is yet unintegrated in our personality, that which we don’t see about ourselves, which we can strive to bring to awareness over the course…
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Episode 23: The Symbol of the Wheel
The Wheel of Fortune is an ancient symbol, spun by the Roman goddess Fortuna, doling out gifts and twists of fate in equal measure. Many of us are most familiar with the Wheel of Fortune from the tarot (or the famed gameshow, though here at Soror Mystica, we’re more Jeopardy girls), as a card…
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Episode 22: The Symbol of the Undead
What does it mean for our cultural moment that we are awash in a sea of zombie TV shows and films? Carl Jung said that when we’re unsure of what’s going on in our unconscious, we may project it outward, and we seem to be focusing on this projection of the zombified expression of human...
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Episode 21: The Symbol of the Witch
Witches are people who have the power to heal or to harm, the sacred encapsulation of life and death. As a result of this, witches are personified as revolting, terrifying, uncontrollable expressions of the dark feminine, often banished to the edges of society. Just in time for the thinning of…
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Episode 20: The Symbol of the Pearl
The pearl! A luminescent, oceanic gemstone, created in the briny deep, the result of an intrusive grain of sand. Pearls are usually associated with the feminine, with Venus-Aphrodite, as a symbol of purity and beauty, or perhaps an expression of lunar consciousness. This episode pushes the...
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Episode 19: The Symbol of the Maiden
What does it mean to be “maiden”? The maiden is most famously known as one-third of the feminine triad, and along with the mother and crone, symbolizes a particular kind of life force in the cyclic flow of life. But what happens when we hold the maiden on her own, what does her form suggest, and...
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Episode 18: On the Creation of Sacred Space
We live in a magical moment where so many of us are turning away from established religion, and seeking spirituality on our own in nature, in divination, and so many other modalities. But when we step away from the church or the temple, we suddenly realize that we need to create a sacred space of...
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Episode 17: The Symbol of the Swan
At first blush, the swan impresses us with its dazzling white feathers and graceful posture, conjuring images of ballerinas or fairytale settings. But what does the swan offer us beyond the image of beauty and grace? Swans appear in myths often as emblems of solar, masculine gods, like Apollo or...
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Episode 16: The Symbol of the Spiral
🌹 Advertise With Us 🌹 Would you like your product or shop to be featured as an ad partner on Soror Mystica? Explore advertising options here! 🌞 Share Your Symbols 🌞 Do you have a symbol that pops up in dreams, in your tarot card pulls, or in your personal experience that puzzles you? If you’d...
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Episode 15: The Symbol of the Psychopomp
Special thanks to this episode’s ad partner, Vibes del Alma! https://www.vibesdelalma.com If you enjoy this episode, please remember to leave us a rating or review on Apple podcasts or Spotify :) Share Your Symbols Do you have a symbol that pops up in dreams, in your tarot card pulls, or in your...
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Episode 14: The Symbol of the Holy Mountain
SHOW NOTES Ad Partner Moon Magic - Distance Healing https://www.moonmagicwellness.com/distance-healing @MoonMagicWellness Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Register for Mythology for Astrologers here! Support us on Patreon here!...
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Episode 13: Meeting the Soror Mystica
SHOW NOTES AD PARTNER Vibes de Alma @vibesdealma Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support us on Patreon here! Find Us On Instagram here Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have a symbol that pops up in…
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Episode 12: The Symbol of Divine Music
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Episode Playlist Linked here! Support us on Patreon here! Find Us On Instagram here Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have a symbol that pops up in dreams, in…
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Episode 11: The Symbol of the Sun
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have…
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Episode 10: The Symbol of the Moon
In our tenth episode, we immerse ourselves in the symbol of the Moon, one of our most ancient, and most important, symbols of fertility, the feminine, and the powers of creation and destruction. Whether we’re contemplating the Great Mother goddess, meditating on the Moon card in the tarot, or...
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Episode 9: The Symbol of Resurrection
Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have a symbol...
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Episode 8: The Path of Individuation
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have…
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Episode 7: The Symbol of the Familiar
We’re all well aware of the archetype of the witch—the mysterious woman, often seen as an outsider who lives alone on the fringes of society, who works in secrecy to perfect her magic spells, lunar rituals, and banquets with the Devil. Though stories and depictions of the witch are wild and...
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Episode 6: The Symbol of Triplicity
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have…
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Episode 5: The Symbol of the Rose
SHOW NOTES Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have…
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Episode 4: The Quaternity of the Elements
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support Us on Patreon Get Supporter Perks like early episode access, access to the extended version of each episode, and monthly divinatory tools from Mariana and Cristina! Explore…
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Episode 3: The Marriage of Tarot & Astrology
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do you have…
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Episode 2: Living Your Myth
SHOW NOTES Links to connect with us, share your sacred symbols, or explore materials referenced in this episode: Patreon Support Soror Mystica and receive supporter perks by joining our Patreon, here. Find Us On Instagram Soror Mystica Podcast Mariana Louis Cristina Farella Share Your Symbols Do...
About this show
Explore the world around you in all its rich, magical symbolism by tuning in to Soror Mystica, a series of insightful, imaginative conversations between mythopoetic astrologer Cristina Farella and archetypal tarotist Mariana Louis.
With their shared background in depth psychology, myth, art, and literature, best friends Cristina and Mariana explore the realms of modern spirituality, guiding listeners with equal parts scholarship and warm-hearted humor. Whether deciphering archetypes of the occult or interpreting the dreams of listeners, Soror Mystica, the “mystical sister,” is here to spark your imagination, and support you on your unique path of becoming.
Hosted by
Cristina Farella and Mariana Louis
Categories