Metaphysical Girl

Come get obsessed with one of my favorite people! Rachel Parsons is a queer interreligious spiritual director, author of smutty gay poems about God, and fellow survivor of Southern evangelicalism. She is a grade A certified body witch babe — and my own spiritual director.If you love medieval erotic mystics and Sufjan Stevens, find the Divine in punk rock, or want to learn more about building an individual, authentic spiritual life on your own terms, this episode is for you.IN THIS EPISODEExplore eroticism as a doorway for encountering God, particularly within the embodied queer experience.Unpack why religion is so kinky and why kink is so religiousLearn how spiritual direction helps those in spiritual trauma recovery find their own path forward.Get the tea on the diabolically folksy mandolin-and-misogyny church Rachel and I attended, found each other in, and survived.Receive a whole bunch of erotic mystical poetry recommendations – plus a live reading of one of Rachel’s own poems.CONNECT WITH RACHELFratres Dei Spiritual Direction: https://www.fratresdei.com/spiritual-directionTheodora Thomas Poetry: https://www.instagram.com/theodorathomaspoetry/POETRY AND SONG RECSSt Teresa of Avila’s The Interior CastleJohn Donne’s “Batter My Heart Three Person’d God”“All Around Me” by Flyleaf“Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the OperaSt John of the Cross’s Dark Night of the Soul“Saturn” by Sufjan StevensThe poetry of HafizIt Begins In a Garden by Notbecauseofvictories Sierra Simone’s Priest SeriesGET METAPHYSICALJoin the community on substack at saint.substack.com to get new episodes in your inbox. Join the paid tier for twice-monthly long form essays about art, sexuality, and spirituality, as well as Metaphysical Girl After Dark episodes, where we go darker, deeper, and more intimate with the subject matter.BOOK A TAROT READINGI’ve spent the last dozen years interpreting the tarot for the betterment of myself and other people, with a focus on helping artists, spiritual seekers, and those in transition uncover their inner wisdom. Schedule a private reading or tarot lesson with me: https://stgibson.com/metaphysical-girl/ Get full access to Metaphysical Girl at saint.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Valentine's Day, freaks and lovers. I’ve got a sweet treat for you: an audio essay on desirous gazes, the theatre of kink, and the wild vulnerability of wanting, all seen through the lens of FIT’s recent Fashion and Psychoanalysis exhibit.IN THIS EPISODE:- Trouble the Freudian gender binary of man as fetishist and woman as narcissist- Explore the queer gaze, and new models for loving and lusting after each other- Hear a few confessions about my own fetishes, from sunglasses to leather gloves- Explore kink as an outlet for violent urges more commonly repressed and or channeled into war and conflict- Consider the ways in which surrendering to being looked at and looking at others with shameless admiration might be an erotic practice for personal transformation and deeper connectionLET'S GET METAPHYSICALJoin the community on saint.substack.com to get new episodes in your inbox, and join the paid tier for essays about art, sexuality, and spirituality, as well as Metaphysical Girl After Dark episodes, where we get darker, deeper, and more intimate.Follow Metaphysical Girl on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/metaphysicalgirlpod. BOOK A TAROT READINGI've spent a dozen years helping artists, spiritual seekers, and those in transition uncover their inner wisdom through tarot. To schedule a private reading with me, follow the booking link here.MUSIC CREDITHot Stone Meditation by Yuri Megis Get full access to Metaphysical Girl at saint.substack.com/subscribe

New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten joined me on the pod to talk about deconstructing evangelical Christianity, learning to love horror, writing religious trauma narratives and yes, enjoying a Switchfoot banger from time to time! What a treat to dig into all the exvangelical Christian feelings with one of the smartest working writers in the game, and my dear friend.IN THIS EPISODE:- Learn about Hannah's background in the Nazarene church, and her deconstruction journey towards a service-led spirituality of "knowing that we don't know".- Flash back to the evangelical cultural landscape of the early aughts, and the underpinning moral frameworks that continue to shape the ex-vangelical mind.- Explore Hannah’s experience of writing religious trauma narratives in The Nightshade Crown trilogy and Wilderwood Duology.- Hear about Hannah and Saint’s favorite horror movies, and the power of horror to explore mental illness, motherhood, and generational trauma.- Dig into Hannah and Saint’s writing process for outlining trilogies, discovery writing towards theme, and choosing to write “passive” heroines with intentionality.CONNECT WITH HANNAHWebsite: https://hannahfwhitten.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hwhittenwritesPREORDER RELIQUARYSigned Copies at Parnassus Books HORROR MOVIES MENTIONEDThe Wicker Man (1973)Woodlands Dark and Days BewitchedAs Above So BelowThe RitualThe RingThe BabadookHereditary Speak No Evil (2004 James Macavoy film)Fire Walk With MeLET'S GET METAPHYSICALJoin the community on saint.substack.com to get new episodes in your inbox, and join the paid tier for essays about art, sexuality, and spirituality, as well as Metaphysical Girl After Dark episodes, where we get darker, deeper, and more intimate.Follow Metaphysical Girl on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/metaphysicalgirlpod. BOOK A TAROT READINGI've spent a dozen years helping artists, spiritual seekers, and those in transition uncover their inner wisdom through tarot. To schedule a private reading with me, follow the booking link here.MUSIC CREDITHot Stone Meditation by Yuri Megis Get full access to Metaphysical Girl at saint.substack.com/subscribe

Have you noticed the way everyone's late twenties feel so chaotic, defined by plot twists that shift the course of their life? That’s your Saturn return, baby! A landmark astrological transit kicked off by Saturn, planet of duty and discipline, moving back through the place in the sky it was when you were born.There’s a lot of fear-mongering around Saturn, but as someone who has just emerged on the other side of her Saturn return, I’m here to hold your hand and tell you exactly what to expect from yours.On February 13th, Saturn will move into Aires, kicking off a Saturn return for many people born between 1996 and 1999. Zillenial cusp babies and elder Zoomers, let’s lock in and learn these lessons!IN THIS EPISODE- Explore the archetypes of Saturn as Teacher, Timekeeper, Punisher, and Purifier- Discover exactly what part of your life your Saturn return will transform based on your birth chart- Learn freaky little strategies for leaning into your Saturn return instead of fighting it (what you cannot change, romanticize, right?)- Get the gossip on exactly how my Saturn return in Pisces kicked my ass, and why I’m incredibly grateful and better because of it.- Use tarot to embody Saturnian energy in your life and work alongside, not against, SaturnASTROLOGER SHOUTOUTSJanelle Belgrave of So Above Astrology: https://www.soabove.com/Ursula of Ursula Rising: https://ursularising.com/BOOK RECSSaturn: A New Look at an Old Devil by Liz Greene: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saturn-liz-greene/1102784747LET'S GET METAPHYSICALJoin the community at saint.substack.com to get new episodes right in your inbox, and join the paid tier for essays about art, sexuality, and spirituality, as well as Metaphysical Girl After Dark episodes, where we get darker, deeper, and more intimate.BOOK A TAROT READINGI’ve spent the last dozen years interpreting the tarot for the betterment of myself and other people, with a focus on helping artists, spiritual seekers, and those in transition uncover their inner wisdom. To schedule a private reading with me, follow the booking link here.MUSIC CREDITHot Stone Meditation by Yuri Megis Get full access to Metaphysical Girl at saint.substack.com/subscribe