Some Other Sphere

Episode 27 - Matt Hopewell - Gorillas and ghostly gloves

For the first time here at Sphere HQ, we have a returning guest, Matt Hopewell, who was on the show last year to talk about Discordianism.  This time around we’re discussing some of the unusual phenomena he’s experienced over the years and his thoughts on what might have been happening. This includes a discussion on Gorillas, which I’m not sure either of us anticipated, but was just as fascinating as the poltergeist Phenomena and possible Fae encounter he also describes in this episode.
Fun stuff as ever, especially if you like Gorillas!
Enjoy!
 
Matt's excellent blog can be found at https://www.apstrange.com/ and for more information on the Liminal Earth project, visit https://liminal.earth/.
Some Other Sphere intro music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 26 - Dr Amy Hale - The Magical Life of Ithell Colquhoun

Hello! In this episode I discuss the life and work of the artist, writer and occultist, Ithell Colquhoun with Dr Amy Hale.
Ithell Colquhoun is perhaps best known as a member of the surrealist art movement in the 1930’s and 40’s both in London and Paris but she was also deeply interested in a variety of esoteric subjects and her art was part of a larger, long term magical practise that encompassed an range of unusual projects, exploring the magical qualities of colour and shape as a means to engage with other worlds and dimensions.
Amy is a scholar of occult, esoteric and marginal cultures, with a PhD in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA. She has written on a range of diverse topics, including modern Druidry, colour theory, the occult, and extremist politics in modern Paganism.
2020 will see the publication of her biography of Ithell Colquhoun, Genius of the Fern Loved Gully, a work twenty years in the making and something I think is both very much worth the wait, and timely (for more information on Amy and her work, you can find here excellent website here).
We had a really lovely chat, I think this is a great episode to kick off 2020 with.
Enjoy!
 
Some Other Sphere intro music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/ 
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 25 - Kiki Dombrowski - A Curious Future

My guest for this episode is Kiki Dombrowski. Kiki is a spiritual researcher and explorer, and has spent her life studying mythology, magic, witchcraft and the supernatural. She has been reading Tarot for over 25 years and is the author of two books, the latest of which, A Curious Future is a guidebook to some of the more unusual techniques people have used over thousands of years to try and predict the future.
Currently living in Nashville TN, Kiki is also a really positive and generous presence on social media when it comes to all things weird and wonderful and it was a delight to get her on the podcast, to talk about her life and work.
To find out more about Kiki I recommend you visit her excellent website which can be found here and you can find her on Twitter too. Her book, 'A Curious Future' can be purchased via Amazon online.
 
Some Other Sphere Intro Music is from  https://www.purple-planet.com/ 
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 24 - Listener Stories - Steve Mills

My guest for this episode is Steve Mills, a listener to the podcast who contacted me with details of ghostly phenomena he and some friends encountered in Birmingham, England back in the 1980’s that is intriguing to say the least.  
I talked with him about those experiences and his thoughts on their nature, and what it might suggest on a broader scale when it comes to trying to understand the supernatural. It was a really fun chat.
If you’ve had had a similar experience and would be interested in discussing it in an episode, you can email me at someothersphere@gmail.com.
Enjoy!
 
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 23 - Dr Kate Laity - Leonora Carrington and The Hearing Trumpet

In this episode I talk about the life and works of the artist Leonora Carrington with Dr Kate Laity.
 
Leonora Carrington is often considered part of the surrealist movement of the early 20th Century but her artwork is full of purposeful, esoteric symbology and otherworldly creatures, and often related to deeply personal events from her very eventful life. She also had a deep interest in mythology and the occult and this would inform her creative output throughout her career.
 
Alongside her art she was also an accomplished author with her most famous work perhaps being The Hearing Trumpet , a novel centered on nonagenarian Marian Leatherby, who is gifted the eponymous trumpet, and her adventures at the very unusual old peoples homes she is banished to by her family. Like her artwork, the book is full of mysticism and mystery.
 
Kate, my guest is an award winning author, scholar & critic, serving both as History Witch for Witches & Pagans and as Associate Professor of English at the College of Saint Rose. She recently gave a talk about Leonora Carrington at the fantastic Treadwells bookshop in London, which was the inspiration for this episode. 
 
You can find out more about Kate and her work at her website https://kalaity.com/.
 
Enjoy!
 
 
 
Episode Image: 'Self Portrait' by Leonora Carrington
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/.
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 22 - Andy Burnham - The Old Stones

My guest for this episode is Andy Burnham, creator of the Megalithic Portal website. What started out as a small database of ancient sites in the late 1990’s is now an extensive and detailed Archaeological resource, lovingly sourced by people like Andy who are interested in the myriad ancient stone circles, Henges and other such structures that dot the landscape.
The website was such a success that it led to the publication in 2018 of a book called The Old Stones, a beautiful field guide to the Megalithic sites of Britain and Ireland that was named Current Archaeology’s book of the year for 2019.
Whilst providing a comprehensive level of information about Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across the British Isles, it also includes articles that speculate about the phenomenology of these places, the people who built them and the artifacts they left behind, and what such sites might tell us about the cosmology, religion, magic, science and culture of those times. It’s a lovely book and it was great to talk with Andy about what led to its creation.
Fascinating stuff all round,  Enjoy!
 
'The Old Stones: A Field guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland' can be found at the Megalithic Portal website, on Amazon here and at all good book shops.
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 21 - Ailish Jane - What is a sense of place?

"Do you ever go somewhere, and have a strong emotional response to it, such as happiness, nostalgia or fear? Have you ever wondered why we look for meaning in places and develop stories or legends about them over time? Well these behaviours are known as a sense of place..."
Those are the words of my guest for this episode, Ailish Jane, creator of the excellent Sense of Place Podcast.
Ailish has interviewed a fascinating array of people on subjects that relate to the effect that certain sites can have on people and communities,  going past the tangible and towards something more sublime, where buildings and other places can develop their own personalities and character, and myths and legends can emerge.
Even once gone, such places can still have their own ghosts which haunt the area they once occupied, and be mourned by the people that remember their passing.
In the episode we talked more about what a sense of place is and how it manifests, it’s importance in helping people form a connection to their local area and maintain a sense of community, as well as preserving the heritage of our towns and cities and creating new folklore. Lovely stuff!
 
Background sounds at beginning of episode: https://freesound.org/people/meisterleise/sounds/353259/
Some Other Sphere theme music is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 20 - Matthew Meyer - Yokai and Japanese Folklore

Folklore is a wonderful thing. It is deep rooted in the human experience and is a vital component of countless cultures throughout time. There are some startling similarities in the beings and legends  encountered across the globe, but also unique differences that set apart a cultures mythic landscape. A wonderful example of this is Japan, a land long shrouded in mystery and hidden from the west, which developed a storytelling tradition replete with a menagerie of unusual entities ready to leap from subconscious and into the real world.
These beings are usually classed as Yokai, which is a term that itself can encompass a whole range of familiar creatures – goblins, ghosts, monsters, as well as humans and animals that possess an unusual talent or quality but it also includes urban legends and various paranormal phenomena.
My guest for this episode is illustrator and author, Matthew Meyer. Matthew is an expert on Yokai and has published three books on the subject. He is also an accomplished artist and you can find examples of his work and writing on his wonderful website Yokai.com, which is a comprehensive A-Z guide to the phenomena.
For further details about Matthew's books and artwork, as well as his blog and Patreon page, please visit http://matthewmeyer.net/
 
 
Music for Some Other Sphere theme is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 19 - Garrett Kelly & Jeremy Puma - The Liminal Earth project

This episode begins with a quote from my guests:
“Spooky things happen every day all around us! Instead of brushing these peculiar moments and bizarre encounters off as chance, or mere coincidence, what if we talked about them, mapped them, and tried to decode the message?”
Well, that’s what Garrett Kelly and Jeremy Puma have done with the Liminal Earth Project, which they describe as a map of the strange, wonderful, weird and unexpected.  They both have a background in researching and investigating the unusual and this led them to come up with the idea of putting their experiences on a map, and then opening that up to the general public, allowing the project to be crowd sourced.
Experiences can be recorded on the map under a wide range of categories, including ghosts, cryptids and UFOs but also more unusual subjects like Dark Forces, Time Distortions, and ‘Thin’ places.  It’s a really novel idea and is one which I think has amazing potential. As soon as discovered the map I knew I should get these guys on and discuss their adventures in Liminal Cartography.
To find out more about the map, go to https://liminal.earth/, where you can add your own experiences, become a Patreon of the project, or even volunteer to become an ambassador for your local area.
Garrett and Jeremy also talked about the project recently in an interview with journalist MJ Banias for VICE magazine which you can read here.
 
Intro Music:
Music from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martyn/Geoff Harvey.

Episode 18 - Amanda Edmiston - Botanica Fabula

Recently, whilst out on a run, I went too near some stinging nettles and OUCH! – got stung. Luckily, I immediately knew what to do.
I found a dock leaf of course,  and rubbed the affected area. Pain over and my run was saved!
I feel like I’ve always known that cure and I’m sure it’s something that most of you will have been told as a child as well.
It is a very old piece of knowledge that has lasted over countless generations, just one of many nuggets of wisdom about plants which has survived, along with things like carrots being good for your eyes, and mint aiding digestion, through story, song and at learned at the knee of a family elder. It comes from a time when it was vital to have an understanding of the botanical world around you..of those plants which were nice, and those that were not so nice.
My guest for this episode is Amanda Edmiston. Amanda is a professional storyteller, with a background and ancestry steeped in knowledge of Herbal Medicine. Her stories involve a wide range of characters from myth and legend and their encounters with and uses of herbs, flowers, trees, weeds..and a whole lot more.  Plants and herbs have always been an important to her and it was fascinating to talk to about their folklore, and the wisdom contained there, not just about what they can be used for, but also how to treat them with respect, and work with them to a mutual advantage. In a time when modern society faces some of it’s greatest ever ecological challenges, these stories are more relevant than ever and offer a chance to connect with nature on a whole new level.
In the interview, we also discussed the use of certain plants in sympathetic magic, as well as the current growing popularity of permaculture. It was excellent stuff all round.
For more details on Amanda's work, her wonderful website can be found here.
 
Intro music:
Music from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martyn/Geoff Harvey.