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David Beth: The Black Pilgrimage #67
28 Aug 2026
01:44:19
Occult thinker and practitioner David Beth once made a vow to wait at least a decade before writing another book. "The Black Pilgrimage“ is the result of that promise.
With the release of this tome as a springboard, we dive together with David into the dark, beautiful abyss. We touch upon themes of identity, integrity, and the dangerous desire to stay unaffected by the world. Can we embrace the world with all its imperfections, horrors and loss and stay porous in relation to it? Can we allow it to remain a mystery?
We’re starting a new thread in our podcast weave! "Epic Small Talk“ is basically conversations between performance storytellers and other myth workers on different mythological subjects. A deep dive into the nitty gritty of myth, if you will. And to bless any new project, we have to start by invoking and inviting trickster to open the landscape for us.
Join performance storytellers Jo Blake and Dominic Kelly (UK) as well as your eternal hosts Mikael Öberg (SE) and Torgrim Mellum Stene (NO) in a delightful caper on the edge between right and wrong, the cracks, the openings, the thresholds, the grey areas of neither/nor where trickster resides and spins its dynamic dance. The image of trickster is seen from a wide range of perspectives, including in relation to the current state of the world.
Our second episode on the Odinic path takes us to Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen, founder of Nordic Animism and initiate to Odin in the Candomblé tradition. We speak to him about his initiation to a Norse god in an Afro-Brazilian syncretistic context, about the nature of initation in general, and how the Odinic qualities of speaking something into being and insisting on the right story are crucial counterweights to our hypermodernistic and overly representational times.
What is a right story? What is a wrong story? Can you destroy the sacred by making it too seen? Too available? Join us as we explore these themes guided by the guardian of knowledge.
Maria Kvilhaug, one of our favourite guests, has returned to "In the Borderlands“. She herself inhabits the liminal space between the scholar and the mystic and her deep delve analysis of ancient Norse poetry is always a delight to listen to. This time we have asked her to reflect on the fascinating figure of Odin, his polyvalent nature and his many, many names. Saddle your eight-legged steed and join us for the ride!
From the vibrant wilderness of Big Sur in California, we are joined by multidisciplinary artist Fletcher Tucker.
Through the music label Gnome Life Records and the organisation Wildtender his work is deeply related to the re-enchantment of the world and establishing relation and dialogue with the land, with other awarenesses, with the more-than-human.
We speak of the importance of ceremony and of the restoration of an ancient contact between human and landscape. Through practice. Through awareness. Through art.
For this episode, performance storyteller Torgrim Mellum Stene takes center stage as we talk about two of his current performances that both revolve around myth, history and time.
Join us for a probing conversation on dreaming and waking, fact and vision, giving voice to the underdog, truth and that which is truer than truth – how layers of reality weave together to resonate in a way that reveals meaning and brings history into the here and now.
Io Saturnalia! In celebration of the Roman holiday of role reversal, gift giving and letting go, we take a closer look at the chained god Saturn/Cronus/Chronos. Putting on our saturnine glasses, we discuss his presence in myth, folklore, Lovecraft and most recently, in the Hollywood blockbuster movie "The Fantastic Four: First Steps“. Spoilers abound.
For our 60th episode, we weave words with DIY working class wizard Will Wright. Will is an occult artist, a narrative film maker and a magic practitioner. He finds himself at the intersection of many realms and subcultures and is the editor of acclaimed occult art zine Wyrd Zine, exploring contemporary shamanism, animism and visionary art.
Here, in the Borderlands, we delve into a variety of diverse, yet interconnected, themes. Our lost relationship with the Neanderthals. The Cosmic Tree of Yggdrasil as an image of the human nervous system. Meetings with the fae and machine elves. A call to anarcho-animism. Stories of magic and wonder.
Debs Newbold: The Tempest Retold – Revision is Rebellion #59
12 Nov 2025
01:06:22
We are back after another hiatus! And this time we invite you to join us in a magical episode of Shakespearean trivia and artistic nerdgasms. We are joined by performing artist, storyteller and The Great Bard Afficionado Extraordinaire – Debs Newbold (UK/IR)!
Debs has worked extensively with retelling Shakespeare’s plays as storytelling shows, having reached international acclaim with her versions of King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Lately, she has been wrangling the beast that is "The Tempest“ which is slowly entering its final form. With that play as a jumping off point we discuss what it means to be faithful in a process of artistic adaptation, and how revision can feel like a glorious act of rebellion that is yet somehow able to be encompassed and even welcomed by a canonical work of art.
David Beth has spent half a lifetime exploring the hidden aspects of consciousness, the malaise of the modern mind, the essences of divine archetypes and forms.
We speak of how the Western World is a world only in concept, because it is based on safety, predictability and preconceived notions of what it should be. A reality based on human imposition. How do we re-establish a true relation with the world based on openness, listening and allowing, a world of never-ending creation, constantly making kosmos from kaos?
Maui, the taboo-thrashing sun-subduing demigod of the Pacific islands, takes center stage in this episode, a force of erupting and disruptive nature that has been haunting podcast host and performance storyteller Mikael Öberg for decades, demanding with increased intensity the making of a performance, a show, a narrative string of pearls.
Mikael has finally relented, creating "Maui Trickster“, a storytelling show that just premiered in the UK. Come delve into the liminal space of culture hero cum trickster Maui. Together with us.
The traditions of the Yoruba people in modern day Nigeria transformed into the religions of Voodoo, Candomble and Santería in Haiti, Brazil and Cuba respectively. Valter Kinbom is an initiated omo aña (Son of the Drum Spirit), a ceremonial drummer in Santería rituals.
Together we explore the technology of rhythm and the archetypal energies of the Orishas. Constantly guided by Eleggua, the Orisha of the treshold, the trickster spirit of paradox, the liminal, of both both/and and either/or.
"...set out again, with an oar on your shoulder, and travel to a country where people have never heard of the sea..."
Returning guest and deep friend of the podcast, interdisciplinary performer and storyteller Jo Blake, is back! This time to invite us to look at Odysseus, the classical epitome of heroic masculinity, with new eyes.
The story of Odysseus has always been a living companion story for Jo, though she is yet to tell it. We discuss how Odysseus' voyage goes beyond gender, teaches something profound about the nature of reality and relation, and can be seen as a valuable story of submission, humility and descension.
And last but not least, why most modern retellings of the Odyssey often choose to leave out the actual ending.
How does a Swedish percussionist raised on Balkan music end up as a vodou queen in Ghana?
That is a question Kristina Aspeqvist is more than happy to answer, in a free-flowing way. Our enthralling conversation of her professional and spiritual journey felt sometimes like jazz, sometimes like folk, sometimes transcendent. Just like her music.
We are delighted to welcome Laura Burns back into our podcast grotto. This multidisciplinary artist working within the vast mythopoetic landscape of relation to the invisible presences all around us, the more-than-human, the unknown, the forgotten and the lost, take us on a meandering journey on a free-flowing river of resonance.
We speak of the need for cultural regeneration, of how languaging the world create realities and of mending the gaps in the ancestral field. And of much, much more. Welcome!
Christmas Eve Special: Gifts from the Goat and the Underworld #52
24 Dec 2024
01:04:16
Merry Christmas! In Scandinavia we open presents on Christmas Eve and tonight Torgrim and Mikael have brought one each. Inside we find two fairy tales – "The three billy goats Gruff“ from Norway and "Mother Holle“ from Germany.
Join our fireside chat as we delve deep into these two stories, exploring possible hidden layers and meanings and seeing if there’s more than meets the eye.
One year is no year. Two years is two years. Three years is a tradition.
Celebrate the third anniversary with us in our podcasting cavern where we sit listening, waiting for what bubbles will burst.
For our fiftieth episode we are joined by homeopathic practitioner Dodo Kitching. Dodo specialises in the sensation method as taught by the Joshis of India, the essence of which she is happy to share with us
In addition, we explore different perspectives of health, the underappreciated art of dying well and learn to view the periodic table in a completely new and mythopoetic light.
Carl Gustav Jung, the mythopoetic mirror to Freud’s trauma-focused psychology, spoke of a concept he coined "Active Imagination“. An intuitive process of letting your own imagination unfold by drinking from the waters of the collective consciousness. In this conversation we juxtapose both this "AI“ and the more commonly known "AI“ aka Artificial Intelligence.
Joined by special guest Fredrik Høyer, a Norwegian slam poet, author and dramatist, we take a meandering and overflowing journey through these mythic borderlands pregnant with the unrealised potential of dreams.
Sound excerpts "Gi Slipp" with Fredfades and Kristoffer Eikrem
"T-banematrisen" with Sandra Kolstad/Grønlandsutraen RMX
"Regndanse i skinnjakke" with Ingeborg Marie Mohn and Emilie Christensen
"Øya" with Stockhaus/Grønlandsutraen RMX
In the US, there’s a prediction that if the current traditional farming practices continue, there’s 60 harvests remaining before the topsoil is completely eroded. Is there another way? Biodynamic farmer and dancer Johan Nilsson offers one alternative. What if we transform our entire mindset and instead of viewing the soil as dead matter we enter into a relationship with it?
Welcome into a sparkling and stirring conversation where the borders between agriculture and art are wiped away, where the intuitive development of the farmer and the soil are seen as one and the same, where the farm itself becomes an alchemical organism, where attentiveness, presence and the spirit of constant discovery and mutual enrichment is key. Welcome to a world where both carrot and human can reach their fullest potential.
Lunisolar Mind returns with a thirteenth episode, shedding some light (or darkness) on the new moon, the light absent in the skies of this episode’s release.
In this moment of pregnant stillness, in the space between inhale and exhale, we wonder.
We kick off 2024 with a timely musing on the nature of Good and Evil. Does absolute Good and absolute Evil exist? Is the binary idea of Good and Evil useful or does it disconnect us from the actual reality of things?
Your hosts Mikael Öberg and Torgrim Mellum Stene explore this landscape through the medium of a spread of Hollywood blockbuster movies.
It is that time of the year. We sit on the treshold. Between what we know and what we don’t know.
We look at what has happened In the Borderlands in 2023 and we look ahead at what we would like to discover and experiment with in the year to come.
And as an offering to you, dear listener, we end with a midwinter meditation, dreamt up for this moment in time.
Susanna Salo was looking for a deck of Tarot cards inspired by Finnish mythology, but could not find one. So she decided to make one herself.
More than a decade later, close to the global relaunch of the English version of her mesmerizing and dreamlike deck, we were lucky enough to get to speak to her In the Borderlands. About the creative process, being inspired by dreams, following the inner voice, how the mythology of Kalevala blended with the Tarot system to create something entirely new, and of deep listening.
We even get to draw a few cards!
Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen & Petter Madegård: The Return of the Yule Goat #43
20 Nov 2023
00:53:06
The Yule Goat is an ancient Northern European symbol of the midwinter solstice, a time when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. The practice of dressing up like a horned goat for Christmas has many examples in Scandinavian history, though only echoes remain.
Friend of the show and historian of religion Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen has for the past few years aimed to remake a new tradition. Inspired by animism, carneval, Krampus processions in the Alps and samba he has started a Yule Goat Parade in the center of Copenhagen which this year will take place on the 16th of December.
We talk to him and mask actor Petter Madegård about the thoughts behind the parade, the old concept of beings of darkness bringing the light at the turning point of the year, and the importance of renegotiating your relationship with the absolute Other.
From the busyness of UK screen writer’s rooms to the stillness of the Swedish forests. From mastering the story to serving the story. From performance to ceremony. From ego-centred to eco-centred.
Zara Waldebäck’s life, wisdom and thoughts on storytelling, resonance, relationship and attention are some of the many wonderful ingredients of this conversation. It developed and grew like a mycelial network of association and wonder, sprouting fascinating mushrooms to ponder, while pairing and playfully opposing the invisible and visible worlds in a dance of words.
Logo image: Hand drawn sketch of a maturing fungal colony from one volume of A.H.R. Buller’s epic series Researches on Fungi (Buller, 1909-1934).
Soundscapes: Kalimba Atmosphere from Pixabay and Frosty Wind – Nature Sounds by JuliusH from Pixabay.
Olle Möllervärn: Bear Culture – A New Approach to Bear-Human Relations in Scandinavian Folklore #41
22 Oct 2023
01:05:20
Of all the creatures of the forest, the bear holds a place most dear in the hearts of ancient Scandinavians. New animist thinking and perspectives on how our forebears related to the world around them as well as the concept that personhood and culture is the baseline of existence for all life, ignited a spark in Olle Möllervärn's mind during his Religious studies.
His fascinating master thesis on "Bear Culture“ is the springboard for this podcast episode where we delve into folklore and tradition with both the bear and the human as our guide, and the fascinating borderland that emerges between them.
We are back after a lengthy interim! And how better to kickstart our new bout of episodes than with a dose of divine power!
We interview Sally Pomme Clayton, British performance storyteller and author, about her latest book – The Mighty Goddess. We try to touch upon the immensity that is the Goddess, through a breadth of mythical lenses, attempting to describe archetypal energies that are impossible to pin down or reduce to human psychology. Indeed, how do you approach the Mighty Goddess, a borderless creative force that craves expression. Through the language of Love? Of Good and Evil? Or of Rage?
Dominic Kelly: Mara – Dream, Forest & Folklore #39
29 May 2023
01:18:34
In the middle of the night, you find yourself caught between dream and wakefulness, unable to move, unable to scream, with the feeling that someone's sitting on your chest. There are many names for this condition. Sleep paralysis. The Old Hag. The Nightmare. Mara. With returning guest, performance storyteller Dominic Kelly, we delve into this fascinating phenomenon that is deeply entrenched in the borderlands of folklore and belief.
This interview took us for a spin through a myriad of worlds - from the rambunctious and chaotic Commedia dell’Arte performances of Renaissance Italy through the clown-like persona of Donald Trump to UFO mythologies! All of it viewed through the lens of the carnivalesque. Our guest Petter Madegård is a visual artist, a director of film and theatre and an actor. He is the inventor of the Commedia dell’Arte-inspired live animation theatre Cinema dell’Arte. Enjoy this interview filled with the uncontained power of spring.
Do you know the origin of iron? When did you last fall and take fright? These questions are good to keep in mind as we delve into the world of Finnish magic, where sorcerers prepare themselves for healing by standing on rocks in freezing rapids and newborn children are protected from evil spirits in the sauna by being given misleading nicknames. With us we have performance storyteller Markus Luukkonen who has, together with Mikael, made one show based on the fragmented source material of the epic Kalevala, and is in the process of creating another.
Śivani Howe is a classically trained Sannyasi of the Saraswati lineage from India running an ashram with her husband in the veld of the Purcell Mountains in Canada. Her focus is on yoga ecology, on reconnecting and creating a life in reciprocity with Mama Earth, and on channelling the unseen. With us In the Borderlands she shares a few personal stories brimming with synchronicity and serendipity, among them an amazing tale of her special relationship with bees. According to Śivani, the core of the Saraswati lineage is to find the common thread of truth in all myths, legends, beliefs and religions. To put back together. To remember.
The twelfth and final (?) episode of our podcast within thepodcast – a series of full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
We have come to the end which is also a beginning. Spring is here, the birds are singing, celebrating the bursting forth of life. The cycle goes ever on and on, from flourishing to withering to flourishing once more. We have come to the beginning which is also an end.
Heresy. A word that usually evokes the image of a radical opposer of doctrine, of people burned at the stake, of violence and of religious conflict. But the Greek origin of the word is not so conflagrant. Etymologically, heresy means "choice". In this Easter Special, interdisciplinary performer Jo Blake returns to In the Borderlands to talk about her upcoming show "The Witness" about the relationship and balance between Jesus and Mary Magdalene and how his story became History and her story became Heresy.
Henrik Hallgren: Earth Rights – A Trickster in the System #33
20 Mar 2023
01:01:35
Can Nature have rights? We speak with ecopsychologist and Earth Rights activist Henrik Hallgren about the fascinating introduction of a trickster in the legal system, the concept that everything on Earth, from animals to rivers to entire ecosystems, have subjective rights. A new paradigm is emerging relating to the ideas of whether we can own the world or whether we are but one of many subjectivities in an interconnected whole, potentially changing our consciousness in the process.
Come and listen to the Law. The Law of the Land.
Episode eleven of our podcast within the podcast – a seriesof full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
We are at the crossroads of spring. Every path a new possibility. Every path a new opportunity. Every path a new perspective. The worms patiently forge pathways through the thawing earth beneath our feet. The waters melt and start their patient flow anew. Pick a choice and pick it well. Go forth on river feet.
Our guest Andreas Kornevall (storyteller, ecologist and writer) argues that contemporary logos work on our subconscious in a similar vein to medieval sigil magic, narrowing our perspective and molding us into consumers. In this episode he speaks about the creation of demblems, counter-sigils to deactivate and balance the negative aspects of our logo-inundated society.
We also touch upon a host of related and fascinating subjects, including the value of regenerative grief and how the mythic languages of the non-human world can be found in the areas we least expect.
The blindfold was removed. She did not know where she was. All she could see was the river.
What began as an artistic experiment regarding relationship to space, turned into a seven year long (and counting) ceremony of Dreamtime visions and giving voice to that which has been lost. Join us in this fascinating conversation with interdisciplinary artist Laura Burns where we speak about the importance of tending to invisible presences and entering into dialogue with the consciousness of the land, how edgeland practitioners often find refuge in the arts, and the way our culture has dammed up the flow of life.
Episode ten of our podcast within the podcast – a series offull moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
The northern hemisphere is in the hard grip of frosty February. The Hunger Moon beams with dispassionate clarity in the skies, while we start to awaken from our winter slumber. The cycle is about to start anew. But who are we now? What do we want? What are we hungry for?
In this episode we explore a different borderland altogether, the liminal spaces of the Metaverse. With VR artist and digital myth maker Lee Mason AKA Metageist as our guide we line dance on the edge between dream and reality, exploring themes as diverse as hypnagogic states, shadow people, digital life forms/ecosystems, cautionary sculptures and consensual realities.
Mythology keeps rearing its head, even in the virtual worlds.
Episode nine of our podcast within the podcast – a series of full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
We are still in the grip of winter, the sky is occluded by grey fur, and the tough love of the Wolf Moon grabs us by the scruff of our necks. Reminding us to wake up from our slumber, to contain our own power, and make our own luck.
Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen: Year of Aun – Story as Healing, Story as Curse #26
06 Jan 2023
01:06:00
Historian of religion and animist thinker Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen is back on our podcast! This time to launch the Year of Aun, an invitation to celebrate 2023 as a year of healing and reconnection based on old Nordic spiritual practices.
We speak about the theoretical foundations behind the Year of Aun, our relationship with the forces of nature as reflected through both ancient and contemporary mythologies, and what it means to be the worst possible ancestor.
Episode eight of our podcast within the podcast – a series of full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
Winter is upon us, and further introspection is needed. The Winter Moon calls us to the mountaintop, to stillness, to reflection. Mikael and Torgrim's journeys mirror each other perfectly and synchronistically in this episode where we look for guidance removed from the noise of the world.
We have an anniversary!
Podcast hosts Mikael Öberg and Torgrim Mellum Stene are in a festive mood and look back at 1 year of "In the Borderlands". We speak about the podcast's humble origins, how we met and what it means to be a performance storyteller.
We are also launching our webpage AND our Instagram AND AND our Facebook page AND AND AND our e-mail address contact@intheborderlands.comwhere you can send questions, feedback and requests!
Episode seven of our podcast within the podcast – a series of full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
The Frost Moon shines bright in November skies, and it invites us to look within. We spiral back towards our selves, our bellies, our navels, searching for the center of things.
Kersti Ståbi: Vǫluspá – Performing Poems from the Poetic Edda #22
31 Oct 2022
00:52:02
Vǫluspá - The Prophecy of the Seeress from the Poetic Edda is one of the most well known texts from Norse mythology. But how could this oral poem have been performed?
Kersti Ståbi, Swedish folk singer and oral storyteller explored this question in her master's degree. Searching for a way to be a tale-singer in her own mythological tradition, she looked to living practices in Korea, India and Kyrgyzstan. In this episode she discusses this process with us, the interplay between copying and creating, and the paradox of trying to recreate something that's not possible to recreate.
Kersti Ståbihttp://kerstistabi.com/The Vǫluspá projecthttp://kerstistabi.com/voluspa
Vǫluspá Pansori first listener: Göran HembergVǫluspá Pandvani first listener: Mikael ÖbergVǫluspá Pandvani freebass accordionist: Leif Ottosson
Episode six of our podcast within the podcast – a series of full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
Dark October is upon us, and the ominous Slaughter Moon takes us for a spin through tales of dismemberment, inklings of werewolves and musings about the nature of light.
Maria Kvilhaug: In the Bay of Magic and the Wilderness of Cave Land – Initiation Narratives in the Sagas #20
12 Sep 2022
01:23:10
We are happy to welcome our friend Maria Kvilhaug back «In the Borderlands»! This time, the author and historian gives us a fascinating look into her upcoming work – a book presenting a comprehensive list of instances of seidr in Norse sources.Seidr can be seen as a Norse form of shamanism and the stories Maria shine a light upon in her research paint a far more diverse, gender fluid and colourful picture of old Norse society and religious practices than what we are used to.Come join us on a journey through spell songs, fate swapping, transgressive trials of initiation and divine intercourse.
Episode five of our podcast within the podcast – a series of full moon specials, released on every full moon – where we turn our attention to the glowing celestial body that has inspired artists and mystics for millenia.
It is September, and the Singing Moon invites us to listen. What songs will burst like bubbles from below?
Intuitive Storytelling: Celebrating Brittle one Book Two #18
19 Aug 2022
00:52:08
Brittle one is Torgrim Mellum Stene’s online intuitive genre-bending fantasy novel that he started in 2021. Following the initiatory journey of Brittle, Torgrim writes without planning ahead, instead allowing the story to unfold chapter by chapter in an ever expanding exploration of the world that he first set in motion.This episode marks the start of book two – its first chapter now available online – and we celebrate this with a conversation about Torgrim’s experiences with intuitive storytelling and writing myth, interspersing it with Mikael’s audiobook interpretation of the chapter. Enjoy!