Azrael and the Poet: Jennifer Jurlando on Grief, Death Care, and Being Alive

In this deeply moving first half of a two-part conversation, hosts Jennifer Taylor and Tava Baird welcome their dear friend Mystical Musing fan, Jennifer Jurlando. Jurlando is a poet, grief support facilitator, death doula, bonecaster and founder of Thistle Community Death Care. In this rich and tender episode, the conversation explores grief, mortality, ritual, embodiment, and the profound ways that contemplating death can deepen one’s experience of being alive. Azrael — the angel of death, transition, and transformation — and Jurlando’s long relationship with this presence, both personally and through her work with the dying and the bereaved are discussed. Samael shares his unique perspective on Azrael, offering a rare and compelling reflection that many longtime followers of the podcast will not want to miss. Throughout the episode, Jurlando shares several of her own poems, bringing language and tenderness to places that often feel beyond words. Her reflections on loss, the body, grief, ritual, and the sacredness of end-of-life care offer both depth and beauty, while also illuminating the heart behind her work. This conversation includes discussion of stillbirth, grief, death, and end-of-life planning, but it is also filled with warmth, humor, reverence, and a powerful appreciation for life itself.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of grief, stillbirth, death, and end-of-life care.

Resources:

Patreon Link- https://www.patreon.com/c/jenniferjurlando

Thistle Community Death Care: http://www.thistlecommunitydeathcare.com/

Chesterfield Poetry Collective - www.chesterfieldpoetry.com

Full Circle Grief Center www.fullcirclegc.org

Events-

Wilder Grove Workshop, April 4- https://www.wildergrove.com/event-details/reclaiming-death-rites-end-of-life-ritual-planning

Fertile Ground - Ritual in Effigy: Mortality and Transformation, April 30-May 3 https://www.fertilegroundgathering.com/workshops

Chesterfield Library Events - May 14, Death Doula Panel

June 28 Mock Funeral at the Blue Ball Inn https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/the-darkflower-collective-mock-pagan-funeral

Please remember this podcast is for inspiration, reflection, and entertainment only, and is not medical, psychological, or professional advice.

We are two friends sharing personal experiences and evolving perspectives as we learn and grow. This is not a substitute for your own discernment, inner wisdom, or qualified professional guidance.

Take what resonates, trust your intuition, and seek licensed support when needed, always honoring your own inner knowing and personal truth.

Thank you joining us today, you are a valued member of our tribe! If you are enjoying the podcast, please consider telling your friends and sharing it on social media. We would greatly appreciate your support in helping us reach others and spread our messages of worth, openness and exploration.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

Tava Baird and Jennifer Taylor discuss recent weekends spent receiving guidance: Tava attended the Sacred Space/Between the Worlds Pagan conference in Maryland, praising its advanced classes, rituals, vendors, and community, while Jennifer used a hotel retreat to clarify how Amnivara will be offered. They explore the theme of “falling” as choosing to let responsibilities drop, accept help, and allow others to find their wings, contrasting this with misreading urgency and over-functioning as caretaker. Tava shares the growth of Samael and Lilith's work, and balancing authenticity with scale. Jennifer's channeled music and Samuel’s messages emphasize worthiness of rest, choosing retreat as reorganizing energy, and pilgrimage to one’s inner holy place. They plan personal retreats and invite listeners to do the same.

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

In this final part of a three-part Mystical Musings Podcast conversation on spirit attachments, the hosts discuss common everyday attachments and energetic “baggage,” how repeated spirit-release clearing helped sharpen discernment, and symptoms such as intrusive judgmental thoughts, resistance to healthy practices, and addiction-related voices. They contrast unconscious energies (residual stories, trauma patterns, and internalized beliefs like purity/perfection) with conscious spirit attachments that may seek attention, company, or energy, emphasizing sovereignty, boundary-setting, and compassionate release rather than fear. They explore thought forms and collective energies that can coalesce from repeated emotions, including examples like fear around a bridge and widespread COVID-era fear. Practical approaches include playing music, smoke cleansing, water immersion, calling in divine help (notably Archangel Michael), and treating spirits ethically while insisting harmful energies move on. The episode closes with a blessing attributed to Samael affirming personal worth and choice.

00:00 Welcome And Clearing Song
04:39 Everyday Attachments Signs
05:34 Reiki Spirit Release Routine
07:37 Addiction Pattern Entities
09:24 Unconscious Energy Stories
14:22 Purity Myth And Sin
16:42 Conscious Attachments Sovereignty
18:54 Boundaries With Spirits
23:57 Thought Forms Collective Fear
29:18 Residual Energy In Places
32:25 Invite Spirits to Move On
35:11 Gates Music and Michael
36:37 Different Work Same Goal
38:05 Love Over Fear Approach
40:27 Doll Shelter Stories
41:44 Holly and the Skittles Sound
44:01 Language and Spirit Types
45:31 Delegating to Higher Help
48:10 Words Remove Fear
50:18 Bells and Final Blessing

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

Chaos Angels, Pain Nexus, and Trust: Reiki as Order in a Spiritual Storm

In part two of Mystical Musings Podcast, the host continues last week’s story with Tava retelling events from Samael’s perspective and introduces an advanced Lilith-related teaching called “Chaos Angel”. Samael explains how childhood trauma and living in an “edge state” can create a specific type of chaos angel called a “pain nexus,” . The conversation details how Reiki, calling in light as a gate to the divine, and the stabilizing force of Michael’s order can feed and balance these energies so they can regain choice and move on. They emphasize that the key to the healing was trust, which allowed the energy work to enter and prevented the chaos angel from growing into destructive madness that could have overtaken the family. The episode also explores voluntary versus involuntary “mediums of transport,” ethics of spirit release in people versus places like the Blue Ball Inn, and the difference between offering light and forcibly expelling spirits who may be doing their own work. The episode closes by offering the “Peace and Release” spirit release recording, available free on Amnivara.com with a Bandcamp link for higher-quality streaming or download.

00:00 Welcome Back: Part 2 Setup + Gong Song to Set the Stage
06:00 Introducing the ‘Chaos Angel’ Concept (Advanced Lilith Class)
06:38 Why Traumatized Children Are Extra Sensitive: Psychic Openness, Dolls & Spirits
09:44 Edge States Explained: Trauma, Dissociation, and Living Outside the Body
11:18 Pain Nexus: Like Attracts Like & Entities Drawn to Her Energy
12:46 What a Chaos Angel Sounds Like: Malfunctioning Gates, Overlapping Realities
15:52 Types of Entities in the Nexus: Locked Ghosts vs. Hungry, Talking Spirits
18:13 Calling in Order: Why Michael’s Energy Stabilizes the Chaos
20:51 Reiki + Light as a Gate: Feeding Fragments and Opening Portals Safely
23:02 Long-Term Balance Plan: Physical + Metaphysical Practices to Prevent Return
24:58 You Tamed a Chaos Angel: Why Empowering Her with Recordings Worked
30:45 When It Turns Dangerous: Escalation, Residential Treatment, and Family Recovery
33:45 Trust as the Real Key to Spirit Relief (and Why It Worked)
36:41 Mediums of Transport: Voluntary vs. Involuntary & a Dream of Souls in Transition
39:59 Chaos Angels, Shifting Realities, and When to Call the Heavy Hitters
43:28 Spirit House Lessons: Identifying Energies & the ‘Snickers’ Approach to Hungry Spirits
49:22 Ethics of Spirit Release: Offering Light Without Forcing Anyone Out
55:09 Blue Ball Inn Case Study: Why ‘Clearing the House’ Backfired & How Balance Was Restored
58:35 What a Chaos Angel Really Is: Putting the Brakes on the Storm So Spirits Can Choose
01:01:40 Closing: Peace & Release Recording + Final Blessing

Resources:

Learn to do Holy Fire Reiki Spirit Releases yourself:

Taught in both Holy Fire Reiki Master and Karuna Reiki Master Classes!

Jenn's Holy Fire Reiki Master Classes

https://www.willowridgereiki.com/usui-holy-fire-reiki-master

Jenn's Holy Fire Karuna Reiki Master Classes

If you already have your Reiki Master Certification, in any Usui lineage, you may take Karuna Reiki Master and get 9 more powerful symbols, learn the Spirit Release technique and oth

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

In this episode of the Mystical Musings podcast, Tava Baird and Jennifer Taylor delve into a variety of mystical topics, from witnessing transformation to profound personal experiences with the Holy Fire Spirit Release process. They share the common honor of helping others awaken to their divinity -Tava, though her Lilithian path classes and Jennifer, through Holy Fire Reiki Master classes, which focuses on healing and rediscovering the authentic self. The conversation shifts to energy work, including the fascinating realm of spirit attachments and their release. Jennifer shares personal stories about her daughter's experiences with spirit attachments and how the Holy Fire Reiki Healing Spirit Attachments technique led to life changing healing. Near the end, listeners discover that as Jenn was sharing her perspective of her daughter's journey, Samael was sharing the story from his perspective with Tava. The conversation continues next week where you will get to hear Samael explain what was happening each step of the way - from his unique vantage point. This is an episode not to be missed! Tune in next week for an enlightening discussion.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:15 Winter Woes and Frozen Adventures
02:20 Upcoming Events and Classes
03:12 Reiki Classes and Spiritual Healing
06:14 The Four Mirrors Ritual
08:54 Announcing a NEW Power of Story Event
13:33 Channeling and ClarityUnexpected Experiences
17:58 Channeled Song to Prepare Space - includes gong

23:01 The Gong's Vibrational Impact
28:27 Gongs Open Portals
31:26 Finding a Common Language to discuss Spirits
37:34 Introduction to Spirit Attachments
40:25 Personal Experiences with Spirit Attachments
43:14 Understanding Spirit Release Process
50:50 Different Types of Spirit Attachments
58:27 Healing and Clearing Techniques
01:06 Second Stage of Spirit Release - healing and sealing

01:08 To Be Continued - and glimpse into next week

01:10:11 Peace and Release - Spirit Release for all listening

Resources:

Jenn's Article Published in Reiki News Magazine about Healing Spirit Attachments and her Daughter

https://www.willowridgereiki.com/articles

Jenn's Interview on Reiki From The Farm Podcast about Healing Spirit Attachments

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reiki-from-the-farm/id1532837662?i=1000563169901

Peace and Release - track

free streaming : https://www.willowridgereiki.com/recordings

for download : https://amnivara.bandcamp.com/track/peace-and-release

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

In this episode of Mystical Musings Podcast, hosts Tava Baird and Jennifer Taylor continue their profound conversation with Liz Jacobs. The discussion deepens as Jennifer shares her discovery of an unexpected type of beings, soul parts working in spiritual synergy and her cautious exploration. Samael shares his perspective as well, and Liz and Tava share their wisdom around the ethical considerations of creating spiritual beings, and the role of nature in connecting to the divine. Liz shares transformative personal stories, including the creation of her first nature spirit and the impact of her shamanic training. The episode emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and ethical practice in spiritual work, while providing practical guidance for those interested in deepening their spiritual connections.

00:00 Introduction and Song Prelude
00:40 Powerful Holy Fire Reiki Master Techniques
02:10 Exploring Spirit Attachments

03:26 Intro Clearing Song to Release Attachments
09:30 Understanding Crone and Collective Souls
19:36 The Concept of Kymera
30:46 Ethics in Magical Practices
42:00 The Importance of Gut Instincts
44:15 Connecting with Nature Spirits
45:02 Exploring the Wilder Grove Shop
46:00 Upcoming Events and Gatherings
46:36 Liz's Journey and Inspirations
47:41 The Origin Story of Fairy Houses
52:21 A Transformative Shamanic Experience
58:51 Creating and Sharing Nature Spirits
01:02:24 Final Reflections and Gratitude

Resources mentioned in order

Peace and Release:

free streaming : https://www.amnivara.com/recordings

Book Recommended by Liz: The Calling by Rasha https://a.co/d/05VNRTmc

See Liz's Nature Beings and shop: https://www.wildergrove.com/shop

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

This episode is a celebration of the wild, the mystical and the art of deep listening and communion with nature. In this interesting and engaging episode, Liz Jacobs joins host Jennifer Taylor and Tava Baird for a conversation inspired by her work with nature spirits. As references in previous episodes, Liz is the creator of very special figures assembled from nature that have been experienced to host very special nature beings. Join them as they explore her process more deeply, including personal experiences with these beings, cautionary tales and much more.

00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage
00:38 Musical Invocation and Spiritual Guests
09:29 Messages from Samael
11:09 Embracing the Wild Self
14:41 The Power of Liz's Work
19:40 The Story of Crone and Solstice
28:46 The Creative Influence of Solstice
29:10 Restoring Vintage Porcelain Dolls
31:08 The Role of Crone and Shaman
34:00 Creating Nature Beings
36:20 Liz Shares Her Process of Crafting Spirit Beings
43:58 Lessons from Nature and Spiritual Practices
45:18 An Effigy for the Spirit of Mountain Lake

46:45A Cautionary Tale - Lesson of Pele

48:51 Discernment, Obstacles and Making Amends
53:59 Concluding Thoughts and Next Episode Preview

55:49 - Blessing of Place - healing song from Jenn's Amnivara Bandcamp

Resources:

Liz's work displayed and available for purchase through:

https://www.wildergrove.com/shop

Jenn's Amnivara Bandcamp to purchase Blessings of Place

https://amnivara.bandcamp.com/track/blessings-of-place

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/

In this episode, Jennifer Taylor and Tava Baird discuss their winter projects and plans. They delve into the spiritual significance of winter, the importance of balance involving the head, heart, and belly, and insights into channeling energy for personal growth. The conversation also highlights Samael's wisdom on transformation via the belly, the practice of patience, and the power of revisiting one's past to understand current challenges. The podcast concludes with reflections on the importance of being fully incarnated and a final song inspired by their discussions.

Thank you joining us today, remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to keep up to date with your tribe.

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird: tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor: Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts) https://www.Amnivara.com/