Back from the Borderline artwork

Religion & Spirituality · mollie adler

Back from the Borderline

by mollie adler

Back From The Borderline is a podcast about depth psychology, symbolism, spirituality, consciousness, and the search for a more meaningful life. I started this show years ago while trying to understand my own mind. Somewhere along the way, the questions became much bigger than me. They led into Carl Jung, mythology, Christian mysticism, dreams, tarot, philosophy, esotericism, religious history, artificial intelligence, and the symbolic patterns that quietly shape the way we see ourselves and the world around us. The word borderline has taken on its own meaning over the years. It speaks to the edge almost all of us eventually reach. That place where our old explanations stop working and we’re asked to learn an entirely different way of seeing. That’s the space my work inhabits. Some episodes are conversations with researchers, psychologists, philosophers, historians, and spiritual teachers. Others are long-form essays where I follow a question wherever it leads. Lately I’ve been especially interested in symbolic literacy, the way images, myths, dreams, and archetypes quietly organize human life, often long before we’re consciously aware of them. I’m not very interested in being “certain” about anything. I care about learning to recognize patterns, hold complexity without rushing toward easy conclusions, and recover forms of wisdom that help us live with greater honesty, imagination, and responsibility. If you’ve found yourself searching for Carl Jung, depth psychology, symbolism, archetypes, spirituality, mythology, Christian mysticism, tarot, dreams, consciousness, philosophy, or the Western esoteric tradition, I think you’ll feel at home here. Alongside the public podcast, I also host House of Cards, an ongoing study of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot through psychology, symbolism, mythology, and contemplative practice, as well as MOODS, an app I designed for dreamwork and deep inner inquiry. Both are extensions of the same project: learning to see more clearly. You can explore everything, including new episodes, House of Cards, Patreon, and MOODS, at backfromtheborderline.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

The Essenes and the Women Around Yeshua (Anne Baring Part 4)

What kind of spiritual world could have formed Yeshua before Christianity existed? This is Part 4 of my multi-part series of conversations with Anne Baring, recorded acr

Sep 22
1 h 21 min

Gnostic Sophia and the Suppressed Christian Mysteries (Anne Baring Part 3)

What if early Christianity contained a path centered on direct knowledge of the divine within us, and that path was pushed outside the Church that survived? This is Part

Sep 15
1 h 25 min

The Lost Civilization of the Goddess (Anne Baring Part 2)

What if the history of Europe contains a civilization most of us were never taught about? This is Part 2 of my multi-part series of conversations with Anne Baring, recor

Sep 8
1 h 05 min

The Forgotten Feminine Face of God (Anne Baring Part 1)

For thousands of years, the Western image of God became increasingly male. Anne Baring has spent much of her life studying what we lost when the feminine disappeared from

Sep 1
1 h 29 min

How to Tell When a Spiritual Teacher Is Full of Shit

In 2020, I almost paid $4,000 for a shadow work course. One of the first books I was told to read was Carolyn Elliott’s Existential Kink. I read it, tried to understand w

Aug 25
1 h 58 min

Aleister Crowley’s Thelema: Sex Magick and the Problem With the Prophet

Aleister Crowley had a beautiful idea, and then he built a religion around himself. This episode takes Thelema seriously enough to examine what Crowley was actually teac

Aug 18
1 h 53 min

The Braced Body: The Spiritual Cost of Always Being in Control (Part 3)

I’ve spent a lot of this series thinking about what happens when the body gets so used to effort that it forgets how to stop. By the time I got to this final episode, I f

Aug 11
56 min

The Braced Body: Why Rest Feel Unsafe & How to Let Go (Part 2)

Your body can be exhausted and still refuse to rest. You lie down, your jaw stays tight, your shoulders keep working, and some part of you remains ready for the next dema

Aug 4
1 h 04 min

The Braced Body: Why You’re Tense Even When Nothing Is Wrong (Part 1)

Do you clench your jaw without noticing? Do your shoulders stay tense even when you’re finally sitting down to rest? Does your body still feel like it’s working long afte

Jul 28
56 min

What Do We Do With a Broken Spiritual Inheritance?

A lot of us are walking around with religious trauma and a God-shaped hole. I was raised inside a version of Christianity, and I know what it can leave in the body. Sham

Jul 21
1 h 04 min

UFOs, AI, and the Religion of the Unconscious (Live at Contact in the Desert 2026)

This year, I had the chance to attend Contact in the Desert, which is a conference devoted to UFOs, psi phenomena, consciousness, and anomalous experience.  While I was t

Jul 14
1 h 11 min

Mary Magdalene and the End of Spiritual Childhood

This week, I was doing an I Ching reading, and one line stood out to me: “To find what you seek, leave the child and follow the adult.” This episode was inspired by that

Jul 7
51 min

The Occult Teacher We Need Right Now: Dion Fortune, Psychic Hygiene, and the Magick of the Mind

Dion Fortune was one of the great occult teachers of the twentieth century, and one of my personal favorites. In this episode, I’m joined by Ike Baker for a conversation

Jun 29
1 h 36 min

The Skill AI Can Never Replace (And Why I’m Teaching Tarot)

This episode is the opening lesson from my new Patreon series, House of Cards. House of Cards is an ongoing study of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot through depth psychology

Jun 25
31 min

The Arrogance of Too Much Empathy

This might be the most personally confronting episode I’ve recorded in a long time. A few days ago, I had to send a text message I had been absolutely dreading. I spent

Jun 23
1 h 05 min

Gay Men Have Always Loved a “Difficult” Woman

For much of my life, many of my closest friendships have been with gay men. Not because they were fun little accessories or stereotypical sidekicks, either. We didn’t ev

Jun 16
50 min

The Female Shadow

Female cruelty often works insidiously enough to make the person on the receiving end of it gaslight the hell out of themselves. The punishment that’s served up tends t

Jun 9
1 h 12 min

The Christian Grimoire Evangelicals Forgot About (Part 1)

Most people think Christian history has a simple answer to anything regarding “magic": don’t touch it, and all of it is “demonic.” The Arbatel of Magick makes that answe

Jun 2
43 min

Why Everyone Sounds Religious About AI [Consciousness Stream for May 2026]

Well folks, it’s that time again for our weekly recap of the month. On this one, we’ll dive into Richard Dawkins and his new essay on UnHerd. This is a man who spent ye

May 28
26 min

The Body Keeps the Mileage (On Mortality & Wellness Panic)

The inspiration for this episode came to me after looking at a small scar under my daughter’s eye and realizing that our bodies really do keep the f*cking score.  That t

May 26
1 h 00 min

Chart trend

Position in the Religion & Spirituality chart (US), last 90 days.

#80
all-time peak
3
days in the top 100 since Sep 2026

Chart positions

Where Back from the Borderline ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 25, 2026).

#152 ▼ 30 Religion & Spirituality US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I am a somatic bodyworker & Neurosomatic intelligence coach. Mollie’s content is intelligent, personable, well read & DEEP. You won’t be able to count the amount or times you feel called out (lovingly) & seen (compassionately). Whether you’re just beginning your trauma healing journey or you’ve been in therapy for years — this podcast is an accessible guide.

EchoLawrence · Jul 2025

Wow. I felt so seen and heard in the episode about a dark baptism. Every single fiber of my essence resonated with every single word. The pacing, the knowing, the naming/not naming. All of it was so healing. I’ve not had many witnesses, if any, who haven’t talked me out of my experiences. Thank you

cclovegirl · Jun 2025

Where have I been and how long was I gone for? I started on Mollie’s other podcast “Night Night B*+€#” and fell in love with her voice as well as her cryptic readings of the gnostic and divine feminine. It’s rare that I find podcasters who delve into the beliefs I was raised on but have turned away from over time. Back from the Borderline is a whole new classic. I feel like I’ve stumbled into a rabbit hole of endless discovering. I’ve been very lost. So very lost. And I am ready to start looking at life differently. Curious and creative. Honoring my boundaries while pursuing their depths. I used this podcast to fall asleep, then I found myself at 7am hearing “back from the borderline not only refers to crisis, but the borderline of meaninglessness.” And I knew this is where I was meant to wake up. Thank you Mollie. You’re right on time.

Kali_Savage · May 2025

I have been listening to this podcast from the very first episode. She always delivers accurate, informative and personal commentary around the most complex topics in mental health. This latest episode on being emotionally feral really struck a cord with me. I am forever grateful that she can so eloquently articulate what so many of us feel in a very digestible manner. Thank you for what you do Mollie.

Wildburns · May 2025

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.

More podcasts like Back from the Borderline

Popular shows in Religion & Spirituality, for your next listen.

Browse charts by category

Daily updated Apple Podcasts rankings for the United States.

About Back from the Borderline on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Back from the Borderline, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

Contact

Questions or issues? Reach us at hello@reason.fm

0:000:00