EP 2: Dreams, Séances & Marigolds: A Conversation with Jennifer Higgie

In this episode of Sacred Mechanics, I sit down with the brilliant Jennifer Higgie—writer, curator, and author of The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World—for a conversation that moves fluidly between the seen and unseen.

We dive deep into her research on women artists who created in dialogue with the spirit world, often in defiance of the norms of their time. Along the way, we explore the liminal space where art meets mysticism—where dreams speak, marigolds hold meaning, and the veil between science and spirituality is at its thinnest.

From Victorian séances to the Rosicrucians, from sleepwalking mystics to altered states of creation, Jennifer offers insights into how art has always been a form of spiritual inquiry. We talk about why so many women were dismissed as mad or magical, and how reclaiming their stories reshapes not just art history, but our understanding of consciousness itself.

It’s a conversation full of curiosity, warmth, and wonder—a beautiful reminder that creativity is, and always has been, a portal to the other side.

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About Jennifer Higgie

Jennifer Higgie is an Australian writer, curator, and art historian based in London. Her latest book, The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World, explores the intersection of mysticism, creativity, and female agency through the lens of often-overlooked women artists. It is published internationally and was also the subject of a BBC Radio 3 series.

• Explore Jennifer’s book to purchase here: ⁠https://www.jenniferhiggie.com/⁠

• Jennifer mentions Georgian Houghton’s book. Here’s a link to it at Archive.org 

https://archive.org/details/ChroniclesOfThePhotographsOfSpiritualBeingsThought Forms

• Thought Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation by Annie Beant and C. W. Leadbeater