This Spiritual Fix

Two mystic mamas hacking the self-help game.

Author: Kristina Wiltsee & Anna Stromquist

What meditation works for you? What is it like to do tantra? How do you best communicate with a loved one? Kristina Wiltsee & Anna Stromquist are two best friends on a quest to try all things spiritual in order to attain enlightenment -- or just stay sane while juggling a lot on their plates. Their internationally recognized podcast hits close to home for many people who are struggling for peace amidst the pain of trauma, emotional wounds, and neurodivergent brains. As we uncover deeper layers of ourselves, they teach, with humor, that there is nothing to fix - just more of us to love.Season Themes:Season 1: The Primal Wounds (Abandonment, Rejection, Betrayal, Injustice, & Humiliation)Season 2: The Drama Triangle (The Inner & Outer Persecutor, Rescuer, and Victim)Season 3: First Chakra (Relationships & Sexuality & The Mother Wound)Season 4: Second Chakra (Integration of the Multidimensional Self & The Father Wound)Season 5: Third Chakra (Growing Up and the Money Wound)Season 6: Fourth Chakra (Primal Wounds Revisited, Villains & Karma Yoga)www.thisspiritualfix.com
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Language: en-us

Genres: Buddhism, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality

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7.19 Finding your Inner Hero AKA Retrograding Villains
Monday, 29 December, 2025

Retrograding VillainsRevisiting the Medicine of Each Inner VillainIn this episode, Kristina and Anna step back and do something essential. They revisit every Inner Villain, not to re-explain the theory, but to clarify the medicine. What actually helps. What works in real life. What moves someone out of being stuck.This conversation reframes villain work as inversion, retrograde, and polarity shifts. Nothing to purge. Nothing to fix. Just learning how to move differently with what already exists.Stuckness is the real enemy. Movement is the cure.Core ThemeRetrograding a Villain means changing the spin, not erasing the trait.Every villain contains intelligence. When that intelligence freezes, it becomes destructive. When inverted, it becomes power.This episode walks through each villain with:A grounded overviewThe Hero form (the inversion)The Legend form (integrated mastery)Practical, lived examples of medicineVillain-by-Villain Breakdown1. Obedient CriticCore wound: Belonging, hierarchy, credentialsHero: The AnarchistLegend: The EqualizerMedicine:Break inherited hierarchies without trying to destroy everyone elsePlay consciously with power dynamics instead of submitting to themPractice lowering yourself in hierarchies you secretly worshipPractical example:Deliberately stop being “the competent one.” Let others rise. Let systems wobble. Watch what equalizes.2. Vengeful MartyrCore wound: AbandonmentHero: The Self-Possessed (Selfish, in the healthy sense)Legend: The NourisherMedicine:Use resources instead of martyringAsk for help without explaining or over-justifyingMake yourself obsolete on purposePractical examples:Pool childcare, money, laborOutsource tasks you secretly hoardStop being the only one who knows how things workMartyrdom is not generosity. It is control disguised as virtue.3. Vain ControllerCore wound: Status, image, worthHero: The UnveiledLegend: The InventorMedicine:Reveal vulnerability without collapsingConfess judgment instead of acting it outUse resources to create, not to provePractical example:Say out loud what you are afraid of being seen as. Especially to the people you subtly judge.4. Eternal ChildCore wound: Entitlement, victimhood, arrested developmentHero: The ReflectiveLegend: The TravellerMedicine:Radical self-reflectionMoral inventoryRecognizing available choicesA key insight discussed through The Choice:Victimhood comes from believing you have no choice.Practical tools:Mirror workAsking “Where did I participate?”Listing real choices, not imagined constraints5. Evasive ExpertCore wound: Over-intellectualization, emotional suppressionHero: The PassionateLegend: The IntegratorMedicine:Somatic and kinesthetic practicesSlowing downHumor and playKey insight:If you’ve lost your sense of humor, you’re back in the villain.Embodiment tools:NatureLaughterSensation-based awarenessMoving before thinking6. Divisive ImmortalCore wound: Safety, loyalty, fear of deathHero: DeathLegend: The HealerMedicine:Direct confrontation with death and fearEgo deathExposure to impermanencePractical examples:Death meditationsRitual griefCultural practices that normalize deathAvoiding death creates rigidity. Facing it restores life.7. Hungry ShapeshifterCore wound: Attention, identity diffusion, timeHero: The PresentLegend: The FabricatorMedicine:Presence over performanceAttention returned to selfTime-based embodimentPractical tool:A Raja Yoga technique involving extremely slow head rotation to anchor awareness in the present moment.Identity stabilizes when attention stops scattering.8. Righteous BullyCore wound: Opinion, certainty, savior complexHero: The SurrenderedLegend: The ChannelerMedicine:Recognizing choiceLetting others leadReleasing the need to fixStrong opinions are not wisdom. Channeling replaces enforcing.9. Invisible DestroyerCore wound: Disembodiment, addiction, stagnationHero: The EmbodiedLegend: The ArchitectMedicine:Pleasure in the bodyStructure and containmentCreation after destructionPractical focus:Sensory pleasureNaturePassion projectsRoutine and structureBad luck often follows disengagement. Embodiment reverses it.Fusion Villains ExplainedSome villains are composites:Righteous Bully = Obedient Critic + Vengeful MartyrHungry Shapeshifter = Vain Controller + Eternal ChildInvisible Destroyer = Evasive Expert + Divisive ImmortalWhen stuck at a composite level, work downstream with its components.Final TakeawayNothing here is about becoming someone else.Retrograding a villain means:Changing directionRestoring movementLetting intelligence flow againYou don’t heal by erasing parts of yourself.You heal by letting them evolve.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy