Ep. 55 Art Historian Bridget Quinn on Divine Sisterhood

In this episode, which was recorded in early June, 2026, I talk with art historian and author Bridget Quinn, who's spent her career spotlighting the women written out of history. She's the author of She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened Next, the award-winning Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order), and her latest, Portrait of a Woman: Art, Rivalry & Revolution in the Life of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard ( more than thirty years in the making.) Together, we lean into the concept of the Soror Mystica: the "mystical sister" alchemists once kept close as a creative and spiritual partner in their work. We talk about how that same archetype shows up today, and how art, history, and storytelling can become a way of summoning our own powerful guides — the companions, real and imagined, who help us do the work we're here to do and serve both those who came before and those who are yet to come.

I have some fun news! I’m opening an Etsy shop for the deck. My first offering is the print of the Mystic Sister in three sizes. I plan to put another up every two weeks, but keep an eye on the shop, and favorite it if you like it. I’ll be adding really cool readings too, where you get mailed hand-pulled mini-prints just for you (or a friend.) But for now, I have the one…may I present my new Art and Alchemy Lab shop on Etsy!

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