The catalytic-oxidative evolution of the redox/spin states of a Fe-phthalocyanine (Fe-Pc) catalyst was studied by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Under oxidative catalytic conditions, Fe-Pc may evolve via multiple redox/spin conformations. Axial ligation of imidazole, O-2 or t-Bu-OOH as oxidant, results in a complex multipath redox/spin landscape that was determined in detail herein. The high-spin conformations of Fe-Pc/imidazole evolve more slowly than the low-spin conformations. Catalytically active vs. inactive conformations were distinguished. A unified physicochemical catalytic reaction mechanism is discussed herein based on the distinct role of the various structural, spin and redox forms. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.