coaching, Mental Health

Birthday reflections (of a 30 something, Autistic Witch who’s been to hell and back).

It was my birthday in January. I’m now 32! ✨🎈❤️

I once thought I wouldn’t live to see my 30s so now that I’m here it’s such a gift.

In my 20s if I wasn’t actively trying to kill myself, I was thinking about it.

I numbed my pain with alcohol and work and dating.

I thought external success would bring me happiness but when I got the “dream” job as a journalist for a national newspaper, I felt miserable.

Me, aged 18; a university student suffering from depression & alcoholism

I travelled to beautiful places but the depression snuck in with my luggage and came along for the ride.

I fell in love multiple times but with people who didn’t love me back.

I wanted escape but the truth was I couldn’t escape myself.

My life was running on auto-pilot, driven by the subconscious belief of “I’m not enough.”

When I finally hit rock bottom and burnout I was forced to stop running, turn inward and face myself.

Me in my 30s; a fully awakened Witch who loves herself



As I embarked on my Witchcraft and “mother wound” healing journey I used different modalities to support my holistic wellbeing in mind, body and spirit: Tarot, crystals, coaching & breathwork to name a few.

I learned to love myself, practice self-compassion, go inwards and honour the light AND the shadow.

I stopped saying “yes” when I meant “no.”
I stopped trying to be someone I’m not.
I got off the treadmill of “survival mode” and for the first time started to truly enjoy my life.

I embraced Mother Earth and let her heal me on long walks in the forest.
I did things that scared and excited me (like stand up comedy).
I attracted my soulmate.

Getting my autism diagnosis aged 30 was yet another awakening; an opportunity to further know myself on a deeper level and shed all of the false masks I’d been wearing in order to fit in and appear “normal.”

I’m living proof that miracles can happen when you stop trying to change the external and instead focus on your inner world first.

If you’re struggling right now, I want you to know that you’re not alone.

Things can and do change, it sometimes just takes a little bit of time.

My birthday has been and gone but here is my special gift to you: a free spiritual life coaching session.

If you resonate with any aspect of my story, I would love to support you at this point on your journey.

Find out more about my other offerings here.

Spirituality, wheel of the year, witchcraft

Celebrating Imbolc: Three Simple Rituals for Rebirth and Renewal

Imbolc (1st Feb) is a “wheel of the year” event. Not a solstice or an equinox, but it marks a liminal time; the midpoint between Winter and Spring, between darkness and light, between death and rebirth.

The 1st of February is also the feast say of St. Bridget who is considered to be the Christian counterpart to the earlier Pagan Goddess Brigid who was associated with poetry, healing and fertility in addition to fire and healing wells.

Here are three simple rituals to support you to work with the energy of Imbolc.

1. Write Poetry

Poems don’t have to rhyme (or even make any sense at all.)

You could write a poem as an offering for Goddess Brigid and burn it before burying the ashes or scattering them in a stream.

You could write a poem inspired by Spring or rebirth.

You could even write a poem to yourself, your own inner child or inner loving mother.

2. Make art / Create

You could paint or draw something inspired by Imbolc (half Winter / half Spring) or play a song inspired by Imbolc (like this one by Lisa Thiel) and dance freely.

Using dry twigs from the Oak, Rowan, Birch or Willow tree you could also create your own charcoal and use this. (Make a fire safely and place the twigs in a tin with a hole in the top on the fire until the steam stops coming out.)

Imbolc means “In the belly”, a reference to pregnant ewes, so it’s a good time to think about what you’re birthing in the world and to nurture your creative spirit.

3. Make a St. Brigid’s cross

The Christian story of the St. Brigid’s cross is that she made it to convert a dying chieftan. But the symbol has pagan roots and is also considered to be a symbol of protection and connected to the four seasons and elements (fire, earth, air water).

It’s easy to make one using either rushes, straw or paper.

You could set an intention for healing or protection as you make it and then place it on your altar, above your bed or by the entrance to your home.

Here is a simple tutorial I found on YouTube that explains the process.

Do you have any rituals you do for Imbolc? Let me know in the comments.

If you’d like to receive some spiritual guidance and support at this liminal time, please consider booking a free taster spiritual life coaching session or check out my other offerings.

Spirituality

Poem: Dialogue with my Soul

I asked my soul why she came here

Why choose such hell as this?

With devils disguised as kin

Burning fires within

The four walls built to keep me safe

I asked my soul why she came here

Why earth above all else?

A barren land Where I bit the hand

That told me who I ought to be

I asked my soul why she came here

Where pain is in abundance

An asteroid in a Systemic void

That we choose to call society

I asked my soul why she came here

With a faulty generator

A dozen pre-programmed ills

I asked my soul in anguish

Why did you bring me here?

My body is broken, the path unclear

And I’m losing my mind without a compass

And in the quiet pause she said

I came so you could know true

Liberation

My short collection of poems “The Earth and the Moon” is now available on Amazon in kindle and paperback – click here to buy the full version.