I am your tree to lean against

Me in one of my truest states - eating chocolate, wearing my favorite jumpsuit, and enjoying a quiet sit spot during a busy day

The Gap

There’s a moment when I’m talking to someone and I can tell I’d be able to help them cross the gap between where they are and where they want to be. They’ll be talking about a challenge, in a relationship or work or habits, and they go from talking through the struggle to yearning for it to be different. The tone changes from confusion or unhappiness into longing - which could also be called desire. It’s a galvanizing shift.

It’s exciting to clearly seeing the gap between where we are and where we want to be. We might not know how to start the journey, but we’re no longer flailing or apathetic. I’ve learned, through noticing when I get excited in conversations with people, that this is the exact point in a client’s journey where I should start working with them.

But I didn’t always know that, or most other things about how I work - I have flailed A LOT.

Me, almost exactly 6 years ago

I once crossed a gap (and will again!)

In 2019 I was in grad school for fiction writing. When I went to choose a picture of my “before I started crossing the gap” era, I felt confused at first - I looked happy in so many of them! It was a good reminder that it’s possible to have a life full of many wonderful things and still not be where you want. I had a partner, friends, and a pretty house that I loved. I had family that loved me. I was in grad school for something I was passionate about.

But when I compare that moment to my life now, here are the things I didn’t have: A sense of peace. Stability. Consistent playful creative time with music, aerials and other artistic expression. A chosen family that I share myself with vulnerably. Healthier relationships with my parents. Tools for cultivating self love and self regard.

The tools I teach in my coaching framework (Tarot, parts work, ritual, mindfulness) are the tools I’ve collected for myself over the past ten years. The way I teach my clients to support themselves echoes the way I’ve learned to support myself.

A few years ago, a lot of the time I felt happy. A lot of the time, I also felt anxious and just off. I wasn’t fulfilled and I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I had gotten the degree I set out for, I had reached the end of the line I’d planned! But what was I doing, really?? Who did I want to be?

COVID hit the spring of my final semester of grad school. The next year was full of introspection and muddling. In the summer of 2021, I decided to stop applying for adjunct teaching positions that sounded respectable but that I didn’t actually want, and start being Your Village Witch.

Much more muddling followed, and it was hard, but I was motivated by knowing where I was going: fulfillment and peace. I was starting on a new path I was passionate about. I was teaching other people the skills that had brought me clarity and self love. And I had many wonderful coaches and supporters along the way.

I don’t try close the gap for my clients in the months we work together - instead, I teach them how to cross it themselves. And I make sure they leave coaching with a clear vision of how they want to live, and the tools to do it.

Then I blow them a kiss and tell them I’m here if they need to come back and lean against the trunk of my tree again.

Me holding a walnut in its Big Shell as I sit on my front porch.

What We Do

I start with a 40 minute Solution Call where I listen to what you long for and what you’re struggling with. Remember that thing I said at the beginning about there being a point when a person is talking that I go “Oh! I could help with that”? That’s what I’m listening for during your call. I’m taking notes on the pieces of your life and how they feel to you, and on the ways you think about yourself and how this might be shaping your experience of life.

Then I offer solutions. I tell you what I wrote down, and where I see you being stuck, or self-sabotaging, or struggling to care for yourself, and I tell you how I’d help you shift those situations.

If you decide to work with me, we start a 4-month (minimum) journey that starts with a Tarot reading and flows into sessions on lasting self love, shifting limiting and out of-date narratives, and moving towards your goals in a way you’ll enjoy.

When you’re stuck, we use parts work therapy to build self trust until you unstick. I build in tools like readings and spells for clarity and structure. My coaching container is designed to lower internal pressures and create calm clarity. I will make sure you feel clear and understand what is happening at all steps. I will trust you to know what’s right for you, and will support you in getting clear on that.

When you work with me, I will challenge you positively to grow into your fullest, truest self. I love my work. In my space, you’ll feel like you’re in a warm, mossy forest leaning against a solid, wise tree.

Want to learn more? The link to my Coaching page is below.

xox

Isabel

Village Witch’s Corner

My intention this week : 

Get grounded.

Question(s) I'm asking this week:

What do I need to imperfectly Just Get Done in order to move through an overfull moment?

What I’m listening to:

Lucius’s eponymous new album. I love it, a delicious blend of folk and electric pop that’s really getting getting me in the mood for writing my novel.

Tiny Spell of the Week:

What little treat would really nourish you? Then which one would be really indulgent? Then, which one would nourish you?