Christiane [00:00:09]:

Well, welcome to the Happy, Healthy Hustle podcast, where we explore the intersection of health, happiness, and productivity. I'm your host Christiane, and I'm excited to be here with you today. Today I have a special guest. Here with me today is Vanessa. And Vanessa is a modern witch who is a devotee to mercury and runs a nonprofit dedicated to the sharing of knowledge about different practices within witchcraft. Growing up, not aware that she was a generational witch, she has a unique perspective on what witchcraft actually is. So let's welcome Vanessa.

Vanessa [00:00:46]:

Hi, Christiane. Thank you.

Christiane [00:00:48]:

Super excited you're here. And of course we are super curious. Witchcraft sounds intriguing. And let's maybe get started. Would you say that's your superpower?

Vanessa [00:01:01]:

Yes, I am very in tuned an empath. I can read vibes from people, what they're thinking or if a thought has crossed their mind, I'm able to pick that up.

Christiane [00:01:17]:

And how did you figure out that you have that superpower practice?

Vanessa [00:01:23]:

Asking questions like talking with my friends, I would be like, did you just think about this? Is this what you were just thinking about? Type of thing. Just for confirmation.

Christiane [00:01:34]:

And you mentioned that it's a nonprofit, so how does that usually work in your day to day life? How do you use witchcraft currently?

Vanessa [00:01:44]:

So I use witchcraft currently in pretty much every aspect of my life. Because it's really your intention, what you want your day to look like, speaking to the universe from your solar plexus, which is right below your sternum. That's the part where you really communicate with the universe of looking at nature and just being in the moment.

Christiane [00:02:14]:

So it's something that each of us individually, obviously have a different way of communicating. And you're picking up on that communication piece by maybe being more in tune with it and reading, I guess, what people's thoughts really are. Is that a good description? Reading?

Vanessa [00:02:39]:

Yes, yes. I can't necessarily read the exact thought. It's more of like the overall generalized. A good example could be when Edward in Twilight was talking to Bella about being able to read people's thoughts, he gave one word of what they were thinking about. And that's similar to what I can do. It's not an everyday thing. It's more of like, I have to focus on one person.

Christiane [00:03:11]:

So maybe it even means developing a relationship with that person and then getting more a little bit in tune of what that person is. Typically their tendencies maybe are. And it says your devotee to mercury. So what does that really mean?

Vanessa [00:03:29]:

So Mercury is a deity, a Roman deity for business, commerce, travelers, merchants, and the business world is basically where he resides. And I remember being young and having the thought in my head that I was going to go into business and I didn't want to do business. I wanted to be a marine biologist. And I was like, no, I'm not going to do business. Well, here I am 30 years later as an entrepreneur running my own businesses.

Christiane [00:04:07]:

Sometimes go ahead, sorry.

Vanessa [00:04:10]:

And he's always been very helpful for me with finances. Whenever I have really needed money, I would get a random check in the mail from a rebate that would carry me over till the next day.

Christiane [00:04:29]:

So it seems like sometimes things are set in stone somehow, somewhere like the universe is essentially just waiting for you to reach out and to figure out that you are aligned to take that path. You just maybe don't see it immediately yourself. So you may be helping others, making that path more evident and finding their true calling by letting them know really what their personal superpowers are. Do you sometimes help people figuring out their superpowers?

Vanessa [00:05:04]:

Yes, I love connecting with people and finding out where their passions lie and helping them in that direction. I actually helped my best friend gain the courage to leave her corporate job and start her metaphysical store online. And she's been really successful giving readings. She started off with a store, but I feel that giving tarot readings is really what is her passion. So that's what she's been doing.

Christiane [00:05:41]:

So that is something that a lot of people might struggle with in their day to day life. They might be like in this nine to five job, not being super happy or purely passionate about it and struggling with, well, I'm here, I'm just doing my thing. But what is it really that maybe I could be doing that would add more passion to my day, to where I don't look at the clock and I'm thinking, how many more hours is it until I'm done with my day? And your friend is probably much happier now than what she previous was in her corporate career.

Vanessa [00:06:15]:

Yes, she is so much happier and is living her best life. And looking at the clock, you mentioned when you're doing something that brings you passion, when you're doing something that brings you joy, it doesn't feel like work. So there's times where I look at the clock and I'm like, oh, it's 08:00, I need to cook dinner because I've been so enthralled in the work that I'm doing that time just passes.

Christiane [00:06:44]:

So the purpose driven witchcraft, something along these lines is really what I feel helps. Also, sometimes people clarify because they might be passionate about a lot of different things, but they might not really figure out exactly what their maybe doable or actionable next step should be because it's all convoluted in their heads. So really maybe breaking it down into something that they can do and follow along. I love that. So let's maybe talk then. Sounds like there's a clear path ahead of you and let's maybe mention a little bit what were some challenge that you struggled with yourself and how did you overcome them? Because it sounds like you were dreaming about you were thinking you could go into business but then you really didn't. You want to do marine biology but now here you are, you are doing business. What led you to do that path or what challenges really have you experienced in your life?

Vanessa [00:07:44]:

So what led me into business was getting my first office job at the age of 19 as an executive assistant. And I excelled at being able to anticipate needs and find solutions that were easy solutions but no one thought of them. No one thought of let's make scanning a thing instead of manually filing papers. And I was able to have a career of 20 plus years as an executive assistant. And one of my favorite memories of that is having an executive director ask me to do something. But I had already anticipated him asking me to do it. And when he asked me, I already had the response ready for him. So that was super empowering for me that I was spot on. I got the tasks done. But then coming across other entrepreneurs who didn't want to expand their thought process and change the way things, they were doing things was very frustrating, was very challenge for me. And I was doing a lot of research on how to start a company for someone. I was like, why can't I do that for myself? And here we are today.

Christiane [00:09:17]:

So sometimes it's really being proactive versus reactive that you anticipate needs and trends and it sounds like in this particular case that especially when you have some interactions where you are lining out a map for somebody and then you're wondering, hold on, why am I not doing this myself? Really? That that was really the best path for you to take. So I really love that you are a solopreneur now because you can share your wonderful magic and wisdom with us and it's something that you might be actually changing many more lives than what you did before because it's you and you are doing your power yourself. I love that. I think you did something that was as you help others, purpose driven and making your intention really shine. So now that you are thinking back, who do you feel influenced you to do this? Who are your biggest influencers?

Vanessa [00:10:22]:

My biggest influencer probably is my grandmother because she had her own travel agency back in the remember all the perks that we got because of that and she was able to make her schedule. And it turns out that entrepreneurship runs in my family. My great grandfather started not a fashion company but a fabric company where he started going door to door selling fabrics and became a go to place a mall for bridal wear. And then my grandmother had her own business and her siblings have their own businesses. Even to this day, some of those businesses are still running.

Christiane [00:11:20]:

So I love that you know so much about your family and you really followed along with what they're doing that's maybe sometimes what's intriguing to all of us to find out more about our families. Do you ever have people that kind of doubt that the skill that you have is real? Is that a challenge that you struggle with in your day to day business as well?

Vanessa [00:11:45]:

Yes, actually, my mother and my sister don't really feel like I'm doing things correctly in the term of how life should be. You go and you get a job and you work so many hours and you work for so many years, and then you can retire. But why, when you can live like you're retired and work and become a wealth creator, where you're not exchanging your time for money, but you're exchanging your ideas for money. And at that point, why stop? Why retire from that? Yeah.

Christiane [00:12:27]:

Now, I also love that you brought up the passion that you have that you are sharing and the passion that makes you not even realize that you're actually working. So you're more really sharing something that brings you so much joy that it doesn't even seem like work. Work really. Like, in the corporate world and in general, of course, all of us would always appreciate somebody that has clarity and can help us and figure out different things we are good at and kind of see the path we should take there. So what is your biggest recommendation for somebody that listens to this?

Vanessa [00:13:02]:

So my biggest recommendation is to know that you might know a lot, but you don't know everything. There are things that you don't know, and that's where I lean on my witchcraft. My deity, Mercury, is also deity of messages. So I'm really good at Tarot readings or my pendulum, which is yes or no questions. And you have a personal experience with receiving a reading from me?

Christiane [00:13:34]:

I received a reading and I actually was so intrigued that I shared it with my family. And I could not believe how spot on it it truly was, because we had just met, like, a few minutes before, and I felt that you did know me for a long time and you knew a lot of things through the Tarot readings that felt.

Vanessa [00:14:00]:

You really.

Christiane [00:14:01]:

Could look into my soul to kind of look at this. And it felt really life changing, I have to be honest with you, because you pointed out skills that I didn't tap into yet and directions that I should take, and it was very empowering and encouraging. So I truly felt it was exceptionally revealing and very much what I was looking for. And I thought the witchcraft was wonderful.

Vanessa [00:14:30]:

Yeah, and people don't understand that witchcraft can be anything. Like, if you make a soup, you're putting ingredients together and everything has a purpose, everything has a meaning besides taste. Basil is good for money. Cinnamon is good for protection. And you're putting all those together. So you're basically making a spell and you're putting intention in with if you bake or cook, and you're like, oh, it was made with love. That's a spell. It's not what Hollywood has made witchcraft out to be. It's very natural and giving and a lot of love.

Christiane [00:15:18]:

So it's much more really your intention, your thoughts that go into it. And also, of course, we feel it when we sometimes interact with people or when we get objects, the energy that is really with it, because energy is everywhere, but it's really how we funnel our energy and whether we spin it in a positive or a negative way. Yes, thank you so much. And I would love that any listeners reach out to Vanessa, because she would love to share her amazing craft with all of us, and she would also, of course, do something which is amazing. She has a podcast as well. You can tune into her podcast, and maybe you can share. You have actually two different podcasts, right?

Vanessa [00:16:07]:

Yes. The podcast that I have is Mindset Mantra, which is focused on improving our mindset, realizing that we don't have to be stuck the way that we're thinking. And the second podcast I started is called Empower. It's called empowered entrepreneur. So that podcast is really tips and tricks from experts coming together and to share and empower other entrepreneurs. Yeah.

Christiane [00:16:42]:

So both of them related to just making our lives better. That's really what my podcast a happy, healthy hustle is all about. With that, we're coming to the end of our episode here for today. Thank you so much, Vanessa, for being a guest here on today's show. I really appreciated that. And with that, we're going to hope that we shine a little bit light into your happy, Healthy Hustle. And I'm excited to hear from you any questions that you might have, but otherwise, I will talk to you at the next episode. Thank you.

Vanessa [00:17:17]:

Thank you so much, Christiane.

Christiane [00:17:17]:

Well, let's finish off today's podcast episode with the podcast Fan of the Week. This shout out goes to jry Five five. So the review is entitled Great Conversations and jry Five Five says, Very engaging host with insight from diverse perspectives. Excited for more episodes. I so appreciate the review. Thank you so much. If you have not left the review on Apple podcast, please go ahead and do it. It really means the world to me, and maybe I'm going to shout out your particular review in the next episode. All right, that's it for today's episode of the Happy, Healthy Hustle podcast. If you have any suggestions for future content or any feedback, please let me know. I would also love to share with you that I'm about to launch my Journey to Wellness program, and I'm sure that you, as a Happy, Healthy Hustler, would love to be part of this wonderful 21 day transformational program. It gives you some quick and easy tools that you can use at home to get your health journey started. Stay tuned, and until then, we'll catch you next time.