I was recently asked what led me to opening Moth and Moon Studio and why I decided to undertake a spiritual business. I often provide glimpses or portions of my journey to folks, depending on their interests since I’ve certainly wandered a crooked road. I decided to share a little about my journey up until now. You can find out more about my training on my Bio page. So here it is, how I got to “here”!
When I was six years old, my connection to the dead sparked after losing my childhood best friend. My fascination with death, the spirit world, nature and folk magic began to flourish and I would read everything I could on the subjects. I learned Reiki in highschool and sought out spiritual development opportunities, at the time emphasized on healing and death work for people and animals. I worked with animals on farms and in the exotic pet community as well as with the elderly at an assisted living facility while putting myself through college. This would deeply impact my work and push me further to explore mediumship and psychic development as well as integrative healing methods, magickal practices and hospice volunteering.
I studied Public Health and Epidemiology, the study of disease and death in populations. I graduated with honors with a double major in Health Management & Policy: Public Health and with an emphasis in biology and pursued a career working in healthcare research and data analysis. That eventually lead to my role as Director of Quality and Infection Prevention at a hospital. Wherever I landed, I was lucky to be open about my spiritual practices and mostly supported. So much so that I volunteered providing Reiki to Oncology patients, pre and post breast surgery patients, and patients at the end of life in the facility where I worked.
While working full time in healthcare I opened my small practice, Crossroads Farm, in 2011. I began seeing clients and teaching first out of my goat farm in Southern New Hampshire, then out of several spiritual centers in New England. This evolved after I became very interested in seeking direction for my own spiritual and magickal practices. I became part of the Spiritualist church for several years and began studying and developing my mediumship, psychic ability, healing arts, shamanic studies and animal intuitive work. I was fortunate to travel often through work and spent a lot of time in Virginia and Tennessee, which fed my interest and connection with folk magic practices and rootwork.
I spent several years in a ceremonial magick group in Salem, MA and also had the pleasure of studying folk magic with Matthew Venus of Spiritus Arcanum. I was introduced to Christopher Penczak’s work and became a member of the Temple of Witchcraft and their mystery school. After finding home with this group, I began to serve as the Deputy Minister for Scorpio Ministry which oversees death, dying and bereavement and sacred sexuality.
After a successful 10 year sprint climbing the career ladder, I decided to leave healthcare to pursue a full time spiritual practice opening Moth and Moon Studio in 2016. Most of my waking life outside of my farm and the hospital world was consumed by classes, either presenting them or taking them, and seeing clients so it was time to take that leap of faith. I am grateful, extremely blessed and lucky to have the support of many highly regarded teachers and authors who support me, my work and the studio.
These days, I’m happy running the studio with it’s cast of colorful characters whom I love and seeing my fabulous clients who let me into their lives to connect with their loved ones or help guide them. I’m working on some writing projects, crafting my herbal line of products, planning my garden additions and reading as often as I can.
My current interests and pursuits focus on the death positive movement, community deathcare and running Death Cafes, ethnobotany, clinical herbalism, spirit work, seership, oracular workings, conjuration, amateur taxidermy, hobby farming, baneful plants, gardening, hermetic qabalah, time management, attending obscure burlesque shows and pursuing the path of a priestess. The rest of the time you can find me on the farm with my partner, Austin, tending to our elderly goat herd, snuggling our pug Sharona and probably suffocating under our hoard of cats, Willy, Mina, Franklin and Luna.
