An attitude of gratitude

Hitting major milestones in the Business of Woo- and celebrating with all of you!

So, our self-funded and self-published TOTEM Tarot Deck has just officially sold out on Amazon:

And, while we have the remainder of the copies available on our Etsy Shop, it’s effectively *this close* to being really, truly sold out altogether.

Like, forever and ever and ever. It’s kind of weird to think about, actually.

Investing the time to create the cards, their art, and the accompanying booklet with artist Emma Cook took several years and was largely an act of faith that maybe, someday, we would print it.

Then, deciding to roll the dice in the midst of Covid to spend $15,000.00 to print this labor of love on the other side of the world— hoping that folks would find it, purchase it and love it— was, in retrospect, an act of pure madness.

Thankfully, my insane trust fall with the universe worked out— and it worked out because of all of you reading this right now. Without thoughtful, spiritually curious folks like you finding our work and supporting our small business with your hard-earned dollars, I would probably be living the not-so-glamorous life of Oscar the Grouch, calling a city trash can my home. Or, worse, I’d be sitting in a suburban co-working space with bad overhead lighting going through lease abstraction spreadsheets for a mid-cap corporate real estate company.

Do you see the deep layers of hell you all saved me— and TOTEM— from?

Take a moment to pat yourselves on the back!

Another milestone on Substack

The same day I got confirmation that we sold out of our TOTEM Tarot Deck on Amazon, I got this notification (above) from Substack, informing me that TOTEM Readings is now considered a best-selling publication here on Substack!

Now, this isn’t just about follower or subscriber counts, nor is it about the money you generously pay to keep us in business here on this platform. What I’m really pumped about is access to new tools, like the *new* live video function— giving me the ability to “stream” live to you at anytime… and from anywhere!

And I wouldn’t have gotten “here” if it weren’t for all of you— your paid subscriptions give me the permission I need to, frankly, spend a bit too much time on Substack relative to more, well, responsible business tasks and critical to do’s;)

As a THANK YOU to everyone that supports our work here on Substack, Amazon, Etsy, or in the podcasting world, I invite you all to enter our *new* Review Raffle. While three grand prize winners will be pulled on my birthday, June 27th, everyone that enters the raffle will get a thank you via snail mail for your efforts.

To enter, simply take a screenshot of your review of any of our flower essences, decks, services, or podcast and send it to me via email: rachel@totemreadings.com

Reviews and ratings really make a big difference for our small, Woo-based business— and they give me an excuse to connect with you and send you something cool in real life as a thank you for your support!

A moment of reflection

From the unexpected deck review that was just shared by Moonflower Moments on Youtube to the news about our sold out tarot deck and progress on Substack, it’s been a surreal little window of good news.

And, while that is of course welcome and overall positive, it’s also very, very weird.

Hear me out:

Having transitioned to the Business of Woo full-time only a few years ago— and in very challenging, unpredictable times with very few resources— I’ve frankly been in super-focus, head-down, get-shit-done mode. I’ve been pushing and striving to maintain momentum, and have been reinvesting all of our earnings back into the business at every turn, even self-funding and self-publishing our new TOTEM Flower Essence Deck last year.

You know. Because the first time was so much fun, right? Right.

(SARCASM)

But one thing I haven’t done much of is celebrate the wins, partly because there haven’t been that many that are measurable. These things take time, and a lot of work, and perhaps more importantly: a lot of cool people that manage to connect with you and your work, making it all possible to maintain.

And, if nothing else, this is the message I want to share with you all today: that, if you enter the Business of Woo with your own, unique vision, you actually give that vision the time, patience and consistency it needs to fully materialize and bear fruit for you to enjoy in kind.

There are no cheat codes. No life hacks. No sales funnel innovations. No hat tricks or flip-of-a-bitch feats of magic that enable anyone to just outsmart existence— especially when it comes to the Business of Woo.

Anyone telling you that is lying. And they’re selling you something. Trust me on that one. I do Business of Woo mentoring work for clients all the time, and the consistent themes are always: stay focused, stay aligned around your soul’s purpose, have fun, work hard, be ethical, maintain boundaries, differentiate yourself and assert a point of view, and don’t you dare fucking give up.

It’s not exactly mastering quantum mechanics, but it does require a copious amount of self-belief, self-discipline and, well, a touch of madness.

But shamans are good at madness. So, here we are.

Thank you all so much for your support, and please don’t give up on your own (possibly secret) strange obsession in the Woo. I truly believe we are entering quite possibly the strangest, most Woo time on earth— and your skills, big idea or new psychic modality may be just what everyone is seeking!

And, again, thank you.

-Rachel