April showers bring May flowers

The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck is almost here-- and paid Substack subscribers will get a special preview!

The other day, I was out for a neighborhood walk while thinking about how close we are to publishing The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck. Emma (the artist) and I had just been through the last round of finalizing details and incorporating final edits, and I was reflecting on the strange feeling of the “in between space” that comes just before a creative baby is birthed into the world.

Just as I was reflecting on this gap in the action, I saw the biggest grouping of gold finches I’ve ever seen in my life, flying along in their signature undulating up-and-down, sing-song motions.

Up to this point, I had only ever seen the occasional, individual gold finch and only as a result of actively seeking out nature in Chicago’s Lurie Butterfly Gardens or Winnemac Prairie Planting Park. Since moving to Austin, this trend has continued; last year, I caught sight of one goldfinch in early Spring as it sat on a neighbor’s feeder.

This large group of at least 30 goldfinches blew my mind, and I instantly understood that this was a clear totem animal message regarding our TOTEM Flower Essence Deck.

So, when I got back home, I did what any good spiritual nerd would do: I Googled what Ted Andrews would say about my new, winged friends.

The significance of goldfinch as a totem animal

According to Ted Andrews’ book Animal-Speak, the goldfinch as a totem animal is inextricably linked with the Summer Solstice, nature spirits, and fairies. If you’ve been reading our Substack posts, you’ll note that we’ve had increasing fairy activity in and around our TOTEM Flower Essence garden since planting seeds two years ago. So, this apparent message from the world of nature spirits and fairies wasn’t all that surprising, but it did seem fairly noteworthy.

It would seem that “they” were making a big show of supporting not only our work with the garden and its flower essences, but our efforts to publish a deck that would help to educate and empower others to also embrace this form of magical herbalism.

I was also struck by the connection to summer and, specifically, to the Summer Solstice. As I wrote about HERE last year, Midsummer (i.e. the Summer Solstice) is a big fairy day ruled by one of the OG Fairy Godmothers: Titania.

And, on the last Summer Solstice, I spent the day harvesting flowers for herbal tea (that we gave to guests of our Mabon celebration) and making offerings to the fae. Titania got some very premium booze and even a special moon + sun crystal broach that had been gifted to me by a lovely server at a restaurant here in Austin.

I figured Titania would have more occasion to wear it than me.

So, as we near another Summer Solstice, I wondered: were the fairies seeking ways to say “thanks” for my efforts to honor them last year? Did Titania actually grace the garden with her presence, perhaps sipping on some Lillet and donning her new costume jewelry, thinking to herself, “We’re going to help this weird lady out on the next Solstice”?

Worth noting: we’re planning to publish our TOTEM Flower Essence Deck in May, with related, garden party-themed events tentatively planned around…drumroll please…the Summer Solstice!

Ted Andrews’ book went on to explain that, “The presence of goldfinches usually indicates an awakening to the activities of those beings that are normally relegated to the realm of fiction. Goldfinch can help you deepen your perceptions so that you can begin to see and experience the activities of the nature spirits yourself. Goldfinches are usually permanent residents, and in those areas where they are found, you can also find the fairies and the elves.”

So, where you find goldfinches, you also find fairies. Note. To. Self.

Outside of Ted’s totem animal interpretation, many cultures see the goldfinch as an omen of abundance and positive cashflow, a good sign for any small business owner or self-published author that puts their own money on the line!

I have even hung a Japanese silk screen from my grandmother that features two goldfinches in a rose bush prominently in my energy work and TOTEM Flower Essence storage room in the hopes that this beautiful image— and abundance-oriented totem animal— would bless me with business support as and when needed.

This totem animal visit at such a critical juncture for our TOTEM Flower Essence Deck has buoyed my mood and helped to abate my pre-publication anxiety— acting as a sign from spirit and the fairy realm— that this project will bring positivity to every stakeholder: creator, customer, and end user alike!

Deck preview series on Substack

As a build up to our publication of the TOTEM Flower Essence Deck on Amazon and Etsy, I’m going to be offering a series of card deep dive videos and tutorials for our paid Substack subscribers, sharing stories from the garden and other, exclusive flower essence insight and content you won’t get anywhere else.

In these exclusive paid posts, I’ll be showing the cards and their art, as well as digging into the ideal uses for these magical potions. I’ll also be using these Substack videos to demonstrate a few proprietary spreads and readings you can leverage with the TOTEM Flower Essence Deck, empowering you to bring them into your private or client-facing spiritual practice!

I am incredibly grateful to the paid subscribers here on Substack— you make it possible for me to dedicate time to research and write and share my stories and insights. I view this TOTEM Flower Essence Deck preview series as a gift in kind, thanking all of you for your generosity and support.

If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a paid Substack subscriber and are very interested to learn about the TOTEM Flower Essence Deck, flower essences, and herbalism more broadly, it’s a great time to pull the trigger and upgrade your subscription. Not only will you get this exclusive TOTEM Flower Essence Deck series, you’ll also enjoy Monthly Full Moon Deep Dives, Full Moon Tarot Readings, TOTEM Animal insights, How to Read Tarot Cards Recommendations, and much, much more.

TOTEM Flower Essence sale— and free shipping— on Etsy

We’ve just brought back free premium UPS shipping on all TOTEM Readings ATX Etsy shop orders, and are offering a whopping 60% off of all TOTEM Flower Essences now through-mid May.

Ahead of getting ready to publish the deck, I spent a harrowing week harvesting, formulating, bottling and merchandising thousands of TOTEM Flower Essences, ensuring (in theory) that we would have enough in stock when the TOTEM Flower Essence Deck hits the scene.

As you may know, we really do grow every flower, herb, and tree organically from seed in our backyard garden. We then chase off squirrels and get into fights with the chickens to ensure these plants are given the opportunity to grow to maturity, eventually hand-harvesting flowers and hand-bottling the tinctures ourselves.

Hell, we even talk to and make offerings to the fairies that visit (and live in) the garden!

No machines. No employees. No chemicals. No short cuts. No outsourced ingredients.

The TOTEM Flower Essence program is a contiguous, controlled and totally natural process from cradle to grave.

Not only do I think that this approach gives our essences a little extra “oomph”, but it means that we create only what Mother Nature gives us. Which, in turn, means that we may run out of seasonal products until the next growing/ harvesting season. So, if you want to stock up and ensure that you have your favorites on standby, please head on over now before the deck stimulates a possible flower essence feeding frenzy.

You can find our Etsy Shop HERE.

Review Raffle— Flower essence-themed prizes

In order to expand reach ahead of The TOTEM Flower Essence deck hitting Amazon and Etsy, we’ve started another Review Raffle.

If you write a review for us on Yelp or Google, share a review on Etsy, review the TOTEM Tarot Deck on Amazon, or even rate or review The Skeptical Shaman podcast on Apple or Spotify, just screenshot it and email it to me (with your mailing address) here: rachel@totemreadings.com

Everyone who enters will get an art print of one of our TOTEM Flower Essence cards as a “thank you” for your time and effort. Then, each person will be entered into a true raffle to win the very *first* TOTEM Flower Essence Deck!

A big thank you to everyone that takes the time to help us out. And, for those of you already entered, keep an eye out for your TOTEM Flower Essence card print in the coming days!

Flower essence posts on Substack

Flower essences aren’t a fly-by-night, cursory interest here at TOTEM, and the TOTEM Flower Essence Deck is similarly not a shallow or thoughtless effort.

Rather, herbalism, gardening and plant medicine are a core part of our shamanic work and business model at TOTEM. To this end, I’ve written a lot about flower essences and our flower essence garden many times here on Substack:

• A Warrior In The Garden: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/a-warrior-in-the-garden

• The Whirling Angels: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/the-whirling-angels

• The Dark Garden: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/the-dark-garden

• Ancient Alchemy: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/ancient-alchemy-modern-medicine

• Return to the Mother: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/return-to-the-mother

• The Kingdom: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/the-kingdom

• Floromancy: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/floromancy

• Feed Your Soul: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/feed-your-soul

• The Wisdom Keepers: https://totemrach.substack.com/p/the-wisdom-keepers

Looking at this list of posts, it’s incredible to think that I used to see flower essences as nothing more than the placebo effect. I’m blown away by my first experiences with Bach’s Rescue Remedy more than 13 years ago, and can’t believe that this city mouse has made her way to Texas— with a full-on hippy flower essence garden and a couple of chickens to boot!

But, that’s the thing about shamanism. It really does take you places you never considered possible, offering magical trinkets (and potions) along the way.

I can’t wait to share these particular magical trinkets with all of you here on Substack, starting next week!

-Rachel