I used to roll my eyes at the word “woo.”

You know the kind of things I mean — energy healing, psychics, plant medicine, spiritual practices that some people swear by and others dismiss immediately. I probably would have dismissed them too… until I didn’t.

About a year ago, a guest on this podcast shared how she used psychedelics to rewire her brain. What struck me wasn’t the mysticism — it was the science behind it. That conversation opened a door for me that eventually led to four of my own plant medicine journeys, a lot of meditation, and a growing curiosity about what we label as “woo.”

Then I met Ariana Cleo — someone who didn’t discover the woo world later in life, but was raised in it. Her childhood included psychic parties and energy healing from her grandmother whenever she was sick. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to grow up surrounded by those practices, the fine line between magical family traditions and things that can feel embarrassing as a kid, and how she decided what parts of that world she wanted to carry forward.

Ariana shares how these spiritual practices became a refuge that helped her navigate deep trauma — and how, after experiencing pregnancy loss, they ultimately led her to create her own podcast, Into The Woo, where she explores the mystical and spiritual with curiosity and openness.

At one point Ariana was seeing seven healers a week, so if you’re even a little curious about what people mean when they talk about “woo”… this episode is a fascinating place to start.

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