By Rachel White
Rachel White is modern-day shaman and the owner of TOTEM Readings, a decades-old spiritual practice. In the Skeptical Shaman, we engage fascinating folks-- from psychics to healers to skeptics and
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The podcast currently has 58 episodes available.
In this fourth episode of our Supernatural Stories series, guest Christine McLaughlin shares her incredible experience with Oscar Wilde's ghost. Yah. Read that last bit again.
Wild, isn't it?
Not only was Oscar Wilde an iconoclastic, singular literary talent, but apparently he's a large orb hanging out in Canada, too!
Christine shares her experience with bringing this famous author home as a "spiritual hitchhiker" from a trip to a beautiful (and old, and haunted, and magical) inn! Thankfully, her trip did not take a hard left turn into The Shining territory, and there weren't terrifying topiaries or homicidal interludes...but there was more than a splash of magic and a vignette that sounds an awful lot like astral travel.
It's not everyday we get a real deal, lived, human-scaled story about a famous ghost, but thanks to Christine we can all have line of sight into this incredible tale.
It's a good one, guys. Light the candle on your altar, bust out your favorite glass of scotch, wine or kombucha, and tuck in for a heartening, uplifting tale from beyond the veil!
LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsG
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this third episode in our special Supernatural Stories series, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with client and friend Natalie Fehlner (of Sidhe) all about her real deal, actual, lived experience GHOST STORY.
Spooky stuff, guys.
But also, very funny and very cool!
This story starts with a totally innocent musical theater production, which seemed to stimulate a spirit to commit great feats of spectral strength. Turns out: a notoriously cranky stage hand had passed away in that very location, and his haunting was just a continuation of his famous antics while alive!
Natalie shares everything that went "thud" (literally), and shared more about how this experience kindled her curiosity about all things Woo and her still-unfolding spiritual awakening, which now includes psychic readings, astrology, and channeled art.
Ghosts are super fun stuff, guys. After all: they're just people! The only difference is they don't have a physical body anymore!
Wrap yourself with a cozy blanket and froth up a seasonal soup to enjoy with this very spooky season story!
LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
Natalie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nataliefehlner
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsG
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this second episode in our special Supernatural Stories series, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with client and friend Hannah Schwartz all about her recent connection with the ancient Norse God Odin-- aka "Mr. Wednesday".
Hannah first encountered Odin as a person-sized raven watching over a flock of chickens in a dream, not immediately understanding just "who" the sentient being behind those massive bird eyes actually was. But she started to see more and more clues in her spiritual scavenger hunt, eventually reaching out to Rachel about an uncanny Substack post featuring chickens and eldritch terrors.
As Hannah continued to follow the metaphorical rabbit down the rabbit hole-- going into deeper and more ancient layers of research and meditation-- she realized that her "Mystery Man" was, in fact, the famous Mr. Wednesday!
In this episode, Hannah shares her very personal and very unexpected experience encountering and befriending this ancient deity, leveraging her burgeoning powers of prophecy and divination to continue to collaborate with her spiritual mentor.
The bottom line? Odin doesn't bet on losers. He always picks a "winner winner chicken dinner", and Hannah is going to LOVE her unfolding experiences with her absolutely top shelf Spirit Guide.
This is a good one, with all of the makings of a great Spooky Season share out, so bundle up, light a cozy fire, and tuck in for a real deal, human-scaled Supernatural Story from yet another practitioner that is shattering the stereotype of the crystal hippy lady!
LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsG
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this first episode in our special Supernatural Stories series, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with client KC Gale all about her now *infamous* visit from a Mayan Death Bat!
Despite what spooky or downright terrifying images the phrase "Mayan Death Bat" might initially conjure, KC is here to flip the script-- and explain how this unusual Spirit Guide is actually a spiritual sweetheart. No, really. He's a total pussycat!
Well, a pussy cat with flappy wings;)
In this episode, Rachel and KC methodically walk through how KC developed a more meaningful, direct relationship with this Spirit Guide-- who initially emerged in a Channeling Session with Rachel. The weeks and months to come brought a series of undeniable events, synchronicities and symbols, all of which made KC grateful that she had a helping hand from an ancient Mayan deity.
This is a great, human-scaled example of how developing and deepening relationships with Spirit Guides can make a measurable, positive impact on us in our daily lives.
Consider your Spooky Season officially launched! Gather around the camp fire, get a mug of apple cider, and dig in for a binge-worthy bundle of supernatural stories this fall!
LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsG
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Voodoo practitioner, author and business owner Sallie Ann Glassman all about the realm of spirits, otherwise known in Voodoo as "loa".
Sallie has been practicing Vodoo in New Orleans since 1976 and is the owner of the Island of Salvation Botanica, a store and gallery specializing in Vodoun religious supplies, medicinal and magical herbs, and Haitian and local artworks. She received her spiritual training in Haiti in November, and is ordained as a Manbo Asogwe, or Priestess of Vodou-- and is one of the few white Americans to have been ordained via a traditional Haitian initiation.
Sallie is also the creator of one of Rachel's favorite all-time tarot decks: The Voodoo Tarot of New Orleans, which features the various Voodoo loa, their invocations, and their special gifts and blessings for human practitioners.
In this episode, Sallie and Rachel discuss just how powerful working with the world of spirit can be-- including Sallie's experience using ceremonial magic to quite literally stop crime in her New Orleans neighborhood! In fact, the crime-busting ceremony was so effective (resulting in arrests, etc.) that the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine (among others) featured the story in their publications!
Sallie and Rachel also address the ontological fallacy of "toxic positivity" within the World of Woo, urging the spiritually homeless to keep an open mind and abandon their limiting, Puritanical beliefs to receive profound-- and tangible-- insights. Voodoo and the city of New Orleans serve as powerful reminders of the need to be rooted in the material world, integrating our spiritual gifts into the here and now for the benefit of all!
Links:
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) reconnects with "friend of the show" Abigail Kochunas, owner of of Sacred Healing Art AND an incredibly talented energy worker and animal communicator.
Abigail outlines her journey discovering her natural talents with animal communication and energy work, and how she's adding these services to her otherwise human-centered spiritual healing practice--not to mention to her charity work at a variety of animal sanctuaries and equine therapy facilities.
Rachel shares her recent experience with Abigail's remote animal communication and reiki work with her four backyard TOTEM Flower Essence garden chickens: Circe Lannister, Melisandre (The Red Witch), Arya Stark and Sansa Stark. Needless to say, Abigail-- the real life, psychic Dr. Doolittle-- totally tapped into issues and behaviors impossible for her to observe in real life from her home in California!
Spoiler alert: Circe really is the HBIC. I know. You're shocked;)
What's more: two of Rachel's chickens had major health turnarounds after their remote energy session with Abigail, laying their first eggs the next day and exuding health and happiness everyday since!
Animal communication is anything but silly. When done properly-- by practitioners like Abigail-- it can be a game-changing, value add Woo service that brings your whole family (pets included) closer together!
The TOTEM Tarot Deck (deck used in episode): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578980126?ref=myi_title_dp
TOTEM Readings Website (Rachel's practice): https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
Abigail's Links and Website: https://linktr.ee/sacredhealingart
Abigails IG: https://www.instagram.com/sacredhealing_art/
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with friend of the show Roger Oney about her super-duper, not-so-fun week with an ancient Sumerian demon.
Yah. You read that right.
Listener beware: this episode IS spooky.
So spooky, in fact, that it took Rachel more than a year to decide that it was ultimately a net positive for clients and listeners to hear about her brief, harrowing ordeal.
The long and the short of it? Rachel spent a whole week handling (more like "getting handled by") a negative entity that was none-too-pleased with her efforts to empower a client. With nightly visits, Rachel found herself researching specific mentions in Milton's Paradise Lost, the Book of Exodus, and even Aleister Crowley's translation of the Lesser Key of Solomon.
It was some real Hereditary shit, and was so harrowing that Rachel legitimately contemplated closing her spiritual practice and abandoning her life's work-- and soul's purpose! Spoiler alert: she didn't close anything or stop doing this work, but this vignette stands as a memorable example of the stakes of spiritual exploration-- and what creatures may dwell just beyond our vision.
The good news? While negative, these experiences prove the existence of spirit beyond the shadow of a doubt. What's more: everything worked out just fine, as Rachel used her spiritual and energetic tools to intentionally and methodically cut cords and remove the sticky energy of this particular parasite.
LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Flower Essence Deck: https://a.co/d/gw16LsG
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
The TOTEM Flower Essences: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX
Roger Oney links:
Roger's substack: https://rogergoesrogue.substack.com
Website: https://rogeroney.com
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this episode of the Skeptical Shaman Podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) sits down with Britt Sandkulla-Sinclair (of Golden Thread Alchemy) to discuss the crucial need for release and surrender as we enter a new epoch on planet earth.
Not only is Britt an astrologer and witch, but she's also a certified Death Doula--and very well versed in the world of letting go with grace. Rachel and Britt discuss this time of intense transition and transformation, and explore the nature of the forces converging to create this churn. They also dive into what human-scaled, daily practices we can all leverage to help us take the edge off during this very, very edgy time.
The executive summary? Death is inevitable, so if something is dying in your life-- like an old job, profession, industry, relationship, habit, or location-- then all you need to do is acknowledge and accept its coming. Don't white knuckle. Don't leave claw marks. And make adjustments as you-- and the world-- evolves.
You don't have to be the same person forever. Everything else changes. You can-- and should-- too!
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Rebecca Szymczak, aka Cardsy B (of The Hex and the City Podcast and The Saturn Diaries).
Cardsy B returns to The Skeptical Shaman to dig deep into the turbulence hitting planet earth-- and all of the other planets, for that matter-- at the present moment. What's going on with Saturn? Uranus? Pluto? And why is it making everything and everyone so f*cking crazy?
The answer? We're leaving one epoch and entering another, and the planets are conspiring to help us shake off our old skins and embrace the new 2.0 version available to us on the other side of these contractions. Cardsy and Rachel explore what this means for us as individuals and as a collective, and work to map out some tangible, next steps.
The long and the short of it?
"Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened, seatback and tray table in their full-upright and locked position, and all carryon items completely under the seat in front of you. We're expecting some turbulence."
Said another way? We're not in control of what's happening. We ARE in control of how we react, how we live, and what we choose to cultivate. So, focus on yourself and your own, inner work! I mean, if ever there was a time to get our shit together, it's now;)
LINKS:
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
Cardsy B's Links:
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with Brandon Page, an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) experiencer.
Brandon and Rachel connected "randomly" on LinkedIn, learning after the fact that they both worked at the same global corporate real estate firm and are, within reason, total "normies" on paper-- with, of course, the exception of their respective intense spiritual experiences!
Brandon shares his lifelong interactions with craft, orbs and lights in the sky, and how these experiences came rushing back into the fore in the last few years-- getting so intense that his young daughter has also had a few moments with these objects! He also relays the strange dissonance of being just a regular person having extraordinary experiences, and how he has navigated this tension point in his own life.
The long and the short of it? He doesn't know exactly what these things are, why they're showing themselves to him and his family, but he does feel that it's significant-- and he's done hiding or withholding for fear of judgment.
We're all past that at this point, and all signs point to increasing UAP activity-- and perhaps some disclosure this year!
LINKS:
Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
Please note: The views and opinions expressed on The Skeptical Shaman do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, protected class, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. And remember: sticks and stones may break our bones, but words—or discussions of religious or spiritual topics-- will never hurt us.
The podcast currently has 58 episodes available.
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