The Skeptical Shaman

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!

• TOTEM Readings website (Rachel's practice): https://www.totemreadings.com
• TOTEM Tarot Deck (card used in episode): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578980126?ref=myi_title_dp
• TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
• Britt's IG: @goldenthreadalchemy
• Golden Thread Alchemy Website: www.goldenthreadalchemy.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) 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:

• 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

Cardsy B's Links: 

• Cardsy B's website: https://www.cardsyb.com
• Cardsy B's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cardsyb/

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:

• 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 Summer Sanders (of Sabai Studio). 

Summer shares her experience of owning and managing a brick and mortar healing center in Chicago's West Loop: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Things have changed for small business owners since the onset of Covid, and this is doubly (if not triply) true for those that deal in the Business of Woo. Summer details how this shift has forced her to shift as well, ultimately deciding to change her business model and move to Florida later this summer.

In this episode, Rachel and Summer pull back the proverbial kimono on what the last 4-5 years have been like for your friendly neighborhood healer, and how we can all best support the sincere, knowledgable practitioners to keep on keeping on. They also dive into how best to work with a healer, maximizing your ROI while simultaneously making your practitioner's day a little bit more manageable. 

The bottom line? Things have changed. A lot. And with that change, healers across  modalities (from Feng Shui to Reiki to Tarot and more) are experiencing exponential change fatigue. So, be kind, rewind, and support your local practitioner if you want to continue to benefit from their offerings!

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

Summer Sanders Links: 

• Website: https://sabaistudio.org
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/summersanders_official/

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 SPECIAL GUEST Emma Cook, the designer and artist behind the TOTEM Tarot Deck and the TOTEM Flower Essence Deck. 

Rachel and Emma dig into the very strange-- and some very challenging-- spiritual experiences that came along with the production, printing and publication of the new TOTEM Flower Essence Deck. On the one hand, there were incredible, overt signs of encouragement from the Fairie realm, who seemed super pumped on our nature-oriented creation. 

On the other hand, there was some real Amityville Horror-level shit, too. We're talking plagues of flies, absolutely shit luck, and lurking entities bringing banged up, oppressive energy. 

Does it sound totally nuts? Yes. But did it totally happen? Yes it did. 

Oh-- and Emma and Rachel do actually share a bit of insight into he process of making a tarot or oracle deck: how to build out vision boards, front-load your text content, and then dial in design and final art at the end. They also dig into the process of self-publishing, and why this is the preference for the kids around TOTEM.

This is a real peek behind the proverbial kimono. In a world dominated by influencers and coaches whose income depends on them asserting confidence and worshipping at the altar of toxic positivity, Rachel and Emma wanted to tell the real deal, behind-the-scenes story behind the new TOTEM Flower Essence Deck.

It didn't all come up roses, but there are certainly some roses involved!

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

Emma Cook links:

• Emma's Website: http://eecookdesign.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 SPECIAL "Emergency Transmission" episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White (of TOTEM Readings) chats with comedian and podcaster Robbie "The Fire" Bernstein. 

Robbie is the host of the Run Your Mouth Podcast and frequently co-hosts the Part of the Problem podcast with Dave Smith. He is also currently driving across the country to bring comedy and free speech to Americans right in their backyard. 

Like, literally. It's called the "Summer Porch Tour" and TOTEM is being graced with his presence-- and that of other, incredible comics-- this Thursday, July 11th (link to purchase tickets is below). 

In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, we dive into a lively discussion about free speech, creative expression, empowerment, personal agency, and even a little bit about shamanism. The executive summary? Psst-- the government, media, and other authority figures might not have your best interests at heart!

The solution? Empower yourself. Start doing something you love. Being iconoclastic and embrace what the new day holds for you. No one is coming to save you, but that means that YOU can be the hero in your own story. 

Joseph Campbell AND Ayn Rand would be proud!

LINKS:

Join us this Thursday, July 11th for the Summer Porch Tour by getting your tickets here:

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/robbiethefire-summer-porch-tour-austin-texas-tickets-890747809677
• Robbie's Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run-your-mouth/id1549622417

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 friend of the show Colleen Soisson (of Feather Mountain Ayurveda).

Rachel and Colleen dig into the big, ancient world of Ayurveda: the 6,000 year old Indian equivalent of Chinese Herbalism and Medicine that leverages herbs, food, massage, and oils to create balance and vitality in the energy and physical bodies. And guess what? It doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, much of what Colleen outlines is crazy simple. The catch? Just because something is simple, doesn't mean it's easy.

This is especially true in a world built on the myth of "convenience"-- a myth that Colleen dismantles with expert precision. The trick? You gotta be consistent and you gotta be patient. That's the hard part, and many of us are quick to release new, healthy habits or mindfulness practice within a matter of days before they ever get a chance to take root!

In a world of fads, quick fixes, cheat codes and snake oil salesmen, investing in our health in a consistent, balanced way can seem like a real buzzkill. But it's not. The buzzkill is already here in the form of exploding autoimmune disorders, a looming global health crisis, and the emergence of "dis-ease" throughout the otherwise "healthy" modern world. 

So, long story short: we have nothing to lose by changing our habits, slowing down, and sticking to a simple plan!

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

Colleen Soisson Links:

• Website: https://www.feathermtn.com
• IG: https://linktr.ee/ColleenAyurveda?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

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 the truth and fiction of spiritual conspiracy theories.

First up? The strange and very real case of Michael Aquino: a Colonel in the United States Army that literally wrote the handbook on 4th and 5th generational information warfare, titled: "Mindwar". An open Satanist, he founded the Temple of Set, the Church of Satan, and many assert he also founded the Process Church-- the official church of serial killers Son of Sam and Charles Manson. 

Despite being interviewed on national television many times by the likes of Oprah and Geraldo-- and showing off his ritual occult Nazi dagger in these televised appearances-- he continued to be promoted in the military, and was even knighted by the Queen of England, who also gave him land in Scotland.

That all seems weird, right? 

Michael Aquino is just one of MANY intelligence and military officials involved in the dark side of the occult, experiments on mind control, and much, much more, and his case study can provide a map for navigating the more treacherous waters of the Woo.

In this conspiracy theory-inspired episode, Rachel and Roger sift through what's fact and what's fiction...and trust us when we tell you: the truth really is stranger than fiction. Satanic Panic? Sure, there was some of that. But actual demon worship? Yah, there's was (and is) a bunch of that, too. So why are people super quick to dismiss objective reality as crazy conspiracy theory? 

Something about how the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

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

Topics discussed in this episode (with links and resources):

• Michael Aquino: https://youtu.be/qnM95xmLoMY?si=Ch2piIC90Bs7YXKy
• MK Ultra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra
• Chaos (Book About Charles Manson and MK Ultra): https://a.co/d/4Ug5Edv
• Poisoner in Chief (Book About MK Ultra and Bioweapons): https://a.co/d/2AbYeye
• Operation Paperclip (Book about MK Ultra and Nazi Scientists): https://a.co/d/33DjsJh
• The Process Church and Son(s) of Sam (Netflix Documentary): https://youtu.be/ICFZ1wS8Fuc?si=1sIC7H1ecXBMpkdv

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 Damla Aktekin of A Drop of Om all about the inner child-- and how to energetically heal wounds from our early years and experiences.

Damla is the host of the Conversations with Healers podcast, a forum in which she explores topics centered around the art (and the science) of energy healing-- particularly when this healing is focused on the inner child.

In this episode, Rachel and Damla chat about Shamanic Soul Part Recollections, what the "wounded" inner child looks like, and how to actually, for realsies do the critical healing work required-- not just write it off as "healed" after going to a finger-painting party or weekend retreat in Bali.

As we tackled in a previous episode, "Spirituality is NOT an aesthetic", and Inner Child work can be dark, grueling, and emotionally (and physically) draining. But it's also the key to unlocking a lot of our otherwise unrealized (and stifled) potential.

LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach

Damla's Links: https://programs.adropofom.com/learn-more

Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
TOTEM Flower Essences on Etsy: 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 the incredible mother/ daughter team of Norma and Nisha Burton, the creators of the Lucid Dreaming, Lucid Living Oracle Deck.

Norma and Nisha are legitimate, bonafide experts in the space of dreamtime, vision questing, shamanic journeying, and....drumroll please...LUCID DREAMING. 

In this episode, we dig into:
- How to lucid dream more
- How to leverage insights from lucid dreaming for better living
- What the meaning of lucid dreams really are
- Why lucid dreaming is so important for spiritual development

And, of course, we pull a very weird and very relevant TOTEM Tarot Card to sum it all up!

LINKS:
Rachel's Website: https://www.totemreadings.com
TOTEM Readings Substack: https://totemrach.substack.com
Rachel's Other Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach

The Lucid Living, Lucid Dreaming Deck on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0lVDajB
Lucid Living, Lucid Dreaming IG: https://www.instagram.com/lucid_dreaming_lucid_living/

Please support the Sponsors of The Skeptical Shaman Podcast:
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/TOTEM-Tarot-Deck-Rachel-White/dp/0578980126
TOTEM Flower Essences on Etsy: 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.