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It’s hard to believe we’ve been walking the Hedge Mystic path together for two years already!
I’m offering a special 20% discount for your first year as a paid subscriber to celebrate.
When I began Hedge Mystic on November 9th, 2022, I was importing to Substack an email publication that had lost its purpose, focus, and direction.
I had primarily been using my email newsletter to communicate with subscribers about upcoming courses and offerings and, in the in-between weeks and months, short reflections or academic-style essays about the seasons and their associated myths. The content was the same at its core, but the emphasis was completely different.
I was following all of the business and marketing advice I was steeped in. There were always formulas to follow, ways to introduce yourself, how to generate “buzz,” touch on people’s “pain points,” position yourself as an “expert,” create the “know, like and trust” factor, create “urgency” around an offering, and of course get “conversions,” that get people to “do something,” click a link, buy a course, sign up for a program or package.
Yuck.
I am, without a doubt, the world’s worst salesperson. I simply cannot tolerate any form of manipulation or pressure, subtle or overt. My calling is to provide service, support, and guidance to those who choose to work with me. People find me when they need me, and that’s simply the way it works.
I came to Substack and embraced the identity of The Hedge Mystic, which began with 494 subscribers. As of this writing, Hedge Mystic has grown to 4,426 subscribers in our community. A few of those are paid subscribers, for whom I am very grateful. That small inner circle affirms the value of what I offer, and they will have additional benefits going forward as that part of Hedge Mystic grows.
I have always desired that Hedge Mystic grow organically, at its own pace, and in its own unique way, and so it has.
How I Became the Hedge Mystic
In the previous version of my newsletter, I hid behind two things: the courses and programs I offered and the well-researched and fact-based essays about myth, archetypes, seasonal celebrations, and the like.
I rarely wrote about my genuine experiences in nature, with the spiritual realms, and with inner (which you might call mystical) encounters. Becoming the Hedge Mystic changed everything.
Somehow, the power of a new name brought clarity, direction, and purpose to my identity and writing. It also inspired the courage to be seen in ways I hadn’t been seen before.
Reintroducing my newsletter allowed me to reevaluate who I was and how I wanted to do my work in the world.
Many talented, knowledgeable, and credentialed people write and speak about mythology, archetypes, esoteric, Hermetic, and Jungian topics. I love them because I learn so much from them. I weave some of that knowledge into my work and pass it on to you. But the core of my work, which has made Hedge Mystic so unique, is when I share my first-hand experiences of spiritual, archetypal, esoteric, and unusual happenings and what I have learned from them.
The most satisfying aspect of this venture has been knowing that sharing my experiences and point of view has affirmed, encouraged, inspired, and helped others in their own spiritual and inner work. That is why each edition of Hedge Mystic is always created and dedicated to you!
We may not always hold the same beliefs or perspectives. However, I am committed to offering you a sacred place, a guiding light, and heartfelt companionship as we share the extraordinary things we experience that others may not understand.
The greatest threat to Western civilization is eradicating the enchanted, wild, mystical, and spiritual forces always around us. We ignore them at our peril. When we do, we become soulless beings, grinding along day after day in a mechanical universe devoid of meaning, purpose, and hope. Hedge Mystic is my way of lighting a candle in the darkness to reignite your longing for the quest for spiritual realities that draw you upward to your true nature.
Hedge Mystic is growing because of you. Knowing that you are reading and so many of you are commenting, sharing your insights and experiences in the comments, and following along on Notes (the Instagram-esque social media section of Substack) is encouraging and beautiful.
How can we connect more meaningfully and beneficially as a community, in small groups, or 1:1 with me? If you have ideas, share them in the comments. Substack has a chat feature and a podcast section; now, it offers live videos. What would you enjoy?
If you’ve never read it, my essay What is the “Hedge” in Hedge Mystic? is a great read and will acquaint you with some of the lore, legends, and language that inspired me to use Hedge Mystic as my identity and publication name.
If you’re new to Hedge Mystic, welcome. Here are some things that you can explore and enjoy as a subscriber:
On the Hedge Mystic website home page, discover the most popular posts and the top three categories of essays
The Topics Library - search by what interests you
Discover Red Book Tarot
Hedge Mystic was begun on the very cusp of winter, and in many ways, it serves as a gateway into the dark, where the mysteries are kept. To help you prepare for this season, I’ve included a little calendar page with important dates. (click the image to download.)
The Delights of the Season
The Hedge Mystic School of the Season’s mission is to help you become a seasonal soul and find the flow of energy that carries all things forward and back around again on the spiral path of life.
Your Sahmain gift awaits in the Hedge Mystic School of the Seasons, a series of rich, creative, self-guided explorations and experiences.
Your Samhain Exploration & Experience includes a history of Samhain and Halloween, shrine building, working with ancestors for wisdom and healing, inner child work, a visual meditation video, and more. Click the button below to go to your Samhain materials.
Enjoy this season and delve into all it has to offer. The darkness is often the best place to find illumination.
Don’t forget that a Tarot reading is an excellent way to bridge the gap between what we see and what is going on but obscured from our sight. Contact me for a special comprehensive reading using the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the Halloween Oracle by Stacey DeMarco, and The Mysterious Spirit of Nature Oracle by Moksha Kusa Marquardt, along with my own Moon Wheel created to help you understand your current situation through the correspondence of moon cycles, natural plant life, and Greco-Roman deities. This comprehensive intuitive + psychological reading works perfectly for a complex question and a general reading of energy for the upcoming season of Samhain. Paid Hedge Mystic subscribers receive a 20% discount on all Tarot readings. Contact me to schedule your reading.
The comments section is a safe and welcoming space to share your insights and experiences.
Comments and conversation are always appreciated and enjoyed, so feel free to let your voice be heard. I read them all and try to respond to each one.
Thank you for reading Hedge Mystic and participating in this vibrant and growing community of creative, spiritual humans. You are always welcome here, appreciated, and loved.
I love your writings. I look forward to each one. And I hope to become a paying member soon. Have you heard of Beltaine Cottage, Colette O’Neil in Ireland. You two have so much in common.
Congratulations Jan! It seems a lifetime ago since I met you through your online course of Nature Journaling, which continues to have impact in my life and approach to making nature based art. Through the years and working, etc, the enchantment of the natural world fell away slightly, a shift I've noted and not liked. Your publication of the Hedge Mystic has helped to bring that crucial aspect of how I choose to experience nature in all her forms back into my life. Thank you so much, I am deeply grateful. Blessings on this next turn of the wheel.