A Welcome and A (Long) Backstory

Hello, hello fair internet user! 

I have long since wanted to start a blog and revisit the art of writing, especially with the whirlwind that life has thrown at me. I feel that I have come so far and learned so much about myself, my spirituality, and the universe that I have so much to offer and even if only one person comes across my words, I'll feel I have done my diligence in writing what I have to share! 

The best way to start this blog would likely be with an introduction and a rundown of what you can anticipate as a reader. So, buckle up, Buttercup! 

Hi, hello! My name is Danielle or Dani. Not that the name ever felt like it stuck to me, more like an annoying piece of tape that you just can't get off. I dreamed of having a different name as a child but at that time, conformity would have won and I probably would have been Jennifer, Sarah, or Amanda. Danielle never felt quite right but I couldn't necessarily connect with any other name. As a teenager and to some close adult friends, the nickname Dani has made me feel the most at home.  I am thirty-seven years old, a millennial if you will. I am a mama to a hilariously sweet and empathetic kiddo first and foremost.  I have a lovely partner of four and a half years that gives me the space to continue to grow and learn, and to lean into the person I want to be each and every day. In addition, we have a black lab named Elwood, whom is 100% my soul dog, a cat named Loomis, and a cornsnake named Pumpkin. We reside in the hills of the Green/Berkshire Mountains on the VT/MA line. 

Now... how did I start my journey into tarot and energetic healing you may ask? It's a long story! 

My first introduction into energy healing was in 2006 with my aunt. She was a registered nurse at the VA that had picked up Reiki at some point and if I'm honest, I wish I knew the full story. She was a Reiki Master and spoke on it to whomever would listen. At the age of 19, I didn't really listen but would receive Reiki when she offered. I recall a family trip to Colorado Springs where I mentioned I had a headache. My Auntie Jo-Anne dutifully started her work, calling in Reiki's healing light and putting it into my body via my crown chakra. At the time, I could feel the headache start to fade away. Why wouldn't I be amazed and just stop everything in my life to start learning Reiki right then and there?! Because 19 year old Danielle was so self-involved and constantly living in fight or flight mode. She just wanted to do whatever made her happy and that was hanging out with her boyfriend, her friends, eating, sleeping, camping, and going to music shows.

Fast forward a couple of years, around 2009, and a summer trip to our family cabins in Maine landed with some alone time with my Auntie Jo-Anne. She coaxed me into her cabin to do a Reiki attunement on me as well as give me Reiki I paperwork as well as her Reiki book by William Lee Rand. I began reading the book and doing the Reiki I exercises from the sheet of papers she had given me. It all felt very natural, but didn't really call to me at that time. I was working 50-60 hours a week with my (at the time) soon-to-be-husband and his family at a high stress business. I lost myself and lost the opportunity to really step into that energetic healing role at the age of 22. I think my auntie knew this of me and was very gentle with following up with me. Fast forward again and even though we would see each other once as year at best, my Auntie and I would occasionally talk Reiki. More or less, she was checking to see if I was practicing. She would occasionally give us rocks she had found along bodies of water that she had given Reiki to, almost a secret between her and the rock to give us Reiki when she could not. 

Regret can hurt a lot and one of the things I will regret most in this life is not pursuing an active relationship with my auntie. It was very passive, and I would communicate when communicated to or when I thought of it. In 2017, we lost my Auntie Jo-Anne after multiple battles with cancer. This happened within the month of me moving away from the "forever" home my soon-to-be-ex-husband and I had purchased months before we were married as well as starting a new job. I had a lotttta life changes as once. Again, this regret really still haunts me to this day, but also has allowed me to step into myself in a greater capacity than I could have even imagined at the time! 

As a side note, her celebration of life was something more beautiful than I was used to. It was intimate and warm while actively celebrating the life of someone we all loved so dearly and wished we could have more time with. It was not a cold, hands off funeral where we all wore black and spoke in monotone voices, trying to not show any other emotion that mourning. There was music, there was fire, there was love. A Shamanic practitioner, one of her close friends, Mary-Anne, was the person in charge. I was asked to smoke cleanse with a feather and burning sage in a shell. I walked around the circle that we all sat in and smoke cleansed everyone. I didn't understand the weight of this at the time and really, just thinking of that memory makes me realize how important it really was. Her granddaughter, my 2nd cousin, passed around her collection of Reiki rocks and let us each take one. We released a Chinese lantern, and I really believe that Jo-Anne was all around us that day into night. 

2017 started my spiritual awakening. It was the catalyst for me understanding who I am and understanding why I am here on Earth at this time. I began to dabble in Tarot, purchasing my first and still my favorite deck to this day - The Wild Unknown by Kim Kranz. Something about the energy of that deck and the drawings still allow me to do my best readings with it. I also started to tune into all the energy around me, from loved ones to spirit guides to general spirits. It also would be pertinent to mention I have always been very sensitive to energies around me since I was a very small girl. I recall never really feeling alone, like someone was there, watching me. I also had experiences as a young adult, knowing/feeling the energy of spirits and getting confirmation from other people. In addition, I have had multiple experiences of feeling deaths - two that stand out are a car crash and a gunshot. I could feel everything the person felt, from my head hitting on the side of the window and the heat from bleeding out in the car crash to the panic of the gunshot wound (which happened during a busy dinner rush at work!). I had also heard my name called at that same work location multiple times and felt spirits there as well. 

From then on, I began to dabble in tarot and magic. Writing manifestations, lighting a candle with herbs and intention, filling jars with the same. I began to become even more in sync with nature around me, obsessed with the moon in particular (though I kind of always was!), and really stepping into a relationship with the elements all around: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. It has been eight years of learning and even some un-learning. In the beginning, I would pick up EVERYTHING said or read. It would be an endless knowledge of this, that, and the other thing. I started to realize that I was forcing some beliefs upon myself that I didn't necessarily feel aligned with and by 2020, I had really started to come into my own as to what is I believed and what felt right for me, personally. The pandemic hit, WitchTok hit and I feel like things got a littttle hectic there for a while! Chaos witchcraft is a real thing, and I think there was a point where the energy felt a bit weird! Glad we've grown out of that. :) 

Back in the fall of 2022, I went for a walk with my partner and a couple of friends. My friend Melanie, who has known me since about 2008 or so, told me how her and her friend Mo were opening an energetic healing business. I was ecstatic for them! Not only did I now have someone to talk to about tarot and my witchy side, but I also could dust off my Reiki skills and start practicing more as we were going to start meeting for Reiki shares. By early 2023, I was working on my Reiki practice again, feeling more connected than ever as I had my Auntie Jo-Anne on the other side helping me along the way. On April 1, 2023, Melanie and Mo's business, Eudaimonia, held an intuition class with Reverend Lyndsay Porreca. When I tell you that the class changed my life, I truly mean it. I cannot say enough good things about Lyndsay. I wasn't sure what to expect from the class... "Through meditation, exercises, and demos you will get an introduction to spiritual development." Cool! Another way to be able to talk to my spirit guides and higher self rather than relying on tarot cards and the occasional pendulum use! 

When Lyndsay started her introduction, I was super nervous. Have I ever TRULY listened and trusted my intuition? Now was the time to figure out what the difference between feelings, thoughts, emotions and true intuitive knowing. We did a few different exercises, and we were off to the races. After a quick nod from my Auntie Jo-Anne during Lyndsay's gallery style read (I literally thought JUST before Lyndsay started "I'm first and Auntie Jo-Anne is here" and low and behold), we practiced reading on each other more and more. I wasn't confident at first and sometimes nothing would come to me but as I began to slowly understand where the feeling of my true intuition as coming from, along with the signals my body would give for confirmation, I began to slowly trust myself. By the end of the class, I knew I had to see Lyndsay again and gained the courage to ask her after if she did any mentorship. She accepted my proposal, and I began working with her, once a month. She would send exercises and have me read for people who were close to her, often times, throwing me to the wolves! It was over a year and some months of learning and confidence building that I don't think I could ever express to Lyndsay how grateful I am for her mentorship and friendship. She's an amazing human and if you ever want an authentic mediumship read, reach out to her at thespiritfactoryllc.com. You will not be disappointed! 

In addition to Lyndsay, my new friends from our Intuition Class began to meet on the regular to practice our skills. For over a year and a half, we've met consistently, working on our growth and intuitively reading for each other. And now, early 2025. I am stepping out as my true authentic self, putting myself out there on the internet. I am so thankful to be able to share my gifts with others and answer their questions or help them with guidance on their life's journey. If you made it this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read my backstory! I look forward to hearing from you! 

Until next time! 

xoxo,

Dani