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Is it time to welcome lost parts of you home?

Is it time to welcome lost parts of you home?

"The Secret Witch didn't come here for a mundane life...

~ Nicole Barton

It might sound a strange thing to say but my wedding, in my previous marriage, was a huge trauma for my sensitive soul - one that actually, at the time, had my soul bounce out of my body, because I didn't know how to regulate my nervous system back then and tend my little girl. One that had me deny my sensitivity and magic, and power, in order to stay safe, in control and approved of.

I remember being told by my in-laws-to-be that they "didn't like me, but they'd try", as my then partner apologised to his father for me asking for everyone to get along. My "witchiness" wasn't really welcome, my magic and my voice described as "weird" and my power having to be given up in order to fit into a family where men made all the choices (I later saw how I'd created this, that's one for another day).

Some women would have batted this off, but I was sensitive. My heart breaks, when I think back, for the younger version of me who simply hugged them and thanked them for "trying" to like me, and strived to do more to be loved and worthy and fit in, whilst she felt like she was out of her body, watching over as it all happened - literally having an "out of body" experience.

Have you read our feature on Kindred Spirit? “Reclaiming Wild Wisdom with the She-Wolf Archetype”

Have you read our feature on Kindred Spirit? “Reclaiming Wild Wisdom with the She-Wolf Archetype”

"A healthy woman is much like a wolf: robust, chock-full, strong life force, life-giving, territorially aware, inventive, loyal, roving

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés

We are so delighted to share a feature we curated for Kindred Spirit Magazine all around our Archetypal Apothecary Remedy She-Wolf 🐺✨

We all know Clarissa Pinkola Estes' work with the Archetype of the wolf is hugely impactful, and working with She-Wolf (or more specifically with Archetypal Remedies, 'Lac Lupinum' - She-Wolf's milk) helps us to reclaim our inner wild woman wisdom.

This is magically timed as, in our recent group journey with Archetypal Rosa, the reclamation of our wildness made itself known as both a desire and medicine needed in the world - and I had no idea this would be the case when I wrote this article.

Can I really TRUST magic?

Can I really TRUST magic?

"But more importantly, there's a practical way we can learn to tend ourselves in the fears that *will* inevitably arise along the journey deeper - and that is the work of learning to have self-compassion, love the parts of our little girls that are trying to keep us safe.”

~ Nicole Barton

How to tend the fear of healing yourself and choosing a more meaningful, soul-led life of *more* purpose...

One thing I hear the most from women who are feeling the call to healing themselves magically and creating their lives differently - perhaps opening to their deeper sense of purpose and meaning, or some secret hidden healing gifts they sense they have (but feel terrified of) - is that of "can I really TRUST magic?"

There's often a preference for ‘logic’ in these women - and an (understandable) resistance to trusting the unknown. 

The Art of True Healing

The Art of True Healing

"Healing isn't something to 'go to someone else for' and expect a "quick fix"; it's about learning how to *integrate* what comes up in our healings for ourselves.”

~ Nicole Barton

I was having a rich conversation with one of my previous guides, and now dear friend, Lian yesterday in which we were talking about what had unfolded since I had a shamanic healing with her a few months ago.

I've been in the deep work, since then, of reclaiming a lost part of my soul from young adulthood - and I have found myself being nudged back to old devotions from that time, including movement, yoga, music and horse-riding (see her post about devotion in the comments).

And what stood out in our conversation for me was something I've been saying for a while about how healing isn't something to 'go to someone else for' and expect a "quick fix"; it's about learning how to *integrate* what comes up in our healings for ourselves.

I was struck this morning at the reminder of the level of courage that's truly required to walk the path of magical healing

I was struck this morning at the reminder of the level of courage that's truly required to walk the path of magical healing

"This work with Archetypal Remedies is the work of two of the most powerful ancient wisdom bodies I know of, working in union. It is a potent unity of the work of Homeopathy combined with Jungian Archetypal depth psychology. Two of the most powerful ancient wisdom bodies helping you to unite with your soul and *become* a medicine woman - firstly for yourself, and then for others.”

~ Nicole Barton

I was struck this morning at the reminder of the level of courage that's truly required to walk the path of magical healing - for both personal healing and the path of becoming a healer (which are really one and the same).

Often, women arrive at the path of magic after an initiation of health of some kind - whether physical, mental or emotional - where they've struggled to create any long-lasting change within the mainstream medical system.

And I know in my bones that 'The Way' for these sensitive ones is always to be found in magical healing.

Is your own worthiness getting in the way of you becoming a healer, teacher or guide?

Is your own worthiness getting in the way of you becoming a healer, teacher or guide?

"If your soul is calling you to this path, listen to it. Follow your heart - your soul knows. You can create your soul desires.  And you are worthy of creating your soul desires. You're worthy of this support."

~ Olivia Roff

Is your own worthiness getting in the way of you becoming a healer, teacher or guide?

One of the most common objections I hear from my women is their deep sense of unworthiness to soften and live from soul, and step into something more meaningful and magical.  They often feel they are here only to live life for others, rather than to create their dreams.  I know this one well, because I have struggled with feeling worthy in my own journey, and I know how hard this particular fear can feel to choose past.

“But I can’t” = a call to your magical power as a healer, teacher or guide…

“But I can’t” = a call to your magical power as a healer, teacher or guide…

" I am here to help you create a life that is in total soul alignment with the healer, teacher or guide you were born to be - and ironically, I see that creating abundance happens as a direct consequence the deeper we step into alignment, but it’s a byproduct and bonus of the deeper richness of truly living your purpose."

~ Nicole Barton

"But I can't" = a call to your magical power...  

Musings on the common money fear magical women who are here to be healers, teachers and guides often feel…

I hear so many women say "I feel so called to this... But I can't". And oh my heart do I understand that feeling more than you could believe.

I've felt the lack of possibility, the hopelessness, the trappedness in my life. I've felt the lack of belief in my own power. I've felt the mistrust in life and the need to micromanage and stay as I am. I've felt the tension, the tightness of the contraction.

And sometimes I still do.

Going into the sensitive wisdom of the body…

Going into the sensitive wisdom of the body…

"I had no trust, back when I had a paralysed face, that I could heal myself (even though I had done it before, a million times over, and healed others) - and yet, taking the deepest plunge yet into trusting my body wisdom, even when it was terrifying had me not only heal my supposedly ‘incurable’ face, but it was also the initiation that had me discover my deepest purpose…  These portals often are."

~ Nicole Barton

Unfurling into our body wisdom...  🌹💃

Today, I remembered back to a time three years ago when, despite  having a great deal of wisdom about listening to my body (it’s been a lifetime’s initiation for me), I was still unconsciously choosing to ignore it - and it left me with an entirely paralysed face on the right side.

It was mid-pandemic and I was about to give birth and I’d been pushing and forcing my way through life, despite knowing that there was a deeper intelligence to life - a universal wisdom in my body - that was growing my baby.  

I was still ignoring the wise nudges of my body saying “slow down, please”.  And because of that, my body manifested numbness (quite literally).

I am woman- I am *all* faces of the Feminine

I am woman- I am *all* faces of the Feminine

“I realised I had some resistance to showing up as the tender, soft pinkness of the Rose, because when I started this journey into my power, I rejected parts of myself that I called "Pastel Swan" - for the parts of me that were wilder. And this week, I realised - I am the union of them all. And even Rosa herself is the alchemy of her seeming opposites of thorns and softness, into a third way. “

- Nicole Barton

I've been feeling a lot recently into how soft and gentle Rosa's energy feels - and how different she feels to some of the other "faces of the Feminine" Archetypal Remedies we serve. Shes vastly contrasting to Naja's fierce truthfulness, and she will feel different again to Luna's magic and Aurum's power and She-Wolf's wildness.

You see, each of the Archetypal Remedies we serve in this path have their own unique medicine.

Their own personalities. 🎭

⚡ And each of these Archetypes is within us already - awaiting our activation and invocation.

Manifesting our heart's desires, magically- by working with Archetypal Rosa's soft, opening healing

Manifesting our heart's desires, magically- by working with Archetypal Rosa's soft, opening healing

"I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and that you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and laughter till they bloom. Till you, yourself, burst into bloom."

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Yesterday the scared 'Secret Witch' in me (who doesn't know her own power and magic) had been feeling some contraction, some fear, some uncertainty. She was full of self-doubt and sadness, grief and loss because there's a lot to hold at the moment. I know we all feel that, collectively.

And a few years back I'd have just either spun deeper and deeper down, or bypassed how I was feeling entirely.

I found myself reflecting, later, on what was different about how I hold that now, and I started to honour the powerful part of myself.

Firstly, instead, I cancelled anything I'd planned for the afternoon to simply sit in the garden listening to the birds, journaling, journeying with my inner child. Letting my tears fall, feeling, healing and alchemising by being with what was there.

Being with my little girl.

Why I chose to look more closely at being "too busy"

Why I chose to look more closely at being "too busy"

  It takes deep love to heal that belief and cultivate the knowing for ourselves that we *are* worthy of more. It's taken me deep psychological + magical work that no amount of floral baths would have fixed in isolation.”

~ Nicole Barton

For many modern women the idea of self-care is a fantasy. Back in the day where I was living a mundane life, I'd have said I didn't have time for it. I'd have said I was "too busy" as I ran around doing what the world expected, working my bum into the ground in a professional career that exhausted me, bending to other people's desires, saying "I don't mind".

So the fact that today, I 'indulge' in rose petal + herbal paths whilst supping hot cacao and open my heart to my desires being provided + allowed is a far cry from who I used to be (I write in inverted commas as I no longer see these things as 'indulgent' but necessary).

There can be a misconception about my work - you see, I'm not simply guiding women into more self-care and bubble baths (though of course that's always part of the invitation).

The path that will help you move from dull, grey lives to a life of healing and meaning…

The path that will help you move from dull, grey lives to a life of healing and meaning…

Archetypal Apothecary offers sacred technologies that stands on ancient legs to help you heal and become who you were born here to be.”

~ Nicole Barton

Unlike many other coaching and spiritual modalities out there, our work in the Archetypal Apothecary path is grounded in ancient sacred magical art + science - with the intention to help you heal the fears that arise in that messy part of the transition from mundane lives into opening to healing and deeper meaning.

The main foundations of our path being Homeopathy, so we thought we’d share more about how our path was formed.

3 Places to Self-Heal to Move from Mundane to Magical Lives

3 Places to Self-Heal to Move from Mundane to Magical Lives

These three things have been invaluable to my journey of creating a juicy, fulfilling, meaningful life.  That’s why they are the ancient legs - and compass - of my modality.”

~ Nicole Barton

If there were a compass that helped us navigate the journey in our Archetypal Apothecary Mystery School ‘boat’ from mundane to creating meaningful lives, it would have three directions.

The idea is that if you reclaim your healing of the following three directions on the compass, then you’ll eventually end up opening to deep healing of yourself - deeper love, health + groundedness.

Those three directions are shown beautifully here by our Venn diagram.

I remember the day it all came crashing down…

I remember the day it all came crashing down…

I believe that was my first 'adult' initiation into what I now know to be "soul".”

~ Nicole Barton

I remember the day it all came crashing down. I sobbed in the toilet at work - I'd had a drama over stock not coming in on time for the brand I managed, sales teams chasing me, customers angry, and I was drowning in spreadsheets up to my ears (which I *hated*), trying to sort it out. My head felt like it exploded, everything was fuzzy and I couldn't breathe.

At home life wasn't much less grey - I'd suffered with an infection after a minor op, my beloved granny had died, and I had just bought a house that needed so much renovation that myself and my then partner couldn't live in it, so we were up to our eyeballs in dust.

On top of that, just prior, I'd worked full time, whilst studying for my MBA *and* having a part time job.

You could say I was the kind of girl who had an "I can do anything" attitude; the kind that said "I can do anything, so let's just do it all - just pile it on my plate and I'll get to it." Which very often led to emotional meltdown as I realised that I had no boundaries and wasn't as robotic as I'd assumed.

I was the kind of girl who worked until 3am answering every email with perfectionist detail, double checking I'd signed my name correctly, or not misspelled someone's name on the email, in case they got upset.

What price are you paying by not choosing soul expression?

What price are you paying by not choosing soul expression?

  This choice to sacrifice your soul - in order to gain security, control or approval - is often deeply unconscious as the sacrifice you are making by not choosing yourself.  

~ Nicole Barton

One of the common fears that has magical women dance around beginning to walk the path of soul and magic (which I love, by the way - imagine, in your head that I’m dancing with you) is that the cost of living in soul alignment can seem expensive.  

This fear can be of the time investment, financial investment, or the deeper costs of the energetic commitment to showing up to do the deep work - or it can be in the other ways it appears to cost us to step fully into our vision.

Examples of these costs could be us having to give up the way of being that we know feels safe - in the case of our Naja crucible, we have have to be willing to step into the mystery, the unknown, and be willing to give up the shield of armour that we wear to protect ourselves from deeper intimacy - to show up vulnerably. 

Like Cures Like = The Witch Cures The Witch Wound

Like Cures Like = The Witch Cures The Witch Wound

 “ Because it is our STORY that connects with others and creates an ENERGETIC RESONANCE that provides HEALING (or expansion).”

~ Nicole Barton

The core principle of our work here at Archetypal Apothecary Mystery School is that ‘like cures like’ - and this basis is grounded in the Universal law and magical principle of “similia similbus”.

It essentially means that to have IMPACT in this world as leaders, we have to show up in the fullest EXPRESSION of our souls and shine our light so that it reaches others.

Because it is our STORY that connects with others and creates an ENERGETIC RESONANCE that provides HEALING (or expansion).

This is why reclaiming our unique and true soul expression is a requirement for us to share our gifts in the world.

Are you going to let fear of rejection stop you from creating a magical business?

Are you going to let fear of rejection stop you from creating a magical business?

Sharing, vulnerably, the deepest truth of who we are, courageously - is the most terrifying thing there is - And yet it’s also the most impactful thing we can do, if we are here to be healers and make a difference in the world. 

~ Nicole Barton

I was labelled “mute” when I was in my childhood trauma.  That label stayed with me for most of my life - I remember crying every day I went home from school and had been asked to speak in class, I hid from other children and kept myself to myself - armoured up, just in case I’d be rejected again (because my Dad left, when I was 4 and I was doing everything I could to not have that pain again).

And so, when I came to creating a magical business, it was a real journey of liberating my voice.

I remember firstly starting with writing - that felt safe, and I had a lot to say, so I started sharing on a blog.  And then came the social media criticism - 

The Universe isn’t going to choose alignment FOR you, my love.

 The Universe isn’t going to choose alignment FOR you, my love.

 In our business, if we wait to take action until we have clarity, then we will never have clarity - because it’s in the action and expression that truth is revealed.

~ Nicole Barton

Oof, that’s a bit of a potent and triggering one, if we feel into it honestly, isn’t it?  I meant it’s probably one that will mess with your spiritual paradigm for sure, so I’m here to love you in that.

And, I mean, on one hand, there is a truth that the Universe and spirit often does actually choose for us - because we’ve not taken the aligned action to choose for ourselves…

But is that REALLY how we want to be living?  Floating around, ‘seeing what happens’ and ‘waiting to see what clarity we get’ but not hearing any ‘inner guidance’?

Lost, confused in our transitions, without an inner sense of guidance?

Do you Struggle to Trust your Guides?

Do you Struggle to Trust your Guides?

 “ What’s more vulnerable to admit is I look back and see how I blamed them for that, instead of taking the beautiful lessons that came out of it and owning my power.  I had one really big initiation with this, in which I outsourced my power to a guide, and paid tonnes thinking that they would ‘fix’ my problems.  And the biggest takeaway I got from that was that I was giving my power away to someone else.”

~ Nicole Barton

Oh have I journeyed with mistrusting my Guides over the years?  And this is a really common fear that comes up when magical women are thinking about joining our Mystery School to discover their purpose + create a business from them.

I have had many a Teacher, Spiritual Guide, Mentor, Coach + Soul Guide over the years, ranging in investment from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands - and in truth, when working with many of them, I’ve hit up against not creating what I wanted to create.

It feels vulnerable to share that - and against the grain when I’m here to guide women myself, but in my journey with guides from the self-help and personal development world I took away very little of what I’d hoped to gain.

Your Feminine Expression Liberation Survival Guide

Your Feminine Expression Liberation Survival Guide

 “ One of the challenges that magical women hit up against in creating their soul business is intimacy in their RELATIONSHIPS - where they fear their full expression not being welcome, and shut down. If this is a struggle, it’s really a sign we need to heal our Witch Wound.”

~ Nicole Barton

Here’s our survival guide…

Open your heart + lean in to your triggers- know that intimacy triggers are part of the process of your Divine Feminine liberation + welcome them with open arms to reveal more about how you can step into leadership from soul purpose.  Triggers are happening FOR us, not TO us.

Go gently on yourself - remember the key to liberation is LOVE - whatever comes up for you as a block as you learn to express yourself is wanting you to learn how to hold your expansion by being more loving to yourself - and lean how to be your full self in relationship.