Wild & Waking

Oops! We snuck this episode in last minute so it's unedited but we embrace imperfection and real life around here. Enjoy!VeilFall was one of those weekends that leaves you with a camera roll full of beautiful photos and a head full of things you’re still trying to understand. In this solo episode, I’m recapping the retreat Kelsey Anderson and I hosted in the Montana mountains; the ceremonies, sound healing, Finnish sauna, witchy book fair, archetype photo shoot, closing feast, and the moment I apparently danced myself to sleep during ecstatic dance.One of the threads running through the weekend was how easily we overlook what comes naturally to us. We can assume everyone knows how to make people feel seen, imagine what’s possible, or sense what’s happening beneath the surface. Then we compare our own intuition and gifts to someone else’s and decide theirs are more real. I share how that showed up at VeilFall, and how I’ve been learning to recognize some of my own intuitive experiences for what they might be.This is a retreat recap and a pep talk about your own power: your magic doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s to count. Sometimes it’s already woven into the things you do without thinking twice. And when women gather with the intention to recognize those gifts—in themselves and each other—it can change how they move through the world long after the retreat ends.In this episode, I explore:A behind-the-scenes recap of VeilFall, a women’s retreat in Montana near Glacier National ParkWhat a spiritual retreat for women can include: ceremony, sound healing, cacao chanting, a Finnish sauna, and ecstatic danceWhy your natural strengths can be hard to recognize… and how comparing your gifts to someone else’s can make you discount themIntuition and psychic abilities in everyday life, including the experiences we might write off as imagination or “just knowing”Feminine archetypes like the healer, enchantress, huntress, and wisdom keeper—and using an archetype photo shoot to embody a future selfThe VeilFall witchy book fair, with books and tarot and oracle decks chosen around what participants wanted to exploreWomen’s circles, shared intention, and collective voice—and why women’s community can help us feel safer claiming our powerThe lasting impact of identity work, seen in how returning Coven members are showing up with more clarity and authorityBe sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode!Connect with Emily:Website: www.EmilyReuschel.comInstagram: @emilyreuschelFacebook: Emily ReuschelLinkedIn: Emily ReuschelJoin my Book Insiders List: Sign up here!Resources and Links:The CovenSign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey!Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to [email protected] or schedule a call hereWild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More

For many women raised within Christianity, Mary Magdalene exists somewhere in the background of the story: present at the tomb, vaguely associated with sexual sin, but rarely treated as a central figure in Jesus’s ministry. Then you encounter a different version of her… and suddenly, pieces of your own spiritual story begin falling into place.In this episode of Wild & Waking, I’m joined by Magdalene priestess and somatic practitioner Olivia Magdalena for a conversation about the woman hidden in plain sight and the full-body rage, recognition, and remembrance that can come with rediscovering her. Olivia shares how reading Mary Magdalene Revealed altered the course of her life and helped her understand something she had felt, but could not yet name.At the heart of our conversation is a tension many women carry: the institution no longer feels true, but our hunger for the divine hasn’t disappeared. We talk about deconstructing patriarchal religion without dismissing every spiritual experience we’ve ever had, finding our way back to the parts of Jesus and ritual that still feel meaningful, and learning to trust ourselves after being taught that spiritual authority belonged to someone else.This is a conversation about more than recovering Mary Magdalene’s story. It is about recognizing what her erasure reveals about our own, and what becomes possible when women return to their bodies, their inner knowing, and a spirituality that does not require them to disappear.In this episode, we explore:The historical misrepresentation of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute or repentant sinnerMary Magdalene’s role as the “apostle to the apostles” and her importance within Jesus’ ministryHow the Roman Empire, patriarchal power, and the formation of biblical canon shaped institutional ChristianityThe lost Gospel of Mary and its teachings on inner knowing, human divinity, and spiritual authorityThe Madonna-whore binary created through the stories of Mother Mary and Mary MagdaleneThe connections between purity culture, religious trauma, and women’s disconnection from their bodiesSomatic healing practices for rebuilding intuition and self-trust after religious deconstructionHow to begin discerning between intuition, anxiety, trauma responses, and inherited conditioningWhy reclaiming spirituality can bring women closer to the mystic Jesus rather than further awayThe relationship between spirituality, feminism, decolonization, activism, and political powerOlivia’s Mary Magdalene pilgrimages to Provence and the sacred caves of Southern FranceThe role of nature, ritual, and embodied experience in reconnecting with the divine feminineBe sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode!Connect with Olivia:Visit Olivia’s websiteExperience the free Magdalene ActivationListen to The Walk of the Magdalene podcastRead Olivia’s SubstackFollow Olivia on InstagramFollow Olivia on ThreadsConnect with Emily:Website: www.EmilyReuschel.comInstagram: @emilyreuschelFacebook: Emily ReuschelLinkedIn: Emily ReuschelJoin my Book Insiders List: Sign up here!Resources and Links:Sign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey!Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to [email protected] or schedule a call hereWild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More

I had the easiest, fastest, most magnetic launch of my life, and less than 48 hours later, I was flat on my back with mastitis, unable to lift my head off the pillow. Obviously, I had questions.In this solo episode of Wild & Waking, I’m taking you inside one of the most bonkers weeks I’ve had in a long time. I decided to relaunch The Coven, abandoned the sales page format that made my insides scream, created the whole thing in a PDF instead, and watched the first group fill almost immediately. Everything felt easy, aligned, and so freaking fun. Then, just as I was ready to ride that momentum into the rest of my work, my body abruptly took me out.What began with me Googling the spiritual meaning of a clogged milk duct turned into a much bigger conversation about upper limits, physical recalibration, and what can happen when your life begins expanding faster than your body can integrate it. Was this overgiving and burnout, or was I experiencing the physical aftermath of stepping into a much bigger version of my life and work? And what if getting knocked on your ass doesn’t always mean you’re moving in the wrong direction?This episode is part chaotic voice memo, part business celebration, and part spiritual investigation into the moments when everything is blooming and falling apart at the exact same time. We’re talking about honoring the pause without turning it into a failure story, holding joy and frustration together, and getting curious about whether the disruption in front of you might actually be part of the initiation.In this episode, I explore:What made The Coven launch feel so easy, magnetic, and alignedFollowing your energy instead of forcing a business strategy that creates resistanceThe upper limit problem and why expansion can trigger physical or emotional disruptionThe spiritual meaning of mastitis, clogged ducts, and blocked nurturing energyHow the body responds during identity evolution and major life transitionsSpiritual initiation, energetic recalibration, and the “sacred reset”Why getting knocked down doesn’t necessarily mean you’re on the wrong pathHonoring your body’s need for rest without turning the pause into a failure storyHolding success, joy, illness, frustration, and uncertainty at the same timeRecognizing the seasons of planting, blooming, expansion, and integrationTrusting yourself when outside explanations don’t fully resonateGetting curious about disruption instead of immediately retreating into old patternsBe sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode!Connect with Emily:Website: www.EmilyReuschel.comInstagram: @emilyreuschelFacebook: Emily ReuschelLinkedIn: Emily ReuschelJoin my Book Insiders List: Sign up here!Resources and Links:Join the Coven: Learn more and claim your place here.Sign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey!Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to [email protected] or schedule a call hereWild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More

In this episode of Wild & Waking, I’m joined by entrepreneur, author, and personal branding expert Colleen Nichols for a candid conversation about mixing business and politics, finding and using your voice online, and why choosing to remain “neutral” is anything but. Colleen has spent years helping entrepreneurs become more human on the internet, but as the political landscape has grown increasingly impossible to ignore, her work has expanded to include what happens when being authentic also means being willing to say what you believe.We talk about the very real fear that comes with speaking out: losing followers, upsetting customers, disappointing family, being misunderstood, or discovering that people you care about fundamentally disagree with you. Colleen doesn’t pretend those consequences aren’t possible. Instead, we explore what can exist on the other side: deeper trust, stronger alignment, a more connected community, and the relief of no longer performing a watered-down version of yourself to keep everyone comfortable.In this episode, we explore:Why staying neutral in business, politics, and social justice is never truly neutralHow to speak about politics online without turning your entire platform into a political accountFinding your voice as an entrepreneur, business owner, leader, and human who cares about the worldThe fear of losing followers, customers, friends, or family when you share your beliefsWhy values-led marketing can create greater trust, connection, and alignment with your audienceHow changing your mind publicly is a sign of growth—not hypocrisy or failureNavigating criticism, online backlash, vulnerability hangovers, and the discomfort of being misunderstoodSmall, practical ways to speak up online, in your business, and during everyday conversationsWhy what you are doing right now reflects what you would have done during other defining moments in historyBe sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode!Connect with Colleen:Visit Colleen’s websiteFollow Colleen on InstagramFollow Colleen on ThreadsFollow No Shame Sales Game on InstagramRead Don’t Make It Weird: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Being Human on the InternetConnect with Emily:Website: www.EmilyReuschel.comInstagram: @emilyreuschelFacebook: Emily ReuschelLinkedIn: Emily ReuschelJoin my Book Insiders List: Sign up here!Resources and Links:Sign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey!Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to [email protected] or schedule a call hereWild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More

We are living through a time of profound unraveling. The pace and weight of what is happening around us can leave our attention scattered, our nervous systems overwhelmed, and our energy stretched across far more places than we ever consciously chose. We want to remain awake to the wounds of the world and contribute to meaningful change, but we cannot continue showing up if we are constantly depleted, dysregulated, and disconnected from ourselves.In this episode of Wild & Waking, I’m joined by author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial-equity educator, intuitive healer, and clinical social worker Michelle Cassandra Johnson to discuss her newest (and, as she calls it, witchiest) book, You Are Protected: Invoking Spiritual Support to Sustain Your Energy. Michelle shares how spiritual protection can help us draw our energy back, return to our center, and discern what is ours to carry in a moment when everything feels urgent. This is not protection rooted in fear, defensiveness, or disconnection. It is about strengthening our spiritual resources so we can remain openhearted, fully alive, and engaged for the long haul.Together, we explore ancestral healing and how to call upon healthy, well, and benevolent ancestors, especially when our blood lineages feel complicated or painful. Michelle offers that the more-than-human world as another place to begin, reminding us that the elements, ancient trees, bodies of water, and the earth itself are living ancestors available for relationship and support. We also talk about spiritual hygiene, energetic boundaries, micro-adjustments that interrupt our habitual overgiving, and the deceptively simple question that can return us to our power: What is mine right now, and what is not?In this episode, we explore:Spiritual protection and daily energetic hygieneHow to recognize energy leaks and prevent burnoutCreating boundaries while navigating caregiving and unavoidable responsibilitiesAncestral healing and connecting with benevolent ancestorsWorking with nature and elemental energies as spiritual supportStaying engaged in activism without becoming depleted or dysregulatedDiscerning “what is mine right now—and what is not”Reclaiming witchcraft, magic, ritual, and spellwork as healing practicesCalling on archetypes, animal allies, deities, herbs, crystals, and other protective resourcesRemaining grounded as you outgrow old identities and encounter other people’s projectionsProtecting your energy so you can remain fully alive and continue showing up for collective changeBe sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode!Connect with Michelle Cassandra JohnsonVisit Michelle’s websiteFollow Michelle on InstagramListen to the Finding Refuge podcastExplore Michelle’s booksConnect with Emily:Website: www.EmilyReuschel.comInstagram: @emilyreuschelFacebook: Emily ReuschelLinkedIn: Emily ReuschelJoin my Book Insiders List: Sign up here!Resources and Links:Sign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey!Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to [email protected] or schedule a call hereWild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More