Tarot Spotlight is a blog feature which allows us to meet and mingle with the Hierophants and High Priestesses of the Tarot community. It's also a feature which allows me to pick some of my favourite brains in the Tarot game, so needless to say it was only a matter of time before I asked Vix to be a part of the project. I have been fascinated by her journey from the beginning and I have hugely enjoyed watching her business grow. Make yourself a beverage and get into this goodness!
I love your branding so much. You have a consistent, eye-catching aesthetic which is really energizing but it doesn’t lack authenticity – it’s totally YOU. What kind of tips do you have for spiritual biz peeps who are trying to nail their visual branding?
Vix: It's really interesting to me how many people comment on my branding because it was never something I thought much about. I sort of just started using some of my favourite colours, fonts and images! I think that's why my branding is so totally me - because it is me. I didn't pay anyone to do it for me or take a course in branding, I just used what I thought looked pretty. Now I try to keep to a general colour scheme and I tend to use one of about 20 of my favourite fonts, but I still don't really see it as "branding". I just see it as "making stuff look cool". Or, what I think is cool!
My tips for anyone struggling with their branding is to stop thinking about branding. Pick a handful of your favourite colours that sort of go together and focus on making your stuff look cool, or quirky, or classy, or whatever. But stick to what resonates with you, what you like looking at and not what you think other people will like. Also, please don't copy other people. I've seen quite a few things out there that look reaaaally similar to some of mine. Like, it's cool to be inspired by other people, but then you gotta do your own thing!
When did you first pick up a deck of Tarot cards and how long did it take you to get well and truly hooked?
Vix: I've always been into divination. I remember being a kid and making my own divination systems. This one night I was sitting on my bedroom floor writing words on bits of paper and then putting them into a plastic sleeve and asking the universe questions by pulling the answers. I've always been big into "if this paper gets into the bin, it means this" kind of divination games too. I had runes and crystal divination sets in high school but I didn't get my first Tarot deck until about twelve years ago. Picking it up felt like coming home. It's only been in the last three years that I've really "got the Tarot" though. Before that I was always trying to learn the keywords and read by the book. I was still getting amazing and accurate readings for myself and my friends, but when I stopped doing it that way and just looked at the cards, everything just fell into place!
I guess I've always been hooked, not necessarily on the Tarot, but on getting answers! I always knew there was a way to talk to the universe, I just had to find it!
Vix: Ooh, so many! I do have a handful of working decks that are always out, but working with something different and new really keeps my intuitive muscles (are they muscles??) working. I just got the new Food Fortunes deck and it's so crazy and different from a RWS deck, but divining for answers out of a picture of a burrito certainly keeps you on your toes!
Was there a ‘eureka moment’ in life when you realized that you were a deeply spiritual person? Or was it more of a slow, steady path into all things woo?
Vix: I think I was just born like this! I just always knew that I'd come from somewhere and I was going back somewhere when I was done, even though I had no idea WTF it was all about. I just always thought there were ghosts, gods, angels, guides and dead people around. I had imaginary friends and was super into ghost stories and I was a total Ancient Egyptians nerd, so into their beliefs about the afterlife!
When I was in primary school we had a supply teacher come in for the day. Some kid asked him what happened when we die, you know, like little kids do. The teacher said "nothing, that's it". And I was so shocked that people actually thought that, and then, of course, I got totally freaked out! I don't think I slept for a week.
It was the first time it had ever crossed my mind that there was nothing else, so I was pretty stressed out. I'm pretty sure that teacher was wrong though, so I'm sleeping again now.
You run Woo Woo School which is a boot camp for beginners to learn the basics of a spiritual practice. How long did it take you to formulate the classes and what have you learned as a result of teaching them?
Vix: I guess the real answer to this is, 'my whole life'. I throw into the six weeks the basics of all the things that have really helped me to sort my own life; looking after your energy and connecting with your intuition and guidance. I really come at this course from a perspective of helping others to find their own path. It's not about me saying "do this, do that", it's more like, "Hey this is what I did, now we're going to work out what works for you". I really think we're all so different and whatever we're doing and resonating with is totally cool. The course is more about holding space for people to find their own path than dictating others to follow mine. A major learning curve for me was putting it all together. I'm very good at starting things, but not so great at getting things finished. Having a bunch of people waiting on your course content every Monday is an awesome incentive to finish things!
It was also kind of a big leap for me to put myself out there as a "spiritual teacher". I'd been teaching high school and SEN for years and doing spiritual stuff for years but they were always really separate. It was very cool being able to merge my passions this way!
Vix: I have a few decks that I find work really well for relationship readings and I always use the Cosmic Tarot for past life stuff, I dunno, it just works! I usually just start thinking about doing a reading and I'll kind of "know" what deck they need. Sometimes I get a shiny high vibe so I'll pull out the Starchild Tarot, or maybe a "no bullshit" vibe so I'll grab the Rider Waite Smith!
Vix: Ooh, can I have two?! The High Priestess, not because I think I'm some kind of intuitive genius, but because I really love helping others to see that they already have the answers and how to get them! I think we're all the High Priestess, we've just forgotten how to find her within ourselves. Also, the Fool. I think Tarot can be fun and new and fresh and I love having no real idea what I'm doing with my biz, but following my guidance anyway, and then ending up in (usually!) amazing places like here on your blog!
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Thank you so much, Vix - it was so cool to ask you some questions and, damn, your answers were every bit as inspiring as I knew they would be!
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Catch up with Vix here:
