The Corner Crone: Interview – Geology Of The Soul | The Corner Crone: Interview

Recently I had the opportunity to interview the folx who comprise Geology of the Soul. They are, according to their website, “A collective of witches and readers supporting each other and our clients with space and grace—and zero judgement.”

Active across several media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and their blog, they took a few minutes to answer some questions and talk about their backgrounds, philosophies, and approaches to healing work and personal coaching. Geology of the Soul was founded by Angie Brown Reiter; other members of the Collective include Serendipity Wyrd, Ma’at, and Fox Ramirez. Here’s what they shared.

The Name: Geology of the Soul

Angie, I love this name. It speaks so clearly of deep grounding and carries with it the ideas of excavation, examination, and discovering where a “thing” exists in relationship to other “things” like it on the continuum. How did you come up with this title?

ANGIE: At age 29, as a single mom and high-school dropout, I decided to go to college. I originally chose geology as my major, because it was a “real” subject that would lead to a “real” job according to my dad, and I loved the idea of being able to tell the earth’s story through its embodiment. In my second semester I took a creative writing class, and that was like coming home. I’d always been a writer, but I’d been told since junior high that getting a degree in English wasn’t a “smart” career choice. I changed my major, Dad’s worries be damned. One of my professors would exhort me to “dig deeper, Angie, dig deeper!” I loved that, and I realized that I was still acting as a geologist, albeit a geologist of my own soul. And thus, the name was born.

I graduated college with a degree in creative writing and English, and used Geology of the Soul for my sporadic writing endeavors. When I began reading Tarot professionally last year, I realized that the name perfectly applied to my metaphysical endeavors as well. What is Tarot reading other than storytelling? Let’s use the tool to dig deeper into our psyches and learn how best to build the roads of our neurons’ pathways in as stable a way as possible.

*Eventually we decided we were “littermates”. Photo by Helga Kattinger via Pixabay.*

Serendipity, Ma’at and Fox, what drew you toward this particular Collective (keeping with the geology theme, how did you aggregate?); that is, what are some common veins you each share across your individual approaches to your Practices?

SERENDIPITY: I met Angie through the magic of Cyndi Brannen and The Witches’ Realm. We quickly became online friends and met in person at Mystic South where we joined Cyndi as students of The Mystai in her workshop presentations. When Angie and I met in person, it was like meeting a family member I didn’t know I was missing, like a sibling … eventually we decided we were “littermates”.

While at Mystic South, I offered one of my custom readings for Angie’s Intuition 101 students to discover what I call an “Animal Ally”. An Animal Ally is an animal spirit guide which offers advice and guidance in a particular area of a client’s life. It felt completely natural for Angie and I to collaborate and work together.

A month and a half later, we wondered why we were building separate businesses when our goals were so similar. Building one beautiful structure would allow us to combine our efforts and benefit from an expanded skill set to do the work of cheerleading our clients to their best selves.

MA’AT: One thing I believe we all have in common is we are all on a journey to reach our full potential and want to help others reach theirs as well. Also, it has been really beneficial to be part of this team because we all have our own areas that we have knowledge in and can share it with each other.

FOX: I believe it is the collective want to help others become the best versions of themselves that draws me into this.

Survivors

Your website mentions you are each survivors of trauma; how have those experiences shaped your Practices?

ANGIE: In my own practice, yes, it’s related–I was diagnosed with complex PTSD years ago, and I’ve learned how to live with that. In fact, I firmly believe that the trauma was part of what either unlocked or strengthened my intuitive abilities. As a child, I practiced leaving my body — not just in the traumatic situations, but I began practicing during non-traumatic times, so that I could more easily slip away during abuse. I’ve come to realize that the dissociation I practiced during those times was a form of astral travel. I now actively cultivate those psychic muscles to do what I call time-walking in order to heal my past abuse, as well as ancestral trauma.

I’ve also come to realize that my own abilities to survive inform how I speak to my clients. I’ve been there. I know how it can feel. I know how daunting it is to try to climb out. I think that helps.

Additionally, I lead a class I call “Intuition 101” that is designed to get folks out of their heads and into their bodies–where I firmly believe our intuition resides. The primary technique I teach in this course comes from a previous therapist of mine who used mindfulness and meditation as a way to guide me to healing.

*Mindfulness and meditation can be guides to healing. Photo by Ralf Kunze via Pixabay.*

SERENDIPITY: I would definitely say that we are all survivors of trauma, not necessarily of abuse. In my case, it’s been a bit of both. As a child, I experienced bullying based on intelligence, body type, and psychic talents. I’ve lived through emotional, mental and sexual abuse. I’ve wrestled with depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation. I’ve lost pregnancies, one of which nearly killed me. Through all of these experiences, I’ve learned how to grieve, how to be present with the difficult feelings, and how to keep moving forward.

Generally, my witchy practices and personal divination are geared toward healing my traumas, accepting my shadowy bits, and integrating the sometimes contradictory pieces of myself into one gloriously “extra” fusion of magic, creativity, and knowledge. My strengths lie in cavorting with chaos to find a path forward when it seems hope is lost.

Knowing, through lived experience, what both the highs and lows of emotion feel like helps me to guide others through their own challenges. I can speak not only of the advice from Spirit transmitted through cards or runes but also as a survivor who walked through that dark and lonely abyss of inner turmoil to find the furnace of my soul’s spark AND learned to stoke the fires through fierce self-love.

MA’AT: I would call myself a survivor of trauma. Five years ago, I lost my youngest daughter to SIDS. It is an experience I wish I hadn’t gone through; however, it made me truly realize how short life can be. It taught me that if I want to achieve things in this life I need to work toward them now and not let time go by. It truly made me embrace the phrase, “Carpe Diem”. Losing a child has also put me in a position to bring more awareness to the world and to let others know that they are not alone.

FOX: It has shaped my practice into being able to show others that, they are NOT alone. That I can help them through actually being able to connect on a much stronger level, especially emotionally when it comes to understanding what they are going through and how better to help them overcome their own struggle(s) and trauma(s). That I’m someone who’s been there and isn’t just reading something from a textbook I may or may not have read in a classroom somewhere.

*I’m someone who’s been there and isn’t just reading something from a textbook. Photo by Dariusz Sankowski via Pixabay.*

Influences

Are there witches/pagans/mentors/books who/that were/are strong influences on your own Practice? If so, who/what?

ANGIE: Yes, absolutely. Cyndi Brannen is my mentor and teacher. I would not be where I am today without her knowledge, support, and, in her favorite words, “fierce love.” As a student in her Mystery School, I’ve learned SO MUCH about myself, divination, Hekate, and more. I’m also highly influenced by Melissa Cynova, a Tarot reader and the author of Kitchen Table Tarot. Although I’d been reading for 20 years, KTT changed the way I looked at the cards, and gave me permission to be my bold, blunt, honest self.

SERENDIPITY: My mentor, Cyndi Brannen, is absolutely my strongest influence overall. Her work via her Patheos blog, Keeping Her Keys, appeared quite magically in my life as I was struggling to figure out how to answer the call of my guides to step out of working in retail management and into my calling as an inspirational personality, oracle, and guide. Through the courses she offers, I’ve gotten the training that was missing!

Before I stumbled upon the Keeping Her Keys blog, my main opportunities for growth in my practice came through attending the Phoenix Phyre and Autumn Meet festivals in Lakeland, FL hosted by Phoenix Festivals, Inc. At Festival, I was able to connect with other witches, attend workshops, assist in facilitating ritual and be inspired to concentrate on my studies and practices. One of the most influential witches I met through festival has been Byron Brown, who sat down with me for a morning conversation about the sacredness of sexuality – one of my favorite topics.

*I realized I had been doing shadow work for the past 13 years or so. Photo by StockSnap via Pixabay.*

As with how I study most things, my tarot education has been eclectic and chaotic. I’ve listened to tons of different outlooks presented through YouTube and podcasts. I’ve read various blogs and websites. If I had to pick my most influential source, in terms of tarot, it would be Kelly-Ann Maddox. I happened upon her channel when searching for how people found their favored deities and was hooked. She was my introduction to the term “shadow work” also, which I quickly realized was the word for what I had been doing the past 13 years or so.

MA’AT: I have been blessed to find a few witches and mentors in my local community who are great influences to my Practices. I also am thankful for Cyndi Brannen. I don’t really know her personally; however, the community and books she has written around Hekate have really helped me to become a strong Hekatean witch. Also, through her community, I was able to meet Angie Brown Reiter. Angie is such an amazing person and has done so much to improve my Practices. Then, through Angie, I got to know Serendipity and Fox more. Serendipity and Fox also have been amazing people that influence my Practices in such a positive way.

FOX: Yes. Cyndi Brannen/Keeping Her Keys has influenced me to be totally OK with the fact that I am not a “light worker”. I am a dark witch and that is totally OK! Before I joined the team, Angie/Geology of the Soul influenced me to stick with reading Tarot, to not give it up! No matter how many times I said to myself “I can’t do this, I have no natural talent for this” she was right there telling me that “Yes you can, yes you do”. Laura Ingersoll/Serendipity Wyrd influenced me that being a weirdo and sticking out is OK. To be my authentic self and don’t let people tear me down just because they can’t handle all my awesome weirdness.

*GotS is different in that we aren’t “just” oracles. We focus on empowering our clients. Photo by Glegle via Pixabay.*

Future Plans

What’s in the future for Geology of the Soul? Are there Festivals or Convos you’ll be presenting at?

ANGIE: Oh, goodness–the sky is the limit right now! I don’t have any current plans for festivals or conventions, although I’m looking at submitting to PantheaCon for 2020. I was at Mystic South this past summer to support Cyndi Brannen–my first ever Pagan conference–and I loved it!

GotS is different in that we aren’t “just” oracles. We focus on empowering our clients to be their best selves, and that includes creating content such as our current September divination challenge (Badass Self-Love September) and our upcoming October challenge (All about Spirits). We’re running a course on Witchcraft 101 right now, and designing a Runes 101 course along with Intuition 102: Working with Your Spirit Guides. I am also a Soul Coach; I love to help people implement lasting change in their lives. Many of my clients are seeking ways to cut cords with old beliefs or toxic people; I am in the beginning phase of research and design for a group coaching package on cord-cutting!

SERENDIPITY: Everything is possible! I’m loving our current Badass Self-Love September divination challenge and looking forward to seeking spirits in the October challenge. I’m working on developing an intro course for learning to work with the Elder Futhark rune staves. As far as festivals and conventions go, I would love to return to Mystic South in 2020!

MA’AT: Even we cannot predict the future of Geology of the Soul, however, I believe the possibilities are endless. I’m sure that when Angie created the business last year that she didn’t know that it would be where it is now where it can offer numerous services. When it comes to festivals and other opportunities that we can be at, I do hope that we do get to that point and that the four of us can all be in one place at the same time.

FOX: Honestly, I really don’t know. The future is the great wide open and there are INFINITE possibilities.