Today we’d like to introduce you to Bri Ashley.
Hi Bri, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I suppose my story started as a little girl in Barnes and Noble coming across a tarot deck, and now it’s over 20 years later. I’ve always had an interest in self-reflection and that interest expanded into tarot, psychology, and astrology. I have cultivated my skill set and my knowledge across these topics and other metaphysical fields, such as herbalism and crystal work, to create a life for myself.
This is how I live, and how I heal and serve myself, so, naturally, it’s become the vehicle through which I offer advice and healing to others. I enjoy making my loved ones tea, reading their tarot or their birth chart, and cooking them soups with herbs known to help with inflammation or congestion, whatever the case may be.
I think it’s natural for me to want to learn the rhythms of the earth, the moon, the stars, and my body, and to try to live within those rhythms, and to use aids such as crystals and spells and yoga and meditation to live in alignment with those rhythms. I sometimes find it hard to even explain to others. It is just how I view the world, and how I live day to day, and I enjoy sharing it with others.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I remember my mother sobbing when I wanted a book on witchcraft, though, it was my money, and she relented. I remember struggling with my faith as a Christian on and off again since it was the way I was raised, and how hard it was to determine that that wasn’t the path for me anymore.
I don’t think there’s anything especially strange about the way I want to live my life, and certainly not evil, but, there were a lot of societal and religious messages I had to unpack along the way to be who I am and to offer the kind of healing and care I enjoy offering. I’m so much more secure now.
I don’t worry about going to Hell or what Yahweh thinks of me. I worry about what I think of myself. Sadly unpacking religious trauma isn’t very uncommon when it comes to pursuing such paths, but, I am grateful for the unyielding peace I now have. That will always be worth how hard-earned it was.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think of myself as a healer and as a witch. I hope to one day call myself a Priestess, but, that’s a journey in and of itself. I love walking people through their own self-reflection, and seeing what means of healing they are open to. I am not going to offer crystals to someone who has no interest in crystals, or tea to someone who doesn’t drink tea.
My goal is to listen to people’s struggles and match them against my knowledge so that I can make informed suggestions. It’s not that I’m against modern-day psychologists or medical care at all, and I’m very forward with people if something is too far outside my wheelhouse and they need to pursue a different kind of profession, but, I am also very secure in the fact that I do offer insight and peace of mind, that I do offer solutions, and that I am knowledgeable in metaphysics and psychology.
I’m primarily known for my tarot readings and my aromatherapy blends, and these have certainly been my specialties. I am rapidly expanding my astrological knowledge as well, and have been for a few years now. It’s hard to say what I’m most proud of because I’m so proud of myself overall. It can be hard living a life where everything you care about, everything you pour hours of research and pounds of identity into, isn’t valued.
I had to learn how to value my knowledge in and of itself, so, if there’s anything I’m most proud of, I suppose it’s the tenacity that’s led me to pursue the life I wanted, even when surrounded by people who had no interest in my pursuits. I think what sets me most apart from others in these types of fields is my background in psychology.
There are lots of people with education in psychology and lots of people with various kinds of metaphysical knowledge, but I think the blend I bring of these two topics, along with my own innate abilities, is unique and helps me to be more perceptive when I am offering insight to others.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I definitely see my industry changing and growing exponentially over the next 5-10 years. It feels strange to even call it an industry. Healing and witchcraft and metaphysics and astrology are all becoming more commonplace and less feared. I’m able to read tarot in the Haywood Mall now at Sacred Chakra, whereas nowhere in all my years of growing up had I ever seen tarot readers anywhere but at Renaissance Festivals.
I think it’s a testament to how it’s growing to be more commonplace and more accepted. Lots of people drink special tea mixtures read their horoscopes or buy lucky charms without giving a deeper thought to herbalism, astrology, or witchcraft. This tends to be how these kinds of things grow.
When a topic is taboo, we sensationalize it in media, and then the masses get watered-down versions of what these things really are, and then, some people, get really interested, and they dig further, and then more people dig further, and then one day it’s all rather commonplace. I think we’re in the midst of those changes for a lot of “taboo” topics, and I think witchcraft and metaphysics are definitely in the mix.
We’ve all seen dilapidated signs for “psychic readers” and paper road signs for having your tarot read. I think we’ll soon grow past that, and see more brick-and-mortar metaphysical shops with tarot readers and astrologers and other experts on standby. I think it’s all a part of society’s desire to find alternative ways to heal.
Pricing:
- $5 for a one-card answer
- $30 for a 3-card spread (bigger spreads available with discussion!)
- $15 tea light spell candles
- $80 for a one-hour full holism consultation
- aromatherapy blends TBD and coming soon!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewitchofthewheel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewitchofthewheel
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewitchofthewheel
Image Credits
F.Antastic Visions
