this one's a long one ~ i'm sharing a behind-the-scenes look at navigating life as a solopreneur who often gets caught up in marketing rulebooks but really just wants Magic to lead the way...

oh... & an update on the apothecary reopening! 🥳

if you'd rather read this over on Substack → click here​

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hiya Reader,

tell me if you've been here...

a time when it becomes so clear that the Current Thing is just not working, but there’s no clarity about what the Next Thing is meant to be.

& so a decision is made.

with no idea what will fall into the open space activated by the choice to empty out.

& so we wait…

this past winter i made such a decision: to shut down the product side of my online apothecary of herbal teas & cyclical ritual work ~ Garden of the Moon. i had decided to travel abroad, & as a one-woman-show, there wouldn’t be anyone to fulfill orders…

so i closed up shop.

when i told those close to me about the decision—the ones who know this business to be my heart’s work, my biz baby, my dharma in the form of doling out herbal teas—they said something like, “oh wow. that must be such a hard decision to make! how are you feeling about?” with a very concerned look on their face,

like i must be devastated.

like this was the end of my work, instead of the beginning of a new season.

the funny thing was that for the first time, in the many decisions i’ve had to make as a business owner, this one felt easy.

the list of “marketing tactics” i’ve tried with my business runs longer than the bindweed wrapped around the backyard blueberry bushes & some of them have “worked”… sort of…

but, honestly? not really.

none of it has felt like i unlocked something T R U E to Garden of the Moon. & it’s all felt like sucha f*cking slog.

& it was in taking a break from trying to hustle for sales this winter that i really let myself admit something…

i’ve been playing by the books—trying to fit this deeply feminine, earth-rooted business into the rigid boxes of what the business world says should work.

Garden of the Moon came through the holy fury i felt at how twisted it is that women were never taught the whole truth about our bodies.
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she came through the grief that gripped me at the number of years i did not know the sacred language of my cyclical body.

so this fiery creative flame birthed my first set of organic herbal teas ~ the Inner Seasons Tea Set. then came the Sacred Cycles Oracle Deck & Journal. all crafted as ritual tools to help us touch the magic of the spiralic wisdom inside our bodies.

but in the passion & scramble to try to share these with as many women as possible, that creative rage got reeled in & snuffed out the past few years in the name of “content strategy” & “unique selling points,” “brand pillars” & “value propositions.”

& it took a season of separation, a winter of going inwards, of saying “i don’t care if this is ‘bad for business’—i know it to be what’s best because my soul demands it” for me to finally come back after i burned the rule book.

so now i’m here to play with fire. & i’d love for you to be part of feeding the flames.

after six months on hiatus, the Inner Seasons Tea Set & Sacred Cycles tools are coming back with the Summer Solstice. 🌞

but this time we’re doing it differently—the apothecary will only be open for a short time, with limited inventory.

because in the irony of all ironies—i realized i was trying to make Garden of the Moon stay the same all year-round… when the cyclical wisdom of seasonal living is literally what this whole damn thing is built on 🤦‍♀️

whoops 🙃

so the plan is to only have the product apothecary open at seasonal points throughout the year. maybe every Quarter Day? maybe only twice a year? not sure yet.

but that’s not the only “bite me marketing bro’s” move we’re making—i also decided we’re going to do some new pricing in hopes of making the teas more accessible, while also helping me to make the bulk purchases needed ahead of time, with the best quality organic & consciously wild-crafted herbs i can find.

🌱 how the apothecary launch will flow:

🌰 SEED: May 27–30

Email list only ~ pre-orders at sliding-scale pricing + free gifts! {you're already on the list, so you're good to go!}

🌱 SPROUT: June 10 - 15

Early Bird pricing for everyone

🌸 BLOOM: June 19 - 25

Apothecary officially open at full price ~ orders placed during Seed & Sprout phases will ship during Bloom.

a trusted friend {who’s also in the entrepreneurial trenches} asked me recently,

“so what’s the big, longer-term vision for Garden of the Moon?”

& i laughed because, girl,

the only thing i know, is how abso-f*cking-lutely little i know.

i’ve tried five-year plans, & vision boards, & customer journey mapping &… literally none of it has panned out the way i thought it would. so i have no clue how this new version of Garden of the Moon will unveil itself.

i’m at a point where the only thing i can do is surrender to what’s being asked ~ & right now, this is what she’s asking of me. would i like more strategy? more consistency? more measured growth? f*ck yes. so would my nervous system.

but right now the lesson is in the free fall.

if you’ve been craving rhythm, ritual, or a deeper relationship with your body’s wisdom—maybe this is your invitation to pause too. to begin again, seasonally.

i’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks about the rituals, the teas, the tools that have helped me soften back into myself—and i’d love to have you along for this next spiral.

hit reply & let me know if you're excited for the apothecary to reopen, or if you have any questions! would love to hear from you 🫶

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Big Love, all ways always

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tldr..? i get it, this one was a doozy 🙈 bottom line: APOTHECARY REOPENS FOR PRE-ORDERS NEXT WEEK! keep an eye on your inbox so you can get the best pricing + bonus gifts for supporting the shop early 🤍

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