On Pricing And Marketing

This post mostly explains pricing for my psychic readings, etheric healing, Chaotic Witchery Bespoke essential oil scents and Deviations.

Disclaimer: What follows is not based on interactions with any one person. It's a "several people..." and hence why I'm bringing it up here. If I have a problem with *you* I'll tell ya. I'm direct like that.

Psychic Readings & Etheric Healing: 

 I wrote this ages ago, so I redux'ed it a little, but it's still spot on

"I've often heard it said that it's "wrong" to ask for payment for readings, healings and other spiritual and psychic talents. Wrong by who's standards? Ah yes, "Them" , the secret judges of morality ;)　

I give my energy, time and skill when I work for a client, and they pay me as compensation. This is no different from anyone else using a talent to support themselves; singers, seamstresses, artists.. we all need to eat! Payment indicates a professional approach; I owe the Client a duty of service... I must earn their money. It puts the Client in the driving seat, whereas a freebie, a favour- call it what you like, is done at the Practitioner's discretion. It likely won't contain the effort and attention to detail that a paid, personal service will. Someone offering free healing doesn't care if you return. I do!

While it seems very "loving" and "fluffy new age" to share such gifts for free; it does more harm than good, to both Practitioner and Client. The Practitioner is inundated with requests and becomes resentful of the Client. The Practitioner is drained of time, emotion and energy. Some Clients superglue themselves to the Practitioner, unable to go to the bathroom without a full Celtic Cross spread to examine their options. The energy in this situation is definitely not balanced!

Which brings me to donations. "Donations are ok!" "They" cry! Well, I'd rather not let someone else define what my time is worth and tell me how much I need to live on. If your Boss "donated" to your bank account, would you be 100% sure that he'd pay you enough to cover your mortgage? With a clear price and summary of what it pays for, the Client knows what they can expect from me. The reciprocity of a paid service ensures both Client and Practitioner are equal; the giving and receiving of energy then occurs with no further debt or obligation. The Client leaves the healing session or reading feeling empowered and the Practitioner is able to switch off from the Client's session without feeling drained.

Many readers and healers abide by a code of ethics which states in part that they do not take advantage of a client financially. Detractors often accuse us of fostering dependence for financial gain. I say that the involvement of money REDUCES the risk of a client becoming dependent on me. My clients come from all walks of life, but all are discerning people who have chosen to spend money on the services I offer. With free readings and healings this discernment isn't necessary.. parting with cash encourages a step back to think.

"Free" readings that I offer to close friends are not free of the reciprocity I spoke of earlier. Relationships by definition involve energy exchange. While these exchanges aren't written on some chit sheet, they are a tacit element of any relationship.

The fact that I, and many others in my field charge for our work should tell you something very important. We value and respect our time, ourselves and YOU :)

Every question I have to go find an answer for/make better costs *me*. Yes, I'm generous when it comes to my nearest &dearest, but they give me way, way more than I could ever repay in filthy Dollah.

Chaotic Witchery Bespoke essential oil scents: 

The ingredients I use are of the highest quality, because I prefer to make a quality product. A lot of attention and detail goes into these *custom* creations. Pricing reflects this. If you want cheap, go get cheap somewhere uhh... cheap.

Deviations:

Opinion says that I should sell these at a higher price because they are rare/limited edition. This is why I don't: I don't like to rip people off. There's a "sweet spot" between surviving and greed, that I like to aim for. The Deviations use up surplus essential oils that I have in stock. They're the little bits left over from the Bespoke blends. They actually have a higher profit margin than the bespoke scents.

Part of my motivation with Gehenna LeFay  is to make spirituality accessible to all. Deviations are cheaper because they are not personalised and nothing is bought especially to make them. They aren't as rare as buying a blend made *just for you alone*, as the Bespokes are. I don't want to build up some Elitist following who want my stuff because it represents wealth ..these are spiritual scents first and foremost and if anything is to change in the world then its the masses, not the elite, who need waking ;)

"If there is hope, it lies in the Proles" -Orwell, 1984. 

This brings me to  

Marketing:

I have an upside down take on it, but you know what? It works for me. I refuse to seek customers. I have never wavered in my stance on the issue of competition and vying for attention. "I can't compete. So I don't." 

I believe in what I'm doing, and I know I'm good at it.. if not, I'd not do it and I'd go be an astronaut, or design rockets, or make black holes and strangelets at CERN.  I also do not do things that feel "off" to me, and perma-marketing does. 

I do jokey "shameless self-promotion" sometimes but ..

I don't have a "why you should choose me!" page because the people who want *me* will find me, or hear about me from a friend. The people who want a reader, or a healer, or a perfumier will go and choose one. 

My services are specific, it is *my* time and skill you are paying for and they are unique to me. Courting mass appeal will bring me the masses, and the exchange shifts.. from it being about me and what I can do, to me trying to do what the customer *wants*. 

I cannot change to fit your mould, nor do I wish to try. I only want customers who wish to hire *me* . I prefer a small and loyal following over mass-market fickleness. Quality, it's all in the quality :)

. 

Today's thought: I'll take Subversives over Rebels, any day :)

"It's like a vat of acid with a PIE in! roll in, victims!"

Chaotic Witchery Deviations

Deviations are the random little drips of essential oils left over from my experimenting  with new blends for my Chaotic Witchery perfume oils. I don't intend to create them, Deviations just... happen.

There's no set format for Deviations; there could be one bottle, or twenty, and you'll have to trust my description of how they smell. I have no idea how often they will pop up for sale so be sure to add my "Book of Face" minion fan page to get regular updates for this blog and the site proper.

I am currently offering FOUR 10ml bottles of "Leto&Ghani" for £15 each (to include p&p).

It took me ages to pin down a good name for a scent so intense yet subtle, watery yet smouldering ...haha "smoulder", I love that word right now.. Its a rare combination of Fire and Water that draws special people in without relying on arrogance or adornment. Leto&Ghani has perfected that combination.

This is a unisex blend in plain bottles, for those seeking to connect with others, but it doesn't invoke anything one-track.. it's about the thrill of anticipation and the countless possibilities, depth and exploration that come right on the heels of that, if only you dare take a Leap of Faith and scratch the surface of what is right in front of you. I drew inspiration from this scrap of poetry taken from The Magician's Nephew, one of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series: 

Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;

Strike the bell and bide the danger,

Or wonder, till it drives you mad,

What would have followed if you had.

Smells? Well, it starts with a subtle mineral/salty core.. I built it around Marjoram and Bay, and there's a hint of sweet orange and a blinding jolt of peppermint (which soon evaporates) that gives way to a warmth that includes subtle spices and peppers. The scent finishes, and lingers as a warm, woody, salty blend with hints of the exotic.. think "afterglow" ;) It seems very complementary to body chemistry.

Energy? I put a lot of my "hidden in plain sight" vibe into this blend.. you'll not get overt attention but you will draw people who are in tune with you. It does the job of filtering people for you, so you don't have the hassle of unwanted attention. It's a nice blend for busy social situations.. of course you can rock it in smaller gatherings to hold them all spellbound ;)

Leto&Ghani will work with your intent, so all I'm gonna say is "..be careful".. if you like to be surrounded by fanbots, then this stuff is catnip *for people*

*there are 4 bottles of this Deviation in the whole world :)*  
I will update to let everyone once they're all gone, so check back here.  All Gone! 

Email me if you want to buy a bottle and I will send you an invoice; reserving one with a deposit may be possible. If you are nice.

Today's thought: Whenever you compliment or insult someone, be specific.

"It's like a vat of acid with a PIE in! roll in, victims!"

Why I'm Not A Lightworker (Redux)

This is a bit more about the work I do, because everyone asks me how I do it, what makes me different blah blah and I've never been able to put it across as well as I'd wanted to.

I always said it's because I'm not afraid of the dark, and I knew what I meant. The vast majority interpret that according to their experiences. I find that saves me the bother of deciding who I want around because anyone who gets me wrong makes it pretty obvious, and the teeny percent who like what they see end up being most tenacious.

I never blog armchair rhetoric or theorising. There's no *way* I could ever look myself in the face if I did that.
I'm so imperfect it's untrue ...and I fall for me more and more every moment, because imperfections are adorable. The flip side for everything I have, and what balances it out is that:

I get filthy.

It's sugary-lovely to think that light, love and warm happies chase away Bad Things. (It's also much simpler to explain and brings in more customers has mass appeal, generating huge amounts of money for Roombas and Kindles and thus perpetual gadget-wank "I'm such a success look at meeee! You can have This and Moar for only $$11,997 plus every tax listed and some that I just made up to see how far I can push this, free will sold separately. Terms apply." bringing healing light to all corners of the Globe.) Thing is, that's utter bullshit.

Clearing out bad vibes/negative entities,.. "facing your demons" ..that means immersing yourself in all that nasty. When you shovel the equivalent of a demonic sewer out of your life, you *will* get covered in sludge. You can't clean house without getting dirty.. omelette/eggs etc etc *hyperbole*

I don't win on my territory, because anyone can do that, and I'm a contrary little bitch. "It's got no! written all over it? .....Challenge accepted!"
I wander straight in to all the nasty, looking all bewildered and naive, most likely, and get dogpiled with Horrible that pours most every ounce of it's energy into attacking me, and...


.....I'll only ever let people tell me "How It Is" if I really, really like them.

(some personal insight: my most recent immersing has had the best changes yet, as my 3yr old got up today completely free of goop.)





"It's like a vat of acid with a PIE in! roll in, victims!"

Chaotic Witchery Aromatherapy Essential Oil Scents

 I meant to blog sooner explaining the tangential bespoke aromatherapy essential oils "Potions" page that magically appeared on my site, but I have a lot of things to get done and not enough hours in a day, and so I forgot.

Attn: Men. Do not hit "back" thinking these are just for girls, I make these for guys too and have a had a lot of lovely feedback saying how brilliantly effective they are. *girlie blush*

Smell plays a huge part in unconscious interaction and has been identified as being the most common trigger of memory. There are countless examples I could chatter on about, detailing the role scent plays in our lives, but this post is Why I Make Perfume and not Sensory Biology 101, so we shall skip further explanation of what scents can do, and look at ways I find them useful.

I have heightened senses anyway but doubly so with smell. It's something I pay a lot of attention to as I can't just tune it out like most people.  Nice smells are a big part of what having a happy and productive living/working space means to me.

I don't like artificial scents. They are full of chemicals, their energy feels "off"..flat, lifeless... and they don't last well. Nor am I a fan of brand names.. mass appeal is not my thing; I don't want to smell the way fashion or the media dictate, plus I want to buy a quality product rather than an image.

I have been playing around with perfume oils for many years. "Playing around" became "experimenting with for desired effects" and flattering, yet simple fragrances became carefully crafted perfumes; multi-layered compositions alive with depth and energy.

Aromatherapy practitioners make use of essential oils for their therapeutic, healing and energetic properties. I love them because they smell awesome, they're natural.. the energy feels good to me.. and they have the longevity that I value.

I take many attributes into account when I source my ingredients; not only the smells and how they compliment and enhance each other, but also volatility, origin, element, and how they react to body chemistry. Intuition plays a part too, and has led to some truly stellar creative innovation.

Factor in the personal energy of the wearer, the desired energy effect (enhanced by my energy work as I blend the oils and craft the bottle) and a myriad subtleties of intent and you have something unique, long-lasting, beautiful and powerful.

 The bottles I use are high grade dark glass to filter out light which can degrade the potency of the essential oils. I use acrylic paints to decorate them, which gives a textured feel.

Just a few drops of my potions will make you smell good all day because the high quality oils I use are potent and lingering. As different scents evaporate at different rates, they evolve as the day goes on, and you will smell different "notes" coming through, which makes them fun and stops you tuning them out.
They mold themselves to the wearer and become a signature scent, or a bit of fun, or everything in between.

My lab rats found many uses for them, including use in room sprays, oil burners and bong water (<--that's thinking outside the box!). They can be used to help you ground and centre yourself, for relaxation, confidence and energy, to uplift mood, to calm, to enhance communication, to repel spiders and bugs, to attract opportunities, to create a sense of space in a  busy environment and to draw people to you. That's not an exhaustive list.. feel free to add to it.

I love the whole process of making these special perfumes; a good metaphor would be that I put my heart and soul into them, but we all know I possess neither ;)

I'm offering them for sale now because it feels like the right time, and the right direction for me to head in. I've been wanting to get away from formulaic spirituality forever, and this is a good way of standing out from the crowd, while doing something I love, making a living and creating something beautiful, by way of self-expression.

It's an immortality of sorts to send out lots of little freaky, sentient perfume-y children into the world ;)

"Chaotic Witchery" is a name I landed on pretty quickly.. it sounds pleasing to me and encapsulates what these bespoke aromatherapy essential oil blended scents are all about; Chaos.. that's me, and Witchery as in enticing, charismatic, sensuous, arcane, hypnotic, be-witching and eldritch.

"It's like a vat of acid with a PIE in! roll in, victims!"

A Quick Story About Passing Things Along

I meant to post this back in June when it happened but life got weird at that point and I never got the chance.

I met up with s since schoolomeone I've known since School days (Hello Sam!) for a week of hanging out, and visiting other people. We don't get to see each other much because she decided to move to the Isle of Potatoes and Guinness a few years ago.

While she was packing to go home, I gave her an almost-full pot of hand cream. She didn't want to take it because it wasn't a particularly cheap brand and she didn't want me to have to buy more.

I told her it was fine, I could get more easily. As it happens, the online grocery place I use sell it and I had *one* pot ordered in with the groceries due for when I got home.

So, I arrived home, and the next day I took delivery of my groceries and found they'd put a 3-pack of the hand cream in, but only charged me for one. When I called up, they told me not to worry about it, and that I could keep them, free.

This sort of thing isn't a rare occurrence for me.

The moral of the story is not to be afraid to pass things along, and share them because it allows resources to flow, and flow is what brings abundance in to your life.

PS: Over the last few years, I've given away loads and loads of free samples of hand-blended perfume.




"It's like a vat of acid with a PIE in! roll in, victims!"