You’re Not Being Judged as Much as You Think

Mercury Retrograde, Meerkat Medicine and Making Space for What Matters

There’s something deliciously fitting about a conversation that begins with summer houses and somehow spirals into Mercury retrograde, spirit animal medicine, self-compassion, AI discernment and the state of the collective. In other words, welcome to an average chat on The No Taboo Woo Woo Show. This episode was one of those catch-up conversations that ended up saying far more than either of us probably expected. On the surface, we were talking about space. Literal space. Garden offices. Summer houses. Yoga rooms. The practical reality of needing enough room to stretch out on a mat rather than trying to do embodiment work in a corner between a desk and a bookshelf. But as ever, the practical turned out to be spiritual. Because space is never just about square footage, is it? It’s about what supports you. What holds you. What lets you breathe. What allows you to hear yourself think. What makes it easier to show up for the things that matter rather than constantly adapting around what doesn’t. The spaces that shape us I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what kind of space we actually need. Not in the aspirational Pinterest-board sense, though I’m certainly not against a beautiful room and a bit of good lighting. I mean the kind of space that supports the life you’re trying to build now, not the life you had five years ago. The work I’m doing has shifted. It’s no longer just sitting at a desk with a laptop. There’s embodiment work, Kundalini yoga teacher training, classes, practices that require room to lie down, move, breathe, stretch, shake something loose. Suddenly the question becomes less “where can I work?” and more “what kind of environment actually supports the woman I’m becoming?” That’s a very different question. And it’s one I think many of us avoid, because it sounds indulgent. We tell ourselves we should just make do. Be grateful. Stop fussing. Work around it. Adapt. To be fair, humans are brilliantly adaptable. We can get used to almost anything. But just because you can adapt to a space, a rhythm, a routine or a dynamic doesn’t mean it’s actually supporting you. Sometimes what looks like a practical frustration is actually a spiritual nudge. A clue. An invitation to stop squeezing yourself into a version of life that no longer fits. Grounding doesn’t always look glamorous I wrote on The Unstuck Edit recently about grounding, and one of the simplest ways to ground yourself isn’t especially sexy or mystical. It’s tidying up. Not because we all need to become minimalist saints who own one mug and a morally superior linen throw. But because our external environment affects our internal environment more than we often admit. When things are strewn everywhere, when piles start gathering, when there’s nowhere to put the books you’ve bought for the course you’re doing or the tools you’re trying to use, it creates friction. Noise. Low-level irritation. It chips away at your sense of steadiness. Grounding can absolutely be breathwork, meditation, bare feet on the earth and moon rituals. But sometimes grounding is also putting the bloody thing back where it belongs. Sometimes it’s making your environment kinder to your nervous system. The deck that found me While away in Shrewsbury, I wandered into a crystal shop and came out with a tarot deck I definitely did not need but very clearly was meant to have. It’s called Wise Earth Medicine Tarot, and I’ve been really enjoying getting to know it. It follows the structure of traditional tarot, but the suits are tied to the elements and the imagery draws on animals and the natural world in a way that feels earthy, intuitive and quietly powerful. The card I pulled for the day while recording the episode was The High Priestess, represented in this deck by an octopus. Honestly, both Sandra and I loved it immediately. We talked about the octopus as High Priestess making perfect sense. Intelligent. Mysterious. Sensitive. Intentional. Connected to the unseen. Able to move through deep waters with a kind of quiet precision. There’s no frantic energy there. No performative urgency. Just deep knowing. The message was exactly what you’d expect from the High Priestess and exactly what many of us need to hear: stop searching outside yourself for answers you already have access to within. The medicine of that card was all about intuition, mysticism, psychic connection, and trusting the wisdom that’s already alive in your body. Not forcing.Not overthinking.Not collecting seventeen opinions from the internet and calling it clarity. Just listening. Meerkat medicine, boundaries and finding your people The other thread running through this month for me is meerkat energy. As part of a Reiki challenge, I have been given meerkat as the spirit animal to work with for July. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t one I would have chosen for myself. If you’d asked me what animal medicine I was expecting, I probably would have said something grand and dramatic. A lion. A jaguar. A wolf. Something with a bit of cinematic flair. Instead: meerkat. And yet, the more I’ve sat with it, the more perfect it feels. When I looked into the symbolism, the themes that came through were community, vigilance, communication, adaptability, resilience and protection. Meerkats are social, but they’re not indiscriminate. They live in community, yes, but with structure, alertness and awareness. They know who their people are. They work together. They watch out for one another. They stay connected to their surroundings. That part hit me. Because community matters to me. It always has. It’s in my work, and as Sandra reminds me, in my chart, in the way I want to build things. But meerkat energy felt like a reminder that community isn’t about being available to everyone. It’s not about collecting people or trying to be liked by all and sundry. It’s about discernment. It’s about building and tending the right circles.It’s about knowing where you belong.It’s about being open-hearted without being boundaryless. There’s medicine in that. Mercury retrograde is not just here to ruin your Wi-Fi We also talked a lot in this episode about Mercury retrograde in Cancer, and I know Mercury retrograde gets treated like the astrological equivalent of a wasp in the kitchen. Everyone starts flapping. But, listen to Sandra’s astrological insights and honestly, I think it deserves a better reputation than that. Yes, it can bring delays, crossed wires and general nonsense. But retrogrades also ask us to review. Revisit. Reflect. Reassess. And in Cancer, the territory gets emotional. This isn’t just about whether your email lands in someone’s junk folder. It’s about emotional safety. Inner dialogue. Old stories. The way you mother yourself. The things you’ve inherited about what makes you worthy, lovable, acceptable or “good”. It asks uncomfortable but important questions. How are you speaking to yourself when no one else is listening? What do you do when life feels chaotic?Do you soften towards yourself, or do you crack the whip harder? Do you assume discipline is the answer to everything?Or are you willing to consider that what you actually need is compassion? That one has been a big theme for me. If you’re interested in figuring out the impact of this Mercury Retrograde in Cancer for you personally, then you have to go and buy Sandra’s workbook with explanatory video. She gave me an advance copy and it is deep, rich and easy to understand. Click here [https://payhip.com/SandraLogan] for the details. Self-discipline is overrated if it’s disconnected from compassion I am all for responsibility. I’m not suggesting we all light a candle, ignore our deadlines and hope the universe files our tax return. But I do think we’ve been sold a very narrow idea of what gets results. If you’re overwhelmed, stretched thin, emotionally battered, physically exhausted or just plain human, “you need more discipline” is often the least useful thing you can hear. It’s the spiritual equivalent of trying to fix a flickering lamp by shouting at it. Sometimes what actually moves things forward is self-compassion. Not because compassion is passive, but because it creates enough safety for honesty. And honesty is what allows change. When you stop berating yourself for not doing the thing, you can finally ask the more useful question: What is actually getting in the way here? Am I tired?Am I scared?Am I trying to do too much?Do I need support?Am I avoiding something because it matters and I’m afraid of getting it wrong?Am I trying to force myself into a method that doesn’t suit me? That’s a very different conversation from “for God’s sake, just be more disciplined.” This was the focus of this week’s Unstuck Embodiment class where we brought it back to the body. We moved, we meditated and we journaled. If you’d like to find out more and join me on the mat, click here [https://unstuck-embodiment.subscribepage.io/]. The AI question: useful tool or energetic gatecrasher? One of the most unexpectedly spicy parts of the episode was talking about AI. I use AI. I’m not anti it. It can be genuinely helpful, especially when you’re a solo business owner wearing fourteen hats and trying to get through your admin without losing the will to live. But I had a moment recently where I asked it to help with some show notes and it veered off into giving me feedback on how I should structure my content to be more engaging. And I felt my whole body go, “Absolutely not.” Not because the suggestion was objectively terrible. From a marketing perspective, it might even have been sensible. But it wasn’t me. It was trying to steer me towards a more hooky, clicky, attention-grabby way of communicating that might work for the algorithm but felt out of alignment with how I actually want to connect with people. That, for me, is the key point. AI can be useful.It can save time.It can help structure ideas.It can support learning. But it should not replace discernment. It should not become the loudest voice in the room.It should not flatten your work into something more “marketable” at the expense of what makes it human.And it definitely should not become a substitute for your own intuition. There is a difference between using a tool and outsourcing your knowing. Maybe the point is not to be for everyone The more I do this work, the less interested I am in trying to be universally palatable. Of course I want my work to reach people. Of course I want the right people to find it. But I’m no longer willing to contort myself into a shape that might be more clickable if it costs me my voice. If someone finds me because I’ve crafted the perfect bait-and-switch hook but doesn’t actually like how I speak, think, teach or tell stories, they were never my person. And that’s okay. I don’t want to build a business or a body of work around pretending to be more polished, more urgent, more generic or more algorithmically digestible than I really am. I want to speak like a human being.I want to share stories.I want to go off on tangents if they’re meaningful.I want the people who are meant for this work to feel that. Maybe that’s slower.Maybe it’s less optimised.Maybe it won’t please the internet marketing gods. I can live with that. The invitation underneath all of this If there was one thread weaving through this whole episode, it was this: make space for what actually matters. Space in your home.Space in your body.Space in your calendar.Space in your mind.Space in your business.Space between what the world says you should do and what you know is true for you. Make space to listen.Make space to discern.Make space to soften.Make space to stop performing long enough to hear what’s real. Maybe that looks like clearing a room.Maybe it looks like finally doing the practice you keep saying you don’t have time for.Maybe it looks like setting a boundary.Maybe it looks like saying no to advice that doesn’t feel right, even if it sounds clever.Maybe it looks like trusting the nudge, pulling the card, following the breadcrumb, joining the class, listening to the meerkat. Whatever it is, I suspect it begins the same way most meaningful things do: By coming back to yourself. And from there, deciding what stays. Do let us know what caught your attention in this episode. You can follow both me and Sandra on TikTok or watch us on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple. Come say ‘hi’. Until the next episode, Gail and Sandra. https://payhip.com/SandraLogan https://www.gailjchisholm.com/ Find us on Tiktok: Sandra: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandraalogan Gail: https://www.tiktok.com/@gailjchisholm ☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/thenotaboowoowooshow 💌 Join the Substack Community: https://gailsandra.substack.com/s/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show-podcast 🎧 Listen to The No Taboo Woo Woo Show on other platforms: Spotify: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNoTabooWooWooShow This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gailsandra.substack.com [https://gailsandra.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Invisible Conditioning That Shapes Who We Become

“Money Conditioning, Identity, and Becoming Who You Choose to Be” In this beautifully honest and expansive episode, Gail and Sandra dive into the messy, magical terrain of identity, money conditioning, self-worth, and the invisible narratives that shape our lives. From haircuts and AI beauty filters to childhood conditioning, spiritual entrepreneurship, limiting beliefs, and the courage it takes to build a life outside the traditional system — this conversation is a full-body permission slip to question everything you’ve inherited and consciously choose who you want to become. You’ll hear: Why AI “beauty” filters are messing with our self-image The emotional and spiritual layers of hair, identity, and chemo recovery How childhood conditioning shapes your money ceiling Why “I am worthy of £10k a month” is such a triggering — and revealing — statement The difference between safety, sabotage, and self-protection Why spiritual entrepreneurs struggle to charge for their work How to expand your capacity to receive The power of affirmations, environment, and subconscious “filing cabinets” What the Moon + Nine of Cups tarot pull means for your next chapter Why the summer solstice energy is the perfect time to set new intentions This episode is a warm, wise, deeply relatable exploration of becoming — and it will leave you questioning your own inner narratives in the best possible way. Thanks for being here. Gail & Sandra. PS. here’s how you can work with us, listen or watch: ✨Book a 1:1 tarot reading with Sandra: https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot [https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot] ✨Book onto an online Embodiment Class with Gail: https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment [https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment] Find us on Tiktok: Sandra: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandraalogan Gail: https://www.tiktok.com/@gailjchisholm ☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/thenotaboowoowooshow 💌 Join the Substack Community: https://gailsandra.substack.com/s/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show-podcast 🎧 Listen to The No Taboo Woo Woo Show on other platforms: Spotify: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNoTabooWooWooShow This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gailsandra.substack.com [https://gailsandra.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

What Happens When Life Cracks You Open

There are seasons in life where everything feels strangely tender. Not dramatic enough to explain easily.Not catastrophic enough for the world to pause.But enough that your inner landscape begins rearranging itself quietly beneath your feet. You start questioning things you once accepted automatically.The way you work.The way you rest.The people you give your energy to.The battles you keep fighting long after your soul has left the room. Last week’s New Moon in Taurus carried an energy that asks us to slow down long enough to notice what truly matters. Not performatively.Not intellectually.But honestly. Taurus energy is deeply connected to values, safety, stability, the body, and the foundations we build our lives upon. And sometimes the universe has a rather volcanic way of showing us where those foundations were built on obligation instead of truth. In this week’s episode of The No Taboo Woo Woo Show, we chat about Human Design Gate 38, often called the gate of the Nuanced Ninja. This isn’t the energy of fighting for the sake of fighting. It’s discernment. It asks: What is actually worth your life force? Because many of us are exhausted from fighting battles that were never truly ours. Fighting for approval.Fighting to prove ourselves.Fighting to maintain identities we’ve already outgrown.Fighting to keep everything looking “fine” while something inside us quietly wilts. Gate 38 reminds us that perseverance becomes powerful only when connected to meaning. Because, without meaning, struggle becomes depletion. With meaning, even difficult seasons can become transformational. And that distinction matters. Especially during seasons where life feels uncertain, grief enters the room, or our emotional foundations feel shaken. Both of us have learned through our own experiences that transformation rarely arrives dressed as inspiration. It often arrives as interruption. A diagnosis. A loss. Burnout. A relationship ending. A body changing. A moment where you suddenly realise you cannot continue living in disconnect from yourself. A parent dying. These moments crack open the architecture of our lives. Painful? Often. But revealing too because underneath the fear, there is usually a deeper invitation: to rebuild more truthfully. And sometimes that rebuilding begins with incredibly unglamorous things like resting properly, setting boundaries, grieving honestly, reconnecting with your body, questioning inherited beliefs, sitting in silence long enough to hear your own inner voice again. Tiny acts. Quiet revolutions. The kind that don’t always photograph well for Instagram but change your life nonetheless. If you’ve been feeling emotionally stretched lately, this is your reminder that not every season is designed for relentless forward motion. Some seasons are rooting seasons. The kind where your soul is growing underground before anything visible appears. And while that process can feel frustrating, lonely, or slow, it is still movement. Perhaps the question right now is not: “How do I push harder?” But: “What actually deserves my energy now?” That single question can change everything. If this resonates, you can listen to the full episode of The No Taboo Woo Woo Show where we dive deeper into Human Design, the New Moon, emotional foundations, grieving, how creativity can be an anchor for you and the usual tarot and astrology. And, Sandra is particularly open and vulnerable about her current journey with death and how she’s supporting a loved one through a terminal cancer diagnosis. We’d love to have you along. Please share what comes up for you. Thanks for being here, we’re so very grateful. Gail & Sandra 🌙✨ Book a 1:1 tarot reading with Sandra: https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot ✨Book onto an online Embodiment Class with Gail: https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment [https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment] Find us on Tiktok: Sandra: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandraalogan Gail: https://www.tiktok.com/@gailjchisholm ☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/thenotaboowoowooshow 💌 Join the Substack Community: https://gailsandra.substack.com/s/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show-podcast 🎧 Listen to The No Taboo Woo Woo Show on other platforms: Spotify: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNoTabooWooWooShow This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gailsandra.substack.com [https://gailsandra.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

You’re Not Being Judged as Much as You Think

From Self-Doubt to Self-Power: Stop Dimming Your Light What if the thing holding you back… isn’t other people at all? In this deeply honest and wildly relatable episode of The No Taboo Woo Woo Show, Gail and Sandra take you from sweetie-fuelled chat to powerful self-reflection on confidence, authenticity, and the fear of being judged. They explore: ✨ Why we still seek external validation (even when we know better) ✨ The discomfort of owning your “woo woo” side in a conventional world ✨ How your inner critic quietly sabotages your confidence ✨ The truth about embodiment, self-trust, and personal power ✨ Why inner work is the foundation of EVERYTHING ✨ Letting go of past versions of yourself (and the grief that comes with it) Plus… a powerful conversation around body confidence, self-acceptance, and the subtle ways we hide ourselves. This episode is your reminder: You’re not here to convince anyone. You’re here to be yourself. 💫 Expect laughter, truth bombs, tarot wisdom (hello Queen of Wands energy), and the kind of conversation that stays with you long after it ends.  Where are you seeking external validation?  What can you do to validate yourself? 🔮 Want a personal reading with Sandra? Book a 1:1 tarot reading with Sandra: https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot [https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot] ✨Book onto an online Embodiment Class with Gail: https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment [https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment] ☕ Support the podcast: If you’d like to keep us fuelled for future episodes, you can buy us a coffee or donate below (always appreciated, never expected). buymeacoffee.com/thenotaboowoowooshow 💌 Join the Substack Community: https://gailsandra.substack.com/s/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show-podcast [https://gailsandra.substack.com/s/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show-podcast] 🎧 Listen to The No Taboo Woo Woo Show on other platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show/id1815983078 [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-no-taboo-woo-woo-show/id1815983078] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZBvA3fwx500tdnSG2bFM3?si=fc9baa5ccb0f4668 [https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZBvA3fwx500tdnSG2bFM3?si=fc9baa5ccb0f4668] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNoTabooWooWooShow [https://www.youtube.com/@TheNoTabooWooWooShow] 📌 Don’t forget to: 👍 Like 💬 Comment 🔔 Subscribe This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gailsandra.substack.com [https://gailsandra.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

You Might Be Jumping to Conclusions

Stop Jumping to Conclusions: The Tarot Message You Didn’t Know You Needed If you’ve ever made a snap decision… spiraled in your head… or convinced yourself of something without the full picture — this episode is going to land. In today’s No Taboo Woo Woo Show, we start with spring energy, nostalgic chats about CDs (yes, really), and the madness of subscription culture… before diving into a powerful tarot message around fast thinking, assumptions, and trusting your intuition over your inner noise. The Knight of Crystals (Swords) brings a big question: 👉 Are you moving forward with clarity… or reacting too quickly? We explore: - Why we jump to conclusions (and how it quietly holds us back) - The balance between intuition vs overthinking - How current astrology may be amplifying impulsive energy - The power of stepping outside your routine to shift perspective - Why tarot is one of the best tools for self-awareness (not prediction) Plus, we pull additional cards that hint at choice, movement, and getting out of your head… with a little nudge toward trusting yourself more than your fears. There’s laughter, real-life tangents, and a reminder that growth doesn’t have to be perfect… just intentional. ✨ If this resonates, we’d LOVE to hear from you in the comments: Where might you be jumping to conclusions in your life right now? 🔮 Want a personal reading with Sandra? Book a 1:1 tarot reading with Sandra: https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot [https://www.sandralogan.co.uk/tarot] ✨Book onto an online Embodiment Class with Gail: https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment [https://subscribepage.io/unstuck_embodiment] ☕ Support the podcast: If you’d like to keep us fueled for future episodes, you can buy us a coffee or donate below (always appreciated, never expected). buymeacoffee.com/thenotaboowoowooshow 📌 Don’t forget to: 👍 Like 💬 Comment 🔔 Subscribe This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gailsandra.substack.com [https://gailsandra.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]