![Lorriane Anderson: The Power of Plant Medicine and Spirituality](https://www.mysticmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MysticMag-Lorriane-Anderson.png.webp)
Welcome to the newest edition of MysticMag interviews in which we speak with Lorriane Anderson, the visionary behind Spirit Element, about her transformative path from the corporate world to founding a holistic wellness brand rooted in spirituality and self-care. Join us as Lorriane shares her story, insights, and the unique approach that makes Spirit Element a beacon of holistic healing.
What were your professional beginnings and journey like and how was Spirit Element founded?
My journey is one of those paths where I look back and it feels like a cosmic force guided me where I needed to go. I started out in private financial securities otherwise known as stocks and bonds and I was miserable. I’d worked my way up from a secretary to Head of Compliance & Operations in a very short period of time and at a very young age but my job was mentally and spiritually depleting. Just about the time when I started there, I got really into alternative healing like aromatherapy and herbalism. I had already been interested since I was a teenager but I really needed something to deal with the stress of my job and the physical effects that came with it and plant medicine is where I landed. From there, I dug deep into herbalism during my free time. I eventually left financial securities to become Head of Operations for a fashion company. During that time, I went to exclusive parties and clubs, met and danced with celebrities, and had a glamorous lifestyle but, the people around me were often cruel, elitist, and shallow.
I was searching for something spiritually when one morning, on my bookshelf, I saw the copy of ‘the Secret’ my mother had given me years prior that I never read and felt compelled to pick it up. I read through it in one day and about two weeks later, my company suddenly shut down and everyone was laid off. I had some savings so I said I would manifest a job that combined my hobby of herbalism with my background in operations and four months later, I had exactly that. I became Head of Operations & Product Development for a crystal company owned by a witch who opened my eyes to tarot, oracle cards, the magical properties of herbs, and everything about spiritual practice. Unfortunately, that job also had its challenges so I left to start my own company. It was a beauty brand, not spiritual. I wanted nothing to do with spirituality after that job. But a year after leaving, I had a huge vision about the moon phases and decided to paint them and in the middle of that, I came up with the idea for a moon-based apothecary, combining spirituality with traditional self-care. After a year of completely denouncing spirituality, I fell back in, started the company and it eventually rebranded to what is now Spirit Element.
What is the “Seasons of the Spirit”?
The Seasons of the Spirit is an exploration of how the sabbats, zodiac signs, seasons, and moon phases flow together in a harmonious dance. It may seem overwhelming at first, especially when getting to know each system on its own but look at them holistically, and you will find similarities among the ways the various seasons express themselves. Our universe knows what it’s doing and while we may not fully understand the mechanics or know why the universe does what it does, the fact of the matter is that our planet is precisely fine-tuned for humans to thrive here.
The zodiac signs, the moon phases, the seasons, and by extension the sabbats, all rely on each other to keep the cycle flowing. And we rely on all of these seasons to sustain life on Earth. We can adopt that same concept in spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being creating holistic wellness in alignment with the body, earth, and cosmos. Seasons of the Spirit is still in its infancy but, I think spirituality in general is moving towards a more integrated system. How can parts combine rather than just co-exist? Finding similarities among seemingly competing parts allows us to find resonance and deeper understanding and perhaps even unlock possibilities we didn’t know were available.
Can you walk me through a Sabbat Reading?
I think the Seasons of the Spirit—zodiac signs, moon phases, seasons, and sabbats— are natural points of evolution. I like to call them portals. When millions of people collectively agree that a particular day has a spiritual meaning, we basically turn that day into a manifesting machine by directing energy towards. You may find it easier to meditate or one of the sabbats like Imbolc or Litha, receive spiritual guidance, or that intentions you set on those days tend to manifest more than others. So I created these sabbats readings to offer you specific guidance that you can then put into action on the day of the sabbat. Truly, they’re nothing more than tarot or oracle readings but it’s the information that’s valuable. The most highly valuable skill you can learn when it comes to your spiritual practice is awareness. Knowing what you need to change, how to go about it, and what you’re doing right is what sets you up for success and allows for meaningful shifts in your life. And then from there, you can use that information to set worthy intentions using the fuel or what you might call energy of the sabbats.
What other services do you offer?
For the time being, I offer tarot and oracle readings through my website but my oracle decks and books are sold worldwide in just about every major bookstore and in several different languages. But something significant is on the horizon. I’ve been working behind the scenes, quietly shifting towards the next evolution of my journey. If you look at my path to where I am now, I have always evolved whenever the company I worked with depleted my spirit. I’ve been in that space for a little while now. What I’ve been doing until now, especially in the publishing world, feels restrictive rather than expansive and creative. I love writing oracle decks and books and I’ll be doing it for many years to come but something in my spirit is compelling me to go deeper. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s to trust my spirit when it tells me I’m destined for more.
What motivates you to keep doing the work you’re doing?
What motivates me most is the idea that my work can always evolve. I don’t subscribe to the idea of one set soul purpose. I don’t think you ever just find one thing and that’s it for the rest of your life. A purpose can and should evolve as you yourself evolve. And the idea of what’s possible, things I don’t even know about yet, really makes me excited. I always feel like I’m an explorer, finding new lands within myself. We often say space is the last frontier but I don’t think that’s entirely true. I think the soul, the internal landscape offers millions of opportunities for discovery. I love the idea of excavating myself and then using my experience to encourage others to do the same. I fully believe humans are truly capable of owning and therefore changing our destiny.
Recently, I was watching a documentary about how we may be able to alter our DNA to survive on planets outside of our solar system. Currently, right now, scientists are working on this and if we can alter the very fabric of our chemical makeup allowing us to explore words billions of miles away, then surely we can overcome limiting beliefs and stagnation allowing us to reach success that for now, may feel out of reach. I continue to test the boundaries of my work, to show others what’s possible. To say hey, I did it and you can too! Many people won’t make changes but I can’t tell you how rewarding it is when someone sends me an email saying a tarot reading shifted something in them and now they’re whole different for the better or that working with one of my decks gave them the courage they needed to go after a dream or find love or lead to financial freedom. And receiving feedback like that makes it worth it.
To learn more about Lorriane’s work, you can visit www.spiritelement.co