Athene Wellness

This wasn’t a linear journey, one foot in front of the other, meeting my goals and discovering new healings along the way. It’s been a messy, windy road full of dust and debris, obstacles and detours – but also beauty and wonder…

And it all started with a cup of tea. 

Tea

In 2013 my mum was diagnosed with Lung cancer – because of the treatments she had to undergo, the doctor restricted her from drinking coffee. Being English, you’d think this would not be a problem, but my mum soon got bored of English Breakfast tea (a boredom I could never agree with). 

I couldn’t do anything to heal my mum’s cancer, but I could help alleviate her boredom with tea. The next time I went to the supermarket, I browsed the tea aisle, looking for alternatives. I ended up buying 2 boxes of twining tea: Lapsang Souchong and Lady Grey.

Me and my mum immediately tried them – I fell in love with the smokiness of the Lapsang Souchong, my mother, whilst enjoying it, did not favour it. But the Lady Grey… this soon became my mother’s favourite tea – to the point she was ordering boxes of it off Amazon every month. 

A year later, when she’d recovered from the cancer my mum swore it was the bergamot in the Lady Grey that healed her – not the surgery with a world renowned doctor, not the chemo, not the radio, but the bergamot. 

I know she said it in jest – we all highly valued and appreciated the treatments the doctors gave her which were successful in extending her life, but it did get me thinking. Were there healing properties to Lady Grey, and tea as a whole? 

I started to lightly research, interested in the scientific studies and cultures behind drinking tea. I started to expand my tea palate, trying higher quality green teas, different herbal tea’s, white tea’s, the whole works. 

Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending. Less than 3 years later the cancer came back, this time claiming her life, and with it, my mind and spirit. 

Tarot

It wasn’t until almost a year later, drowning in grief, pain and sorrow, that I truly found Tarot. 

I’d had a tarot reading before, just after my mum’s second diagnosis – the tarot reader mentioned that Tarot was calling my name, and he could see me one day doing this. I didn’t really take the words to heart, not having the capacity to think of anything past my grief. 

The turning point came when I was in Thailand, solo travelling and trying to rediscover who I was that I found tarot again. My friend offered me a Tarot reading, he could see how lost I was. 

We sat in his hut, in the hills of northern Thailand, he lit a black candle that he’d been specifically saving for my tarot reading, and he pulled my cards. It wasn’t just a beautiful reading he gave me that day, but a lifeline. Something to hold on to. 

He also mentioned I should try Tarot, that the cards were calling out to me… So I decided to answer the call. I went on the hunt for Tarot cards, but the cards alluded me until 2 months later when I was in Cambodia that I acquired my first deck. 

A gift from a friend who’d visited Hong Kong, he said he saw the cards and immediately thought of me – that he knew I was searching for Tarot cards and he’d heard the first deck should be gifted, not bought, so he bought these cards for me. 

This was the Shadowscapes Tarot Deck by Stephanie Mui Law, a most beautiful deck with fairy and mystical creatures imagery. I immediately started learning Tarot, using my intuition to read my friends cards, and I discovered I had a gift for it. 

Massage

Years later, after studying different teas and herbs, listening to Tarot podcasts and reading guidebooks cover to cover, I discovered massage. 

I’ve always suffered from sore and tight muscles, and for years I’ve been massaging the knots and tightness away myself. If a friend had a knot in their back, I was the one they’d call on to get it out. So I decided to get a qualification. 

I started with Swedish massage, something that really resonated with me – it’s amazing how the long sweeping strokes can calm the mind not just of the client, but the masseur too. When I’m massaging I can quiet my mind and almost feel a sense of zen. 

After interning at a Japanese Tea Farm, and travelling through South East Asia to learn more about different tea cultures, upon returning to the North of Thailand, I got my Thai Massage qualification alongside my Thai Herbal Compress massage qualification. 

I’ve started learning about different cultures through massage, how they view the human body and the energy current running within. From chakras and doshas, to qi and meridians, I’ve just started on this part of my journey, but I’m excited to see where the rabbit hole leads.