Meet Vanessa Persephone Wells of Black Hearts Healing Arts in Echo Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Persephone Wells.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Vanessa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My healing work started with a love of food and hatred for a job! I always loved cooking and the science of nutrition. I’d come home from school and watch the culinary shows on PBS, and then once Food Network came along, I was HOOKED on Good Eats and The Naked Chef.

In my twenties, I was working at a job that was incredibly demanding, stressful and misaligned with my core values. But I loved the people I worked with, and that made it very hard to leave. One day during lunch I was nerding out about some recipe I was working on, and someone on my team said with genuine care, “You’re so into this stuff and you’re so unhappy here…why don’t you go back to school for nutrition?” So I looked into it…

I found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2006 and was enamored. I became a Holistic Health Coach and began working with clients on their nutrition and lifestyle choices and I was loving it! Until…

I got sick. Like, for real sick. My body, over the course of a few years, had been breaking down system by system to the point where I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t digest or assimilate food, couldn’t walk from room to room without needing to sit down, I couldn’t even breathe toward the end and none of the several cycles of steroids I went on made any difference.

It was through working with a Functional Medicine doctor and a team of healers – my own health coach, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, chiropractic care and, of course, therapy – that I was able to become a functional woman in her twenties again.

Once I had mostly healed my body, I had to start doing the real work – that is to say, I had to really look at why my health had degenerated so greatly and how it had gotten to that point. This was where my spiritual journey began.

The truth was, I wasn’t living a good life. I was completely out of integrity with my values, my happiness, my definition of success, my Truth. All of my energy went into assuming an identity that was “supposed to” lead to a good life – but I was miserable, unhealthy, unhappy, and ultimately, it was killing me.

As I continued working with healers over the next 12 years, I formed beautifully nurturing relationships and learned from incredibly gifted practitioners. I connected deeply with my intuition and developed a spiritual practice that opened me to so many shamed and unclaimed parts of myself that were suppressed because they didn’t fit with who I was “supposed to” be or how I was “supposed to” live. I rediscovered my True Self and have cultivated an active practice of living more and more in alignment with Me, while also allowing my Self the room to grow and evolve along the way.

Today, I use my gifts for Oracle Card Reading and Intuitive Coaching to work with the badass sweethearts of the world – the ones with the tough exteriors but tender hearts – to shed the “shoulds” they’ve acquired and rediscover their True Self, so they can experience the love, success and fulfillment they desire!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If the road is smooth, you’re not paving your own path or headed anywhere new.

There are lots of struggles. Building your own business is rife with struggles. Finding the time to work to pay the bills while also creating content/connections/growth strategies/etc. for the business you’re building while also practicing self-care while also having a social life while also doing laundry, grocery shopping, sleeping – entrepreneurship takes a lot of effort, courage, resilience and creative problem solving! It’s easy to get overwhelmed or burned out, and I definitely have to hit pause on things I want to get done in favor of rest or self-care.

But building a spiritually-based business comes with a unique set of struggles, I think.

It’s not always easy to explain or describe Empathic and Intuitive healing work. I’ve had some people who get spooked by the idea, whether because of their own religious or spiritual beliefs or because they’re just unfamiliar. Other people feel exposed or vulnerable talking to someone who specializes in understanding emotions and uncovering limiting patterns. I think some people can feel seen in a way they aren’t ready to see themselves yet, just by learning that I work in the psycho-spiritual arts. So it can be a little difficult to not feel like a weirdo…yes, even in LA!

But the struggles and challenges are the most important part of the process! It’s in those situations that you learn how dedicated you are, how much you believe in yourself, your personal brand of magick and your dream, how adaptable you are, and how BRAVE! It’s so damn brave to put yourself out there – especially in a field that isn’t mainstream or is seen as odd or taboo – and bring your vision and your purpose to life. You also get shown where you’re afraid, resistant, selling yourself short, playing small and compromising your self-worth, and those struggles show you where you’re ready to grow and heal.

It’s a fascinating process when I can observe it with detachment. But in the thick of it, there are moments that I’ve really questioned if I have what it takes to see this through. And in those moments, I remember how sick I got from not living my Truth and I remember that this is my life

Let’s talk about business. Tell us about Black Hearts Healing Arts – what should we know?
Black Hearts Healing Arts is more than my Oracle Card Reading and Intuitive Coaching practice. It’s a space where rebels, misfits, nerds and oddballs of all varieties can come to connect, grow and heal. I call my crew the “Badass Sweethearts,” because my clients are these beautiful fusions of tough bitches (whether male, female, trans or non-binary) with tender hearts.

And because I do most sessions virtually over FaceTime or Zoom, sessions can be held whenever and from wherever is convenient for clients, whether they’re in LA or anywhere!

My work is really about leveraging the rebellious nature we were born with and the resilient spirit we’ve had to nurture as a result of our experiences to rediscover, what I refer to as, the True Self – the essence of ourselves that is the unique expression of our purpose, and the embodiment of the highest version of who we are.

So many of us reach a point in our careers, relationships, health or finances and wonder, “How did I get HERE?” Sometimes there’s even an “again” at the end of that question. We get a lot of messaging over the years – from family, media, friends, leaders in our field that we admire and who inspire us – about what we should be pursuing, what we should achieve in terms of health, happiness, love and success, what we should value and prioritize…in short, how to live and who to be.

When those “shoulds” start piling up, they pull us away from our True Self and our life begins to not feel like ours at all. One of the most common obstacles clients have come to me with is, “I don’t feel like I’m living life on my terms. I feel like I’m living someone else’s life.” And we all deserve to live a life that’s meaningful and fulfilling in the ways that feel good and true physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.

Some clients are very attracted to the insight that the Cards offer, and other clients prefer to work through more conventional coaching techniques (as conventional as Intuitive Coaching can be – haha!), and I’m always happy to meet at a client where they are. Both methods are dialogical and encompass elements of both shadow work and light work. Through shadow work, we uncover the unconscious patterns and limiting beliefs that lead to choices that keep us small, stuck, or self-destructive. With light work, we endeavor to embrace healthier habits, self-care practices and cultivate love and gratitude.

I think what sets me apart is my candor and compassion. I make people feel comfortable and safe to explore the deeper questions and darker aspects of themselves, while also imparting honest reflection and genuine connection.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
This is a toss-up between honesty and empathy.

Anything I share with or suggest to a client is something I’ve been guided to provide, and I honestly believe is for their growth, healing and highest good. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily pleasant, easy or comfortable – but it is honest. And from that honesty, my clients build trust in me and our work together, which allows them to go deeper and farther in their journey.

Empathy is huge, though, too. I’ve been through some dark, devastating and tumultuous times in my life, and all of them allow me to connect with how my clients are feeling, the thoughts they’re acting on, the questions they’re grappling with. Empathy allows my clients to feel seen, heard, held and not alone in their pain and/or discomfort. So empathy is essential, too.