Counter Culture Mama Podcast with Danielle Venables

109. I Left New Age & Found Jesus: My Story & Update

• Danielle Venables • Episode 109

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A song in the kitchen broke everything open. One moment I was planning an oracle deck launch; the next, I was sobbing to an old worship chorus and realizing the “peace” I’d been manufacturing wasn’t the real thing. This episode is a candid walk through my rebrand to Counterculture Mama and the turn from new age practices to a faith-led life that reshaped my marriage, business, and sense of self.

I share what drew me into Reiki, tarot, kundalini, and the Akashic Records—and why the promise of infinite self-optimization eventually felt like a burden I couldn’t set down. Then we get practical about what changed when I started treating the Bible as protection rather than control. The first test was at home: embracing biblical submission not as erasure, but as trust in my husband’s leadership. The shift was immediate—less friction, more unity—and it forced me to re-examine the stories I told about power, freedom, and truth.

We also talk about living in the messy middle: too Christian for my spiritual friends, too “woo-adjacent” for some believers. I’m choosing to be a bridge. That means honest conversations about running a business without bending to performative virtue signaling, parenting with conviction in a culture that pulls families apart, and creating a home that prizes order, responsibility, and joy. I’ll still release my oracle deck while building a free devotional that aligns each card with Scripture, corrects what doesn’t hold up, and guides anyone curious about the path I’ve taken.

If you’re hungry for real peace, skeptical of empty platitudes, and ready to lead with values that stand up under pressure, you’re in the right place. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who’s straddling two worlds, and leave a review with your biggest question—I’ll tackle it in a future show.

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SPEAKER_00:

Hello and welcome to the first official episode of the Counterculture Mama podcast. This rebrand has been a little while in the making. And of course, as entrepreneurs, we're constantly shifting and evolving. And because of that, you know, when you have a personal brand, especially, your business shifts and evolves with you, with your convictions. And so this podcast rebrand is really a testament to that. It is um just really catching up with all of the changes and evolution that I've personally been through. And I'm excited to share some of that with you. Um, some today, some in the coming episodes. But what's really shifted in my world, for those of you who have been with me from the beginning, we have been on a journey together. Um, when I first started my business, I wasn't spiritual in the slightest. You know, I was just living my life. I was trying to force everything into place in my life, you know, my business. I was trying to make things work. And um the long and short of it is that none of it was working. And that led to a dark night of the soul, that led to a new age spiritual awakening that I felt gave me meaning, right? It it gave me something bigger to believe in. It gave me what I perceived to be power uh when I learned about things like manifestation and energy. Um, I really felt like, okay, I I I figured it out, I cracked the code, right? This is why I wasn't successful before, and this is why I will be successful now. Um, and that was really the foundation on which my spiritual practice was born. And so I spent about four, three to four years in the new age space. The first thing I did was I got um certified in Reiki. And, you know, things that followed were Oracle decks, tarot decks, doing readings on my YouTube channel. Um, you know, I even dabbled into spell work a little bit, not much like personally, but I would, you know, do it with my friends and um all of that to say it was kind of like one thing led to another. I had a mentor who was teaching kundalini, and so I was doing kundalini yoga, and um it all just kind of became this thing where it's like, well, if you're not getting the result that you want, then you know, do more of the self-healing work and do more of the personal development work. And what I found is that I was, you know, always working on improving myself, right? It's like when the money didn't come in, a mentor would be like, okay, well, like where are you blocking it? Where are you not open to receive? And um all of that would result in like more work, right? More work on me to finally be healed, to finally come into a place where um I would not only be worthy to receive it, but feel worthy enough to let myself receive it, you know? And for those of you who are in the new age space, I'm sure you've had similar mentorship and you know, similar experiences where it's like, oh, if your manifestation's not coming, well, it's your thoughts or it's your beliefs or it's your, you know, you have to dig into your subconscious, you have to do the hypnosis, you have to, you know, whatever. And it all falls on you. And so when I got certified in the Akashic Records, that would have been back in, I believe, 2022, I found something where I was like, okay, well, maybe then things can be released once and for all. And that was the result that I was seeing was that people were being freed from patterns and beliefs and challenges that had been plaguing them for years, right? That they couldn't break through. And I always said that was part of the marketing with with the Akashic Records was it'll help you break through the stubborn patterns and like those things, it's like you know that it's soul level or you know that it's karmic when you really can't break the stronghold. Um, and so I started to see the magic in that, and truthfully, I'm still figuring out where I stand with that, where it lands. I have some clarity on pieces of it, and then other pieces I am still kind of figuring out. So I've I've put the Akashic Records aside for now as I navigate this journey. Um, but to catch you up to speed in the earlier part of this year, we're in 2025 now, so around March or April, actually, even in fall of last year, was sort of the beginnings of being called back to Jesus, being called back to Christianity. Um, you know, I had a song, it was probably September of 2024, come into my head while I was washing dishes one day, and it was an old worship song from when I used to go to like youth rallies and stuff as a kid. And um, so I turned to the song on and listened to it and just started bawling, bawling. Um, so you know, listen to that, listen to some more worship music, had like this big cathartic release, and that kind of was the first, I guess, inkling that I had that maybe I was being called in another direction. Now, simultaneously, I knew that in the next year my Oracle deck would be coming out, I was gearing up for that launch, I was like full-fledged into, you know, getting that manuscript finalized and um, you know, being in that world. But I kind of knew that those two things didn't go very well together, right? And generally speaking, Christianity and Oracle cards are not friends. And so I started to just kind of listen to those whispers in my own private ways while still, you know, moving forward with the Oracle deck and putting one foot in front of the other and deeply believing, by the way, in what I put in that manuscript. Um, but it was definitely like a transitional phase, and it was the beginning of a transition, and I kind of shoved it away. But then early 2025, you know, by Easter, I had attended uh church online, and it just felt like exactly what I needed. It felt like um everything that I had been missing, everything that I had been trying to hold together for myself or control in my own life. It was like I could finally lay that down and I found the peace that I thought I had, but realized it's it's like you know, you maybe some of you deal with like chronic pain or something, right? And you don't really realize that you're in pain until that pain's gone. Um, it was kind of like that where I just kind of realized that maybe I wasn't as at peace as I thought I was. And maybe I wasn't as supported by my spirituality as I thought I was. Um, but you know, being in in Facebook groups, I had done some exploration, joined some Christian Facebook groups for moms and things like that. And um I still kind of felt like I don't really belong here. You know, I would say something and people would not like what I had to say and look at my Facebook profile and be like, oh, well, says you, you have an Oracle deck, or says you, like, you know, you're very new age or whatever, right? And I was like, man, I don't, I don't fit in here because I'm not all the way Christian, or I'm not, you know, I still have things publicly that people can judge me on, and they're using that as like a weapon against me. And it it was hurtful, right? As somebody who was trying to explore my faith again and and come back into relationship with Jesus and using those groups as a way to learn, um, it was definitely like hurtful when I would give advice or say something um that actually aligns with biblical teachings, and then have someone who didn't like it come back and say, Oh, well, you have an oracle deck, so your opinion doesn't matter. Um so anyway, that was like a little bit about my journey. Um, since then, you know, I've I've picked up a Bible, I've been reading the Bible, I've been attending and serving at church, and it has been this summer I celebrated a baptism. Um, I was baptized as an infant because I was raised Catholic, but I wanted to use that as a symbol of my own belief and my own decision to come back to Jesus and um, you know, use that as an act of obedience there. But um since then I've grown a ton in my faith. I have been very involved in my church online. Um, shout out to Lake Point. They are amazing. If you are even remotely church curious, they are a great place to start. Um but yeah, I kind of I came back and in that time I've had a lot of realizations about new age, about the spirituality that I was practicing, about the fact that I thought that I could be in good relationship with God outside of Christianity while rejecting the teachings of the Bible and things like that. And I had a lot of like humbling moments along the way that really proved to me that the Bible is the living word of God. And so I as a result, I've had a lot of convictions come up that other people in my world aren't understanding, right? The people who know me from New Age, the people who know me as the Akashic Records reader or the Oracle Deck author, or you know, the friend that they met in a spiritual coaching container. Um those people are maybe feeling a little bit blindsided. And if you're listening to this, um, just know, like I I see you and I hear you. Um and this journey as a result has not been easy because it's like I don't fully fit in with um the judgmental Christians, but I also don't really fit in with uh people who don't have the same convictions that I do anymore. And so it's been an adjustment. I feel like I do have my feet firmly planted under me. I feel like I have enough clarity now, which is why the podcast was kind of put on pause for a while. Um, but I feel like I do have enough clarity now to move forward and to start to share this with the world. Um, and to really be that bridge between the worlds, because I don't ever want somebody in my circle to feel like, oh, she's Christian now, so she's gonna judge me. Or oh, she believes something different than I do, so she's gonna judge me, or she's gonna be condescending, or she's going to condemn me. This is a big theme that I mean was not only part of my story as I just shared with you, but it kept me away from the church for a long time. It keeps kept me away from Jesus for a long time because I didn't know where to turn to get to know the real Jesus. Um, you know, there's a Christian mystic version of Jesus that I explored before coming back to the church and before picking up a Bible again, and something always just kind of felt off about it. It felt like a false imitation of um of who he truly was, and of you know um, I'm trying to find my words here, but it was like when people take oh Jesus, you know, ate with sinners or he whatever as like an excuse to enable what would be considered a sin, right? Um and I used to make those excuses too, right? To to justify my sins. I mean, I'm just gonna call them uh what what the Bible calls them, right? Um I used to use that mystic version of Jesus that I was channeling for myself um as an excuse to do things that were self-serving and do things that were indulging me in the present moment as opposed to the bigger vision of you know obedience and um, and I know some of you, I just felt you cringe at the word obedience, but um, you know, I truly believe that the God of the Bible, the God of Christianity, the God of the universe, like the true God of the universe, um is a God of order. This entire universe would not exist without meticulous precision and order. And so, you know, as I sat with that and stuff and realized that, well, that means that there is a truth. Um, I was somebody who is notorious for saying, Oh, yeah, my truth and your truth, and you know, just just live by your truth, right? And I do agree with that to the degree of not just blind obedience. Um, we do live in a fallen world, we do live in a place that is corrupted by illusion and um trickery. And so we do need to use our own discernment, but that doesn't mean that our truth, what we feel should be true, is the truth. And that was something that I really had to humble myself with because I was so like rah-rah, self-empowerment, it's your truth, and just live by your truth and blah, blah, blah. And I think sometimes that language still slips out because it's so deeply programmed, but um ultimately what I realized is that there's only one truth that matters, and that's the truth of the God of the universe, and we can access that through the Bible, through cultivating a an obedient relationship and trying some of these things on um and just seeing, seeing what happens in our lives. So um, I've got more more stories on that for maybe another time because I don't want to make this one too long and ranty and all over the place. But um what I will say is that like when I started to explore the Bible as like, what if this is like what if this is God trying to protect you from harm? Like the rules in the Bible, what if this is God trying to protect you from harm as opposed to um a way to control and suppress you? That was when my perspective shifted, and that's when I started to try things on for myself. And the first place that I saw that was in my marriage. Um, you know, we were okay, but we weren't consistently thriving. Um, there were undercurrents in our relationship that were slowly starting to create separation between us. And when I discovered biblical submission, I tried it on. I had to humble myself and say, Danielle, maybe you don't know everything. Maybe your way isn't always the best way. Maybe you married this man because he is a capable leader, and so why do you feel like you need to control everything or undermine him or give your opinion on everything he does? And when I started to do that and started to just respect the man that I married instead of constantly needing to have an equal say in everything, things changed. And again, this isn't life or death. He is a great man. He was never, you know, leading me to harm, but I started submitting to him and noticing my own control issues and my own desire to be right or desire to have things done a certain way instead of just trusting that he'll get it done because he's a capable individual, right? Like all of those like very subtle patterns were playing out in my relationship. And when I discovered biblical submission and I started to yield to his leadership and humble myself, all of a sudden our marriage changed and like immediately and for the better. And it's been for the better since. So um, you know, seeing permanent changes like that, there would have been a time where I would have read, I can't remember what verse it is in Ephesians, but um, you know, the the piece about biblical submission, and I would have read that and said, Oh, of course the patriarchy wants women to submit to their husbands. Like that's so sexist and that's so whatever. And when I actually just did it, when I actually reached a point where I was desperate enough to try it, magic happened. And I saw God work in my life for the first time in a long time. And I realized, oh, maybe the word of God isn't meant to suppress us, maybe it is meant to bless us. And so that's just one little piece of my testimony. Um, obviously, a lot has gone on over the months that I haven't really known how to share. I'm still not really sure how to share it if I'm being completely honest. But um those are the ways in which like my journey's been unfolding and I've been opening up and I've been curious and I've been exploring. And um this is my public declaration that here I am, a Christian woman who loves all of my people so dearly. And so if you are following along from new age, I might trigger you. And if I ever say anything out of line, I want to apologize. But I'm also not going to apologize for sharing my stories and my experiences and the things that have worked miracles in my life through Jesus and through the gospel. And so, and it's it's not gonna be a preachy podcast, it's not that's not the intention of it, but I really felt like I needed to open up with some storytelling and share my journey with you so that you understand what's been going on in my life, so that you understand the tugs that have been, you know, pulling at my heart and the way that I've been guided. Um, and so that you can still see me as the authentic human that I've always strived to be. Um so yeah, that's that's my little update. That is the rebrand. So this podcast is going to be focused on leading with faith, which basically, by the way, just means leading in alignment with your values, leading as somebody who wants to have a positive impact in the world. And that is something that we all have in common. I know that. I know the people that I'm surrounded with, and I know that that's the common thread. Um, and it's also for the for the people who are questioning the crazy world that we live in, and like not necessarily just agreeing and blindly complying with everything that's going on in our society today. So that will be a big topic of conversation, especially as it relates to not only how we run our businesses and you know, pandering to some of the the virtue signaling and things like that, but also um as parents and as wives, um, where do we where do we stand our ground and really fight back and be that countercultural force in the world because I believe that the world needs it right now. Um, so that'll be a lot of the topics. And so we'll be talking about businesses that defy culture, um, motherhood that divide defies culture. We'll be touching on all kinds of taboo topics like vaccines. Um, and I'm just I'm I'm looking forward to like touching all of it. You know, there will be biblical teachings woven in when it feels right, but it's not going to be all the time. Um, you know, as somebody who is still actively launching an oracle deck, I will be doing a devotional to go alongside it, where I'm basically going through, and I'm working on this behind the scenes right now, where I'm going through card by card of my Oracle deck and tying it to different Bible verses to root it into the word, and also revising anything that I've written previously that isn't biblical and clarifying it, adding nuance. I don't think there's anything that's like straight up satanic, you know, but but just clarifying it through the new lens of what I believe today. Um, so that will be available on the Seeds of Light blog in the future as I work through those. I tried to work on it this morning and I couldn't get into my system.io account because the website was down. So, um, but that will be coming and you can enjoy that for free alongside the Seeds of Light Oracle deck to try to bridge that gap because ultimately my goal is just to bring people to the level of peace and the level of serenity that has become available in my life since giving my life to Jesus. So that's where I'm at. That is my update. Thank you so much for listening, and I will catch you in the next episode.

unknown:

Bye.