Catalyst Courage: Standing for Truth When It Costs Everything

Sovereign Path Series Epilogue

Some truths cost more than others.

They are not whispered in safe corners or shared only with the willing - they are declared in the open, knowing the price will be exile, chains, or death.

And yet, they are the truths that shift the axis of the world.

Every age remembers its threshold keepers - those who stepped back across the line when they could have turned back.

Stephen before the Sanhedrin.

A philosopher in the streets of Alexandria.

A god-king on the banks of the Nile.

A queen at the gates of the underworld.

They chose to stand, to descend, to face the stones - and in doing so, they set ripples in motion that would outlive empires.

Catalyst courage does not look like safety.

It looks like loss, like endings, like standing alone on the edge of everything you’ve known.

But when the ground shakes beneath you, it is not the end of the road- it is the opening of the path.

Stephen & Paul: The First Catalyst of the Church

In the Bible, in the book of Acts, Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr.

Falsely accused of blasphemy by the Sandedrin, he does not hedge his words or soften them to keep his place in the community. Or, even to save his own life.

But instead, he boldly spoke the truth.

He recounts the story of Israel and points to Jesus, who they had just crucified, as the fulfillment of prophecy, knowing full well that truth would not be received gently.

As the stones fly, Stephen looks up and sees something no one else in scripture has recorded:

Jesus, standing at the right hand of God.

In every other recording, He is seated - but here, He rises as if to honor Stephen’s courage. A symbolic standing ovation.

On the sidelines stands a young Saul, an intern at the time - holding the coats of the executioners. Have you ever wondered why this obscure detail is included?

Saul is a Jew, a Pharisee, and a Roman citizen - a triple threat whose background gives him unparalleled influence.

That day, he is a witness to what truth can cost.

It plants a seed in him that will crack open on the Damascus road, transforming him into Paul, the missionary who will carry the gospel across the Mediterranean and, ultimately, through generations, to us.

Stephen’s courage became the seed of a mission that reshaped history.

Esoteric & Pagan Parallels

This same archetype - the courageous stand that becomes a transformational seed catalyst - appears in many traditions.

Hypatia of Alexandria: The Light Keeper

In 5th century Alexandria - a city where pagan philosophy, Jewish tradition, and Christian theology met in both dialogue and conflict - Hypatia stood as one of the last great teachers of the classical world. A neoplatonist philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer, she taught that the study of the cosmos was a pathway to the divine.

When political and religious tensions rose, Hypatia could have retreated into private life. She could have softened her teachings to appease the rising tide of orthodoxy. Instead, she continued to teach openly, drawing students of all faiths.

Her public murder by a Christian mob was meant to silence her voice - but it became a symbol of resistance. Her name was carried like a banner by Renaissance humanists, Theosophists, and modern mystics.

Her courage preserved a lineage of sacred knowledge that would inspire seekers for centuries.

Her lesson reminds us that standing for wisdom when the world demands silence plants seeds of truth that will long outlast the walls built to contain them.

Osiris: The God Who Would Not Stay Dead

In the Egyptian Mysteries, Osiris ruled as a just and noble king until his brother Set, driven by jealousy, murdered and dismembered him, scattering the pieces across the land. The act was meant to erase him from both throne and memory.

But Isis, his devoted queen, refused to let his story end.

She searched the Nile and desert, gathering each fragment, reassembling him through sacred rites, and breathing life into him long enough to conceive their son, Horus.

Osiris’s death became the initiatory myth of Egypt - a pattern of death, dismemberment, and resurrection that every initiate symbolically walked.

In the temples, initiates “died” to the old self and were reborn into divine kingship, mirroring Osiris’s journey.

This myth reminds us that even when the world tears you apart, what is sacred can be gathered, restored, and reborn stronger than before.

Inanna: The Queen Who Descended

Inanna, the Sumerian Queen of Heaven, chose to descend into the underworld - not as punishment, but by her own will.

At each of the seven gates, she surrendered a piece of herself: her crown, her necklace, her rings.

By the time she stood before her sister Ereshkigal, she was stripped bare, without status or protection.

Ereshkigal struck her dead and hung her on a hook.

For three days, the world above languished.

Through divine intervention and careful bargaining, Inanna was revived and returned to the living world - but not unchanged.

She emerged with deeper sovereignty and wisdom, knowing the cost and gift of her descent.

Inanna’s story became the archetype of sacred initiation: surrender what you think defines you, endure the underworld, and rise with a truth that no one can take from you.

Her lesson reminds us that sometimes the path to your highest power leads straight through the gates of loss.

The Modern Thread

Catalyst moments are not confined to history or myth.

One day, I too stood at a crossroads: remain silent and stay inside a circle, or speak the truth I could no longer swallow - knowing it would cost me belonging and community that I had come to value.

I chose to stand. And to honor truth.

The loss was real, but so was the abundance: clarity that cut through illusion, freedom from the weight of compromise, opening of my gifts, and mission that could only be born on the other side of that decision.

The pain of these crossroads moments is not something to bypass or brush aside.

Loss is real. Grief is real. There is an ache in walking away from what was familiar and comfortable, even if it was no longer aligned.

Allow yourself to feel it fully - because bypassing unacknowledged grief only hides in the shadows and slows your growth.

But do not let it be the place you pitch your tent.

The void it leaves is not meant to remain empty - it is the fertile ground where new relationships, new opportunities, and a deeper self take root.

Honor what you’ve lost, but keep your eyes on the horizon of what’s being born.

The Quiet Courage of the Crossroads

The stories of Stephen, Hypatia, Osiris, and Inanna are dramatic, visible, and often violent turning points.

But life does not always hand us a stage and an audience when it asks us to be brave.

Sometimes, the catalyst comes in the form of a private conversation that shatters an illusion.

A job you can no longer ethically remain in.

A relationship you know you must release.

A truth that burns in your bones but would cost you connection if you spoke it.

These moments will not be recorded in scripture or myth, but they are no less sacred.

The ripple effects of a single act of integrity - even unseen - can shift the landscape of your life and the lives of those around you.

Here’s the Invitation:

When you find yourself at such a crossroads- whether it’s the kind history remembers or the kind only you and a handful of others will ever witness - pause and look deeper.

Ask yourself:

• What courage is being asked of me right now?

• What would standing in truth look like here?

• How might this decision ripple far beyond what I can see?

Because even the smallest acts of courage plant seeds.

And though you may never see their full bloom, they have the power to change the course of lives, lineages, and futures.

When the choice comes - whether in a public square or in the quiet of your own heart - take the step.

Not because it is easy, but because it is the only way to walk into the life that is truly yours.

Sovereign Path Series: Part 6. Final Initiation - Reclaiming Inner Authority

How I stopped searching for the missing piece - because I remembered it was me.

There is a moment after the spell breaks,
after the cords are cut,
after the teacher is unmasked and the temple falls.

And in that silence —
where the glamour has lifted but the grief still hums —
you realize:

Naming the distortion isn’t the finale.
It’s the threshold.

Because the truth is, it was never just about them.

It was about the parts of you that still believed you needed to be led.
It was about the buried desire to be seen, to belong.

That’s what gets used.

And that’s what you’re here to reclaim.

I wasn’t weak.
I wasn’t co-dependent.

I was wired for sacred connection.

In Human Design, about half of us have something called split definition —
a design where your energy flows in two distinct circuits, without an internal bridge.

And when you carry this but aren’t aware, it can create a subtle but persistent longing for coherence.

You may feel mostly whole, mostly clear, mostly aligned —
but something’s always a little…separate.
Like two inner voices speaking slightly out of rhythm.

As if your inner knowing whispers instead of roars.
A chronic sense of incompleteness you just can’t name.

But when you meet someone whose energy bridges that internal divide?

Suddenly there’s clarity. Ease. Relief.

You feel radiant. Empowered. At home.

Your knowing sharpens. Your voice strengthens.

It feels like recognition — as if you’re finally whole and seen.
It can even feel like soul truth.

It can feel like coming home.

That’s the beauty of split definition: we are built for resonance.

Designed for synergy.
For mutual reflection.
For sacred circuitry with others.

And when it’s healthy — mutual, conscious, and clean — it’s almost magickal.

You expand in another’s presence not because they complete you,
but because they meet you —
and your energy finds a rhythm it couldn’t access alone.

That kind of bonding isn’t weakness.
It’s sacred architecture.

But that same beauty that makes us magnetic…
also makes us vulnerable.

Because when we don’t understand how our system works,
we start chasing bridges.

We seek that feeling of wholeness in others —
especially those who appear powerful, illuminated, spiritually aligned.

And sometimes this chase comes at the cost of our own truth.

Because it is our softest longings that can be most easily exploited.

This isn’t hypothetical.
And it wasn’t random.

It was engineered.

The person who manipulated me — and many others — pulled our Human Design charts early on.

She knew who had emotional centers.
She knew who had undefined egos.
She knew who had split definitions.

And she used it.

Not always consciously, perhaps —
but instinctively.

She targeted the seekers who were more likely to doubt themselves.

The sensitives. The empaths.
The ones craving resonance, answers, clarity.

She knew where the open doors were — because she had the map.

And this is how energetic manipulation works.

There are people who study energetic systems like Human Design, Astrology, Gene Keys, and subtle body mechanics —
not to liberate, but to control.

They observe what soothes your system.
They track what sharpens your knowing.
And then they mimic it.

They reflect your language, your gifts, your longings —
and use it to craft a false resonance.

Sometimes they even mimic the energetic bridge you’ve experienced with someone else —
a partner, a friend, a guide —
so your nervous system anchors into a familiarity that feels like soul truth.

But this isn’t the real thing.

And on some level, it always feels off —
incomplete, subtly dissonant.

But, it is familiar enough that you start to doubt your real connections.
And fall for the ones wearing a mirror as a mask.

You think: I feel whole again.

But what’s actually happening is energetic co-opting.



What is Energetic Co-opting?

It’s a form of spiritual manipulation where someone uses your own energy to:
• Build their authority
• Create dependency
• Sustain your attachment to them

In other words: this isn’t mutual.

They aren’t offering you their wholeness.
They’re reflecting yours — and performing it back to you like a costume.

And it works. Because it feels good.

It feels like clarity. Like safety. Like home.

But underneath?

It’s glamour.
It’s a performance.
It’s borrowed light.



What she didn’t count on was this:

We would learn to read our own maps, too.

And once we did,
we could lock every door she once walked through.



Because understanding your vulnerability is not weakness.

It’s your weapon.

Here’s what no one tells you:

You don’t overcome manipulation by hardening.
You overcome it by becoming more intimate with your own design
than any predator could ever be.

You learn your patterns.
You name your longings.
You witness the exact moments when you’re most likely to give your power away.

And then you bless those parts.
You hold them close.
You let them speak.

That is how you reclaim yourself.



It’s Not Just Split Definitions At Risk.

Open centers. Undefined egos. Sensitive emotional systems.

These are places of deep brilliance — but also permeability.

If you don’t know where you’re energetically open,
someone else can learn it before you do —
and slip in like they belong there.

That’s how it happens:

You mistake relief for truth.
You mistake intensity for intimacy.
You mistake energy that feels good for energy that is good.

And once someone is using your own system to bind you to them,
it becomes harder and harder to leave.

Because leaving feels like losing the bridge all over again.



Here’s the Truth That Breaks the Spell:

You don’t need anyone to complete your circuit.
You don’t need a bridge to be whole.
You don’t need to be mirrored to trust your reflection.

And once I understood that — truly embodied it — everything changed.

I stopped handing over my clarity for confirmation.
I stopped waiting for someone to validate what I already knew.

I stopped outsourcing my wholeness — because it was never lost.
I had just scattered it into people I hadn’t learned to trust myself without.

I became present. Rooted.
I tapped back into my own rhythm.

And I took my power back.



This Isn’t About Self-Containment.

It’s about self-intimacy.

Whether you’re split or single definition,
defined or open —
the message is the same:

Know yourself more deeply than anyone else ever could.

Know your gifts.
Know your thresholds.
Know how your body says yes.
And how it contracts into no.

Because when you understand your own energy this intimately,
no one can mimic it convincingly again.

No voice, no glamour, no illusion can override your inner signal.



We all have soft spots.
But soft doesn’t mean unprotected.

It means sacred.

And when you tend those places with reverence,
they stop being weaknesses.

They become your crown.

Because you stop seeking completion in others,
and start honoring the radiant complexity already within you.

So the next time?

You’ll feel the mismatch before the mask even settles.
You’ll sense the performance before the betrayal.
You’ll walk away before the spell can land.

You won’t have to fight.
You won’t need proof.
You’ll just know.

This isn’t mine.

And that will be enough.



Tips:
• Look up your Human Design definition. Learn how your system processes energy in relationships.
• Ask: Who makes me feel clear or sure? Is that clarity mine, or is it borrowed?
• When you feel uncertain, sit with your body. Ask: What part of me wants to hand over my knowing right now? And what does she need instead?
Then speak it aloud — even if no one hears. Especially then.



Journal Reflections:
• What part of me still hopes someone else can “make it make sense”?
• Where do I hand over my knowing for external clarity?
• When have I mistaken energetic relief for true resonance?
• What does it feel like to anchor into clarity without needing to be mirrored?



And here it is:

You were never broken.
You were never meant to be completed.
You were designed to respond to others —
but not to dissolve inside them.

You were made to be amplified —
not absorbed.

So yes, honor your sensitivity.
Celebrate your openness.
Reclaim your circuitry.

But do it on your own terms.

Because you are the origin.

You hold your own bridge now.

And anyone who tries to use your light without permission?

Will find it unreachable.



This is the final initiation.

The moment you stop giving your power away —
because you remember:

It was always yours.

You are already whole.
You always were.

And that’s what they didn’t count on.

And that’s why they lost.

The Sovereign Path - Part 2: Beyond the Glamour - Naming the Other Faces of Energetic Manipulation

Seeing the Unseen and Naming What Tried To Own You

There comes a moment on the path of spiritual manipulation discovery when something inside of you whispers:

This isn’t truth anymore.

At first, it may be quiet.

A low hum of uneasiness. A tug in your gut. A tension in your throat or chest. A flicker of dissonance you can’t quite name.

A sense that something just…doesn’t feel clean.

You try to override it.

You tell yourself you’re being too sensitive.

Too reactive. Too paranoid. Too ungrateful.

Too….much.

You silence your own knowing in the name of spiritual maturity. Or perhaps, just simply, to fit in or accept and “go with the flow”.

But your body knows. Your dreams know. Your soul knows.

And your body remembers what your mind has learned to rationalize.

And eventually - if you’re brave enough to listen - you can’t unknow it.

That moment?

It’s sacred.

Because its the beginning of your return.

When the Teacher Becomes the Test

We don’t talk enough about what happens when the very people or spaces that we go to heal or learn from - who perhaps helped to awaken us… become the very thing we must awaken from.

There’s a particular kind of grief that comes with realizing that someone you once trusted with your soul growth has been distorting your truth.

When the veil is finally torn and what once felt confusing, distorted, or “off” comes sharply into focus.

And what you thought was love, healing, or leadership…is suddenly revealed as something else entirely.

There are some wounds we don’t realize we carry until someone touches them.

There are also moments when the illusion shatters.

When the spell breaks.

When the truth pierces through the fog.

And in that moment, the betrayal hits.

The shock lands.

The grief arrives.

And, if you’re anything like me, you didn’t want to see it.

Because seeing it meant everything had to change.

But as painful as it is - the truth is also the medicine.

What Pluto in Aquarius Is Demanding of Us

This isn’t just personal. And it isn’t just my story.

Pluto in Aquarius is pulling back the curtain on every illusion baked into our collective systems - especially those that cloak control as community and ego as enlightenment.

As he begins his long journey through Aquarius, we are all entering a collective spiritual detox.

We’re being asked to shed the spiritual hierarchies that teach us to give our power away.

To name where we’ve outsourced our clarity in the name of harmony.

To stop confusing loyalty with silence.

The age of false teachers, polished personas, performative stature, and blind devotion is crumbling.

As the planet of death and rebirth moves through the sign of collective systems, higher vision, and future truth, it is burning through the glamour of spiritual elitism. It’s unraveling the teacher-student dynamic where power was hoarded, not shared. Where charisma was mistaken for wisdom. Where obedience was rewarded, and sovereignty was diminished. Where the spiritual gurus instead of community are celebrated.

Because Pluto could care less about appearances.

He’s asking us to learn to listen for truth not in the voice of a polished guide, but in the resonance within our own body.

He wants to help us unearth the real, gritty truth. To drop the mask and align with our most authentic self. And he will always find it, and strip us - bare to the root - to help get us there.

And while not always pleasant, he does so with the sole intention of helping to align us with our highest purpose and path.

Pluto in Aquarius is burning through:

• Toxic teacher-student dynamics

• Hierarchies disguised as healing

• Communities that spiritualize silence and shame

• Top-down hierarchal leadership and approach (as it builds on, and transitions us, from Capricorn)

• Practices that police your truth instead of holding it

• Spiritual containers where performance is valued over presence

And what’s rising in its place is embodied, reciprocal connection.

Not rejection of the sacred.

But, a reclamation of the real thing.

We are being invited to step into greater authenticity and learn to trust and lead ourselves.

To unlearn the pattern to bowing to those who only bless us when we obey or elevate them.

Energetic Manipulation Doesn’t Always Look Like You Think

When we think of spiritual manipulation, we tend to imagine dramatic cults or overtly abusive leaders.

But in reality?

It’s often far more subtle.

More seductive.

More confusing.

And in spiritual spaces, manipulation tends to wear a prettier face.

It can look like:

• Being love-bombed with affirmations right after expressing discomfort or doubt.

• Being told your resistance is a sign you’re not “in alignment”

• Watching a leader subtly pit followers against one another to maintain control

• Hearing that leaving the group means you’re abandoning your “highest path”

• Feeling your clarity eroded by feedback disguised as “mirroring” or “mentoring”

These aren’t just red flags.

They’re energetic bindings.

And if you’ve walked through them - especially if you’re only now unraveling from them - I want you to hear me.

You are not crazy. You are not broken.

You are not wrong.

You are waking up.

What I Didn’t Know To Name Until I Lived It

I was forced to face and deal with a kind of manipulation that I wasn’t even aware existed - because it wasn’t loud. It was subtle. Spiritual. Polished. It didn’t scream or demand. It came softly. Wrapped in praise. Dressed as “sisterhood”. Hidden in healing circles, Reiki containers, private DMs, mentoring sessions, or those seemingly innocent “check-ins” that left me questioning myself instead of feeling genuinely empowered and supported.

This post is for those of you who - like me - might not have had language for this. Who brushed off your intuition. Who dismissed or explained away the pings in your gut as insecurity, coincidence, fear, or confusion. Who kept giving the benefit of the doubt while your soul quietly begged you to pay attention.

It’s for those of you who have had their light seen - but not honored.

Their voice praised - but only when it served someone else’s narrative.

Their gifts used - but never truly received.

This is not a post to blame. It is a post to name.

Because if we can’t name what happened, we can’t reclaim our own power.

This is about healing what has been hidden in plain sight - so that we can walk forward in truth.

So let’s talk about the different energetic manipulation tactics that I mentioned in my last post. These are a few that I discovered were being used in a community I was once a part of.

Glamour Magick - The Mask of “Perfection”

What it is: Glamour magic is a technique that has been used for centuries to enhance beauty. It is a spell of perception - used consciously or unconsciously to cast an illusion. It alters how others see the caster. But, in its shadow form, it becomes a mask of perfection, power, or mirror of other idealism, that hides the true motives that lie underneath. It is the deliberate manipulation of perception to create an image so potent it draws people in like a moth to flame. The danger is that you don’t see the casting person clearly. You see the projection. The illusion. The mask that they want you to see.

How it was used: I watched a spiritual teacher present themselves as the exact embodiment of what other’s desired - a truth-speaker, a radiant muse of idealized love, a healer, a spiritual “authority”. But that image was carefully crafted and did not match the shadow behind the scenes. They used glamour to appear as a devoted spiritual authority, while behaving manipulatively. They masked envy, insecurity, greed, and competition behind performative support. And, they were able to maintain admiration and loyalty, even while intentionally harming and weakening others in the group.

Glamour doesn’t steal your energy directly - it seduces it. It makes you question your instincts. You know that something is off, but it appears so alluring on the surface that you dismiss your gut instincts and gaslight yourself into ignoring the deeper, not-quite-so-pleasant truth. And so ultimately, your discernment - the clearest expression of your intuitive voice - becomes foggy and silenced. Please see Part 1 where we go into more detail about how this cycle works.

Signs that might indicate you are under someone’s glamour:

• You feel confused around them and find yourself doubting your gut instincts and intuition

• You place them on a pedestal - they may appear like they can do no wrong or are the greatest X,Y,Z - without really knowing why

• You excuse behaviors in them that you would not tolerate in others

• Others around them appear overly loyal without solid reason

Energy Manipulation through Healing Arts, Such as Reiki

What it is: Energy healing is sacred. But, like any tool or practice, it can be misused. Duality is always present in life; just as there is light, there is dark, just as there is a highest potential of sign, placement, or healing art, there is a low potential or shadow that can equally exist if chosen. When someone connects to your energy field without consent, attaches to your aura during sessions or meditations, or decides to embed their own thought forms, programming, or energetic agenda while you are open and vulnerable during a healing session, it becomes invasive and misused. Energy healing without clear boundaries is, more accurately, psychic invasion. And lets be very clear, this is spiritual abuse.

How It was used: I trusted someone who worked with Reiki and spiritual energy. But I realized they were accessing my field (and others) without permission, trying to pull cords and influence my thoughts, destiny, timelines, and actions, and monitoring my inner world strategically. This wasn’t support. It was a way to stay tethered to my field and attempt to manipulate me. It was used to try to silence me and make me energetically disoriented. Others, had thought forms embedded which altered their energetic perceptions, reactions, and internal reality.

Signs that you might be experiencing energetic manipulation through Reiki or another healing art:

• You feel watched or emotionally influenced even when you are alone; you may feel this energetically, emotionally, or even somatically, but are unable to prove it

• You may feel confused, like your intuition is “off”

• You find yourself feeling drained after a conversation or session

• You notice sudden anxiety, grief, or other emotions that aren’t your own; you may feel emotionally confused or scrambled

• Your dreams change perhaps feeling hijacked or you notice your thought patterns subtly change

• You notice an atypical energetic shift - perhaps you become suddenly agitated or angry with someone or you find yourself looking at someone in a totally new way, out of the blue

• You may feel restless or ungrounded

• You doubt yourself

Triangulation - The Silent Divide

What it is: Triangulation is the subtle art of splitting. A psychological and energetic tactic where someone pits people against each other or positions themselves as the “chosen” one in the middle. It intentionally keeps people divided, mistrusting, and dependent on a central figure or intended narrative. It is designed to create confusion, loyalty tests, and often targets your voice, preventing you and others involved from speaking directly. In spiritual communities, it can look like someone who appears to “hold the group together” but is actually controlling the flow of truth by manipulating communication. Triangulation isolates you from your authentic expression. You become afraid to speak openly. You begin “checking” yourself. You stop trusting others, and ultimately even yourself. Your voice dims because you no longer know clearly who is safe. You were praised for silence and punished passively for honesty. You are afraid of being misquoted or gossiped about. It is akin to an energetic muzzle.

How it was used: I was encouraged to confide in private sessions, then subtly isolated from others in the group. Some of my, and other’s, most vulnerable shares, wounds, and trauma were used and exploited. Compliments were used as currency. Secrets and gossip were weaponized. In other cases they may have shared what others had said about a person - sometimes to flatter, sometimes to “warn” - but ultimately to manipulate loyalties and a sense of intimate, or “special” connection. In at least one conversation she simply made up past life stories to build a sense of connection that was never there organically, but when “glamoured” was an easier sell than it would have been normally. Very tactical things were said and done to keep each person orbiting the creator, and ultimately out of connection with each other. Severing or altering connections strategically to achieve a set agenda but meanwhile sacrificing connections that I valued. I noticed shifts in my friendships and unexplained tensions out of the blue. But to others, she always knew just the right thing to say to everyone to keep things under control. But here is the key, everyone thought she was only loyal to them.

Signs that you might be experiencing triangulation:

• You’re constantly “checking” what’s safe to say, or you find yourself afraid or uncertain of sharing your truth

• You feel closer to the manipulator than to others in the group; even if you hadn’t been that close to them previously and interpersonal dynamics with others you had been close to, and connected with, seem to subtly shift

• You find tension in relationships with others that used to feel easy

• You may learn others were told very different versions of events*

• Private information may be freely shared even if your relationship with the manipulator doesn’t support that level of intimate exchange or casual dynamic

• Your relationship with the manipulator, if in a position of authority, may change and become more casual or extend outside the lines of the professional rapport and exchange you once held

*This is a core tool often used. It keeps people disconnected from each other and makes it difficult to know who to trust. It is intended to confuse and create dependency. The manipulator controls the narrative and appears like a victim to one person and a hero to another, painting a target as“the problem” in a subtle, deniable way. When you realize someone else was told a different version of the same event it creates a cycle of self-doubt seeding confusion, shame, and silence and making the target easier to gaslight, discredit, and alienate. Ultimately, making it easier for the manipulator to appear “innocent” and control the narrative as you are encouraged to seek approval from them rather than tuning into your own truth. It discourages note checking, blocks healthy communication, and prevents unity between those who might otherwise see through the manipulator.

Energetic Vampirism - The Hidden Hunger Beneath

What it is: Energetic vampirism is when someone feeds on your light, love, ideas, presence, or attention to fuel themselves - without giving back in equal measure. It is one of the most misunderstood forms of manipulation in spiritual communities. Often they flatter or praise you to gain access to your energy, then slowly drain you. It can be conscious or unconscious. But the end result is the same: you feel emptied. They take your energy to maintain their own power, image, or sense of identity.

How it was used: In my experience, this kind of energetic entanglement didn’t look like overt manipulation at first - it was the most tricky to distinguish. It showed up as mirroring - my insights reflected back to me as if they had originated elsewhere. My content and ideas began showing up in other places, uncredited but unmistakably familiar. I saw this happen with others also. Certain people’s energy seemed to be used as a kind of energetic anchor - I saw this both in her energetically mimicking and also sometimes in the group dynamic, where it helped attract or hold attention. And, when I quietly left (for reasons I’ve shared elsewhere), there were very clear, unnecessary energetic manipulations and lies woven into a made-up narrative. It was disorienting and confusing at first - because the relationship had been framed as supportive and even sisterly. But the deeper I tuned in, the more I could feel: this wasn’t collaboration. It was extraction. Personal energy wasn’t being honored - it was being harvested for her personal benefit. If someone consistently takes more than they give, probes your field without permission, or relies on your gifts while subtly diminishing your voice - that is not mentorship. That is not healing. Even if it’s wrapped in spiritual language or cloaked in care. True support empowers your sovereignty. It doesn’t siphon your energy.

Signs you may be being siphoned energetically:

• You feel tired, heavy, or “off” - without a known cause- after interactions

• Your ideas are repackaged or claimed (subtle energy harvesting; offered as collaboration but feels like depletion)

• You may sense someone “needs” you energetically in a way that feels sticky or unclear

• You leave a conversation and feel empty, not seen

• You begin to second guess the worth of your gifts

• You begin to feel gaslit into thinking the other person “made you” or “helped you”

• You may feel dependent upon them in a way you can’t directly explain

• Conversely, you may be told something privately, like “the group felt weird after you spoke”, intended to make you feel “psychically punished” for speaking; this is vampirism through emotional suppression and psychic control of group energy

• Trauma bond hooking; you are positioned as the only one who can help or “get them” and they siphon off your empathy. This may make you feel guilty or disloyal for pulling away or needing space

Community & Ritual Should be Safe. Not Silencing.

True sacred space doesn’t censor you.

It holds you.

It honors your unique voice.

It invites your full, embodied presence - even when that presence is trembling or messy.

Community should never demand your silence. Nor your conformity.

It should never require your self-erasure in the name of spiritual decorum.

We are in a collective reckoning.

A sacred breaking-open.

A rising tide of truth and reclamation.

And the false teacher archetype is being exposed - not only in my group, but elsewhere.

Many are awakening to how distorted systems of power-especially spiritual ones have manipulated doctrine, ritual, and truth for control.

But we are being invited to change. To break the silence and call out the distortions and abuse. And, to honor sacred leadership.

And, when you do so you are helping to midwife that change.

It’s okay to question what you were taught.

It’s okay to outgrow a “spiritual leader”.

You are allowed to listen to your inner oracle above all else.

Because a true spiritual leader doesn’t chain you to tradition - they help you open the sacred door within.

True spiritual connection never demands your silence, obedience, or sacrifice of self.

It recognizes you. Meets you. And liberates you.

If it asks you to shrink, it is not your mirror.

If You’re In The Rubble, You’re Not Alone

If you’re still untangling…

If your heart is broken and your voice is shaky…

If you’re afraid to speak because you still care for the people you are walking away from…

That is sacred, too.

This isn’t a call to burn it all down.

It’s a call to get honest about what is no longer true. To call out the distortions. And, most importantly to find and align with your inner truth - and honor it.

To stop gaslighting yourself for noticing what your body has been trying to say.

To reclaim your clarity - and begin again.

Because when you reclaim your voice,

You’re not just healing your story -

You’re helping someone else find the courage to start theirs.

Reclaiming Your Sovereignty - This Is The Work

I didn’t want to believe any of this was happening at first. I had ignored warning pings for months, and gaslit and dismissed my deeper intuition. This was my friend, I had invited this person and their family to my home for vacation. I told myself there was no way this could be true. But, my body and my intuition would not let go. And, finally I sat with it and realized there were deeper layers than met the eye. And this was the quiet, brutal moment when I realized I could either keep pretending I didn’t see….or walk away from a group I had grown to care for and risk being exiled for naming what was real.

The choice cracked me open. And I chose to walk away and speak my truth in my own way.

And while that hasn’t been easy, what I found on the other side of the silence was a deeper connection to myself.

Not a version molded, controlled, or limited by someone else’s system.

Not a seeker defined by someone else’s light.

But the wild, honest, messy, sovereign truth of my own becoming.

I’ve learned many valuable lessons in this experience. One of them, is the reminder that real healing includes the Sword of Truth. Radical honesty with yourself and the facts. The Swords (in Tarot) cut illusion - allowing us to more readily see the truth and bring back home all of the pieces. One important part of spiritual maturity is not bypassing the shadow - it’s naming it with love. And then choosing to step out of its grip. Even, when that choice is hard. Because choosing ourselves, choosing authenticity - it will always lead you to more wholeness.

If you are navigating a similar path, let this truth be your torch.

You were never meant to stay silent in a system that survives by your silence.

You were always meant to rise.

And you do this by stepping into alignment with yourself - your discernment and your own internal truth.

And as you do so, you are reclaiming yourself - piece by piece, truth by truth.

This journey isn’t about perfection. It’s about seeing clearly, choosing consciously, and rising with your integrity intact. You will emerge stronger, more confident, humbler, and more empowered than ever before.

Because you were never meant to stay asleep in someone else’s dream.

Your soul came here to remember, to rise, and to reclaim what was always yours.
Keep going - your truth is your liberation.

In Part 3 of the Sovereign Path, we’ll explore the red flags of false teachers - because naming the energy is only the beginning - next we learn to spot the ones who wield it so we never fall prey to this again.

Until next time.

With so much love and compassion as you continue on your journey,

Seraphina