We were lucky to catch up with Deb Marcelino recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Deb thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
I was born in Fall River, a small booming mill city in Massachusetts to immigrant parents from the Azores. I remember how I had to go to a Portuguese bilingual school because I could barely speak a lick of English, and yet most of us at that age were already understanding numbers and were able to read our grandparent’s their utility bills. Being raised by our grandparents while our parents worked was quite the norm in our area. Our neighborhood was filled with Azorean immigrants who all seemed to know each other and often reminisced about their days back on the island of Saint Michael.
Although my immediate family is small (one brother), my extended family is quite large, actually it’s ginormous, lol. Grandparents, godparents, great aunts, aunts (most named Maria), great uncles, uncles and cousins out the wazoo and I loved it! They were loud, crazy and such a loving family and with most large families they also inhibited lots of secrets. Secrets and stories that were often brushed under the rugs and hushed. One specifically was the magic women in my family that were called curandeiras.
Generations of women with special healing and clearing gifts that brought stories of dark energies and entities, curses and spells, and a divine light and massive strength that it took to oppose these forces with an immense devotion to the Blessed mother, more specifically Our Lady of Fatima. And at a very young age I knew I had this gift and it absolutely terrified me! My mother had it, my great aunt had it and although my grandmother didn’t particularly use the gift in the same manner, I remember her participating in many laying of the hands in massive healing circles. I also remember her reading cards with just a plain old deck of cards. Something till this day I regret not learning from her. My godmother was the one who was most quiet about any gift she had, but I can tell you this, when it came to spiritual language and reading, she was an amazing interpreter.
What did I do with this gift? Avoided it like the plague, ha! After growing up seeing how my family consistently helped others, especially in their darkest moments, on weekdays, weekends, mornings, afternoons, after work and after dinners, I wanted no part of it. I could see and feel how it mentally and physically exhausted them, and in reality, it scared the crap out of me. Another reality, my family did not charge a fee. Imagine dealing with that after working in a factory all day? Because they insisted it was a gift, a gift it shall remain. Nope! not for me! Well, guess what? Never say never!
After many years of a successful retail career in Boston I knew it was time for a change. Having spent way too much time away from my family, more specifically my son, I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I stayed home for a year, then started working part time in the local school system. Not only did that give me time with my son, but also time to really sit with myself and see what I wanted the next chapter of my work life to be.
In the meantime, reiki started to make an appearance in my area. I had no idea what it was, and people kept saying how it was this life force energy “thing”. So, I decided to just look it up. Holy shit! I was shocked and I was hooked! I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I completely went down a rabbit hole. Reading tons and tons of information for days. That fact that I was reading about all these different healing modalities and how so familiar they were, like the gifts my family had but in English was mind blowing. Not only were people doing healings and clearings, but they were also charging a fee! I was completely fascinated and started signing up to as many courses and classes as possible. I quickly learned that I was familiar with all of it, that I might not have known the lingo (well the English version), but I knew it. It was familiar, it was right!
Shortly after I was certified in Reiki and a whole bunch of other courses and classes, I decided to rent a practitioner’s room part time. I came up with the name OLOF (way before the Disney movie by the way!) which is an acronym for Our Lady of Fatima. Although I enjoyed most of my time there, it started not to feel right. I was missing my spiritual culture. I wanted to use my gifts fully, I wanted to have my own place and not share a room any longer. I wanted my space to be filled with my own sacred things. Not only my statues of Ganesh and Kali and shamanic tools, but my very Azorean Catholic sacred things! One being a statue of Our Lady of Fatima almost my size! To do all this it meant I had to come out of the curandeira closet fully. What were people going to think???? What was my family going to say??? Because it also meant I would have to start charging a living wage fee! People are going to think I have lost my mind. The whole thing felt scary, but I did know I did not want to be sharing a workspace any longer and it just didn’t feel right anymore, it had such a stuck energy around the situation and i was done.
So I made the decision to move forward with one catch. I literally looked up and said, “Ok Our Lady of Fatima, I’m only going to look at one space, if it’s meant to be, I am all in, and that means ALL IN, just one space. I am not going to hide who I am, how I work and who I call in, I am going to spell out OLOF on my business cards and a photo of you will be front and center on my social media business pages, and if not, I’m going back to retail.”
Two days later I called a realtor to see a space that was up for lease. Once I arrived, I was disappointed. The rent was too high for me and right there I thought, “Ok, tomorrow I will make the retail call”. As the realtor and I walked towards the elevator he asked exactly what I did for work, my exact words were that I was a “holistic practitioner who specialized in clearing energies that didn’t serve peoples highest good, definitely more so on the spiritual side.” He looked at me and said, ” Well, I don’t know exactly what that is or how much room you need to do that in, but I have a space on the 3rd floor that use to be my office that’s up for rent, want to take a look at it? The rent is definitely less expensive.” Right there, I knew it was the space, the confirmation of the fluttery butterflies flying in my chest feeling happened and I immediately said yes!
That was 5 years ago. The space is unrecognizable to what it originally looked like, and it’s often called a vortex because time seems to fly by when one is in there. One time a new client called it a womb, I looked at her with a smile and said excuse me?? she said yes, a womb, a safe familiar space, like the feeling of home. I loved hearing that. I’m truly blessed with having a great building owner and to be in such an amazing space in a beautiful building by the water. My business lived through covid and maintained it’s success and I have also conquered the fear of a full-blown website that I am truly proud of… Let me know if you would like to hear about what my mom had to say LOL
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
from my Bio: “Deb’s ancestral gifts, passed down from multiple generations, powerfully bring clients out of the darkness and into the light. Fluent in Portuguese, Deb integrates the integrity of old-school Azorean techniques to create space for healing and release of energies that are keeping people stuck in patterns that aren’t serving them. Her passion is to infuse the understanding that we are surrounded by much more light than darkness, that we all have an innate ability to heal and transform our pain into power,
“OLOF” is an acronym for Our Lady of Fatima, who is the inspiration for this healing work. Deb has always had a deep connection to the Mother Goddess, who has led her in her own journey of healing. Our Lady of Fatima works through Deb in her sessions, acting as a catalyst to bring clients clarity, hope, and an understanding that you are never alone in this world and that you are always surrounded by much divine light.
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-I’m absolutely mostly known for clearing dark energies, whether picked up, sent or created. Yes, we do sometimes create our own. Those are usually the worse, because we are often very comfortable in our darkness, it is a familiar space, but it keeps us in places that we do not belong, whether physically or emotionally, this is what fear is and what it creates, fear sucks! But the light always wins. Seek it, and you will find it!
-I’m also known for clearing homes and businesses. The question clients often ask is if I am looking for the same energies in homes and businesses that I look for in people, the answer is YES! Those energies range anywhere from jealousy and envy to wayward spirits and more. Remember, everything is energy.
-I love group events, especially classes, my favorites are home clearing classes and classes on the different types of negative energies and how to either avoid them or protect from them.
-I absolutely have the best clients! Whether local, out of state or out of country (thank God for zoom). My clients come from all different backgrounds, cultures and religion and I often say to them that our religion is not what saves us, it’s our faith! Not only faith in external versions, but faith in ourselves!
-I also love making my Spiritual Essential Oil Blends, the oils are blended through a sacred process infused with divine rituals with high quality oils. The alchemical process begins through the creation of an altar, and each oil blend is the result of hours of sacred work, including chanting, candles, and prayer intentions. All my oils and sprays sell well, but the favorites that sell out all of the time is definitely the “Archangel Michael & Goddess Kali Clearing Spray”………. “Deb’s Protection Spray”……… “Archangel Raphael Healing Oil” (that’s everyone’s favorite night oil) ……….”Our Lady of Fatima Anointing Oil” (everyone’s favorite morning oil) ………..and last but not least the “Fuck Off Spray” which originally started as a joke and now it’s the number one seller, lol
-I am most proud that I have kept true to my roots, my culture and my faith. At times it was such a crazy stressful journey, but also such a blessed one! I thank my ancestors often!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Absolute honesty! Not being truthful to your clientele will absolutely be the downfall of your business and will kill your reputation. I am completely honest with my clients. I am a great holistic practitioner who specializes in clearing work. I know that and my clients know that and technically I know a little about everything else in the holistic realm, but that doesn’t mean I am an expert in all of them!
Over the years I have seeked my own spiritual growth and healing and have worked with other amazing healers who are experts in their field of work and services. That has only helped me to recognize when my clients would also benefit from a different modality or practitioner other than myself, whether it be with a shaman, acupuncturists or therapists.
My advice would be to network, it’s such a great practice to build relationships with other businesses and see what they are great at and who might also recommend you and your business. Your clients will absolutely appreciate it and will love the fact that you are working from a core value.
How did you build your audience on social media?
aaaaah social media, at one time I was completely terrified of using it. Well not my personal pages, but definitely my business pages. Would I sound stupid? What was I going to post? How about if I hit the wrong button? I’m a Gen Xer and if I can do it anyone can do it! First of all, if you have a fear of navigating around your business pages on social media because you are not familiar with it, jump onto YouTube and watch some videos, they have a plethora of information. I was thrilled when I found out I could share all my IG post to my Facebook page by connecting both saving me a boatload of time. My advice is to be present often and consistent. Don’t go weeks without posting, if you don’t know about algorithms, look it up. Make sure you are choosing the best platforms. I know Facebook to some is very “old-school”, but I realized it’s where I get the most views and engagement, plus I am “old-school” lol, so it’s important to know your audience. Always keep your audience updated on anything new like policies, products and services.
Besides the above I sort of have a theme of sharing stories after an unforeseen adventure, dropping oracle cards which normally comes with a lecture for the “collective”, and if you haven’t noticed, I have a tons of animal photos on my page, those aren’t randoms pets, but photos are of my client’s fur babies that I have the pleasure of meeting during home and business clearings. Those themes are already expected because I have consistently posted them, so my clients will seek them. If some time goes by and I haven’t dropped oracle cards and posted for the collective, my clients will privately message me and ask where are they? lol, which is perfect and also keeps me on my toes!
Contact Info:
- Website: Thehouseofolof.com
- Instagram: olofdeb
- Facebook: OLOF