We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jen Antill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

When I was thirty-two, I decided to completely stop working for other people. I was ready to no longer have a boss. I did not have any savings, I did not have clients lined up, I only knew that I could no longer stomach having to work for someone else. This was after working two, one-night shifts at restaurants and deciding that I could also no longer serve tables. I had to completely go out on my own. I was ready. I was also, broke.

I took a leap into the world of being completely self-employed. At this time, I also moved into an incredibly remote mountain home with my partner. Almost immediately, all my sources of income were removed. (I had been working as a massage therapist in town and making most of my money that way which I absolutely did not enjoy.) I was making about $400 a month during this time but was willing to do this while I built my own business.

Making this choice, led me to three things:
1) I started writing my first book called: Self-Employed Outlaws (coming out in 2023)
2) I started creating offerings for clients via work that I actually wanted to do (astrology + counseling)
3) I started learning how to do my Work even when I felt doubtful and anxious.

This leap forced me to begin my true self-employment journey and to set the stage to never have to turn back to working for other people again. I am 37 now and have a full-time practice of astrology clients and therapy clients. Sometimes I forget where I started and where I came from, I forget the resiliency and grit it took to build a satisfying and successful practice full of clients that I deeply adore. But for sure, it is not ever something I take for granted. Doing the Work I am here to do is one of the most important things to me this lifetime. It is a calling, a purpose and a way of life.

Jen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My deep vocational calling is astrology, depth psychotherapy and teaching. I offer readings and therapy to people all over the world. I also have a school (Star School) where I teach people to become psychologically-oriented astrologers.

I have been interested in astrology for as long as I can remember. I got my first reading when I was 13 (sent away for it in the mail). I started studying as soon as I got out of college and was free to study what I wanted to. I went on to study Shamanism for 7 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico and then Jungian dream work before I really got serious about therapy and got my MA in Counseling Psychology.

People come to me for all different kinds of reasons of course. Mostly people come to me when they are hungry for change and direction in their lives — when they want something different but don’t quite know how to get there by thresmevels. People come to me because I listen and I listen with my whole soul. People come to me wanting a depth of connection and relationship that they are missing in their lives. People come to me when they are ready to stand for what they want and deeply desire. People come to me when they want better relationships and feel totally stuck. I am lucky that people trust me with their deepest struggles and challenges. It is a privilege I never get tired of.

I think I have a very broad range of experience in my work which deeply sets me a part from others. I have had many different experiences in the healing arts – from radical midwifery training, to massage therapy, to the Shamanic Arts and then on to astrology and psychotherapy training. I bring all these experiences of working with psyche and soul into my Work and I take people much deeper than typical therapy.

I am proud of the roundabout journey I took to get to where I am. So many of my clients struggle to get outside of the boxes of the cultural and familial expectations they live inside – vocationally, relationally and creatively. For me, there is no other way than to create a life that feels like art, that feels like a wild expression of who we really are. In order to do that, I believe we need deep support and community. We can’t do it alone.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I deeply believe that in order to be a successful healer, therapist, astrologer, tarot reader, counselor etc, we have to have lived a life that requires us to bend down and be close to our own suffering. We have to understand the archetype of The Wounded Healer. We have to know that from our deepest pains and challenges, come our medicine and gifts. There is no way we can sit in the seat of witnessing other people’s pain by not having traversed through the Underworld ourselves.

Through our lived experience and through our reverence to our own suffering, we can learn that our symptoms are not something to be shamed or shunned, but turned toward and listened to more deeply. I believe this is what is just as valuable as formal education and training – our own, real and lived experience. By honoring my journey – I am able to relate, empathize and support all my clients on profoundly deep levels.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Honestly, when you are gifted and skilled at what you do, people tell their friends and family about you. Word spreads. I have found that in the Work I do, once I hit a certain point, advertising became unnecessary. Because the work I do is so intimate and personal, I prefer word of mouth referrals as opposed to finding clients via social media. Almost always I get personal referrals that work out well and are a good fit for me. My clients refer good people to me because they like what the Work is doing and has done for them.

When I was first starting out, I used to offer free 30-minute Discovery Calls for clients. I found out quickly that this was often a way for people to seek out free advice and guidance. I almost never got clients from those calls. Once I stopped doing that, and started trusting my Work to speak for itself, it was a game changer for me. But also, it takes time. Doing this kind of intimate and deeply personal work, takes time to build its own credibility. This is not a quick numbers game, it is a relational game. One where building trust and rapport with clients takes time. In our world we want to rush into everything but in my experience, building lasting Work where our clients benefit and we don’t burn out, takes patience and time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jenantill.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jen_leigh_antill/

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Genevieve Russell + Cristina Nicole