Today we’d like to introduce you to Lexi Fontaine.
Hi Lexi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
From the time I was a little girl, creation, music, and storytelling have been pillars in my life. As a child, I used to dance around the living room to the theme songs of my parents’ favorite shows, and was so in love with the magic of the holidays that it was often a full production every year between me and my mom. As a child, I built houses out of leaves and twigs for caterpillars and injured bugs, and could often be found watching lizards scurry around my backyard, running through sprinklers, and playing outdoors.
So, I guess it’s no surprise that over time those pieces wove together to become the tapestry of who I am today – a folk witch, activist, writer, actor, singer, and artist who makes intentionally crafted things, does performance art, and offers services that are geared towards helping people remember the truth of who they are, the version that existed long before society wrote a new narrative of identity and expectation that they felt obligated to embody.
So much of my personal practice is inspired by my lineage – I have Greek ancestry on my dad’s side, which is what I first connected to when I began my spiritual journey – but I also have strong Appalachian and European Folk Magic ancestry on my mom’s side. Both of these pieces play such a major role in what my practice looks like today.
But even more so, these pieces taught me one of the most important spiritual lessons very early on in my journey: trying to neatly fit yourself into one box when you were never meant to live inside the lines creates limiting beliefs that were never yours. We were meant to be multi-faceted – the human experience is not a simple one, which means the people living it are not simple either. So, let yourself be more than a label or a definition – let yourself be the most authentic version of yourself in every season, and trust that to be enough.
I know what it is like to feel like an outsider – like someone who people don’t truly see or truly understand. I know what it is like to feel like an island within yourself. So, my life is centered around embracing my own authenticity as a way to encourage other people to give themselves permission to also live as their truest selves. I want nothing more in this life than to help people find their way home to who they truly are at their core.
My small business, Live Illuminated, grew out of that. This venture has led to me connecting with so many people who have become part of my chosen family. Sky, one of my dearest friends, owns The Wandering Witch, where I am now the shop partner. She opened the shop in February 2021, and now, I feel so incredibly grateful that we get to do the work that we are meant to be doing in the kind of community we both had longed to build for years, but never thought we would actually have. Every day doing this feels like a gift – even amidst the stress, demands, and occasional (or frequent) chaos of small business – because we believe so strongly in what we are doing and what we are building here.
Watching someone walk in curious, hesitant, and maybe a little anxious – and then getting to see them walk out the door feeling like they finally might belong somewhere is the heart of why I do this work.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The honest answer is capacity. I am chronically ill, and have been since I was a teenager. This season I am in is the busiest I have ever been in my adult life. I am stepping back into professional acting and singing again, which was my first passion and love. Running and managing a small business is not a small task. I wear a lot of hats, and every one of them is important, not only to me, but to the larger mission. Most weeks, my to-do list looks more like an essay. I’m writing classes, launching new products, coordinating vendors, planning festivals, writing blogs for our digital grimoire, designing graphics for the month ahead, writing social media copy, and holding space for a client – oftentimes, multiple of those tasks are happening all in the same day, and the part of me that wants to create or rest without deadlines or expectation can often get crowded out by the sheet volume of work there is to do.
Chronic illness is not something that you can adjust to once and never think about again. It changes and evolves over time with you. So, I’ve had to remember that my energy isn’t the same from one day to the next, and try to work on giving myself grace rather than judgement. Trying to center the understanding that building something sustainable means working with and adapting to that, rather than just trying to make myself push through it. It’s made me a better teacher, and a more well-adjusted person. So much of what I strive to offer people from the way I live my life is permission to move at the pace of their own body.
The other challenge is one that a lot of spiritual practitioners share: helping people see that this work is grounded, practical, and for everyone in some way or another. Many of us are looking for spirituality that embodies expansion rather than restriction. One of my goals is to help people see that it doesn’t have to be dogmatic or exclusionary. At its core, your spiritual practice is part of a tool kit that helps you live with more mindfulness and intention.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My journey with creating started with a love of music and theatre as a kid. My dad did the show “Crazy for You” when I was just a toddler, and I was so enthralled by all of it. I did my first show “Lil’ Abner” by the time I was 5, and it stuck from there. The arts really saved me growing up, especially as a chronically ill child who was dealing with bullying and felt like I did not belong anywhere, arts spaces offered me a place to feel like I could actually create something from the grief of my darkest seasons.
Nowadays, I make digital and watercolor art, custom music and meditations, custom jewelry, and an entire collection of handcrafted apothecary products – from elemental body glitters, to room sprays, spell oils, enchanted perfumes, and healing salves. I also am a medium, I read tea leaves and tarot cards, lead grief circles, and offer my one-on-one specialty service “Luminary Sessions”, where I sit with people as they navigate major life transitions, grapple with their identity, or simply are seeking a guide on their journey to finding their truth. I use tools like mindfulness, somatic exercises, meditation, divination, coping skills, and peer support to support them as a mentor and a teacher. My goal is to give them tools to build resilience and find healing in their mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
You can find me at The Wandering Witch in Williamsburg, VA. We are at 106 Bacon Avenue, in the Williamsburg Arts District, minutes from Colonial Williamsburg. I’m the shop manager, co-creative director, and one of the teachers here. We are a metaphysical shop, but beyond that, we are a spiritual community center first and foremost. Our ultimate goal is to give people a safe place to connect with themselves and other humans in a space that encourages vulnerability, intentionality, and compassionate connection. We seek to build and foster a space where everyone can learn and grow together. We host weekly wednesday circles, moon gatherings, festivals, markets, sound bath meditations, and we also have a class catalog of over 250 classes that we host throughout the year on all kinds of topics – from our Baby Witch 101 series, to hands on crafts in our Witch’s Workshop, Kitchen Witchery, Astrology, and everything in between. There is truly something for everyone here.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Being a lifelong student is deeply important to me. I believe that life starts to become a lot less intimidating when we learn to meet resistance with curiosity rather than judgement.
I believe that I can learn something from every single person I meet – whether they are 5, 40, or 85. So, I try to always be open to wisdom finding me in unexpected ways.
I also carry a deep devotion to community and collective living. We do a lot of mutual aid and community care at The Wandering Witch, because underneath this work is a deeply held belief that we all need each other. Society wants us to believe that we can do it all alone, and that we don’t owe anyone anything. I fundamentally disagree with that. Hyperindividualism at a societal level is fairly modern, and I believe it does a major disservice to the depth of connection and growth we can encourage by taking the time to actively be as part of not only building but maintaining community.
I also think there is a lot to be said for my adaptability, versatility, and the courage I have to always show up as myself in every facet possible. Being many things at once used to feel like a weakness, but now I have started to see it as one of my greatest strengths.
Pricing:
- Tarot Readings – 3 cards $33; 5 cards $55; Full Spectrum (1 Hour) $111
- Tea Leaf Readings $44
- Public Speaking & Vocal Performance ($200-500 varies by event)
- Classes & Workshops at The Wandering Witch ($11-55)
- Handcrafted Oils, Sprays, Perfumes, and Salves $22-44
Contact Info:
- Website: msha.ke/liveilluminatedwithlexi; thewanderingwitch.com
- Instagram: Personal/Performance – @msminniefontaine; Live Illuminated – @liveilluminatedwithlexi; The Wandering Witch – @thewanderingwitchess
- Facebook: Personal/Performance – https://facebook.com/Mrs.LexiFontaine; Live Illuminated – https://facebook.com/liveilluminatedwithlexi; The Wandering Witch – https://facebook.com/thewanderingwitches
- Other: Spiritual Service & Product Inquiries: liveilluminatedwithlexi@gmail.com; Performance & Speaking Inquiries: lexitheluminary@gmail.com
