I'm NOT As Brave As I Look (But I'm Doing It Anyway)

Turning 60, embracing my crone energy, and asking for help to keep my dream alive.

People tell me I’m brave. That I’ve handled the last 3 years with grace and strength. That building an online business while dealing with litigation, bankruptcy, and losing everything shows resilience.

Here’s the truth: I’m not as brave as I make out.

Some days I wanted to hide. Many days I still do. But something inside me said NO - this is your opportunity to finally be YOU and do something for yourself.

The Day Everything Changed ⚡️

I’ll never forget that day over three years ago.

We were on holiday. We had been dealing with some legal stuff and were told by our solicitor that there was nothing to worry about, nothing we needed to do and that we should go on holiday. That was not true. We got an email (not from our solicitor) with a bolt from the blue. I won’t go into the long drawn out story, I’ve done that too many times over the past 3 years but the fact was that me and my husband in our late 50s were made bankrupt and lost everything we had worked for, for 40 years.

I didn’t sleep for two days. I still don’t sleep well.

Our world crashed around us. Everything was taken off us. We had businesses. We had property that we lived in. It was an absolute mess. We sat in this puddle of despair unable to believe what had happened to us. No one believed a solicitor could do that to us.

Luckily my husband was offered a job so he went back to work to bring some money in while I stayed at home and dealt with Solicitors, bankruptcy trustees, sale of assets, and finding somewhere to rent once our house was sold. I felt like a criminal. I felt like it was all my fault.

I was incapable of finding a job as I was crippled with anxiety. I could just about manage to deal with the people that I had to speak to and that was it.

Finding Solace in Creation ✨

It was then that I found solace in my art. I found peaceful moments when I created in my grimoire. I found pockets of calm when I kept in tune with the lunar phases and with the seasons. I kept our home calm and comforting, preparing nice food for us and spent time with my family and friends.

I had many days when I just wanted to walk away, to go away and disappear.

I knew I needed to do something for myself and also bring some money into the household finances. My husband told me not to worry and just do what I could and look after myself. It was then that I decided I would say NO to hiding and YES to creating. Somewhere in all this chaos, I realized: this was finally my chance to do something that was mine.

I decided that I would start a YouTube channel and show people how creating was helping me. My first few videos were so quiet, I sounded frightened and nervous (because I was!) but slowly I got better. Creating kept me going, absolutely and utterly.  I’ve processed my emotions through my art. My reason for sharing it was in case somebody else out there felt like me. It was suddenly very important to me. This was a tool that I needed to share with the world.

The Menopause Warrior 🗡️

I’ve been sharing my story throughout this rollercoaster of trauma and at the same time as this I’ve been going through the menopause. YES …. and all the shit 💩 that comes with that! Next year I’ll be turning 60 and I can’t believe it. What a milestone after three years of crap! But I’ve got stronger, more wrinkly, and more tired but I also don’t care as much about what people think about what I’m doing. I don’t worry if somebody doesn’t like the things that I do, my style or my way.  I can’t be everybody’s cup of tea, and I don’t want to even try and strive for that.

Going through the menopause can make you feel invisible….now I’d wanted to be invisible many times, but then there is this warrior in me that said NO! - don’t hide! This is a strength that I had to pull from the depths of my soul, to start to fight for me, so in some ways I’m sort of grateful that the universe bestowed this pile of shit upon me, because it’s made me a warrior, instead of a victim. I’m glad I’m older,

I’m grateful and wiser and I’m glad I’m more fierce, and I’m glad I don’t want to be quiet anymore.

What I've Built (And Why It Matters)❤️

The business I have built online has given me enormous purpose during a very chaotic period of my life and created a community around me when I felt lonely. Allowing me to be me in all my colourful, weird, childlike way, finding humor in the darkness. Also it has helped me financially when I couldn’t cope with a traditional job.

I’ve been practising my own form of witchcraft for 20+ years and that underlying energy has soaked into the art that I create, like this lovely melting pot of witchcraft practice and crafty projects and journalling  and art and everything all mixed together. I like to think of myself as a companion, not somebody who is going to pretend to be some guru. I am a companion traveling with you on this journey, giving you the tools that I have found and forged for myself so that you might be able to use them to help yourself, and be able to pass this knowledge on to future generations of creative Witches!

My Two Grimoire Styles 📓📔

I keep two type of grimoire: I have one which is full of notes, ideas, recipes, morning pages, snippets, doodles and stuff that I like. Then I keep one that’s my art Grimoire: a beautiful, magical place where I can put colour, images and words on a page that creates something visual too document what I’m learning about myself, the universe, the world and the stars!

I have files full of collected knowledge and keep printed copies of my coursework and plans too!

I love using tarot and oracle cards and I also love making my own and sharing them with everybody too. I work with the moon, Astrology And the Wheel of the Year.

Now I particularly love making paper dolls of which you will see there is an abundance of you look at my shop! I used to make them when I was little and when I was depressed during our legal chaos I thought I would make a paper doll again just for the fun of it. It was like creating a little friend for myself.They became companions with strengths and powers I could draw from. I'd pop them between grimoire pages for added magic—my little Power Poppets! When I shared them with friends and online, people fell in love with them too! I will continue to share them with you in 2026.

Check out the paper poppets

✨What We Explore Together:

Over the past three years while dealing with all this chaos, I've

created quite a lot!

I've made the Wheel of the Year exploration - a full journey through all 8 sabbats with grimoire art, Wildwood Tarot connections, and seasonal celebrations.

I've created Star Quest which is all about astrology and the zodiac (we're exploring that right now in 2025!).

I've made over 30 paper doll Power Poppets with gentle affirmations and whimsical energy.

Dominique Underwood paper power poppet

Queen Leona paper power poppet

Melissa Lawrence paper power poppet

I've designed DIY oracle decks that you can print and make yourself, including Gentle Whispers which comes free with a 21-day gentle journaling course.

There's the Art Witch Planner for creative souls, monthly printables, ephemera bundles, digital stickers, and tons of tutorials showing you how I create my grimoire pages.

Now here's how you can access all of this:

FREE Membership - Yes, completely free! You get:

• Access to our Community Gardens (that's our lovely forum space)

• Monthly printables and seasonal illustrations

• The full 21-day Gentle Whispers grimoire course with oracle deck

• Monthly coloring pages

• A gentle, supportive space to explore

Plus our NEW! Grimoire Starter kit ⭐️

Join FREE now

Magical Art Witch Membership (£6 per month or £60 for the year) This includes everything the free members get, PLUS:

• Access to current and previous years courses like Star Quest

• Current and previous years Paper Doll Power Poppets collection

• Access to the digital stickers vault

• All the grimoire printables and ephemera

• Our private members chat space

• Current explorations

• Monthly new content and tutorials

Find out more about Magical Art Witch membership

VIP Art Witch Coven (£15 per month or £150 for the year) - This is EVERYTHING above plus some really special extras:

• ALL my courses are included completely free (Wheel of the Year, Star Quest,the upcoming Witch's Journey, all of them!)

• You get a monthly Art Witch zine PDF - check out Issue 2 below

• Personal monthly emails from me (yes, actually from me!)

• Behind-the-scenes vlogs and Q&A sessions

• You get the paper dolls a month before everyone else

• Access to an exclusive content vault that keeps growing

Find out more about the VIP Art Witch Coven

You can see all the details and join here:

Find out more about memberships

And honestly, if you're not sure where to start, just join the free membership and have a look around. Get a feel for what we do. There's no pressure, no pushy sales stuff. Just gentle exploration and a welcoming community.

What's Coming in 2026:

So here's what's coming in 2026 - I'm really excited about this!

✨The Witch's Journey 📔 - This is going to be 12 week course based on the hero's journey but for witches! It's all about personal

development and self-discovery through grimoire witchcraft. We'll explore who we are, where we've been, and where we're going. It's going to be deep but in a gentle, creative way. Not heavy and serious - playful and meaningful.

💎Back to Earth🌿 - I'm going back to my roots with this one! Twenty years ago I started with crystals and herbs and somehow I drifted away from them while exploring other things. But they're calling me back, and I want to explore them with you through grimoire art. We'll look at crystal energies (hello, crystal superhero paper dolls!), herb magic, nature connection, and all those beautiful earthy things that ground us.

⭐️Practical Magic✋🏻 - This is the hands-on crafty stuff! I've really enjoyed doing the crafty witch projects this year and you seem to love them too, so we're doing MORE. 💭Think: making things with your hands, DIY witchy tools, creative projects that bring magic into your everyday life. Practical, useful, fun magic that gets your hands messy and your heart happy.

Plus of course there will be more paper dolls and zine every month (I can't stop making them!), more workbooks and printables, more inspiration and gentle nudges to help you create YOUR grimoire practice in YOUR way.

Think of it all like a creative buffet - take what calls to you, leave what doesn't, come back later if you want to try something else.

🦋Like a butterfly going from flower to flower!🌼

This is YOUR practice, YOUR grimoire, YOUR journey.

I'm just here walking alongside you with tools, inspiration, and encouragement.

Oh, and probably some paint on my hands and a cat trying to sit on my grimoire!

It will be my usual style of visual learning, gently exploring the witch's journey with absolutely no rigid rules. None of this "you've got to do it this way or it won't work" nonsense. Just gentle nudges, creative prompts, lots of ideas, and LOTS of practical, hands-on magic.

Think of it like a creative buffet—take what calls to you, leave what doesn't, come back when you're ready. This is YOUR practice, YOUR grimoire, YOUR journey. I'm just here to walk alongside you with tools, inspiration, and encouragement."

Honest Reality 😬

This is what I offer to you now and this is me being really really honest.

This is the scary bit where I’m no so brave -  I currently earn around £700 a month from this business and after platform fees and expenses that’s barely £6000 to £7000 a year, which is below minimum wage for the hours that I put in.

I have over 500 members across free and paid tiers - 132 of them are paying members who make this possible. Every single one matters.

I'm grateful for every single person who's joined, who's stayed, who's explored with me.

❤️ You've made this possible.

The economic situation at the moment means that people are cancelling memberships more than joining right now.  I understand that times are tight for everyone, I understand that from the bottom of my heart, I really do, but I can’t continue to do this if I don’t earn more money and I won’t survive another year at this rate. I desperately want to keep doing what I’m doing. I desperately want to keep creating because I cannot imagine not creating. I think I will die with a pencil in my hand!

Help Me Keep This Alive

This work feeds my soul in a way, nothing else ever has so this is what I’m asking you.

If you can afford it join as a paid member: I’ve got memberships from £6 to £15 a month and it is even cheaper if you buy it for a full year.

Join now

Maybe purchase a planner or paper doll (for someone that might need a bit of the energy of my power poppets!)or buy my printable DIY oracle decks and make them for your witchy family and friends?

Seasonal planner pages and paper doll guardian - Winter edition ❄️

£10.00

Buy Now

Cat Guardians V2 Oracle Deck DIY ebook with workbook and stickers

£8.50

Buy Now

Handmade Oracle Deck DIY ebook

£4.00

Buy Now

Art Witch Zine - Issue 1: Shadow work and Inner Magic ✨ - Digital download

£5.00

Buy Now

If you can’t afford it, which I really understand,

Can you share this post with someone who might need my work?

Can you subscribe to my YouTube channel because it helps the algorithm or sign up for a free membership and be part of my community - community really matters to me!

Tell a friend about what I do and what I share.

Now if you’re already a member -

THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH ❤️❤️❤️- you’re keeping this alive. Share the work that you have created, share photos of your grimoire pages, send them to me - sara@sarajaneartmagic.com share them in the community area, share them on your own social media and link me. Leave a review or a testimonial or refer a friend.

⭐️YOU ARE A STAR!

I survived years of legal hell, bankruptcy, losing my home,  crippling anxiety and the chaos of menopause while building this business. I’m turning 60 next year and I’m not as brave as people think but I’m still here still creating still showing up because there are people out there who need a gentle, visual nondogmatic type of witchcraft from someone who learned through art and creativity. People who need a companion, not a teacher. Who need colourful magic and fun and something to bring out the inner child in them, I built this for them, for us, for you, please help me keep it alive.

With much magical love

Sara Jane and Frank 🐈‍⬛(and Noel, but he's a bit lazy now he's getting older!) ❤️

✨P.S. If this post resonated with you, please share it. You never know who needs to hear this message today. 💜

✨P.P.S. I promise to keep showing up, keep creating, and keep being honest with you. That's the deal.

✨❤️✨❤️✨