Conversations with Katie Utterback, CLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Utterback, CLC

Hi Katie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hi! My name is Katie.

I’m a trauma-informed Sacred Tropical Astrologer. I’m also an ICF-certified Spiritual Life Coach and Avesa Certified Breathwork Practitioner.

My Healing Motto: You deserve it because you are worth it.

My whole life I felt different from those around me. But it wasn’t until I unexpectedly found myself on an intense healing journey in 2019 that I understood why.

What started out as a healing journey from familial narcissistic abuse in 2019 quickly became a spiritual awakening, ignited by my first Saturn Return, and a very intense and deep dark night of the soul.

During this time I regularly found myself on the bathroom floor at 3 AM bawling, heartbroken and confused how I seemingly became an orphan overnight, triggering every abandonment issue and wound I had. But it was in those moments that I found myself completely surrendering to the universe, asking the planets, the sun, and the moon for any and all guidance.

The path that became clear for me to follow started to become more obvious, louder: I needed to heal the best I could and live the best life I could. That was the best revenge for a traumatic childhood.

I threw myself into studying anything and everything about narcissistic abuse, emotional abuse, parentification, enmeshment, psychological abuse, sibling bullying, dysfunctional family roles, what it was like to be the blacksheep scapegoat in a family of origin.

I even started coaching as a narcissistic abuse recovery coach because I never wanted anyone to feel as alone as I felt in the months after I pulled the narcissist’s mask off without realizing what I was doing.

The more I learned about personality disorders, psychopaths, sociopaths, and generational trauma, the more I realized just how toxic yet common my childhood was. Well, the parts that I can remember.

You see, I was diagnosed with an alphabet stew in 2019 from a trauma-therapist that included CPTSD. For me, this means that I don’t remember a lot of my childhood due to the high levels of trauma I experienced.

For a while, this left me feeling quite debilitated and fragile. I was stuck in victim mentality where I believed the external world was required to soften and tiptoe on eggshells so as to not trigger me. And I was sooo angry.

But then, as luck would have it, I found myself accidentally in front of two powerful spiritual leaders: Wisdom Teacher Sri Ram Kaa and Master Lady Oracle Kira Raa.

Their message? Your ego wants you to stay stuck in victim mentality because it doesn’t like change, it’s afraid of the unknown. But the minute you take a leap of faith forward and it goes well? Your ego will be first in line to take credit for your growth.

Their message – although new and a bit triggering initially – was all I could think about. So in addition to traditional therapy, I started paying closer attention to the cycles of the Moon and began practicing rituals during the New Moon and Full Moon. I practiced cord-cutting meditations, I practiced the ho’oponopono, living water, anything and everything I could really to release the trauma, the anger, the shame, and pain, so that I could move forward from a place of love, particularly self love.

And you know what? I felt A LOT better. The more I connected with nature, the elements, the planets, water, the more I danced in the sun, and found gratitude and happiness in the flowers and trees, the better I felt. So I kept going, learning more, including these powerful healing rituals into my daily life.

My path led me to astrology. A topic I’ve always been interested in, but never quite understood. I started studying my natal chart and I was blown away at just how much information in my chart felt familiar.

Even more powerful was the realization that understanding my natal chart was key to allowing my true authentic self to step forward because I had less judgment about who I was at my core now that I saw the map to my soul.

I didn’t feel the need to act or show up in ways I used to because I had a better understanding and appreciation of my unique nature.

It is now my greatest honor to help other women find that same level of self love, acceptance, and understanding.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Working as an astrologer and a life coach has been incredibly humbling. I’m learning to take things less personally as well as how to meet people where they are, not where I think they should be.

When I first started helping others heal and learn to love themselves, I made the mistake of believing their success or lack thereof was dependent on me and how much work and energy I was pouring into them. But I later realized when I have a client who successfully completes my narcissistic abuse recovery program and learns how to better love themselves, that’s all because they did the work. It’s not because I did anything unique or different or magical. They took the time to invest in themselves. They showed up for themselves, and that’s why they saw healing progress.

But the same is true when I have a client who doesn’t progress or doesn’t show up for every session. It’s not a reflection of me or my coaching abilities; it’s a reflection of that individual’s healing process and where they are in that healing journey during that moment.

Another challenge is related to how lonely healing can be.

In my head, I imagined that I was going to graduate from my life coaching certification program with five new best friends who had the same morals, political views, and goals as me and that everyone I knew would be so inspired by my life improvements that I would have an endless stream of clients looking to heal their relationship with themselves. Well, that didn’t happen.

I’ve spent more time alone on my spiritual journey than I thought I would. But spending time alone is normal when we’re on a healing or spiritual journey. I’ve had conversations with other female coaches in the spirituality, manifestation, healing space that had similar experiences. We all spend a lot of time alone because we’re meditating, we’re working on strengthening our physical bodies, nurturing ourselves with plant medicines and foods, but we crave that close, tight-knit female friendship to share this magic with. And the same is true for my clients.

Many of my clients hope that their boyfriend or sister or whoever will be inspired by their awakening and want to join them, but that often doesn’t happen. So, if you are interested in healing or working on yourself, the lesson here is to go after what you want and not wait for others to join you. This is a bit of an individual journey. The only person we’re with for our entire lives is ourselves so start creating a version of you that you love and are happy with. Once you do that, you’ll find your tribe of like-minded souls.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I initially started my healing journey, I had no intention of working in the wellness space. As much as I loved the topics, I just felt it was a little too “woo woo” to make a career out of without going back to school and becoming a licensed therapist. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously. But when I decided to estrange myself from my family of origin to protect my self-love, my mental health, my spiritual self, my relationship with my husband, I realized that my self-care tool belt that I had created to help myself heal was not “woo woo” at all and it, in fact, could be beneficial to others.

I started sharing positive affirmations, healing techniques, breathwork practices, meditations, and journal prompts on social media and the feedback was just unbelievable. I had people telling me that I was more effective in a 20-minute Facebook conversation than their therapist had been over the past five years. Even people I worked with in my day job started coming up to me and saying that I had made a comment and they decided to go to therapy after all. I was so flattered, I felt like I was creating good, so I kept going. I kept sharing my story and healing techniques, and that’s when I realized I had made a career out of the thing that I didn’t think was possible.

I’m still learning more and more every day about spirituality and the mind and the power we have inside ourselves to heal from trauma if we so choose. And let me tell you — this is not “woo woo” at all. This is tough stuff we’re dealing with, I just never realized it before because THIS is my calling. To help others heal and learn to recognize their self-worth.

I put astrology at the forefront of my coaching business because when you know your energetic blueprint, it gives you permission to show up as you are. It allows you to embrace what makes you weird.

The thing that makes you different or weird or unique is your superpower.

I have always been told I’m very kind and a good listener, which makes sense since I identify as an empath, an intuitive feeler. When I was growing up, I resisted these characteristics, these superpowers because I didn’t think they were flashy, cool, or sexy. But now I recognize that it’s my kindness that makes me approachable. And because I’m a good listener, people are not afraid to share their deepest, darkest secrets with me, and that’s how I became successful as a coach. By just being who I am at my core. The same is true for every one of us. Your superpowers may look different than mine, but you have them. Embrace them.

What’s next?
I’m starting a new program where I can combine my love of astrology with my knowledge of early childhood development, and parenting into a digestible tool to aid parents in raising empowered little ones.

I had a Baby Girl in September 2023, and I know a lot of women talk about “losing their pink” after having a baby and the importance of self-care. But I found myself struggling to balance taking care of myself and spending these precious moments with my daughter, so I started doing rituals with her – New Moon rituals, Full Moon rituals, Solstice and Equinox rituals, making moon water, blessing our home on the first of the month, and I started to not only feel more like myself, but I noticed my daughter, who is only 9 months old, also was enjoying herself. She was curious, she was doing her best to play the sound bowls, and play with my oracle and tarot cards.

I later was talking to one of my teachers about this experience and she shared how powerful rituals can be for children because it gives them an outlet for their emotions. We’re demonstrating as adults how to release big feelings safely, we’re sharing how to connect with yourself, how to breathe, how to set goals, and care for plants, animals, and ourselves. So I recently started sharing Mommy & Me astrology rituals and I’m thinking about focusing more on how to help women/moms mostly, learn how to read their child’s natal chart so they can best support their child in the way that child needs support.

For example, if a child is born during a mercury retrograde or the mom was born during a mercury retrograde, there can sometimes be issues with communication between mom and baby – there can be misunderstandings, our perception of what someone wants and/or needs can be skewed. If you are aware of this you can make adjustments in how you parent.

Pricing:

• In-Depth Astrological Chart Reading $170 USD
• Returning Clients: Birth Chart Deep Dive $120 USD
• Mini Birth Chart Reading $55 USD
• Natal Chart $19.99
• Astrological Reports & 1:1 Coaching: Various Pricing see elevatedaura.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elevatedaura.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevated_aura_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elevatedaura444
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@elevated_aura

Image Credits
Elevated Aura