Who is the Dark Fairy Godmother?
Welcome! My name is Dr. Michelle “Roby” Robichaux (AKA: Your Dark Fairy Godmother). As a retired psychotherapist, counselor educator, and now independent researcher, my passion lies in documenting and educating the public on the historical healing powers of the feminine.
My journey began years ago as a licensed mental health counselor, but even as a young child, I was always drawn to symbolic frameworks and non-Western holistic folk and Indigenous healing traditions, especially tarot, because these practices spoke to me on a deeper, more soulful level than our modern-day counseling theories. It was actually during one of my sessions during the clinical phase of my career that a client affectionately dubbed me their “Dark Fairy Godmother,” stating that while my approach was deeply compassionate and kind, I did not shy away from confronting my clients to explore their darker “shadowy” aspects that were necessary to uncover their inner, unconscious wisdom. Thus, that legacy nickname became the inspiration for my Substack.
Research & The Yonic Journal
Over time, as I began to question the field of counseling and Western psychotherapy, I found that I was drawn to more “taboo” subjects. Namely, I felt that the entire profession of psychotherapy was built on a model that did not reflect my own or other women’s experiences, and thus, I decided to return to my own Cajun, Celtic, and Eastern European roots for answers.
Specifically, I found that among female folk and Indigenous healers throughout history, there was always a particular emphasis on the role of the feminine principle (what I call Psyche/Soul) as the container through which healing occurs. Indicating a more intuitive, embodied, and soulful approach to healing in which the wisdom of one’s body, creative expression, energic awareness, and symbolic divination are used to access deep psychological insight.
Thus, as I completed my dissertation research at Sam Houston State University, I focused on tracing the historical lineages of these traditional healing practices and how the root mechanisms of their work are reflected in modern-day psychotherapy approaches and holistic healing practices (i.e. reiki and tarot) through the use of traditionally defined feminine or fem-identified skills (Robichaux, 2024)
It was from this research that I developed my Yonic Theory™ approach—a psycho-spiritual model of women’s self-actualization process that celebrates intuition, embodiment, and the sacred currents of feminine wisdom that the Western Medical system and subsequent field of Psychotherapy have oppressed and silenced throughout history.
Thus, having fully transitioned away from my previous career as a psychotherapist, this Substack serves as a safe space for me to share information about my Yonic Theory approach and other musings, like updates on my Yonic Tarot™ deck, free from the restrictive confines of traditional academia.
To learn more about my theory and my research, visit The Yonic Journal tab or website, which serves as a "grimoire" of sorts and a living archive of all my articles, essays, and conceptual frameworks on my Yonic Theory approach.
Why Subscribe?
Constructing an entirely self-funded independent research practice in one’s free time is no joke. Moreover, history shows that feminine intellectual labor and research on women’s experiences have been (and continue to be) undervalued in our modern era. Therefore, to preserve the independence of my self-funded research articles and essays, through my self-published journal as well as to support my trainings, and tarot deck creation process, I ask that you consider pledging your support by purchasing a paid monthly or annual subscription or by donating directly to my ko-fi account below:
By subscribing, know that you are not just funding an independent author - you are actively supporting the preservation of the wisdom of the feminine and the collective ancestral healing practices of women that time has forgotten.
Visit the link below to access the introduction course on my Yonic Theory approach:
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Your Dark Fairy Godmother
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Citation:
Robichaux, M. (2024). Reclaiming the sacred feminine: A qualitative exploration of female counselors’ use of Reiki and Tarot [Doctoral dissertation, Sam Houston State University]. Sam Houston State University Online Repository.
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