Meet Mikaila Mack | Spiritual Consultant, Writer, & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mikaila Mack and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mikaila, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I work in both the spiritual and creative fields. I do spiritual consultations for people and businesses, while developing myself as a writer and filmmaker. Before starting my business, I’d had plenty of other jobs: service industry, fireworks, talent agency, etc. None of them felt like me. None of them felt like I had a viable future in it. At the end of 2019, I participated in a Vipassana Meditation Retreat, where I traveled to a center in the south of Georgia and for ten days, I sat in silence and learned how to meditate. For ten days, I was confronted with all the mishaps and missteps in my life and something became crystal clear to me: I never wanted to feel as if I was in a position of suffering for a reward, of sacrificing my happiness for money. I knew that no matter how long it took, I had to start taking a chance on myself. I had already been a creative for almost ten years at that point, but I knew in order to be successful, I had to expand. And I knew that expansion would come from developing my spirituality.

After that retreat, I was gifted a website for my birthday. My father quite literally showed it to me and said it was up to me to design it. I was so very skeptical, but in my mind, I had no other choice! I had to dedicate myself to designing the website – something I hadn’t done since the one class I took in high school. So after that, in January of 2020, having a website I designed from the ground up, I decided to take a leap of faith and start my business. Over the years, I had become very interested in Astrology. Actually, I was obsessed. I knew it was a tool to help me work through trauma and unlock my potential. While the general public was being reintroduced to surface-level horoscopes, I was diving further, learning about degrees, houses, aspects, planetary transits – ALL of it! I discovered Astrology wasn’t merely a “pseudo-science,” it was a language.

After my accuracy in giving readings to friends, I felt confident enough to give my first paid readings! From there, my business grew. I realized my favorite readings were ones where I gave advice to creatives to develop their image and social media strategies (something I had done for myself as a creative). I wrote articles about this and went viral. I started getting orders for Birth Chart Readings from creatives, professors, celebrities, tech executives, and more! You’d be surprised at the sheer amount (and types) of people interested in the stars! Once I had a firm grasp in that (over 300+ chart readings), I developed my business further – I paid for training and eventually, I started offering readings as an Akashic Records Practitioner, I wrote two books, and I even began making films and editing scripts for writers. Through my business that allowed me to thrive in my spiritual beliefs and talents, I was able to develop and unlock new creative talents of mine. I believe if I hadn’t started out in developing my spirituality, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of writing my books, making my films, or even having and maintaining my own business. Overall, my thought process was, “how can I pursue work that not only allowed me to be happy, but contributed to my goal of healing myself and others?” Following that has benefited me greatly in this field, even as I expand to incorporate other avenues of work.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
What sets my work apart from others is how closely tied my spirituality is with my creative drive and the topic of mental health. For instance, in both of the books I’ve written thus far, “Lovely, Deadly, Black” and “Returning Home,” I discuss mental health and trauma, but I also discuss spirituality through the lens of religion, astrology, and energy to pinpoint new-age ideas of sin and how it is conflated with impurity…when sometimes, what we consider to be “sinful” are merely indications of inflicted trauma. At the same time, I talk about how spirituality and religion can be used as a defense to cover what I would consider to be “true” sin or perversion. I also talk about the spiritual implications of aging and how it is a gift, rather than a punishment – yet society is designed to make people hate it. So, in the case of how my work is different, I am encompassing all of my journey – mental wellness, spirituality, and creativity – into my art as a way to make a statement about the starkness and ultimate hopefulness that life provides when you’re intimately and intricately connected to all three.

I’m most proud of my short film, “moon square saturn” because it ties astrology with an emotional creative release that accurately depicts my own personal experience with depression. It also won an award in January 2023 for Best Short FIlm through Art With Impact, an organization geared toward addressing mental health issues.

I got where I am today by taking a chance on myself, and even through the mistakes, mishaps, setback, or bouts of depression, I am still working toward my vision of making a name for myself as a spiritual creative. It took a lot of faith to start an Astrology business at the start of a global pandemic, and not only stick with it through the entirety of the pandemic, but also expand to offer more services and and delve into my creative outlets, even as the world opened back up. It took a lot of audacity to pursue being a creative in a time where everyone was, understandably, living in a state of fear. Was it the smartest thing? Maybe not. The easiest? Definitely not. But I would not have gained the insight and experience I’ve gained if I hadn’t tried.

The lessons I’ve learned along the way was to slow down when it’s time to take a break. Also, balance. I had been ignoring my health due to my business and for a while, the Astrology readings started to feel like all the other jobs I had before. It was because I wasn’t taking the time out take care of myself, my mental health, or my creative works. I ended up having to grind to a halt in my business, which was incredibly difficult…but I wasn’ t healthy. When I eventually came back, I was more balanced in working with my creative expression as well as my spiritual. I learned that for me, for my business and creative endeavors to succeed, I have to do both together. I can’t abandon one for the other. One severely suffers when I focus solely on the other. When I do both, everything thrives: my health, my money. my mind, my emotions, my life.

I want the world to know that artistry can be expanded through spirituality and the willingness to be vulnerable. That is what I hope to exemplify through the development of my brand.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love going to eat Ramen at Jinya Ramen Bar. I used to work there years ago. The food is really good. I would also eat at Slutty Vegan on Edgewood , Bhojanic in Buckhead, and get boba and pastries from Sweet Hut in Midtown. I like hanging out on the beltline and Krog Street. On Saturdays, on the Belt Line, there is Paint n Sip. Spending Sunday nights at The Bonfire is always fun! It’s a great event for music and dancing. Of course, I would also go see a theatre show at WIndmill Arts Theatre or the Alliance. I would also go to an open Mic with my friends at Our Bar ATL or an improv comedy show at Uptown Comedy Center.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think I’m very blessed to have a family that doesn’t discourage me. I’m quite literally the type of person to be like “I’m doing this.” And they’ll just be like: “Okay.” Of course there’s the usual concerns here and there, but it’s never “You can’t do this” or “You’re a failure” that a lot of creatives and spiritualists experience. So I’d like to express my immense gratitude for that. I’ve been given a lot of freedom to figure things out and make mistakes, which has been hugely beneficial.

My former therapist, Michael Smith, who was the first non-family member that complimented my writing and helped me to believe in it.

Website: https://www.mikailamack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikailaisawesome/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikailasimone

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikailaisawesome

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikailaisawesome

Image Credits
Mikaila SImone Mack.