Speaking with Shelley Johnson—known to her millions of followers as “A Good Witch”—feels like affirmation cards come to life, only less polished and far more entertaining.
It is important to remember that being a person of integrity does not involve judgment. “Being a person of wholeness is accepting oneself.”
Nothing on this earth can shake you. You are not shaken by anything on the earth.
What you think of me is not my concern.
This is just a small selection of the mantras she uses.
It’s only a few minutes into our Zoom call—how Johnson holds all her virtual tarot card readings—and I already feel better, calmer. Johnson is 73 and has already mastered what most people chase their whole lives: the ability of being present.
Johnson did not become “a Good Witch” until she was 69 years old, after her Instagram handle @agoodwitchofficial took off. For more than three decades, she worked as an occupational therapist, building her own practice in the 1970s—uncommon for a woman at the time—and helping patients who believed their lives were limited rediscover what was possible. She used unconventional methods. She used humour, honesty in her treatment and even tarot to help connect to the patients.
She asks, “I always have the same answer.” She asks, “How can I make you enjoy yourself, learn, and grow?”
That question still drives everything she does today—it’s just packaged differently.
Johnson has a social media account that is a mixture of humor and cannabis advice. One moment she’s joking about smoking weed and sharing bong-cleaning tips; the next, she’s reminding viewers to love themselves exactly as they are—then baring her chest post-mastectomy, urging them to release shame around their bodies. It’s chaotic, a little disarming—and intentional. Cannabis has been a big part of her ability to welcome people into the house.
“I’ll give you exactly what you ask for, and you will then listen to my words,” says the comedian, who adds that her jokes about cannabis are meant to make people feel less ashamed of what she considers a legitimate, legal medicine.
Johnson has been open about her relationship with the plant—starting young, getting sober for nearly two decades, then returning to it after a breast cancer diagnosis made pharmaceutical treatments unbearable. “I quit pharmaceuticals at 50. And I stopped being crazy”, she explains. “I don’t smoke marijuana to be a crazy bitch.”
She is quick to point out that cannabis does not cure.
The cure for everything is to regulate the nervous system, she says. “Pot doesn’t fix it—it helps it.”
Johnson was deeply interested in the work of her nervous system when she received a cancer diagnosis back in 2000. She stepped away from occupational therapy and went back to school for studio arts, where she discovered that sculpture—working with her hands, being fully present in the moment—would become a key part of her healing. “I sculpt because I have to—for neuro-regulation,” she says. “I have to take time out of my mind, away from worrying about the future and the past.
Her experience was heightened after suffering from trigeminal nerve pain as a consequence of chemo, causing chronic facial discomfort for many years. It wasn’t the medication that helped, but rather a shift in her perspective. She says that when she stops paying attention to her body, it helps reduce the pain. It’s because of this that I must sculpt.
Johnson is a sculptor who uses cannabis to create. Before a work out, take a puff. Before going for a walk. Prior to painting or sculpture. To engage, and not escape.
She says, “If I’m too high on weed I will miss you.” In her view, the real issue isn’t what people use—it’s why they’re using it. That’s why she sticks to low-THC, balanced products—often outdoor, organic flower from Moon Made Farms. She says that getting too high defeats the whole purpose. The goal isn’t to check out—it’s to stay present.
She says that people are not escaping reality. They’re checking themselves out.
This is a view that’s been shaped by years of experience working with other people, not only by her own. Johnson developed a tarot deck long before building an online audience. She has been using tarot cards to read for over half a century. It all began shortly after her college graduation, when Johnson was struggling with how she could emotionally connect with he first patient.
Then she purchased a deck. While charting at night, she would use the cards to help her better understand each patient. “I interpret the cards as a way that people can learn, and grow,” says she. “Not by showing limitations.”
In other words, the same work she was doing as a therapist—helping people reframe their experiences, regulate their reactions and move forward—just through a different lens.
Johnson’s new persona is less about reinvention, and more evolution. Johnson’s “Good Witch”, a persona she created out of necessity, was born during the Pandemic when Johnson couldn’t sell her art in person anymore and had to increase traffic on her website. One consultant recommended she also sell herself.
What could you be? He asked.
She replied, “Well I am a witch.”
Johnson’s label didn’t have anything to do with aesthetics or mysticism. This was about the agency.
“What is the best way to get in touch with you? Am I a Witch? She says: “I’m a witch because I have the power to create anything I desire.” The same philosophy she has been holding for many years is that one’s thinking and actions are not restricted by their circumstances. She says: “I don’t limit myself to the ideas of other people.” She says, “I make my own reality.”
That mindset has carried her through a life that includes being kicked out of multiple churches, building a career on her own terms, surviving cancer, raising two daughters and continuously reinventing how she expresses herself—whether through therapy, art or now, social media.
This is also the message that resonates for millions of her followers.
Johnson’s material is not polished nor aspirational. Johnson’s content isn’t polished or aspirational in the traditional sense. It can be raw, sometimes chaos, funny, and at times blunt. There’s always a message underneath: relax. Attention. Learn. Grow.
Johnson’s online approach is unique in a landscape filled with perfectly packaged wellness tips and advice. It stands out because she is authentic. She is not trying to be a guru. She is not saying that she has all the answers. If anything, she’s doing what she’s always done—meeting people where they are, getting their attention however she can and then nudging them toward something better.
You could call it spirituality. Spirituality is another name for therapy. You can also call it “content”.
She describes herself as a “good witch”. So do we.