Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecelia Butler.
Hi Cecelia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My mother died in September 2001, the same week as 9/11. That kind of loss changes you, and it changed me in ways I never expected.
I was a librarian who was practical, logical, and grounded in facts. But after she passed, things started happening that I couldn’t explain. I was sensing things, feeling things, and I couldn’t ignore it. This marked the beginning of my spiritual awakening.
So I did what I always do and learned everything I could. I got certified as a Reiki master and trained in hypnotherapy, reflexology, and yoga. I took classes in intuitive development. If this were real, I wanted to understand it.
Then I started painting, and not in any way I had planned. The images just came through me. There were angels, light, sacred geometry, as if something was guiding my hand. I call that work Painting with Angels.
Somewhere along the way, it all clicked. I was a librarian who had spent thirty years organizing knowledge, and now I was being guided to the biggest library of all, the Akashic Records. That’s where the name came from: The Akashic Librarian.
And then I wrote The Coffeehouse Medium, a novel about a woman who is a medium and opens a coffeehouse in Southport, NC. It’s fiction, but it came straight from my heart and actual events. It was just chosen as the May 2026 book club read at Needful Things bookstore in Southport, which means the world to me.
My mother started all of this. Her passing cracked me open, and everything I do now, from the readings, the paintings, the teaching, the writing, all comes back to the one thing I know for certain: love doesn’t end. It just keeps finding new ways to reach us.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The initial challenge was internal. As a credentialed professional with a solid career, I suddenly began sharing my ability to communicate with the deceased. I was concerned about others’ perceptions and my own credibility. Overcoming this and confidently pursuing this work required significant courage and time.
There was also a sense of loneliness. Spiritual awakening can be isolating, particularly when those around you don’t share the same perspective. You begin to see the world differently, and not everyone can keep up.
Creating a new identity after a long career is more difficult than one might think. I had dedicated decades to being a librarian and branch director, and that’s how I knew myself. Becoming a medium, teacher, painter, and author meant letting go of a carefully constructed version of myself, which brought its own quiet grief.
Finally, there’s the practical side of sharing this work with the world. I’ve been writing a book, navigating the publishing process, and working to connect with readers.
But I keep coming back to the same truth. I didn’t choose this path so much as it chose me, and when something chooses you that clearly, you find a way to keep going.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work exists at the intersection of the spiritual and the practical, which, I believe, makes it unique.
At the core of my practice is mediumship, connecting people with deceased loved ones. I also work with the Akashic Records, providing insights into a soul’s energetic history across lifetimes. These sessions can be incredibly healing for those seeking peace, clarity, or a deeper understanding of themselves. In addition, I am a Reiki Master, a certified hypnotherapist, and a yoga instructor, and I integrate these tools into my work based on individual needs.
Then there’s painting, which has become one of the most sacred aspects of my life. I am a channeled painter, meaning I don’t plan my creations. The images appear through me. I pick up a brush, and something else takes over. The resulting artwork features angels, archangels, sacred geometry, and fields of light and color that I could never have imagined on my own. People often describe an angelic presence when they are around my paintings.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
In some ways, I was an only child. My sister was twelve years older than I was, so for most of my childhood, it was just me on my own, finding ways to entertain myself.
What I remember most is that I was never really alone. I had invisible playmates — companions I could see, talk to, and play with, even when no one else could. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. It just felt natural.
Looking back now, I wonder if those invisible friends were actually my spirit guides, showing up early in my life and staying close. Perhaps this gift wasn’t something I developed later on; maybe I was born with it, and my childhood was simply the first chapter of a story that is still unfolding.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ceceliagracebutler.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cecelia.butler1/
- Youtube: @ceceliagracebutler
- Other: https://www.thecoffeehousemedium.com
