“My Little Prayer Book” by Annie Vasquez

Annie Vasquez received a message while meditating and made it a reality. The poet, fashionista, and author recently published My Little Prayer Book, a collection of 75 prayers, poems, and mantras. It matches her mindfulness her cards her deck well. Combining these two together creates her kit of amazing spiritual tools that emulate what she does for daily spiritual health. Essentially, Vasquez, known as Annie the Alchemist, is living her own dream life and wants her world to be a part of it.

It all started with a video that went viral on Instagram. “I felt called to share the prayer and was surprised at how quickly it spread,” Vazquez told PS. She continued to share more of her information until she was asked by her followers to make a book. The prayer book was originally a digital book with 35 prayers, but people wanted more.

“In 2023, I was writing a collection of poems about my journey as a first-born Cuban-American and what that was like,” she recalls, adding that she wasn’t ready to release a collection of poems yet. He added that he noticed it right away. She said, “Right after I meditated, a prayer book came to mind, so I pitched it to a publisher.”

They liked the idea and asked her to include a poem because that was their focus. Vazquez knew she needed more spiritual guidance on how to develop what her followers were looking for, and once again the universe answered. “I could only pray 35 times, so I asked the universe, ‘What number is it?’ And I got a 75.”

She set to work and completed 75 prayers with an equal number of poems and mantras. Although her work was completed, she continued to fall behind, and although she tried to remain calm and go with the flow, she began to feel anxious. This time, Vasquez turned to her spirit guide, her dog of 15 and a half years.

“I finished reading the book. My dog ​​passed away, but he stayed until I finished,” Vasquez says. Due to delays in publishing the book, Vasquez turned to her dog for guidance and autographs.

“I wrote a letter to my dog ​​in heaven and said, “I know you’re in good spirits. If this is published this year, please give me your autograph.” I received the autograph, and in November It was published on the 21st,” she recalls. “I realized this date was intended because people went crazy and bought five copies. It was a Christmas present.”

The Miami-born Latina writer was onto something. The Annie the Alchemist brand started in 2017 with T-shirts, hoodies, and other merchandise, but it was with her prayer book that she felt the situation was right. It was after it was released. Her prayer book paired well with her 2020 deck of cards, which included affirmations and more as journaling prompts, and was a perfect match.

“I love cards, and I wanted to make my own cards that had everything in them: affirmation cards, tarot cards, oracle cards,” she says. “If you need breathing exercises, it’s there. If you need crystal recommendations, it’s there.”

Currently, Vasquez enjoys teaching others how to use the book and deck, and will soon include a diary. She has accepted how the universe has opened up for her in recent years and is excited to share what she has learned with others.

Like many Latinas in the spiritual world, Vazquez was raised Catholic. Although she wasn’t religious, she enjoyed the social aspect of religion and the way it brought people together. Still, she was looking for something more.

“I feel like I was drawn to it from an early age, but I grew up Catholic, but my parents worked a lot, so my dad’s aunt took care of us a lot. She had an intuitive ability,” Vazquez said. “It was always when she was cooking. I think it was because there was water around and the water opened her third eye.”

Spiritual beliefs other than Catholicism were not discussed in her family, but she saw evidence of them in Tia and even in her grandfather.

“My grandfather used plants as medicine,” says Vasquez. “I’d get a cut and he’d say, ‘Wait a minute,’ and then he’d go out and cut an aloe and put some ointment on me. So, in that sense, it’s in my genes. I feel like it’s happening.”

Vasquez embraces his spirituality and uses words to create magic. After all, as she says, writing is her dharma in this life, her duty, and passing on her lessons is the greatest gift she can give to the world. “My goal is just to continue to create tools that help people and teach them how to use them so I can pass them on.”