Interview with Gabriela Herstik

Meet Gabriela Herstik: Witchcraft, Fashion and the Divine Feminine

Tell us who Gabriela Herstik is. What led you to your practice?

I am an author, writer, witch and editor based in Los Angeles. I’m an Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Moon, Libra rising who’s obsessed with dissecting the intersection of fashion, witchcraft and sexuality. I have always been deeply spiritual, in part thanks to a mom who has always been into different new age and metaphysical practices and a father who’s a reform rabbi. I have always been deeply curious about the unknown and unseen. I discovered witchcraft when I was 11, after receiving a Faery oracle deck that connected me to books on the craft. I had been to Salem a few years before and suddenly everything connected. The summer before my Bat Mitzvah, I knew I was a pagan witch. Though I identified as Wiccan at the time, and no longer do. I still identify as Pagan and a witch. The faeries, the earth, glamour, the moon and goddess are all still huge parts of my practice, though the way I have practiced has changed since I was 11!

You are an inspiration for so many individuals in our generation. What inspires you to be a positive influence on others?

Aw, this is such a compliment!! And something I don’t take lightly, so thank you so much for this. I have worked hard to be where I am but I’m also very privileged. Both sides of my family were affected by World War 2, since my ethnicity is Jewish, and both my paternal grandparents were in concentration camps. My mother’s side immigrated from Poland to Mexico City before the war. I shouldn’t be here, but am. I know how lucky I am, and I know that I’m here for a reason. I don’t have any excuse to have a small life. I believe my mission in this life is to use fashion, sensuality, and earth based and magical practices to help others awaken to their own divinity, as well as the divine feminine. I truly believe in radical vulnerability and sharing where I’m to remind people they’re not alone. I feel both my age of 24, and much older and wiser than that too, so it’s been fun to navigate. I think the paradigm of student/teacher, spiritual/material is shifting. There’s so much changing in our world and I just want to be able to share my light and love and what I know to help others find empowerment, love and magick in their own lives. Also I am just naturally positive and want to share this as much as possible!

We are incredibly excited about your book “Inner Witch.” Can you tell us a little bit about the book? And what advice do you have for those seeking out their own Inner Witch?

Absolutely. Inner Witch is a guide for the modern practitioner who wants to find their own path of magick but may not know where to start. It talks about the archetype of the witch, her holidays, how to work with energy, tarot, astrology and crystals. There’s a chapter on fashion and glamour magick (how to work with talismans, bless and cleanse your clothes, find a spiritual style, etc.) moon magick and how to work with each phase of the moon, green witchcraft and working with the earth and her spirits, an entire chapter that’s a grimoire, and more. My goal with this book is to give a witch everything she needs to create her own magical practice. It’s not a prescription. It’s an invitation. There’s no one way to be a witch, and that’s something I emphasize. There’s an outline for spells and rituals, and how to create your own, how to work with the elements, how to create a grimoire and more in this book so you can adopt what feels good!

My advice to those seeing their own path is to learn as much as possible. Spend time in nature. Meditate. Connect to your own cycles and that of the earth. Create rituals you can practice every day. Start seeing your energy as sacred and as magick.

How did you come up with the idea to combine witchcraft, beauty and fashion?

When I was 20, I was in college, the university of South Carolina, and I started a series of blog posts for my then fashion blog, all based on tarot cards from The Wild Unknown deck. I worked on this for about two years, and loved creating these looks so much. I started writing and interning for The Numinous, which was the first platform I saw that was combining spirituality and fashion. I was in love. My background is in fashion writing and I saw this opportunity to use glamour in a new way and I haven’t looked back. In January of 2016, I started working with Venus and a big part of my practice with her is through glamour, fashion and art. I’m constantly learning about the overlap of glamour and fashion, but there’s so much! My paternal grandma was a seamstress by trade and my paternal grandpa was a master weaver. My maternal great grandparents owned a shop that sold gloves and tights and later opened a zipper factory. Both sides of my family come from the garment industry. It only made sense to weave this into my magick, since both fashion and witchcraft are my passions.

As your platform continues to grow, what goals will you set out to accomplish?

I want to reach as many people as I can, and partner with brands and companies that understand my ethos and message. I want to continue sharing my love for fashion and witchcraft and the divine feminine. I want my own television show where I travel and learn about magical practices and the way they fit into the society at large. I want to write my second book! I want to travel with Inner Witch and do signings and more workshops (both online and irl!). I want to continue using fashion as a means of reclamation, and I want to continue exploring the ways that witchcraft, glamour and sensuality manifest.