Thank you so much! It’s an honor to reconnect with you five years after my first book came out, it’s been a witchy whirlwind and I’m immensely grateful for it all.

My latest project, which was released on 9/26, is the “Goddess of Love Tarot” which was collaged/ illustrated by Julia Popescu (also known as Snakes for Hair.) I was approached by my publisher to create a tarot deck (a dream come true), and I had the idea to make one as a devotional and divinatory tool in honor of the Goddess of Love.

I have been a devotee of the Goddess of Love for a near decade, and a student of the tarot for almost 17 years, and I was inspired to create something that could be used for readings around love, sex, relationships, patterns or shadows in relationship, all guided by the Goddess.

In my personal magickal practice, I use the tarot for divination but also so much more than that.

The tarot is a tool I use for meditation, sex magick, contemplation, talismanically for spells and rituals, as a tool of prayer and devotion, and as a focal point for exploring the Qabalistic Tree of Life.

I wanted to create a tarot deck that also doubled as a ritual object, that people could use as a path to meet the Goddess of Love and Sex, and as a tool for connection and devotion to Her, and a path to embodying and living as the Goddess of Love.

I conceptualized the deck to honor the underworld journey of the Goddess; the court cards are renamed as Maiden, Witch, Queen, and Crone, and each major arcana card features a different Goddess of Love. Some of the major arcana cards are also renamed to reflect the Goddess; The Fool becomes The Void (Shakti), The Emperor becomes The Sovereign (Vesta), and The Hierophant becomes The Hierodule (Tara.)

Beyond that, the wands are represented as roses, and the pentacles as the septagram. Each card in the deck includes a journal question and affirmation to work with to further embody the cards message and meaning, and each of the Major Arcana cards include a ritual to connect with the Goddess featured on it.

I also wanted the booklet to be more than just interpretations, so included is suggestions on how to work with the tarot for meditation, sex magick, and in spells and rituals, and I also include specific love, sex, and relationship tarot spreads.

This deck is guided by Venus, and both Julia and I are devoted to Venus, and it was an honor to create this deck!

You speak a lot of the “Divine Feminine.” Can you provide our readers what the Divine Feminine means to you and how one can harness its energy?

To me, the Divine Feminine or Goddess is both an energy and frequency we all have access to and a Deity we can honor, embody, and worship.

The Divine Feminine/ Goddess is the erotic energy that connects all of creation, that births the world. It is the vibration of intuition, creativity, sensuality, and magick. It is the body, flesh and bones, the erotic, and the artistic expression within each of our souls.

It is non-linear, connected to all living things, best represented through the heart, through love, through the earth.

There is no one definition of the Goddess, but She has been worshipped since the beginning of time, and Her ebbs and flows are felt in the cycles of moon and sun, heaven, earth and underworld.

To connect with the Goddess, slow down and listen to your heart. See what magick is there, what is being asked to make itself known and honored. Take stock of the way Goddess energy is already in your life- how you’re already honoring the ebbs and flows of yourself, how you find beauty and pleasure in your day-to-day life. Notice how you honor your artistic expression, how you listen to your intuition, how you connect to your sexuality. This is where the Goddess is- She is already there.

If you want to invite Her into your life, heart, and magickal practice, create an altar to Her. Place objects that bring you pleasure and that are beautiful to you; tarot cards, icons and statues of the Goddess, roses or flowers, crystals, candles, even sex toys and objects of inspiration can live here. Then spend time each day honoring this space, a focal point of your devotion, practice and heart. Spend a few minutes lighting a candle, saying affirmations, praying, breathing, pulling a card… whatever resonates with you!

Invite the Goddess into your heart and life, and then make an effort to see how She is moving through you and your life.

Sex Magick seems to be a hot topic for many practitioners nowadays. How do you incorporate sexuality and/or the act of sex in your spiritual practice and how can our readers do the same?

Sex Magick is a means of working with erotic energy for transformation. This can mean something as simple as masturbating as you focus on something you want to call in, or it can be a ritual where you connect to your erotic self, working with meditation, movement, masturbation, or self-seduction through glamour, adornment, and acts of self-love.

Sex magick can be worked with to heal, to embody your erotic essence, to manifest or banish, to honor the Goddess, yourself, and whatever else feels aligned with you in mind, body and heart, In my own practice, I work with my sexual energy through prayer and devotion to the Goddess of Love, through kink and bdsm, through power dynamics, through masturbation and sex, through self-adornment, through art and poetry, and through tarot.

Sex isn’t something I separate from my spirituality, and neither are my desires. My sexuality is an expression of the Divine and what I call the Divine Erotic, the living breathing life force of sexuality that creates and sustains the whole universe, which can also be thought of as “Shakti.”

Sexuality and your body, the way you feel when you connect with a lover or Goddess or yourself, the way pleasure feels in your body, and the ability of sex to lead you to altered states of self and mind are all so important. They are not opposed to the esoteric, to spirit, but another side of the same coin.

Is Tarot for everyone? If so, what are some practical tips you have for those just starting out? Also, where can we purchase the Goddess of Love Tarot deck?

Tarot is for anyone who feels a draw to it!

My tip for those starting out are to begin connecting to the deck by looking through each card, taking note of the ones that resonate with you. From there, you may wish to begin pulling a tarot card each morning to guide you through your day. Then you can journal or reflect in the evening how this card showed up for you through your day.

I also love meditating with the tarot- you can project yourself into the card like it’s a scene from a movie, looking around to see what’s going on.

Or you can visualize bringing the card into your heart to embody its energy. This is an especially potent practice to do if you want to intentionally choose a card to work with, instead of just pulling one to see what energy is present. So if you want to embody the Queen of Cups energy, you can meditate on that as a way to connect to it.

You can also create an altar to a tarot card you want to honor and work with.

One card readings and three card readings are another good way to begin establishing a relationship with the cards, as is keeping a tarot journal for reflections and interpretations.

The Goddess of Love Tarot is available everywhere you buy your tarot decks.

Photography Credit: @alexyael

F&L:   Rachel, we are very excited to have the opportunity to interview you. Most of us know you and love you from your role as Rochelle from the movie “The Craft.” Can you give us some insight as to what your perspectives or beliefs were in relation to spirituality and the Tarot, prior to filming the movie? Did your role in the movie have any impact on your beliefs? 

R:  I became interested in Tarot and Tarot cards probably around age 8. I pulled down two books from my parents’ – I’d like to call it the library but it was a bookcase – and one was Carl Jung’s “Man and His Symbols” and then Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil.” Now, I was taught to read very young, so I could read a little bit, but it was the images in them and on the covers. So cut to someone shows up with a Tarot deck and I’m, like, “Oh, my God, I know these images. What is this? This is like a language.” Tarot is a language. And I thought, “Oh, I can speak this language.”

So that began my interest. I was always drawn to the esoteric and, I think like a lot of people out there, was very intuitive. I ended up writing the book because I’ve realized there are ways to clear out the noise and the subterfuge in your head and develop your intuition. And everyone is a little psychic. Some people are really in touch with it and some are not. That’s it.

So as far as “The Craft,” that script came to me because I was already into this stuff. That’s the truth. And “The Craft” did not inform my practice as much as solidify for me that I was meant to be doing what I was doing, because about nine months before “The Craft” script showed up, my TV broke, and we didn’t have cable or anything but I was like, what do I do? Do I fix it? Do I get another TV? And this little voice, I’m going to say Higher Self, my intuition, or if you’re super religious, you would call it God – said “no, don’t fix your TV, you’re supposed to do something else with this time.” So I was like, “Oh, okay.” And I just really delved hard core into Tarot readings. I’d already been doing Tarot readings for myself, my friends, read a lot of books like Mary Kay Greer. I was able to see the patterns of the cards and which cards kept coming up. So then nine months of me doing that, it was really my main focus, my friend Jordan — who was in “Cabin Fever”, called me up and said “There’s this movie you’ve got to read for. It’s called ‘The Craft.’” And that was that.

And just to add to that – something I haven’t said in other interviews – is I had to work really hard to get an appointment for that film. They thought I was too old, too black, too this, too that. So I am saying this to the people reading your blog that sometimes things don’t fall into your lap, you do have to do the legwork to make them happen.

And that is part of the magic, actually. And that is the difference between, I think, real magic and the Secret. Right? Because the Secret was really great ideas but really watered-down eastern philosophy that left out the component of the work you need to do. And it’s like, you’ll think and it’ll show up. Yes, think it. Of course, think it non-stop. Because if I had not stopped and not fixed my TV and studied and listened to my inner voice and really thrown myself into Tarot, I don’t know that that script would’ve found its way to me. And it was kind of one of the first teen movies to go “wait a second, maybe we could put a black person in a lead who’s not just an ancillary character.” I’m proud of that character because I know it’s great for little black girls out there to see someone like them, who looks like them in the movie. And over the years I’ve had many, especially gay men love that character because they felt on the outside too even though they were white. They were still on the outside and super related to Rochelle for just being picked on for something that has nothing to do with anything, sexuality or complexion or any of those things. So I just adore that it has meant something to people.

F&L:   You have recently released your very own Tarot deck and book called “True Heart Tarot.” How do you think your deck and approach to reading the Tarot differs from others?

R:  Well, I think that there are so very many schools of thought with Tarot that it’s bound to be a little different just because Tarot is a very personal practice. With that said, I do include in the set a full size book, and I don’t call them definitions. I call them interpretations of the cards. I do follow a pretty traditional kind of ideology, though, because I want to give deference to that deck and all the people it’s helped.

But I would say one of the things I’m proud of with my work on this book and I’m super happy with is that I include the way that I learned the cards. Many people are intimidated by how to learn it, so I detail how to use an actor’s way to hook into the emotion of the card that I think will be really helpful for people.  We’re much more likely to recall a feeling quicker than trying to memorize 78 cards. So I advise people to learn by breaking down Tarot. There are four suits, right? Earth, air, fire, water. So if you learn those four things, that’s not so hard. I also have broken down in the book numerology. If you learn the energy of the numbers, it’s so helpful, because, for example, if I just told you swords are mind, and if you look in the book and you see that 5 represents conflict and change, you don’t even have to be holding a card to know that card of 5 of swords might mean some conflict and change around something mental, right?

One of the things I suggest in there too, for newbies especially, even for people who’ve been doing it a long time – pull out a card, look at the image. What is it saying to you? Because you’re probably correct in your interpretation of the card. But also, now after you get your visceral hit on it, then go look up the interpretation and you can synthesize the two. Maybe they were exactly the same. Maybe they’re at odds. But you can kind of see where your interpretation of the cards fits into the actual interpretation. And you can add it on to it. It is not one or the other.

F&L:   What inspired the specific artwork for the True Heart Tarot Deck?

R: I really went back and forth on what I wanted my deck to be, because on one hand I’ve been doing this for decades, so I wanted to design a really symbol-heavy, esoteric, out-there deck, and then I had to bring it back down to earth and realize “Hey, how about you design a deck that is completely accessible to beginners, but hopefully with enough layers that the more practiced person will see that and the beginner will eventually uncover.

I did in the end design them with artist Stephanie Singleton, a Canadian artist who did the illustration. She’s super talented. It was an interesting process. I basically wrote a second book for her. I would pull all the artwork, like pictures, references, and then I would write up what I wanted, I wrote up the original definition of the card, and I would write up what I wanted my card to be. So around this time we were doing the sword suit and all my hair broke off. And you know, it really informed my card because I realized it didn’t hurt me, Rachel, to go do the big chop, cut off all the damaged hair. It hurt my ego a lot and my pride, but it did not physically hurt. Much like the person in the 8 of swords card [in Rider-Waite Smith deck], my card has this person with this octopus-like hair, and we really went over how long the hair was, and back and forth on stuff like that, but the concept is – the person in the card is tied to this 8 of swords with split ends but if they cut it off it wouldn’t really hurt and they could lift up and go on doing what they’re supposed to be doing. But maybe ego, pride, fear, whatever, is keeping them tied to it.

So some cards came up organically in the moment out of something I was going through. Other ones were things plotted out. But what I wanted to do is remain true to Rider-Waite Smith and to have some as a homage to Pamela Colman Smith, who was the artist on the Rider-Waite Smith deck and she was not included in the name of the deck until like a “minute ago.” She was a mixed chick, kind of a bohemian artist renaissancey woman, so I really felt connected to her when I was working on the book and the deck, and it all kind of felt very full circle, and that’s why she’s my dedication in the book.

And one thing I know about my deck is that it is very readable. That was the whole point of it was that it should be easy for someone new to catch on, it should be comfortable for someone who’s already a Tarot reader. I couldn’t fit in every culture. I wish I could have, but I couldn’t, but I wanted to give it a nod. I grew up in New York city and when you’re a city kid, you’re around everyone and you celebrate every holiday, all cultures, so I wanted to try to put in as many as I could. Because as beautiful as it is to grow up only around your culture and feel really comfortable, it’s also great to see how other people live and how much we all have in common.

F&L:   As alternative spiritual practices become more mainstream, people seem to be     seeking direction and answers. What guidance can you give our readers who are   starting out on their journey of reading Tarot and/or practicing alternative   Spirituality?

R:  Personally I think it’s great that people are looking at alternative ways, because I think – I guess my hope would be that people could see that all of this works in tandem with the religion you already grew up in. There is nothing out of alignment with Tarot cards and Christ’s identity, or any of that. What I hope is that this energy, speaking of whole circle, is going back to our roots especially let’s say in the Black American culture. When we look back to the religions of Africa there is so much ritual and ceremony and magic, and then when we’re brought here where religion was used a little bit as a yolk, and now it’s not a yolk. It’s something that’s beautiful and community pleasing for people and brings us together, but I think we’ve lost some of our old magic, stuff they talk about it in the Old Testament. I think it’s really just us coming back to our roots rather than a New Age thing. It’s an Old Age thing. What’s crazy to me is that we’re calling nature worship that it’s under – nothing wrong with Pagan, but I’m saying today Pagan has this slight weird connotation to it and it shouldn’t! It’s the sun! People would die without it. So I think that hopefully it is less of a trend and more of just people incorporating this into their everyday lives, because that only advances us as a society when we’re more enlightened.

F&L:   How would you say the Tarot has assisted you in your personal growth,     spiritually and your day-to-day life?

R:  Tarot can absolutely be used for divining and all of that stuff, but honestly, one of the ways I love to use it and why I wrote the book was, it is amazing as a personal practice for self-reflection and for revealing to us some of our patterns – good and bad – so that then we can make choices that are better for us. So I feel like Tarot in tandem with therapy is amazing.

Tarot is very much a mirror and shows us our reflection, so I do find you have to be a little brave at trying to look into your shadows side, because Tarot will bring up and show you quite often your shadow side. And I don’t like looking at my shadow side but I like kind of ferreting out the truth, because I as a twenty-something younger person, I think was like “can you believe this asshole did this to me!” And now the question should be “why do we engage with the asshole?” Take the onus off the other person because it’s not about them. I can only look at my own behavior. The clearer you are with yourself and you understand your motivations – because it’s OK to make shitty choices I think as long as you own them. If I go get a box of donuts right now and four days later I gain five pounds, I have to acknowledge that yeah, I gained five pounds because I ate that box of donuts. I can’t go “I can’t believe I gained five pounds. Why?” I can’t be a victim.

So once we own stuff, that is when our magic, our personal ability to manifest and our personal magic is really unleashed, if you ask me. I think it’s hard to be a magical person if you’re bullshitting yourself.  And again, we all have sides we don’t necessarily like or things we do that are not great, but, again, I say own them, because then you have some ownership. If you make a choice to fuck someone over, at least own the choice instead of gaslighting yourself. I think it’s just been important for me and it’s helped me stay grounded as a person and if I’m grounded as a person then my magic will really fly.

Follow Rachel True on Instagram @trueracheltrue

Visit Rachel’s website truehearttarot.com and link to buy her True Heart Intuitive Tarot Guidebook and Deck

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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.

Shamanism is the most ancient human means of engaging with the spiritual aspects of reality.
It is a very general term to describe the spiritual practices of our ancestors and indigenous people across the globe and is based on a worldview or understanding that everything is alive with spirit and energy.

Shamanism values all the different states of consciousness that are available to us, and the wisdom, healing and insight that we can tap in to when we enter those states. Typically, shamans enter spiritual states through drumming, movement, singing, dreaming, plant medicine or working with crystals. In shamanic states we can tune in and connect with the wholeness of our soul; we can commune with the spirit and the energy of life; and we can find depth, meaning and support on what is needed in order for us to heal. Shamanic healing attends to the healing needs of the soul or the psyche. In a shamanic healing session, we would address the spiritual or energetic root cause of an imbalance, to enable the person to overcome chronic issues and restore power and harmony in their lives.

2. How long have you been practicing and what would you say is the reason(s) that led you to becoming a healer?

I have been practicing shamanism in a formal sense since about 2011, but it has been in my bones for as long as I can remember. I think it is in all our bones. When working with clients, it feels like it is something in us that has been practiced since the dawn of time. I would say that my own healing journey led me to become a healer myself. I had always found myself drawn to crystals, alternative healing practices or spiritual based teachings. Growing up, life always felt strange, and not real, like something was missing, and nobody was talking about it, and that was scary. I think I was searching for something that would help explain the irrational disconnect and anxiety I was experiencing in life, and modern medicine couldn’t really do that for me. It was in a hypnotherapy session for anxiety that I had my first shamanic experience. Hypnotherapy is a modern means of going in to an altered state to work with the unconscious and spiritual realms. Once the hypnotherapist induced me into a relaxed altered state, I had a spontaneous classical shamanic experience that blew my mind. I didn’t know anything about shamanism at that point, but the therapist suggested I look in to it because of the strong shamanic symbolism that I had encountered. And the rest is history, things started to make sense, and that unfolded a rich path for me, that led me to where I am today. I have always had a tendency to want to work in a caring capacity; I’ve worked across lots of sectors, but I have found my calling as a shamanic healer.

3. Big congratulations on your book “The Crystal Compass: A guide to using crystals for energy, healing and reclaiming your power.” What tools can readers expect  to gain and implement in their lives?

Thank you! Crystals are great tools for healing, and I am so excited to be able to share a bit about how they can be used in our lives. There are lots of great books and resources out there that catalogue the properties and qualities of crystals, so I wanted to create a book that was a little bit different. The book takes the reader on a holistic spiritual healing journey, though practical exercises and tools that enable the person choose the right crystal at the right time. The crystals are ordered by a compass that is divided across the elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air, with each element representing key areas in our life. Earth relates to our body, and our strong foundations in the world such as home life and security. Water relates to our emotion, intuition and our relationship with our self and others. Fire relates to the mind, and our ability to direct our power and will in the world. And Air relates to our spirit and our connection to something greater. When we encounter a block in one of the elements it can manifest in many ways in our life. The book allows you to identify where you are encountering a block and how you can use crystals to heal that part of yourself and reclaim your power.

4. What is an important message that you hope people can take away from reading your book?

Although the book is about crystals, the bigger message is about how we relate with our soul and the world around us. The more we can connect to our soul, the more we can live our authentic self and make decisions that serve the whole. Crystals give us a safe space to check in with the more soulful parts of who we are; the parts of us that can often get hijacked or suppressed by conditioning, beliefs, societal pressures, fears or relationships that are just no longer serving us. The book is about prioritizing self-love and self-enquiry so that we are able to respond to what our soul is asking of us. No-one has ever taught us how to do that, but crystals can. Crystals help us to amplify our wisdom and harness the power of our intuition, so that we can listen to the intelligence of our bodies, work with rather than against our emotions, reclaim our power from that which oppresses us, and come in to wholeness to express our soul dream. I hope that readers can unlock these powers from reading the book and using the compass.

5. Now that your book is set to release in February 2019 in the U.S., what do you think the future holds for you in terms of new goals and accomplishments?

Wow, good question, I am not sure what the future holds; 1.5 years ago if someone said you’ll be a published author in the States, I really wouldn’t have known how that was going to be possible! But the universe works in mysterious ways, so I always like goal setting to be a gentle play between my hearts desires and an openness to what the universe might have in store. My mind’s goals may always be a limited version of either of the two. If I tune in to my heart, I would like to write more, I am also interested in the bridge between spirituality, self-care and activism, and I want to continue to develop and work with clients in my shamanic clinic in London, which I love. But I am definitely open to more travel too!

6. Can you offer any words of wisdom for those just starting out on their own journey?

I would say that inside of everyone is the wise old healer! Even in the depths of feeling lost or down, the wise old healer within is waiting to do the work for us. Let crystals help you on your journey. You are held and are infinitely loved, just for the miraculous magnificence that is you. I would say be present and in acceptance of where you are as a valid place on your journey. Don’t force or rush anything, but set your intention to expand, heal and grow from your heart, and all else will follow. You don’t have to have the answers, but just make space for your intuition and the answers will unfold.

I find this question terribly difficult to answer, and, when I’ve opened myself to the questions of the online communities, it’s one I’m often met with. How do we define what it means to be an occultist? As it is, all of us—mundane or otherwise, generally speaking—exist within an occult atmosphere. We are as it were immersed completely in an occult life—what differentiates the occultist from the ordinary individual is a conscious exploration of the hidden operations of the universe to which we are, in most cases, oblivious. Occult, of course, means hidden, and through our exploration of those cosmic operations, the occultist is akin to the scientist. Where the scientist seeks to uncover the underlying principles of divinity through examining dense matter and other such phenomena, the occultist uses known divine principles to bring virtues from the higher planes down to manifestation through dense matter. It has been my experience that the majority of my life has been one of some unique occult significance, but I cannot state I was a directed occultist until my late teens. Shouldering the problematic symptoms of clairvoyance (and being massively ignorant thereof), having a near death experience in a massive automobile accident, and falling victim to an individual that effectively shattered, with violent enthusiasm, my sense of self, I was driven to seek some coherence from the otherwise amorphous imbroglio that was my hypersensitive existence.

2.) You share some beautiful artwork in your Instagram feed—what inspires you creatively?

What doesn’t inspire me? Lately, I’m so emphatically moved by the various Greek Pantheon sculptures, those melodramatic figures that often adorn the facades of Venice. The artwork, too, of Aubrey Beardsley (he was a master draftsman and great friend of Oscar Wilde), as well as that of Egon Schiele and even contemporaries such as Audrey Niffenegger (while known as the author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, she’s a brilliant story book maker, featuring illustrations in a lost art technique called Aqua Tinting—see her work The Adventuress if you find yourself curious)—all of these affect me. Of course, the drawings usually feature various materials that I happen to be studying. Confining high concepts into a visual form seems to greatly assist in actuating the information, go beyond the limits of mere memorization to true conceptual realization.

3.) How do you fit your magickal practice into your everyday life?

Sacrifice; many things that we might ordinarily prioritize must be surrendered. Then again, not every path is so demanding; we, above all others, demand the most of ourselves. It is unfortunate then, for me, that I am a considerably cruel master. I don’t have much of a social life. I do have a practical occupation for the sake of keeping the lights on. Beyond this, nearly all of my time and effort goes toward Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, tarot contemplation, contemplative prayer, reading, writing, performing ritual, and illustrating. I also do my best to keep up appearances online, for I’m inundated by the amount of messages I receive; none of the messages are superficial—each demands attention, thought, and a sincere conversation. I think I’ve stated in a previous interview that I stick to the “15 a day” rule. That is, reading 15 pages a day; however, I average roughly 50 pages a day anymore. I can’t easily quantify that effort in terms of minutes or hours. It varies by the difficulty of the material. Yoga usually takes an hour of my day lately. Ritual takes roughly two hours depending on the work to be done. Illustration is extremely time-consuming. I’m exceedingly particular about each detail, and if you’ve seen my work, you’ll have noticed that each drawing contains many dots—each one, and I mean every single one, is placed specifically and purposefully. There are no superfluous details. To answer the question directly, I have no idea how I manage it all. One might be entertained to know that, while I have seemingly boundless dedication to my practice, I barely have the ability to manage a timely oil change.

4.) What advice do you have for beginners interested in the Great Work?

How do I even hope to begin to answer this question? We may assume that, by whatever means, the aspirant has arrived at the threshold of The Great Work with a healthy mind. If they are indeed of sound mind (and I’d highly recommend having a mental health evaluation before proceeding), I’d recommend reflection on the aims of pursuing such an art. The world of contemporary yoga is spiritually paralyzed by the abuse of its elegance for the purpose of losing weight—to insult such a brilliant spiritual practice by relegating it to such a mundane purpose is no different than participating in spiritual fasting for the sake of shedding pounds, etc. Oftentimes, the approach to the Great Work is the same—nearsighted, unanimated, woefully unimaginative, and often greedy. How often does one encounter the rewards promised by the Holy Guardian Angel of Abra Melin’s grimoire, riches of some measure, and several other wonders; it would seem the allegory of it all is lost on many minds or rather the truth of what they value (usually impermanent rubbish) eclipses the hidden treasure. Avoid those organizations that blatantly promise “wealth, women, power” and other such nonsense—they clearly do not represent the aims of the Frater/Sorer. If firm resolve is established, proceed with a steady pace; your efforts with eventuate observable progress in their own right. Validation from others is not needed, so there’s no need to flaunt cryptic information as trendy accessories. There’s also no race, no reward for devouring books rapaciously, and certainly nothing meritorious about advancing through grades with an absurdly large stride. Ask questions. Admit ignorance. Surrender yourself to the wonderful art of being fallible.

5.) You’ve now been featured in a few occult podcasts and, aside from being a writer with Fire and Lux, you’ve recently begun writing for Pagan Dawn Magazine. How do you feel about being more visible in the occult/magickal community? Is there an end goal you wish to achieve from being more public about your practice?

Ah, you’re referencing my recent podcast interview with Frater R.C. on his Occult Magick Podcast! That was such an enjoyable experience. We’ll likely do another episode soon. And, yes, I’ve been contributing to the Pagan Dawn Magazine (circulated out of Italy for half a century). They’ve asked me to write a bit about some magickal tools, and they’ve allotted me a generous amount of freedom with the subject matter. I am, while writing this, leafing through some research material I’ve gathered for my second article that will be printed soon. The first was printed in the 50th anniversary issue for Samhain, and it features some creative perspectives on the ritual cup—besides my own writing, be sure to give the entire issue a look. The Pagan Dawn team is fantastic and the magazines are filled with wonderful information.
Being more visible in the occult community (and I use that term generally—we are a very large, comprehensive community) has been life-altering. When I first started my Instagram profile, I had no idea there’d be such interest and support in my everyday routines. I’ve made so many important connections with practitioners across the world, sharing ideas and learning with each shared sentence. It is extremely humbling. I think it’s fair to sometimes leap to the conclusion that your mind might be a bit wonky after seeing a spirit manifest in some way or another—hearing about the similar experiences of others can really help you rally for your own peace of mind. It can be a very lonely affair, and being connected to others in that same realm of extraordinary perception is more grounding than most contrived insulators. Is it overwhelming to have so many conversations regarding the endless array of metaphysical topics? Of course, but the value therein is immeasurable.

An end goal? Not quite. It is my hope that my Instagram feed, my various featured content, whether visually or audibly, can act as a gateway; a gateway that allows others to enter and glimpse a life in which these practices are fruitful, achievable, and accessible and also a gateway through which I can connect to other uses and gain those same inspirations from them. I have discovered that there is some appreciation for my illustrative abilities, the content created therefrom, and a desire to acquire said content. Largely, this revelation has inspired me to express some of the more obfuscated fruits of my labor through visual manifestations, and has also gifted me with the confidence to share them. I’d ideally like to create works that are functional and also aesthetically pleasing to other practitioners, perhaps somehow elevating their work in similar ways to which they have, through their support, elevated my own.

6.) What can expect to see in the future from This_Occult_Life?

As far as things that I can guarantee go, there will soon be an online gallery from which prints (and originals) can be purchased. Those pieces that were created during the brief lifespan of the Patreon will be available as well as whatever else comes along. There is talk of illustrating a new line of spell work candle labels soon—for those with the ears to hear, keep listening.
Writing opportunities continue, both the residual contributions as well as some others that have yet to be cemented. There are a few ideas I have that I feel would be at home in a hardcover—books, I mean.

There are a few more podcast interviews lined up in the near future (contingent upon the availability of involved parties).
As have been all developments since beginning this online endeavor, every week brings a new surprise and a new progression.

When I first moved back to New Orleans I had the pleasure of doing a presentation on modern witchcraft. My audience was largely people who weren’t familiar with anything magick or witch related. Many of these people still held beliefs and stereotypes that all witches are evil. In my presentation I provided this definition: A WITCH is a person (no gender attached) who uses energy to achieve desired outcome and often does this through the performance of ritual and magick, a witch is a person who knows their true power and is highly intuitive and connected to the divine and believes in the spiritual realm.

It would be ridiculous to view every witch as the same because there are thousands of cultures out there, and many of them have versions of “witches.” I’m Mexican and in my culture we call modern witches “brujas and brujos.” My ancestors, practiced astrology, shamanism and spiritual work very avidly, and so it is their traditions that have survived colonialism that I now use to heal myself and others. For me, a large part of being a witch is connecting to these ancient traditions, allowing myself to discover this knowledge within me BUT it also means embracing a part of me that holds a painful ancestral memory of religious persecution. As a witch, I am the living embodiment that nothing is strong enough to kill my ancestors’ spirit.

The longer I practice, the more I realize that being a witch is a true spiritual journey and it’s not all fun and games. Sometimes your spiritual path will show you many hardships in order for you to overcome them and be your best self. After all, if you have everything in life, then why would you use magick? No one ever said that connecting to spirit and natural forces would be a cake walk! Being a witch can also open you up to spiritual attack, so you have to be ready to protect yourself and fight of negativity.

For those of us who live in the US, luckily, there are not many active witch hunts and we are living in perhaps the safest time to be a witch. What I really love about witchcraft and its massive growth is that it is becoming a reason that women/femmes and other oppressed people are resisting traditional Christian values and are able to be more authentically themselves. I find that witchcraft is a very freeing spiritual path, and because of this, there is more room to clap back at the patriarchy and to EMBRACE the power of our bodies and supernatural abilities. When you’re a witch, you not only use magick as a tool, you BECOME magick. Little by little, your energy work will pay off and help you become your best self. Even though this journey can be hard, in the end it has the potential to show you power you never even knew possible. Witchcraft, is a return to our divine power and we will never be silenced again!

Follow Valeria Ruelas @themexicanwitch

December 26, 2011, changed my life. It was the day I had my first awakening moment — although I didn’t know it then. I struggled to get up that morning after spending the previous night, which was Christmas, abusing as usual. After managing to get out of bed I felt an overwhelming urge to go look at myself in a mirror. At first I resisted, then finally gave in and dragged my sorry self over to the chunky framed floor-to-ceiling mirror in my living room. As I stood there something I can’t explain came over me. While staring at my sad visage, I said to my reflection, “What the fuck am I doing with my life?” I ordered myself: “You can’t continue to do this.” In the next moment the image of my face transformed: It looked like I’d been badly injured in an accident. A violent panic attack erupted. I couldn’t take it—I had to close my eyes and turn away. Everything was somehow becoming clear to me. I was overcome by a sense of infinite wisdom, telling me that if I continued on this path of abusive behavior I would end up badly injuring or killing myself; or even worse, hurting other innocent people.
I knew I needed to act fast.

2. You wrote the book “Letters from Wanderlust” which tells the story of your decision to leave behind your day-to-day life in order to embark on a spiritual journey around the world and one-way tickets. What was your greatest take-away from the entire experience?

Gosh that’s such a great question because there’s a multitude of experiences I underwent both physically and spiritually. I’ll break it up into two and provide highlights.

Physically:

I fell in deeply in love with the earth and her people. Our planet abounds with extreme natural wonders and awe inspiring places. Then there’s the vast diversity, richness and depth of humanity’s cultural fabric which blew my mind.

My journey made me realize how lucky I am to experience one of the treasures of The Universe (Earth), even if it’s for such a short amount of time. I appreciate life more and I feel more joy in my heart.

Spiritually:

That the subtle world, unseen energy if you will, wields more power than anything manifested in physicality. Everything stems from the invisible realm, belief makes real, and that we are supported and loved beyond measure.

3. Is there one particular place or moment that holds your fondest memory?

The entire experience; those four months are sacred to me. It’s impossible to pick just one moment of my journey because it was all pure magic from the second it started to the very-very last sunset. But if I had to pick one, I’d say Vietnam. I have an extremely powerful connection with that country. It’s deeply karmic —of a past life. I’m getting a wave of chills up-and-down my entire body just by typing this — confirmation.

4. How do you continue to ensure that your life stays on the right path and what advice would you give those who are seeking to alter their lives for the better?

I’ve been practicing a morning meditation for 15 minutes every day without fail for over a year now. It has brought me a tremendous amount of clarity. I’m able to direct my attention toward the life I desire a lot easier now thus manifesting more-and-more of what I want (where attention goes, manifestations follow).

I also stay physically active. It is critical for me to honor my physical temple every day via some form of exercise. This is also important to do as it keeps my energy fresh and free of any stagnant energies. I always feel wonderful after a workout!

5. What’s next for you? Which destination have you yet to check off your list?

I’ve visited about twenty-five percent of the countries on earth. I’d like to see them all before I die. However, in the immediate term I’ll be traveling between my hometown of Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California working on a really cool project that I can’t disclose yet. I leave to Los Angeles on March 20th!

I’m a healer, seer, bruja! A mother of 2 boys and the owner of November Sage apothecary and Tierra Sagrada School and Sisterhood. I’m indigenous Taino from the island of Cuba with a long line of Curanderos (healers) in my lineage. I’ve been able to see, hear and communicate with spirit, my ancestors and guides since I was very little which has seeded a mission within me to help others connect to their inner Witch/Magick. I’m also a huge spiritual activist, protecting our Mother Earth and all of her children.

My spiritual practice is my lifestyle, from the moment I wake to the moment I go to sleep. I practice my indigenous culture and craft. Mostly nature based.

2. We are very excited about your recent book release “Witchery, Embrace the Witch within.” Can you shed some light on what your readers have to look forward to when purchasing your book?

I’m extremely grateful for this book! Witchery – Embrace the Witch within isn’t a book that just hands over spells, it’s a companion that helps you recognize and become the Magick first. Magick isn’t like the magic on TV, it is a power within us all that we are all capable of honing, but only IF WE DO THE WORK. It takes you on a journey of healing, self-love, inner truth, and MAGICKAL ROOT WORK before getting into the spells and magickal workings. Why? Because your Magick will not work or will not work at its fullest potential if you don’t work on FINDING YOUR TRUTH. Your truth will align you with inner Magick, a power that will change your life in ways you have always desired. This book teaches the foundations of Magick, of how it actually works, teaches you to create your own craft/practice, create your own spells with confidence, and embody the Witch in all her glory. Now, if you are serious about embodying the Witch, it’s time to embrace the Witch within.

If you order through this link you can claim a FREE Bonus! https://discover.hayhouse.co.uk/witchery-preorder-1/

Bonus: A 3-week course live webinar with me! Where we will dive into the book and create a few of my favorite spells together. not only will we review the book, I have some amazing extra content, spells, potions, and bonus material for you! I also created a FB group page just for those who purchased and in this group we will have EVEN MORE BONUS CONTENT, a place for us all to connect and support each other through the journey of the book.

3. We understand that you own two businesses in the spiritual and magickal communities, “November Sage and The School or Witchery.” What led you to open your business and how do you feel it has shaped you as a person and in your practice?

Well, making remedies, natural goods, sacred medicine, magical workings is part of my family lifestyle since my ancestors. It was always natural to me since its imbedded in my bones. I went through life like anyone else, with questions, worry, self-doubt and fear. I always felt it, sensed it, heard it, that my purpose was to be a healer, to wake the truth within others, but I didn’t acknowledge this truth until the universe knocked me on my ass and kept blocking me until I finally surrendered and allowed myself to be still, and find myself right where I was. My calling needed to be heard and I listened. And so I walked until my feet bled. And here I am, aligned with purpose, a fully embodied Witch. I started November Sage as a way to reach the world with my sacred medicine, and the school to help awaken the power that lives within you.

4. What is your opinion on witchcraft and witches in the modern era?

I’m over the moon with the rise of the Witches to be honest. Lots of people ask me this and are surprised when I don’t reply with anger or aggravation. See, the way I see it is, those that are saying they are witches just because it’s “in” will fall off. Only those truly devoted to the lifestyle will stay, those who are truly devoted to the craft. Especially those shops that opened because of the trend and to make a quick buck, it is A LOT of work to run a witchcraft/spiritual business and if your life is not 100% aligned with your practice or craft, things will just not work for you. I’m not worried about the sudden rise in interest. Instead I’m hopeful it will wake up many beautiful souls to their truth.

5. How do you feel witchcraft has empowered you as a woman?

Witchcraft is the craft of oneself. It is knowing who you are and who you aren’t. It involves healing, self-love, devotion, connection, facing your shadows and embracing who you are, your truth. So in turn, it empowers because it helped me find myself, my purpose, and has helped me live an authentic life each and every day.

That’s a tough one! The first time or the second time? I first came to traditional witchcraft when I was very young. However, being 11 at the time, there were aspects of it I didn’t fully understand, so went onto different paths. I had been involved with a myriad of magical traditions over the years, and had become involved with Haitian voodoo for five years, and as much as the experiences were incredible I knew the religion wasn’t for me, and so it was when I was around 22 that I was instructed by an ancestral spirit to set up a small space and start again within the practice. The only way to describe it is that it had felt like I had come back home to a relative that welcomed me with open arms (and I was able to fully understand every aspect!)

2. In your experience, how would you say traditional witchcraft differs from other forms of magick?

I think because traditional witchcraft has got a lot of aspects of it that has taken from older sources, and tends to be adapted to suit that individual’s needs. Tt tends to be a lot more personal in my opinion than from other forms of magic. That’s not to say other forms of magic aren’t personal. Of course, they are. However, because there is adaption there from older sources to suit an individual’s needs, it tends to radiate some elements of that person’s Essence in terms of bridging that connection to the old. Many people think aspects of reconstructionism voids a practice in some ways and I don’t think it does at all. In fact, it can add to it. Even view points on situations regarding ethics and morals when casting are personal to that person. Also, the aspect of working with the genus loci and land around you, and how different variations of regional witchcraft can occur around the different areas, I find it a very personal practice 🙂

3. We know everyone is intrigued by the horned god, can you shed some light on the witches devil?

Of course! Aulde Nick can be a right funny one! He is the embodiment of nature and man in perfect union. Many associate nature with being purely benevolent and generally focus on the more timid or softer aspects. However, he represents the feral and wild aspect of nature, that unpredictability of it all. It’s this aspect that modern man is uncomfortable with, especially in a society that is based around order, structure, and rigmoral. And he takes all of that and rips it up. The irony is that the embodiment of what he stands for lives within every human being when they’re comfortable enough to embrace that other aspect of themselves. He also acts as an otherworldly being standing between the two realms. Many see him as a faery given the trickster nature he holds. Some also see him from folklore as a faery king, and some will see him as a more satanic influence. To me, I see him as a folkloric devil rather than the Christian devil, but he finds his ways to come across in people’s day-to-day lives who acknowledge him. The other day, myself and my mum were talking about him over the phone. The phone then cut off and my mum rang back saying: I don’t think he liked that!

4. How does Christianity tie into the practices of traditional witchcraft?

Well, that’s an interesting one because it then can have a tendency to cross over into the aspect and role of the cunningman/wisewomen, in which most time scales would have been horrified to have been called a witch (however, what is interesting is that from the 1900s onwards, there were those that used the terminologies interchangeable more frequently than other time periods). You have to remember, Christianity has been around in Britain and other countries in Europe for at least a thousand years. It has had an influence on our culture, history, including our magical traditions. And to sit and pretend it hasn’t, is closing our eyes and remaining ignorant to history itself. Even old spells and charms that utilised elements of Christianity and also combined pagan remnants of the past such as incorporating the use of the holy trinity to ward away the little people or utilising the holy trinity along with Odin and Loki for ridding fevers. Even the early modern period ideas on witchcraft permeate Christianity such as flying to the Sabbat to meet the devil, renouncing the baptism, figures having Christian names (such as the idea of the Queen of Elphames partner named Christ Sunday). These are all practices based around Christianity. It’s been around for so long it is in my opinion wrapped around history and one only needs to look into older folk charm’s to see that.

5. Can you tell us how one can work with the spirits of the land?

Three words: eyes, ears and gut. Just be open and receptive. That’s the best advice I can give. Spend some time in a natural place that you wish to connect with. Giving suitable offerings and making a point of speaking out loud, from the heart and being polite! But also being very careful what you say as spirits can and do find loopholes with things. Also knowing when things feel right, because sometimes some genus loci don’t want humans around them, or it can take more than a first go for them to open up to you. So listening to your gut on things and looking out and listening for signs, gifts, omens are all part of the parcel towards a successful working relationship with the genus loci.

6. You have a large following on YouTube. What can we expect to learn from your YouTube channel and what can we expect from you in the future?

So I’d like to think that by me making video blogs, that it keeps British folk magic and traditional witchcraft in the now and the future. I hope that by sharing the information I supply it helps preserve it as a tradition whilst also giving credit to those that have originally shared the information and that my channel carries on those traditions through other practitioners around the globe. It’s amazing when I get emails saying how my channel has added to people’s practice. I am actually currently working on something; however, at the moment, I am keeping shtum! As I know what I get like in terms of focus and pressure. I genuinely have the attention span of a wasp sometimes.

@Georgeyboy_333
https://www.youtube.com/user/MrShadowbwoy