Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. Look for our forthcoming book, “Walking The Tarot Path” coming soon.
We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical and paranormal community. We hope it’s as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy.
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| Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch: A Modern Guide To The Ancient Craft |
Gabriela
Herstik is an ancient soul trapped in a super model’s body. Wise beyond her
years, she’s a lifelong witch and a formidable writer. Her talent, her
metaphysical knowledge and looks are an auspicious combo no matter what, but
right now, witchcraft having A Moment in pop culture-in fact, it’s only getting
more popular- and Gabriela’s new book, Inner Witch: A Modern Guide To The Ancient
Craft just dropped. A fabulous
overview of the craft, it’s written in a conversational tone, as though she was
sharing her magickal secrets at a Ladies Lunch.
The Ultimate Millenial It Girl, Gabriela is
super active on social media- just google her name. Her writing on witchcraft, fashion and sensuality/sexuality
is all over the net too; you might be familiar with her “Ask A Witch” column
for Nylon,
and she’s also a contributed to Chakrubs , Vice and Hello Giggles…not to mention her own
blog, www.fashionisdying.com
Here’s the lowdown on Gabriela, in her own
words:
Divination Nation: When- and how-
did you first realize you were a witch? Are you self taught or did you have mentors?
Gabriela Herstik: I’ve always been
really spiritual. I grew up around a mom who was into yoga, meditation,
crystals and other new age practices, as well as a father who’s a reform rabbi.
I’ve been interested in the unknown for as long as I remember. In third grade
visited Salem, MA on Halloween for my aunt’s birthday (which is on Halloween!)
with my sister, my aunt and grandma. We went to the witchcraft museum and I
learned about witchcraft. I saw a Samhain ritual and ate a pomegranate and
later went to Laurie Cabot’s store. It was around this time I first felt magick
as well. I was living in Buffalo New York and we had a beautiful house with
half an acre of land. I was entranced by the creek that ran through our yard,
and the deer who would come and visit us. Buffalo wasn’t the best place to live
but this is when I first felt magick and I’m so thankful for it. A few years
later whrn I was 11, I was gifted Faery oracle cards and became obsessed. I
found Edain McCoy’s “A Witch’s Guide to
Faery Folk” and remembered what I learned in Salem. I knew I was a witch.
It felt like coming home. This was right before I was sent to a month long
Jewish sleepaway camp where I cried everyday for a week because I didn’t want
to be there. I wrote letters to Bastet and read about goddesses under the
covers. It was definitely challenging as a 12-year-old!
I’ve
had many different mentors, but not just one. Most of my education has been
self-taught, since I grew up in the Deep South and have only been back in LA
for two years. Ruby Warrington and Alexandra Roxo of Moon
Club
have been my mentors. I just took a class at House of Intuition ( in LA) with Naha and I’m really excited to
learn a new branch of magick from her. Pleasant, you’ve been one of my mentors!
My angels, and ancestors have been my mentors, as has Venus. My yoga studio in
South Carolina was also a really huge place of learning for me too.
Divination Nation: Let’s talk about your spiritual practice:
what paths do you follow? How often do
you do workings? How do you keep
yourself grounded and centered?
Gabriela Herstik: I consider
myself neo-pagan and eclectic, and I don’t follow one single path. Although for
a long time I identified as Wiccan, I no longer do. I work with the goddess
Venus, the divine feminine, the moon and her cycles, glamour, chaos magick, sex
magick, tantra, energy… my practice is always evolving. Currently, I’m really
excited to learn about Qabala and connect with my Jewish background in a new
way. I do workings regularly, at least twice a month with the full moon and new
moon. I will sometimes do smaller spells between this, but I make an effort to
always celebrate the new and full moons. But I also have a daily, or as near to
daily as I can get, practice. I do 20 minutes of yoga followed by 10-15 minutes
of meditation. Then I pull 3 tarot cards, journal on these, any reflections I
have and anything I need to get out of my head. Then I’ll also journal my
intentions for the day/ week and a list of things I’m grateful for. This helps
me live from a place of presence while allowing me to be centered. I’m super
air and water sign heavy, so having this practice really helps me feel
grounded. I also clean and cleanse my space once a week, use sacred smoke to
cleanse myself regularly and work with sex magick as a way to bring pleasure
and intention to my life. Screaming in the car when I drive, dancing around
like a loon when I’m alone, making art, writing poetry to Venus, writing love
letters- these are all other ways I help myself find center.
Divination Nation: Let’s talk about
your book…how did it come about, what was the process like? How did you decide
what to include in the book?
Gabriela Herstik: I’d been writing
for a handful of publications like Nylon
and Broadly on witchcraft for a couple of years. I have a column for Nylon called “Ask A Witch” which is what it
sounds like. I always get questions about books on witchcraft for beginners and
one day as I was on the way to work I got such a question. This time I thought
“damn, I could write a book about this!” I got to work and checked Twitter and
had a message from an editor asking to follow me. She slid into my DM’s, said
she loved my work on NYLON and Broadly about witchcraft and asked if I’d want
to write a book about it! I was floored. It was the last day of February, right
after the eclipse and my birthday, and a couple weeks after I did a honey jar
spell.
After
saying HELL YES I put together a proposal, sent it to her and it was accepted
by Ebury. I wrote the book between June and December while working a full time
job. It was challenging but I LOVED writing it. I made a schedule for myself,
and would send in three chapters at a time to my editor so I wasn’t having to
write, edit, write, edit, write. I knew that I wanted to include the basics of
witchcraft, rituals, spell work and I knew I wanted to write about fashion
magick/ glamour and the moon. Everything else just made sense to include.
Thanks to my column, I have an idea of what people like and want to read about
which made it easier!
Divination Nation: Along with your
book, you write for several publications, including your own fashion blog. For you, does writing come easily, or is it a
process?
GH: I love writing
but it’s definitely a process. I still feel like I have such a long way to go
in terms of cultivating a professional voice, but honestly if I couldn’t write,
I’d explode. I love writing professionally and I love writing for myself, and
the fact I’ve been able to not only write about witchcraft and magick, but also
work with words as a PART of my magick, has been really rewarding. Sitting down
to start a piece is difficult, but once I get into the flow it’s easy. But I
also don’t tend to take freelance assignments unless it’s something that really
vibes with me, which definitely makes it easier. Having my own space to write, formerly my
blog “Breathing Fashion,” and now my platform “FASHION IS DYING” has been
really wonderful too. I love being in charge of oy own ish, and being able to
bring in an element of witchiness too.
DN: Witchcraft is
really trendy right now… what’s your opinion on that…and why do you
think this is happening? Do you think
this is an important shift in the world, or just a fad?
GH: When I first
started writing about witchcraft, four or five years ago, it was at the height
of the “witchy aesthetic”. Everyone wanted to look like a witch but no one
wanted to be one. Then that started to shift. Although witchcraft is trendy
right now, I think it’s also deeper than that. It’s like tasting the Kool Aid-
once you start working with magick and other ancient and powerful practices,
you get it. It’s hard to go back. Although there are some out there who are
talking the talk and not walking the walk, we need as many witches out doing
the work as we can get. I think that a new era and paradigm is coming and that
we are all being called to stand in our power together so we can make it
happen. I think this is a huge shift in the world, being led by QIPOC, black
women, trans women, witches who aren’t just skinny, women and white. We are all
rising up together and although it may
be a trend, and that may be how some people find it… I don’t think we’ve seen
the last of the witch.
DN: Describe a
typical day in your life:
GH: Oh this is a
good one! I’m going to describe a typical Saturday because that’s more fun! On
Saturday I’ll either sleep in, wake up when I want to and then smoke a little
bit of a joint before getting ready. OR I’ll wake up and get brunch with some
friends. Then I’ll probably go somewhere, like a pop up shop or store or take a
class. There’s usually coffee involved, a trip to at least one bookstore
(Stories, Skylght or the Barnes and Nobles down the street) and a trip to the
magazine stand. Food, hangs with friends I love, maybe spending some time
outside in a park, or at Hollywood Forever if it’s not summer and a million
degrees. Then I’ll usually do something like go to a show, or go out dancing or
to a bar. I definitely go through phases between wanting to go out and stay in,
and for the past few months I’ve been extremely social. Most of my days are
filled with emails, coffee, something witchy like tarot, sex magick or taking/
teaching classes, hanging out with friends, writing and using cannabis to chill
the fuck out!
DN: What do you like
to do when you aren’t witchin’?
GH: I feel like
being a witch is the lens in which I see and live my life, so I feel like
everything I do is witchy! But as far as non-magick related things I like to
do; you can catch me writing poetry and reading at coffee shops, updating my
site FASHIONISDYING.com, painting a gimp mask or collaging, taking photos with
friends, modeling, hitting the town, hanging out in Hollywood, smoking joints
on my porch, reading a book, making art,journaling, dancing like a loon,
hugging a tree, spending time outside, getting my hair shaved, taking selfies
and eating ice cream!
DN: Please share a
couple of your own witchcraft tips with our readers
GH: Take time to
pause. Be present. BREATHE. Feel into your body. Ask yourself what you need
RIGHT NOW and give it to yourself. Meditate. Move your body; dance, do yoga,
stretch. Breathe more. Spend time in nature. Talk to the earth. Say thank you
to the trees. Pay attention to the moon- learn about what it means when she
waxes (or gains light) and wanes (or loses light.)
Create
an altar of items that connect you to your heart and whatever you believe in.
Pray here often. Write letters to your guides, angels, ancestors. Create
rituals you can do often to connect you to something bigger. Burn the smoke of
sacred herbs like sage, sweetgrass and Palo Santo. Remember your words are
sacred and they are vibrations that create. Speak into existence what you want,
let go of what no longer works for you. Learn to be GRATEFUL and then
everything else will shift.
#
Order Gabriela’s
book Inner Witch: A Modern Guide To The Ancient Craft
on Amazon:
Gabriela’s upcoming events:
September 15th at Skylight Books- in Los Angeles for a reading and
signing
September 22 at Mothership Festival- speaking in Los Angeles
October 26th- Goddess Class at Catland Books, NYC
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| Crystal and Pleasant, photo: Maharet Hughes |
Visit us to book metaphysical and occult workshops, Tarot readings and healings, or to have us come out for a paranormal investigation: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinationNation?fref=ts
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To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://pleasantgehman.com/tarot.html
For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com
