I had the pleasure of speaking to Gabriela Herstik, an LA based sex witch, author, performance artist, OnlyFans creator and devotee of the Goddess of Love and Lust (also known as Aphrodite) about her latest book Sacred Sex: The Magick and Path of the Divine Erotic.
“My work lives at the intersection of the erotic and esoteric,” Herstik shared with me. “which I explore through performance art and ritual, through creating erotic collages, by leading ‘Kink Coven’ every Full Moon, a kinky ritual and play party. I also have an OnlyFans, where I am known as The Erotic Oracle, which is where I post everything from rituals done in honor of Babalon to nudes that make me feel hot AF.”
I asked Herstik to share what had inspired her to write Sacred Sex, a book that explores sex magick, tarot, ritual, erotic witchcraft, and the Goddess.
“I had been wanting to write a book on kink and sex magick and the Goddess when I was approached by my publisher to write this book. It was divine intervention! It fell into place from there. My connection to my sexuality - and honouring this as a central part of my spiritual practice - has been something incredibly important to me for years, and I knew I wanted to help others find a place for their own sexuality in a magickal and spiritual framework that makes sense for them. This book was the result of this!”
As a sex witch myself, I have struggled when reading books about Sacred Sex. They tend to write through the lense of a heterosexual, monogamous two gender binary. Herstik’s Sacred Sex is a breath of fresh air, offering accessible language for those who do not identify as cis, monogamous or heterosexual. She also spoke with sex workers, which I’ve found to be a rare occurrence in my research about Sacred Sex. Or when sex work is mentioned, it’s been written with whorephobic language.
“How could I write a book about sex magick and sacred sexuality and not speak to sex workers?! Speaking to sex workers, destigmatizing sex work, and advocating for decriminilization were all important to me when it comes to writing this book and it’s something I think is vital to keep in mind if we’re practicing sex magick - so much advancements in our society and magick have come from sex workers, whether it’s the internet and online shopping or the mainstreaming of bondagewear and pleasers. Hearing from sex workers on the magick they find therein, what they’ve learned, and the wisdom they’ve gained, and using this in my book is something I’m so so grateful for.”
Writing Sacred Sex was quite the journey for Herstik. Not only does she celebrate the art of Sacred Sex in her writing, she embodies it in her day to day life. Herstik finds that research, writing, exploration, and practice all work together really well when creating a piece of work about this particular topic.
“Writing this book was a lot and I used my own sex life and spiritual practice as bait for it. When I started writing the book, I was deep in celibacy because of the pandemic. Then I started writing it, started dating casually, started having lots of casual sex, started having crushes, continued doing my OnlyFans, started doing more kinky shit and playing again, started intentionally exploring non-monogamy. It’s been a lot but so good, and everything is done in devotion to Goddess and myself.”
As well as publishing books titled Inner Witch, Bewitching the Elements, Sacred Sex, and a guided journal called Embody Your Magick, Herstik has also written for outlets including Vogue International, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Glamour and High Times. Herstik uses her platform to destigmatise sex, creating a Patreon where she offers a variety of content about the union between spirituality and sexuality.
“My patreon is a space to explore the spiritual side of sexuality in a way that is sex positive, sex work positive, supportive, and safe. Sex Magick Discussion Circle is a place for us to gather and talk about what is so often not talked about in magickal circles. We discuss sex magick under different themes and expressions, like subversion, shadow work, the Goddess, devotion, and more. Beyond this, I offer tarot spreads, monthly Q+A’s, ritual guides for the Full Moon, New Moon and holiday of the witch, and lots of other fun stuff on my Patreon. If you’re a sex witch looking for community and guidance, then my Patreon is for you!”
Herstik’s current favourite tarot deck is The Slutist Tarot created and illustrated by Morgan Claire Sirene. This deck tells the journey of a sexual awakening through a sex work positive, trans and queer friendly and feminist as fuck lens. Hertik’s favourite card from the deck is The Whore, which is renamed from The Empress.
“To me, this (The Whore tarot card) is sacred sexuality in practice, as She represents the Goddess of Love and Lust, the path of the sex worker or erotic votary, the potencies of the flesh.”
To summarise the multi-faceted and important work that Herstik does, she states:
“Everything I do is in honor of Goddess, and being able to share Her message of sacred sexuality is something I will never take for granted.”
If you’re interested in Sex Magick and Sacred Sexuality, you can follow Gabriela Herstik on Twitter and Instagram!
