As someone who has considered themselves part of the spiritual community since 2016, I’ve read a lot of the books. Classic Mastery of Love, to The Green Witch, Untethered Soul, and The House Witch. I picked up Sacred Sex: The Magick and Path of the Divine Erotic by Gabriella Herstik and discovered it contained something I wish so many more spiritual and witchy books had – interactive components beyond spells.
At the end of every chapter, Herstik compiles journal prompts, a tarot spread, affirmations, and spell(s) to help you reflect, learn, and practice what she just taught about.
Why are these options not literally part of every book in the spirituality and witchcraft section?
I’m not someone who does spell work often, and when I do, I am far more likely to practice a spell I wrote from scratch myself than adapt from one I found in a book – though, with the more ritual and self-care focused spells with simple steps and ingredients by Herstik, I’m considering giving it a go – but I have found the journal prompts, tarot spreads, and affirmations extremely helpful.
My therapist even approved of them.
To me, that means that these are not just magick focused, but they are genuinely created to help create impact and change in your life, and to dig deeper into what you believe, why you believe it, and what you want to change.
That’s key.
What you believe, why you believe it, and what you truly want to change.
Not what someone else believes and how they do it.
So many books in the witchy section spit facts and associations at you, some histories, and some personal stories. It can be dense and hard to read – because it’s hard to find you in the mix. What this interactive component and journal prompts, tarot spreads (which I think each card also can be turned into a journal prompt) and affirmations do, is put you in the book, and you in the practice, to see if this is really something that will seamlessly integrate into your practice or something you’re genuinely interested in.
To me, witchcraft and spirituality is all about personal development, growth, and finding our power. It just feels like many books on the market don’t encourage that other than saying “this book is supposed to help you find your power.” It doesn’t really show you how, or give you practice steps to get there. Herstik does.
And once I finish working with this one, I will happily pick up another one of her books.