Conversations for the Mystically Curious

Welcome to Episode 2 of Season 2 brought to you by Kismet Berlin, a modern esoteric shop for the mystically curious in Europe. In this interview, Joie speaks with her dear friend Will McDowell, writer, director and producer who has worked with the likes of Miranda July, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Panic at the Disco and more. 

When Will was faced with massive debt and a big question mark of where he needed to go next in his professional evolution, he took mushrooms for the first time and went on a  trip that changed his life forever. He describes a distinct moment of feeling like he was stepping into the light and shedding all that held him back. Since then, Will has managed to weave his spirituality into every aspect of his life both professional and personally: whether it be through his daily rituals, the projects he works on or how he channels his creativity.

In this episode recorded in June, 2021, Will and Joie discuss psychedelics and their impact on mental health, how humans are interbreeding with aliens, being a queer man in spiritual circles and his work on the album art for Lil Nas X.

Find Will McDowell @mrprincewilliam or Mooj Productions

Find Kismet Berlin @kismetberlin or kismetberlin.com

Cult Mother Tarot aka Hannah Graves, is tarot reader, a self proclaimed cult leader, a magician and a Berlin icon. One day she came across tarot as a means to help her on a path to sobriety and self exploration. After taking a deep dive into it, she realized that it could help other people like it had helped her. So she formed "The Cult" a safe space where people could collectively share, learn and grow together including herself. Cult Mother is anything but cookie cutter, and her approach to esoterica often defies the stereotypes placed upon it. In this episode, Hannah and I explore everything from the Cult Mother being her alter-ego, the problematic relationship between the esoteric community and Instagram, navigating times of crisis as a small business and how leaving Berlin was like breaking up with a lover.

Find Hannah at @cultmothertarot or www.cultmothertarot.com

Find Kismet Berlin @kismetberlin or kismetberlin.com

In this episode we speak to Romana, a Reiki Master and practitioner with her own studio in Berlin. Throughout her travels around the world and various professions, one thing that Romana always stayed true to was following her instinct and be open to receiving the signs that the universe sent her. Sometimes terrifying and even spurring life-changing decisions, her conviction to following her path never lead her down the wrong one. Ultimately guiding to her to Berlin and allowing her to quit her day job and practice Reiki on a full time basis. During their discussion, Romana, Kate and Joie discuss what is Reiki, its origins, what it can feel like for the giver and the receiver, tips on being a spiritual entrepreneur, astrology and Russell Brand. 

www.kismetberlin.com / Instagram @kismetberlin

www.withromana.com / Instagram @romana.reiki

Music by Tobu, song is Sapphire 

In this episode, we interview Carrie Mallon and Annie Ruygt, co-creators of the best selling Spacious Tarot deck. In a time before Covid, a designer/book illustrator and an experienced tarot reader joined forces remotely from their respective homes in New York and Utah. Little did they know that their online collaboration would blossom into a lifelong business partnership and birth of one of the most lauded indie Tarot decks to date.

In something they described as an almost telepathic working relationship, Carrie and Annie collaborated to create an expansive and modern reinterpretation of traditional tarot. With illustrations often done from a first person perspective, The Spacious Tarot literally holds space by drawing the user in and allowing her to occupy an alternate world.

In our conversation, Carrie, Annie, Kate and I talk about the creative process behind the Spacious Tarot, magical realism and world building, the meaning behind evolutionary tarot and how sometimes life is best lived when you slow down.

www.kismetberlin.com / @kismetberlin

www.thespacioustarot.com / @thespacioustarot

Carrie Mallon's Website

Annie Ruygt's Website

Music by Tobu Song is Sapphire

In this episode we interview Mariza Ryce Aparicio-Tovar otherwise know as Mari in the Sky, the creator of The Gentle Tarot. Mari was working in some of the remotest areas of Alaska doing biology work for the department of Fish and Game when one day she decided to start illustrating flora and fauna as an outlet for her well-being. Little did show know that the stickers she sold at the local museum would lead to the birth of the Gentle Tarot and would take her on a professional journey she could have never anticipated. Drawing from her environment and letting herself be guided by her instinct, she created a deck that not only represents its name, but more importantly was the kind of tool she felt she needed in her life. In our conversation, Mari, Kate and I talk about her discovery of tarot, the importance of stewardship of the earth for indigenous people, the highs and lows of launching a Kickstarter campaign and how to ward off bears. 

kismetberlin.com / @kismetberlin

thegentletarot.com / @mariinthesky

Music by Tobu song is Sapphire

Celine is a true modern renaissance woman. With a background in organic chemistry as well as film and web design, she is simultaneously rooted in the realms of science and the arts. Celine thrives on the positive pressure of a deadline as well as allowing her work to speak for itself. Originally from France, Celine is currently Berlin-based… although you are just as likely to catch her hopping on a flight to Morocco, Turkey, Senegal or wherever her curiosity might lead next. After realizing she could travel internationally while financially supporting herself as a freelancer, Celine has never looked back.

On this episode, Celine talks with hosts Joie and Kate from Kismet Berlin about art school, an unexpected move from the San Francisco tech industry back to Europe and the multi-disciplinary knowledge that seeded her current passions. While travelling in Bali, she was inspired to add another layer to her one-woman-show by birthing Officine Perfume Oils. Her hand-crafted botanical perfume oils, face and body balms, natural scented candles and aromatic room sprays synthesize molecular chemistry with very modern nomadic ritual practices.

Joie and Kate were thrilled to learn the science behind the saponins in oatmeal as well as discovering why molecules that look good together also smell so divine. Celine explains that “it’s all about merging art and science... I like looking at the molecular structure of an essential oil. You see similarities and then you see that they each have their own shape. Visually, these different shapes are going to either be complementary or opposite. That’s how I approached aromatherapy at first… and then realized nature does things well because when I visually paired up the scent molecules, they smelled gorgeous!”

Where to find Celine and Officine Perfume Oils: www.officineperfumeoils.com / @officineperfumeoils

You can also find our limited-edition Officine x Kismet Berlin crystal candle collaboration here. Each hand-poured candle is made from 100% organic French rapeseed wax and botanically derived scents. Imagine the potential of dark earth laced with lush growing things - fig, lily of the valley, vanilla, musk, frankincense, cederwood and oud.

Music by tobu

www.kismetberlin.com

@kismetberlin

Sophie is a jeweler and gemologist extraordinaire with a deep spiritual connection to the natural world. At Atelier Tsubaa and Tsubaa Gems, her Paris-based workshop, she co-creates with clients to craft bespoke, soul-inspired talismanic adornment. With 20 years of experience in jewelery and gemology, Sophie has worked for multiple Parisian design houses and was even once a diamond grader.

On this episode, Sophie talks with hosts Joie and Kate from Kismet Berlin about the alchemy of jewelry making, needing to digitally disconnect to practice spellwork as well as the performative magic of Daft Punk. Sophie explains her process of crafting personal rituals and learning to be guided by her instincts.Sophie discusses her deep pagan spiritual practice that feeds into her work and everyday creation.

As a shaman once told her, Sophie felt destined to work with gems and stones. “Since my birth, I was destined to be surrounded by stones and minerals; something from the ground, something that is related to the element of earth. I never had to struggle to find my way. My destiny was always right in front of me and I just had to take the right decision at the crossroads.”

Where to find us: www.kismetberlin.com / @kismetberlin

Where to find Sophie Tsubaa: https://en.tsubaagems.com / @ateliertsubaa

Song by Tobu: Sapphire @7obu