We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Iovino and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Chelsea, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
But in my family, it was all about the saints and angels. The saints bring the magic and the miracles to our lives. As a child, I prayed at bedtime for angels to watch over us and asked favors from all the saints. Saint Anthony when you lose something, Saint Jude when in need of healing, Saint Michael for protection, St. Christopher, for safe travels.
My personal mythology is this curious blend of Catholicism and superstition, where old world magic is really the salvation. Several of my paternal aunts used regular playing cards for cartomancy (divination with cards), they taught me how to petition saints and ward off the Malocchio (or evil eye).
In 1979 at the age of twelve, my family moved from New York to Los Angeles. I was a precocious teenager who ended up fully immersed in the LA Punk scene. I went to art school and associated myself with all things weird, goth, punk, anti-establishment. My friends and I protested Ronald Reagan, nuclear war and the aids crisis.The old churches of my childhood were nowhere to be found, so I found relief in the many botanica’s that are the spiritual foundation of Los Angeles. I found all my saint friends, and that old world sensibility I grew up with.
Over the years I’ve studied various traditions, when I look back at my spiritual journey, becoming a tarot reader and spell caster makes perfect sense. I have always been these gifts, they are inherited from my ancestors and honoring my family of origin and ancestors is the center of my practice.
I believe, whether we know our family of origin or not, we all carry an emotional inheritance. My family is at times deeply flawed, and not without its pains and challenges. Sorting through and healing not only my own wounds, but deep ancestral wounds has bridged me across timelines and impacted my now experience in ways I simply cannot express.I learned working magick is the willingness to accept the supernatural forces of nature and the cosmos through prayer and faith. The cyclic flow of the universe is undeniable. Everything is connected. We are all connected. Our relationship to the earth, the natural world, and each other is a never-ending infinite exercise in balance and unconditional love and that unconditional love starts with our ancestral family of origin.
The hybrid catholic, Italian folk magick I learned from my family has carried me through my entire life. From knowing which saint to petition for what need, to using herbs or flowers for cures and remedies, but the most important thing I learned from my family is the power of forgiveness and love, they are the secret ingredients in all my magic.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Everyone was so scared in those early months of quarantine. I meditated on what I could do to be of service, and I kept getting the message to just read tarot. For the first few months of 2020 I read cards for friends and family for free via Zoom or FaceTime. I think it helped soothe everyone’s anxiety about their individual journeys, and it gave me the confidence I needed to take my talents to a wider audience.
I decided on a name, built a simple website, created an IG page and here I am….
I also have an online shop called Magick Everywhere, where you can find magical wares, crystals and sigil wear.
One of the biggest challenges for me, is navigating social media and creating content that is meaningful and inspiring.
ORACLE BOMBING every day is no joke!
It takes patience and time to culminate the messages from spirit into a clever post that I think is worthy of sharing.
I get caught up in the aesthetics. What image to use. My own? Someone else’s? What am I trying to say? Can I say it in a few short sentences as not to bore my audience? Or myself?
Daily posting on IG is the pre-pandemic equivalent of what am I going to wear today? For me, a painful exercise in self-love and acceptance.
Social Media has quickly become the digital version of my physical shortcomings. My low digital esteem stops me from finishing posts. I get halfway and stop. It’s too much, worried I sound stupid, or no one is going to read it.
My inner critic’s tactics try to separate my head from my heart, she thinks she’s keeping me safe, but it’s a deleterious cycle of spiritual unalignment.
So Oracle Bomb has really been a journey of self-acceptance, and feeling comfortable with how I sound, look and most importantly what my message is. I’ve learned to just be myslef and do my best. I have slowly tiptoed out of the shallow end of the social media pool. Now I actually post photos of myself, and I’m working up to live Ig’s and tik tok videos…..
Magic is on trend! In the last five years, the popularity of astrology and tarot has exploded! Everyone reads cards, there are baby witches everywhere. I mean, you can buy crystals at the supermarket these days. It’s kind of amazing!
I know there are many “witches,” readers and spiritualist who condemn the accessibility of witch craft, and occult practices.
But I reject arguments about traditions or ancient practices. You can’t encourage everyone to become “awakened” then shame them in the process. If we are all one, then my tradition is your tradition. I believe claiming any “tradition” in our modern world is ridiculous. I feel that kind of condemnatory, fear-based shaming is the same old patriarchal indoctrinated crap that has kept us divided for thousands of years.
We should be mindful, and inclusive, not discriminatory.
The knowing should teach and lead the younger generations forward.
For me magick is about gratitude and compassion, and I infuse and encourage those sentiments in my readings and spell work. I like to encourage everyone to pick up a deck of cards and start reading tarot for themselves.
Reading tarot will change your life, it changed mine!!
I’ve learned to not compare my work to others. It’s easy to fall into the compare and despair trap. I trust that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at any given moment, even if it’s uncomfortable. Leaning into the uncomfortable is where the big personal growth is!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
EATS I’ve cultivated a long list of “off the beaten path” favorites in LA. Although I do like to sit at the bar at Mozza.
Suehiro Café, Little Tokyo – I have been eating here since 1985. It’s Japanese comfort food at its best and it’s open late.
The best sushi – Sushi Park, in West Hollywood or Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo.
The best crab rolls are at The Little Izakaya in Sherman Oaks
For Korean BBQ its either Soot Bull Jeep or Chosun Galbee, both are in Korea Town.
Spice Up Thai Eatery in Granada Hills – Like you our Thai grandma is making you your favorite soup. It’s really good Thai food.
Yo Cajun Crab in Northridge is a hidden gem. It’s all about the sauce.
Pine + Crane, Silverlake – farm to table Taiwanese Chinese food. They make a Wood Ear Salad.
Zahlle Resturant – Authentic Lebanese cuisine. Saturday Nights is belly dancing and disco dancing
SHOPPING
Sadly so many stores shuttered during the pandemic, but happy these have endured.
Spell Bound Sky, 4210 Santa Monica Blvd. Silverlake – For crystals and jewelry, Mark and Martin are the sweetest wizards ever!
Broome St. General Store, 2912 Rowena Ave., Silverlake. – great gift shopping.
Dover Street Market – fancy but cool.
Chapman Market, 3465 W. 6th St. Korea town – Ladies, shop Shibuyala then eat lunch at one of the restaurants.
The Golden Poppy Market, 1209 Cypress Ave. – coolest neighborhood market EVER!!
Council Thrift Stores – Go to any one of them located around the city. I always find something amazing!
Iconic LA Shopping……
Jet Rag – a vintage shopping institution.
Rose Bowl Flea Market – Every 3rd Sunday at the Rose Bowl.
Santee Alley, Downtown LA Fashion District
FOR FUN
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS – I dare you to go and not have the best time ever! Go on every ride and catch Donkey from Shrek heckle people as they walk by his waffle cart.
LA BREA TAR PITS – They have excavated millions of fossils from here.
LACMA – it’s next door to the Tar Pits. Also, one of the best museum gift shops in L.A.
HOLLYWOOD BOWL – If you can, catch a show! Otherwise, the Bowl is part of LA parks system and is open daily. You can hike around and sometimes catch the Philharmonic rehearsing.
HUNTINGTON GARDENS, Pasadena – Simply beautiful.
UNDERWOOD FAMILY FARMS, Moorpark – Pick your own vegetables, and pet baby ducks.
GAY ASSTROLOGY– Once a month LGBTQA+++ dance party in downtown LA.
The ABBEY, 692 – Classic gay day drinking, or weekend dance party. It’s iconic at this point.
The RAINBOW – When you don’t know where else to go, and your freind isn’t ready to go home. Classic rock and roll dive bar, with a secret bar and DJ booth upstairs.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oracle Bomb would literally not exist if it wasn’t for my dear friend Pam Moore, who is the one and only Madame Pamita; teacher, tarot reader, author, root worker and the proprietress of Madame Pamita’s Parlour of Wonders. www.parlourofwonders.com
She was the person that encouraged me to start reading tarot for others. She is wildly inspiring, talented, kind, and generous.
I’m convinced Jessica Snow and her magical meditations saved my life when I was going through my divorce. I simply adore her. Her meditations are part of my daily practice.
My dear friend, James Divine has not brought so much healing, fun and magick to my world. His readings added a deep level of self-awareness.
My eternal ride or dies, who have all journeyed though love and forgiveness with me – Rob Talty, Annie and Cindy, Natalie Johns, Oualid Mouaness, Greg Woo, and my family at MAAVVEN; a hub of the most gifted creatives in Los Angeles.
Website: https://www.oraclebomb.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oracle_bomb/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoraclebomb/
Other: shop my magical wares at https://www.magickeverywhere.com