Mums in Heels talks to the founders of the Goddess Collective about Soul Wellness, daily nurturing spiritual practices and aura sprays

Growing up in a communist country spiritual and religious practices were not part of my life till much later. I remember a period when I was completely consumed by mythology and specifically the feminine power possessed by the Greek Goddesses, herbalism and witches. I was fascinated with the idea that there might be more to this world that we may are seeing and experiencing. I kept asking myself: What if….. 

As soon as the Communist ideology fell apart, a renaissance of spirituality and return to religion started spreading in Eastern Europe where I grew up. I remember feeling hesitant and suspicious around all the tarot readers and astrologers springing like mushrooms. 

Then I read 100 years of Solitude by G.G. Marques and I fell in love with Magical Realism. That’s how I made peace with myself, joining together the way I was raised and my intuitive search for a meaningful connection with something bigger than myself. To this day I can’t imagine a life without its magic elements, without meaning, even if I have to create it and nobody else believes in it. Through a few rituals I started introducing in my daily life, I began to create space for magic, I invited more mystery and wisdom that brought a sense of wholeness and personal integrity, that helped me live with more intention, purpose and connection with myself beyond the brain and the logic of my thinking and beliefs. 

In the last 10 years as I have been traveling the world, moving between continents and starting life from complete scratch I found it essential to stay in touch with my true nature, to nourish my soul and spirit no matter I go and no matter where I start a new home. That’s how I built a strong foundation for my spiritual practices. They have become an even more solid wall than books for me, which I can always lean on. 

Journaling, smudging, prayers, affirmations, moon rituals, taro readings and human chart readings, the 12 nights rituals. These practices are giving shape to a safe and peaceful space, where I can retreat at any time of the day to contemplate and reconnect with my heart’s desires. All these spiritual practices and rituals are part of my happiness and wellbeing rituals. 

That’s why I believe it is never too late to start your own spiritual practice or to build up on what you may already be doing. Through such practices we find peace, courage, inner wisdom and self-confidence. The more of us have such space and practice, the better this world will be.

And excuse me if I have become too woo-hoo, but I am so excited to introduce you to an aspiring duo, currently building a strong community space for women and men with the intention to help them continue the research and evolution of their heart and soul. Alessia and Irene are the founders of The Goddess Collective, a thriving community, an online platform, space, and voice for an awakened generation with no limitations of age, gender, or background. I recently met and discussed with them my two favourite products – one of the Aura Spray and Aphrodite scented candle plus all possible ways to grow and thrive spiritually and purposefully in the current lifestyle flux.

 Tsitaliya: What is the the Goddess Collective?

Alesssia & Irene: The Goddess Collective (TGC) is a thriving community, space, and voice for an awakened generation – no matter your age, gender, or background. TGC stands for an empowering and conscious lifestyle. Our vision consists in creating an environment where everyone feels safe, is in the right place, and accepts themselves exactly as they are. We want to help our community to continue the research and evolution of their heart and soul: Each of us carries an enormous amount of experiences and emotions, that feel often like becoming a burden. Furthermore, with the birth of the internet and the evolution of social media, identifying with the perfect characters we see online has become increasingly difficult. Adding up all these factors, fundamental problems often arise, such as not accepting oneself for whom one is, sometimes leading to self-destructive behaviours such as crazy diets, cosmetic surgeries, drugs, e.g., to achieve impossible ideals. Many of us feel alone, excluded, and not understood in these moments. Even in everyday situations, one can often feel like an alien – our owners, Alessia and Irène, have been there and done that. That is why they made it their mission to take their community by the hand and show everyone out there that a person’s problems – no matter how big or small – are only human and must be acknowledged. Only in this way can we grow. And doing it together is much easier. 

Tsitaliya: How and why did you start The Goddess Collective?

Irene: The idea for The Goddess Collective has been growing in me since the summer of 2017, when I began re-exploring my spirituality thanks to kindred souls worldwide. I’ve been in touch with the spiritual realm since my early childhood but renounced this gift after a terrible vision came true in real life. Practicing Kundalini Yoga, connecting with aforementioned kindred souls (you know who you are!) and learning about herbalism played a major part in reconnecting with my origins, which resulted in my vision for TGC. In other words, I longed for a place, aka boutique, where one could discover spirituality, white magic and diversity in a modern way – far away from so-called woo-woo or gothic vibes – representing our zeitgeist. At the end of 2020, The Goddess Collective was born, but the pandemic and a severe accident that happened to me at the beginning of 2021 made it difficult for us to grow. This is why our company had to undergo some changes and shift its direction. Today it feels as if The Goddess Collective has been reborn: In Alessia, I found the ideal partner as my original co-founder decided to leave the company last year.

Photography Dang Mayer

Tsitaliya: Do you both come from spiritual families? Did you grow up in environment where you learned to pay attention to your intuition and your spirit? 

As mentioned above, Irène’s experienced spirituality and a connection with the other world since early childhood. This surely has to do with her Slavic background and Gipsy heritage, but also with finally being able to accept her gifts in her 30ies, tuning in with the universe and thus holding a loving space for everyone in need.

Alessia comes from a catholic family, and spirituality as she practices today was a tabu. At 12 she bought tarot cards but hid them from her family since she was scared about the reaction. Only at 30 did she discover spirituality, and it took her much time to be able to accept this new side of her.

Naturally, this change brought some challenges, such as learning how to work and grow together. Alessia and I have very different characters and tastes, sometimes almost representing an antithesis. Being able to find solutions together, not taking criticism personally and not triggering each other has definitely been a huge boost for us. Now that we’ve found our way, working together is exciting and a huge inspiration! We are not only business partners, but we share a deep friendship and admiration for each other, and we complement each other in a unique way. Yin and yang. The energy we exude working together is incredible, translating into our work for TGC. And as we grow together and personally, so does our company. 

Tsitaliya: What are the core values of The Goddess Collective?

• Sustainability: Mother Nature is our heroine and muse. This is why we choose and produce sustainable and environmentally friendly products.
• Authenticity & honesty: We are only as strong as our community is, and integrity is one of the essential keys to having the foundation of trust on which all our work is based.
• Diversity and inclusion: Our world is so beautiful because of its variations. And we want to celebrate everyone’s diversity!
• Unity & Acceptance: Only by accepting our diversity can we create our collective and therefore be able to help our community.

Tsitaliya: Who or what inspires and empowers you personally?  

Irene & Alessia: First, we daily inspire and lovingly push each other. It’s almost unbelievable how our energies match, like constantly. But our inspiration doesn’t end here; in fact, everything inspires out. Mother nature, people we meet in our everyday life or on the way to a meeting, books, works of art, fashion, movies, or the soundtrack of a film. We can say we are incredibly lucky to be able to get so much from everything and everyone’s surroundings. 

Tsitaliya: What grounds you?  

Irène relies on her Kundalini practices, walking barefoot in the grass or strolling through the woods. And she always carries one of TGC’s aura sprays in her bag and is known for spritzing them around herself and everyone as much as needed.

For Alessia, it is surely tons of aura sprays and sports. She started with 3 with ice skating and sport in general; it’s her way to return to herself and ground her again. 

Tsitaliya: Today we live in a culture obsessed with food, sports and the perfect body; we often seem to forget caring for the soul and the spirit! So let’s talk about Soul Wellness. What do you do (Alessia and Irène) to nurture your soul, to give it good food and care?  

Irene & Alessia: Being self-loving and compassionate towards ourselves is an ongoing lesson that we are learning. Especially in terms of our bodies, as we both have been suffering from eating disorders in our teenage years. That is why we want to speak openly about this, start a discussion and stop hiding behind Instagram filters or running after beauty ideals that have been molded since the dawn of time by the patriarchy. We genuinely believe in our company’s motto “Come as you are – celebrate yourself”! And want to show not only our community but everyone out there that we all are perfectly splendid. No matter our body size, age, or gender. It is all about self-love in the end. Our recommendation: Try to really feel yourself with everything that comes up for you – the good, the bad and the ugly. Sit with it and embrace it and your inner child. And don’t be too hard on yourself. If your body craves for chocolate or a lazy day on the couch, go for it. It’s so important to REALLY hear what our body and our soul are trying to tell us. 

Tsitaliya: How do you source the products for the Goddess Collective? How do you curate the products within your shop?  

Alessia & Irene: Regarding our curated selection, we only work with manufacturers that share our values. In other words, even though we strive for beautiful products that please the eye, their background and how and under what circumstances they have been produced really count for us. Therefore, we represent only brands that respect Mother Nature, sustainability, and social responsibility towards their workers and use the best natural ingredients. We find this so important, as a product’s positive energy makes it work.

Tsitaliya:

The Goddess Collective has its own products, like the Aura Spray for example – do you plan to create more products? What can we expect or look forward to next? 

Alessia & Irene: When TCG was created, the idea was to re-sell selected products. With time we discovered our passion for creating our own products, such as the Aura Spray We Are Cherished and our incense Ad Vitam. We are currently working on growing our Aura Spray Collection; one will be dedicated to the theme of abundance and the other to love. As all our products are hand-made and we choose every ingredient lovingly – mostly from our very own gardens – this process takes time but should be ready at the beginning of July. Furthermore, we are also working on something very special that we can’t talk about yet. But you can be sure this product will be filled with beauty, love, and magic. So, as you do, more is coming, and we cannot wait to share them with our community! 

Tsitaliya: Share a personal ritual that you do daily? 

Irène: I start my mornings early, after 5.30 am, with prayer and meditation. After that, I prepare myself coffee that I love to mix with Cashew milk and a powerful chocolate blend by Naked Chocolate or with a blend of spices that I created for myself, which helps me stay focused throughout the day. After that, I swear by dry brushing, followed by a cold shower and applying my beauty products full of love and gratefulness for my body.

Alessia: The first thing I do when I wake up is feed our cats and grab a cup of coffee. I do some stretching exercises for my back, and during this time, I always pray to the universe, being thankful for who I’m, what I have, and who is in my life. 

Tsitaliya: A beauty product you can’t live without?  

Irène: Facial Mists, all of our own Aura Sprays (the one you can buy already and the ones that are in the making) and the secret product we are currently working on.

Alessia: Even if it is not a beauty product: aura spray we are cherished by TGC.  

Tsitaliya: A surprising fact your community doesn’t know about you?  

Irène: I love killing Zombies in “The Last of Us” on my golden PlayStation.

Alessia: I know the names of all Pokémon characters by heart.

Tsitaliya:

Alessia, where do you want to take The Goddess Collective next? What is the next step for the community and the brand? 

We strive for healthy and steady growth. It is very important to grow organically, like a plant. If a plant grows too fast, it lacks deep roots, and as soon as a storm arrives, it is uprooted and dies.

Our focus in the coming months will be new products made by TGC, new and continuous collaborations and workshops. And who knows what the future holds for us.