You’ll never know just how much you needed to see Jeff Goldblum, with the help of a queer witch, communicate with loved ones who’ve passed beyond the veil until you’ve seen it with your own eyes — but trust me, you do. To call it compelling barely scratches the surface. The reading in question takes place during episode two of the sophomore season of Goldblum’s Disney+ series The World According to Jeff Goldblum, and the witch in question is Krysta Venora, an L.A.-based Afro-Indigenous, trans, non-binary, psychic witch and medicine person.
In the episode, Venora passes on a message to Goldblum from his ancestors praising his parenting and leaving the iconic actor in tears. Venora’s response: “I’m just the vessel.” That may seem like a nonchalant answer in such a powerful moment, but for Venora channeling and speaking with the dead is just their everyday experience. But that’s not to say they aren’t in awe and filled with gratitude for their gifts. PRIDE spoke with Venora, who shared how their talents helped them embrace their power, find their voice, and why witchcraft is, in their words, “so gay.”
Venora: My craft connects me to my innate power, the power that has always been there. I am actively connecting to all the people I come from, to the planet I was born from, and the energies that operate it all. I am saying, “Hello, nature! It’s me, nature,” and nature responds, “you belong.” Connecting to a sense of belonging restores access to my personal internal power.
None of us are actually powerless but so many of us have to do the work of uncovering what beliefs, conditioning, and pain are standing in the way of that power. And this practice is that work for me, it has me working to see who I am and what I want underneath all of those obstacles. And when you know yourself, you never feel powerless again.
How has it helped you use your voice?
Magic and spirituality give me a sense of purpose outside of personal gain or accumulation of wealth. Connecting to the elements and our ancestors gives you a wider perspective of value. When you see the possibility of a brighter future you have no choice but to work towards it.
Through this practice, I have learned how much magic is woven into mundane things like speaking. My voice became another tool of magic and liberation. And with a powerful spirit team at your back, supporting you, encouraging you, and loving you, using your voice is another way to connect and can become a point of joy instead of dread.
How does your queer identity inform your witchcraft?
Being queer is a major influence on my witchcraft. I always say my first act of manifestation was becoming the truest version of myself. I had to access a deep, authentic place inside of me and bring it to the surface and eventually bring it to life outside of me. And that’s all manifestation is! Bringing something from the invisible world into the visible. And because of that, all Queer people are magic!
I also have a different perspective than a lot of traditional witches or witchcraft books because I don’t see the world as split into the “divine feminine and divine masculine” binary. And one of the reasons a person could be tried as a witch was homosexual behavior. When you consider that and the efforts of major religious groups to exclude the queer community, you have to see that just being a nuanced, chaotic, beautifully designed queer person is power.
The fact that queer people are always on the cutting edge of any industry we are involved in shows you that we are more than just trendsetters. We are future thinkers, we have a way of seeing where the world can go and what it can grow into. We have the power to see how something should be and then make it so. We are creators... and that is witchcraft.
What would you say to people who don’t believe in witches?
Amazing! Good for you! I don’t support the homogenization of human belief.
I believe wholeheartedly in biodiversity including in religion and spiritual thought. So if magic isn’t your bag, I’m glad you found that out and hope you find some way of being that feels good to you!
But I’d also say that so much of what leads us to believe that magic and witches aren't real is based on historical and cultural erasure and misinformation. Most people that “don’t believe in astrology”, for example, usually have no clue how it works (and that it’s not a belief system). So I would say if it tickles your fancy or makes you irrationally angry (often these feelings have the same origin) to explore!
Read modern books and older ones too. And give yourself a container of time, say one year, to jump in and suspend your disbelief. Just experience. And then evaluate what you’ve seen, heard, and felt. What worked? What didn’t? What was freeing and what was constricting? Find out what is for you and what was just not.
At its core, witchcraft is a practice of honoring the Earth, communing with nature, and doing the seemingly impossible. [I don’t know] about you, but I think that’s so gay.
What was it like working with the iconic Jeff Goldblum?
[Oh my god]! What a wild ride! Drop the skincare routine because that mug is flawless!
Jeff is so much fun to talk to. His effervescent curiosity bubbles up and overflows and any given opportunity and he’s always trying to make you laugh or slip you up. Being a fellow air sign, it was so fun to try and keep up with him even though his brain works a million miles a second. We were all excited to meet him but nervous because sharing this part of yourself is scary, but he was just so comfortable and cool and you know, a professional, he made it easy to relax. Jeff is welcome in the coven anytime.
Watch this exclusive clip of Venora giving a reading to Goldblum in the second episode of season two of The World According to Jeff Goldblum, “Magic,” premiering on November 12 on Disney+.
