Kat Von D has built an entire public image on spiritualism, witchcraft, and a fierce sense of goth fashion. During the most recent episode of the Relatable podcast, the makeup mogul and tattoo artist explained her controversial decision to abandon witchcraft, get baptized, and again embrace Christianity. “As I got into my 20s, I started looking…without knowing, into new age stuff,” she said during the podcast appearance, noting that she’d been raised Christian. It led down a path of spiritualism, tarot card reading, and other occult-adjacent practices. And she admits as she began to openly practice witchcraft, she found herself “miserable.” She realized, she said, around 2020, that it “obviously hasn’t worked for us.”
“I started just kind of re-evaluating,” she explained to host Allie Beth Stuckey. “Going down the list of what I’m doing with my life and what my perspectives are and then it got to the part of my spirituality and that’s where I started really rethinking a lot of things.”
The LA Ink star began attending Sunday services and studying the Bible again, and in a moment of personal clarity, threw out books on witchcraft, the occult, and meditation. “I came to this really awesome realization that night that I don’t want these crutches in my life anymore,” she divulged. “And that’s what I really saw them as. I just want Jesus.”
Ultimately, she was baptized Christian in October — a controversial move shared publicly and hotly debated by fans. But Kat defends her decision, saying that she felt witchcraft and other practices were a “crutch.” “I feel like it’s a very narrow road,” she said. “I feel like these breathing techniques or spellwork or nature worship…all of these things are just crutches. They’re not really my answer.” She continued, “I would rather eliminate any distractions, and this is just what works for me.”
“I don’t want to have anything to do with this anymore,” she explained about how she feels about spiritualism now. “I’m on fire for Jesus. I don’t plan on this dimming out.” She now routinely is seen wearing a crucifix in photos shared to Instagram — though her goth sense of fashion remains intact, as she continually wears black.
Kat married artist and musician Rafael Reyes in a goth-inspired ceremony in June of 2018. They welcomed their son, Leafar Von D Reyes, the following November.