WRITTEN BY PHILLPPA SCHMULIAN

For many years I was on a quest to find my purpose. I felt trapped in an industry I didn’t feel aligned with. I was placed in leadership positions from the age of 24, yet I deeply disagreed with the way we were guided to lead staff. I felt fearful that this would be the rest of my life. As a result, I was constantly frustrated, drained of energy, and spending most of my money trying to repair the damage I was doing to my heart, mind and soul.

My creativity — which had always been the place where I found joy and healing, had no room to be expressed. My dedicated art room stood unused for years. I turned to coping mechanisms to dim the anxiety and sadness I felt, while continuously promising myself: One day. Even if there was no money, there would come a day when I would choose a different life.

Since I was a small child, spirituality had always been an extremely important part of my life. In my twenties, I found a Hindu temple where I experienced a significant reawakening of my spirit. Later, after moving to Cape Town, while studying Metaphysics and partaking in medicine journeys, my path started becoming clearer and I slowly began finding my way back to myself.

I realised that I was the only person who could create the life I wanted to live. I wanted to spend my days immersed in creativity and meaningful work that fed both my soul and spiritual life.

At Metavarsity, an esoteric school in Cape Town (where I was studying Metaphysics), The Artist’s Way course was being offered on Saturdays. I thought it would be the perfect way to invite creativity back into my life. One of the exercises in the course asked us to write down what we would do if money was not an issue, and immediately I wrote: I would open an esoteric shop.

It felt perfect for me. I already had a unique and diverse body of knowledge. My mother was an interior decorator and I had helped her build her business, which gave me a crash course in creating beautiful spaces and understanding what it takes to start something from the ground up. I loved shopping, aesthetics, storytelling and creating environments that made people feel seen. I wanted to create a haven of sorts — a space that encouraged people to embrace their own magickal ways. I could weave many of my interests into one space and could pivot into whatever practice or topic interested me.

Some of my happiest childhood memories were visiting esoteric shops, reading enchanting stories, feeding fairies in our garden, and collecting crystals and gemstones while learning everything I could about them.

I wrote every detail down: what the shop would look like, what it would stand for, what I would stock, and how it would centre around learning, healing and creativity. As I started sharing my dream with friends, the universe sent me an opportunity. One of my best friends offered me a small space inside her shop to begin. I simply decided: This is it. I’m doing this.

After a few months in that little space, I could already feel the interest growing. I continued working my corporate job while building the shop, trying to financially hold it through its infant stages. It demanded everything from me — my energy, my time, my bank account — but for the first time in years, I felt like I was moving toward the reason I had experienced everything I had. I started feeling real joy and excitement again.

I cannot say every step was easy. I cried many times. I sold my own belongings to keep the shop going. I had to learn difficult lessons around alignment with staff, how to manage a space like this, and how to overcome imposter syndrome while holding two jobs at once.

One day, I decided to do a ceremony; Ceremonial Magick, which I had been taught through my Metaphysics studies and deeply loved as a practice, to consciously create the space I envisioned, supported by an authentic community who were also tired of not living their truth any longer.

The following morning, after doing the ceremony with a dear friend and wizard I had studied with, I was sitting outside my friend’s shop in Observatory, where The Hidden Gem had first started. I remember asking one of my staff members who had been part of the ceremony, “I wonder where this space will be?” As I said the words, I looked up and noticed the house across the road — a house I had somehow never truly seen before — with a sign saying it was available to rent.

I immediately called the landlord. Two weeks later, we carried the shop across the road into what would become The Magickal Gem. A month later the world went into lockdown, yet even in the face of such uncertainty my enthusiasm never left. We continued to hold ceremonies, create connection, and do whatever we could to support the health and spirit of our immediate community during a time when so many people felt isolated and afraid.

The space was exactly as I had imagined it: wooden floors, double-volume ceilings, and enough room for me to live in while slowly building the dream. I started The Magickal Gem with a R12 000 loan from a friend to pay the deposit, and only a few thousand rand left in my bank account. What I lacked in resources, I made up for in conviction. My “why” was always stronger than my current reality. "Creativity takes courage" - Henri Matisse

For the next four years, I continued working my corporate job while building The Magickal Gem alongside it. During that time, I changed the name from Hidden Gem to The Magickal Gem because I no longer wanted the vision to remain hidden, and I have always believed that words carry power, especially the names we attach to things. Those early years were built on trust, consistency, and relentless dedication. I was studying constantly, working two jobs, and often working seven days a week. Looking back now, I realise the shop became one of my greatest teachers. It taught me the importance of integrity, strong boundaries, authenticity, consistency, discernment, and devotion to the path I was creating. It also was a great teacher of a great number of topics, as every conversation was unique - aliens, presence, the occult, medicines (this list is endless:) ) Three years ago we moved to our current location, just down the road from the original shop where we are still very happy!

Over time, the shop began to take on its own spirit and energy, attracting the most incredible experiences into its four walls. My staff and I started witnessing moments of synchronicity, healing, and transformation almost daily, each one met with reverence and awe. The Magickal Gem became more than a retail space; it became a living, breathing container for connection, creativity, and healing.

Every person who works within the space is encouraged to explore their own creativity and build an offering from their gifts. We guide them through the principles of creating with intention, devotion, and a little Divine support. Collaboration is deeply woven into the fabric of the shop, and each staff member either practices divination or is trained in healing facilitation. The intention has always been for the space to feel like more than a shop — a refuge for those seeking comfort, guidance, inspiration, or simply a reminder of magick in everyday life.

The Magickal Gem has now had its doors open in Observatory for eight years. I love being part of this space as it matures, and as I mature I feel more confident that we are able to assist visitors in a more real way - from practitioners to seekers of all ages (I had a 3 year old in the shop last week schooling me on Magick - so I really mean all ages!)

Along the way we explored expansion, but also learnt that growth does not always mean becoming bigger; sometimes it means becoming deeper, more intentional, and more aligned. The shop now curates healing spaces at major wellness festivals such as Retreat Yourself, where between 30 and 40 different healing modalities are offered by trusted practitioners in their respective fields. Through the shop we offer healing work, divination, workshops, and ceremonies, while also creating many of our own products (with intention, ritual and creativity).

Each morning without fail, a candle is lit before the doors open. The space is energetically cleansed with Reiki and smudge as part of what we call our Sacred Manual — one of the very first practices taught to every new staff member. At the end of the day, the space itself is thanked, because we believe it carries its own spirit and consciousness.

The Magickal Gem has also expanded beyond its walls into yoga and wellness studios across Cape Town and Paarl, continuing to weave together healing, creativity, ritual, and community.

At its heart, The Magickal Gem has always been a devotion to healing, creativity, magick, and the belief that when people are given a safe and inspired space to find their own magick, incredible transformation becomes possible.

I am extremely grateful for each person who recognises this space for the love and effort that has been poured into it every day (and yes it is every single day without fail), for the friends and staff that aligned to the vision. A small business like ours can only keep its doors open if supported by the community, so from the bottom of my heart - Thank You!!!! I pray that this space keeps evolving deeper into service (the ultimate goal) while bringing enchantment and awe. I am proof that the words by Joseph Cambell are true. "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."