We were lucky to catch up with Fernie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Fernie, thanks for joining us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

Imagine this: a solitary figure enters a dark arena, billowing robes softly parting the smoky air, gold and jewels flashing in the dim light. He raises a hand, palm facing you, and speaks in a resonant, if soft, voice; the language he speaks is both familiar and strange, steeped in knowledge you wish you could gain. Walter Mercado, my astrological hero, was this figure, and his daily horoscopes and gorgeous fashion sense are in large part a precursor to what it is that I do with Golden Mirror Fortunes. He created a universe in which the stars were our neighbors, the constellations a party we were all invited to, and where good fortune was always within reach.

Walter Mercado is my hero because he proved that being a Latinx queer person (or queer-coded, as he never came out), being fabulous, and being magical were things to admire and love, not to be questioned or feared. He’s inspired my fashion sense, he’s inspired my approach to astrology, and he’s inspired the way I think about tending to the needs of those who come my way. I can’t think of a better way of honoring this mighty figure in my community than by donning my sequined caftans and reminding everyone que “Los quiero mucho, mis amores!” — a call back to how he would always end his shows with “mucho, mucho amor.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a queer Latinx fortune telling witch from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. I am the owner and founder of Golden Mirror Fortunes, and I hope to be Your Favorite Fortune Teller! I grew up always knowing that magic was around us, as my great-grandfather and his son, my grand-uncle, were both curanderos (folk healers) in Rio Grande City, and it’s been such a delight to have Golden Mirror Fortunes carry on the legacy of healing and mysticism they instilled in me.

I’m also an educator — I went to Rice University, studied English and Art History, got my teacher’s certification, joined TFA, and have been a teacher and principal at various schools in the RGV. In addition to fortune telling, I am currently an education consultant. I uses tarot and magic to help people heal and find their paths, all in service of improving their fortunes. I find my fortunes to be kind but direct, warm yet honest. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, you know! My deepest desire is to provide you with the light that you need to make your life a little more magical and glittery.

My areas of expertise include Tarot, Astrology and Horoscopes, and magical work. With Tarot and Astrology, I find that I help most people in the realms of career, love, and life choices. I’m able to use my extensive knowledge of the cards and the stars to bolster people’s needs, and am able to call on my experience as a teacher and a leader to help ensure that people are making the choices that will give them the greatest fortune.

In addition to the more traditional fortune telling, I am also able to craft a spell or devise a ritual to help make any event special, or provide someone with exactly the thing that they are looking for when in need. I have worked many events, including large scale parties, private bridal showers, galas, and created rituals for ceremonies. I love being able to turn the party with my charm, gorgeous style, and love of helping those around them.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Reputation is one of the most important, if intangible, things that any business owner can build. Your reputation is the one thing everyone will know about you before they get to know you, and so you want it to be glittery, golden, and magical — I mean, whatever fits your brand, of course! I think what’s helped build my reputation in the community and the market is my authenticity, my warmth, and my ability to produce great work.

When I say authenticity, what I mean to say is that I am both true to myself and to the persona that is the brand. I find ways to be a part of the community that fits who I am; whether this means doing a monthly free event with the local queer or attending a gala as the entertainment, I ensure that the community sees me being authentically me. I show up in my heels and caftans, glittering from head to toe, and make it a spectacle! People know that this is always the Golden Mirror Fortunes experience, which has helped to build the reputation that I desire.

Warmth comes easy to me, and I genuinely want for every interaction with me to be something that people walk away from feeling better about themselves. Even if the cards or the stars are showing some turbulence in the person’s life, I do my best to help guide them through those tough times. People know that if they come to me, they’re leaving with a hug and some good advice, not just the forecast. This warmth helps people to seek me out, but it is also just a way of being a good human.

Finally, neither being authentic nor warm would be enough if the work I produced wasn’t up to par. I practice and read a whole ton to build my knowledge, even after all of these years, because I want to make sure that I am always up to date and honing my skills. I also take great pride in what it is that I do; my work is my hallmark, and therefore I won’t compromise the quality of what I’m producing. No client and no event will get half-Fernie — I go full Fernie, all the time.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson that I had to unlearn was that perfection was the only way that things could ever be. I’ve learned to accept that I sometimes allow perfect to be the enemy of good, and used to miss out on opportunities and risks because I felt that things always had to be perfect. While high-quality, great work is necessary, sometimes you need to take a risk in order to take a step forward.

This desire comes from a good place — I want to be the best, to get the gold medal, to not have anything stand in the way to perfection. I knew early on that my brand was going to be “Your Favorite Fortune Teller”, and while it was a fun bit of marketing, I also thought I had to live it! This meant that I would sometimes say no to something if I wasn’t an expert yet, or judging what I was creating and not putting it out because I wasn’t finished tweaking it. I remember one gorgeous spell jar I had made but that I eventually discarded because I couldn’t find the right color and texture of ribbon to tie it in — if it wasn’t exactly perfect, I couldn’t want it anymore.

I’ve worked hard to unlearn this lesson, but that’s come with the aid of those who love me. I know now to run things by them and to not allow myself to hear only my own self-critical voice; their praise and critiques help me fine tune things until they’re just right, if not perfect. Hearing other voices has helped me allow things to be great, and while sometimes things may not be perfect, I know that they’re golden.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: golden_mirror_fortunes
• Other: TikTok: goldenmirrorfortunes