I was accused of luring Etsy shoppers into a cult-like group obsessed with demonic magic... but this is the real story

A woman who was accused of running a 'cult-like' group dedicated to demonic magic, scamming customers out of tens of thousands of dollars and 'retaliating' against them after they left has broken her silence on the sensational claims.

Last month, multiple former members of the controversial group 7th Witch House – The Order of Dark Arts spoke in detail to the Daily Mail about their alleged experiences in the group.

They all told similar tales of how they were invited to join the Facebook group – which is 'devoted to the study and practice of Demonic Magick,' according to its description – after making a purchase from Ashley Otori's Etsy shop.

The women alleged they were then tricked into spending a large amount of money on bogus 'magical' products that didn't work or never came. They also accused Otori of faking a PhD from Harvard to build authority and charge them for 'consultations,' and claimed that when they eventually decided to leave the group, Otori and her followers 'harassed' them, gave them creepy gifts and sent death threats.

But Otori told a very different story. She addressed every one of their claims during an explosive interview with the Daily Mail while alleging the women are just bitter that they were kicked out of the group, which they have denied.

During the bombshell sit-down, the self-described 'witch' explained that the Facebook group is designed to be a place where people practicing Luciferianism – a philosophical and spiritual belief system that venerates the characteristics associated with Lucifer – can come together.

'We have the goal of correcting the general public's misconceptions regarding Lucifer and demons, giving guidance to those who would like to follow this spiritual path, and offering tools to help others achieve better results in their practice of Magick,' Otori's website reads.

Through her online shop, she sells potions promising to bring 'fast wealth,' necklaces she claims 'activate powerful desire, sex and attraction' and diffusers that can 'calm and soothe the mind.'

Otori told the Daily Mail the products themselves don't deliver the results, rather it's the 'ritual' performed with them.

'My typical customer is a very advanced witch,' she said.

'I don't actually do rituals for people, I just sell the tools and I teach them how to do the rituals.

'I'm sure from the outside looking in, the entire thing can seem odd, but it's very much based on a formula. You use certain rituals, and if you do them correctly, with the right attitude and respect, then you can have some absolutely incredible results.'

Four of Otori's former customers spoke to the Daily Mail in May and made a range of claims. One of their biggest complaints was that the products allegedly didn't work.

One of the women, named Sandra, has filed a civil suit against Otori, citing a financial loss of over $48,000. In the lawsuit, she accused Otori of numerous things including 'fraud and negligent misrepresentation.'

'Just to be very clear, it's extremely rare that people don't get results,' Otori said in response to their claims. 'I'm the best in this space, I can confidently say that.

'If it doesn't work, which is rare, it usually just takes some troubleshooting. Did you use the right candle? Did you use the right ritual? Did you say the right thing?

'Typically with troubleshooting, it will then work. If you look in the group, you'll almost never see people say, "It didn't work for me."'

Otori pointed out that most of the women who spoke against her were 'deeply invested in the community for five plus years.' 

Sandra told the Daily Mail she joined in 2021 and left in 2025. Another, who used the pseudonym Michelle, was a member from 2020 to 2025. A third, named Sarah, said she was involved from 2020 to 2025. All three confessed to spending thousands of dollars with Otori.

'They were customers for years,' Otori said. 'You don't buy something over and over if it doesn't work.

'I understand they're upset, but the reason they're upset has nothing to do with [the products not working].'

Otori alleged the women are actually outraged because they were kicked out of the group.

She claimed that two of them, Michelle and Sarah, had been chosen as moderators in the Facebook group – something she described as a huge honor – but were ultimately removed because she caught them talking badly about other members behind their backs. 

'When people come to demonic magic, a lot of times, they come when they are at a low point,' Otori told the Daily Mail. 'And they'll open up to you, they'll talk to you about things going wrong in their life that they're wanting to fix.

'So to be a moderator, to be somebody that they come to, you have to adhere to a strict set of rules – and one of them is to not talk badly about members.'

Otori said there was a group chat with all the moderators, and when she saw them 'bullying' certain members in it, she 'abruptly' removed them from the group.

'We were very close friends for a while so it was hard,' she said of Michelle and Sarah. 'I loved them. But you can't be trusted with people's problems and people's feelings and then be making fun of them.

'You can't be power tripping and have big egos. That's where things get dangerous. That's where things can get cult-like.'

Michelle told the Daily Mail, however, she believes she was removed from the group because she 'wasn't present' during one of Otori's product launches due to a family emergency.

'The expectation was for moderators to not only be there when she was doing product launches, but to be excited and excite people and tag people,' Michelle said.

'My father-in-law had a stroke, so I was attending to my family emergency. [Otori] wasn't happy about it.

'With Ashley, you're either with Ashley, or you are against Ashley. There's no middle ground. You didn't need to do much to become her enemy.'

When asked if she ever talked badly about members, Michelle said: 'That's absolutely untrue.' 

Sarah told the Daily Mail she thinks she was also kicked out for not being active enough during a launch.

'I was there for the launch, I was hyping her up, I was doing what I was supposed to be doing,' she said. 'But it wasn't enough for her.

'I stepped away for a few minutes to make sure that my son was OK. He was crying, his throat was hurting, he wasn't feeling well.  When I came back to my phone, I had six missed calls [from Otori and her assistant].

'She texted me like, "What is going on? Why are you so distant?" If you didn't bring the exact energy that she expected at that point in time, you were treated like an outcast, or you were punished. Then she removed me.'

The former members previously claimed they faced 'harassment' and 'retaliation' after separating from the group, alleging that Otori branded them as 'traitors' and turned the rest of the members against them.

'Leaving the group triggers a whole range of things on her end, including punishment, smear campaigns, intimidation, harassment and attempts to completely destroy the [life of the] person who's leaving,' Sarah told the Daily Mail.

She has filed multiple police reports against Otori, which were viewed by the Daily Mail.

Michelle alleged that after she was removed from the group, Otori attempted to destroy her online business. She has also filed multiple police reports against Otori, which were viewed by the Daily Mail.

'She took a list of all my customers, and she sent them messages about me with lies about me,' Michelle claimed. 'The retaliation is real [and] big. They have posted malicious, completely fake consumer reports of my business.'

Otori denied encouraging her followers to 'go after' the women, and said she is not responsible for what the members of the group say or do. She also claimed that any 'retaliation' that the women faced was deserved because they 'attacked' her first.

'[They went] on an absolute warpath and diatribe [after they were kicked out], trying to tear down the group and me,' Otori claimed.

'They got together, and they started a horrible subreddit, saying the worst stuff imaginable about me and about the group. And about 99 percent of it was lies. 

'They would talk about not just me, but they'd talk about other members... It was horrible. And so of course [the members] were upset, but they did not attack them first. If anything, they were strictly defending themselves, and Luciferians believe you should defend yourself. 

'Whether that's through a hex, or whether that's just standing up for yourself or speaking out, you're allowed to defend yourself. If somebody comes after you, you shouldn't be silent. That's how some of the worst atrocities in the world happened.'

Otori insisted she doesn't have an issue with members wanting to leave. 

'We're not a cult, you're not going to be met with death threats if you leave,' she said. 'But when people get push back is when they start attacking the group, me and the other members first. Of course [members are] gonna retaliate.

'If somebody gets attacked, I'm not responsible for it.'

Otori told the Daily Mail the women who spoke with us were 'coming to you as victims' adding that 'they were not sought out' by her or other members. 

'After they left, they attacked me first, and on a very public platform,' she said. 'I would have never come after them first. They would have been free to go in peace.'

The women insisted to the Daily Mail that they never 'trashed' Otori on Reddit. They said they simply posted about their 'experiences' in the group and tried to bring light to what they believe are lies.

In response to the accusations that the group was 'cult-like,' Otori said that wasn't the case. A different former member previously told the Daily Mail that 'people started calling Otori "Queen."' The founder confirmed this was true at one point, but claimed it wasn't something she asked for or encouraged.

'[Some members became] very fanatical and competitive for my attention,' she said. 'They started calling me Queen and all that stuff, but I never asked for it, and it was very uncomfortable. It got really weird.' 

The women we spoke to alleged that spending money was constantly encouraged in the group, and that if you weren't buying products, Otori would become 'hostile.' 

'That was absolutely not a culture that was influenced by me,' Otori said in response. 

'I don't treat anybody better for spending money. You don't have to spend money at all. There's free rituals you can learn within the group.'

The women also claimed Otori failed to deliver many products people had paid for.

'She said she was coming out with this book [about her magic in 2021], and she started taking pre-orders,' Michelle said, before alleging that the book still has not been released and was removed from Otori's website.

Otori admitted to the Daily Mail she wrote a book in 2021 that still hasn't come out. 'Across the publishing industry, there's always things that have timelines that sometimes are extended,' she said.

'It's not like I ran away with their money or anything. I just had a baby, life has been life-ing... but it's still coming out. Anybody who pre-ordered it is still getting it and anyone who pre-ordered it and doesn't want it anymore and wants a refund [can get one].'

In 2024, Otori announced on social media that she had completed her PhD at Harvard, becoming a doctor in psychology. 

But the women claimed they checked with Harvard, and alleged that her credentials were 'fake.'

When asked if anyone under her current or maiden name graduated with a PhD in psychology, a Harvard representative told the Daily Mail: 'I can confirm that there is no one with either name in our records.'

The women claimed that she used a bogus degree to build authority and charge customers for one-on-one 'consultations.' 

However, in the description of the consultations, which cost $150 for 30 minutes, Otori states: 'This is not medical or professional mental health advice. This is strictly about magick.'

Otori insisted to the Daily Mail that she does have her PhD in psychology from Harvard, but said she could not show proof because it is currently part of the ongoing lawsuit with Sandra. She did show what appeared to be a master's degree in psychology from National University.

'I absolutely refute all claims they made,' she added. 'Everything will come out in the lawsuit. I'm very confident.'

She added that her credentials 'have nothing to do with my magic,' and said she doesn't 'offer mental health advice professionally at all.'

The women also alleged that Otori lied about having a partnership with Swarovski in an attempt to get more sales on her jewelry.

Otori posted on Facebook in 2020 stating she had 'teamed up with' the famed jewlery and crystal company for a 'limited edition amulet' called the Circle of Transmutation Choronzon Necklace.

A representative for Swarovski told the Daily Mail that the brand has not worked with Otori.

'Following our internal review, I inform you that there has not been any collaboration with the individual in question,' the spokesperson said. 'There has not been any form of partnership or relationship between Swarovski and the person mentioned.'

Otori claimed this was 'more of a miscommunication, if anything.' 

'We did use Swarovski crystals,' she said when asked about the statement by the Daily Mail. 'Swarovski crystals are available for sale, and anybody can use them. And so we used real Swarovski crystals. If anything, that was just a bad wording. But they were real Swarovski crystals. I design my pieces and I stand behind that.'

Otori has filed a motion to dismiss Sandra's lawsuit, stating 'lack of jurisdiction, improper venue, a failure to state legally sufficient claims.' 

The case is still ongoing. 

Otori told the Daily Mail she plans to countersue Sandra 'for defamation and tortious interference.'

'It will go my way in court,' the founder said. 'I'm not some cult leader, I'm not some creep, I'm not taking these people's money or scamming them by any means.

'What we do is very real and very serious, and it might seem weird to some people, but it is extremely real to us.

'People should be allowed the freedom to practice and participate in whatever religion they want and do it with total freedom, without suspicion that it's a cult.'