On my twenty-second birthday, my younger sister gifted me a mason jar filled with rocks. They weren’t just any rocks. They were glittering, shining crystals of all colors and shapes. A handmade tag on the mason jar read “Healing Chakra” and listed the types of stones inside the jar. I accepted my rocks graciously and was sent down a rabbit hole into the metaphysical world. What is a chakra? How can a crystal hold healing properties? Why do people engage in this belief system?
Metaphysical supply stores cater to many belief systems. Modern interpretations of spirituality take inspiration from Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, or Paganism, which originated in Nordic countries. The stores I visit serve all methods of practice. A Google search answered a few of my questions. “Chakra healing is a form of alternative therapy that aims to balance the energy centers of the body, known as chakras, through various techniques such as meditation, yoga, and Reiki. The origins of chakra healing can be traced back to ancient Indian traditions, particularly the practice of yoga and Ayurvedic medicine.” With this newfound knowledge, I was ready to visit three of the most popular spiritual supply stores in Connecticut.
Mondazzi Book, Bead, and Crystal, Windsor
The layout of Mondazzi is haphazard, a hodgepodge of jewelry, clothing, crystals, spell ingredients, and more. The narrow entrance leads up to a vintage cash register sitting on a worn table. The room on the right houses tables covered with jewelry, dry herbs hang from the wall, and a table holds tumbled stones. (Tumbled stones have gone through a polishing process to remove rough or sharp edges.) A large doorway beyond the jewelry room leads to a small library, housing books on everything from spirituality to spell recipes.
The left side of the building is an even larger room. There are tables dotted around like islands. Each table is dedicated to one type of healing or chakra: root, sacral, throat. One table is centered around stones that correspond with the heart chakra. Rose quartz pillars, raw cobaltoan calcite clusters, and tumbled rhodochrosite complete a blush-pink and lilac display. The stones catch the overhead lighting beautifully, twinkling every time a shadow passes over them.
According to spiritual expert Cat Meffan, there are seven chakra points in the body. Each chakra corresponds with an aspect of emotion or physicality. For example, the root chakra, located at the base of the spine, keeps us grounded. The heart chakra corresponds with love and passion.
My friend Sophia removes the gaudy ring she is trying on, and we head to the table showcasing hundreds of tumbled crystals. According to Crystal Vaults, an online crystal retailer, tumbled stones are a better alternative to raw stones due to their affordability and size. They’re recommended for beginners to crystal healing. They can be used in jewelry making or spell jars, or just slipped into your pocket to carry around.
Sophia offers some advice passed down from her grandmother, a veteran Reiki healer. “Just hold it in your hand and see if it feels right.” Every time I held a crystal in my hand, it just felt like there was a rock. Regardless, I chose two crystals to bring home with me: angelite from Peru and moss agate from India.
At the end of the crystal table is a chart listing each crystal and its healing properties. Angelite, a periwinkle stone, facilitates connection with the angelic realm. Moss agate, a seafoam-green-and-brown crystal, promotes harmony between the heart and mind and reduces mood swings.
Sophia and I slip into her Corolla, ready to drive to the next shop. She reveals that she made a secret purchase. Two Fortune Teller Miracle Fish sit in the palm of her hand. “You hold it in your hand, and whatever it does tells you your future. Kind of.” Both of our fish completely curl into themselves. The packaging reads, “Curls up entirely…….Passionate.” Taking our fortune with us, we head to the Bell and Raven.
The Bell & Raven, Simsbury
Nestled into the Simsbury Town Shops, the Bell and Raven sits hidden on the side of the shopping plaza. The bell above the door dings, announcing our arrival to the only employee in the shop. A young woman with chocolate-brown hair looks up from a craft project she has spread out on her desk to greet us. The weight of our steps causes the old wooden floors to creak.
The Bell and Raven is a complete and utter shift from Mondazzi. Warm yellow lighting floods the intimate space, late afternoon sunshine bleeding through the window and spreading itself onto the immaculate displays. It felt like I was visiting a friend rather than shopping. In place of an excess of merchandise, there is one or two of everything on view. The right side of the room holds two large tables, one displaying crystals in small wooden bowls, and the other covered in handmade soaps, bags, and candles.
In the corner of Bell and Raven sits the Spell Jar Bar. The Spell Jar Bar offered three price points. The Crow at $14.95, the Magpie at $17.95, and the Raven at $22.95. I stood at the counter for a few minutes reading the ingredients that were placed into each jar. The Raven, for example, includes salt, a charm, herbs, a crystal, a candle, and an intention scroll.
Pagan expert and author Patti Wigington explains that spell jars are popular in North American folk magic. “It keeps the magic concentrated, and prevents it from escaping before the spell has been completed.” The popularity of spell jars is due in part to their portability. They can be put in your pocket, on a doorstep, or “tucked into a hollow tree.” Wigington emphasizes that the first and most important step in putting together a spell jar is defining your intent with the spell. Without this crucial step, enlightenment won’t be achievable.
We leave without purchasing a spell jar. However, we do stop at the crystal table for another look. Maybe they are calling to me, after all. I pick up a stone called dragon blood jasper. According to a car lying on the table, this type of jasper promotes compassion, strength, and adaptability. Right now, all of these feel like they complement my newfound passion.
After spending more time in these spaces, it was becoming clear to me why so many people find comfort in the spiritual community. The reach of spirituality is broad; anyone can establish a connection with it. The practice of spirituality, or magick [sic], doesn’t exclude anyone based on sexuality or gender the way other many other religions do.
StellaLuna, Southington
The door announces our entrance with a jingle and the hinges creak slightly as my friend Maddie and I step inside. A kind-looking man with red-brown hair and thick black glasses waves to us with a smile. The entrance is decorated like the movie set of a witch supply store. A zen waterfall made of stone trickles quietly, accompanied by the music playing over the speakers. Magical and bouncy, the tunes are complemented by the lavender scent floating around the long, narrow room. The shop was once a restaurant and the back of the shop has a full kitchen now used to sell magic accouterments or accessories.
Near the front register of StellaLuna there is a large bowl filled with small boxes, wrapped in decorative paper. The information card reads, “Intuitive Choice Crystal: Inside each box is the crystal that wants to work with you!” A fan of presents and surprises, I continue reading. The card instructs its reader to rub their hands together briskly, and let their intuition guide their choice of box. Easy enough. Maddie and I slip our phones into our back pockets and close our eyes. (This step wasn’t included in the directions, but it felt right.) Three types of wrapping paper occupied the bowl of mystery stones. Maddie and I both decided on the white-and-gold-starred design, carrying them around for the rest of the visit.
We quietly scan the store, noticing that we are the only customers. Shy Guy has gone missing. Both of our gazes fix on a display featuring cauldrons, the ultimate witch stereotype. So, there it is, a cast-iron cauldron.
Online store and blog Tragic Beautiful explains, “In modern witchcraft practices and Wicca, the cauldron represents the divine feminine, symbolising the Goddess and her womb as well as the power of transformation.” They also go into depth regarding the major uses of cauldrons in modern witchcraft and how they “can be used with charcoal discs to burn offerings of herbs, petitions and incense during spellcasting and rituals” as well as be used to “mix herbs into potions and poultices.”
As we checked out with our intuition-chosen crystals and a handmade hemp pouch I grabbed on our walk around, Shy Guy pulled out a large metal tuning fork. He held it over my mystery crystal, hitting the tuning fork once, and a ding echoed. I had never seen anything like this in my life.
“What was that for?” I ask.
“Oh, it just purifies the crystal, clears it of any negative energies and opens it to your intentions,” he responds, allowing my purchase time to absorb the cleansing note produced by the tuning fork.
Maddie and I climb into the car, eager to open our little presents. “Why didn’t my crystal get a blessing?” Now that she mentions it, Shy Guy never held the tuning fork over her box. I burst into laughter, her face mirroring mine after a few seconds. We open our intuition-picked crystals together anyway. I opened a glimmering lilac amethyst, a crystal that relieves anxiety and addictive behaviors. Maddie revealed a speckled kiwi jasper, which aims to balance the energy centers of the body. Somehow, we had both unknowingly chosen crystals that spoke directly to a part of us that needed healing. Maybe there is some magic within us.
Hindsight
Without any strong personal opinion toward spirituality, or any religion for that matter, this experience was eye-opening. I have learned more about spirituality in just three visits to popular shops than I had in my entire life. The stereotypes I have heard don’t apply anymore. There were no pointy-nosed women on broomsticks with green skin in any of these stores. Elphaba was not about to cast a spell on me. Instead of black cats and potions in bubbling cauldrons, kind and curious people frequent these shops. Anyone, from any background, is welcome in the spiritual community. In the words of Bell and Raven’s website, “Magic is everywhere, and that is because it is within every one of us.”
Samantha Barrows is a staff writer for Blue Muse Magazine.
Featured Image: An assortment of crystals in front of a book. Courtesy of Hindustan Times.
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