Tips On Shopping At Hoodoo Shops Botanicas Yerberias Wiccan Occult New Age And Metaphysical Shops
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- Most large cities have one or more of these shops. One can find these listed in the yellow pages under such things as candle shops, botanicas, spiritual supplies, religious items, curios, metaphysical, new-age, herbs, etc. Also check out your local flea markets as often there will be one or more of these types of booths set up.
- The owners and employees of these shops will usually put spells on their customers. The spells are money-drawing spells and can be either general or specific in nature. General money-drawing spells are designed to attract money while more specific spells might be to separate customers from their cash or to get them to purchase more items than they should, and with a smile on their face! A frequently heard saying is, "I went in there to only get such-and-such, but left with all kinds of things." Online stores do the same thing. If you order from an online store, you will normally receive an invoice, insert, or flier with your package. These papers may have been fixed by being dressed with powders and oils, again to keep you spending and to purchase things one may not need. One may want to do a little ritual before visiting these shops in order not to be influenced by these spells. A good simple trick to use would be to put a pinch of salt in one's palm, tell it that you want it to allow you to walk shielded from the spells put on you when visiting these shops and that you will only buy what you either go their to purchase or what you need. Make the sign of an "x" and sprinkle it in your shoes. In the case of online shops, when the package arrives do not immediately bring it in the house. Instead, open it up on the porch and sprinkle salt into the box.
- So you find the shop and you decide to visit. Upon entering one should be greeted and asked if they require help. Keep in mind that in some shops one can browse and gather what they need themselves, while in other shops the products and items for sale are behind glass or on shelves and one has to either ask for them or they must be prescribed before they can be bought. In the latter case, one tells the owner or employee the problem they are having and then the person makes recommendations or prescribes things for the customer to purchase. Today, most shops, especially the new-age or metaphysical ones, allow one to browse and select what they want. One will usually not find a basket to use, so when a customer wants to get multiple items they will usually place these items on the counter and then continue to browse. It's quite humorous to visit a shop at a busy time and see the front counter piled up with things customers want to purchase. Just make sure you keep your pile separated from the other piles of other customers.
- Be polite. friendly, professional, and know your boundaries. This last one is very important as the owner and employees are not your friends.
- If you require help, ask. Keep in mind that owners or employees may not be practitioners and may not know how an item is used or may not want to give advice. Usually, if the owner is not a practitioner they will hire at least one employee who is and who knows the use of products.
- Owners and/or employees may be a bit too paranoid about perceived "negative energy". One may have the experience of an employee following one around with a lit smudge stick or incense stick. This has happened to me and I have seen it done on other people as well. One shouldn't be too offended by this behavior. Usually as the owner or employees became familiar with you this behavior will stop. If one has been shopping at that location for years and the behavior doesn't stop, then one should really consider taking one's money elsewhere.
- Owners and/or employees may be a bit too paranoid about potential shop-lifting. One may notice an owner or employee following one around everywhere they go and watching one closely. This behavior will usually stop as the owner or the employees become familiar with you. If you have been shopping at the location for years and this sort of thing is still going on, one should really consider taking one's money elsewhere.
- Owners/employees may assert the house brand of products as being superior to the competition. They may even go as far as bad-mouthing the competition. Don't fall for it.
- Most owners/employees will up-sell. This is a business standard. Up-selling is the practicing of getting customers to purchase more items than they normally would. For example, the employee notices one is buying protection oil and then advises the customer that they also have protection incense that one could use with the oil.
- Most of the shops will have readers available, either in-house or via appointment. Normal rates for readings vary from 25-50. I would advise to pay no more than 50 for a reading. Another thing to keep an eye on is the times that are posted. Normally readers will charge by a set time, either 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour. One needs to factor in the time when considering the price. For example, paying 50 for 15 minutes is simply not worth it. If one has a reading and is not satisfied then do not bad mouth the reader. The professional thing to do is simply not to use that reader again. Keep one's opinion to one's self unless asked by another person and only then feel free to share why one would not recommend that particular reader's services.
- Most shops have classes, workshops, or courses available. Some of these will be free and I highly recommend taking advantage of these. Most of these will cost between 75-100 and are sound and worth the money. The only problems one might look out for is over-pricing and the scam where one is forced to purchase items from the shop in addition to paying for the workshop.
- After purchasing items one needs to cleanse them. Preferably this needs to be done before the products even enter your vehicle. A good trick to use for this is to bring some salt in your pocket with you when you visit the store. Most of these shops will place your items in a paper or plastic bag. After leaving the store and before getting into your vehicle, sprinkle some salt into the bag. Upon arriving home one needs to thoroughly cleanse the items. Candles can be cleansed with Florida Water, whisky, rubbing alcohol, saltwater, or can even be washed with soap and water. Items that would be damaged from getting wet can be passed through incense or tobacco smoke. Stones and crystals can be cleansed by placing them in a bowl of salt for up to 24 hours. If one has purchased goods from an online store, then one should open the box on the porch and sprinkle some salt into it before taking it inside. Then proceed to thoroughly cleanse the items as with locally bought items.
- A WORD FOR MEN.... MANY OF THESE SHOPS ARE OWNED BY FEMALES AND MOST OF THEIR EMPLOYEES TEND TO BE FEMALE. SOME SHOPS ONLY HIRE WOMEN EMPLOYEES. THERE ARE MANY 'MAN-HATERS' AND SEXIST WOMEN IN THE BIZ. WHEN I SHOP AT THESE STORES I GO "IN THE ZONE" OR SHIELDED SO THEY CAN'T BOTHER ME, BUT BE PREPARED TO HEAR A LOT OF MAN-BASHING FROM OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AND FEMALE CUSTOMERS. JUST A HEADS-UP SO YOU DON'T GET OFFENDED. I GUESS THE MOTTO TO HAVE IS, "GET-IN-AND-GET-OUT". GET WHAT YOU NEED AND SCRAM.
- IF ONE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH AN EMPLOYEE, BY ALL MEANS FEEL FREE TO SPEAK TO THE OWNER. REMEMBER, THIS IS A BUSINESS. KEEP IN MIND THAT A LOT OF THESE PLACES ARE RUN BY FAMILIES, SO ONE'S COMPLAINT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY ADDRESSED. ONE MIGHT BE FORCED TO SUCK IT UP AND BEAR IT IF ONE WISHES TO CONTINUE TO SHOP AT THE STORE. IF THE PROBLEM OCCURS WITH THE OWNER THEN I RECOMMEND THAT ONE TAKE ONE'S MONEY ELSEWHERE. I'VE HEARD HORROR STORIES OVER THE YEARS AND ALL I CAN RECOMMEND IS THAT IF ONE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE OWNER THEN ONE DEFINITELY DOESN'T WANT TO PURCHASE SPIRITUAL SUPPLIES FROM THEIR SHOP. IF YOU DO HAVE A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH A SHOP OWNER THEN DON'T BAD-MOUTH THE OWNER. IF ONE IS ASKED ONE'S OPINION ABOUT THE SHOP BY ANOTHER THEN ONE SHOULD FEEL FREE TO STATE WHY ONE WOULD NEVER SHOP FROM SUCH STORE AGAIN.
This information above may appear a bit negative but I assure you that this advice will help ensure you a more pleasant shopping experience. I shop at multiple occult shops, both locally and online, and over the years I've only met two women whom I befriended and felt comfortable enough with to open up to. By keeping the relationship between customer and owner/employee professional and polite one can avoid many problems.
