Sacred Spells offers unique items for the spiritual

Jennifer Haralampopoulos and Jodie Moon opened Sacred Spells on Broadway on Dec. 13. The spiritual shop has been doing a booming business since, attracting customers from a wide area. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

The sign indicating Sacred Spells is open says it all: The Witch Is In.

Opening appropriately on Friday, Dec. 13 at 71 Broadway, Sacred Spells offers everything a witch could want. The store has spell kits, incense, candles, tarot books, books on witchcraft and spells, witch shirts with cute slogans and witch jewelry. The only thing missing is broomsticks.

The store is the first business venture for Jennifer Haralampopoulos and Jodie Moon. The idea for the store came from what many consider a witch’s mecca: Salem, Massachusetts. Moon had the idea to go there in September. Two weeks later they took their men and were in Salem.

“It was wonderful and all the history was amazing,” Haralampopoulos said. “We came home and have been buzzed about it.”

After returning home, they were looking for some stones and discovered the nearest source was an hour away. Investigating further, they found there were no wiccan shops, or apothecaries nearby. The idea of starting their own business was born, and came together within a couple of weeks. Living in Delhi, they searched for an appropriate location and found the storefront on Broadway.

The friends went into the venture with no prior business experience.

“We’re just flying from the seats of our pants,” Moon said.

Their vision was transformed into Sacred Spells.

“We try to refer to us as a spiritual shop,” Haralampopoulos said.

While talk of witch’s spells conjures up images from Harry Potter, or of boiling cauldrons over a fire, eye of newt, mugwort, bat wing and snake venom, spells today are real but much more mundane, consisting of a mixture of herbs, stones, crystals and other small things, often sealed in a vial. There isn’t any snake venom at Sacred Spells, but eye of newt is actually mustard seed – something to soon to be added to the shelf – and there is mugwort.

Haralampopoulos and Moon only started making spells since their Salem visit, although Moon’s grandmother read tea leaves and Haralampopoulos had a passion for tarot cards. They aren’t part of the wiccan religion, but are enthusiasts of it.

Both tea leaf reading and tarot cards are in consideration for future business plans.

Getting back to the spells, prior to opening, the new owners smudged the store with sage and created two spells. One spell was a successful business spell, and the other a protection spell.

“Her and I did it to generate good luck to stay open,” Haralampopoulos said.

Early indications are it worked, with opening day being a “mad house”.

“It was chaotic,” Haralampopoulos said. “It was the best opening day we could have had.”

Maybe their spells worked.