Page 26 of Sort of Seeing Someone

Angeline grabs one from the box before she places it on the shelf and shows it to me.

“It’s a candle-making kit for the full moon. Comes with everything you need: jar, wick, glue, wax, and a variety of crystal fragments. Depending on what your intention is for the moon cycle, you perform your ritual on the crystal of your choice, then toss it in with the hot wax before you pour it. When it sets, you light the candle to connect your intuition with your subconscious. Basically, it helps you sync with the moon’s energy. Burn it for the new moon to manifest your desires, or use it for a full moon and release what no longer serves you. Just make sure you let it rip for a full twenty-four hours to maximize its powers.”

There is not a landlord in town who would be chill about burning a candle for a whole day, but my interest is most certainly piqued.

“How much are they?” I inquire.

“Forty bucks.”

I nod, unsure of what the going rate is for such an item, and keep looking around the shop, which can’t be much bigger than seven hundred square feet.

“Oh, hey, I know what these are,” I say, changing the subject. “Smudge sticks, right?”

“Indeed. And we’ve got the best collection of them in all of the city,” she narrates as if I was contesting.

“My old landlord gave me one and I did a cleansing ritual with my friend. It was…interesting,” I share.

“And where do you live now?”

“In my sister’s coach house.”

“Have you cleansed it?”

“Not exactly. But the floors are getting refinished later today.”

“Do you get along with your sister?”

“Decently enough.”

“I have a sister like that. You’ll need this.”

Angeline hands me a bag of what looks like dried parsley flakes.

“It’s white sage and mugwort. Sage, as you know, is used for cleansing negative energy. And mugwort is for protection, particularly psychic protection.”

“This is loose leaf. I only have experience with the actual sticks,” I say, wondering if the random tea analogy makes me sound like a seasoned pro, or just a full-blown idiot.

“Time to evolve your practice then,” Angeline urges. “The kit is fool proof. It comes with an abalone shell that is used to burn the mugwort and sage in. It’s really not that hard. Just follow the directions. You can’t mess it up.”

I beg to differ, as the crystal selection catches my eye next. They’re displayed in clear plastic bins, just like Jelly Beans at a candy store—green ones here, red there, and so on and so forth. Except I’m much more familiar with technicolored sweets than I am with “dragon blood’s stone” and “selenite balls”—at least, for the time being.

I pick up what feels like each one individually, study their unique colors, and read all the descriptions, which are printed on tiny little tags. As I do, I fully expect Angeline to make a comment about her crystal selection being superior to anyoneelse’s in Chicago but she says nothing of the sort. Instead, she asks me a question.

“Are you big on crystal therapy?”

“Am Ibigon it?” I repeat back. “I’m more like,dabbling. But I guess you could say crystals are the reason that I’m here. I have a rose quartz and a rutilated quartz that a friend gave me. She carried them with her always, and so now I’m trying to get in the habit of doing the same,” I explain, pulling them out of my bra like that isn’t weird at all.

“My, those are beautiful stones,” she says, kind of like how you feel compelled to tell a new mom her baby is cute. “Rose quartz is wonderfully healing and charges so nicely with the full moon. Might I suggest a Tiger’s Eye and red jasper to add to your collection?”

“What do those do?” I ask.

“Tiger’s Eye is my go-to for courage and strength. It’s a nice follow up to the healing elements of rose quartz. It’s like, now that you’re healed, what do you want from the world? Go seize it with the Tiger’s Eye. And then red jasper, well, that’s for luck and power. I know it’s a little materialistic sounding, but there’s no shame in my quest to be Queen of the World someday. And if you’re not sold on either of those, check this book out. It’s a handy little thing for a newbie like you.”

Angeline reaches for a small hardcover book located an arm’s length away from the rock collection and hands it to me.

“The Beginner’s Guide to Crystals: The Everyday Magic of Crystal Healing, with 65+ Stones,” I read aloud.

God help me if I get to the stage where I havesixty-five-pluscrystals.

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