Let’s get metaphysical
Don’t take crystals for granite at The Crystal Wizard
Story and photo by Eliot Sekuler
For the TODAY
The smoky-sweet scent of burning myrrh greets visitors as they step through the arched entrance to Crystal Wizard, the iconic metaphysical store located in Gleneden Beach.
The first thing to catch the eye is a large display case bearing an assortment of crystals: large formations of amethysts, globes of quartz and prism-like stones of assorted types, shapes and sizes.
The titles in an adjacent bookshelf offer a reflection of the store’s mission and merchandise: books by Deepak Chopra, books on Celtic shamanism, a copy of the classic Chinese divination text, “I Ching” and several volumes on the uses and properties of crystals.
For anyone with an interest or a curiosity about spiritual matters, esoterica, the occult and mysticism, Crystal Wizard offers one-stop shopping and a trove of information in a warm and relaxing atmosphere. It’s a go-to place to find singing meditation bowls, incense, mandalas, candles, spiritual books, artwork, ceramics, jewelry and, of course, crystals.
Purchased in 2023 by Salem-based couple Monica Love and Tony Schmidt, who also own the Quantum Light Annex in Salem, the gray, purple-trimmed cottage has been through many incarnations since its construction in 1914. Built as a home, it later became a restaurant. It was converted to its current use as a metaphysical store more than 30 years ago and since has been a beacon to visitors with an interest in all things spiritual and metaphysical.
Although the store enjoys a healthy local following, much of the clientele comes from far and wide, drawn by the shop’s atmosphere, its history and its eclectic inventory.
“It’s a very special place, a place where people bring energy and receive energy in a reciprocal way,” Love said. “Some customers came there when they were little and remember picking out stones and crystals with their parents. We have regular visitors from up and down the coast, from Canada and from back east, too.”
People are drawn to the store, Love said, “because if you follow crystals and gems and high-end stones, you know that all those things have a certain property to them. And when you walk into Crystal Wizard, you feel all of it, all at once.”
Though the inventory is eclectic, crystals, gems and stones dominate the display spaces at the front of the shop. Those who ascribe wide-ranging powers to crystals believe they have healing properties for the mind, body and soul and that each variety has its own use and benefit. Because crystals oscillate at constant frequencies, they have long been used as the central element of watches and radios.
Love gave an example of some of the specifics relating to crystals.
“Amethysts are calming,” she said. “Many people will put a big amethyst geode next to their bed at night to help them sleep better. It brings in calmness and stillness if you maybe have anxiety and you need something to help you just chill.”
The store also offers many examples of rose quartz which, said Love, “represents healing and love and matters of the heart. Some people who might be fighting cancer, especially breast cancer, will come and get a rose quartz necklace or some kind of rose quartz stone to keep with them.”
Other types of crystals are on shelves and in cases around the shop. A large, round case at the store’s center contains dozens of bowls displaying small crystals, gems and stones, many tagged with an explanation of their properties and uses. Above a bowl of citrine stones, for example, a small placard describes the stones as “the golden lights of the earth,” helping “to awaken our aliveness and sense of personal power.”
A type of agate called crackled fire emanates “a powerful life force energy, restores vitality and overcomes fatigue.”
The store also carries an extensive inventory of crystal singing bowls, used for meditation and sound healing. Each of the bowls is tuned to specific frequencies that correspond to the body's chakras, or energy centers.
Given the esteem with which the store is held by generations of customers and the loyal following it has established, the changes that Love and her husband introduced have not been radical. Nevertheless, they’ve made their mark in ways that have enhanced the store’s overall theme.
Among the most visible flourishes was the installation of a life-sized statue of a bearded wizard just to the right of the front entrance. The wizard, who is gazing at a crystal ball cradled in his extended right palm, has a name.
“He arrived in a crate and as soon as we took him out, a previous employee named him ‘Eligarf,’ inspired by the tag pasted to the crate,” Love said. “It seemed like an appropriate name for a wizard.”
To clear up the mystery surrounding the name’s origin, “Eligarf” is “Fragile” spelled backwards.
Crystal Wizard is located at 7150 Gleneden Beach Loop in Gleneden Beach. Current winter hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. For more information, go to the Crystal Wizard page on Facebook or call 541-764-7550.