Captain Stamina
03-04-2004, 09:53 AM
http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/03/01/life/life01.txt
Wish craft: Plymouth store has all the trappings for the seekers among us
By CHAD BERNDTSON
The Patriot Ledger
Tucked away in an unassuming strip within Cordage Park in Plymouth is Incantations, which, once inside, feels like you've stepped out of the traffic-heavy neighborhood and into a much calmer vortex. As gentle New Age instrumentals waft from somewhere above, it's almost overwhelming to take it all in - there's a lot to look at.
Smoky quartz stones (but it isn't a jewelry store), wizards' robes (but it isn't a costume shop) and guides to magic and fairies (but it isn't a novelty store), all await. There are doors to classrooms on one side and a sectioned-off reading area on the other. Luckily, there is an engaging gentleman waiting at the counter to explain it all.
‘‘It's been my dream since age 10,'' said owner E. Gene Chambers. ‘‘The concept of the store has evolved over time and experience.''
Incantations opened beneath the old Handlebar Harry's on Oct. 1, 2003. In less than five months of business, it has seen a steady stream of new clients on top of a regular list of customers who are, Chambers said, ‘‘incredibly loyal.''
‘‘If people are in here, they're usually looking for something spiritual and have a good idea of what they want.''
Chambers said his primary goal with Incantations is to de-mystify what the store is about and also what it sells: everything from tarot cards and runes to books of magic and spirituality (Harry Potter volumes, too), robes, incense and other decorations and adornments. There's enough variety to satisfy knowledgeable Wiccans or tarot readers, or first-timers who aren't sure where to begin.
‘‘I consider it a service,'' Chambers said. ‘‘I'm not just a retailer getting people to buy pretty things. We're into quality products, without the kitsch that sometimes comes with places like this.''
Sara Matthews, a temporary worker for Allied Personnel Services and mother of three from Plymouth, seemed to agree. A second-time visitor to Incantations, she perused various sections and sat for a spiritual reading.
‘‘I want to broaden my interest in spirituality, work toward opening my mind,'' she said of her visit to the store. ‘‘I'm definitely more spiritual than religious.''
While Plymouth may not be the most active hotbed for spiritual awakening, Chambers said it is the perfect fit. After spending 21 years in the Navy and obtaining a business degree from Park University in Illinois, it was finally time to make the store happen. He and his wife Christine decided on Plymouth over Chicago; Knoxville, Tenn.; and other New England locales because everything seemed to click.
‘‘My wife was here for a job interview one day. The morning of the interview, we had this same realization that this was where we wanted to be,'' Chambers said. His favorite season is winter -- and Plymouth also allows him to be by the water, which he said he would miss otherwise.
One thing Incantations does is try to help people get in touch with their own spirituality - something that might not always be easy in organized religion these days.
‘‘I think a lot of people in general are disappointed with organized religion right now,'' said Dennis Callahan, a spiritual reader on Chambers' staff. ‘‘What's happened to the spirituality of it? The point is, no matter what you believe in or where your faith goes, you need to find the right path for you.''
Callahan is a fourth generation hereditary witch. He offers readings through Incantations using tarot cards, runes and crystals. More often that not, he said, he gets frustrated because people mistake what he does for fortune telling or psychic predicting.
‘‘They expect you to be able to see the future,'' he said. ‘‘I tell them, ‘Look, I can't see the future, what I do is help you figure out where you are so you can decide where you can go.'''
People most often want to know about money or love, he said, and that in dealing with those matters you have to be careful or you can become a counselor very quickly. What he does is not counsel, but rather help people get in touch with their spirituality so they can make good decisions. He encourages people to tape record their sessions with him so they have a record to take away from it.
‘‘You know, people ask, how do I get rich? Here's an idea: if you work hard and save your money, you'll be successful,'' he said. ‘‘We call the solution common sense. I don't talk to ghosts, there's no lightning bolts or mist, it's about reality.''
In addition to retail and Callahan's readings, Incantations also hosts a wide variety of spirituality-based classes, including Reiki, a healing power involving one's own energies, and introductions to the realm of fairies. The current class schedule with instructors and rates can be found on the store's web site, www.incantationsotw.com.
Chambers said his next goal is to double the size of the store to include more classrooms and then later a large studio where yoga and other physical spiritual arts classes can be held.
Meantime, Chambers and Callahan said they will continue to build a loyal clientele and ‘‘demystify the myths.'' If books are the most commonly sold item in the store, Chambers said, the thing people most commonly shy away from is the pentacle, or designs that involve pentacles, based on the five-pronged design's association with Satanism.
‘‘Nothing could be further from the truth,'' Chambers scoffed. The five points represent earth, fire, water, air and spirit, and the symmetry of the design represents universalism, ‘‘all tenets that can be found in various sects of Eastern and Western thought.
‘‘We can thank Hollywood for those (bad associations)'' Chambers said. ‘‘Believe me, we're not into bloodletting, babykilling, sacrificing, everything you've probably seen or heard.
‘‘We have human obligations, we're actively involved with politics, we're as concerned about our taxes as anyone else,'' he said.
Callahan brings the same sort of no-nonsense candor to his end as well.
‘‘I don't BS you,'' he said. ‘‘I'm not a counselor. Life is real, but also random, and the reality is you do not have absolute control. It's the decisions you make that get you where you're going. You make the decisions.''
The Wicca religion
Wicca is a religion based, in part, on ancient, northern European Pagan beliefs in a fertility Goddess and her consort, a horned God. Although the religion is a modern creation, some of its sources pre-date the Christian era by many centuries. Most Wiccans do not believe that their religion is a direct, continuous descendent of this earlier religion. They see it as a modern reconstruction.
Chad Berndtson can be reached at cberndston@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Monday, March 01, 2004
Wish craft: Plymouth store has all the trappings for the seekers among us
By CHAD BERNDTSON
The Patriot Ledger
Tucked away in an unassuming strip within Cordage Park in Plymouth is Incantations, which, once inside, feels like you've stepped out of the traffic-heavy neighborhood and into a much calmer vortex. As gentle New Age instrumentals waft from somewhere above, it's almost overwhelming to take it all in - there's a lot to look at.
Smoky quartz stones (but it isn't a jewelry store), wizards' robes (but it isn't a costume shop) and guides to magic and fairies (but it isn't a novelty store), all await. There are doors to classrooms on one side and a sectioned-off reading area on the other. Luckily, there is an engaging gentleman waiting at the counter to explain it all.
‘‘It's been my dream since age 10,'' said owner E. Gene Chambers. ‘‘The concept of the store has evolved over time and experience.''
Incantations opened beneath the old Handlebar Harry's on Oct. 1, 2003. In less than five months of business, it has seen a steady stream of new clients on top of a regular list of customers who are, Chambers said, ‘‘incredibly loyal.''
‘‘If people are in here, they're usually looking for something spiritual and have a good idea of what they want.''
Chambers said his primary goal with Incantations is to de-mystify what the store is about and also what it sells: everything from tarot cards and runes to books of magic and spirituality (Harry Potter volumes, too), robes, incense and other decorations and adornments. There's enough variety to satisfy knowledgeable Wiccans or tarot readers, or first-timers who aren't sure where to begin.
‘‘I consider it a service,'' Chambers said. ‘‘I'm not just a retailer getting people to buy pretty things. We're into quality products, without the kitsch that sometimes comes with places like this.''
Sara Matthews, a temporary worker for Allied Personnel Services and mother of three from Plymouth, seemed to agree. A second-time visitor to Incantations, she perused various sections and sat for a spiritual reading.
‘‘I want to broaden my interest in spirituality, work toward opening my mind,'' she said of her visit to the store. ‘‘I'm definitely more spiritual than religious.''
While Plymouth may not be the most active hotbed for spiritual awakening, Chambers said it is the perfect fit. After spending 21 years in the Navy and obtaining a business degree from Park University in Illinois, it was finally time to make the store happen. He and his wife Christine decided on Plymouth over Chicago; Knoxville, Tenn.; and other New England locales because everything seemed to click.
‘‘My wife was here for a job interview one day. The morning of the interview, we had this same realization that this was where we wanted to be,'' Chambers said. His favorite season is winter -- and Plymouth also allows him to be by the water, which he said he would miss otherwise.
One thing Incantations does is try to help people get in touch with their own spirituality - something that might not always be easy in organized religion these days.
‘‘I think a lot of people in general are disappointed with organized religion right now,'' said Dennis Callahan, a spiritual reader on Chambers' staff. ‘‘What's happened to the spirituality of it? The point is, no matter what you believe in or where your faith goes, you need to find the right path for you.''
Callahan is a fourth generation hereditary witch. He offers readings through Incantations using tarot cards, runes and crystals. More often that not, he said, he gets frustrated because people mistake what he does for fortune telling or psychic predicting.
‘‘They expect you to be able to see the future,'' he said. ‘‘I tell them, ‘Look, I can't see the future, what I do is help you figure out where you are so you can decide where you can go.'''
People most often want to know about money or love, he said, and that in dealing with those matters you have to be careful or you can become a counselor very quickly. What he does is not counsel, but rather help people get in touch with their spirituality so they can make good decisions. He encourages people to tape record their sessions with him so they have a record to take away from it.
‘‘You know, people ask, how do I get rich? Here's an idea: if you work hard and save your money, you'll be successful,'' he said. ‘‘We call the solution common sense. I don't talk to ghosts, there's no lightning bolts or mist, it's about reality.''
In addition to retail and Callahan's readings, Incantations also hosts a wide variety of spirituality-based classes, including Reiki, a healing power involving one's own energies, and introductions to the realm of fairies. The current class schedule with instructors and rates can be found on the store's web site, www.incantationsotw.com.
Chambers said his next goal is to double the size of the store to include more classrooms and then later a large studio where yoga and other physical spiritual arts classes can be held.
Meantime, Chambers and Callahan said they will continue to build a loyal clientele and ‘‘demystify the myths.'' If books are the most commonly sold item in the store, Chambers said, the thing people most commonly shy away from is the pentacle, or designs that involve pentacles, based on the five-pronged design's association with Satanism.
‘‘Nothing could be further from the truth,'' Chambers scoffed. The five points represent earth, fire, water, air and spirit, and the symmetry of the design represents universalism, ‘‘all tenets that can be found in various sects of Eastern and Western thought.
‘‘We can thank Hollywood for those (bad associations)'' Chambers said. ‘‘Believe me, we're not into bloodletting, babykilling, sacrificing, everything you've probably seen or heard.
‘‘We have human obligations, we're actively involved with politics, we're as concerned about our taxes as anyone else,'' he said.
Callahan brings the same sort of no-nonsense candor to his end as well.
‘‘I don't BS you,'' he said. ‘‘I'm not a counselor. Life is real, but also random, and the reality is you do not have absolute control. It's the decisions you make that get you where you're going. You make the decisions.''
The Wicca religion
Wicca is a religion based, in part, on ancient, northern European Pagan beliefs in a fertility Goddess and her consort, a horned God. Although the religion is a modern creation, some of its sources pre-date the Christian era by many centuries. Most Wiccans do not believe that their religion is a direct, continuous descendent of this earlier religion. They see it as a modern reconstruction.
Chad Berndtson can be reached at cberndston@ledger.com.
Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Monday, March 01, 2004