A customer from out of town recently walked into Crone’s Hollow, the South Salt Lake metaphysical shop, and was surprised to find such a store in Utah.
Durriken Homewood, the manager of the store at 3834 S. Main, happily informed them why the store thrives here: “The stronger the stronghold, the stronger the counterculture.”
Metaphysical stores — defined in a 2021 Religion News Service article as “not only retail shops but spiritual centers” — have received a boost recently, following a rise in interest in the topic on social media, particularly in TikTok subsets such as #TarotTok and #WitchTok.
Crone’s Hollow fits that bill. Inside, there’s no shortage of assortment of retail options: A mini apothecary behind the counter, an incense area, tarot card decks. In the back, there’s a room for full and dark moon rituals and Sabbath classes. Toward the front, there’s a room for tarot readings.
“Witchcraft itself has always been very quiet,” Homewood said. “We’ve started to see a resurgence of it thanks to TikTok. We don’t represent the counterculture, but we are a part of it.”
Occasionally, Homewood said, people will come in to protest what’s on sale, expressing their offense at Ouija boards or “Hail Satan” t-shirts. Homewood said he just rolls with it.
“It’s not my job to correct them,” he said. “Oftentimes, nothing will change another person’s mind if they’re that set in their ways.”
(Palak Jayswal | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tarot posters at Crone's Hollow in South Salt Lake, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
The store’s most popular products, he said, are the stones and crystals. Homewood attributes that to what he called “crystal culture,” which he said has peaked over the last few years — though jewelry designers have said interest in crystals grew during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like its existence in Utah, Crone’s Hollow also has an origin story that’s different that what one might expect. “It was created as a way of dealing with grief,” Homewood said, when Roy Moorman — guardian of the Earth Haven coven, one of the longest-running covens in Salt Lake City — died in 2010 in a car accident.
“Members of his coven got together and wanted to find a way to honor him and to put all their grief into it,” Homewood said. “Crone’s Hollow was the outgrowth of that.”
Rita Morgan and TaMara Gold launched the store in 2011, according to the store’s website. Moorman’s ideals, Homewood said, were embodied in the store’s mission statement: To provide a safe place for people to practice authentic craft. (Morgan died in 2019, and her daughter April became Gold’s business partner.)
Though all metaphysical stores sell similar goods, Homewood said, “this is what makes Crone’s Hollow so special. It flowered from a place of grief and is [now] a place of joy.”
(Palak Jayswal | The Salt Lake Tribune) Small skull-shaped crystals for sale at Crone's Hollow in South Salt Lake, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.
Here is a list of other metaphysical shops in Utah:
Bell, Book & Candle • 370 S. 300 East, Salt Lake City • Located inside Church & State, this shop sells magic-themed gifts and magical tools, including altar kits. It also organizes regular events; the next one is an Ancestral Magic Festival, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Cat & Cauldron • 1922 W. 4700 South, Taylorsville • Oils, incense, tarot cards, candles, statues: Cat & Cauldron stocks pretty much anything a witch might need, and also offers a wide range of services including Tarot, Reiki, palm readings and even sessions with pet psychics.
The Conjuring Tree • 1775 W. 7000 South, West Jordan • This shop covers the basics (candles, books, crystals, herbs, wands), but also sells more specialized items like Viking drinking horns. Drop in on Thursdays for tarot and tea-leaf readings.
Elemental Inspirations • 2207 S. 700 East, Salt Lake City • Opened in 2004, this shop stocks a wide variety of tarot decks and books and offers regular readings and events. It has also established itself, like Crone’s Hollow, as a community space for the alternative spirituality community.
Green Thread Apothecary • 451 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City • The focus here is on plants: Herbs for teas and health, but also as a part of a magical practice. The shop offers regular classes on herb/plant magic and spiritual herbalism.
Purring Buddha • 680 E. 600 South, Salt Lake City • Located in a big, old Victorian house across the street from Trolley Square, this little boutique is chock full of tarot cards (with many cat-themed desks, of course), tarot stickers, crystals, statues and more.
Sisters Hollow • 1538 W. 7800 South, West Jordan • This shop offers candles, incense, journals, magical baths and ritual kits, and hosts regular events, including full moon circles and paint nights.
We Witches 3 • 9068 W. Main St., Magna • This shop offers lots of handcrafted books, including hand-bound journals, spell kits and spell oils. They also have an herbal apothecary onsite and offer readings and regular events, including ghost hunts and talks on such topics as Norse paganism.
There are a few overlapping spaces on the Venn diagram with witchcraft and metaphysical stores, including goth culture and the New Age community.
Spoox, A Spooky Boutique (3453 S. State, South Salt Lake) is where “Halloween is a lifestyle, not a holiday.” The shop is guarded by an anatomical skeleton named Rick R. Mortis, and sells both new and vintage goods (recent offerings included an Edwardian wheelchair and ‘70s tabletop games like the Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture).
Golden Braid Books (151 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City) is possibly Salt Lake City’s first New Age store, but now it’s standard to find New Age stuff everywhere, including Murray (The Pleiadian Altar, 917 Vine St.), and Tremonton (The Crystal Corner, 21 S. 320 West). There are also free-floating communities that hold events with a metaphysical flavor, such as Spiritually Boujee in Ogden.
