Temescal store celebrates a quarter century of spells and service
on October 3, 2013
With shelves full of mismatched jars of herbs and spices, and cabinets full of rocks and crystals, Ancient Ways has long catered to Oakland’s spiritual side.
Providing a resource for the city’s neo-pagan community, owner Glenn Turner opened the shop at 4075 Telegraph Ave. 25 years ago this month.
“I just feel like I just put one foot in front of the other and here I am,” Turner says. “Of course, one of my personal mottos is I can outlast most people.” The store celebrated its quarter-century birthday this week with a chocolate cake.
The shop stocks books on psychic development. It also offers color-coded candles that claim the power to break up relationships or win financial opportunities. There are oils and inks for writing spells, and budding wiccans can find resources on Bay Area organizations devoted to witchcraft. Visitors can even have their tarot cards read by Turner in the space’s cozy reading room.
Over its two and a half decades, Ancient Ways has become something more than a marketplace of metaphysical goods; it has also developed into an anchor of the neighborhood. For example, the store has gotten involved in foreclosure committees within the local Occupy movement in recent years to help local residents.
“That’s one of my personal passions,” Turner says, “helping people and being a resource for people that help themselves.”
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- Ancient Ways has served pagan metaphysical shoppers in Temescal for 25 years.
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- Owner Glenn Turner (left) and employee Don Barks go over the day’s sales.
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- Ancient Ways is one of the most colorful stores in Oakland.
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- Ancient Ways sells incense for all occasions.
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- Christian saints are also represented in Ancient Ways’ candle section.
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- Shoppers can purchase candles to honor specific saints, or to bring themselves luck, wealth, and love.
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- The store also caters to more mainstream, non-Western religions like Buddhism.
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- Bulk herbs and spices are available in mismatched jars.
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- Ancient Ways celebrated its 25th birthday with a chocolate cake.
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- Over its two and a half decades, Ancient Ways has become an anchor in the community.
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