Discover your fall equinox ritual with these wellness-oriented shops.
Present Moment Herbs & Books
This Indigenous-owned shop has been in business for over 40 years. It was founded by Bob Gallagher, a pioneer in the world of herbalism. He passed away in 2018, but the shop is still in the family. With herbs, loose-leaf teas, books, tarot decks, stones, and incense, Present Moment has so much to explore. I was particularly wowed by the range of crystals, including ones from Australia, Indonesia, and Brazil. I also looked at a section of the store that included braided sweetgrass and hand-rolled bundles of cedar. As the signage explained, these can be used for smudging, the process of burning herbs to allow the smoke to purify what it touches and clear negative energy. People smudge rooms, objects, pets, and themselves. A store employee told me the bundles are antibacterial as well as ceremonial.
Natural Me Apothecary
Founded by certified naturopath and master herbalist Eva Nyrie Garrett, Natural Me Apothecary in North Minneapolis brings together herbal medicine, wellness education, and community care. Here you’ll find products like immune-boosting Fire Cider and Elderberry Syrup, but also an ethos of learning together. Classes are offered the last Thursday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m., each focusing on a different local herb. During these hands-on workshops, participants make herbal medicines such as syrups, tonics, tinctures, and teas. Subjects for this year include holy basil (tulsi), raspberry leaf, red clover, lemon balm, marshmallow root, and more.
Cultivate Consciousness Wellness Boutique
The downtown Minneapolis skyway shop opened this year and offers a variety of services including wellness consultations and intuitive readings (tarot oracle, crystal ball, and more). But if you walk by, you may be most drawn to all those mesmerizing crystals and stones — perfect for holding onto during tense meetings, or as a retired therapist friend told me, as a stress-relieving fidget. Each month, a theme is woven throughout Cultivate Consciousness’s classes; September’s is “The Power of Slowing Down: Creating Space to Notice What Matters Most.” To sample what the boutique offers, stop by the Art on the Edge festival at Father Hennepin Bluff Park on Sept. 19.
Try aromatherapy and choose a scent of your own at this Gaviidae Common shop. (Courtesy of Ana’s Alchemy)
Ana’s Alchemy
This autumn, how about some aromatherapy? Ana’s Alchemy in Gaviidae Common includes handmade soaps, body oils, and perfumes. Owner and founder Ana Castillo Jiménez, who has a background in molecular biology, makes many of the products in-store where customers can choose which scents they want. Castillo Jiménez says popular scents include Love, a floral scent, and Tranquility, a scent with prominent notes of cedarwood, lavender, and chamomile. A fall special called The Slow Down Bundle includes a full-size soap bar, roll-on perfume (scented with essential oils), and a pillow/linen/room spray in the scent of your choice. Castillo Jiménez says she’s planning the shop’s first anniversary celebration for October.
Tao Herbery
When I first entered the Tao Herbery shop, it felt like its own island, a much-needed grounding spot in a traffic-hectic part of the city. I went to pick up ingredients for a warming spice herbal mix for winter that included ashwagandha, dandelion root, licorice, ginger, and cardamom. The shop sells herbs by weight as well as stones, books, teas, and more. On Super Saturdays, which occur on the first Saturday of the month, everything in the shop is 20% off. The herbery is connected to a cafe that sells potions and elixirs in addition to healthy grain bowls and salads. (I consider both healing spaces.) The Tao Life offerings now also include an offsite retreat space in Hayward, Wisconsin.
