Culture

Exploring The Labyrinth, Dallas’ Oldest Witch Shop

There's All Kinds of Magic in That Little Purple House

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Operating out of a little purple house on a quiet street in Dallas’ rapidly evolving Lower Greenville, The Labyrinth has stood strong for 24 years as a sea of clubs and dive bars have transformed into buzzy restaurants and unique boutiques. It’s not uncommon to see a line out the door of “Dallas’ Oldest Witch Shop” on Saturday mornings for crystals, tarot decks, and the Labrynth’s homemade candles, which claim to conjure everything from success to “banishing negativity.”

But like most things metaphysical, The Labyrinth has gotten more popular with time. In fact, when Cerina Wrye and Unarei Saldana first opened their shop in the ’90s, the then-taboo store received plenty of hate mail. Sentiments shifted around 2007, according to one of the kind owners (also a reiki healer) I spoke to while visiting. She credited that increase in earnest interest to the Harry Potter franchise.

I dabble in astrology like most millennials do, but don’t know much about modern witchcraft, a trend that typically (and understandably) tends to rise and fall in tandem with waves of feminism. If you did want to learn more, however, Dallas is lucky to have The Labyrinth. The painted-green rooms are stocked to the brim with sage, summoning blends, powders, and bath salts for spiritual awakenings. Books of “white spells” and oils for “fast money” and “passion” abound. (Their most popular oil is “Jezebel,” which has an alluring effect.)

There are whimsical oddities, like male genital candles, “magickal” body wash, and black powder that keeps the neighbors away, but there’s a sincerity to The Labyrinth that’s immediately evident. The founders express a desire to promote peace and bring healing. Based on the many visitors I spotted on a random Wednesday afternoon, they’re certainly making magic.