Autumn is a feast for all six senses! It’s the sight of tree leaves turning orange, brown and yellow, the smell of burning wood from your neighbor’s fireplace, and the sound of drums echoing down your street from the high school football game on Friday night.
It’s also your intuition telling you that you’re in a season of transition, laying some things to rest and preparing for the new. Here are some Downtown shops where you can enhance your celebration of fall — and everything that comes with it — in spiritual, healing and spooky ways.
RECIRCLE HOME / 501 E BROADWAY
Photo Courtesy of Christine Parsley from ReCircle Home
“Fall in Long Beach is our favorite time of the year,” said shop owner Christine Parsley, whose shop is filled with crystals, handmade home decor and lots more magical goods selected to make a dwelling feel more like a home. “We love the cooler weather, fall events, and all the reasons to celebrate the harvest season.”
While browsing the shop, a guest is struck by the thought that the merchandise here comes from a different mindset than what one usually finds in the public realm. Calm and tranquility are at the forefront — not competition and haste. The jewelry, soaps, candles, greeting cards, and herbs all point toward a lifestyle that puts a premium on peace and bliss.
Photo Courtesy of ReCircle Home
ReCircle Home is open Wednesday through Friday from noon to 7 PM, Saturday from 11 AM to 7 PM, and Sunday from noon to 5 PM.
THE ELEMENTAL SHOP / 312 ELM AVE.
The Elemental Shop Astrologer Jazzy Smith and Shop Manager Breann Robinson
The vibe in this shop speaks of expanded awareness — a heightened sense of what’s within, and of one’s place in the cosmos. “Fall is the season of going inward right before winter,” said shop manager Breann Robinson. “It’s when we are set to spend time alone and be closed into our homes. I think that’s where spirituality really shines, and wellness takes over. It’s the perfect time to transition from that bloom of summer into the inward journey of fall.”
The Elemental Shop
Seated amidst the shop’s inventory of essential oils, smudge sticks, Tarot cards and other tools for spiritual enhancement, shop astrologer Jazzy Smith expanded on the fall theme. “I think that fall is about learning what to let go of. The leaves are changing color, and everything’s becoming a bit more distinctive. We can better distinguish what should stay and what should go. We’re learning to appreciate that process of death and rebirth.”
The Elemental Shop is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 PM, Saturday from 11 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM. Closed Mondays.
GREEN WISDOM HERBAL STUDIES / 702 CEDAR AVE.
Green Wisdom Owner and Herbalist Julie James and Herbalist Rekara Gage
Shop owner Julie James has been an herbalist for over 35 years. Standing in front of a wall of herb jars, she expounded on the tools of her trade: “Herbs provide deep nourishment that we’re no longer getting from our food supply. We can also use herbs specifically for changing the path of a pathology or affecting a disease state, but I think the best use is simply for nourishment.
“Fall is a time of harvest in herbalism,” James continued. “In an herb shop, fall is ‘cozy time.’ One of our favorite things to do here is formulating tea blends from this wall of herbs. People come in and tell us what they’re dealing with. We talk to them, ask a couple of questions, then make a tea blend that they can take home and make for themselves. I don’t think there’s anything more cozy than brewing a tea blend made just for you.”
Green Wisdom
Green Wisdom is open Monday through Friday from 11 AM to 6 PM, Saturdays from noon to 4 PM. Closed on Sunday.
FOLIAGE LB / 205 LONG BEACH BLVD.
Foliage LB Co-Owner Nicoletta Meza
This shop is filled with exotic houseplants, terrariums, vintage plant drawings, pottery, plant care items — all the right stuff for softening the effects of the hustling, bustling world just outside the front door.
“Fall is the perfect time to shop at our store,” said co-owner Nicoletta Meza. “As we spend more time inside when the weather changes, houseplants have the element of bringing the outside in, keeping us closer to nature.”
Photo Courtesy of Foliage LB
Foliage LB is open Wednesday through Friday, 11 AM to 6 PM, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
THE DARK ART EMPORIUM / 427 E 1ST ST.
The Dark Art Emporium
For a decidedly different twist (as in “twisted”) on the fall season, venture to the Dark Art Emporium, a shop and art gallery filled with oddities, curiosities, and an aura of the macabre — perfect for fall and the approach of Halloween!
The shop, which is settling into its new location on 1st St., is delightfully jarring and is the perfect place to pick up some very offbeat gifts; Perhaps you have a friend who would like a mounted and framed scorpion, a biography of the hedonistic mystic Aleister Crowley, or a Tarot card deck created in the style of Hieronymous Bosch.
The Dark Art Emporium is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6 PM.