Halloween conjures images of ghouls, goblins, ghosts and other spooky creatures. Every year it’s inevitable that you’ll see a child, or adult, dressed up as a witch complete with a broom and pointy hat.
For Jade Moore, and thousands of others across the nation, witchcraft and mysticism is practiced and celebrated year-round.
On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, Moore sat down with producers Emily Woodbury and Miya Norfleet to talk about how she helps patrons of her shop, Sincerely, the Craft, learn about the numerous beliefs, faiths and ritual practices that are generally categorized as “witchy.”
Her first question for those who are new to witchcraft, she said, is simply, “What’s your problem?”
“It's anything from, ‘Oh, I want to be grounded. I feel like I'm loosey-goosey and in the universe I'm just floating around and I don't feel connected to anything,’” said Moore. “And whatever that reason is, sometimes it can get a little bit heavy. … We hear a lot of issues, and we try our best to kind of steer them in a way that makes sense for them.”
Moore’s personal interest in mysticism comes from her childhood and family history. Her mother was a witch and her paternal grandmother practiced Ifa, a spiritual practice from the Yoruba in West Africa.
Moore said she has noticed an increase in customers of color entering her store. They are typically looking to connect with the practices and customs of their ancestors that, over generations, have been heavily scrutinized — or even made illegal — in America through colonization and Christian evangelism. “We are so Black and brown here [in St. Louis]. So to be able to see people … light up is so joyous for us, especially for myself, because I also was not able to find anything like this. So I wanted to make it my mission to have this.”
Moore also offers classes and workshops at Sincerely, the Craft, including one on the art of scrying and an 8-week course on tarot card reading. At her most recent workshop on witches’ broom making, mother-daughter duo Trina Peebles and Heather Conklin crafted brooms together as a bonding experience. Peebles, who is Native American, told interim digital editor Lara Hamdan, “This is part of our heritage, and I wanted to share it with my daughter.”
For more on the rising popularity of witchcraft, spiritualism and mysticism in St. Louis, listen to Jade Moore’s interview on St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
