Review: Water Lillies, Missoula, Montana

This review comes to us from a guest blogger.  The reviewer saw some of my other posts on businesses in the Missoula, Montana area.  This reader had an unusual and uncomfortable experience visiting this metaphysical supply store.

I love these sorts of stores and so did this reviewer.  Sometimes they have a great fun energy about them, and sometimes...not-so-much.  This was the experience of this reader at Water Lillies in Missoula Montana.  Check out their web site, it's informative and professionally done.

"It is a very tiny room , with a few gem stones, decent variety of candles and a few oils. We looked around a bit and the 15 minutes we were in there they reminded us at least 3 times that the reader was coming in, in a few minutes. And each time I said 'No, thank you'.
So I found some candles that I like and they sold them in bulk so I picked out the ones I wanted and went to pay, by this time my son was moving closer to the door and visibly uncomfortable. A woman came out of the back room and picked up my candles off of the counter and said "don't ever mix up the black ones with the others" I was stunned and evidently speechless because I thought of a lot of things to say later. Then to add to this she quickly puts the black candles into a separate bag, I responded by laughing which she didn't care for. Then without hesitation,she scoops up the rest and says 'I'm going to bless these', she holds them up in front of her face and mumbles something I couldn't understand and puts them in a bag and lays them down on the counter and disappears into the back room.
This all happened so quickly, that I really didn't have time to be cute or just walk out like I should have. My son  is completely looking for a way out of the building at this point.

I took the candles and headed out, when I got outside the door I dumped them all into the same bag and we had a big laugh over it. However, my son said very seriously, 'don't ever go back into that store'.

I brought the candles home saged them and soaked them in sea salt all night and will anoint each with my own oils and wrap them and put them away.
Crazy!!! I was pissed by the time I got home, what was she thinking?!
Moral of this story, I won't ever go into that store again."

Obviously this reader's experience left them feeling invaded and with a bad vibe.  As for mixing black candles with other candles (black candles are often used for protection), that's total crap.  Candles take on the spells and intentions we give them, they possess nothing but wax and dye until we infuse them with our intentions.  Same with any object.  They are powered by us.  Apparently the person in that store thought otherwise.  Some people have very rigid views on ritual and the care of ritual supplies.  Typically that says more about their fear or their desire to control than it does about the facts of the matter.

Also, to handle someone else's purchase, and have the audacity to "bless it" or put a whammy on it, is totally out of left field.  You need to ask permission to do such things.  That's common courtesy if nothing else.  And why, I wonder, announce three times in a 15 minute period that the reader would be available shortly when someone clearly said NO, and also hadn't asked for the service to begin with.  That's hinky.  Yeah, when I go visit my bestie in Missoula...we'll be skipping that store.  Rockin Rudy's in Missoula has fun energy and I'm told better bulk candle prices.  Perhaps if they have online ordering options, that may be a good way to gain some distance from whatever personalities run the business.

I feel funny about our local bead store, run by a few metaphysical type folks (not that I'm not one of those).  If the atmosphere of any shopping experience feels uncomfortable, take your business elsewhere.  I encouraged this reader to write to the store and relay her experience and why she would not be returning.  That's the only way they can learn and make attempts to meet the needs of their customers and ultimately stay in business serving the majority.  It's hard to stay afloat in today's economy if your clientele fits a narrow niche (which arguably, metaphysical stores already do).

I wish them all the best and hope that this was an isolated event on an unfortunate day.