December Shop Update and Yule

Merry Yule to you all!

This year’s winter solstice in Crawley will be Saturday,  21 December 2024, 09:20 GMT. The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere marks the day when the days start to get longer, and as pagans we celebrate welcoming the sun back and the return of springtime.

Altar
You can decorate your altar any way you you like for Yule, but here are a few ideas:

Foliage: Pine cones and wreaths, mistletoe, fir, holly, or other evergreens.

Food: Seasonal fruit and nuts

Candles: Red, white and green, but also yellow to welcome the sun.

Crystals: Citrine, Red Jasper, Selenite, Malachite, Carnelian, Rose Quartz

Other items: Bells, anything gold to welcome the sun back

We have Yule Wreaths available that we made in the shop available to buy, so pop in and grab one if you don’t have the time to make your own.

Wassail
What is Wassail? It is a Yule drink traditionally drunk when Wassailing, which is basically going door to door and greeting your neighbours. In this article, it tells of how this evolved into Christmas carolling and mulled hot drinks. There is also a recipe to try!

https://www.learnreligions.com/go-a-wassailing-for-yule-2562973

I lived in a remote part of the Highlands until I was about 21, and we did something similar, but on New Year’s Eve. We called it ‘First Footing’, and it involved us visiting all of our neighbours after midnight until we came home drunk on New Year’s Day after the sun had risen!

Keeping the Shop Prices Down

We know that it has been a difficult year with the cost of living crisis, however we have worked hard on buffering these costs as a business so that customers can still shop with us confidently. This includes fluctuations in the crystal and gemstone trade.

We have held a lot of our prices down since March 2023, so what something cost you when we were in the Mall, still costs the same in the shop today. There are a few exceptions: some things, like the Cult Cuties are now cheaper than when we were in the Mall, and other things like incenses and whipped soap has increased slightly due to the cost of ingredients going up. So the takeaway from this is, even though our costs have increased dramatically with the bigger overheads of a shop and additional staff, we haven’t passed this onto you.

We have also not passed on any government tax changes to our customers, and we already pay more than the minimum wage to staff. This means that there hasn’t been an increase in prices to compensate.

Even though we are in a shop now, I am still a small businesses. When you shop small, you keep money in the local community as it’s used to pay local wages, maintain local jobs, and buy necessities. Diversity in this town can only happen with the choices you make about where you shop. We have loads of gifts at £5 or less, and an even bigger range of items under £10.

Yule/Christmas/New Year opening hours

This year, there is a slight change in the hours we are offering over the festive period to allow people to shop after work.

Monday 16th Dec 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 17th Dec 9.30am – 7pm

Wednesday 18th Dec 9.30am – 7pm

Thursday 19th Dec 9.30am – 7pm

Friday 20th Dec 9.30am – 7pm

Saturday 21st Dec 9am – 7pm

Sunday 22nd Dec 10.30am – 4.30pm

Monday 23rd Dec 9.30am – 7pm

Tuesday 24th Dec 9.30am – 3.30pm

Wednesday 25th Dec CLOSED

Thursday 26th Dec CLOSED

Normal Hours until New year:

Tuesday 31st Dec CLOSED

Wednesday 1st Jan CLOSED

What’s Happening

We will be looking at running short courses on crystals and crystal formation in the new year and we will put the dates up on our website and Facebook/insta shortly.

We have a special treat for you on 5th February!  Jo Halcrow will be leading a group Past Life session as a little taster of past life regression. Jo is a Past Life Regression Specialist and Intuitive Tarot Reader. Tickets are available on the website with a deposit of £5 (tickets are £20 in total, with £15 payable on the night). There are only be seven spaces! This will be from 6pm at the shop and will last for about an hour. You can’t use the shop’s gift vouchers for these. You can book here: Past Life Group Session – Something Wiccan Ltd

The next bracelet making sessions will be on 17th and 18th February, so keep your eyes peeled on our social media sites and the website for how to book. Tickets for this will be £10 per place, and you can book these here:  Activities – Something Wiccan Ltd

Last dates for online ordering before Christmas and Yule

If you want to order online or Yule and get it delivered in time, you’ll need to put in your order by Today, Tuesday 10th December. If you like to shop online for Christmas, the last date to get your order in will be Monday 16th December.

If you miss these dates, there is a next working day delivery option at the checkout. So for Yule this will be 18th December and for Christmas, this will be Monday 23rd December. If you are buying a gift for someone on our site, you can have it delivered to your recipient. Please let us know during the checkout process if you want to do this, and we can gift wrap it for you.

We are a family run business operating out of a small space.

Our peak busy times are Saturdays between 12pm and 3pm. On the weekends we are open from 9am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10.30am – 4.30pm on Sundays. Sunday morning are quiet, so this would be ideal for kids and adults with additional needs. If it helps, we could dedicate the first hour on a Sunday to those with additional needs, so that they are not impacted by other customers (do let us know if this is something you’d like). This could be quiet shopping too, where staff wouldn’t be playing music. We can also turn off additional lights and dim others for those that are photo sensitive. Do ask if this is something you need as we will be happy to support you.

As 2024 draws to a close, I am most thankful for all of the people like yourself who have been supporting me and my little business throughout the year, to my staff, and to the business owners and creators I’ve collaborated with. Thank you to everyone who has bought something, shared a post, clicked like on a story, told a friend about the shop, or collaborated with me with their business.

Thank you for your continued support in these times.

Have a wonderful Yule, and see you when the sun starts to return!

Saranne xx