Lee — The witching hour may soon be upon the town of Lee as proprietor and teacher Nicole Webster Clark plans for an October 19 soft opening of downtown herbalist store The Enchanted Altar, at 6 Park Place, in the former space operated by Park Place Salon. The shop will be open on weekends at first, with some help from Clark’s sister.
Serving as a “magical apothecary and botanical boutique,” Clark said The Enchanted Altar will offer plant medicines, including healing salves and infusions, bath and body products, candles, incense, stationery, and supernatural outils (or tools).
Inspired by local female metaphysical entrepreneurs, the Lee native and now Stockbridge resident said she has long aimed to open the store to create “a welcoming sacred space for people to explore and discover themselves along with the cosmic, magical, and natural worlds all around us,” according to a news release. Clark’s resume includes teaching herbal classes at the Berkshire Botanical Garden as well as amassing Herbalist certifications from the Dandelion Herbal Center and Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary. Her diverse background includes a master of fine arts degree from Lesley Art + Design, a bachelor of science degree in computer information systems/studio art from High Point University, and an associate of arts degree in psychology from Berkshire Community College. Currently pursuing a medicinal plants certification from eCornell, Cornell University, she teaches fine and visual arts at the Lee Middle/High School.
“I had my heart set on opening it in my hometown,” Clark told The Berkshire Edge of the shop. “We have such amazing pride, spirit, and enthusiasm. I just felt like I wanted to come home in a way.”
Word got out that she was seeking a downtown area space, and “a little small-town miracle occurred” when her hopes came to fruition, she said.
Clark said her interest in the supernatural was sparked in her early teens by Pam Gerner, owner of Women of Wands on Pleasant Street, a cult or Pagan shop. “As a kid, I’d play in the woods a lot, always using my imagination,” said the now-42-year-old Clark. “I was always drawn to nature. I definitely was a little different.” After meeting Gerner, she said she read a book on nature-based spirituality. “It was kind of eye-opening,” Clark said of the read that made her feel “comfortable in her own skin.”
“I want to create a space where people can do something similar with their spirituality, their mindfulness,” she said.
Self-identifying as a “witch,” Clark defined the term in her practice as “non-denominational” and providing “nature-based spirituality.”
More specifically, she said she is an “eclectic solitary,” meaning she doesn’t belong to a club of women, practices on her own and pulls things she agrees with from antiquity and modernizes them, including European or American witch applications. For Clark, the term “green witch” is most appropriate given her herbalist training and plant medicine knowledge. She said she also incorporates minerals, crystals, gemstones, handmade incense, and candles into her practice, imploring yoga and meditation.
“The good thing about this kind of practice is you can really tailor it to what feels good for you and what feels right for you, and there’s no wrong way to do it as long as you’re not harming yourself or others,” Clark said.
She is hoping to host intimate classes of four to eight individuals in the future.
“[The Enchanted Altar] is a safe space, every one’s welcome, and you’re encouraged to explore, try new things, ask questions,” Clark said. “The whole idea behind it, too, is to create community and have a place for all of us to come together.”
Along with Yoga Lee Studio’s Kerry McGinn, Canna Provisions’ Megan Sanders, and volunteer Valerie Bluhm, she’s been instrumental in creating the inaugural All Hallows Lee, a market slated for October 19, from noon to 5 p.m. Sponsored by the Lee Chamber of Commerce under the guise of Kathy Devarrennes, the event will feature mini sessions by metaphysical practitioners, spiritual tools, jewelry, art and other merchandise as well as food and drink.
“We’re hoping to make it an annual event,” Clark said of the program. “This year we’re starting small and the whole idea is we want to start small, do it well, and then expand and add every year from here on out.”
