That Old Black Magic

Do you sometimes need a little help? I know I do. That’s why I got so excited when Erzulie’s Authentic Voodoo Shop, over on Franklin Street, opened earlier this year – thank god, I said to myself, at last there’s a pipeline to major supernatural powers right here in town. No more dithering around with those weak & ineffective mainstream religions. It takes the Black Arts to sell real estate in this market! Naturally, I immediately ran over there to check it out.

One thing you should know right off the bat, if you go: Don’t touch anything. I mean it. There are stern signs all over the shop commanding you not to. If you want to pick anything up, open a book, examine an object, sniff an essential oil or a soap or a candle, go to the “sample tables” in the back room. Non-compliance with this rule will earn you a brusque, whats-the-matter-with-you-can’t-you-read type of scolding from Anna, the proprietress, a gorgeous, red-headed goddess-type who, for some obscure reason, goes by the moniker, “Root Queen”. I was an immediate fan of her you-idiot approach to the buying public, and if you’ve ever spent five minutes behind a cash register, you’ll be too. A no-nonsense, early thirties-something type, Anna is the brains behind the whole operation, with shops in New Orleans and London and now Newport, RI. In whatever that leaves her for downtime, she’s also a practicing Voodoo priestess, and claims to be able to voodoo-istically help you with ANYTHING. That’s right, ANYTHING.

Tempting, no?

But for those not yet quite ready to turn their lives, their hearts, and their immortal souls over to the Root Queen, Erzulies offers plenty of items for the do-it-yourselfer. Wangas (what’s that you ask? I say, go in yourself & find out!), voodoo dolls (what the heck, I bought two, Papa Legba & Sirena), fetishes, charm bags, handcrafted oils and essences, ritual candles, and several truly fabulous sequined cult flags from Haiti, works of art in themselves and serious dream finds for the ethnographic collector. I don’t know if it’s magic-magic, but it sure is shopping magic; Eurzalie’s is probably the most interesting new store to open in Newport in years. And top it all off with a resident high priestess who can disappear all your troubles and you’re talking about a force to be reckoned with…!