University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

The spiritual safe havens of Los Angeles

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The spiritual safe havens of Los Angeles

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The Spiritual Safe Havens of Los Angeles
How modern-day apothecaries have become community learning centers for witchcraft
practitioners and the spiritually curious
by
Madeline Quiroz-Haden
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL
FOR COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
August 2022
Copyright 2022 Madeline Quiroz-Haden

Table of Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………….………………... i

Chapter 1: The History of Wicca, Witchcraft, and it’s Link to Apothecaries……...………..…... 2

Chapter 2: The Spiritually Non-Religious……………………………………………………...... 5

Chapter 3: Apothecaries & Herbalists….…………………………………..……………………. 7

Chapter 4: The Apothecaries of Los Angeles……….…….……………………………………. 10

Chapter 5: The Media’s Influence……………………………………………...….…………… 14

Chapter 6: Witch Hunts and Public Disapproval……………………………...……………...… 16

Chapter 7: A safe space for all practitioners………………………………...………………….. 16

Chapter 8: Unbundling and Personalized Spiritualities………………………...………………. 18

Chapter 9: A Community of Individuals…………………………….……………………...….. 19

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..……... 22

i
Abstract

Apothecaries have existed since the 13th century. Over time, the reputation of these businesses
has shifted from that of modern-day pharmacies to the current association with witchcraft, magic
and the supernatural. While some may view apothecaries as fanciful stores for adults rather than
children, filled with props and potions that belong in fairy tales, owners and patrons alike see the
stores as safe havens for practitioners of alternative spiritualities.

In this dissertation, we dive into the history of apothecaries, their association with witchcraft, the
evolution of public perception of the spiritually non-religious and the ways in which traditional
beliefs and the media have impacted society’s opinions of the apothecary business.

“The Spiritual Safe Havens of Los Angeles” is a narrative story following a young witch using
spell craft to connect to her ancestors, while searching for a spiritual community in California.
This piece explores the true purpose of modern-day apothecaries and their transformation from
the pharmacies of the past to present-day spiritual learning and community centers.
1
Taylor, a self-labeled “baby witch” practicing spell craft in Thousand Oaks, California,
proudly assembles her altar elements on a tall, black counter in her living room.

Present are amethyst to block negativity, smoky quartz to relieve stress and anxiety and
goldstone to assist with ambition and attaining goals. A few brass bells rest along the table’s
side, and a large crystal ball sits towards the back. Today, Taylor is performing a love spell in
hopes of getting her romantic interest to commit. She pulls out a large pink candle and begins
carving her intention into its side.

Heavily influenced by her Mexican heritage, Taylor practices a specific type of
witchcraft known as Brujería.

When translated from Spanish to English, “Brujería” means “witchcraft.” Originating in
Mexico, but now popular in many LatinX communities across the globe, this alternative
spirituality mixes Afro-Caribbean and new religion beliefs to create its own unique traditions and
practices.

BabyBruja is the username Taylor created for the Instagram page she has devoted to her
spirituality. Her username proudly announces her Mexican heritage and religious affiliation to
anyone who stumbles across her account and to those close friends with whom she is willing to
share this side of her identity.

2
Taylor casts a circle to begin the spell-casting process. After placing a candle at the
center of her altar and surrounding it with fresh red roses, she lights it. Once lit, Taylor meditates
for the duration of the candle’s burn and focuses only on her intention.

“I love magic,” Taylor said. “Whenever I’m writing a paper, I will light a yellow candle
for success. When I’m at any apothecary or metaphysical store, I usually pick up candles [or
other materials] to help me manifest whatever I feel the need to.”

Chapter 1: The History of Wicca and Witchcraft and Links to Apothecaries

During the 13th century, apothecaries were defined as small shops that kept stock of a
variety of herbs, oils and, in some cases, spices. It was not until the 16th century that
apothecaries became equivalent to modern-day pharmacies. Today, apothecaries serve spiritual
communities by providing customers with a variety of magical supplies useful when conducting
a wide range of wiccan or pagan rituals.

Wicca is considered an organized religion according to the Pew Research Center and
other government databases tracking religious trends across the globe. Pew notes that Wicca’s
popularity began growing in the 20th century. Beliefs include worship of one or more deities,
respect for nature and acceptance of the Wiccan Rede.
While Wicca and witchcraft are often thought to be identical, they are not. Wicca is a
religion with rules and traditions; witchcraft is a practice that can be tailored to a believer’s needs
and wants. Many Americans, like Taylor, are leaving traditional religions for more personalized
3
forms of spirituality, which witchcraft can provide. In her case, Taylor left the Roman Catholic
church and devoted her time to the study and practice of Brujería.

“Every single culture has their own sort of magic,” Taylor said.

Hoodoo is a type of folk magic historically linked to and practiced by Southeastern
African Americans. Voodoo is a hybrid practice of Afro-Caribbean voodoo and folk magic
traditions unique to Louisiana, which can be traced back to West Africa. Wicca is a Pagan
practice with traditions drawn from pre-Christian beliefs and with an origin that can be traced
back to the Western movement. And Brujería is a form of witchcraft practice linked to Spanish
and Latin American countries which combines aspects of Catholicism, European witchcraft and
Indigenous herbal medicinal practices.

Despite being raised Catholic, Taylor never felt a natural connection to that religion. It
was not that she did not believe in God, it was that she never developed a bond with the Catholic
Church. While her father and younger sister continue to practice Catholicism, Taylor drifted
from the practice and explored other types of religions and spiritualities.

After learning about her Mexican heritage, Taylor found herself increasingly curious
about her ancestors. Growing up in a white culture, Taylor had no knowledge of her Mexican
roots, and she began to feel that a major part of her identity had been hidden for most of her life.
Once introduced to witchcraft, Taylor used the practice to connect with her Mexican ancestors
4
and communicate with them spiritually, as she had been denied the chance to bond with them
during their lives.

Taylor’s mother, who had practiced witchcraft in the 70s, is Syrian. Yet, Taylor found
herself compelled to study Spanish witchcraft, Brujería.

“Witchcraft is something you make yourself,” said Taylor. “You are using different parts
of yourself to create what you are trying to do or practice.”

Taylor has always been fascinated by religions, and, after learning about witchcraft, she
decided to educate herself on this new sector of spirituality. She included all branches of
witchcraft in her research, not just Brujería.

Taylor began reaching out to different spiritual leaders and practitioners in her
community, interviewing them about their unique practices, beliefs and traditions. If compelled
to, she would confide in her sources and share that she had begun practicing spell craft herself.
During one interview, a witch pointed to Taylor’s focus on her Mexican ancestors and urged her
not to neglect her Syrian and Polish roots. From then on, Taylor began mixing her differing
backgrounds to form her own form of witchcraft. Her practice highlights every aspect of her
identity and provides answers to questions about herself, her ancestors and the universe.

5

Chapter 2: Alternative Spiritualities and the Community

Seventy-seven percent of U.S. adults label themselves as “spiritual but not religious” and
believe in at least one of the four core New-Age beliefs. With the current, and seemingly
continuous, rise in New-Age beliefs, metaphysical shops and apothecaries have an essential role
in supplying recreational and professional witches, wiccans and warlocks with the tools of their
trade. These shops and apothecaries also offer practitioners a safe, community space where they
can engage with others and educate themselves without fear of judgment or shame.

“We try to be a welcoming safe haven for people of alternative spiritualities,” said Jill
Weiss, owner of The Green Man Apothecary in Los Angeles. “And there are many.”

The Green Man is a community space where new or returning practitioners can advance
their craft or dig into personal development. The store prides itself on being a sanctuary for the
spiritual.

“That’s what makes us strong,” Weiss said. “We all know that there is not one true and
only way. It’s what works for you, and I will honor that.”

It is estimated that over 4,000 religions are practiced throughout the world. According to
the Pew, about 85% of the global population associate themselves with a religious group. The
remaining 15% include atheists, agnostics, the spiritually unaffiliated and non-responding survey
6
participants. Of those associated with religious groups, some individuals are strictly devoted to a
religion and its practices, some follow certain practices-- but not all-- and some curate their own
practices. Apothecaries like The Green Man welcome everyone, with the only rules that
employees and guests be respectful of each other’s beliefs and that their practices remain
peaceful.

The New Age movement began in the 1970s when American theosophist David Spangler
shared his ideology that a new spiritual energy, caused by astrological shifts, was propelling the
Earth into a new age, hence the movement’s name. The system was built on two core beliefs:
that the New Age is a time of spiritual consciousness that would end racism, poverty, sickness,
hunger and war, and that individuals get a feel for this upcoming era by practicing one or more
New Age beliefs, which will also aid one’s personal transformation.

At The Green Man Apothecary, employees come from diverse backgrounds and are
experts in differing spiritualities. Jerel Ondoy, a shamanic practitioner, can be found working
behind the counter or hosting group rituals. Shana Leilani stays in touch with her Hawaiian and
Italian heritage through witchcraft and works on The Green Man’s second floor as a psychic
reader.

The range of backgrounds and expertise represented allows employees to assist shop
guests of varying spiritualities to find their desired project or learn about ritual techniques or
prop usage. If guests are looking for herbal remedies or custom incense made to meet their
personalized needs, they will be directed downstairs to The Green Man’s apothecary.
7

Chapter 3: Apothecaries and Herbalists

An assortment of multicolored, wax candles rests on a bookshelf near the entrance to The
Green Man. Each candle is crafted for a specific intent. Dual color, square, uncrossing candles
remove obstacles and baneful magic; royal blue Heart’s Ease candles assist in the grieving
process. Customers can peruse The Green Man’s wide selection of candles, raw crystals and
stone cauldrons as they make their way toward the apothecary, operated by Carrie Wolf, one of
the co-owners.

“I am not classically trained,” Wolf said. “I am trained to listen to the spirit of things and
work with the spirit of things.”

Wolf often finds herself drawn to her mortar and pestle after hearing whispers from a
lingering spirit, being visited by an ancestor in her dreams or during a moment of spontaneous
inspiration.
After these spiritually influenced encouragements, she crafts the herbal aid or healing incense as
she has been instructed.

The Green Man’s apothecary has a selection of over 500 herbal formulas, most of which
are Wolf’s creations. Her formulas are based on guidance from whichever spirit or deity has
spoken to her most recently.

8
“I don’t look at a book that says, ‘you must do things this way,’ she continued. “I will
come in [to the apothecary] and suddenly get a stroke of inspiration because the spirits start to
talk to me.”

With the quick click of a metal clasp, Wolf seals the see-through jar into which she has
poured an ashy concoction and adds it to the stack of glass containers piled high behind the
apothecary desk. The new addition is intended to assist individuals experiencing the loss of a
loved one with the grieving process.

Although modern medicine tends to eschew the use of herbs, some doctors have begun to
see their utility. But that is a recent change.

“Herbal healing, until the early 20th century, was almost the only kind of healing,” said
Dr. Michael Ostling, an Arizona State University professor who studies witchcraft. “The 1930s
and 40s [are] when there was the revolution in antibiotics and sulfa drugs and what we now think
of as pharmaceuticals.”

Ostling explained that before the 20th century, Western medicine was based on classical
herbal recipes from ancient Greece, which mainly originated from the Mediterranean region. In
search of different herbs and herbal systems, healers explored other regions, such as Poland,
Scotland and the Americas.

9
The education of witches in herbalism is a little bit of a mystery. According to Ostling,
little information is available about their training. He believes witches most likely gained their
knowledge from apprenticeships. Yet, despite the integration of a certain amount of magical or
spiritual aspects into their work, herbalists would not have considered their apprentices to be
witches.

“Until the mid-20th century, the meaning of the word ‘witch’ always meant someone
who did negative magic,” Ostling said.

At the time Ostling speaks of, witchcraft was associated with evil magic and satanic
worship. The idea that witches could use their magic for good was unthinkable; throughout
history, professionals we would now label “witches” were referred to as “healers.”

Many people still use herbs today, taking mint to soothe a cold, chamomile to ease an
upset stomach and ginger to combat nausea. But herbs cannot combat all ailments facing
humanity.

“Antibiotics, vaccines,” Ostling begins, “these are not things that you can put together
with the bark of a tree and the leaves of a bush.”

As science and technology advanced, medical professionals began separating themselves
from herbalists by dismissing herbal remedies passed down orally and providing clients with
chemically made pharmaceuticals that required an official prescription. While they may
10
recommend herbal recipes to soothe minor ailments, doctors, nurses and pharmacists often
distribute over-the-counter products rather than these herb-based antidotes. This is a distinction
between modern-day pharmacists and spiritually influenced herbalists.

While herbalism may be the foundation of modern medicine, many spiritual herbalists,
including those employed by The Green Man and other Los Angeles apothecaries, will not be
handing out prescriptions to customers now or in the future.

Without professional training, these spiritual apothecaries create concoctions to aid
spiritual development, growth and healing. Their handmade incense and teas are not a substitute
for medically prescribed pain relievers or anti-inflammatories.

“My apothecary is here for spell craft,” said Salvatore Santoro, owner of The Crooked
Path, an apothecary in Burbank, California.

Similar to colleagues at The Green Man apothecary, Santoro said The Crooked Path
Apothecary provides herbs and oils to assist witches and spiritual practitioners with spells, but it
does not assist customers with medical or health concerns.

Chapter 4: The Apothecaries of Los Angeles

Customers at The Crooked Path come face-to-face with the apothecary as soon as they
enter. Jars of hand-blended oils, herbs and other magical mixtures sit in white-capped jars
11
stacked along the back shelves. Astrology mojo bags, used to promote positive blessings to the
sign displayed on its label, and spell kits, equipped with tools to assist a practitioner, rest on a
chocolate-brown bookcase to the left of the front desk. This store is a spiritual wonderland to
practitioners like Taylor.

Santoro and their wife started The Crooked Path in 2017. With their wife’s background in
business and Santoro’s 40-plus years of witchcraft, they took a leap, opened the store and have
prospered ever since.

“We’re brought into this world under the umbrella of certain philosophies, [and] we’ve
known them as the standard for which to live by,” Santoro said. “The Crooked Path is about
alternative ways of doing the same thing.”

Santoro grew up believing in witchcraft and was baptized (a religious Wiccan tradition
that has been practiced since before pre-Christian times) in 1989 at Eye of the Cat, a
metaphysical supply store in Long Beach, California. The first apothecary they worked at was
Pan Pipes, owned by Fairuza Balk, an American actress best known for her lead role in “The
Craft.” When Balk’s mentor, George Derby, passed away, the apothecary was renamed Pan’s
Apothika, and it is now under new management. Santoro then went to work for a metaphysical
store called Raven’s Flight, a spiritual apothecary, just a few minutes down the road from where
The Green Man now stands.

12
Raven’s Flight is where Jill Weiss took classes when first studying witchcraft. There, she
soon met Wolf and other future Green Man employees, such as Griffin Ced who had been
Santoro’s High Priest earlier in life.

High Priests or Priestesses are Wiccan coven leaders. These leaders are mentors within
their coven, and they help others navigate through their spiritual journeys and development.
They also organize and oversee coven-led rituals, ceremonies and meetings.

When the store closed, Raven’s Flight employees and customers were adrift. While the
community mourned the loss of the beloved metaphysical shop, its closing led to the creation of
two new apothecaries, The Green Man and The Crooked Path.

Today, it is common to see companies within the same product branch at war with one
another for customers. Adidas and Nike compete to be the best luxury athletic brand; Starbucks
and Dunkin fight to be the public’s go-to chain coffee shop. Even beverage companies, like
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, compete for the title of the world’s best cola. Each brand does not want
to be “an” option but wants to be “the” option.

That is not the way of the witching world.

“There are no witch wars,” Santoro said, describing the relationships among magical
stores across Los Angeles. “These shops are different.”

13
Despite using the word “shop” when describing their stores, the apothecary owners do
not conform to typical consumer-fueled competitors. Instead, they consider their shops to be
spiritual learning centers or safe havens. Similar to the collaboration among neighborhood
churches, often engaging in friendly basketball scrimmages or holiday traditions like Easter egg
hunts, these apothecaries do not compete with one another to be the community’s number one
spiritual center. Instead, they support each other and share a common goal: to connect and
educate alternative spiritual practitioners.

“I call myself a spiritual practitioner more than a witch,” said Taylor, the Thousand Oaks,
California practitioner, “because I do pick and choose.”

When visiting a new apothecary, Taylor cannot help but become anxious. Without an
organized religion or group of believers with whom to associate, she has no set meeting house or
place of worship. Practitioners like Taylor turn to the apothecaries to educate themselves, find
religious materials or props and provide community in moments of distress or joy.

“When you enter a new space like that, you don’t know if someone is going to judge
you,” Taylor said.

Wide eyes meet her gaze once she says the words, “I’m a witch,” to her friends or
classmates. People often make assumptions based on stereotypes about associated with
witchcraft, including the worship of Satan.

14
“People think of witches with a pointy nose and hat,” she said. “It’s just what television
and film have told us about witches. It’s so silly.”

Taylor doesn’t worship Satan. She does not wear a pointy hat when performing rituals or
ride around on a broomstick. She does not sacrifice living animals and does not hex those who
have wronged her. These common assumptions, however, have made Taylor hesitant to express
her spirituality to those around her. She has learned not to tell just anyone.

Pop culture has not helped to combat these inaccurate stereotypes.

Chapter 5: The Media’s Influence

In October of 2018, Netflix introduced “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” to viewers. The
supernatural-horror series follows a 16-year-old half-witch-half-human, Sabrina Spellman, as she
fights to protect the human world from evil mystical forces. Based on the 1996 hit series,
“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” the new series is to Gen-Z what the original PG-rated sit-com was
to millennials.

Young, blonde, pretty and kind, the 1996 Sabrina passed for the girl next door and kept
her use of magic out of the public’s eye. Shows like this sent a clear message to viewers:
witchcraft is fun, but only when it’s fiction.

15
“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” reached over 17 million viewers during its debut episode
and dominated mainstream cable television in the 1990s, along with other witch-themed series,
such as Warner Bros’ “Charmed” and family-friendly movies like “Halloweentown” and “Hocus
Pocus.” These shows and films premiered during the 90s, which The Crooked Path’s owner,
Santoro, believes was the first spike in the rise of modern-day witchcraft due to the
glamorization of the practice. The ABC series, “Bewitched,” which aired almost 30 years prior,
may have been the first television series to normalize witchcraft for a popular audience.

While television ratings prove society loves seeing witches on-screen, some of the same
viewers are quick to condemn the real-life practice of witchcraft due to their confusion about
Wicca and Satanism. Despite the increasing number of Wiccan or Pagan religious practitioners
in the U. S, public disapproval and misunderstanding of the religions have continued.

Feeding this misapprehension is the historic link between witchcraft and satanic worship,
with rumors of animal sacrifice and other evil practices. Long feared by the public, witchcraft
was the quick answer to any societal tragedies or strange deaths. Hoping to rid their communities
of sickness, chaos and death, men and women from medieval times to the present have banded
together to hunt and execute witches, whether or not there was evidence to support the
accusations.

16
Chapter 6: Witch Hunts and Public Disapproval

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Wiccans, Pagans or those accused of practicing any form
of witchcraft were believed to be devil worshipers. As a result, they were killed, and it is
estimated that about 80,000 accused witches were murdered in Europe. In the 17th century, the
Salem Witch Trials in North America led to the death of 19 and life-threatening accusations
against 150 more residents, including children and enslaved people.

With a history of being alienated by the public and fearful of being hunted and killed for
practicing their form of religious expression, many witches and witchcraft practitioners, like
Taylor, choose to keep their spirituality secret, not out of shame or embarrassment, but to
survive.

Chapter 7: A Safe Space for All Practitioners

Similar to finding friends who are not quick to judge her spirituality, finding a welcoming
magical supply store has not been easy for Taylor. Taylor believes that, because she does not
identify as Wiccan or Pagan, some shop owners have treated her differently. She often feels
written off as a lost millennial whose interest in witchcraft is temporary, practicing only while
trendy. In reality, Taylor has spent years studying the history and traditions of the religions and
cultures her practice draws upon. She does so out of respect for her ancestors and for the living
and deceased practitioners of those religions.

17
Taylor’s spirituality may not be common, but it is real.

Taylor’s insecurity about the judgment of shopkeepers and metaphysical store employees
makes finding an accepting apothecary much more special to Taylor. She has found acceptance
in very few, including The Crooked Path.

With tools and books meant to assist the practice and study of multiple religions, Taylor
always finds what she needs at the store. She also feels no judgment when picking up a book
about Brujería with one hand and grabbing a deity statue of a Polish god or creature with the
other. In stores like this, she is not limited to honoring one part of her identity.

‘Witchcraft is not always religious,” said Santoro as he defined the phrase. “Witchcraft is
action.”

Witchcraft may be used during Wiccan and Pagan traditions, but it is not exclusively
practiced by religious groups. Like some individuals praying without identifying as Christian or
meditating without labeling themselves as Hindu or Buddhist, the practice of witchcraft assists
users with their spiritual journeys.

18
Chapter 8: Unbundling and Personalized Spiritualities

New-Agers identify as a community of spiritual believers, each with personalized sets of
traditions and rituals. Organized religions, in contrast, often have an official list of rules that
believers are instructed to adhere to if they identify as members of that group.

New-Agers do not attend scheduled services or obey a list of commandments passed
down over time. They select beliefs that resonate with their moral codes and honor their
spiritualty through a diverse range of activities, some of which, like meditation, prayer or re-
incarnation, mirror the beliefs and practices of traditional religions. Harvard Divinity School
researchers Angie Thurston and Casper ter Kuile call this process “unbundling.”

According to Thurston and ter Kuile, roughly 40% of America’s youngest generation are
unaffiliated. The desire to belong to a community, become the people we are destined to be and
exist beyond ourselves remains, however, highly prevalent among this group of religion-less
individuals.

Religion can serve as a moral code for believers. It can help practitioners reconcile their
feelings of worry about death and life’s uncertainties. And it can also help people assign meaning
to life.

“I really think it’s human nature to want to find the answers to everything,” Taylor said.

19
Agreeing with Taylor is Dr. Linda Mercadante, author of “Belief without Borders: Inside
the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious.”

“Human beings are spiritual beings,” Mercadante said.

Mercadante found that most people want the same things: meaning, hope and a
connection to something larger than themselves. According to her research, Mercadante found
that religion satisfies our cravings by giving us answers that ease the uncertainty of life. She also
found that people who leave traditional religions often adapt to some sort of practice on their
own and are often in search of a community to satisfy their longings.

Chapter 9: A Community of Individuals

Originally working as the main distributors of medicines and drugs for their
communities, apothecaries of the past transformed into what we now call pharmacies, along with
the advancement of modern medicine. Present-day apothecaries, however, still exist but with a
new role in society.

In assisting a multitude of customers in their spiritual practices, metaphysical shops, and the
apothecaries within them, have become hubs for alternative spirituality practitioners and the
spiritually curious.

20
With a diverse client base and customers regularly flowing in and out of apothecary
doors, these shops have become in-person meeting places for experienced practitioners or the
spiritually curious. Here, visitors can educate themselves on one or more alternatives and be
introduced to other like-minded individuals. While customers like Taylor have curated a spiritual
practice unique to their own sets of morals and beliefs, many clients find themselves bonding
over at least one shared belief or the shared choice of adhering to a personalized spirituality.

Taylor documents her rituals on her Instagram page, ‘babybruja__’. After mustering up
the courage, she shared a post from her BabyBruja witchcraft page on her personal Instagram
page, allowing followers who may not have known about her spirituality to explore the
previously private social media page. While her Instagram inbox was flooded with questions
about her spirituality, many of which resulted in Taylor debunking negative stereotypes
associated with witchcraft, she was surprised by how many of her followers also believed in
alternative spirituality and practices like her own.

For Taylor, finding someone who relates to her spiritual journey and all the emotions
experienced throughout it is comforting. Apothecaries serve as a meeting place for these in-
person connections to be made, and as safe havens.

Given a history of oppression, a society steeped in prejudice and media caricatures,
witchcraft and its practitioners have been labeled as demonic. Many people quickly deny the
legitimacy of witchcraft or lesser-known spiritualities, especially those that are not associated
with traditional religions.
21

Apothecaries such as The Green Man and The Crooked Path are an essential space for
alternative spiritual practitioners. They are learning centers where new and returning
practitioners can take classes, read books or learn from employees and other customers. They
provide customers, such as Taylor, with the unique tools and props to perform a diverse range of
rituals. And, maybe most important, the Los Angeles apothecaries provide safe spaces for
individuals to express their spirituality, meet others with similar experiences, and find support
for the spiritual paths they each have chosen.

22
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract Apothecaries have existed since the 13th century. Over time, the reputation of these businesses has shifted from that of modern-day pharmacies to the current association with witchcraft, magic and the supernatural. While some may view apothecaries as fanciful stores for adults rather than children, filled with props and potions that belong in fairy tales, owners and patrons alike see the stores as safe havens for practitioners of alternative spiritualities.
In this dissertation, we dive into the history of apothecaries, their association with witchcraft, the evolution of public perception of the spiritually non-religious and the ways in which traditional beliefs and the media have impacted society’s opinions of the apothecary business.
“The Spiritual Safe Havens of Los Angeles” is a narrative story following a young witch using spell craft to connect to her ancestors, while searching for a spiritual community in California. This piece explores the true purpose of modern-day apothecaries and their transformation from the pharmacies of the past to present-day spiritual learning and community centers.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Quiroz-Haden, Madeline Rives (author)

Core Title The spiritual safe havens of Los Angeles

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Degree Conferral Date 2022-08

Publication Date 07/25/2022

Defense Date 07/25/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag brujería,OAI-PMH Harvest,Religion,spiritual,Spirituality,Witchcraft

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Winston, Diane (committee chair), Castañeda, Laura (committee member), Tolan, Sandy (committee member)

Creator Email mqhaden@gmail.com,quirozha@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC111375223

Unique identifier UC111375223

Legacy Identifier etd-QuirozHade-10967

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Quiroz-Haden, Madeline Rives

Type texts

Source 20220728-usctheses-batch-962 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

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Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu