The Sacred Circle Story
Sacred Circle was a long time in the making. When I first began exploring spirituality, metaphysics, and astrology in the late 1960s there were practically no stores dedicated to these topics; the local library was my only resource. By the mid-‘70s more occult bookstores, as they were known at the time, began to spring up and even wider horizons of thought were opened up to me. I loved hanging out in these places and began to dream of opening my own little “philosophy shop” someday.
While living in the San Francisco Bay Area in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I began practicing astrology professionally and Tom was working in high tech. Opening a metaphysical store there didn’t seem feasible since there were already many such stores all over the Bay area. When the high tech industry crashed in 2001, Tom lost his job, nobody was hiring, and I felt ready to leave California anyway. We decided to relocate to the Washington, DC area since we were familiar with it, having visited some of my relatives here several times, and it was centrally located near many friends and family living east of the Mississippi.
We moved to Alexandria in September 2002. We had several ideas of how we would make a living here, but when none of them appeared to be taking hold I suggested that perhaps we could open the metaphysical shop I’d been thinking about for 30 years. Tom was hesitant because neither of us had done anything like that before, so I dropped it and for the first time started to think maybe I should just let go of the idea altogether. I resumed my astrology practice and Tom took a temporary job in construction until we could figure out what we wanted to do long-term.
Soon after this Tom said to himself, “All I want to do is what the cosmos wants me to do”. One day in June 2004, unbeknownst to me, he consulted the I Ching about several career options he was considering. After receiving lukewarm or negative judgments on the various options, he asked about helping me open a metaphysical store. To this, the I Ching gave one of the most positive readings anyone could get. Tom was shocked, and when he showed the reading to me, I was stunned as well. The reading indicated that this was precisely what he should do and that in doing so, we would be acting in perfect harmony with the Universe. Finally, after decades of holding the vision and then being on the brink of giving it up, my dream was about to come true. After a reading with a trusted psychic and some serious soul-searching on my part about taking on such an all-consuming, life-changing commitment, we decided to take the plunge.
We proceeded to educate ourselves about the business, make plans, and look for a location. While trying to design a logo, it suddenly came to me to create a variation of the Chalice Well cover at Glastonbury Abbey in England, a symbol that had deeply resonated with me from the first time I saw it. When we finally found the beautiful space at 919 King St. we were relieved to find out that the property manager was interested in metaphysics, and he helped persuade the landlord to choose us as tenants. Time and again during the process and ever since, Spirit cleared the way for us and we learned in a very real way what happens when you are in harmony with your soul purpose and the Universe.
Our opening was delayed by illness and despite the store being thinly stocked, the big day finally came. On August 5, 2006 Sacred Circle was born, with a crowd of people pouring in and expressing a depth of gratitude for the store that amazed and humbled us. With long hours, hard work, and personal and financial sacrifice, the store has grown and evolved in service to the community. To our fantastic staff and long-time customers we say a heart-felt “thank you” for your huge role in helping Sacred Circle to survive and thrive. And to those who are new to the store, we warmly welcome you to the circle!
- Anysia