A peaceful place

Misty Warbington and her mother, Eileen, opened A Sacred Realm, a spiritual gathering center and marketplace, in October. Misty, who has been diagnosed as terminally ill, sees A Sacred Realm as a local sanctuary for those seeking peace of mind. The store sells an amalgam of handmade goods, literature, clothing, candles, incense, herbal remedies, aromatherapy and local artwork, all in an environment conducive to letting your guard down. The store is centrally located at 3562 Fourth Avenue, so there is no need to leave downtown for serenity. Learn more at www.asacredrealm.com.

Describe your spirituality.

I was kind of fumbling around, raised pretty much atheist. … I wanted something to believe in, but I couldn’t find it. … I have a Virgo-ness about me—it’s got to be logical, damn it [laughs]. And so, eventually I found it. I ran across a friend, actually, who was a Celtic reconstructionist, and that means you’re reconstructing what was done back then and adapting it to modern day. And I thought, “OK, well, I’ll do a genealogy. I’ll look at a family tree.” And sure enough, probably 60 to 70 percent of my ancestry is Celtic, Welsh, Irish, Scottish—I must have gotten this red hair from somewhere!

The Celtics had an extremely rich culture, and everything in it was based on the gods they worshipped. Their faith was so strong, entire villages would dedicate themselves to one single portion of their pantheon. Houses would have altars to one god or goddess, and everyone in the house would be dedicated to that one god. And everything they did was magic: When they’d leave the house, they’d ring a bell, dedicating their day to that god. … Every single act has more depth than it does today, and I think that is one of the beautiful things we can learn from the past.

I like all the artwork here in the store.

We offer art-gallery services to local artists and crafters. You bring your stuff; we look at it. If we like it, if it fits here in our little realm, then we put it on the walls for up to three months at a time. It’s really cheap, only $20 a month, and it gives them exposure and possibly gives them sales. … It’s extremely reasonable compared to a lot of the art galleries in town.

We also would love to have two or three events scheduled every month: poetry readings, seminars, lectures, discussion groups, anything that suits their fancy … and we don’t charge for people to use our space for events. … Next month, on the 14th, we’re going to have an art show called Triple Threat Art Event featuring the art of Lezlie Kinyon. We’re limiting it to 30 reservations … so we want people to call and reserve first.

I read out front that you do Tarot-card readings on Tuesdays. How does Tarot work?

Say, for instance, there may be a card of a woman pouring a cup, one cup with liquid pouring down and one that’s empty. Well, that’s a symbol of duality; she’s got the empty cup, she’s got the full cup, but she’s pouring out. That’s change. … Tarot cards can’t tell you your future precisely. … The best way to describe it is that it’s telling you the most likely outcome based on the current path that you’re on. … It’s just going to give you a little bit of direction. But it can also teach you a lesson.

How did you get into herbal remedies?

I think it might have been around nine years ago. Doctor after doctor after doctor was telling me, “Look, you’re just going to keep going downhill from here.” I didn’t want to accept that. … I tend to believe that Mother Nature makes allowances for everything; she figured everything out before we even thought of it. And, so, I thought, “Natural medicine: I’ll give it a try.” And I’ve been studying it ever since. … I saw my savior in those herbs. It’s the reason I’m still alive.

What can the average person do to remedy a cold?

Oh, it’s so easy. The moment you start feeling even the slightest symptom of a cold—a sneeze, a little body ache, anything—the early stage is when you need to tackle it. Ginger … make yourself a really strong infusion. … Drink about three to four cups the first day you feel any symptoms, and you should be fine the next day. I do this all the time; keeps me healthy.

There are also other possibilities. Elderberry has more vitamin C in it than 10 oranges. … And because you take it in a natural form, it’s very bio-available. [Your body] won’t reject it.

What do you see people doing here at A Sacred Realm?

This is what we saw in our heads: people just sitting around talking. … One of the first things we said to each other was that it would be amazing if a Catholic came in, grabbed a book and sat down, and then a few moments later a Satanist came in, grabbed a book and sat down … and they sat and talked for hours and just decided, “Hey, maybe I was wrong. Maybe this isn’t that bad. Maybe Satanists don’t kill kitties [laughs].”