Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2019, Síða 26

The Reykjavík G
rapevine
Best of Iceland 2019
26
The Witches
Of Búðir
A visit to a magical little shop in
Snæfellsnes
Words: John Rogers Photos: Art Bicnick
Hotel Búðir juts up from Búðahraun
lava field on the southern coast of
the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Visible
for miles around, this imposing
hotel is well known as one one
of the most plush and comforta-
ble getaways in Iceland, sitting
almost in the shadow of the tow-
ering, mesmerising Snæfellsjökull
glacier.
Lesser known is the mysteri-
ous store that occupies one of
the nearby sheds. With a large
Ægishjálmur stave—the Helm of
Awe, a magical stave of protec-
tion—mounted on the wall, and a
sign that says simply “SHOP,” it
picks up plenty of foot traffic from
hotel guests and passersby who
come to visit the historic black
wooden church of Búðakirkja.
A bell tinkles when you step
through the door into the dark
confines of the store. At first, your
eyes might not know where to
rest—everywhere you look, there
are fascinating objects. The neat
tables are packed with small, softly
lit carvings, amulets and bowls of
intriguing rune tiles; the shelves
are loaded with paper parcels and
brown bottles with handwritten
labels, containing mysterious pow-
ders and tinctures, and the win-
dowsills are lined with sculptures
made from familiar beach ephem-
era, wave-worn sticks, shells,
strands of wool, fronds of seaweed,
knotty string and weathered floats.
Suddenly, I become aware of two
pairs of eyes looking at me from a
side-door. It’s Sigga and Agnes, the
two self-professed witches behind
this curious place. They emerge
from the office smiling, happy to
share stories of their craft.
Beach herbs
Everything in the store, says Sig-
ga, is handmade. “We climb the
mountains looking for roots and
herbs,” she says in a calm, assured
voice. “We go through the lava
fields to the beaches to get herbs,
and collect them at the right time.
We bring them back here, work
them, dry them, and pack them—
everything is done personally and
by hand.”
The picking season for Icelandic
plants starts when the snow be-
gins thawing in March, and runs
through into the autumn. “All the
herbs go into oils so I can work
with them later in creams and
balms,” says Sigga. She speaks cir-
cuitously, weaving together differ-
ent points and returning to others,
slowly painting the picture of the
shop’s story. “These things have
been done throughout the ages.
We’re continuing with the old hab-
its of using the herbs. That’s where
I learned this way of doing things.”
Heathen calendar
At first, Sigga and Agnes had to
seek out obscure bits of informa-
tion from various conversations
and sources. But over time, col-
lating traditional knowledge has
become easier. “In the beginning
I really had to dig,” says Sigga.
“It has become more open—more
information is available now, and
shared online. What we have here
is the heathen way. It’s getting
quite popular, now. People are be-
coming more open to using things
from mother nature.”
Heathen beliefs run through
many aspects of the store. Sigga
points to a calendar on the wall,
divided up into eight sections in
a circular design. “We work a lot
with this Chan Tok—a calendar of
the old heathen seasons, with eight
holidays in the wheel of the year,”
she says.
“The modern calendar has the
Distance from
Reykjavík:
173 km
How to get there:
Route One North, Route 54, park at
Hotel Búðir
Car provided by: gocarrental.is
Accommodation
provided by: hotelbudir.is West
Stamphólsvegur 2, 240 Grindavík
+354 4269700, +354 6992665
salthusid@salthusid.is
salthúsid.is
Fresh f sh every day