Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.06.2019, Blaðsíða 48

Distance
from Reykjavík:
173km
Car provided by:
gocarrental.is
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provided by:
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How to get there:
Route One North,
Route 54, park at
Hotel Búður
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The Witches Of Búðir
A visit to a magical little shop in Snæfellsnes
Words: John Rogers Photos: Art Bicnick
gpv.is/travel
Follow all our travelsMagical herbs ready to be brewed
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 comfortable getaways in
Iceland, sitting almost in the shadow
of the towering, mesmerising Snæfell-
sjökull glacier.
Lesser known is the mysterious
store that occupies one of the near-
by sheds. With a large Ægishjálmur
stave—the Helm of Awe, a magical
stave of protection—mounted on
the wall, and a sign that says simply
“SHOP,” it picks up plenty of foot traf-
fic from hotel guests and passersby
who come to visit the historic black
wooden church of Búðakirkja.
The coven
A bel l tink les when you step
through the door into the dark con-
fines of the store. At first, your eyes
might not know where to rest—every-
where 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 window-
sills are lined with sculptures made
from familiar beach ephemera, 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 Sigga,
is handmade. “We climb the moun-
tains looking for roots and herbs,” she
says in a calm, assured voice. “We go
through the lava fields to the beach-
es 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 begins
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 circuitously, weaving together
different points and returning to oth-
ers, slowly painting the picture of the
shop’s story. “These things have been
done throughout the ages. We’re con-
tinuing with the old habits 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 information from
various conversations and sources. But
over time, collating traditional knowl-
edge has become easier. “In the begin-
ning I really had to dig,” says Sigga. “It
has become more open—more infor-
mation is available now, and shared
online. What we have here is the hea-
then way. It’s getting quite popular,
now. People are becoming 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 cal-
endar of the old heathen seasons, with
eight holidays in the wheel of the year,”
she says.
“The modern calendar has the fa-
miliar months we know now, but here
we see the old Icelandic months, and
in the inner circle are the old heathen
holidays. Celebration, of course, starts
on the 21st of December on the Win-
ter Solstice. Then there’s the Spring
Equinox, the Summer Solstice and the
Autumn Equinox. It’s all about har-
vesting, and loving mother nature.
Everything we make has a meaning—
to celebrate mother nature, and give
grace and thanks.” She smiles. “Not
very complicated.”
Blessed beginnings
The shop’s intriguing displays are no
coincidence. “We are both in the arts,”
says Agnes. “I work in the hotel, tak-
ing care of the flower arrangements
and things like that. Sometimes I go
there with lavender and bless the ho-
tel. People will say ‘What was that?’
when I come. And when I put out the
flowers, I also go with a little bit of
magic. I work on many weddings here
with the flowers, and I always put a
little bit of magic inside. They don’t
know about it, but I bless the mar-
riage.”
Guests of the hotel might also
sometimes see a ritual taking place
from their room windows. “We work
with the magic of nature,” smiles
Agnes, her eyes shining brightly.
“We sometimes have ceremonies
outside when it’s good weather, and
people are welcome to join us. We
burn sage, and let people come and
write wishes. It’s all about where the
moon is—if it’s waning, waxing or
full. There are rituals for if you want
to take something in from the flow
of the cosmos, or if you have some-
thing to let go.”
Witch and proud
Some hotel guests love the store, say
the pair, but they get all kinds of re-
actions. “People felt we were really
quite weird at first,” laughs Sigga.
“But not any more. Still some do—
they think this is a serious witch
shop. Which is okay—we are witch-
es. That’s fine. It doesn’t bother us.”
Agnes adds: “There are still people
who walk in then walk out. But oth-
ers come inside, and their eyes open
wide. They look at it like a museum,
talking very softly.”
“A woman who was 150 kilos come
into the shop looking for chocolate—
there was none here, and she was
going to buy ten soaps because she
thought they were chocolate bars.
I told her they were soaps, and her
mind changed immediately. She
bought rune books and charms, and
she left happier than ever.”
This shabby store will cast a spell on you
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