So when I was a young, fluffy bunny pagan, I stopped into a little new age gift store in my home town called Goddess Elite. I was a sophomore in high school and still in a wiccan phase, and my friends and I heard about the place. One day, after school, we checked it out. First off it was a bright, beautiful shop and there was incense burning and some eastern style music playing. I felt very welcome and the man behind the counter was very friendly despite four or five fluffy bunnies traipsing through the door. Two of the group are still in contact and Liz and I have become very regular customers of the little shop on the edge of North Olmsted. The owners and sole workers were a couple named Jim and Pat. They always were so nice to us and even got to know Liz and myself by name. It even turned into going to the store just to visit with the owners and maybe buy some stuff.
The Goddess Elite was a big store on crystals and semi-precious stones, that is where I first got my knowledge and love of them. I do a lot of work with stones, and this was borne of the vast variety available to me. Jim and Pat were always there with advice and they had a great correspondence reference there. I have a whole bag of various stones in my witchy stuff that are from the Goddess Elite. Their website has various fact links for stones and crystals.
Recently, Jim and Pat decided that it was time for them to retire. This was possibly one of the most heartbreaking things that I heard. Luckily, they were selling it to someone who would keep it a new age store, but that did not help the disappointment. They were so awesome to me, and I truly attribute a lot of my learning to them. I checked the website today and the new owners’ names are in the newsroll. I will be going home soon to check out the new place, but I doubt that anybody could replace Jim and Pat.
So what triggered this sad and nostalgic post? I will tell you what. On that first trip to the Goddess Elite, I bought a small silver pentacle. I happily took my prize home and strung it on some black silk cord and it became my witch necklace. It has gone through several incarnations of different cords and such and I still have it now. This evening, I was stringing it on some black suede cord in its latest life and it made me very nostalgic for Jim and Pat and the Goddess Elite that I knew and loved. I know that the new owners will do a great job, but they aren’t Jim or Pat.
So to end this post, I will say good luck Melissa, Ian and Lucinda. I hope that you breathe a different life into the shop and I cannot wait to see it when I go home next weekend. I am lighting a candle for you as I finish this post.
Red Cedar Grove 
September 30th, 2011 at 5:08 am
That was really moving, dear. We had a lot of good times that involved trips to visit Jim and Pat, didn’t we? I’m really going to miss them. You’re absolutely right, no one could ever replace that unique energy that they brought to the shop that kept us coming back for years.
September 30th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Thank you my friend. It really did turn into let’s go see Jim and Pat over going to buy supplies.
September 30th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Aw, I know what you mean. I’ve seen a few shops like that come and go… In my home town, I got to know the owner of a place called “Sticks and Stones.” He and his shop were amazing but then he moved further south. I haven’t been there in awhile but I’m often nostalgic for those random stops…
October 1st, 2011 at 6:07 am
I really love shops like that, and I feel that they are becoming less and less commonplace. There is another shop in my area, but they totally read newcomers as fluffy bunnies and dont bother to generate a relationship the way Jim and Pat did with me. It is very depressing, which is why this whole thing makes me feel so strongly.