![]() “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. Sigga points to a calendar on the wall, divided up into eight sections in a circular design. Heathen beliefs run through many aspects of the store. “People felt we were really quite weird at first. People are becoming more open to using things from mother nature.” “It has become more open-more information is available now, and shared online. “In the beginning I really had to dig,” says Sigga. But over time, collating traditional knowledge has become easier. That’s where I learned this way of doing things.”Īt first, Sigga and Agnes had to seek out obscure bits of information from various conversations and sources. We’re continuing with the old habits of using the herbs. ![]() “These things have been done throughout the ages. She speaks circuitously, weaving together different points and returning to others, slowly painting the picture of the shop’s story. “All the herbs go into oils so I can work with them later in creams and balms,” says Sigga. The picking season for Icelandic plants starts when the snow begins thawing in March, and runs through into the autumn. We bring them back here, work them, dry them, and pack them-everything is done personally and by hand.” “We go through the lava fields to the beaches to get herbs, and collect them at the right time. “We climb the mountains looking for roots and herbs,” she says in a calm, assured voice. They emerge from the office smiling, happy to share stories of their craft.Įverything in the store, says Sigga, is handmade. It’s Sigga and Agnes, the two self-professed witches behind this curious place. Suddenly, I become aware of two pairs of eyes looking at me from a side-door. 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 powders and tinctures, and the windowsills are lined with sculptures made from familiar beach ephemera, wave-worn sticks, shells, strands of wool, fronds of seaweed, knotty string and weathered floats. At first, your eyes might not know where to rest-everywhere you look, there are fascinating objects. 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 traffic from hotel guests and passersby who come to visit the historic black wooden church of Búðakirkja.Ī bell tinkles when you step through the door into the dark confines of the store. Lesser known is the mysterious store that occupies one of the nearby sheds. 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 Snæfellsjökull glacier. Hotel Búðir juts up from Búðahraun lava field on the southern coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
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