Today we’d like to introduce you to Cedar Stevens.
Cedar, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Plants and herbs have since childhood bewitched me. I studied botany at UT (BA Biology 1985) and after college wended my way through environmental activism, native plant landscaping, field surveying, produce clerking, farm homesteading and herbal medicine while teaching myself herb and vegetable gardening.
One day, looking for a new herbal medicine book at Half Price Books, I found a sweet little book by Scott Cunningham, Magical Herbalism. “What is this silly superstition?” I thought to myself. At the time, I was a hard-boiled atheist scientist. “And why must I know everything about it?” Something awakened in me, childhood memories of old trees, honeysuckle, and gnomes… and I dove headfirst into a rabbit hole of flowers, herbs, and magic.
By the end of the year, 1997, I had formulated the beginning of the Natural Magic line. In 1999, I began a brick and mortar incarnation, which lasted 7 years, 7 months, 7 days and went out of biz on Halloween 2006.
On Thanksgiving Day 2006, I opened Natural Magick Shop as the third incarnation and began an international internet business. Since then, the Natural Magick line has more than quadrupled in volume, as far as how many products I make, sometimes, based on customer request and sometimes, on my creative and magical inspirations.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
By its nature, small biz boot-strap entrepreneurialism is a rocky road. Having relied on organic Google ratings from the beginning, any change of algorithm is a change of profit margin for me. I have never hesitated to take day (or late night) jobs to support Natural Magick and the side hustles are both a respite and a means-to-the-end to keep the dream alive. Very few people would be willing to work as hard as I do and sacrifice a mainstream consumer lifestyle in a high-rent town like Austin. As my Web Wizard, Michael Bluejay philosophizes, “Everything is a trade-off.”
The trade-off has always balanced on: I get to be my own boss and bring a kind of art and beauty into the world that nobody else could bring.
Natural Magick Shop – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Natural Magick Shop makes magick potions for the modern practitioner. Happiness, love, luck, health, divine guidance… banish your stalker, I make oils, incenses, brew, candles, mojo kits, all kinds of magickal tools for spells, prayers, and meditation.
Natural Magick products are all made according to traditional methods, on the correct day of the week for Planetary powers and phases of the Moon for Lunar influences.
For example, the Money potions are only made on Thursdays (ruled by the Planet Jupiter which governs luck, prosperity, and expansion) just before the Full Moon (which brings about fulfillment). Happiness formulations are on Fridays or Sundays (both Venus and Sun favor joy) just after the New Moon (which is used for new beginnings and looks like a smile in the night sky!).
And, it smells really good. Unless it’s supposed to banish poltergeists or the like because you wouldn’t do that with good smelling stuff.
While it is unethical and usually illegal to guarantee an outcome from the use of magickal products, Natural Magick does guarantee that our products are made according to these traditional Western occult protocols, no fudging. So if I’m out-of-stock, that’s why!
Beginners and adepts, skeptics and believers of many different religions and traditions find common ground in nature. I make Natural Magick potions for all of us.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far has been the expansion of Natural Magick Shop from a line of products into a whole tradition of Wiccish priestesshood, dedicated to studying and teaching of nature, native plants, gardening and priestess craft. I love teaching, and my students astound me in their achievement, insight, and wisdom.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://naturalmagickshop.com/
- Phone: 512 494 6040
- Email: cedar@naturalmagickshop.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturalmagickshop/
- Other: https://naturalmagickshop.blogspot.com/
Image Credit:
Brooke Wilton
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
