Recently I had an opportunity to visit all kinds of fascinating Pagan shops throughout Western Canada when I was on a book tour, so I'm writing about them to share them with others.
Penticton, BC is a small city in the southern Okanagan Valley; but still a weird combination of retirement community and bohemian hipster haven (don't get me wrong, I love it.) White Lioness Metaphysics, which is located in the heart of Penticton's downtown, is a collective that’s only been around for a few months, organized by the indomitable Jennifer Innes and a team of dedicated and clever women (and a handful of men) offering a variety of metaphysical services and products. If you go on a Saturday you will also be able to enjoy Penticton’s fantastic Farmer’s Market, where you can spend the whole day tasting local wine and eating exotic vegan food while you tour art galleries and shop for handmade treasures. Yes, White Lioness keeps a booth there as well and they offer deals on psychic and Tarot readings every Saturday.
It's a lovely little storefront with a clean, clear layout, usually dominated by a couple of different crystal grids in the middle of the brightly-lit shelves. What's available for sale doesn't differ significantly from other metaphysical stores and there's a strong focus on crystals, so if that's not part of your practice, your primary attraction will be the original artwork with Pagan themes. Many Pagans will find the New Agey atmosphere a little cloying, but others will love it. Their prices are reasonable and tend to be on par, or even a little less, than what is typical for the Okanagan Valley; which is neat because they do not buy any stock and all of their stock is on consignment by members of the collective. (Full disclosure: I've got a small amount of leftover stock from when I owned a metaphysical store on consignment there as well.)
...