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By Diane Dobry
Making Magic Happen
MIDDLEBURGH— On Saturday, April 5, the Schoharie Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to introduce Schoharie County to The Wandering Mystik Reiki Studio and Magik Boutique—the shop that Krissy Ditmar Traver, the Wandering Mystik, just opened at 315 Main Street in Middleburgh. Very much like Traver, the shop reflects what she calls “Appalachian folk magic meets Buddhists.” The logo on the front window represents this, with its combination of antlers, mountains and stars.
In spite of a heavy rain outside, the shop was filled with well-wishers and curious new customers for the Grand Opening Celebration held by Traver and vendors she is working with. After Traver cut the Schoharie Chamber ribbon, Traver gave a short speech saying she wants everyone to feel welcome and to be able to “explore the magic that makes us human” in a space where “we come together to make magic happen.” The Hilltown Hags, a company of broom dancers dressed in glittery, colorful dresses and headwear performed a “witches dance” called the Wolfshäger Hexenbrut, which originated in Germany. It was a cheerful party to brighten a dreary day.
Natural Energy
Traver’s family has been in Schoharie for centuries, and she recently returned from several years in Georgia to pursue a deeply held vision. While away, she felt the urge to create a space she could develop full-time into a center for energy work and parapsychology--where there would be Reiki, meditation, educational classes, circles, and more. “This is my dream I’ve been working on and manifesting for the last eight years,” Traver said. “I had an audible calling to go into this.” At the time she was living a completely different life as a “cushy, stay-at-home mom” who did a lot of volunteer work and taught a secular homeschool science class in her community of engineers.
Her dream is based on how she was raised on a dairy farm in Schoharie that her great-grandfather started in the 1800s. “It was very much like living and breathing with the animals—in animal husbandry, you are truly married to your livestock and that teaches you a whole array of balance and holistic living,” she explained, adding she wants to bring all those principles she learned growing up on the farm and re-introduce them to the modern world because “they still hold true, they still apply.”
Traver bases her methods of healing, Reiki, meditation, and yoga on her own healing journey. “I started yoga in my early twenties because I have a lot of health challenges,” she confides. “I was in so much pain, and the things that brought me the most relief, outside of everything the doctors were throwing at me, were Reiki, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture.”
Community, Introspection, and Healing
The shop has a dark/light design to it; the front is a darker aesthetic and the back room has a much lighter ambiance. As a place for energy work, it is a matter of bringing balance to the space—combining the shadow self’s deeper aspects and the release that creates a more balanced and harmonious experience. The overall plan is to be a place where groups can come together as a community for introspection and healing on a deep, holistic level.
Dark walls in the front are lined with shelves stocked with products that fit the vision Traver holds for the shop. There are soaps and skin care products, sustainable household cleaning supplies, and a variety of books dedicated to holistic living and spirituality. The spirituality theme includes divination tools such as tarot and oracle cards.
A dark stained oak table in the center of the room is where visitors can sit and assemble something very customized. Traver envisions guests creating altered bags, to suit their personal style and needs, and shaman healing bags that can be filled with sacred items—crystals, herbs, smudge sticks, oils, totems, and objects for healing, transformation, or ceremonial rituals.
Collections of crystals come from Central New York’s largest metaphysical store Sun, Moon, and Earth of Otego. “I want to make sure I have strong crystals that have a good frequency…and Peter, the owner, just has a pulse on that,” Traver noted.
To serve the community, Traver allows local vendors and artists, such as Sarah Ralston, to display their creative energy, share it, and sell to others, which helps them continue their work and not worry about overhead. Vendors include an artist who creates what Traver describes as “energetic Ukrainian folk-inspired art”; Dreams of Wonderland, creators of couture bags, totes, iPad covers, book sleeves and bookmarks; and work by Chris Fain, a sculptor in the area who creates “things just to create smiles” in his company Unique Fabrications.
Community also happens in the form of different circles, or groups—some free, some paid—that include meditation, psychic development, yoga, and drumming. Healing includes workshops by herbalists and an essential oil bar, which allows customers to create their own blend.
A Reiki room in back encourages healing and introspection through private sessions or small groups for meditation. Intimate yoga sessions here, unlike those that incorporate typical yoga moves, will involve participants sitting, resting, breathing, stretching, and reconnecting with their bodies.
As a professional psychic medium, Traver is aware that others like her are able to connect to the space around us that is not visible to the naked eye, and they are able to connect to it and see the field. When people she is working with want more information, Traver has a collection of books that she recommends, including a private collection for people to use as an in-store library, and she wants to start a book club for discussion of spiritually based books.
A Bigger Mission Begins Here
Her ultimate goal, and bigger mission, is to write a book of her own and do public speaking – making these connections, talking about ascension, and creating knowledge based on how we are shifting as a collective.
This shop is very possibly just the beginning of her larger calling.
She “At the end of the day, this entire space is designed to bring people together and empower them to be connected within themselves.
Stay connected to The Wandering Mystik Reiki Studio and Magik Boutique online at www.thewanderingmystik.com/shop and on Instagram (@the_wandering_mystik) and Facebook (WanderingMystik).
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