www.montereycountynow.com MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 5 831 Certain things in life seem impossible to describe. Spirituality—what it means to a person and why one feels connected to a belief or guiding path—is often one of them. The feeling or emotion itself might be as clear as day, but the reasoning or justification behind it can be indescribable, yet knowable. Lynette Smick describes herself as a pagan, a witch and a crystal collector, defining it as a way of “listening, bringing in the signs, the sights, the feelings, everything that comes in from the Earth and from your spirit.” Five years ago, she and two friends opened a shop they named Untamed Fire nestled off the street in Sand City. The shop shares the space with a few others—a tattoo parlor and a salon. Out front sits a garden with tables that surround it, creating a community gathering space for many to enjoy tea, chat, discuss the known, the unknown, and their feelings about the present and future. On Sundays, psychics and tarot readers often come to offer their services, meeting with guests at the tables out front. All of these services operate off of energy, or the relationship between one’s internal thoughts, feelings and the world around them. The ethos is such that everyone exists on a spectrum of sensitivity to things like spirits, ghosts and intuition—a belief that Smith, along with many who visit the shop, holds to be true. This is where energy healers, mediums and psychics come in; they are attuned to different aspects of this sensitivity, whether it’s emotions, the afterlife, or the future, in one way or another. When asked whether or not Smith and friends found the space, or if the space found them, she says, without question: “The space most certainly found us.” She describes how her friend saw the place for rent while she was getting a tattoo next door, and together they decided to create a space not only to share their collective love for healing through energy and herbs, but to provide for the community. The shop is home to all things metaphysical. It is a dispensary of stones, each believed to offer healing properties for those seeking support. On any given day, you might see someone buying rose quartz to aid in fertility, or prehnite, the “healer stone” to prevent empathy from exhausting you. Another customer might be seeking a grounding stone to ease anxiety and empower them through hardship or enlightenment. That is the magic of the shop—wherever you are in life, there is an energetic way to support that journey. “There’s some crystals that are hard to source, like moldavite,” Smick says, explaining that years ago a TikTok influencer created a video about how it changed her life, which went viral. Today, Smith is the sole person who runs Untamed Fire on weekends, working her day job during the weekdays. In addition to stones and crystals, her shop offers everything from tarot cards and candles to homemade oils and incense. She is careful about where and how she sources her products—the wrong intention in creating a product can damage its worth to those who use it. She handpicks her stones from personalized vendors in Tucson, Arizona; Oregon; and Los Angeles. Her tarot cards are sourced directly from the artists or the publisher. “There’s a huge issue with counterfeit tarot decks; it’s a big deal,” Smith says. “If I walk into your shop and you have counterfeit tarot, I don’t trust you. I don’t trust your crystals. I’m leaving.” Signs of a counterfeit tarot deck? A flimsy deck, often with smaller cards, or one that lacks a guidebook explaining the card meanings. “I’ve built a great community here,” she says. “There’s so many people that just come to sit and have tea or sit in the garden and hold a crystal or get a reading or just stop by for a hug. It’s a very safe environment.” Untamed Fire, located at 490 Orange Ave., Suite D in Sand City, hosts an event every solstice and change of the seasons, in addition to a spring vendor market on April 13 and the West End Celebration Aug. 23-24. Life Energy For all of your metaphysical needs, a self-described witch has created a one-stop shop and gathering place. By Katie Rodriguez Lynette Smick is a firm believer that crystals provide healing properties. Her Sand City shop, Untamed Fire, is outfitted with all types of stones, oils, candles and more for those intrigued by the metaphysical. “The space most certainly found us.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Call today to get your message into this annual glossy magazine celebrating our delicious county. FOOD AND DRINK IN MONTEREY COUNTY THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BEST OF MONTEREY BAY® Eat+Drink Published by Best of Monterey Bay® Eat+Drink 2024-2025 | FREE cover_E+D_24.indd 1 4/19/24 11:49 AM ADVERTISING DEADLINE: April 14 PUBLICATION DATE: May 2 FOR MORE INFO: 831-394-5656 sales@montereycountynow.com
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