Kara Gilbertson, co-owner of Raven’s Lair on Commercial Drive, says her Halloween-era “death rituals” focus on intention and a “heart of the home” rather than “evil” forces.
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Kara Gilbertson, co-owner of Raven’s Lair on Commercial Drive, said she doesn’t dress up for Halloween “and I don’t wear the hat,” adding, “But maybe I should go the opposite direction so I don't have to scare people like I do every day.”
Gilbertson also helps organize three yearly gatherings at the shop, including Witches Hedge, Witches Harvest and Witches Hearth. Witches Harvest is scheduled for Oct. 24 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Dr.).
Tickets for Witches Harvest cost $6.66, and the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to charity, according to the event details. Gilbertson said the gathering is an artisanal market featuring dozens of makers from across B.C. connected to celebrating Samhain, with items described as handcrafted treasures, oddities, reading material, and other occult-inspired trinkets.
Gilbertson said she first felt drawn to witchcraft in her pre-teen years during a visit to her grandparents in Harrison Hot Springs, where she encountered an occult store and found her first set of runes.
She described southwestern B.C. and Vancouver Island as hotbeds for non-traditional spirituality, from people who adhere to Indigenous beliefs to others drawn to connections with the natural world. She said customers often arrive with curiosity that turns into discussion about “witchy” practices.
Gilbertson and her partner, Michéal Reilly, said they follow a branch they describe as animism, characterizing it as focusing on ancestry and shared elements across cultures. Both referred to themselves as “cunning folk,” as an homage to forebears who practiced folk medicine, magic and divination.
Gilbertson said she and Reilly do not position Raven’s Lair as a Wiccan shop, adding, “We don't believe in establishments in that way. We want you to find your own groove and feel it out to see what works for you instead of following something verbatim.”
She said numerous initiation rituals exist and described performing “death rituals” as a regular practice. In her account, the rituals are not about literal death, but about purging unnecessary thoughts and practices and “ushering in newer, more productive ones.”
For Halloween-era rituals involving communication with the dead, Gilbertson pointed to tools including candles, black mirrors and scrying mirrors. She said she has made contact with those who have passed “on numerous occasions” and that she has not faced repercussions she associated with depictions like “The Exorcist” or “Poltergeist.”
Gilbertson said her approach depends on intention and location, and that she tries to communicate with ancestors from “a place of love and kinship.” She described choosing a specific place for communication as the “heart of the home,” saying she visualizes it “like I'm sitting at a table and inviting people to dinner,” where those not invited are kept at a distance, and “if somebody is known to be an ‘evil person,’ you don't invite them to your table.”
She also said she wants to dispel misconceptions about her practice, saying blood sacrifices and sex cults are not part of what she does. Gilbertson said she sees all kinds of people visiting the shop and that customers may dress comfortably “whether it's all in pink or all in black.”
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