Lined wall to wall with candles, magical oils, spell books and various metaphysical trinkets, the store’s aroma lingers in one’s clothes long after leaving.
While it may seem intimidating upon entry, it holds a certain warmth and openness.
This isn’t your run of the mill Hollywood witch’s apothecary. This is the very real AromaG’s Botanica.
Owned by husbands Greg White and Roy Hamilton, AromaG’s is a metaphysical aromatherapy store located off Donelson Pike in Nashville that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
The products offered by the store are not confined to one kind of spirituality, they offer a wide variety ranging from witchcraft to African traditions, Jewish and Christian magic traditions, and many more.
In 1998, White was working as a house painter when he was asked by a friend to work as an assistant manager at a store called Garden Botanica.
Framed like a more herbal Bath & Body works by Greg, the experience working at the store sparked his interest in making soap and candles.
The same year, “Practical Magic” starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman was released, and the aesthetics of the store in the movie inspired White to start his own business.
In 1999 he began to sell his products at festivals and markets under the store’s original name, Aroma Gregory’s. White continued doing this on his own until 2003.
“It was small potatoes back then,” White said.
In 2003, White also met his future husband Hamilton online, who helped him elevate the business.
The pair have now been together for 21 years and married for 10 of them.
After a failed attempt to open a physical location in 2003, they continued selling their products at markets until finding their current location in 2006.
Though AromaG’s initially started as an artisan candle and soap store, somewhere along the way it became more than that as they integrated metaphysical elements into their product line.
“The metaphysical is beyond the normal world religions,” said White.
It’s a mystery as to exactly how or when the two got into the metaphysical, but White was introduced to it by a friend, he said.
They both teach classes at a nearby location on different spiritual practices and White has written several books on metaphysical subjects that he sells in the store.
The store is arranged into six different rooms, each one representing a different type of product.
Staying true to its roots, the entry to the store is the “Earth Room,” holding the scented candles and essential oils as well as magical oils.
The heavy scents contained in this room acclimate customers to the otherworldly environment they have entered.
Various small shrines litter the tops of the shelves accompanied by handwritten notes warning the reader not to touch.
A doorway adorned with Celtic crosses leads out of the Earth Room leading out into a purple hallway referred to as the Moon Room, which holds glittering stones and crystals.
The walls above the shelves of stones hosts dreamcatchers of different shapes and sizes, while from the ceiling hangs paper flowery decorations.
The Moon Room contains the entrances to three other rooms, each with varying purposes.
The first of these is the Fire Room where guest Tarot card readers are invited to do readings for customers.
As if to give the impression the room is engulfed in flames, the color red permeates the room with one wall painted red while the rest of the room is tinted with red toned décor.
The second of these rooms is the Witches Lair.
This area is the most like a big screen depiction of witches as its deep blue walls are lined with cauldrons, statues and Books of Shadows. On the floor rests a Ouija board rug and ominously centered on a table is a skull, watching customers as they pass through.
The third and last of the rooms located off the Moon Room is the Water Room.
This is what White fondly refers to as his “Practical Magic” room. Shelves hold artisan soaps, some made by staff, some ordered from elsewhere.
White’s description isn’t inaccurate as the clean aesthetic of the room mimics the store seen in “Practical Magic."
After passing through the Moon Room, another hallway lined with African masks leads to the final area of the store known as the Spirit Room.
This dimly lit room is like a library stacked from floor to ceiling with books of many kinds, but most notably spellbooks.
On one side of the wall, thousands of incense sticks are stacked in cubbies.
Most notably, in the middle of the room stands a community shrine with a statue of Mother Mary as a centerpiece.
Available for public use are slips of paper and pen to write down petitions or praises.
White points out a few copies of the Bible tucked into one of the shelves as AromaG’s is one of the only metaphysical stores that carries copies of the Bible, he said.
“The Bible is full of curses if you know where to look,” he said.
AromaG’s isn’t catered to one spiritual walk, and they make that known.
“To inspire everyone to explore their spirituality their own way by offering information and products in a nurturing, multicultural environment,” according to the store’s website.
This is also reflected in the owners’ own personal beliefs as both White and Hamilton describe themselves as Christian, but this does not limit them in exploring other forms of spirituality.
“I’m not one of those people who believes there’s just one path. So, I can easily do multiple things. I pull from different things that work for me, that resonate with me. It’s just a matter of pulling through the different things and creating my own path,” White an Episcopalian, said.
They also view many aspects of Christianity to be intertwined with magical practices.
“A spell is basically a prayer with props,” Hamilton, a Catholic, said.
Their open approach to spirituality is reflected in their customer base as they welcome everyone through their doors.
“There’s a wide variety of people that come here. There are people that are looking for magical supplies, but there are some people that just want essential oils or just want pretty fragrance candle,” Hamilton said.
Maddie Humble, a Belmont University alumnus who graduated in 2023, is a regular customer. She goes about once a month because she lives close to the store, but she doesn’t shop for the metaphysical products, she said.
“I usually get candles. They have some awesome scents,” she said.
On the other end of the store’s spectrum of customers is Abbie Broadway, a former Nashville resident who now attends the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
She was introduced to AromaG’s by a friend because she had an interest in other kinds of spirituality outside of the Christian faith as she wanted to connect with her ancestry.
“They have a lot of really good books on other religions that a lot of bookstores don’t carry like pagan religions and Celtic religions,” Broadway said.
Regardless of their customers’ reasons for shopping at AromaG’s, White and Hamilton want everyone who comes through their doors to feel welcomed.
“They were always happy to talk to you if you had questions,” Broadway said.
To White and Hamilton, the metaphysical is more than just a Halloween fad.
They’ve dedicated a significant amount of time to building up AromaG’s to what it is today.
What started as a popup in Nashville markets turned into what they now call “the largest artisan-based metaphysical store in the South,” according to their website.
Pictures alone can’t replicate the feeling one has leaving the store.
Not only do the aromas cling to clothing throughout the rest of the day, serving as a reminder that AromaG’s is real and within reach, but the feelings the store stirs up linger as well.
It stays on one’s mind throughout the day gently tugging at the mind to return and live the experience once more.
AromaG’s may be a real place, but its unreal qualities make it memorable for any customer who may happen upon it, inviting them to return.
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This article was written by Nolan Russell
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