Magic Shop in the Bronx: Original Products Botanica

For many New Yorkers, a magic shop near me means a botanica, the neighborhood store for candles, herbs and saints that serves practitioners of Santería, Espiritismo, Hoodoo and folk Catholicism. The biggest name in the city is Original Products Botanica at 2486 Webster Avenue in the Bronx, at the corner of East 189th Street. The family-owned business dates to 1959, and The New York Times once called it a veritable home depot of spirituality, which is a fair description of its aisles.

The store publishes its own directions, and they are simple: take the D or the 4 train to Fordham Road, or ride the Metro-North Harlem Line to Fordham station, then walk to Webster Avenue and 189th Street. Drivers have options too. There is metered parking along Webster Avenue and on 189th Street, and the shop points to an MPG garage at 189th Street and Park Avenue for longer visits or bigger hauls.

What sets Original apart is breadth. It stocks supplies for Santería and Ifá, Vodou, Hoodoo, Espiritismo and saint devotion under one roof, so a longtime devotee buying a candle for San Lázaro and a first-time tarot reader end up in the same aisles. Norwood News described the building as roughly 15,000 square feet, a former A&P supermarket, and the scale shows in long aisles that run from candles to statues to bottled baths.

Candles are the core of the business. The seven-day glass prayer candles are lined up by color and purpose, and astrology fans can pick one for their sign; the Scorpio Zodiac 7 Day candle, timely for late October birthdays, starts at $6.95. For a more complete ritual, the Open Road bundle, sold as Abre Camino to clear obstacles from your path, costs $29.95. Staff will explain what each color and saint is traditionally used for if you ask.

The botanica also sells readings and services. Its in-house spiritualists dress and prepare candles, light altar candles on a customer's behalf, and give tarot and spiritual readings. For a guided consultation, the Spirit Guide Request with Ali Inle is listed at $100. A smaller service, the Ancestor Money Burning Ritual, is $19.95, a fitting choice in the weeks before November, when many families honor the dead and set out offerings for their ancestors.

Books and decks have a shelf of their own. The Hoodoo Tarot, a deck rooted in African American conjure traditions, sells for $35, and new arrivals like the Bruja Curandera line show up on the homepage regularly. If you are new to any of these traditions, the reading section is a good first stop, because it lets you learn the vocabulary before you start asking which oil or herb belongs with which saint.

Hours are straightforward: Monday through Saturday from 9:30am to 5pm, closed on Sunday. That schedule rewards early birds. Weekday mornings are calm, and staff have time to talk through a request. Saturdays are the busiest day, with families shopping together and practitioners stocking up for weekend ceremonies. Because the doors close at 5pm, after-work visits are tight, so plan a Saturday morning or a weekday lunch break instead.

There is no appointment needed to shop, and readings can be arranged through the store. If you are buying for a ceremony, bring the details your spiritual adviser gave you, including saint names and colors, because the selection is large enough to overwhelm newcomers. Staff are used to helping people who know exactly what they need and people who only know what problem they hope to solve, and they are patient with both.

Inside, the feeling is a mix of neighborhood shop and warehouse. Seven-day candles in glass are stacked high, saint statues watch from the upper shelves, and herbs, powders and bottled baths fill the lower racks. When Norwood News profiled the store, it described Spanish-Caribbean music playing over the aisles. Religion, family custom and commerce sit together comfortably here, with no theatrical spookiness added for visitors from outside the neighborhood.

The family story runs back to Spanish Harlem. According to Norwood News, Albert Amateau started M&A Amateau there in the early 1930s, and Jack Mizrahi opened the first Bronx store in 1959 on Bathgate Avenue. In 1975 the shop moved into the former A&P on its current corner. The paper named Jason Mizrahi and Steve Amateau as co-owners in 2012, which shows how long the two families have worked side by side.

Afterward, the Belmont neighborhood is a short walk south and east. The Arthur Avenue Retail Market at 2344 Arthur Avenue, the Bronx's famous covered Italian market, has fresh mozzarella, cured meats and espresso counters inside. Fordham Road itself is one of the borough's busiest shopping streets, and the New York Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Boulevard is a longer walk east.

The store is closed on Sunday, so a weekend trip has to happen on Saturday. Parking meters along Webster Avenue are handy for heavy purchases. Bring a sturdy bag, since glass candles and bottled baths add up quickly once you start filling a basket.

Original Products Botanica suits practitioners who need dependable supplies, curious New Yorkers who want to understand the botanicas they pass on every block, and anyone exploring the Bronx beyond the zoo. It is not a costume or novelty stop. Go with respect, ask questions, and treat the candles and statues as the devotional objects they are, and you will see why this corner has drawn customers from across the city for decades.