NORWAY – Pickalily Emporium bustled with customers Tuesday morning. Most were women and teenaged girls, poring over baskets of jewelry, scarves and incense. They had come for Luna des Cacciatore, a monthly event at the Main Street shop.

Luna des Cacciatore, owner Shallen Tripp said, is an Italian expression meaning “the hunter’s moon.” She said the expression captures perfectly what she hoped the sales, door prizes and special events she holds each month on the full moon would bring. True to its name, the event is beginning to attract bargain hunters, hoping to find discounts.

In the midst of the commotion of consumerism, though, shoppers can find a moment of peace. This month’s full-moon event also featured free Reiki and shamanic healing sessions with local Reiki master Yvonne Raphael. Raphael of Paris describes Reiki as a hands-on healing technique. It can involve touching but, unlike massage, it deals more with emotions and spirit than muscle and bone.

“I don’t really know how it works, or why it works,” Raphael said. “I just know that it seems to bring balance to heart, mind, body and soul.”

During a healing session, a Reiki practitioner places his or her hands on certain areas of the body: the head, chest, back, hands or feet. Touching can be done through clothing, and in some cases, such as when working with burn victims, healers work without touching at all. The practice is based on the life energy that practitioners believe flows through everyone.

When giving a healing, Raphael said, “I feel as if I’m stepping into the flow of life, as if I’m exuding love. It’s very comforting.”

She said some of the people she works with have come out of a session saying they’ve had a vision, or that all of their pain is gone. Raphael herself found Reiki when she was looking for a treatment for her chronic fatigue syndrome. Since she began the practice, she said she has seen a dramatic reduction in symptoms.

Raphael plans to offer free healing sessions again at next month’s Luna des Cacciatore. In the fall, Tripp hopes to host classes in Reiki at the store, in addition to aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and other practices. Meanwhile, Raphael makes house calls and offers healing sessions at Dancing Trees Lodge in Oxford.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.