Community Highlights: Meet Salvatore Santoro of The Crooked Path

Today we’d like to introduce you to Salvatore Santoro.

Hi Salvatore, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My wife and I are the owners of The Crooked Path, a traditional occult apothecary located in Burbank, CA. We are celebrating our 6th year anniversary this fall and love the community we’ve had the opportunity to meet and growth within our shop.

I’ve been a practicing witch for over 40 years and have worked in several occult stores throughout Los Angeles. So, I partnered with my wife and brought my magical background along with her business background to open up the shop. At first, we were in a tiny, barely 600 sq ft location and quickly realized we needed more space. A year later, in 2018, we were fortunate to find our current shop location that afforded us not only a larger retail space but also a large event space, a dedicated classroom space, a reading room, and a temple room. It allows us to be flexible with the events and classes we’re able to host.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a business is not for the faint of heart. We’ve encountered many hurdles and surprises along the way, including having to shut down due to covid closures and having to reinvent how we do business. Luckily, we had just launched a new website in February of 2020, which definitely saved us during that time.

Currently, we’re facing the impact the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are having on Burbank. The strikes are not only affecting writers and actors and the people they work with but are also affecting the local businesses that serve them lunch coffee or supply them with spiritual supplies or prop rentals/purchases. Luckily one strike is over, and hoping the actor’s strike ends soon.

What’s amazing, though, is how the neighborhood has embraced us. We are located right next to a church, and we get along great. We believe that everyone should have the right to follow their own path without judgment or prejudice. And we hope that’s what our customers experience when they enter the shop.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Aside from offering supplies, like candles, cauldrons, books, etc, we also have a variety of in-house created herb and oil blends. My wife calls me the chef as I’m the one who creates them all. We also offer tarot and astrology readings, reiki, past life regression sessions, and you can even book an herbal consultation with our in-house herbalist. We have a busy calendar full of classes and events, like public rituals, and craft markets, and psychic faires. We also work with dozens of local and some not-so-local artisans, which provides them a platform to showcase their work to our audience.

My main specialty, though, is spell work. I am hired to perform custom spell work for clients for a variety of needs. I also offer home and personal cleansings. I start off by consulting with clients and explaining my process. It’s not cheap, but it takes me time to prepare, create, and actually perform the work – and the actual work can last several hours in the night. I photo catalog the work and share it with my clients.

I also teach. I’ve hosted an eleven-week Witchcraft 101 series and have taught several hundreds of people over the six years. This series allows people to learn some of the fundamentals of safely running a ritual, whether they’re alone or in a group setting. The final class culminates in the class conducting a graduation ritual.

In February of 2023, we launched an app called Planetary Magick, which enables people to perform spell work using the principals of the seven ancient planets. Within the app, people can search for magical intentions, review planetary correspondences, choose to perform candle magic, make spell bags or spell jars. And they can review planetary hours to know when do actually perform their work. We’ve had thousands of people download the app across all continents. It’s pretty cool.

Other big things at the shop include the public Temple to Hekate, called Our Lady of The Crooked Path. People can visit the temple whenever the shop is open – there is no fee to enter. They can use the temple to meditate, leave offerings or do workings. The temple belongs to everyone.

And The Order of The Dark Moon coven operates at the shop led by our High Priestess Rayleen. The coven has grown to over 20 initiates and people that have dedicated. You can see the coven in action during public rituals – the next one will be Samhain (Oct 28) and is always worth experiencing.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can visit us in person at the shop – we’re located at 2020 W. Magnolia Blvd, Burbank CA. If they’re not local, they can definitely check out our website at thecrookedpathshop.com or follow us on Instagram @thecrookedpath_la.

If people are interested in the app, they can visit the Google Play or Apple App Store and search for Planetary Magick by The Crooked Path.

If someone is a local artisan and wants to sell their wares at the shop, we ask that you set up an appointment and we’d be happy to review product offerings and determine if they are unique and different from what is currently being offered. People can email us at [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thecrookedpathshop.com
• Instagram: @thecrookedpath_la
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/crookedpathoccult