CasaShanti on Trade Street is a spiritual practitioner’s safe haven

CasaShanti
545 N. Trade St. Unit 100, WS
336.837.6748
casashanti.us

Photos by Danielle Danese

He was awakened by a voice he calls Spirit saying “Move to North Carolina and help the people!” Says Zachari, “That’s how I ended up here almost three years ago.”

“No, this is the ‘other Salem.’”

That’s what Zachari VanDyne tells patrons who find themselves in his occult shop asking if this is where all the witches died. While these customers are in the wrong city for that, they’re still in the right place for all things spiritual, witchy and macabre. This is a magical city of Art and Innovation after all!

Having opened a second CasaShanti in the West End MillWorks which opened almost three years ago, the first one being in South Florida for over a decade, and now the third CasaShanti, this one located on Trade Street in Winston-Salem, which opened last June and is offering a wide range of metaphysical supplies including healing crystals, tarot cards, books, herbs, incense and spellwork with ingredients such as Wolf’s Fur, High John Root and Jezebel Root. Customers can opt to schedule a psychic reading, tarot or palm reading, astrology consultations and even get your aura photographed just to name a few services on offer, shop for clothing, decor and spiritual supplies and even join classes on tarot, numerology, energy work and more!

“Coming to Winston Salem felt like filling a need that the community had for a genuine, authentic occult and spiritual shop with magikcal readings,” he says.

VanDyne, who describes himself as a natural-born intuitive, witch and teacher was drawn to all things spiritual and magikcal his whole life even though growing up humbly in a religious upbringing.

“I actually found out that it runs on my maternal side of the family, but we were raised Catholic, and it wasn’t something that we ever really discussed,” he says.

Finding out later that he is a distant cousin of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, who were known to perform seances in the White House, VanDyne was unable to ignore his pull to dive deeper into his own spirituality. Zachari began reading for the public professionally at fifteen years old and took up study in all things natural and magikcal. In 2002, he traveled to India and as spirit would have it, he ended up taking classes and studying with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, an alchemist and even a healer named Dr.Patrick in Goa.

When he returned to Fort Myers, Fla. more than four years later, he had what he calls his “phoenix moment,” or a moment of rebirth or awakening.

“Spirit said, bring people together in the name of peace,” he says.

And CasaShanti, meaning “house of peace,” was born. He was later voted one of the best readers in southwest Florida, and CasaShanti one of the best places to get a reading.

VanDyne stresses the importance of authentic products and services. Every item lining shelves, laying on tables and hanging on walls has been handpicked by VanDyne, to ensure their quality and energetic potency and he encourages visitors to touch and feel the products too.

“My spiritual products, I need to feel and touch them,” he says. “I need to know that they’re real and authentic and that they feel good.”

He also explains that every other reader at CasaShanti, including a Toe Reader, Palmist, Astrologer and a 5th generation espiritista — someone who can communicate between spirits of the living and spirits of the dead — and a clairsentient reader, are all authentic and professionals in their craft.

“We don’t have TikTok readers,” he says. “We don’t have people that aren’t professional, genuine psychics, seekers, astrologers and energy workers.”

VanDyne believes there can be benefit for everyone to seek spiritual guidance without getting caught up in semantics as some of spiritual practices are the same actions with various names.

“If you do yoga, for example, maybe some people think that that’s the devil, but if you say, stretching for Jesus, then it’s acceptable,” VanDyne says.

He also says spirit reveals itself with synchronicities in numbers, occurrences, that small voice inside and more, and it’s best to embrace these moments rather than turn away from them, because spirit and our ancestors are sending us messages all the time. 

“It’s important to ask questions and seek out answers, of course, for ourselves but also from the right people that have experience,” he says.

CasaShanti is the perfect place for those getting started in spirituality, magic, energy work, and those seeking more information on higher powers or those who desire tranquility in their lives, and VanDyne and his team are eager to share their knowledge of spirituality with others. These practices can benefit the practitioner in more ways than they realize.

“It just leads to more peace of mind and understanding and clarity, which, in general, is just a good thing,” he says.