HOULTON, Maine — Erica Ziegman’s shop Erathan Emptor has become much more than a town curiosity since she opened a few months ago, with more and more people interested in her teachings, crystals and minerals.
Those new to crystals or crystal healing will often stop outside the door and peer in to see what it is. Some admit they just can’t come in, some come to Ziegman with many questions and some already know what they want, she said.
“I show them how to actually use the crystals in life,” she said. “I might ask them, ‘do you drink chamomile tea to calm down?’ Then I show them a rock they might carry in their pocket that will do the same thing.”
Houlton has traditionally been viewed as a quiet, conservative northern Maine town. On the surface it does not appear to have alternative leanings like in Taos, New Mexico, or Asheville, North Carolina, where people expect and look for shops like Ziegman’s. Still, the community response has been more than welcoming and her seven-month Chakra Series class for self-healing has 10 participants.
“Erica has the most calming personality, and her classes are very interesting. I’m going,” said Jane Alexander, head of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, in a message to her readers about the class.
After taking two months to get settled into her peaceful shop filled with the energies of crystals and rocks obtained directly from miners — some who walk out to secret places to get them — Ziegman added crystal and chakra healing workshops to her business.
Chakras are mentioned in sacred ancient Indian tomes dating back to 1000 BC. The belief is there are seven major energy centers, or chakras, along the spine that align with major organs and affect both physical and emotional health.
Ziegman started her crystal business eight years ago on the West Coast in Washington State, and traveled to jazz, wine and art festivals. And about three years ago, she added an Etsy shop that on Friday had posted nearly 15,000 sales.
For Zeigman, it is not just about selling the crystals and rocks, it’s about teaching people about the gifts she believes that they bring, like rhodonite for love and compassion.
Each week Zeigman picks a stone to discuss its properties and gifts she believes it possesses, as well as informing people about its history and geology through her TikTok account.
Getting to this place of knowledge has been a long road of learning, she said.
She personally studied shamanism for two years at the Lightsong School of 21st Century Shamanism and Energy Medicine, training with its founder Jan Engle-Smith.
She also trained for two years to become a Reiki Master.
“I trained with beautiful grandmothers who studied in Peru who brought back Peruvian grandmother wisdom,” she said.
Zeigman and her husband Nathan have moved 10 times in 12 years. The last move was from Pocatello, Idaho, when they bought a house in Hammond Plantation with the hopes of putting down roots here, she said.
Nathan’s work and lifestyle have taken them to live in places like the United Arab Emirates, Alaska, Montana, Vancouver and Idaho.
In her travels. Zeigman has made contacts with miners in India, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Arizona, Washington and New York and she always buys directly, wanting to see, touch and feel the stones.
“I love living here,” she said. “It has been a welcoming experience and I will keep the shop open as long as Houlton will have us.”