Shops deal with the mystical side

Greeley's "witch" is out of her closet.

Jessica Jacobs, who prefers to be called Madam Jessica in accordance with ancient gypsy tradition, is filling her business with medieval cards, stones with viking symbols and philosophy books.

Jacobs makes her debut into the Greeley business world with a tarot and rune reading shop at 910 9th St. across from the Weld County Courthouse.

She invites visitors to sit in an antique chair in her waiting room decorated with stones, a water fountain and green carpet to represent nature's elements. Those waiting to have a question answered or problem explored by the tarot cards or runes can pass the time with a Ouija board.

In the same building Jacobs' business partner, Charles Takaya, has a relaxation clinic that uses light and sound therapy.

Both will be ready to help people achieve greater self-awareness and practice self-help methods by mid-August, Jacobs said.

Jacobs has called Greeley home for 15 years but kept her passion for the ancient art of card and stone reading a secret.

She said that until recently the city was not ready to accept her.

Now with wellness clinics and alternative thinking shops becoming popular in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, Jacobs believes Greeley residents will welcome her business.

"Change is happening," Jacobs said. "There are new ideas that rely on ancient knowledge."

When she lived in California, people called her "The Witch" in a benevolent manner as a term of endearment.

Aside from learning the age-old practice of tarot reading, Jacobs taught art classes at the Art Institute of San Francisco, San Jose State University and the University of California Irvine.

Jacobs always seems to be walking the line between solid reality and spiritual superstition. She calls herself a fourth-generation atheist but also is proud of her distant great grandfather who was hung in the Salem Witch trials.

She said facts are extremely important but admits she believes in things that have not been scientifically proven -- such as the paranormal activity in her business on 9th Street and her house.

Her grandfather built both structures and they harbor spirits and unexplainable phenomenon such as floating orbs, Jacobs said.

"I live in a haunted house," Jacobs said, "If you say those things you'll be labeled eccentric or a wacko, but not now. Now people are more accepting."

Takaya said he, too, experiences supernatural activity in the business.

"I've heard weird things in this building," Takaya said. "I'll close a door and it will open again."

Despite believing in the supernatural, Takaya also studies science. He graduated with a history degree from Arizona State University and studied acoustics and physics at Washington State University.

Takaya said his therapy is strictly for helping people learn to handle stress and is not some magical remedy that will cure all ailments.

"It's not alternative healing," Takaya said. "It's a disservice to tell them you'll heal them or diagnose them because you're not."

Jacobs calls her venture into the Greeley business world "an interesting experiment."

But despite being optimistic about Greeley's reception, the modern-day gypsy said she has no idea what the cards in her future hold.

"I'm certainly not going to read my own tarot to find out," Jacobs said. "I might not like what I see."