Botanica Chango

Recently a friend shared with me about a ritual that he was asked to take part in. I am familar with this ritual because I am of cuban decent and know through personal experience what santeria is and does. The rituals he was asked to do have nothing to do with santeria. Please seek true practitioners of santeria there are many in san diego. They charged them inflated prices and gave them nothing but problems and asked them to perform rituals that have never been heard of in the faith.

I was excited to check this place out based on the reviews, but I was pretty disappointed. Felt more like a waiting room than a store. Maybe that’s what they are going for, I dunno. Will stick with Mama Roots.

Well I’ve been going here for prepared candles for a little over a year. Its nice, but it is predominately Spanish speaking, but they do speak enough English to get their point across. The down side is that it is like a black salon in there (that’s coming from a black woman). When you have an appointment you’ll be waiting at least an extra 45 min, but you get a really good reading (if you signed up for one), just make sure to have questions prepared or you’ll get a general reading which can be quite quick. And you want to make sure that you get your money’s worth. So bring a book or a magazine.
There are no heeby jeebies people that feel that aren’t grounded and are working themselves up over nothing. Its basically oils, soaps, washes, aerosol sprays, paintings, statues and figurines, as well as, incense already prepared candles that Julian prepares himself or candles that you can have fixed while you are there. There is a lot of Catholic and Santeria type stuff in there and jumbo pillar candles behind the counter where you pay as well as some figure candles.
Also they only take cash, so if you don’t have any then you go to a little mini mart about 2 doors down and get it from their ATM, but the fee is like $ 2.50, so just try to bring cash with you. Also you park on the street.
I think that is it.

The House of Thunder. literally translated, Shango is that rebellious guardian of thunder, who is manifested in the primeval elements of nature…
So keeping this in mind, know what you’re getting into when coming here. this is not play time and peoples jokes about voudoun and sorcery aside, I respect the African Roots of these traditions to the fullest… I’ve used Santeria on numerous occasions for its protective properties and I’ve gotten numerous talismans and herbs here…
K’a má fi wàrà-​wàrà n’ okún orò.

This place gives me the heebie-​jeebies. The energy was so unsettling that I had to walk out while my friend perused the place. I don’t even want to DRIVE by. Full body shudder.

Soaps, candles, oils, figurines, incense, beads, other. assorted things lying around.
Staff never acknowledges me, and that adds to the ambience of the store. I always check out how much money the grim reaper statues are making when I go in. I also reccommend «silver rain» incense for anyone who needs to up their chedda. IT WORKS!

I don’t practice Santaria, but I adore folk art packaging and local-​unrecognized saints. This place has it, with a minimum of anglo-​tourist interp.
Botanica chango is not trying to be appealing. They don’t care if you understand what this stuff is all for. It’s not as good as the Santaria district in TJ, but it’s also better than dealing with the hastle of TJ.

this place freaks me the fuck out. the one time that i happened to stumble in there for some tacky catholic crap, this haitian dude behind the counter took one look at me and handed me some religious charms, saying «here– you look like you need these. i sense something… about you. something… wrong.» and he didn’t even see my «666» tattoo on my middle finger first!
UM, YEAH. needless to say, i will not be going back.
overall everything looked totally commercialized as well. i don’t like that. i want handmade junk. the real deal. i’ll stick to mama roots on adams ave. and my weird santeria shops in t.j., thankyouverymuch.

I had seen this place many a time from the bus, and I decided to wander in one day. Some kind of religious ceremony was going on when I walked in too. Everyone there is speaking spanish. This is what I’m pressuming is the kind of place my aunts go to get «limpias» aka cleansings. The kind where you drop an egg in water and it tells you when you are going to meet your potential soulmate.
They have an extensive selection of candles for a variety of things, luck, money, love, and er death. Also a lot of herbs and saint statues. Their candles are on the expensive side, I’ve seen them elsewhere for much less.
Fun expirience though.

botanica chango is a religious shop. i think, though i’m not sure, that it’s mainly geared towards those who practice santeria, but if you’re just the kind of roman catholic who likes to buy a lot of plastic saints to scatter around your home it works for that too. they also have a smallish selection of items for practitioners of eastern religions.
a friend of mine got a just judge candle here and the guy at the register even fancied it up for her and told her how to use it. i’m not sure what all he put in there, but i identified rosemary and the oil smelled kind of like rose.

Weird. This place is just straight up weird, but I love it. They have spiritual stuff – candles that scare away bad energy, oil that makes people want to hump you and incense that helps you pray.
The last time I went into Chango’s I think I interrupted some kind of sacrificial religious thing. There weren’t any goats with their necks slit, but there were a couple of old dudes sitting by each other, burning incense. I walked in and they all got real quiet and stared at me while I walked around the store.
Oh, if you need a plastic Jesus or Mary, Chango’s is your one-​stop spiritual effigy stop.