Angel Heart 4 You: An island of serenity, spirituality and mysticism
“There’s no such thing as coincidence,” says Carol Mayer.
It is this belief that has largely shaped her life and facilitated her ownership of Angel Heart 4 You, the spiritual/metaphysical shop that, since its opening in 2009, has become a fixture of our downtown landscape.
Raised in a religious household, Carol was always drawn to the spiritual, though she took a different path than her Catholic nun aunts. “I always had an affinity for meditation and for helping people,” she says. She knew she one day wanted to leave her occupation as an accountant and open Angel Heart 4 You – a place where people could go “to expand their mind and spirit,” and help them understand “there is more to this life than what you see.” So, Carol began saving her tax returns each year, buying up inventory to one day sell in her dream shop.
Then, on one fateful Match.com date, Carol came to Benicia for the first time.
She says she felt compelled to walk First Street that day, and was drawn to Faery Tale, the shop that used to occupy the building where Angel Heart currently resides. Carol recalls telling the owners how much she loved the store and her dream to one day open one like it. Then, “one day” came. The owners of Faery Tale called her up and offered her the store. And the rest is history.
Angel Heart 4 You offers spiritual items such as crystals, reiki-charged candles, and sage, along with their iconic angel figurines and much more. Some may know Angel Heart for their offerings of psychic readings and classes, such as numerology and astrology, designed to raise consciousness. “Our psychic reading fairs are unbelievably popular,” says Carol. These fairs offer 15-minute readings for $20 and are almost always booked up. This year, Angel Heart plans to offer the fairs every other month. Individual appointments, which are currently by phone only due to the pandemic, can also be scheduled with a psychic or psychic medium on staff. “In order to be a reader at Angel Heart, you have to have a lot of integrity,” says Carol of the store’s strict vetting process.
A self-described empath, Carol says she can feel what others are going through.
Perhaps it is this ability which causes her to care so deeply about giving to charity. If you’ve ever visited the store, you may be familiar with the angel fountain placed in a corner of the shop. Carol donates any coins dropped into the fountain to charity several times throughout the year. She also takes care to order inventory from vendors she knows also give to charity.
The shop also features an intention tree; a decorative tree with pen and paper nearby with which visitors can write an intention, prayer, or wish. On the full moon each month, the intentions are burned to bid them come true. As Carol reports, many people have had their wishes come true through this process.
Carol originally opened Angel Heart 4 You with Peg Kelly and Lia Valenzuela.
Since Peg’s passing in 2014, Carol runs the store and Lia handles all class programming. If you are interested in taking a class or scheduling a reading, bookings can be made online at angelheart4you.net, by phone, or by simply dropping into the store. Several of the introductory classes are offered free of charge.
“I’ve learned to always listen. Sit in quietness and meditate; there are always messages,” says Carol.
It is to this mindset she attributes her position in life and in business. If a reader drops off her staff, another seems to find their way to Angel Heart in short order. “I think the angels just fly them in here,” Carol says of this and other serendipitous phenomena which never leave her wanting. Beyond these seemingly guardian angels, Carol gives a heartfelt thanks to her loyal customers, without whom the store could not survive. “We have the nicest customers in the world,” she says.
