ROGERS PARK — Wanna learn Wicca?
Elizabeth Ruiz will teach you — for $300.
"I am a teacher in the paranormal activity, which is the spiritual world. So what I teach is the elements of the universe, which is the good — and also a little bit of the bad," said Ruiz, a 52-year-old therapist who lives in Rogers Park.
Her classes begin Tuesday at Ciao Bella Cafe, 6800 N. Sheridan Rd. She's been posting fliers around the neighborhood to advertise. October, leading up to Halloween, is her busiest time of the year.
"My mission is to teach everybody the right way, the correct way, because people have been misguided," she said, sitting at a table filled with her spiritual props, such as tarot cards, colored candles, oils and flowers.
Ruiz moved to the neighborhood from Wicker Park about five years ago. Although she is not affiliated with a larger group of others who practice Wicca, she counsels people out of her home and hosts a podcast under the moniker "Mojita."
She said she studied counseling at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. And over the years, she says she has held readings with celebrities, including Danny Trejo, who she described as a "good friend" who become famous after starring in the cult action film "Machete."
In Ruiz's Wicca classes, she teaches that rubbing oils can bring money and healing to those who use them. Burning a white candle brings good energy. An apple represents love and learning and absorbs the spiritual world around it.
Burning a green candle also brings money, she said.
In addition, Ruiz plans to teach voodoo spells. Attendees will be instructed on how to use a doll to cast spells on an enemy, she said.
But "voodoo has a good side," she said.
Some spells are powerful enough to break someone's deadly substance addiction, she said.
"What we want is peace," she said. But you can't cast a spell for the wrong reasons, and she warned that a misplaced spell on the undeserving brings "bad karma."
She said Rogers Park has a few spiritual quirks. The nearby Rosehill Cemetery and Calvary Cemetery in Evanston are especially spooky, she said, with many souls still seeking closure.
The old clothes in Howard Street's Lost Eras costume shop also harbor the spirits of their long-gone owners, she said.
The classes are being held at from 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout October at Ciao Bella. The $300 fee covers multiple classes. Call 773-575-5153 for more details.
