Botanica Los Suenos

The Old Gods live here, be aware.

.update on my last visits to la botanica, great place to go to. Im a usual customer now this is where i get my santa muerte candles for a good price. They have statues of all saints, books, rosaries, ect. Plus the lady’s that work there are real helpful. real good ppl. I would recommend los suenos botanica for anybody that is a devotee to any saint.
I rate this place 5 starz

tiny, dark, unique place in the mission. i had an hour to kill in sf, so i searched the Unilocal app for «weird» and got this, and was not disappointed. it’s quiet and maybe a little creepy.
i bought some stuff in jest, but tried to be respectful. i don’t like to trivialize people of other cultures’ spiritual beliefs, even though i’m not the superstitious type.
full of various good luck charms, mostly candles, but also books, soaps and floor cleaner, glitter, talismans, etc. most have writing on them saying things like lotto winner, love, luck, fertilitity, get a job, etc.
most of the stuff is written in spanish or english, or both. a lot isn’t labeled with a price, or the price is printed on tiny tags on the shelf that are easy to miss.
my sis bought two glass pillar candles for $ 10 each, the guy at the counter did some kind of ritual over them, and chanted a little, sprinkled some powder over them, and doused them in drops of oil, before wrapping them in newspaper. if you get this, make sure you keep the candles upright, by the time we got home, one tipped over and the newspaper got soaked with oil.
i bought some soap, $ 2.50 each, for getting money, and controlling a spouse maybe? not sure, it was in spanish. most everything else was pretty pricey.

What a tiny place to maneuver in! I love it. I have been coming here for a long time. For some reason I have incredible luck with the products that they have given to me. I personally, enjoy their liquid products that can be used for cleansing of the house or baths. I also enjoy that they sell strawberry oil which is hard to find in other craft stores. The staff here communicate effectively and have always helped me effectively or had exactly what I needed. It is amazing to me that there has never been a language barrier despite all the different dialects of spanish that are spoken here. Its a weird vibe for many who enter but for me it feels comfortably connected in that crowded rushed feminine gathering secret place sort of way. There is an energy of support and understanding that I have always experienced here. Many of the products are native american, haitian or older pagan styles which are hidden behind catholic archetypes. Its like stepping into another world or another time in history.

I do like this place a lot! Although I don’t think this is the place for a novice. There is all manner of items devoted to the beautiful lady santisima muerte.
The folks behind the counter are kind and helpful.
Parking can be a chore, their hours may be irregular, and they only take cash.

My boyfriend and I recently discovered Santa Muerte at a botanica in Los Angeles. I decided to check on Unilocal to see if there were any botanicas around here since I had never seen any before the trip to L.A. Anyway, this place has candles, soaps, potions, incense, amulets, books, horseshoes, railroad spikes and santa muerte items. Very few items are marked with a price but it seemed like we got charged $ 5.00 for each item. It helps if you speak Spanish. I would give it 5 stars but the store in Los Angeles had a better selection of items.

This is the place where I lost my botanica virginity. If you are into creepy, strange, and esoteric items and are fluent in several dialects of Spanish, this is the place for you. The first time I went there, I was so creeped out, I was shaking afterwards. Afterwards, I found it to be a treasure trove of Spanish folk Catholicism, African based religions, and just general base superstition. In other words, an ideal place for an amateur urban anthropologist like me. Besides, I bought several prayer books, holy cards, and even full books here, all on very strange and fascinating topics. I got my Sombra de San Pedro holy card and laminated image of la Mano Poderosa from here as well. If you have a keen interest in the Latino occult, this is the place to browse. Also, the time I was there, there seemed to be a number of men lined up for the «consultas» in the room in the back, in case y’all are interested in that sort of thing.

This place might look a little weird from the outside, but it’s really a wonderful place with the right sort of mood. They have EVERYTHING you might possibly need in the way of candles, oils, incense, baths, powders, charms, and soaps. They have a lot of Orisha items and this is one of the few local places where I can find Santa Muerte candles and supplies. All of their prayer cards and books seem to be in Spanish, but who doesn’t have a Spanish speaking friend who can help translate? They also have the best prices on everything, and they have brands other than Indio. Their candle burning altars are really powerful. This seems to be the only botanica on the face of the planet that is open seven days a week.
The woman who wears all white doesn’t speak much English, but she’s awesome so be nice. There is another younger woman who works there that does speak English if you need a lot of help and advice.
I would suggest bringing cash because it seems like half the time their credit card machine doesn’t work.