Lights! Gambling! Shows! Quickie weddings! And...spiritual enlightenment?

Las Vegas might seem like an unlikely place for a New Age store, yet the Psychic Eye Book Shops, with four Sin City locations—as well as two in Southern California—are doing quite well, thanks very much.

So how does a New Age book and gift store thrive in a city that indulges in over-the-top extravagance?

“People come in seeking spiritual insights and higher wisdom,” says owner Robert Leysen. “And they know we will not judge them. I don’t subscribe to any particular spiritual philosophy or religion; I am utterly nonjudgmental on these matters. My stores have no persuasion; I respect everybody’s belief as long as they don’t hurt others. When a person comes in, I simply want them to have an experience.”

All beliefs represented
And what an experience. The Psychic Eye Book Shop on West Charleston Blvd., the largest of the four in the Las Vegas area, is 12,000 square feet and filled with a vast amount of merchandise. A glass jewelry case at least 20 feet long holds a broad selection of jewelry, including star and earth-sea charms, magical amulets, protective talismans, tagua nut jewelry, Buddha charms, goddess medallions, sterling silver rings, and hand-crafted turquoise and other stone bracelets. The prices range from just a couple dollars to a few hundred dollars. One wall is filled with silver and brass swords and daggers; in front of them stand a number of pedestals holding an assortment of books on the occult mixed with beautifully bound journals.

A glass case with a ceramic skull and items for those interested in Satanism, such as Satanic bibles, ornate chalices, and statues shares space with Christian merchandise, as well as books and merchandise representing all major religions of the world. The store also features an assortment of Druid, Phoenician, Sumerian, Gothic, and Victorian gifts and artwork; African and Indonesian carvings; aboriginal rain sticks and didgeridoos; and a number of powerful replicas of Egyptian pieces from Cairo.

From the ceiling hangs an almost overwhelming display of Chinese lanterns, spirit houses, parasols, and wind chimes. Free-standing sculptures and exotic candleholders, books on every subject from alcoholism to Zen, dolls and clothes from many cultures, crystal balls of various sizes, and beautifully painted Renaissance knights on horses fill the space.

From head to heart
Leysen, a radiantly healthy 82, has successfully expanded on a different type of shop he used to own.

“They used to be called head shops,” he says. “I opened my first store in Madison, Wis. I was next to the University of Wisconsin when the National Guard dispensed tear gas to break up an anti-war protest in 1967. It was like a war zone!”

Leysen eventually expanded his single location to three, then decided to open stores that were “a takeoff on head shops, but [leaning] toward the mystical.” He had first visited Las Vegas in the 1940s as a musician (clarinet and saxophone) playing in the orchestra for the “Holiday on Ice” show. When he decided to open a New Age shop in the ’80s, he chose to return to Las Vegas. As the city grew and expanded, Psychic Eye did as well; Leysen opened three more stores on the booming east side of the city: the largest on West Charleston, one on South Eastern Ave., one on South Nellis Blvd., and one in the upper middle-class, more family-oriented suburb of Henderson.

In California, there’s a Psychic Eye in Sherman Oaks and one in Torrance; the Psychic Eye in Burbank recently closed, but a notice posted on the Psychic Eye Facebook page says Leysen and his business partner, Mary Kara, plan on opening a replacement in nearby Glendale in 2010. (The Sherman Oaks store has been used on multiple occasions by various Hollywood studios for on-location filming. “We just close up for a few hours and let them film there. It’s easier for them than building an entire set.”)

Much more than books
Although the stores are called Psychic Eye Book Shops, Leysen says, “You don’t make money in books. Most of my retail sales consist of incense, candles, and tarot cards.”

Leysen doesn’t get all his merchandise from the usual New Age wholesalers; he and Kara also frequently attend import gift shows to select pieces they feel will add to the eclectic feel of the stores.

Leysen admits there’s been a considerable decline in sales of high-end gifts (like the authentic Egyptian vase from the King’s Palace in Cairo—cost: $5,000), but, he says, “We are holding our own.”

Readings play a big part—actually a huge part—of the stores’ success, with most of the stores’ profits coming from psychic consultations. The Psychic Eye website (www.pebooks.com) lists dozens of readers. The Sherman Oaks store does about 450 psychic readings daily.

Leysen says he has partnered with approximately 120 independent psychics. In his Las Vegas locations, readings are done by qualified state-licensed psychics. Readings are offered in 15, 30, and 60-minute sessions for $20, $30, and $50, respectively. Because of the many out-of-town visitors who might want to have another reading with a psychic they saw while visiting Las Vegas or the Los Angeles area, Psychic Eye also offers readings by phone, and a popular purchase is a gift certificate for a reading at the shop.

And if customers can’t get to them, the psychics will travel. Psychic Eye routinely supplies groups of two or more readers for private parties and a large number of conventions in Las Vegas. “At the conventions, people will stand in line for 15 minutes or more to receive a five-minute mini-reading,” Leysen says.

In addition, instructors teach tarot and other subjects in classes offered at the stores, and several articles by the instructors are posted online.

It seems that Leysen, Kara, and the Psychic Eye employees have a sense of mission: to provide a soul-elevating experience even in cities known for over-the-top extravagance, making all the branches shining lights in the Southwest.

Store Name: Psychic Eye Books

Owner: Robert Leysen

Las Vegas Locations:
6848 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas 89117  702/880-5766
5835 S. Eastern Ave #102, Las Vegas 89119  702/458-1901 (new)
2755 S. Nellis Blvd. Las Vegas, 89121   702/432-5666
9550 S. Eastern Ave. #130  Henderson, NV 89074  702/361-4841