House of Intuition : Your Go-To for Spiritual Wellness

As a Latinx LGBTQ couple, Alex Naranjo and Marlene Vargas know the crushing weight of judgments and discrimination more than most, but they also know the power of recognizing one’s own worth and potential.

In 2010, they founded House of Intuition, a spiritual wellness brand and metaphysical oasis dedicated to enlightening, empowering, and uplifting those who feel hopeless and lost. Experiencing their fair share of heartache and struggle, Naranjo and Vargas chose not to lose themselves to the ashes of despair, but rather rise from the ruins and create a life of beauty and inspiration.

“We were both in the real estate industry, and when the market crashed around 2007 to 2008, we practically lost everything,” Vargas explains. “With that devastation, it threw us both into a depression. Being an entrepreneur, it is hard to go back into the workforce, especially when you’re so used to working for yourself. So, Alex and I went to our faith.”

At the time, Naranjo was already practicing candle magic, vision boarding, and working with the moon’s energy. Coming from a small family in Colombia and growing up in a religious practice, she realized she no longer felt comfortable going to church settings after coming out as LGBTQ. 

“I started to dabble into other forms of faith, which includes creating a temple in my own home, talking to God myself, and working with prayer through candle magic,” she says. 

Vargas admits she feared her partner’s religious practices at first.

“I was scared, but I pushed it aside because I felt that Alex was a good person,” she says. “She didn’t feel evil; she didn’t feel bad, and she wasn’t using things like snake skulls or bones. She was doing money jars and honey jars, and I began to see that this stuff would actually work. So, that was an eye opener for me, and that was what moved me into practicing. When I started practicing with herbs and candles, I started to feel a connection to ancestral stuff. I no longer felt alone in this turmoil of depression. I felt more connected with the people who have passed over, and I felt like I had this army of people helping me get out of this space that we were in.”

Working and raising money by any means necessary, Naranjo and Vargas eventually toyed around with the idea of opening a spiritual detox center after Vargas went to a tarot card reading. 

“I remember being very closed off,” she recalls. “I went there with my arms crossed like, ‘I’m not letting her into my energy field. I don’t want her to know anything about me. I want her to tell me things.’ When she flipped those cards, she literally laid out my life. Like, how could she know this information? Then it made me feel like, you’re not special. Why would you have a special gift and nobody else on the planet has it? I believe that our God gave us our intuition, and I believe that he lives within us. If we really seek deep down, we will hear the voices that come through. We chalk them off as a coincidence, and we kind of talk ourselves out of our own internal guidance, and she picked that up.”

That’s what threw the couple into wanting to know more about the mysticism of esoteric. 

“We wanted to share this experience with other people,” Naranjo says. “This experience of how you don’t have to box yourself into one spiritual practice. You can take from different things and really create your own. We were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have a place where we can guide and show people that this is OK and not taboo or evil, teach people that you can tap into your own intuition.’”

The power of intuition and spiritual competency not only helped with Naranjo and Vargas’ finances and personal well-being, but their relationship with each other continued to grow and blossom. Their business efforts created a thriving national brand of spiritual health and wellness.

House of Intuition now has nine locations in the greater Los Angeles area and one out-of-state store in Miami. 

“I want to open a location in every single state in the U.S.,” Vargas says. “That is my goal. I’m going to set that intention out, and that’s where we’re going. We had some really good results in Miami, so I think we are going to pop up a second store there soon.” 

In addition to the several metaphysical services, House of Intuition boasts an array of magical items such as hand-picked crystals, all-natural herbs, and dressed magic candles, which Vargas says is one of their top-selling items. 

“Even if you are religious, they’re not so scary because there are a lot of temples and churches that already burn candles,” she explains. “Those are our best-sellers, and also the best results. We have a lot of great reviews, and I believe in our magic candles so much. Not just because we make them, but also because people have set the intention. It’s really their work that is creating the magic to happen. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, then it’s not going to happen for you. I can’t make you a magic candle and say everything’s going to go away because it doesn’t work that way.”

On December 28, Naranjo and Vargas launched their new highly anticipated book, Your Intuition Led You Here, where they share their journey from heartache to healing and outline actionable tips to invite intuition and real-life magic into everyday life. 

Their story is one of determination and inspiration, and they are eager to share it with the world. 

“The book really tells our story,” Vargas says. “Additionally, I hope it empowers people to dig within and really be guided by themselves. They don’t have to seek outside to find that feeling of empowerment and strength.”

“We also have a journal and tarot deck that we’re working on,” Naranjo adds. “Those are some other goals we hope to complete.”

Long-term, Naranjo and Vargas hope to make House of Intuition a household name. 

“I want people to feel safe and know that they have a sacred and safe space to be able to practice their religion and craft,” Vargas says. “They shouldn’t feel intimidated by walking into a store that has different practices within it. We are all inclusive, and we want people to focus on themselves and really grow and practice that music of intuition.”

Stay up-to-date and connect with House of Intuition by visiting their official website at houseofintuitionla.com or follow the brand on Facebook @houseofintuitionla and Instagram @houseofintuition. Your Intuition Led You Here is now available on Amazon and all other major book retailers.   

Photos Courtesy of Holland Clement