(RNS) — Ali Marie has long felt unconnected to the Valentine’s Day displays that bloomed each February at her local supermarket in Long Island City, across the East River from Manhattan. The candy-and-flowers tradition was more likely to fill Marie, 41 and single, with dread.
But this February Marie will breeze past the heart-shaped frills with a sense of promise. Instead of leaving her love life in the hands of fate, she has joined a growing number of Americans turning to magic to find true love. Ali will soon be casting her first love spell — and she’s hitting the grocery store to do it.