Connecting to the other side

Left to right, Keith Dias (Corvus Elderune) and Jessie Dias (Espirito Gato)

Perhaps you’ve had an experience you can’t explain? Perhaps you think there’s something more to life than the physical world?

In that case, you may be one of the growing number of people who are turning to The Cat and Raven for understanding. Since moving from Los Angeles to Westport in 2008, Keith and Jessie Dias have been building a regional reputation as practitioners of the metaphysical and the paranormal. And after acting on their “gifts and instincts,” the past two years have been increasingly successful for the couple and their business interests, as they offer knowledge, insight, and instruction on the realm of the mystical and the unseen. And they claim to be on the cusp of a growing spiritual trend in western culture. “Many people are looking for that moment of validation that can change them from a skeptic to a believer,” Keith says. “People want to feel more connected to the world and the people living in it – they’re hungry for understanding. Part of being human is seeking direction and what’s next in life. “In spirituality there is no separation. Everything is connected. We’re nondenominational, we don’t put things into boxes or pigeon-holes like in religion. We’re connecting with higher sources, we have faith in things we can’t see and touch.” Located at 999 Main Road (Suite 103) in Westport, The Cat and Raven offers an array of products, services, and private events, inviting people to “uncover a world of faith, inspiration, and magic.” In addition to a gift shop brimming with goods such as crystals, jewelry, and home decor, they also offer psychic readings, mediumship, fortune telling, healings, castings, palmistry, and scrying, along with in-home parties and galleries, and corporate and private events. “What we do is meant to complement a person’s life,” Keith says. “We don’t want to replace your doctor or your therapist, and there’s no reason for someone to jump ship on their beliefs. We’re not a replacement for traditional medicine, but we want to provide balance by bringing in a potpourri of spiritual cultures from around the world. We provide tools that will complement people’s lives and their belief systems. “We’re not anti-religion, but we don’t have a fear factor. We’re about positivity. What we try to offer is something that nourishes people’s hunger for discovering more about life. Almost everyone has had unexplainable experiences and moments in their life, and they may wonder if there are really angels or a higher power.”

Finding themselves

“Society is becoming more metaphysical,” Jessie says. “People are beginning to realize that there is more to the world than what we see. When I was growing up in Los Angeles there was a great diversity of cultures and different ways of seeing the world and we want to help introduce that to this area.” “I experienced a lot of exposure to spirituality in L.A. I learned a lot,” Keith says. “I was introduced to crystal healings and readings, a lot of things that hadn’t made their way to this area yet.” “I was aware of my gifts as a child, growing up in Los Angeles,” Jessie says. “I was drawn to religion and I was an altar boy in the Catholic church. Religion kept me in a good place. But throughout my youth I would have spontaneous encounters with strangers, consoling them and delivering messages about their loved ones who were on the other side. At that time I was feeling things and hearing things that didn’t always make sense, but around the age of 20 I began to understand it better and I was learning how to use my gifts and work with them.” “Soon after we met in California, Jessie was saying things about my family that he couldn’t possibly have known,” Keith says. “He would look at pictures of my family members and know things about them although they had passed.”

In 1996, Keith’s interest in the film industry and his penchant for marketing and advertising took him from his hometown of Westport to Los Angeles, a journey that led to his “spiritual evolution.” He met Jessie in 1999, and nine years later, their move to Westport was taking shape. “People told us we were crazy to leave our successful lives behind, but we trusted our instincts,” Keith says. “I’m guided by my feelings and I felt like it was the right thing to do.” The idea for the move came to Jessie during a July 2008 vacation to Westport when the couple was visiting Keith’s family. “I was having very profound, prophetic messages, images, and premonitions,” Jessie says. “I was feeling very strongly that we needed to live here. I was hearing a confident, masculine, fatherly voice. I knew it was important, it made sense, and Keith was very accepting of it.” After relocating to the South Coast later that summer, they would be featured at psychic fairs and other events, doing readings, crystal healings, and Reiki. They hosted Holistic & Wellness Faires at Simcock Farm in Swansea, and the Holy Ghost Club in Westport, as well as Carnivale of the Arcane events at Simcock Farm, Cushman Park in Fairhaven, Melissa’s Pet Depot in Dartmouth, and Sisters of Solace in Westport.

Reaching out

From 2013 through 2014, Jessie was featured on the “Free Fortune Fridays” show on WFHN, the FUN 107 radio station. Throughout 2015 and 2016, the couple published a quarterly print and digital holistic wellness magazine, “Wellness: Mind, Body, Soul.” In 2019 they developed an online metaphysical gift shop, a website that offered spiritual items such as candles, incense, and crystals – items which can now be found in their gift shop. And on Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, the Dias’s opened the doors of The Cat and Raven. Last August they were awarded first place as the Best Gift Shop in South Coast by the South Coast Media Group. “I think much of our success comes from the fact that people sense our authenticity, that we’re acting from the heart,” Jessie says. “We connect with people – we cry with people all the time. We strive to be caring and compassionate, whether it’s giving them a crystal to put in their pocket, doing a reading, or connecting with a loved one.

“We want to help people find a spiritual connection,” Jessie says. “Once people make a connection through us they usually begin to have more experiences, they start opening up and becoming more aware.” “The biggest compliment we can receive is when someone says they don’t need to see us as often because they’ve seen progress in their life, Keith says. “If we’ve helped you make changes in your life and you don’t need to walk through our door, then we’ve done our job. “People can have a life-changing experience and it can affect the way they approach the rest of their life.” For more information visit thecatandraven.com.