Café Nation: Coffee Folklore, Magick, and Divination

by Sandra Mizumoto Posey

The frenzied mania for coffee and the increased use of tarot, astrology, and other forms of divination shows no signs of abating. Now, folklorist Sandra Mizumoto Posey brings the ancient traditions of coffee divination and the history, folklore, and cultural impact of this potent berry together in her new book, Café Coffee Folklore, Magick, and Divination.

Coffee divination is once again enjoying widespread popularity because of the beverage's long-recognized ability to energize. It encourages extended social interaction and sharpens mental acuity. Sufi mystics knew centuries ago that coffee had the ability to aid in meditation and prayer. This heightening of the senses lends itself naturally to promoting creative and intuitive thought. Grounds, bubbles, and the array of symbols traditionally used for divination are keys to understanding ourselves, bypassing overly logic-driven thought to reach deeper instincts.

Café Nation is no dry history tome, no "gee-whiz" business success story, nor yet another cookbook. Filled with traditional and contemporary coffee divination techniques, fascinating coffee lore, droll historical artifacts, and a richly designed text, Café Nation is, like the brew, stimulating, insightful and a catalyst for intuition. In fact, Café Nation is the perfect companion to a cup of coffee itself!

Posey's authoritative writing on the role of practical magick is simple to apply and effective. Posey, who has a Ph.D. in folklore from UCLA and is the creator of the acclaimed Americanfolk.com, Spiritualitea.com, and Cafenation.net websites, uses a system of divination that, rather than simply replicating ancient methods and meanings, draws upon the history of coffee divination and presents them in an entirely new format more relevant to contemporary life. You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again!

More than a book or website, Café Nation is a community—of coffee lovers, of book lovers, of those who want to know more about this world, and the other world. A book to savor and refer to again and again, Café Nation will bring robust and deep-flavored reading satisfaction to all.

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov]

The thought behind Posey’s book must be that there are many among the billions of coffee drinkers just waiting for a book to explain coffee “magick,” divination and folklore.

Posey’s delving into folklore has revealed a host of coffee potions that she shares with us. They include:
 Several coffee love potions (of course!)
 A potion for studying (I thought it would just be double strong, but it contains rosemary)
 A potion for sleeplessness (decaf, no surprise, and lavender)
 A potion for coffee addiction (will that ever work?)
 A potion for depression (contains both lavender and rosemary)

Posey’s advice for coffee mages has this note: “Beyond what implications a spell can have for good or ill in your own life, let’s get back to the issue of ethical do’s and don’ts. Is there a morally correct way to conduct yourself magickally? Ultimately, that will be up to you to decide for yourself. No one can tell you that or learn that lesson for you.”

Posey notes that traditional coffee divination is done with “Turkish (or Greek, or Egyptian, or Russian…)” method of brewing. But she provides several ways to get answers from coffee grounds including the Café Nation five point method.

It shouldn’t take you long to decide what resonate for you. The pages are small, the print is reasonably large. Now you are on your own.

[The Cute Little Brown-haired girl]

If you love coffee...why not read about it while you are drinking it?

[Aaron]

A fun little coffee table book.