Café Nation: Coffee Folklore, Magick, and Divination
by Sandra Mizumoto Posey
Santa Monica Press LLC, 2000, 212 pp., $9.95

".coffee has been a companion to monks and mystics for centuries." (15)

Coffeehouses have long been the places for subversive chats, late-night studies, brilliant ideas, creative plans, and just hanging out; once they were way-stations for weary travelers. Hey, even now the sight of a Denny's or truckstop sign in the distance signals "coffee" to a groggy long-distance driver. "Let's go out for coffee.." has come to mean spending time with someone, even if you don't drink the stuff. Kaffee klatches probably saved the sanity of many neighbor women following WW II, after they were driven out of good-paying jobs and into the new housing developments to raise babies and be good little wives.

This tiny but potent book has history, directions for (several forms of) divination, potions, seasonal and everyday spells and recipes (for coffee drinks as well as go-alongs), poetry, quotes, descriptions of various types of coffee, gifts to give-it's fun but serious. If the reader has never done a spell, ritual or divination before, you can trust that this writer provides clear directions and a strong dose of ethics along with them. And you can learn how to make Cowgirl Coffee and, as the writer says, "conquer the world."

Review by Marione Thompson-Helland