Cafe Nation - Softcover

Sandra Mizumoto Posey holds a B.A. in comparative literature from CSULB and an M.A. and Ph.D. in folklore and mythology from UCLA. Her previous book, Rubber Soul: Rubber Stamps and Correspondence Art was published by University Press of Mississippi as part of their Folk Art & Artists series. Those interested in her varied work may wish to visit one of her many websites: www.spiritualitea.com, www.americanfolk.com, www.yardsalesearch.com, and of course, www.cafenation.net. She makes her home in the Los Angeles area.

Introduction He gulped a cup of coffee in the hope of pacifying his stomach and his soul. -Sinclair Lewis, Babbit, 1922

Imagine yourself sitting on the boulevard in a wrought iron chair just outside a noisy caf. The dense aromas of Jamaica Blue Mountain, Yemen Mocha and Kenya Peaberry waft out through the doors and into the street. Between your hands, a cup of hot coffee warms your palms as the electrifying liquid begins to course through your body. As traffic whizzes by, you lean across the table and whisper to your companion, "I need some clarity in my life. Something that will clear away the cobwebs and help me see my situation for what it is." Your friend turns over her almost empty cup atop its saucer and together you find patterns of coffee grounds forming symbols that serve as guideposts to insight. Your friend then pours you another cup and looks to the bubbles forming at its lip, applying the meaning found there to answer your searching questions.

The enduring popularity of coffee divination is the result of coffee'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. In recent years, coffee and coffeehouses have enjoyed explosive growth. Fortune telling, too, is enjoying a resurgence. There is no more appropriate time for the two to meet again. Caf Nation introduces you to a variety of ways to tune into your natural intuitive abilities.

Grounds, bubbles, and the array of symbols traditionally used for divination with everything from tea leaves to Tarot cards are simply keys to understanding ourselves better. They bypass overly logic-driven thought to reach deeper instincts. The medium you use as your psychic tuning fork should always be something that resonates within you. This is the very reason that there are so many Tarot and other fortune-telling decks. If your heart sings when you hear the whir of the cappuccino steamer or if your soul rises when that first delicately rich scent of coffee wafts its way through the office, then coffee is the perfect medium for you. Is coffee a spiritual enough substance? As you read the history section of this book you'll see how coffee has been a companion to monks and mystics for centuries. Even today, as mundane as your cup of Folgers may be as you sit at the kitchen table, bear in mind that sometimes the greatest truths often seem the simplest. When seeking to understand your life, use as your map the very things that follow you from day to day.

Caf Nation is a trip across continents and oceans to that steaming cup of Java you hold in your hands. We'll take you along on that journey, showing you a number of approaches to coffee divination and magick, both historical and innovative. You may find yourself amazed at the sheer variety of them, and even bemused by the absurdity of some. One will feel right to you; none of them is intended to be a closed system that somehow gives you a direct line to an unalterable future. From the grounds swimming at the bottom of a cup to bubbles floating gently to the surface, they are merely places to begin.

Caf Nation doesn't hold the answers to life's mysteries. The techniques described here are merely tools that help individuals begin to look to their own surroundings for clarity and insight. We don't need an anonymous individual at the end of a 900 number to give us our solutions, nor do we need to trust only in ancient systems that don't apply to our modern life. In our own world, changing and eternally the same, we can draw upon our own strengths, find our own symbols, and create our own answers.