A witch, a drink, and an invitation to Tarot and tea

Dearest Readers,

Lately I’ve been thinking about the magic of every day life and have been writing a series of micro stories.

Here’s a recent one. It felt incomplete without a cocktail in hand, so I’ve paired it with a recipe.

A Witch

This illustration is from my favorite children’s book ever, The Little Witch, by Margaret Mahy. The illustrator is Charles Mozely.

One of my favorite bartenders was a witch who I will call Liza.

She had long black hair, milk-white skin and looked like Snow White with tattoos. I loved her because she made great drinks and was the type of person who if you said, “You’re a witch,” would shrug and say, “Of course I am. It’s only reasonable thing to be if you know anything about math.”

She would put posts up on social media about sacred geometry and sometimes she might ask, “What’s lighting you up right now?” and hundreds of people would respond and she would send a purplish black heart to every one of them.

I officially met Liza because an angry man was walking towards me, looking for a fight. I had already had one unpleasant conversation with this person and didn’t want to have another one. Liza was sitting nearby so I said hello like I knew her. She said hello as if she knew me too, and we made small talk as if we had been friends for a very long time while the man moved on to someone else. She never let on that she’d never talked to me before. After that I would have done anything for her.

Liza left the bar to have a baby, and I didn’t see her for a long time. Then one day I was walking down the street and there she was carrying an infant with a full head of dark hair. Liza was with her parents who were visiting. Her mother had black hair with purple tips and the same wonderful essence as her daughter, as if she was connected to another planet somewhere but was still deeply enjoying this one. Her father was good-humored and looked like Kurt Vonnegut and they talked to me as if we’d been friends for a long time and they were happy to see me. Finally Liza said, “Mom, Dad! Maybe we should stop talking so she can get on with her day.”

But I didn’t mind. I loved talking to all of them. I felt like I was transported to another world, full of wizards and shapeshifters and this was what people were really like—the rest was all pretend.

Yesterday I saw Liza pushing a stroller down the old slate sidewalks in front of the Conservatory. A thunderstorm was brewing. As she passed that old building, a 19th century structure with massive pillars, she lifted her daughter up to show her the sky.

The wind blew and the clouds darkened. Leaves spun and tree branches bowed and I thought, How just like a woman to control the weather.

* * *

A Drink:

One of Liza’s favorite concoctions.

DRAGON SLAYER

2.25 oz Dewars white label

.5oz of green chartreuse

Three heavy dashes of orange bitters.

Shake for 10 seconds with ice and pour everything into a rocks glass (or strain it if you prefer.) Rub the lip of the glass with an orange peel, then twist the peel over the drink and toss it in.

* You can also make this with rye—which is how I like to slay my dragons. The Dewars, however, adds the perfect amount of smoke.

Photo by Samuel C. on Unsplash

An Invitation:

Join me on zoom, June 7th, 12:30 - 2:00 for Tarot & Tea!

Free to paid subscribers

Bring a question about a project you’re working on, your personal life, or anything weighing on your mind. I’ll bring my deck. We’ll meet on zoom, sip delicious brews, and I’ll do mini-readings for as many individual questions as time allows.

I’m so excited to share this with you—I’ve been reading Tarot professionally for over a decade, and it remains one of my favorite ways to access clarity—about creativity, life choices, or the whispers of the soul.

How I read Tarot:

In my belief system we have everything we need to know inside us, but daily distractions—our own thoughts, outside influences, social media, cultural expectations—can make it hard to hear our inner voice. Tarot is a way to cut through the noise and reconnect with the deepest part of ourselves. The cards offer perspective from your soul—the part of you that sees your brilliance, embraces you fully, and speaks with love.

So bring your burning questions, meet me on Zoom, and let’s have some fun! Looking forward to seeing you soon….

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