It rained all weekend, the full moon turned the color of blood and the wind blew violently across the island. Montreal officially enters the spooky season.
Along with the thrifted black biker boots we’re digging out of the closet, the sudden urge to bleach our eyebrows like Jenna Ortega for Wednesday’s press tour and the preparation of weekends to go leaf-peeping – we want to wrap ourselves in the reassuring mantle of a community that means us well.
I met Shehla, the sweet witch who opened Moonbrew Café in Duluth a few months ago with her husband Val…
Witches, witches, are you there?
Long gone are the days when women were burned at the stake for reading books and boiling herbs gathered in the forest on the advice of their grandmothers. Much of the occult revival of recent years (tarot, astrology, crystals, spells) has taken place on social networks under the name “WitchTok” – but a café/store you can visit irl in Montreal is changing the game.
Shehla has the gentle aura of someone who is exactly where she should be – surrounded by her intentionally made oils and candles, with husband Val at her side. In front of us, a sage latte with homemade sage syrup. I have a flash, thinking of Baba Yaga’s house with its hooked legs deep in the woods, then Sandra Bullock’s store in Practical Magic. Between the two, there’s something deeply soothing.
A spiritual refuge for Montreal witches
It was on social networks that Shehla, who describes her introduction to spiritual practices as an intuition that came knocking on her door until she fearlessly opened it, began sharing her rituals and spells with a community of baby witches .
In a low moment, she turned to the moon and began, followed by her husband, to explore the power of lunar cycles. She began rituals for the full moon and the new moon. After defining her spiritual practice, she shared it on the famous “WitchTok”.
It’s also where she began offering tarot readings, one of her greatest passions.
She tells me about her intention (the force behind each spell), which is always towards healing, towards fundamental knowledge and connection with nature. It was with this intention that she started selling her ritual oils and candles on the internet, and opened the café/store with Val a few months ago.
Since then, she tells me,she’s seen the witches of Montreal come and go – they come for a tarot reading, a manifestation candle, a pentagram oil or a rosemary matcha. The Moonbrew Magic café is fast becoming a gathering place and refuge for the curious, spiritualists, Wiccan witches and descendants of long lines of women known as witches.
Moonbrew Magic
Moonbrew Magic was built practically with Shehla and Val’s hands. In addition to being infused with immaculate vibes , it’s entirely furnished and decorated with thrifted pieces, and the drinks on offer are eco-responsible and homemade.
The rosemary and sage syrups – which can’t be found anywhere else in Montreal, but which taste of earth and rain – are also homemade by Val, a coffee enthusiast. On the slate, he announces a year-round pumpkin spice latte coming soon…
The café is intended to be a sanctuary, and is organized as such. A space is set aside for tarot readings, a large library is filled with books on witchcraft and spirituality, shelves and convent tables are covered with oils and rituals to take home.
And, best of all, Shehla and Val are there to guide and refer baby witches who come to the café with a problem. The magic is ancient, but the intentions and rituals are dedicated to modern life: self-confidence, anxiety, finding a job…
Shehla speaks of returning to ancient practices and of magic as a vitamin supplement – one that brings community and a personal power that allows us to forget that we live in the total chaos of a big city.
After my sage coffee and a very healing chat with Shehla and Val, I promise to return very soon. It’s almost the autumn equinox…
Practical info
Where? 271 Avenue Duluth Est
When? Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 6 pm
How? Mont-Royal metro station, Sherbrooke metro station
Enjoy your visit to Moonbrew Magic!