Real-Life Witches Will Sign Your Book in Culver City

By Alyssa Erdley, Observer Staff Writer

Two 'real-life' witches will touch down their brooms and talk to the public at Village Well Books and Coffee in Culver City. On Friday, October 22, for $10 (which can go to the purchase of a book), you can hear Amanda Yates Garcia, known as the "Oracle of Los Angeles" discuss spirituality and trauma healing together with The American Renaissance Tarot author Thea Wirsching, an expert on occult culture in America. The event will also be livestreamed for free on Facebook @villagewellcc.

Yates is a hereditary witch who learned to read tarot at age 11 from her mother. For over two decades she's practiced divination, trance healing, and public and private witchery. She lectures at universities and museums, including UCLA and the Getty, about witchcraft and she hosts the popular podcast "Between the Worlds."

Wirsching came by her tarot knowledge the old-fashioned way: she did a PhD dissertation on the subject. Her interest in the divination came from accidentally signing up for a Tarot-intensive tour of Egypt. The end result was a paper entitled "Occult Americans: Invisible Culter and the Literary Imagination."

Wirsching's latest book, The American Renaissance Tarot, comes with a Tarot deck illustrated by Celeste Pille.

Village Well Books & Coffee is the first and only independent, general interest bookstore in Culver City, with more than 10,000 new releases, paperbacks, and classics in all genres. The café serves healthy drinks, snacks and meals, including beer and wine. The store is open Sunday through Wednesday, 8 am – 5 pm, and Thursday through Saturday, 8 am – 7 pm