Julie Sims and her siblings used to play outside as kids, brewing potions in pots taken from their kitchen, collecting bones and contacting the dead. Living in the woods of central New York allowed Sims and her siblings to get in touch with their lineage from a young age. Sims’ mother practices witchcraft as well. 

Sims now owns her own store, Julie’s Cauldron, a witch shop out of her house in Kirkville, where she sells a variety of items. She sells incenses, herbs and spices used for spell work, and handcrafted items made by herself, as well as local artists. Along with the store, Julie’s Cauldron organizes and runs events, including monthly Witchy High Teas, Beltane festivals in May and Witches Workshops around Halloween.  

This year will be the second year of Witches Workshops and the store is hosting a workshop on Oct. 26 from 6 to 10 p.m. The event will be at Julie’s Cauldron in Kirkville and tickets are $15.  

It was Sims’ brother, Jeff Cullen, who encouraged her to run the Witches Workshops last year. Sims said her brother and his husband, Allan Spiers, both of whom practice witchcraft out of Chicago, are her mentors when it comes to her career in witchcraft. Cullen and Spiers saw Sims’ talent and encouraged her to open Julie’s Cauldron. 

“We encouraged (Julie) to really focus on her talents in witchcraft,” Cullen said. “We kind of helped her figure out what to sell, create an exclusive product line, really work on our family history, really market that and I think she’s done an amazing job of that.” 

Cullen and Spiers helped Sims plan the structure of the first Witches Workshop last year, though Cullen said that the success of the workshops and the shop is entirely his sister’s doing.  

Planning for the Witches Workshop consists of figuring out what guests want to learn about, as far as what witches do and the practice of Samhain, or Halloween. Sims will be running workshops, as will her siblings and mother. There will also be a bonfire and snacks for guests to enjoy. 

Julie’s Cauldron will have workshops based around ancestry, as Samhain is all about ancestors. Sims said they do a lot of work around ancestry because Halloween has to do with celebrating ancestors’ lives. 

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Another workshop, led by Kat Taormina, an employee at store, will be focused on tasseomancy, or tea leaf readings. This year will be her first Witches Workshop. In the workshop, Taormina will be giving guests a beginner’s knowledge on tasseomancy and how it works. She said if they are interested in learning more, people are welcome to attend any of Julie’s Cauldron’s Witchy High Teas.  

The workshop will offer the history on tasseomancy, an explanation on how to perform it, how it relates to forms of other divination, what other cultures practice divination, as well as explain both her personal history with the practice and other people’s experiences, Taormina said. 

She said she hopes one day, tasseomancy will become common practice once again and that her workshop will get people interested in learning more about the practice. She also emphasized that it’s a personal practice and an amazing way to get in touch with oneself.  

“It’s like having a journal, but instead of seeing your words on paper, it’s seeing something that you would not have been able to organically create with your own mind, because it’s images that you find in a cup, and it goes really far deep into your psyche,” Taormina said.  

Sims said she hopes that guests leave the Witches Workshop with new knowledge about Samhain and what real, practicing witches do on the holiday. She also said she hopes that the event helps to connect the whole community. 

There will also be a workshop about potion making, that will be run by Cullen and Spiers. Cullen said he hopes that the workshop will motivate people to find their inner power and use it to create change in their own lives. He said that he hopes people leave the event with a better understanding of witchcraft and what it is all about.  

“I want people to understand that witchcraft is about harnessing your willpower, so you have to have the drive and you have to have the willpower to do it,” said Cullen. 

Sims’ work goes beyond her work in witchcraft and at Julie’s Cauldron. She and her staff founded a nonprofit organization called Witches and Heathens of CNY. Last Christmas, they donated to the Samaritan Center and are currently looking to organize blood drives. They aim to bring the community of central New York together, Sims said. 

“We’re really active and we do workshops together. All of our stuff for that group is funded by donations,” said Sims. “You know we have CNY Pagan Pride Day and that’s once a year, so this is trying to expand on that, and you know, really connect the community.”

Published on October 13, 2019 at 11:43 pm

Contact Gavi: gavi@dailyorange.com | @gavi_azoff