A Champagne Destiny Reading Experience

Ah, yes. The Champagne Destiny Reading experience – the elevated version of what I’m about to describe. My body swayed side to side free of my own effort as I sat on the tacky dining room chair. I was several vodka sodas into a happy hour that had long surpassed the typical late afternoon/early evening time slot. A woman looked into my bloodshot eyes and touched my hand affectionately. In her indiscernible accent she proclaimed, “I see that you have a big change coming in the autumn, probably in October.” I did have a dream of finally finishing the writing of my cartel crime novel that fall. October sounded like a decent deadline to me. My befuddled mind was astounded. “Wow, you’re amazing,” I slurred as I threw 40 bucks on the table. 

That transaction, my dear readers, was a palm reading in Queens, New York.

Believe it or not, that interaction is probably the height of legitimacy in the field of mysticism in New York City. Yes, a woman reading my palm out of her dining room as her family carries on as normal in the background, telling me I was about to experience a big change, is what passes for esoteric magic in the Big Apple. I’ve done enough palm readings to know that it is truly all generalized bullshit. 

I woke up the next morning only vaguely remembering the interaction. My husband wasted no time in telling me that I had been duped. He also suggested that I start drinking less at happy hour. But there is something heartwarming, ironically, in getting tricked in New York City. It’s an essential New York experience that every visitor and resident must undergo, some more times than others. Of course, it’s a charming experience until you realize you blew forty dollars. The big issue with that is that rent in New York City happens to be a bajillion dollars. Damn you, Tito’s and club on a Friday afternoon.

Whenever an experience like the aforementioned occurs, I can’t help feeling like I need a trip to my favorite city in the world, New Orleans. The supernatural scene in New Orleans goes far beyond a hustler trying to make a buck, although you can find that in the Crescent City, too. Mysticism is deeply rooted in the culture of the Big Easy. It is the only city that I know of where a high number of people legitimately practice voodoo as a religion. It also boasts high rates of believers in vampirism and other elements of the supernatural.

Mystical New Orleans

During my recent trip to New Orleans in October, I participated in a particular experience. A champagne destiny reading experience in the park was a siren song to a woman who loves an excuse to drink in the morning, and has an unfortunate fascination with knowing my destiny. For better or for worse, I’m a type A person. My greatest comfort comes from preparation and planning for the future; my whole life I have always been this way. When other kids would draw in kindergarten, I would be making to-do lists.  

I’m also a curious person. I’m one of those rare breeds who can never learn enough. And if I’m not learning something, I feel like I’m wasting my time. Being an inquisitive person means I need to understand how and why life works. Every aspect of it. For thousands of years, when there is no obvious answer to such a grand question, humans turn to mystic means for an answer. 

My Personal Conquest

On a personal level, my biggest conquest has been to better understand myself. I’ve been unique my entire life. From my earliest memories I’ve always been opinionated and ambitious. I’ve always had grand plans for my life, and always felt a need to question the status quo. In response, I’ve nearly always been told to shut up and step into line. For much of my life I tried, but I could never do that.

It was just a fact of life that there must be something wrong with me. So I came to terms with the fact that I would have to accept that I was indeed idiosyncratic. No other young woman I knew thought and talked about injustice, politics, and ambition the way I did. No other woman actively plotted a timeline in which to advance their career. Most women I know were focused on dressing pretty, getting married, and having babies. These women were perfectly content to let men do things like debate and achieve lofty goals that go beyond having the nicest eyebrows and raising the sweetest kids.

Arriving at City Park for the Experience

Tired from a long night on Frenchmen Street and impromptu tattoos, my cousin Nina and I arrived at Cafe DuMonde in City Park by cab. I had never been to City Park before, and I was struck by how picturesque and romantic it looked. For example, it boasts all of the flora and fauna, such as draping trees and Spanish moss, that creates an image of southern, gulf coast, charm. City Park looks as though in its conception it was painted by the same brush as an artist who creates images for children’s fairy tale books. The trees in the ‘secret garden’ are weeping, gigantic, and vibrant; they practically beg visitors to embrace their inner childhood imagination and come explore for the day.

After some awkward walking back and forth in the shaded overhang of the cafe, we found Mika. She is the beautiful mind and originator of the Champagne Destiny Reading experience. A bubbly, beautiful black woman with large sunglasses. She was waving to us and welcoming us as if we were old friends. I enjoyed her from the start – she radiated warmth on a cool cloudy morning. For some reason, I just got the feeling that I was in good hands. I was in the presence of someone bona fide. Mika immediately struck me as a cosmic-goddess-slash-fly-as-hell-old-soul. I had the feeling we were kindred spirits from the jump.

We were starving, so she encouraged us to get beignets and beverages before we settled in. We took her up on that offer. I learned that the Cafe DuMonde iced cafe mocha is far superior to cafe au lait. Fight me on that one. 

Pop The Bubbly for the Champagne Destiny Reading Experience

Mika began by popping a bottle of Barefoot brand bubbly and filling our champagne glasses to the brim. I find that people who are open about themselves are often the most authentic. Mika’s genuine energy came through strongly as she told us about herself. What immediately struck me was that her whole life she had been casted as a misfit of sorts. She thought and behaved differently from her peers. This granted her the designation of ‘weirdo.’

For example, she has ADHD which led her to dream and imagine, rather than listen and focus. In addition, she thought and felt differently than others, she is an empath. She deeply feels a connection to those around her. She experiences emotions in a way that is deeper than the average person. Empaths tend to ponder societal issues and the trajectory of their life often. I’d finally found a person outside of my own circle who shared the same struggles I had throughout childhood. For 20 odd years of my life, I have never found a single person who is like me.

I’d say this encounter was mystical and serendipitous in and of itself. 

I was feeling a buzz after my first glass of champagne, and I was ready to watch how the stars align. Mika began by describing how numbers, and therefore playing cards, are inextricably part of the universe. Humanity has been working with some form of playing card or number games for centuries. Originally, cards functioned as a calendar system for early humans. For example, there are 52 cards and 52 weeks in a year. When there are numbers that correspond to each playing card in order, we get a total of 365. Considering that numbers and humanity are born of the same universal matter, there is a tenacious connection between the two entities. 

Cosmic Connection

To Mika, it is no wonder that numbers and dates can tell so much about each and every person in the world. To start, people fall into four categories: spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts. People who are hearts find that success comes by way of having a relationship. Those who are clubs tend to be innately curious and strong communicators. 

We gave Mika our birthdays and she pulled two pieces of paper out of her binder. There were very thorough descriptions on each. She read the first one, and we were to guess whose birthday it was based on the description. About halfway through, Nina, who is much more of a logical, skeptical type declared, “This is you for sure.”  I could not deny it. The description accurately depicted the exact types of arguments that I have. It told of specific insecurities and fears that I have never shared with anyone. 

Eerily Accurate Experience

Just days earlier I had gotten myself into a frenzy. My husband had not completed a task by the deadline we agreed upon. Undoubtedly, this was not going to cause any danger or harm. Nonetheless, I felt my heart beat out of my chest. This is often a source of contention in our home. My husband is free spirited and laid back. I, on the other hand, have no capacity for waiting, being flexible, or even slightly adjusting my desires or expectations. We rarely argue. If I begin a row, it is often because there has been a change of plans. As a result, I often need things done how I want, and when I want. This might look like a movie date night being switched from Friday to Saturday. It might look like booking a trip on Wednesday night when we had plans to do it by Monday night.  

Everyone who knows me knows that this is an issue of mine. Mika looked at her paper and read aloud. [I] “often start arguments due to my need to get things done the exact way I want.” Not only that, I want them done when I want them done. Nina looked at me and smirked. This was undoubtedly me to a tee. 

Most astonishing, the reading validates the notion that my birthday declares me to be a human oddity. This being because of my constant curiosity, outspoken nature, and perseverance on societal, political, and worldly issues. And it also stated that I most likely enjoy writing as a hobby. 

The Take Away

The Champagne Destiny Reading experience is legit. I think relieved is the best word I can think of to describe the outcome of my session with Mika. I know it sounds peculiar to call our experience a session. But it was damn right therapeutic. In a typical therapy session, I sometimes guard the things I’m most vulnerable about discussing. Most humans do, it’s natural. It is often difficult to put my fears, memories, and attitudes into words sometimes. Therefore I ugly cry, I hurt. And most days I’d rather not deal with the messiness of all of that. However, I didn’t have to verbalize that in this case, Mika just knew based on the reading. She knew what drove me crazy, what drove my ambition, and what propelled my utter and complete joy in life.

I admit, I am far more willing and wanting to believe in the supernatural than most people.

Maybe it is because, like Mika, I am an empath. I feel connected to people, ideas, the stars, God. I see in ways that others might not that we are all connected. So my birthday reading was eerily accurate. Even to a typically more logical and guarded person like my cousin, the accuracy was uncanny.

The experience ended with blowing bubbles into the blue sky. This was done as a symbol of the wishes and ideas we want to project out to the universe. As I blew my bubbles into the air, I felt light and hopeful. I had a genuine sense that everything was going to be OK. A way in which I had not felt for a very long time. I always feel that I am meant for an important and exceptional future – more so than other people. But when I’m down on myself, I wonder if having these feelings is delusional. Hearing my birthday tarot card brought validation to my original ideal. It validates that greatness is within my destiny, and that greatness is still worth working passionately toward. What, may I ask, is YOUR destiny? Find out by booking an experience with Mika