Potion at Afflecks

21/12/2022

𝕭𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖄𝖚𝖑𝖊 🪵
Blessed Yule to everyone who, like me, is celebrating today. Yule is a time to celebrate the return of the sun and wave goodbye to the darkness. I’ve had a rough year filled with loss and change and today is a day to reflect on that and celebrate the sunny spots of the year, as well as prepare for the year ahead.

A lot of my spell work is done in the kitchen and a traditional simmer pot is just one of the ways I do this. A few people have asked about my simmer pots so I thought I’d share my Yule one with you. I always choose my ingredients based on my needs, so they’re often different according to my state. Here’s the one I’ve made today. Everything used is associated with both the sun and fire elements. You may wish to say a few words whilst preparing your simmer pot and stirring can increase the magick you’re creating. Remember to stir clockwise to infuse something and anti clockwise to remove something. It’s really important your mind is clear when working on magick like this.

🍊 Orange. A fruit associated with happiness, cleansing and of course, the sun. Those lovely orange discs are perfect for welcoming back the sun.
🍃 Bay Leaf. Powerful for protection and healing, writing your intentions for the year ahead can also amplify your chances of success. I always write a little sentence on mine.
🌿 Rosemary. A wonderful cleansing herb, perfect to refresh for the year ahead.
🍒 Cranberry. These marvellous little fruits are a symbol of rejuvenation and healing. Both physical and mental. Much needed!
🪵 Cinnamon. This aromatic bark is not only wonderful for luck, but also for amplifying other herbs it may be used with.
🪨 Black Pepper. One of the oldest spices in the world, these powerful little peppercorns bring huge protective and cleansing energies into whichever spell you may be working on.

26/08/2022

Hello! Currently clearing through the…well everything…that needs a new home from the cafe. Much of it is in my storage unit but I have tables and chairs available from next week. Whilst ideally it would be great to recoup some of their costs (over £1000), I’d be happy to give them a free home for a community group or charity. The only catch is that you would need to make arrangements to collect them from Afflecks.

If you or someone you know fits the bill, please drop me a DM or email [email protected]

06/07/2022

It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the closure of Potion at Afflecks.

Opening a cafe in the middle of a pandemic and then trying to navigate the after effects of Brexit, a war and a cost of living crisis was never going to be easy but it’s absolutely impossible for us to carry on in the current climate. A combination of ever rising costs and our guests struggling to come and see us as much as we need to stay afloat has been a storm we just can’t weather.

I saw an opportunity to follow my passion for food and combine that with all things witchy and didn’t foresee just what a mountain I would need to climb. That’s on me. Lots of lessons learned.

I’m proud of the community we created and for the last (nearly 12 months) all the wonderful friends we’ve made. I hope many of you will stay in touch.

On a personal level, I’m heartbroken I couldn’t make this work and that I’m now in the position of leaving my wonderful staff without work. If you’re looking for truly passionate baristas then please do get in touch for me to pass your details on to.

The team themselves also want to thank you all for making the time we did have together special and will miss you all 🖤

Our last day open will be Saturday 16th July

Lauren x

01/07/2022

🍃🍓 𝕾𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖜𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖗𝖞 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝕴𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝕲𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝕿𝖊𝖆 🍓🍃

Summer is here and that means new drinks including this gorgeous strawberry and mint green iced tea.
This combination of magickal ingredients is great for both love and prosperity (which a lot of us need right now!)

Strawberries have lots of wonderful properties but in particular they’re associated with problem solving and love by overcoming barriers. Mint is great for both attracting and protecting love too 🍓🍃

Come and enjoy a magickal tea with us on the 3rd floor of 🖤

27/06/2022

New stuff! Whilst The Vegan Picnic Basket is off on his jollies, Bury based Sally's Bakes are holding the fort on the savoury bakes front. We have cheezeburger empanadas, Cornish pasties, peppered steak pasties, spicy sweet potato pasties and sausage rolls. Aside from them all being baked locally, they’re all vegan friendly too! Come and stock up whilst you can. You can find us on the 3rd floor of Afflecks Manchester 🖤

21/06/2022

Hey lovelies! It’s a scorcher today so come to the 3rd floor of Afflecks Manchester (don’t worry we have a lift) and chill with some tunes and these tasty new juices. They’re all gluten free and vegan friendly as well as being summer in a can. Which one do you fancy?

07/06/2022

When you come and chill with us, you can be confident that you’re supporting a business which pays its staff the Real Living Wage and we’re accredited by Living Wage UK too! Our coven deserve the best 🖤

03/06/2022

𝕻𝖔𝖗𝖐𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝕻𝖎𝖊 🥧
Look at that shine! Porkless pies freshly baked by The Vegan Picnic Basket delivered today. They even have a layer of jelly, absolute filth. Grab yours from our little witchy cafe on the 3rd floor of Afflecks Manchester

21/05/2022

Aw yay well done Libby 🖤

Thank you to everyone who modelled for Libby today. She is off to add piercing to the services offered by the Tattoo studio she works in. Libby is a practicing Witch developing her gift for Tarot readings and is skilled in using crystals so I am hoping all her manifesting and magick rubbed off on me! I may buy some Amethyst for the shop as it is apparently very calming (Libby's was tested to the limit today no doubt but it worked). Well done Libby you multi-talented genius! It was also nice to hear that Libby has visited which is owned by my pal Lauren and that she has been inspired in part by seeing the development of one of my other students
🤩🤩🤩 Feel the love! 🤩🤩🤩

20/05/2022

𝕮𝖔𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖊 𝕲𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖘 ☕️
Remember to come and pick up your free bag of coffee grounds to use on your garden, inside with your plants or even to make your own body scrub with! We always have plenty to go round and you’re doing your bit for our planet by taking them.

We’d love to see how you decide to use yours so please do send us piccies and tag us!

17/05/2022

𝕻𝖔𝖙𝖆𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖘 🥔 (sort of)
We absolutely love seeing your faces when you find out that potato milk is tasty! This lovely bunch visited today and we gave them shots to try. If you want to try a little before going for it in your brew, we’ll absolutely let you!

Potato milk is amazing for those with allergies as it’s free from gluten, soy and nuts, not to mention being one of the most sustainable milks out there so good for our planet too.

Potato milk doesn’t taste how you’d expect. We reckon it tastes like the milk you have left over after a bowl of cereal, someone has specifically said it reminds them of Shreddies before now.

Did you know that you actually SAVE 20p when you choose one of our alternative milks? As far as we know, we’re the first to actually charge LESS for alternative milks and we have 5 milks for you to choose from 🖤