We all know that blissful moment of putting our feet up at the end of a hard day and sipping a hot cup of soothing tea. Relaxing, calming and apparently the answer to every situation “have a cup of tea it will make you feel better”. But tea can also be extremely magical especially if you create the blends yourself and tie them in with your magical intent.
I have a beautiful teapot that has a built in infuser but you can get small metal infusers for individual cups of tea and these are brilliant for popping your tea blends into or just use a normal teapot and a strainer, you will want to use one of these methods otherwise you will be spitting bits of herb and spice out…
I think there is something very magical about the whole process of making tea, especially if you make a bit of an effort rather than just throwing a tea bag into a cup and filling it up, it can become a small ritual in itself.
The Japanese have a tea ceremony called Chanoyu, Sado or Ocha. The whole event from preparation to serving and drinking the tea (a green tea called Matcha) is part of the ritual. It isn’t all about drinking the tea it is about the care and attention that goes into it, the serving of it and the appreciation.
The Japanese tea ceremony is for creating relaxation, communication (if you are serving guests), connections with your surroundings and the elements, to create harmony but ultimately the aim is to make that deep spiritual connection that you get from drinking the tea in silent contemplation. Almost as if the process from preparation, serving and drinking is all part of a ritual to send you into a meditative spiritual state. The Japanese tea ceremony philosophy is one of harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity.
Making tea is an art in China known as Cha Dao. The tea is made in a small clay pot which is rinsed with boiling hot water before adding the tea leaves to it. The leaves are rinsed in the pot with a little hot water before adding more water to make the tea.
The temperature of the water is very important. It needs to be hot but not too hot as to ruin the taste of the tea. The tea is brewed for less than a minute and the is poured into narrow cups. The server will pour tea into all the cups in one single pour around in a circle. The cups are only filled half way, leaving the rest of the cup to be filled with friendship and affection.
The server will then invite each guest to smell the tea first. The guest then thanks the server by tapping the table three times with their finger. It is polite to finish the tea in three swallows.
I like to take the idea of the tea ceremony and make it a very magical one. This is easily done and can involve the whole ritual process of casting a circle, calling the quarters and even requesting the presence of deity if you so wish but it can also just be kept very simple and run along the lines of casting a spell or simply spending time in meditation.
Create your space, the ambience and the setting – this could just be sitting in your garden or at your kitchen table, but maybe put a vase of fresh flowers on the table and a nice table cloth, you could put on some nice plinky plonky meditation music if you are indoors.
Select your tea blend, there are a huge amount of fantastic herbal tea blends in the shops but herbal teas are also super easy to make for yourself using herbs and spices you have in your kitchen or garden.
Here are some simple ideas to get your creative side working:
Ginger – truly simple… Just use a few slices of root ginger. Ginger has the magical properties of love, success and power.
Ginger & lemon – Use a few slices of root ginger and a slice of lemon (or a squeeze of lemon juice). Add in the magical properties of lemon and you get a double whammy of love but also friendship, purification and the power of the moon.
Cinnamon – either cinnamon stick crushed or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. This is a brilliant magical spice and brings in success, healing, psychic powers, protection love and a spiritual connection.
Cardamom – Squish a couple of cardamom pods so that the hot water can get to the flavour of the black seeds inside and you will have yourself a hot drink that not only brings love but a powerful boost of lust too.
Clove – Two or three cloves per cup and you have yourself a protection, love and money tea blend, although it can be a bit ‘medicinal’ tasting on its own, I like to mix it with cardamom and fennel.
Fennel seed – Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds per cup brings you a healing, purifying and protective cuppa.
Lemon balm makes a lovely lemon flavour tea (unsurprisingly), it grows like a mad thing in my garden so I just pick a handful of the leaves and pop them in a teapot. Lemon balm is brilliant for success, love and healing.
Mint – could not be an easier tea to make, a few mint leaves and et voila a cup of protective, healing, prosperity filled tea is yours for the sipping.
Rose petals can be used in tea blends as well (make sure to wash them first as you don’t want green fly in your cup), rose brings with it the magical power of love, psychic powers, luck, protection and healing.
Rosemary works well in tea blends but be careful not to use too much otherwise it tastes like antiseptic…but it does have the magical properties of healing, purification, love, protection and that lust thing.
Sage tea is very good for protection and wisdom and it also makes a good ‘make a wish’ cup of tea but as with rosemary don’t use too much as the flavour can be quite overpowering.
Thyme is one of my favourite flavours and comes with healing, purifying powers that boost your psychic abilities and also brings love and courage.
Your usual cup of black tea also has magical properties and is good for bringing courage and strength but you can also use it as the base for tea blends if you don’t fancy the herbal ones on their own.
If the taste of herbal tea on its own makes your face twist up in disgust you can try adding a teaspoonful of honey to sweeten the blend. And if you really can’t stand the taste of a blend don’t waste it…use it as magical floor wash.
Experiment with your ingredients, go with your own instinct, have fun and be creative with it.
Take some time to think about the blend you want and the magical intent you need then as you pour the boiling water onto the herbs and spices visualise your goal, desire or wish being activated by the water.
Allow the herbs too steep for about five minutes, take this time to clear your thoughts and to ground and centre yourself.
When you are ready pour the tea into a nice cup, I prefer a china cup for tea – but that’s just me, you might prefer a big builder’s tea mug.
Hold the cup up and take a whiff of the scent as the steam rises from the cup, take deep breathes in and then sip…ahhhh…allow the hot tea to connect with your inner being, allow it to flow and bring the energy it has to your body, mind and total being.
Enjoy a few moments of utter peace and calming bliss, allow the world to carry on around you, leaving you to your own personal space and inner thoughts.
Once you have finished your tea return the used spices, tea leaves and herbs back to Mother Earth either via your garden or your compost heap.
And of course if you have a nice slice of cake to go with your cuppa…so much the better…
Tea
(Camellia sinensis)
A good ole cup of tea (see previous chapter on The Magic of Tea).
Your tea leaves are not only good for divination they also hold excellent magical properties. Tea is ruled by the Sun and the element of fire so it packs a huge powerful punch of magical energy.
Tea is lovely to drink before meditation, helping you relax and let go of your worries.
Tea leaves can be used in all kinds of magical workings to bring about courage, strength and prosperity.
Tea Magical Properties:
Meditation, courage, strength, prosperity
Ruling planet – Sun
Element – Fire
Gender – Masculine
Coffee
(coffea)
A favourite caffeine fuelled brew made from the roasted beans (seeds) of an evergreen shrub from the coffea genus – usually coffea Arabica or coffea canephora.
Now I have to admit I am a bit of a coffee wuss…it has to be a latte and it has to have heap loads of caramel syrup in otherwise I don’t like the taste much but I love the smell of freshly roasted coffee.
Our wake me up, pick me up tonic has been drunk since around 800AD.
Coffee brings the magical (and practical) boost of energy and clarity of thought. Although apparently in Constantinople it was banned at one stage because it made people too clear headed…
It rates as a fire element but I have also added water as an element too because in liquid form a higher percentage of your cup of coffee is water.
If you aren’t into karma or worried about free will…coffee can be used to encourage people to come around to your way of thinking or do what you want them to. Make them a cup of coffee and add sugar to sweeten their mood, as you stir the coffee visualise your desired outcome. In hoodoo bodily fluids are added to cups of coffee for much the same purpose…
African tribes have been known to crush the ripe coffee berries, mix them with animal fat and roll into balls. These would then be served to those going to war providing the warriors with nourishment in the form of the fat and coffee protein and the caffeine high as a stimulant…I suspect it tasted horrible!
Coffee grounds can also be used in divination just as you would read tea leaves.
Coffee also works very well in hex or curse breaking spells.
Add a drop of freshly brewed coffee to your bath water to help clear away illness.
Add coffee beans to your incense blends to create not only a pleasant scent but also to bring protection to your home and dispel negative energy.
I would suggest sticking to coffee beans or freshly ground coffee for magical work rather than instant as it tends to be stronger and have better results.
Coffee Magical Properties:
Energy, clarity, divination
Ruling planet – Mars
Element – Fire, Water
Gender – Feminine
A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Food by Rachel Patterson
Photo by Sergey Norkov on Unsplash
