I've always been a big fan of tea. Tea is soothing, relaxing, warming, and delicious. For a while now, I've been toying with the idea of incorporating tea in my magic, and my daughter provided the perfect catalyst when she gave me an assortment of five teas packaged by the Ten Ren Tea Company.
Each of the teas comes in a shiny little box (see below), and each variety has a certain quality attached to it. For instance, The Oolong is supposed to bring blessings, the To Kuan Yin brings good fortune, the Shou Mei Tea promotes health, the Jasmine brings happiness, and the Shui Sin encourages wealth.
After some reflection, I decided to take this concept one step farther and assign magical qualities to the herbal teas I make from herbs grown in my own garden, as well as those I buy in the store. I'm including my current list below. It's very unfinished, but you're welcome to copy it as a basis for your own experiments with tea magic.
- Peppermint: Spice of life, invigoration, zest and a sense of fun.
- Rose hip: Romance and love
- Chamomile: Dream work, astral traveling, creativity
- Lavender: Money, success, beauty, youthening.
- Yarrow: Magic, divination, dream work
- Rue: Banishes negativity and regret, heals sorrow.
- Rosemary: Physical energy, psychic energy, purification.
- Thyme: Banishes nightmares.
- Clove - Friendship, granting wishes, healing.
- Dandelion - Helps to improve clairvoyance, purification.
- Ginger Root - Love, money, success, power.
- Lemon Verbena - Protection from harm, attraction of love.
- Nutmeg - Luck, love, prosperity (and yummy cookies!)
My tea ritual/spell is a very simple one. The teapot I chose is short and fat and painted with pictures of cats drinking tea. The matching cup that goes with it is also short and very fat. I love it! It's very important to make sure that everything you choose as part of this ritual be pleasing to you. Here's how it goes:
1. Choose a teapot and cup that are visually pleasing to you. It doesn't matter if they match or not.
2. Assign a specific meaning to the tea you are going to brew.
3. Write down on a piece of white paper exactly what you hope to accomplish with this spell.
4. Fold the paper into a pleasing shape, whether it's a geometric shape or an origami flower - anything that looks pretty to you works. Place the paper in your empty tea cup.
5. Concentrate all your energy on what it is you want while you prepare the tea.
6. Remove the folded paper from your cup and discard it with the used tea leaves.
7. Enjoy your tea and relax, secure in the knowledge that what you asked for will be granted to you.
Blessings,
Robyn