44 Days of Witchery - Day 43
A magical recipe.
In the coven I used to be in, we drank Faerie tea almost every Litha and then would take a "faerie walk" where there was some wilderness. Our recipe was similar but I think we were doing faerie tea before this book came out... or perhaps we got our recipe from the book! I wasn't in charge of the tea and faerie walk planning. :)
~ Faerie Tea ~
(For seeing the Fae)
Combine in a teapot:
3 tsp black tea
1/2 tsp chamomile
1 tsp dandelion root
1/2 tsp elder flower
1/2 tsp hops
1/2 tsp mugwort
1/2 tsp raspberry leaf
1 1/2 tsp rose hips
saying as you drop the herbs into the pot or filter basket:
"Black for power; apple of night, root of the sun, Lady’s blessing, Lord’s
leap for joy, then between the worlds to Fairy bramble, with token of love,
brewed to bring Fair Ones close to me."
If not using an automatic tea maker, boil water in a kettle and add to a teapot
that was warmed with a bit of hot water before the tea leaves and herbs were
put in. Let steep for five minutes. Warm a second teapot by swirling inside it
more hot water from the kettle. Pour out the water and strain the brewed tea
into this warmed pot. Add to taste in your teacup whatever sweetener and milk
you like. You may want to have something to eat such as cookies or tea biscuits
(Scottish shortbread is very good and can be found in most supermarkets), or
other tea snack. This can be part of your Cakes and Wine ritual toward the end
of your spellwork, or you can use it to set the mood prior to your Faerie
magics.
(From "Green Witchcraft III: The Manual", by Ann Moura)
Edited to add:
I found the coven recipe that we used for our Faerie tea.
"Equal parts of Elderflower, Chamomile and Lavender, bring to a boil and make a strong mixture."
We used 2 cups water and 2 tablespoons of each herb, boiled for 3 minutes and steeped for 30. Let it cool and then refrigerate overnight. In the morning, the tea was mixed 1 cup tea to 2 cups elderberry nectar and kept cool until the ritual.
Knowing now what I know, I would not boil the herb at all. Instead I would make an infusion by adding a quart of boiling water to 1 oz of dried herb (the 3 herbs divided equally 1/3 oz each) and steeping it a couple hours, then strain and chill.
I think it would be interesting to compare the two recipes and their effects.
