Luck By the Cup

When you are crafting money magic, it is good to get in the manifesting mindset with some prosperity tea.

Gather together:

    2 cups fresh water

    Teapot    

    Green mug

    Strainer

    1 tablespoon dried rose hips

    1 tablespoon dried chamomile

    1 teaspoon orange peel

    1 cinnamon stick

Steep the rose hips, chamomile, and orange peel in the freshly boiled water for 4 minutes. Strain and pour a cup of tea and stir widdershins, or counterclockwise, in the mug for a moment. As you drink, visualize the abundance coming into your life.

Steeped in Wisdom

Different kinds of tea can combine to make a powerful concoction. A pot of your favorite grocer’s black tea can become a magical potion with the addition of a thin slice of ginger root, a pinch of dried chamomile, and the same amount of peppermint tea. This ambrosial brew can calm any storm at home or at work.

Herbal tea nourishes the soul, heals the body, and calms the mind. Try these:

• Blackberry leaf tea reduces mood swings, and it evens glucose levels, aiding in weight management. This miraculous herbal even helps circulation and such issues as inflammation and varicose veins. It is helpful to cancer patients and is believed to be a preventative.
• Cardamom is a favorite of expectant mothers everywhere as it calms nausea and morning sickness; this fragrant East Indian spice is excellent for digestion and clears and cleans your mouth and throat. Anyone who likes cinnamon will love cardamom.
• Nettle raises your energy level, boosts the immune system, and is packed with iron and vitamins.
• Fennel is awakening and uplifting and is excellent for digestion and cleansing. Fennel is also is a natural breath freshener.
• Catnip is one of the witchiest of teas; it is not only grown as fun for your feline familiar. Catnip is a gentle but potent sleep-inducer. At the first inkling of a sore throat or impending cold, drink a warm cup of catnip tea and head off to bed and you will awaken feeling much better. Catnip soothes the nervous system and can safely help get a restless child off to sleep.
• Echinacea lends an increased and consistent sense of well-being and prevents colds and flu. It is a very powerful immune booster. Take a simmered low echinacea root tea for up to two weeks at a time to jumpstart your immune system; an ounce a week of echinacea tincture will also serve if convenience is needed. (The tincture is rather medicinal tasting, so best dilute it in a cup of juice or your favorite plant-based beverage.)
• Ginger Root calms and cheers while aiding digestion, fighting nausea, and helping fend off coughs and sore throats.
• Dandelion Root grounds and centers as it provides many minerals and nutrients. This wonderful weed is also a cleanser and a wholly natural detoxifier and liver tonic

Tea-lepathy

The humble dandelion, abhorred by lawn keepers everywhere, hides its might very well. Dandelion root tea can call upon the spirit of anyone whose advice you might need. Simply place a freshly brewed simple using this herbal root on your bedroom altar or nightstand. Before you sleep, say the name of your spirit helper aloud seven times. In a dream or vision, the spirit will visit you and answer all your questions. During medieval times, this spell was used to find hidden treasure. Chaucer, who was well-versed in astrology and other metaphysics, advised this tried-and-true tea.

Jasmine Tea Will Bring You Joy

Jasmine tea is a delightful concoction and can create an aura of bliss and conviviality. It is available at any grocer or purveyor of organic goods, but homegrown is even better. Brew a cup of jasmine tea and let it cool. Add two parts lemonade and drink the mixture with a good friend. Jasmine is a vine and represents the intertwining of people. You will be more bonded to anyone with whom you share this sweet ritual. This is also a tonic in which you can indulge alone. I recommend brewing up a batch every Monday, or “Moon Day,” to ensure that each week is filled with joyfulness.

Black and Green Tea

Use black tea for an upset tummy and diarrhea. Green tea strengthens the immune system, and you can reuse lightly moistened tea bags to stanch minor cuts or calm insect bites.

Two Simples Every Woman Should Know

Red raspberry leaf and chasteberry are each simples that are invaluable for women’s health and healing. Raspberry leaf taken as an infusion can prevent menstrual cramps for most women. Take a teaspoon to a small handful (depending on severity of cramps experienced) and steep covered in freshly boiled water for ten minutes. Head those cramps off at the pass by drinking one cup per day for a week before you expect your cycle to begin. (For severe cramps, take this herb every day of the month!) This herb actually has a pleasant flavor and can be used to make caffeine-free ice tea or sweet tea (but if you are having cramps on the day you plan to drink it, its healing effect will work better if you drink it warm). Raspberry leaf combines well both in taste and effect with many other common simples, such as chamomile or mint, so you can experiment with flavor combinations…or even invent your own custom moon time tea!

Why does raspberry leaf have this wonderful effect? An aromatherapist of my acquaintance tells me that in pharmacological research, this plant has been shown to improve the tone and condition of the uterus! Which is why it is also the number one simple an expectant mother ought to include in her regimen. At least one strong cup daily is recommended to support your body in the process of creation during every month of pregnancy.

Chasteberry (also known as “Vitex” from its scientific name, Vitex agnus castus), is the number one simple for the power surges known as hot flashes frequently experienced by ladies in their middle years. The part used is the berries; simmer a couple of teaspoons low in a cup or two of water after bringing the water to a boil, making sure to cover the pot so as not to lose the medicinal volatile essence. This herb tastes medicinal but not terrible and can be combined with any mild herbal tea for flavor. If you prefer convenience, either chasteberry or raspberry leaf can be purchased in capsules, though it is a bit more costly to take them that way.

Always choose organic medicinal herbs when you can find (and afford) them, not only to be kind to Mother Earth but because their healing effects are stronger.

Simples

Teas brewed from a single herb are commonly called simples, a lovely phrase from olden times. Experience has taught me that simples often have the most potency; the purity of that single plant essence can come through undiluted. There are a plentitude of helpful, healing, and tasty simples you can brew, but yarrow is one you should brew regularly. Boil one pint of spring water. Combine with a half-ounce of dried yarrow in your favorite crockery pot. Steep for ten minutes and strain with a nonmetallic implement, such as an inexpensive bamboo strainer or cheesecloth. Sweeten with honey; clover honey intensifies the positivity of this potion and makes it a supremely lucky drink. Yarrow brings courage and nourishes a strong heart as it is a major medicinal; it is also useful for fever. All these aspects make yarrow one of the most strengthening of all simples.

Healing in a Bowl: Ginger Carrot Soup

Ginger is an energetic herb, and it adds a bit of fire and spice to anything in which it is used, whether that is a healing cup of tea, a salad, a savory dish, or this special soup. Ginger root is a quickener and is renowned for how it can make magic happen faster. It is also medicinal and helps heals from colds, congestions, flus, and fever. Combine ginger with carrots, which are wonderfully grounding and bring what is hidden to light, and you have a simple soup that can ground and center you, heal you, and make you more psychic—all at a faster pace. And as if that wasn’t enough, it is beautiful to smell and to see and is pleasing to the senses in all ways. This is what you need for this bowlful of soothing soup:

• 1 pound of carrots, cleaned and sliced; set aside the carrot greens
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, extra for garnish
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 cups fresh water
• 1 lemon

Put all the carrots except for one in a big pot and cover with water; simmer on medium heat and add in the ginger, garlic, pepper, and salt after the first five minutes. Place the last carrot on your altar. After twenty to twenty-five minutes, the carrots should be tender. Transfer everything to a blender and blend until smooth. At the very end, add in several squeezes of lemon juice. Give a stir and pour into bowls or mugs while nice and warm. Use a few leaves from the carrot tops and a tiny sprinkling of red pepper as garnish.

Coziness by the Cup: Ambrosial Brews

Herbal tea conjures a very powerful alchemy because when you drink it, you take the magic inside. For an ambrosial brew with the power to calm any storm, add a sliver of ginger root and a pinch each of chamomile and peppermint to a cup of hot black tea. Before you drink, pray:

This day I pray for calm, for health,

And the wisdom to see the beauty of each 

waking moment.

Blessings abound.

Herbal teas can also nourish the soul and heal the body:

• Blueberry Leaf Tea
• Reduces mood swings, evens glucose levels, and helps varicose veins.
• Nettle
• Raises the energy level, boosts the immune system, and is packed with iron and vitamins.
• Fennel
• Awakens and uplifts, freshens the breath, and aids colon health.
• Echinacea
• Supports an increased and consistent sense of well-being and prevents colds and flu.
• Ginger Root
• Calms and cheers while preventing nausea and aiding digestion and circulation.
• Dandelion Root
• Grounds and centers, provides many minerals and nutrients, and cleanses the liver of toxins.

The Scent of Sheer Joy

Lavender is blessedly easy to grow as it is a shrubby plant of Mediterranean origins. It is prized for its lovely scent and is a very powerful healing plant with many other properties: it is used for making teas and tisanes, infusing into honey, and many other practical uses. It can even prosper in dry and drought-prone areas, so make sure your kitchen garden has at least one of the hardy varieties of lavender so you can dry bundles to use in your spellwork as well as in your recipes.

Coltsfoot Cures Coughs

Coltsfoot, also called Butterbur, is so named for the leaf’s resemblance to a horse’s hoof. Viewed as a weed, except by those who know, this spiky flowering plant grows wild along creeks, wetlands, or loamy fields. Tussilago, its Latinate botanical name, means “cough dispeller,” and this is a powerful aid to those with asthma or bronchial conditions and is very good medicine for colds and flu. In folklore, young maidens would use the leaves in a simple spell to see their future husband off in the distance galloping toward her. Truly knowledgeable hedge healers have a herd of coltsfoot in the shadiest, dampest part of their property. Coltsfoot’s medicinal mojo can be unleashed by infusing its leaves and/or flowers as a steeped tea. It is also commonly used as an ingredient in non-tobacco smoking blends; though naturally smoking of any sort is stressful to the lungs, if someone is determined to smoke in any case, smoking a little coltsfoot is thought to be a lung tonic.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Thyme has so much to offer, including relief for colds, coughs, and congestion; above all, it is an antimicrobial and antispasmodic. One cup of tea made from a teaspoon of dried thyme leaves steeped “in boiling water will bring much healing energy to you and your family.

Slippery Elm Bark (Ulmus rubra)

Slippery Elm Bark has even been approved by the FDA as a remedy for the irritation of sore throats and other sighs of an impending cold, including coughs. This herbal can also help with stomach upset and help with heartburn. A powdered version of the bark can easily be obtained at any health food store or upscale greengrocer, which can be made into a tea; use one to two teaspoons of the powdered bark, and you can drink it twice a day.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

We know sage is great for as a smudge or incense for clearing spaces as well as a savory for soups, roasts, dressing, stews, and much more, but it is also a highly regarded treatment at European spas for sweating, menopause, hot flashes, night sweats and accompanying discomfort. It is also an excellent remedy for colds, coughs, and sore throats. Simply make sage tea with one teaspoon of the dried leaves which you can drink or gargle to amend a sore throat.

*Pregnant women should not use this.

Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Nettle has been used as a healer for untold centuries; it relieves allergies, it is an immune booster, and it can even help with a distended prostate. It is also a superfood and beloved for its nutrients. If you are working with fresh nettles, wear gloves to avoid the stinging. Cooking or drying removes any irritant. Any herb or health food store will have dried nettle both in bulk and capsule form. Make nettle tea by steeping two teaspoons of leaves for ten minutes covered or “take the capsules in recommended doses of 300 to 500 mg twice a day.

Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus)

Here is an herbalist’s favorite for healing any respiratory ailment involving congestion, coughs, sore throats, and supporting lung function and clear breathing. Take one heaping tablespoon of the leaves and steep in one cup of boiling water covered for no more than ten minutes. Once you take mullein as a tea, you’ll feel better soon. Mullein flowers infused in oil are also used to aid earaches.

Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)

While it may seem like this is another “candy as medicine,” marshmallow is a time-tested plant long employed in field medicine rather than a sugary pillow. It is highly valued as it contains a lot of mucilage, the same substance which coats our mouth and throat as well as the stomach and gut. Minced fresh, dried root, or the leaves are equally healing in quarter cup quantities; an infusion of the leaves may be drunk after it has steeped for four hours covered. Strain out the stems and drink hot, cool, sweetened, or however you like this gentle herb. If you choose marshmallow root, simmer low covered for twenty minutes, then let cool; the brew may be taken at any temperature you prefer.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

This revered candy classic is also a wonderful anti-inflammatory which relieves the discomfort of colds in the sinuses. It can soothe sore throats and coughs and is a curative for gastrointestinal issues. Treat licorice root exactly as you would ginger with one minced teaspoon of fresh or dried simmered low covered in one cup of water twice a day to make a naturally sweet tea. Also, you can add licorice root to other herbal teas as it will sweeten them, besides adding its medicinal virtues, which tend to combine well with those of many other basic remedies.

Kava (Piper methysticum)

This root is also said to be highly effective as a muscle relaxer and for reducing anxiety. Kava can be handled the same as ginger, with one tablespoon of minced root or dried root simmered low and taken as tea. I recommend seeing how it affects you before you raise the dose to two or three cups of tea per day, which is recommended. If you take it as a supplement, when considering taking more than 250 mg. per day (a fraction of the weight of a US penny) or for longer than a week, make sure you are under the care of a qualified health professional. As with many, many powerful remedies, if you take it all the time without breaks, it won’t work anymore right when you need it most.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

Beloved for the heavenly sweet perfume of its flowers, hibiscus is also a powerful diuretic and can lower blood pressure. As if that is not enough, it can also help sore throats and colds. Similarly to other herbal applications, steeping a tablespoon of the dried flowers in a cup of freshly boiled water for ten minutes and drinking this infusion twice a day is the desired treatment.