In the later half of the book, each chapter is devoted to a specific theme with a suggested component list, preparation ideas (timing), and a host of recipes for both consumption and spellcraft purposes. Some of the themes that are covered are "keeping love true," "prosperity potions," and "concocting a little luck." Whether you're creating a drink so you can internalize its qualities for daily living, or making it for a friend, there's something here for all occasions, needs, and tastes.
In the later half of the book, each chapter is devoted to a specific theme with a suggested component list, preparation ideas (timing), and a host of recipes for both consumption and spellcraft purposes. Some of the themes that are covered are "keeping love true," "prosperity potions," and "concocting a little luck." Whether you're creating a drink so you can internalize its qualities for daily living, or making it for a friend, there's something here for all occasions, needs, and tastes.
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Overview
In the later half of the book, each chapter is devoted to a specific theme with a suggested component list, preparation ideas (timing), and a host of recipes for both consumption and spellcraft purposes. Some of the themes that are covered are "keeping love true," "prosperity potions," and "concocting a little luck." Whether you're creating a drink so you can internalize its qualities for daily living, or making it for a friend, there's something here for all occasions, needs, and tastes.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781564144867 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 03/04/2009 |
| Series: | Beverages and Brews Series |
| Pages: | 224 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.25(w) x 8.25(h) x (d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Then and Now: Religion, Myth, and Magick
"As he brews, so shall he drink."
— Ben Johnson
"Since nature's holy law is drinking, I'll make the law of nature mine and pledge the universe in wine."
— Tom Moore
The history of beverages and specifically brewing is far more intimately linked with religion, lore, and societal traditions than most people realize. There was even a time when certain beverages had to be prepared by a priest or monk, feeling that the art was a sacred task. Add to that the fact that we still call alcohol "spirits" and continue to toast special occasions with beverages (which is actually a kind of invocation), and you begin to see how much of our drinking customs have a mystical connection — albeit somewhat removed from our modern mind-set, except perhaps in a few spiritual sectors.
Today's witches, for example, are very practical and creative. We look to everything in the world as having potential in our practices, including our foods and beverages. In fact, these hold even more potential because you consume them, literally taking the energy into yourself and accepting it into every cell in your body. Before you can make this huge leap from just grabbing a glass of water to quaffing magick, however, it helps to see from where our methods and ideas on this subject originate.
Historical and Magickal Roots
To understand the ancient reverence for beverages, we have to turn back the hands of time. In humankind's earlier history, water was not always safe to consume. So when brewing came along it was honored as a gift of the gods that could keep people healthy and make them feel happy. Thus it was that all manner of fermented beverages found their way into healing, the church, social occasions, and magickal methods.
On a far simpler level, the human body requires a certain amount of liquid to survive. So, milk and water held similar places of honor. Milk, for example, often symbolized the Goddess being that it's a beverage produced by woman that literally gives life to a child and protects the baby's health. Water in desert regions was often used as a viable, and very costly, offering to the Divine when needs were pressing. To give of something that was in such short supply surely would get a god or goddess's attention!
Here is a brief overview of the ways in which specific beverages were introduced into religious and magickal settings throughout history:
Beer: Egyptians had beer very early, perhaps as long ago as 6,000 B.C.E. They credited this beverage to the wise god Osiris, and used it in rituals in his honor. They also included beers in their divine myths, and as part of embalming traditions where it (or sometimes wine) was buried with the mummy for that person's enjoyment in the afterlife.
Much later in history we find medieval monks and nuns using beer as part of healing, often adding magickal methods to the preparations neatly disguised with Christian-sounding prayers. In Germany, beer halls were considered one of the few places legal transactions could take place because no one would insult these walls with false intentions. There was even a special profession here for the person who brewed beer for Pagan offerings. That individual was to have no other duties then tending the sacred brews.
In Celtic society, beer was a part of every social occasion and named accordingly. For example, beer for a burial might be called "inheritance beer." In this setting, priests were often in charge of brewing, and it was regarded as quite an honorable vocation.
Coffee: Coffee was (and still is) a well-honored beverage in Arabia, where it is used as part of hospitality rites and in the rituals of the Whirling Dervishes. In this part of the world there is even a patron saint of coffee lovers: Sheikhesh Shadhilly!
Distilled Beverages: These likely originated in Arabic cultures, but this is a best guess by historians, and the early histories of this type of drink are very sketchy. Even so, during the Middle Ages we find people drinking a distilled mixture called Aqua Vitae with dozens of herbs steeped within to insure health and longevity.
Haomas: A Persian beverage believed to confer longevity to those who consumed it, haomas symbolized the earth's bounty and immortality. It was often used as both an offering for Ormuzd, a greater god, and as a panacea.
Mead: A type of honey wine very popular among Saxons, it was used as part of wedding rites to insure fertility and love. Many weddings were actually followed by a month (one full moon cycle) of mead drinking which is how we come by the modern phrase "honeymoon." Greeks and Romans alike revered this beverage for its magickal healing qualities, and in ancient Alexandria a cup of mead was often left on tables to invoke the Goddess on the last day of the month.
Milk: Since the very first mammal suckled its child, there has been milk on this planet. As a symbol of nurturing sustenance and the feminine creative power, there is little else to compare to this beverage. It is not surprising to discover that it was considered a sacred beverage to many mother goddess figures.
As an interesting side note, the domestication of animals in Neolithic times has an extra benefit: ready milk! Rather than gathering it from nuts or having to chase after milk-producing animals, the creatures were at hand, which also meant the milk would not spoil!
Soma: Soma was an herbal beverage created in Central Asia specifically for religious observances. In Hindu tradition it represented faithfulness, friendship, and the spirit of the muse. In fact, the texts of the Rig Veda calls soma "master of a thousand songs" and "leader of sages."
Tea: A very ancient beverage, tea was already a staple trade good in China by 500 C.E. Long before this, however, we discover tea as part of elaborate rituals here, and in other Eastern lands, because it was sacred to Buddha. When tea found its way to Europe and beyond, it quickly became a favorite herb to use in divination.
TzeMai: This is a mythical immortality beverage in China for which philosophers and priests searched so diligently that they experienced advancements in medicine, science, and geography in the process!
Wine: Numerous sacred texts ranging from the Bible, the Edda, and Ramses IV tablets all speak of wine in a religious setting. In Egypt specifically, wine was considered suited to the gods and goddesses to please their palate, especially Isis. It was also often left with bodies of Pharaohs and other people of import upon mummification. During the reign of Ramses alone, the family donated 250,000 jugs of wine to the temples.
In Greece, people connected wine so strongly with the image of Dionysus that the god himself was said to live in each glass poured out. It's not surprising that we discover a method of divination by wine in this region, and it was also used as part of the traditional rites of passage for young men.
Celts were similarly enamored of wine. Here you could often find families or groups of warriors drinking from one common cup of wine to create unity and kinship among them. Singular cups were also used in wedding rites to link the couple's destiny.
This review is but a short montage from a much larger picture. Beverages have touched nearly every part of human life, from our daily meals to celebrations and the early sciences. At least part of the reason beverages found a comfortable niche in so many settings is because they were included in the great bardic stories told again and again at the fireside and the hearth.
Legends and Lore
The complete beverage picture includes the great myths and legends woven by storytellers throughout the millennia. Above and beyond the fact that these stories give us a peek into the way ancient people perceived the world and its mysteries, they also reveal a lot of magick and mysticism along the way.
Norse:
The Viking people were a hearty lot. Their folklore speaks of an odd custom upon death. Specifically, a person's spirit must consume all the beer spilled during life before entering their final rest in Valhalla. I suspect this story was meant to encourage care with precious beverages, but in looking back over my college years I'm not sure I'd ever reach Valhalla!
Once this vigorous test is passed, the spirit then goes to a special feast that includes mead taken from the base of the Yggdrasil tree, the tree of life. All who partake of this elixir are guaranteed eternal life and well-being in the company of their gods.
Two other great Norse legends (or at least my personal favorites) have to do with Saga and Thor. The first begins with Saga, the patroness of history, being visited by Odin. When he drank of her golden mead-cup, he was given the knowledge of the past, present, and future!
The second story tells us that Loki challenged Thor to a drinking contest. Being the typical trickster, Loki put the end of Thor's drinking horn in the sea. Needless to say, Thor did not win that match, and the ebb tide remains to this day to remind Thor of his attempt at one-upmanship!
German: Speaking of the gods, the stories of Thor indicate he has a special fondness for red beverages. If you offer the first goblet of red wine to him at a wedding, the festivities will be insured of good weather! Another god, Bragi, was in charge of keeping the mead that provided any who drank it with the gift of the muse and poetry. If anyone invoked Bragi's blessing on a cup, they would be granted tremendous orative skills. This connotation slowly transformed to the god's name being used for a modern word: brag!
French: The classical story of Tristan and Isolt teaches us much of magickal responsibility. Tristan was a great man, and Isolt a great beauty who was promised to another. Sadly the two drank a love potion, gazed on one another, and were doomed to love from a distance forever. While we do not know what beverages were used for this mixture, we do know one thing: Such powerful brews shouldn't be left laying around!
Chinese: Ancestor worship played a key role in beverage myths and practices here. According to lore, one should always leave fermented beverages for the deceased because it makes a spirit happy (thereby decreasing the chance of being haunted!).
Hindu: An old Indus legend says that the mighty god Indra drank three bowls of soma to absorb its life-giving qualities. Once these were consumed, Indra could then extend his influence throughout the world. Thus, priests and priestesses of Indra often used soma as a preferred beverage to boost magickal power!
Persian: Besides the haomas known for its wealth-producing qualities, another beverage appears in Persian stories called Banga. According to the sage Zoroaster, this drink could produce divine visions. Zoroaster (whose name, by the way, means keeper of old camels) may have been quite correct considering that one ingredient of this mixture was hemp seed!
Egyptian: There are dozens of stories in Egypt that talk about wine and beer, but my favorite begins with Ra. At one point the great god grew weary of human folly and sent Hathor to destroy everyone. Once his anger quelled, he reconsidered his own hastiness and tried to get Hathor to stop. The only way the goddess was going to be appeased was by some fast thinking on Ra's part. He poured out 7,000 jugs of beer into a field to where Hathor was heading. When she saw this, she partook of the beer and her anger disappeared. Humankind was saved.
While our world no longer sees brewing as a great mystery and has lost sight of these wonderful tales in all their charm, there is no denying the importance of such legends and lore to our magickal practices. Wiccans remain aware that certain images of the God or Goddess are fond of beverage offerings. We also know that beverages can be used for asperging, for libations, for after-ritual enjoyment, and much more if approached respectfully. At least part of the key to understanding comes from history and heritage. Another key can be found in the healing arts.
Medicinal Beverages
Another reason people held alcoholic beverages in high esteem can be uncovered in reviewing ancient prescriptions. Tinctures, beers, wines, and other potent potables were often used as a base in these blends, neatly covering the taste of a nasty medicine and getting a stubborn person to rest. Additionally, liqueurs provided a perfect medium into which one could steep herbs for various remedial results.
How did healers choose the media and blend? Some recipes were carefully guarded and handed down healer to student, or through cultural lines. Alternatively, a country healer might choose his or her blends by their symbolic value, which is still important to our magick today. For example, red wine was often chosen as a good base into which herbs for blood troubles would be placed. Blood, being red, indicates what color herbs or beverages should be used in the treatment process. This is called the Law of Similars.
Adapting the Law of Similars to any spell or charm is very simple. You look for a beverage whose color matches your goal somehow. So, because red wine was used for blood or heart treatments, how about it as part of a love spell, or one to heal a broken heart?
Here's a list of some of the other beverages used in healing and the symbolic value they have considering their applications:
Cider: This was a chemical also considered a cold drink suited for treating fevers. Adapt this slightly to cool a hot head!
Distilled Beverages: These were used for many different prescriptions, but often in the belief that the more costly the base, the better the results. So, add some expensive liqueur to your spell components to boost power.
Mead: This overall health-promoting beverage could be used to improve mental, spiritual, or physical well-being, or perhaps aid the healthiness of a job situation or relationship. Mead was also a common component in toothache and gum curatives, making a potential addition to communication brews.
Tea: Another fairly widely applied curative, tea probably saw the greatest amount of use with chest congestion and stress-related disorders. This gives it strong connections with the Air element or energy for peacefulness and calming.
Tincture: A tincture blends tea and alcohol into a very mild mixture often applied for spasms of any sort (coughing, twitching, restless fidgeting, etc.). With this in mind, we might use it magickally to calm and pacify erratic energy.
Tonics: By definition, a tonic is any water-based blend used to improve energy, revitalize, stimulate, strengthen, and/or nurture. No tweaking needed here for magickal applications!
Wine: Egyptians used wine in healing because it was associated with the Snake Goddess, who provided health, longevity, and rebirth. Bearing this in mind, it is magickally suited to secure endurance for self or a beloved project, or help with new beginnings.
Another interesting thing about the old remedials is that instructions often include magickal-sounding methods mixed in for good measure. Specific moonsigns were chosen as the best time to create a blend, specific numbers of herbs added into it, and then appropriate chants or prayers said over the finished product.
It should be noted too that many of the beverages that came from the witch's cauldron were effective. For example, the old gag of witches using toads in brewing isn't so crazy sounding when you realize that folkhealers were using toad skin to treat heart problems (toad skin has a chemical similar to digitalis). Likewise, healers in China used bones to treat convulsions even as modern physicians administer calcium!
It was in this manner that the early healers remained aware of their responsibility to the community, and served it with practicality in one hand and magick in the other!
Summary
In our ancestors search to improve their lives, they often looked to beverages as part of the answer, or perhaps part of the question. As they thirsted after understanding and discovered new things, they diligently left us thirst-quenching recipes and lore to ponder. You will find many of those ancient recipes and beliefs in this book so you can partake in the heritage, and hopefully answer part of your own quest in the process. The ultimate goal of a kitchen witch or folk magician is to live the magick, and bringing that special spark to our beverages is one way of doing just that.
CHAPTER 2From Cauldron to Cup: Making the Magick!
"Bread to feed our friendship, salt to keep it true, water that's for welcome, wine to drink for you."
— W. French
"There is naught, no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion."
— Lord Byron
Bill Moyers in The Power of Myth said that "myths are the stories of our search through the ages for truth, for meaning, for significance." To witches, this is a very important statement that we take to heart. As did the cunning folk of old, we look for deeper connotations to global myths and lore and then use that meaning as a motivating force for magickal manifestation!
In Chapter 1, you saw that there are plenty of such stories surrounding beverages. The next logical step becomes looking at how we can apply them effectively in our beverage preparation, serving, and final utilization.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "A Witch's Beverages and Brews"
by .
Copyright © 2001 Patricia Telesco.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction,
Part One - History's Chalice,
Chapter 1: Then and Now - Religion, Myth, and Magick,
Chapter 2: From Cauldron To Cup: Making The Magick!,
Chapter 3: Helpful Hints,
Part 2 - The Recipes,
Appendix A: Beverages, Ingredients, and Divine/Magickal Associations,
Appendix B: Symbolism and Correspondences,
Appendix C: Possible Brewing Deities,
Appendix D: U.S. To Metric Conversions,
Bibliography,
Index,