by Sue Baxter
I have grown herbs for many years, and use them in cooking, cleaning, for making incense etc. While beginning my studies on the OBOD Ovate course, and after a visit to Chambawallah Teas shop in Birmingham, I felt guided to research, journey and create a tea ritual. I have created my tea mix for a healing ritual. You may create other mixes for maybe tonics or transformation?
The important things to think about when thinking of creating a tea ritual are,
How are you going to get the ingredients and create the tea mix?
What equipment do you need to create the ritual?
How will you create the sacred space for the ritual?
The following is my process, from thinking about what the ingredients may be, through to preparing a ritual for someone. I have added some of the blessings that I use, you may choose your own, relevant to the way that you work in ritual. I have divided the process into three parts.
Information, herbs and items you may need
Preparing the items, and day before the ritual preparation.
Preparing and creating the ritual.
Collecting/buying/storing of Herbs and Ritual Items:
The first thing is to decide how you will get the herbs you need for a tea ritual, this may include growing them, you may know where wild herbs grow and are able to forage for them, buying herbs from a garden centre or maybe buying dried herbs online. You may use this recipe or like to try your own.
Each time I collect herbs, I always ask for Bridget’s wisdom to help me in my tea ritual work with the following blessing:
To the great goddess of Ireland and beyond
I anoint my head as you anointed those you blessed
Oh Brigid, I too ask for your blessing and wisdom, and knowledge,
The wonderful, gifted Celtic goddess that you are.
I am humbled by the bees who bought their magickal nectar
from your Apple Orchards in the otherworld.
As you walked, your feet like kisses to the earth, -shamrocks and flowers would appear
Please share with me your knowledge of herbs and otherworldly help
In this great time of healing, I too can pass healing to others, so they can find their way
Come share with me so I can walk in your footsteps, and my steps be like kisses to the earth,
deepen my spirituality and wisdom, for the benefit of all sentient beings.
You may need to dry the herbs, and when completely dry, finely chop them and store them in air tight containers. I use jars to store all my herbs, with the herb names and dates that the herbs were picked on labels.
Collecting items to use
This is a list of the items that have become sacred for my tea ritual, you may have similar or chose different items for yours.
~ Blue bottle for the water that I use, and a pink quartz crystal programmed for healing. Picture.
~ Circular tray symbolic of the Earth, of the circle of the year, and of the sacred circle that we create for
ritual and ceremony.
~ Two cloths, to sit in the tray – the first representing the elements, and the second one representing the
Tree of Life.
~ Ritual tea pot, and cups for herbal preparations. I recently bought these cups, thinking they were very
apt for the ritual.
~ I have small spoon for measuring the herbs into one of the teas, and a dish for mixing the tea, and a box to keep the tea in.
I prepare the water and tea the day before to give them time to blend…To read the entire article click here…