Tag: tea

Exploring the Lunar Cycles with Tea and Tarot: Full Moon

Greetings on this Full Moon in Gemini!

The Tea

The summer heat has already set in here in the South. So, as Grandmother moon reaches her fullness, I have chosen apple and elderberry tea to quench the thirst of my wild essence. It’s delicious fruity flavour and aroma is the perfect fit for sultry summer evenings. Both the apple and elderberry are strongly tied to Goddess, moon and earth-based traditions, woven into stories, myth and songs. And with little bits of hibiscus added to it, the tea takes on the colour of blood, a reminder of the deep feminine qualities within. I feel a subtle stirring in my heart with each mindful sip that I take. In my mind’s eye, I see Goddess flowing into me and filling me with the healing medicine that my soul needs right now.

The Tarot

Coincidently, the card that I drew for today’s guidance is the Moon card. It makes me feel that Goddess is speaking very loudly to me through the energy of the moon today, as if sing the wolf call that I’ve been howling to her for so long back to me and saying “I see you, I hear you.” So I am taking her cue to attune to the subtle rhythms of my inner wilds, to allow my intuitive nudges to guide me and to nurture my emotional self. I also feel this card is an acknowledgement of the hard work we’ve all put in to this year and projects that have come to completion. For me, one of those things is the publication of my book, Wild Essence. December is the time when we’re exhausted and ready to both celebrate and release what has been endured. We are also to simply collapse and rest. Yes, there is still more to be done. But let us work wisely and not get too caught up in the chaotic energy of the festive season so that we have time to nourish, nurture and rest our inner essence.

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Exploring the Lunar Cycles with Tea and Tarot: New Moon

New Moon blessings to you all!

What seeds are you planting this cycle? What does your wild essence call you to?

The Tea

I’ve decided to explore the new lunar cycle in with tea and tarot, intuitively selecting a tea for each phase of the moon, and drawing one tarot card for guidance and meditation for each phase too. Since the new moon is a time of seeds, intentions and setting dreams in motion, the tea that I felt called to work with is Chai Spiced tea. It felt fitting and symbolic to draw the energies of a tea made up of bits of bark (cinnamon), root (ginger) and most importantly – seeds (cardamom and fennel) – into my body at this time. And it helps that the warm and deliciously spicy aromas of chai tea always put me in a dreamy mood too, which is the perfect space to get into when setting intentions and painting visions for future manifestation. The words that come to mind when I look inward to draw out what it is that my wild essence desires to see more of in my life are specific and simple – Finding the Goddess in everyday, Resting in the embrace of inner peace and De-cluttering and releasing whatever stands in the way of the vibration of simplicity that I crave so much.

The Tarot

The tarot card that I drew for the new moon is – Father of Earth. This card brings messages about groundedness, connecting with the earth to find stability and inner firmness, finding satisfaction in the discipline of soulful work and thoughtfully focusing on your strengths and self-confidence to complete unfinished projects in order to harvest the benefits. The earthy masculine energy of the card gives me a sense of a provider who is focused on their purpose, with clear set intentions and a sureness that comes from being grounded in the present and grounded in their inner truth. Looking at the card, the clay bowl full of grains in the earth father’s arms stood out to me. I got the sense that the grains are the harvest, the fruits of our soul work, but they are also seeds. While we enjoy the bounty we reap at the end of one cycle, some of what we harvest needs to be stored and planted for a new cycle. Each completion is also a new beginning. Some of the rewards we gain from completing a project need to be invested wisely into a new cycle of production. To sustain ourselves we need to keep something for to replant and continue the cycle of life. We need to invest in ourselves, in our dreams and in our well-being.

This tarot message resonates a lot with me, especially in the context of self-care and my writing life. So I am taking the guidance to heart.

Crystals and Essences

Two other things that are accompanying me through this new moon journey are crystals and African Tree Essences. I’m working with clear quartz and amethyst crystals. They always help me connect with my inner world, visualize and bring the intuitive visions of my wild essence to the fore. The Platbos African tree essences are my all-time favourite flower essences to work with. Platbos is an ancient forest along the Western Cape coast of South Africa. So the wisdom and energetic vibration of the essences made from the blossoms of these ancient trees always have a profound effect on me. For the new moon, I am working with the Pock Ironwood essence, the essence of intuition, to draw out my wild intuitive resources and to allow greater receptivity to the wild whispers of Goddess.

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Becoming Empty

Winter has set in here in the Southern hemisphere. Although the part of South Africa where I live is blessed with sunny winters – the mornings, late afternoon and evenings are still chilly by our standards. For comfort, I light candles in the afternoon, burn warm cinnamon scents in my oil burner and of course drink hot cups of tea more frequently throughout the day.

Over the years, having a cup of tea has become a part of my spiritual practice. I love the variety, exotic aromas and adventure that every new flavour and type of tea brings. I love that it can be healing, soothing or energising depending on what you need. But most importantly, it offers me an opportunity to be present and mindful.

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pic via Pinterest

Fellow tea essayist, Frank Hadley Murphy, described the ceremony of drinking tea beautifully when he said that: “We make tea in an empty vessel and then we become a vessel to receive it. The practice of maintaining this emptiness runs through all the world’s mystical traditions.”

Zen philosophy uses the empty bowl in a similar analogy. In Zen, the empty bowl is a powerful symbol used to describe the state of emptying yourself and your mind of the things that present barriers to your connection with your inner world and Divine Spirit.

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Pic via Pinterest

Adopting this idea has thus allowed each cup of tea to become a form of meditation. To allow spirit to flow through you, one must first become empty by releasing all preconceived ideas, thoughts and charged emotions. Each time I prepare to do a reading, healing session or meditate I allow myself to become empty. Whenever I have a cuppa I am reminded of that. Bringing meaning to ordinary activities in my day has a lovely way of grounding me in the present. It helps to take me away from busy thoughts or activities and to just shift my consciousness back into a soulful state of peace and love.