Tea Witchcraft: How to Make Magick With a Cup of Tea

Tea is comforting. Tea is healing. There’s magick in tea. The Chinese have used tea to treat illness for hundreds of years. In addition to treating illnesses and tasting delicious, tea is also used for magical purposes. This is called tea witchcraft (aka tea magick) and is gaining popularity in modern times. It’s affordable and effective. Learn how to do tea witchcraft with simple tea recipes here.

Tea Witchcraft for Luck & Money

Who doesn’t wish they had better luck or more money in the bank? If you’re like me and want to improve your finances, drink a cup of tea. No, seriously. Money may not grow on trees (or so they say), but you can promote the law of attraction by drinking a cup of tea and meditating on monetary abundance. Tell the Universe you HAVE money already. NOT that you want it. Telling the Universe you have it already will invoke more money to come your way.

Rosemary Tea for Prosperity

Try a hot cup of rosemary tea. Rosemary is an herb that has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean for health, vitality, and prosperity. It’s associated with the Mother Goddess: it was draped around the neck of Aphrodite at her birth and named after Jesus’ mother. Grow rosemary in your garden or in a pot, pick a sprig and pour hot water over it to make your own fresh rosemary tea. Drink to promote prosperity in your life.

More magical teas to promote good luck and money:

• basil tea
• peppermint tea
• spearmint tea
• chamomile and cinnamon tea
• green tea

BONUS! Money Plant and Hair Tea

Grow a money tree, basil, or any of the herbs listed above and infuse your intentions for prosperity into the growing plant. In addition, to get more BANG for your buck, cut open used teabags and pour the contents over the soil as compost to feed your plants with magical money tea and increase your manifestation. You can also make money tea and use it on your hair as a rinse to attract prosperity to you.

Magical Tea for Sleep & Dreams

Trouble sleeping? In addition to ceasing the caffeine intake after 2 pm, drink a cup of tea to relieve stress and soothe you to sleep. Tea is magical, but it is also practical and has helped people fall asleep for centuries.

Teas for sleep include:

• chamomile
• lavender
• lemon balm
• valerian
• passion flower
• skullcap
• jasmine
• white

Maybe sleep isn’t your problem. If you want to promote dreams and astral travel, try drinking tea before bed. Wise folk have used herbal teas to increase psychic dreams and premonitions for hundreds of years.

Teas to increase dreaming abilities:

• Mugwort
• Wormwood
• Rosemary
• Damiana
• Peppermint
• Chamomile
• Rose

Mugwort is the dreamer’s herb: it enhances lucid dreaming and astral projection abilities. I prefer mixing mint with my mugwort tea to cut the bitterness. Wormwood is a key ingredient in absinthe, AND it connects the individual with the spirit world. Absinthe was also called the Green Fairy, and some say this is because people hallucinated from it. I say it’s because the individual was put in touch with spirits beyond the veil. If you’re pregnant or nursing, you should not partake of the teas: mugwort, wormwood, damiana.

Tea Witchcraft for Love

Looking for love in all the wrong places? How about the bottom of your teacup? Drink tea to draw love into your life. Love teas are also called “potions.”

Love teas include:

• cinnamon apple
• red hibiscus
• rosebud and rosehip
• cherry
• lavender
• rosemary
• strawberry
• jasmine

Fruity and floral teas are perfect to induce the feeling of love and to bring love into your life. Most of the ingredients in a love potion (tea) have been linked to love for hundreds of years AND are aphrodisiacs. Red hibiscus tea is a powerful lust-inducing tea and women were forbidden to drink it in some parts of the Middle East. Roses (rosebuds and rosehips) have presided over love for centuries and are therefore an obvious choice. Jasmine is an herb of love.

Herbal Tea for Colds Recipe:

Ingredients

1. Nettle (1 tsp): 

Nettle is known to be high in vitamins C, B complex, and vitamin E. It’s been used for centuries because of its diuretic and healing properties. Part of the mint family, it energizes the body and helps to restore the body’s nutrients which most of us are sorely lacking. As a gentle diuretic, nettle is known to flush away toxins in the body and is said to be good for colds.

2. Elder Flower (1 tsp):

Not only does it add a sweet, musky flavor to your herbal tea for colds, elder flower will decrease inflammation in sinus passages and the respiratory system. Herbalists have used elder flower for centuries for colds, flu, and other respiratory illnesses. It also has antibacterial and antiviral properties. In the Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, a study in 2010 showed elder flower to be effective against certain strains of bacteria including MRSA. 

3. Yarrow (1 1/2 tsp): 

Yarrow is one of those all-purpose healing herbs. If you keep any herb in your cabinet, let it be yarrow. It’s a featured ingredient in many herbal tea for colds recipes and has been for centuries. It has antiviral properties, as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Our ancient ancestors in Europe knew this and brought yarrow to the Americas, where it was used medicinally by the Natives for digestive problems as well as colds and flu. 

4. Local Honey (1/2 tsp):

Honey has been used for thousands of years, all over the world, for its health benefits. Not only does taking local honey on a daily basis help relieve seasonal allergies, it also helps to relieve sore throats, coughs, and colds. The honey you buy in a grocery store won’t do – buy from a local beekeeper and get it raw. Add a bit to your tea.

Instructions:

Add herbal ingredients to 8-10 ounces of steaming hot water. Let steep for ten minutes then strain. Add 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of local honey to tea and drink hot. Drink herbal tea for colds recipe 2-3 times a day while symptoms last. 

Tea For Vitality and Long-life

Green tea is the essential long-life tea, according to the Chinese. According to studies, if a person drinks more than one pint of green tea a day, it will lower the risk for heart disease. So drink up, folks! Whether hot or iced, organic green tea is best to restore your vitality and bring hope for a longer, healthier life. My personal favorite is Tie Guan Yin, a premier green tea imported from China.

Other tea witchcraft for health and long-life:

• Ginseng
• Lemon
• Pau d’ arco
• Uva ursi
• Peppermint
• Moringa tea
• Magnolia Bud
• Green tea

Teas To Cleanse the Aura

Everyone needs a pick me up energetically, from time to time. The best way to get that so-deserved pick-me-up is not through a gallon of caffeine, it’s through magical tea! If our auras are not cleansed, we begin to feel weighed down – low on energy and low on life. Cleanse your aura with a little tea witchcraft. Drink blueberry tea on a Full Moon for powerful cleansing effects. Not to mention the anti-oxidants in blueberry tea are off-the-charts.

Other aura-cleansing teas include:

• Pomegranate
• Peppermint
• Tie Guan Yin
• Jasmine
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Spearmint
• Blue lotus

How to Make Tea Magick

Making tea magick is as easy as choosing a tea that supports your intentions and drinking it mindfully. But if you want to add an extra kick to it – while waiting for the water to boil, draw a symbol that backs your intentions in the air above the kettle. For example – a rune for love, a sigil for health, even a word or number will work! While the tea is steeping, pray your magical words over it. Stir the tea in a clockwise fashion to move something forward, counter-clockwise to reverse it. Then visualize your intention while drinking. And as mentioned before, save the remnants and use them in other magical ways (feed your plants, as a rinse for your hair, add it to a ritual bath, etc.)

Different Ways to Make Tea

If you’re new to the world of tea witchcraft, you might have noticed there’s different ways to make tea and different contraptions with which to make it. You can purchase and drink tea from pre-made teabags. There’s also loose leaf tea and herbs you can buy/grow and then use a tea ball or infuser to strain the herbs out before drinking. A third option is to leave the tea leaves in the tea then read the tea leaves at the bottom of your cup. This is an ancient form of divination called tasseomancy.

How to use tea bags in magick

The great thing about having a stock of herbs for teas is that you can use those herbs in your magick too. But what if all you can afford is a box of tea bags from the grocery store? Cut open the tea bag and use the herbs/leaves inside for other things. For example, if I wanted to use chamomile in a dream pillow. OR you can make a bath tea. Literally throw the tea bags into the bath water and soak up the magick! Or make a simmering tea on the stove, let it cool, then put in a spray bottle. Spray around the house for cleansing purposes or to bring prosperity, peace, love, etc.

Where to Purchase Your Tea for Witchcraft

Purchase already-made tea bags from the grocery store, but choose organic or all-natural. Mountain Rose Herbs provides herbal teas and loose leaf herbs in bulk for affordable prices. What I can’t grow in my garden, I purchase from them. Grow your own fruit and herbs to make EXTRA powerful tea magick.

Crafting Teas for Your Gods and Goddesses

One of my favorite ways to make magick with tea is to craft tea blends for my spirit guides, gods, and ancestors. My matron goddess Cliodhna particularly loves rosebud and red clover tea. The ancestors also appreciate a nice hot cup of tea: my maternal line loves black and rosehips. My paternal prefers black tea over herbal. Experiment and see what your guides enjoy as libations. Learn more about crafting teas for the gods here.

Why Craft Teas for the Gods?

Just as with any relationship, building a connection with one’s god or goddess is an ongoing routine. It’s a continual ritual of give and take. We give offerings to our gods and goddesses to show them our gratitude and build a bond. Then they bless us in return. The ritual of crafting and brewing teas dates back thousands of years, and at one time our ancestors offered teas to the gods. We can follow in their footsteps and craft teas to please our deities today (not to mention our tummies).

1. Research Traditional Tea Offerings

First, think of the culture your god or goddess hails from. Are they a Celtic god from Ireland? A Norse god from Denmark? An ancient Egyptian god? Research traditional teas from that ancient culture online and see what you find. For example, ancient Egyptians enjoyed chamomile tea. This would make a great offering for Egyptian sun gods like Ra, Horus, Sekhmet and Bastet. Catnip tea is favored by Bastet…she’s a cat, right? Think outside the proverbial box, too. For Celtic gods, teas made with red clover blossoms, yarrow, nettles, dandelions and elderflower are all favorites. For the Norse pantheon – nettles, blackberry, pine and dandelion. You get the idea.

2. Herbs Associated With Your God or Goddess

The next thing to do is research whether your god or goddess has any herbs associated with him/her. If it’s a deity that’s popular with neo-pagans, this information may already be available. A google search for herbs associated with Hecate reveals: almonds, lavender, dandelion, mugwort, etc. Almonds and lavender make for a delicious tea and offering to the Witch Goddess.

WARNING: Always research herbs before taking internally!!! Many are toxic and/or can interact with medications and other herbal supplements. Consult with your licensed health care provider. Your health is YOUR responsibility!

3. Research Natural & Native Herbs

If you can’t find any traditional teas related to your god or goddess, next you’ll research herbs that grow wild in the region where your god hails from. For example, is your goddess Brigid? Research wild herbs that grow in Ireland. Results might show: clover, borage, buttercup, anjelica, daisy, etc. Make a list, then you’ll need to research whether these plants are indeed edible and are non-toxic. This is especially important if you plan to consume the tea you craft for your god or goddess!

4. Putting It All Together

You have a list of herbs to use in your god or goddess’ tea. Now what? Now it’s time to put it all together! Let’s say I’ve listed chamomile, nettles and roses for my goddess. I can simply throw the ingredients together, pour hot water over it and offer it to her. This works as a tea offering. OR if I want to put extra effort into it, I can make it into an entire ritual which might include prayer during the brewing process, charging in moonlight, and setting it on the altar. How you present your tea offering to your god or goddess is entirely up to you!

5. Drinking Your God/Goddess Tea

You’ve spent all this time putting a special tea offering together for your god or goddess. Should you drink it, too? I find that drinking the tea at the same time of offering it to your god or goddess can be incredibly enlightening. It’s like you’re having a tea party with your god or goddess! Keep your god or goddess’ tea offering separate from your own cup, of course. And leave the tea offering out for your deity for at least a few hours, if not 24 hours total. Pour on the ground or down the drain when done.

Some people ask if you can drink the tea offering that you gave to your god or goddess. My suggestion is not to; HOWEVER, if you live in a home where you have to be in the “broom closet”, you can drink the tea that you offer. Simply tell your deity that the tea you are drinking was made to honor them. And may it be an accepted gift through your consumption. Something like that.