Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen (17 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Beer, Wine, & Alcoholic
Beverages
‡‡‡‡

T
he first alcoholic beverages were the result of accidents. A jar of honey, mixed with water, sat for too long and began to bubble. Grape juice went bad. Coconut sap was left for one day too many in a gourd. Bread dough seemed to come to life. It is likely—although by no means certain—that the first alcoholic beverage was produced from honey at least 10,000 years ago.

By 3000
b.c.e.
, alcoholic beverages were of enormous importance in Mesopotamia. Beer (wine arrived later), with its undeniable effects upon those who drank it, was a sacred liquid that was used in ritual as well as daily life.

In the Middle East, wine quickly grew in acceptance. Sake was created in Asia. The secrets of fermentation, so necessary to the production of bread, were used throughout the ancient world in creating alcoholic beverages.

While reading this chapter, keep in mind that all societies have approved of at least one or two substances that altered consciousness. The Siberians had
Amanita muscaria
; early Mesoamerican peoples used a different but still potent variety of mushroom
(Psilocybe
spp.); a certain type of sage
(Saliva divinorum);
and Datura were used by various American Indian tribes. Throughout South America, hallucinogenic plants such as
ayahuasca
(Banisteriopsis caapi)
were ritually consumed. Fermented beverages were favored in many parts of Africa, and Polynesians called upon the sacred
ava
or
kava (Piper methysticum)
. Early Europeans, as we shall see, drank beer, ale, and wine.
58, 123

Though there have always been those who abuse consciousness-altering substances, such drugs were often restricted to specific religious and magical ceremonies. They weren't purely recreational tools.

In the United States, alcohol is the only legally accepted drug of this type. Chocolate, sugar, coffee, tea, and tobacco can also be classified as drugs, though they aren't considered to be in the same league as alcohol. Yet many other mind-altering “drugs” of chemical or vegetable origin, whether prescribed or sold on the street, haven't caused the damage that alcohol has in our society.

In direct contrast to earlier times, most present-day meta- physical and magical organizations in the West forbid the use of any form of intoxicants, including alcohol, prior to ritual. Many of them do drink wine during the festivities that follow, but rituals aren't excuses for drug use.

This chapter examines the religious and magical uses of some of the major forms of alcohol.

Beer

Planet:
Mars

Element:
Fire

Energies:
Purification

Lore:
Beer was probably first deliberately made in Neolithic times.
104
Women almost certainly invented it along with raised bread, which was likewise dependent upon fermentation.

The earliest Mesopotamian civilizations drank and revered beer. Predynastic Egyptians enjoyed this beverage as early as 5000
b.c.e.
Sumerian tablets dating to 2800
b.c.e.
mention nineteen different types of beer.
29
The first public beerhouse (“bar”) seems to have been established in Egypt in 1913
b.c.e.

Later, Isis was thought to have taught Her children the secrets of beermaking.
23
Hathor, the goddess of drunkenness, was also believed to have invented beer.
23
In ancient Egypt, inebriation was a source of mirth and may have been related to religious ecstasy.
23

Beer was an integral part of Egyptian life, and even had a place in dream interpretation. Dreaming of drinking beer made of wheat foretold joy, while dreams of drinking barley beer meant the dreamer would continue to live.
23

Aside from its use as a food, medicine, and ritual offering, beer was also utilized in magic. To prevent disturbing dreams, certain herbs were moistened with beer; the wet leaves were then rubbed on the dreamer's face while an incantation was spoken.
23

The Sumerians, Egyptians, and Babylonians brewed beer with wheat and barley, but barley beer was their preferred beverage. It was the most popular drink for both humans and their deities in the ancient world—until wine took its place.

Magical uses:
Today, beer is used in folk magic to purify the mind, body and soul. Add a half a cup of beer to a tub of water and soak.

Or, drink a bit of it (just that much, a bit) to purify yourself from the inside out. Hold the glass with both hands and visualize before drinking.

Some physicians recommend drinking a glass of beer or ale after meals to promote digestion. Because proper digestion is essential to our health, and because
small
amounts of beer are healthy for most individuals, beer can also be added to health diets. (Small here doesn't refer to a six-pack. Six
ounces
is fine.)

Guzzling beer was once accepted as a religious practice. However, drunkenness is no longer construed to be sacred in any meaning of the word.

Wine

Planet:
Sun, (red wine); Moon (white wine)

Element:
Fire

Energies:
Celebrations

Lore:
Beer was once the favored drink in ancient Mesopotamia, but people soon learned to produce wine by fermenting dates, sesame seeds, and other foods.
117
Later, grape wine was created. Countless bottles of wine were poured out as offerings to the gods and goddesses.
23

The earliest wine deities were female. Goddesses lurked among the grapes and offered their fermented delights to humans. Among these early deities was Gestin, the Sumerian goddess of the vine.
117

Around 3000
b.c.e.
, evidence suggests that the city of Kish was the home of a famous female wine merchant. Her name, Azag Bau, was also that of a queen, and the two personages may have been one and the same. A thousand years later, priestesses attached to various temples still made and sold wine.
117

The wine goddess Pagat, who was worshipped in Ugarit circa 2000
b.c.e.
, apparently helped Danel, her father, to cultivate grapes and therefore to produce wine.
117

Wine was a most acceptable offering in the days of old Mesopotamia. Ishtar was offered twelve vases of wine every day, and Nana, ten. The god Anu was given eighteen gold vases of beer and wine. Nebuchadnezzar poured out rivers of wine to Marduk, according to his scribes. The goddesses and gods, who were patterned after their human worshippers, were thought to enjoy drinking and even drunkenness.
117

By 3000
b.c.e.
, the Egyptians had associated Osiris with wine. One of his many titles was “Lord of Wine at the Innundation,”
117
and Osiris is thought to have taught the people of Egypt the cultivation of grapes.” Horus was also linked with wine. Red wine represented the right eye of Horus, white the left.
117

In the earliest Egyptian dynasties, wine was reserved solely for the higher classes. It was also used during temple rituals. Priests (and priestesses) grew the grapes and produced the wine. Commoners apparently didn't drink the divine liquid until rather late in Egypt's long history, perhaps around 1000
b.c.e.
104

In ancient Egypt, circa 1500
b.c.e.
, the presence of the snake goddess Renenutet (“giver of plenty”) was invoked during wine making. On or near the wine press, in which grapes were transformed into juice, were shrines or small figures of Renenutet.
117

As popular as grape wine became, however, the rich of ancient Egypt continued to enjoy a variety of wines, including those made from dates and, in the last dynasties, pomegranates.
117
Wine was a favored offering in this land. Ramses III reportedly offered 152,103 jars of wine to temples in Thebes, Heliopolis, and Memphis.
23
Wines of all types were placed among the grave goods left to nourish the dead pharaoh,
23
with the hope that he would continue to enjoy the beverages in the next life.

Wine was used in libations to the gods in ancient Greece, and was appreciated by the populace as a beverage. Like the Romans who followed them, the Greeks drank wine diluted with water to avoid the specter of Mothon, the goblin of drunkenness. (Unless, of course, they were busy worshipping the Greek deity of wine and drunkenness, Dionysius.)
117

Wine was just as popular in ancient Crete. It was offered to the Cretan deities, including both Poseidon and Dionysius prior to the introduction of their worship into Greece.
117

Ancient Rome had some curious ideas concerning wine. For the first few years after the founding of Rome, women were forbidden to drink wine in that city. Any caught doing so could be executed.
117
Wine continued to be a popular sacrificial libation, but only for certain deities. For others, wine was proscribed.
117

Roman wines became famous in the second century
c.e.
Rome sold wine to Gaul and to Britain, where previously only ale and mead were drunk. After Rome invaded Britain, wine became an accepted drink there.
117

Roman wines were made with grapes and flavored with various flowers and herbs. Roses, violets, myrrh, wormwood, and pepper, as well as honey, were all added to change the taste of the drink. To add further flavor, the vats in which wine was made were fumigated with rosemary, myrtle, bay, and myrrh.
117

The Roman god of wine, Liber (or Liber Pater), never achieved a great following. Bacchus was the Roman version of Dionysius but, like Liber, didn't ascend to the vine-covered throne which Dionysius had once occupied.
117

Wine continues to play an important religious role. Most notably, it is used in the Catholic Church as part of its most holy ceremony, during which wine is mystically transformed into the blood of Jesus.

Wine is also drunk as a part of a ritual meal in contemporary Wiccan ceremonies. Wine and crescent-shaped cakes are passed among the participants. The wine and cakes represent the bounties of the Goddess and God, and the ritual (sometimes known as Cakes and Wine) “earths” the power that was raised during the ceremony that preceded it. Such ritual imbibings date back centuries prior to the Christian era.

Magical uses:
In general, white wines are associated with the moon, and red with the sun. Wine is a wonderful relaxant for the body, and a glass a day won't harm anyone who is in good health.

Don't drink alcohol prior to performing any sort of magical ritual. Too much alcohol will dull reflexes and mist the brain. Alcohol prevents the success of a magical ritual. Wine's best use is during celebrations following all sorts of magical rites and religious observances.

Other Alcoholic Beverages

Absinthe.
This dangerous beverage was once quite popular, until it was found that drinking the liqueur (which was flavored with wormwood,
Artemesia absinthium,
among other plants) caused permanent damage to the body and nervous system.
28
Brain cortex lesions were apparently common among heavy absinthe drinkers.
1
Absinthe has been banned in the United States and in several European countries since 1915,
1
but some still seek it out as an aphrodisiac beverage. It is too dangerous to consider drinking.

Anisette.
Sometimes drunk for purification.

Apricot brandy.
Sometimes drunk to instill the desire for sexual activity.

Blackberry brandy.
Can be drunk for money and for sexual arousal.

Brandy.
Contemporary Mazatec shamans offer brandy to the “spirits” during rituals.
109
Brandy was also an ingredient in Renaissance magical incenses.

Chartreuse.
Because this green liqueur contains basil, it is sometimes used as an aphrodisiac.

Cognac.
This is said to induce love—as are all other alcoholic beverages. Cognac probably has as much of an effect as the rest of them, but “love” here should be read as “lust.”

Creme de cacao.
Sometimes drunk for love and money.

Creme de menthe.
A purificatory liqueur.

Gin.
A common contemporary offering to Pele, goddess of volcanoes, who lives in Halemaumau on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is a modern version of the items once thrown into the crater—flowers, fruit and sometimes animals—but no living human beings. Pele took human lives by sending lava, smoke, and ash to quench them.

Kirsch.
This cherry-flavored liqueur is sometimes drunk for love.

Kummel.
The German liqueur, often served after heavy meals, is flavored with caraway. Small amounts can be sipped— with proper visualization—for health and protection.

Mead.
Honey wine is still available. It is drunk as a part of love diets or during post-ritual celebrations with others.

Mezcal.
A potent alcoholic beverage distilled from the fermented juice of the
maquey,
or century plant. Bottles of true mescal often contain an agave worm.
90
The worm, when eaten, is alleged to have hallucinogenic effects. Some Mexicans say that mezcal itself is an aphrodisiac.

Orange curacao.
Love, purification.