HedgeWitch (22 page)

Air Fresheners

Natural air fresheners help to elevate our mood and can be used in place of incense in ritual. Use spring or distilled water as your liquid base. For all air fresheners, fill a four-ounce spray bottle, then add essential oils. Tighten cap. Shake well. The longer the mixture ages, the stronger the scent becomes. For ritual use, age your freshener for at least seven days before using, shaking bottle every day. Store in a dark place.

What's terrific about these fresheners? You know what's in them!

Sacred Woodland Air Freshener

A wonderful formula for creating sacred space, meditation, and for drawing good fortune.

40 drops pine essential oil

20 drops cypress essential oil

20 drops sandalwood essential oil

20 drops cedar essential oil

4 fluid ounces spring water

Money-Draw Air Freshener

40 drops peppermint or spearmint essential oil

40 drops bergamot essential oil

10 drops patchouli essential oil

10 drops cedar essential oil

10 drops calendula essential oil

10 drops allspice essential oil

4 fluid ounces spring water

Healing Glow Air Freshener

40 drops lime essential oil

40 drops eucalyptus essential oil

10 drops sandalwood essential oil

10 drops clove essential oil

10 drops rosemary essential oil

4 fluid ounces spring water

Harvest Spray Freshener

Spray at front and back door during the months of September and October (or your fall- related months in the Southern Hemisphere) to welcome an abundant harvest and good fortune. You can also use this same formula (without the water) to scent your harvest potpourri.

40 drops ginger essential oil

30 drops allspice essential oil

10 drops clove essential oil

10 drops dill essential oil

10 drops cinnamon essential oil

10 drops orange or tangerine essential oil

10 drops apple fragrance

4 fluid ounces spring water

Devil-Be-Gone Spray Freshener

This formula is terrific for a child who is afraid of the dark and things that go bump in the night, and for nervous pets during thunderstorms!

40 drops lavender essential oil

40 drops sandalwood essential oil

10 drops sweet bay essential oil

10 drops rosemary essential oil

10 drops chamomile essential oil

10 drops marjoram essential oil

4 fluid ounces of spring water

Merry Yule Spray Freshener

Welcome good fortune into the home by spraying the house with this mixture every day from the first of December through the Winter Solstice. Spray around a Yule bonfire to encourage good fortune in the home during the deep winter. You can also use this same blend (without the water) to scent your holiday potpourri.

40 drops spruce or pine essential oil

10 drops cedarwood essential oil

10 drops eucalyptus essential oil

10 drops sandalwood essential oil

10 drops allspice essential oil

10 drops clove essential oil

10 drops cinnamon essential oil

10 drops orange essential oil

10 drops cypress essential oil

4 fluid ounces of spring water

HedgeWitch Teas

The marvelous thing about blending your own tea is that you can use your recipes for other magickal endeavors as well. Load a bit of a dried special blend into a candle or use in sachets, incense, and even soaps! Experiment with different proportions until you find a blend that's just right for you.

Herbs you can grow or process yourself that are great for teas include anise; bee balm; calendula flowers; chamomile; cinnamon basil; crushed and dried berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.); dried apple slices; dried lemon, lime, or orange peels; fresh lemon balm; lemon thyme; lemon verbena; orange mint; peppermint; pineapple mint; rose geraniums; rosemary; sage; summer or winter savory; spearmint; and thyme.

To make your own magickally brewed herb teas, use a heaping teaspoon of each dried ingredient or three teaspoons of each fresh ingredient per cup. Add approximately ¼ or ½ teaspoon of dried fruits or spices and increase the quantity for a bolder cup of tea. Heat water to boiling and pour over herbs, allowing a five-minute steep time. Warm the cups and the pot before making the tea to enhance the flavor of your special brew.

Apple Abundance/Love Tea:
Black tea, dried apples, and dried orange rind, flavored with honey. (A great attraction tea! You can also add apple mint for a bit of zest.)

Healing Glow Tea:
Lemon balm, chamomile, and dried orange peel. Add a touch of sage or rosemary during flu season.

Prosperity Money Tea:
A variety of mints (your choice; see appendix 4 for a listing) with a touch of bee balm and chamomile.

Note:

A food dehydrator
is a great investment
for home-grown herbals

Tea-Leaf Reading

The process of reading tea leaves is primarily an intuitive one based on symbol interpretation and word association. Some practitioners use the leaves to foretell the future, whereas others employ the process for spiritual and creative assistance. Therefore, tea-leaf reading can be a divinatory process or used as a practical psychological tool, showing you what energies you are specifically drawing toward you. If you don't like what you are attracting, change your circumstances—it is as simple as that! Taking notes can be extremely helpful, especially if you are working in a spiritual or creative venue.

Supplies Needed for Tea-Leaf Reading

Loose tea

Clean spoon

Hot water

Teacup with saucer (preferred)

Paper towel or napkin

Sweetener

Table decorations

Incense (optional)

Candles (optional)

Tea Blend Choices for Readings

Various blends of teas can enhance the focus of the reading. You may wish to choose a matching incense as well. Here is a list of different blends and their associations:

Chamomile:
Dreams and wishes

China Black:
General

China White:
Spiritual

Cinnamon Spice Tea:
Action, movement, and creativity

Citrus Teas:
Good fortune and business

English Breakfast Tea:
Beginnings and new ventures

Fruit Teas:
Matters of the heart

Green Tea:
Health issues

Herbal Teas:
Use magickal correspondence depending upon the herb chosen

Herb and Citrus:
Aura cleansing

Holiday Teas:
Blends that are available only during specific seasons with aromas traditionally matching the intended holiday. These teas are great for affirmations involving holiday projects, parties, and shopping.

Jasmine Tea:
Matters of the heart

Mint Teas:
Study, education, learning, and wisdom

Mint and Chamomile Blend:
Money and prosperity

Tea-Leaf Conjuration

Repeat this conjuration nine times over the steeping tea, or use your own words of empowerment.

Herbs of earth and sun and rain

Speak to me of life and gain.

Sacred brew, treasured leaves

Reveal your secrets unto me.

Thank you!

It always works. Always a blessing!

General Tea Preparation

Method 1

1. Heat water to boiling.

2. Stir dry, loose tea clockwise three times.

3. With spoon, put loose tea to taste directly into cup. If tea spills outside the cup, this is a good omen.

4. Pour hot water slowly over tea. Allow tea to steep.

5. Querent (person asking question) should pass finger over rim of cup three times in a clockwise direction before drinking, and then make a silent wish. This wish should be formulated in primal language, as discussed in Section 1. Querent should then drink the tea.

Note:
The only drawback to this method is trying to drink around the floating tea leaves.

Method 2

1. Heat water to boiling.

2. Stir dry, loose tea clockwise three times.

3. With spoon, put loose tea to taste into the water in the pot. If tea spills during transfer, this is a good omen.

4. When steeped, pour tea into cup.

5. Querent should pass finger over rim of cup three times in a clockwise direction, and then make a silent wish formulated in primal language. Querent should then drink tea.

Note:
Fewer leaves flow into the cup with this method.

Method 3

1. Heat water to boiling.

2. Place strainer over cup.

3. Stir dry, loose tea clockwise three times.

4. Put leaves in strainer.

5. Pour water over leaves. Let set five minutes or to taste.

6. Set strainer to the side. Do not throw away leaves.

7. Querent should pass finger over rim of cup three times in a clockwise direction, and then make a silent wish formulated in primal language. Querent should then drink tea, leaving one teaspoon of liquid in the bottom of cup.

8. Use teaspoon to scoop one helping of wet leaves from strainer into cup.

9. Swirl cup nine times clockwise.

10. Drain, then dump the residual liquid on saucer, trying not to remove any of the tea sediment from the cup (see more detailed instructions below).

Dumping the Residue Tea Water

Once the querent, or seeker, has drunk the tea, the reading is about to begin. The querent should swirl the residue three or nine times, and state aloud the purpose of the reading. This should be done in primal language, as explained in Section 1 of this book; the more defined the question or statement, the more defined the answer. Querent hands cup to the reader. As reader, do not turn the cup. Take the cup as it is handed to you, as this has its own significance. Gently pour any remaining liquid onto a napkin or paper towel, trying not to remove any of the tea sediment.

Reading Position and Placement of Symbols

The top of the cup (rim) relates to things, ideas, or events that will manifest in a few hours or are currently present in the life of the seeker. The middle section of the cup indicates a few days away. The bottom of the cup signifies the root of the question as well as the ultimate future for this query. Read clockwise from the handle of the teacup. If your cup has no handle, read from the twelve o'clock position around in a clockwise manner. Some readers believe that the dregs closest to the reader represent real issues, whereas the dregs and their associated symbols closest to the querent stand for thoughts, wishes, and dreams.

If you are reading for others just for fun, make sure the tea-leaf-reading area is well lit, filled with pleasant, natural aromas, and very colorful. These props aid the mind to reach for its fullest potential. In HedgeWitchery tea-leaf reading, the reader is really the orchestrator of the event, allowing the querent's intuition to blossom (not the reader's). When the seeker, not the reader, identifies the symbols and does their own word association, they are an active participant in the reading, which allows for a more fulfilling experience.

Omens While Pouring the Tea and During the Reading

Bubbles across top of the cup:
Good fortune, money on the way; prosperity and happiness

Stalk bits or leaf pieces floating to top:
Visitor or news on the way; hard stalk=man; soft stalk=woman. Place stalk on the back of the hand. Tap hand until leaf or stalk drops. The number of taps it takes for the stalk to drop is the number of days it will take until the seeker receives news or a visit.

If the querent requests sweeteners:

Honey:
They are actively working to attract things into their life.

Artificial:
Concentrating on dieting and health issues.

Raw sugar:
Working to touch Spirit and the inner self.

Processed sugar:
Possible resistance to change.

No sweetener:
Possible concentration on health issues or living a constrained life.

If the querent is splashed with hot water:
A sudden shock may be forthcoming, and it is highly possible the querent is not truly interested in the reading.

Foam across the top of the cup:
Busy life and much activity ahead.

Tea too strong:
New friendship or partnership on the horizon.

Tea too weak:
Querent is working on “endings” in their life.

Spilled liquid or tea:
Seeker is surrounded by unhappiness.

Querent who requests strong tea:
Likes a full-bodied, adventurous life. Always on the go. Likes to take charge and be in control.