Julia Halina Hadas - 70 Seasonal Drinks Infused with Magic & Ritual

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To the numerous family members, friends, coworkers, and spirits who supported me in this endeavor. Special thanks to my mother and Rolf, as well as Eileen, Sarah, and all of Adams Media for the opportunity and continuous support.

L ike many modern witchcraft practices, the celebration of magic and ritual with infused potables extends deep into human history. Open the cover of any introductory witchcraft book, and youll find steps to extract the essence of rose to create a magical water for beauty, or advice on what type of wine is best to leave as an offering for a deity. A witch might use alcohol to create tinctures to manifest good communication with loved ones, or aromatic mists to balance a chakra that has been blocked. And whats a coven gathering without a seasonal libation?

In WitchCraft Cocktails, these practices are given new life and a modern twist. In Part 1, youll learn how to imbue herbs, crystals, and other instruments of the ethereal realm with different alcohols and syrups for delicious drinks that heighten your spellsor work as complete spells. Organized by season, the recipes in Part 2 draw power from astrological signs, planets, crystals, tarot cards, and special events linked to fall, winter, spring, and summer.

Entice love and boldness with a Venus Spritzer, draw insights from philosophical Sagittarius with The Jasmine Archer, invite creativity with a carnelian-infused Mocha Persuasion, and more.

Youll also delve deeper into the invaluable relationship between witchcraft and cocktails, as well as the magical properties of different spirits and how to blend them like a seasoned mixologist. Devote some time to exploring these initial pages before crafting your own potions, so you can unlock the full potential of each recipe. Whether you are anointing a candle for financial prosperity or imbibing the energies of the moon for inner growth and transformation, theres a corresponding cocktail to elevate your magical work.

T housands of years ago, Sumerian women monitored the fermentation of beer by singing the Hymn to Ninkasi (the Sumerian brewing goddess), for a successful yield. Today, a seasoned mixologist blends carefully chosen spirits and syrups for a delicious concoction that somehow evokes creativity in the recipient. While alcohol and spiritual practices may seem radically different and separate at first, their entwined history tells another storyone that unlocks the potential for even more magic moving forward.

In this chapter, you will unravel the thread of alcohols woven history within witchcraft to uncover the modern cocktails beginnings as a spiritual offering, how its used in magic today, and how it can be used in the future of witchcraft. Its time for your journey into witchcraft cocktails to begin!

Alcohols ability to preserve the energetic essence and flavor of herbs makes it essential in any witchs cabinet, and its relaxing and anesthetizing effects gave it prominence in early healing practices. As far back as ancient Rome, wine was cooked with different spices and herbs to help protect against seasonal cold and illnesses. The ancient Chinese used alcohol blends to help balance stomach mal-adies and inspire good moods and strength. And in ancient Egypt, beer was a source of nourishment and clean water during long days working out in the heat.

Across the ancient world, alcohol was also a tool for ceremony and reverence of the gods. In what is now Henan Province in China, pottery jars were used to ferment wine made from rice, honey, and various fruits for religious rituals surrounding the dead. In the burial chambers of Enheduanna, the Sumerian priestess of the moon god Nanna, sacred drinking tools were discovered showing the spiritual connection of alcohol as a way to commune with the gods.

Alcohol is the physical manifestation of the fruits of the harvest season and the earths bounty, and is still very much a part of witch-craft and religion today. Various modern cultural and witchcraft practices continue to use spirits as an offering: In Christianity, wine represents the blood of Christ and is sipped during Communion; in Afro-Caribbean practices, rum is poured for protection and as an offering to different spirits and deities; in ancestral worship, a witch pours a liquor pertaining to their ancestral roots in an offering cup.

Brewing in itself is a magical act. All four elements come into play through the combination of heat (fire); moisture (water); herbs and grains (earth); and the gusts of air that introduce natural alcohol-producing yeasts, or the resulting intoxicating herbal steam and evaporation of pure alcohol. With every alcoholic beverage, the elements have been combined and utilized to create something utterly different and transformative.

The growing popularity of aromatic healing mists, crystal elixirs, and flower essences complement alcohols ability to infuse, preserve, and hold the energy of various herbs and other ingredients. These energies are also known in the witchcraft world as vibrations, referring to the idea that everything on earth contains an invisible energy that radiates from it. Witches harness these energies as part of their magical work.

However, there is so much more that can be done within the relationship between witchcraft and alcoholso much magical potential waiting to be unlocked! As Scott Cunningham lays out in his book Cunning-hams Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen, ingesting food, fruit, and herbs with resonating correspondences can elevate magical endeavors. For example, if a witch wants to inspire love, they may eat papaya glazed with honey as they burn a pink candle. But you can go a level deeper by incorporating those flavors in alcohol. Create a powerful cocktail with oh-so-delicious Hibiscus-Rose Honey Syrup, and sip away to invite that love into a current or future relationship.

Beyond enhancing a spell, the magic of cocktails can be used in your witchcraft to inspire the specific energy needed to produce a potent spell in the first place. After all, one key part of witchcraft is visualizationimagining what it would look and feel like to have a desired outcome. For instance, think about a confidence spell to get the attention of someone you like, or to help you speak up at work. What would that confidence look like? What would it feel like? If you try to do a confidence spell without any preparation, it can be a challenge to muster up that visualization and truly believe in it. And if you dont believe that outcome is possible, you will sabotage your spell. Enjoying a correctly aligned herbal cocktail beforehand can help you manifest the confident energy you need to believe in your spell.