Once-in-a-Blue-Moon Chai
Hello beautiful soul
The celestial bodies are blessing us with an auspicious occasion in the early part of the year. This morning, Wednesday January 31, 2018 the first Super Blue Blood Moon and full Lunar eclipse since 1844 graced the sky. You may, like me find yourself in a heightened state of creative euphoria – nothing that unusual as the full moon tends to affect some people that way – but this feels extra-Cosmic and deeply spiritual. The words of George Harrison’s powerful song-prayer ‘Give me Love’ have been running through my mind and it feels like a healing nectar being poured sweetly over the whole universe.
Give me love
Give me love
Give me peace on earth.
Give me light
Give me life,
Keep me free from birth.
Give me hope.
Help me cope, with this heavy load.
Trying to touch and reach you with
Heart and soul.
Om mmmmmmmm.
Mmmm my Lord.
Please take hold of my hand,
that I might understand you.
Wont you please
Oh won’t you.
In the last few days I have listened to this song repeatedly (ummm a thousand times). It’s like chanting a never ending mantra and I’ve noticed it stirring up feelings of beauty, love, peace, and devotion and oh-so-mystically aligning with this lunar event of the Super Blue Blood Moon.
A so-called blood moon occurs during a lunar eclipse when the moon, in the Earth’s shadow, takes on a reddish tint due to sunlight reflected by the atmosphere. A blue moon is when there are two full moons in one month and when these events occur together it is quite rare and magical. Apart from my desire to go deeper into the ecstasy of prayer, chanting, and devotional practice I was inspired to draw a Cosmic comparison to a fun coincidence in the kitchen with some colour magic. It was no surprise that I saw the earthly expression of the blue-blood moon manifesting in my teacup when I poured myself a very special alchemical flower elixir that I had bought over the holidays at an amazing new tea shop in my hood.
This marvellous flower (Clitoria ternatea) has become a bit of a tea trend and for really good reason. Butterfly Pea-Flower makes a transformative cup of tea, going from a pale blue to Indigo to purple depending on the PH balance of what is added to it. The PH balance of the tea is sensitive to change and acts like a mood ring, changing colours according to that shift. Add limes, lemons or any other citrus-botanical and a myriad of warm colours change before your eyes. I made a concentrated ginger-honey-lime syrup and as I added this to the steeped tea it bloomed from a violet-indigo blue moon to a purple-red blood moon in seconds. Nature!
Tangy and sweet, the ginger lime syrup gave the otherwise earthy woodsy taste of the flower tea a delicious feisty zing. Not only fun and very light to sip on but also satisfying and full of antioxidant benefits equivalent to that of green tea.
Geez talk about satisfying the artist’s aromatic soul!
RECIPE FOR ONCE-IN-A BLUE-MOON-CHAI
2 inch sliced fresh ginger
1 TBSP Honey
Juice 1/2 fresh lime
2 TBSP dried Butterfly Pea flowers
3/4 cup water
2 cups boiling water
Add sliced ginger to 3/4 cup water in a small pot and bring to boil. Simmer half covered for 10 minutes to reduce liquid to 1/2 cup. Add honey and lime juice and stir until blended.
Steep pea flowers in 2 cups boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Pour into glass. Enjoy the blue colour and add the ginger lime syrup to tea. Watch the magic as it changes to a purply-red colour. Experiment with other botanicals such as hibiscus, fresh grapefruit, lemon or orange juice. Sip under a blue blood moon : )
Happy Celestial Magic Moon and Fragrant Blessings as always,
Glynnis xox
Your Spice Mistress