Mead Meaning and magickal uses
Also called Honey Wine, Hydromel, Mead of Poetry
Golden honey wine for offerings to the old gods, inspiration and sweet celebration.
- Intentions
- Creativity, Love, Prosperity
- Element
- Fire
- Planet
- The Sun
- Day
- Sunday
- Moon phase
- Full Moon
- Parts used
- Fermented honey and water; honey water or apple juice works just as well
How to use it
- Offering to the old gods
Pour a small horn or cup of mead, or honey stirred into water, as an offering to Norse or Celtic deities or the spirits of the land. Leave it outdoors or on your altar overnight, then return it to the earth.
- Cup of inspiration
Before writing, painting or composing, raise a small cup of mead or honey water and ask for the gift of inspiration. Take a sip, then begin before your inner critic wakes up.
- Handfasting toast
Share mead or a non-alcoholic honey drink at a handfasting or anniversary. Toast to sweetness that lasts, a custom tied to the old idea of the honeymoon.
Works well with
Substitutes
History and folklore
Mead may be the oldest fermented drink in the world, brewed wherever people found wild honey. In Norse myth the Mead of Poetry, brewed from the blood of the wise being Kvasir, gave anyone who drank it the gift of verse, and Odin stole it back for the gods. Feasting halls rang with toasts of mead, and folk tradition says newlyweds drank it for a month of moons, the honeymoon. Witches pour it for the old gods and for inspiration.
Golden honey wine for offerings to the old gods, inspiration and sweet celebration.
- Intentions: Creativity, Love, Prosperity
- Element: Fire
- Planet: The Sun
- Day: Sunday
- Moon phase: Full Moon
- Parts used: Fermented honey and water; honey water or apple juice works just as well
Safety: Mead contains alcohol. Drink only if you are of legal drinking age, and skip it if you are pregnant, in recovery, taking medicine that does not mix with alcohol, or driving. Honey water, apple juice or a non-alcoholic mead works just as well for offerings and toasts. Never give honey to babies under one year old, and pour offerings where pets cannot reach them.
How to use it
- Offering to the old gods. Pour a small horn or cup of mead, or honey stirred into water, as an offering to Norse or Celtic deities or the spirits of the land. Leave it outdoors or on your altar overnight, then return it to the earth.
- Cup of inspiration. Before writing, painting or composing, raise a small cup of mead or honey water and ask for the gift of inspiration. Take a sip, then begin before your inner critic wakes up.
- Handfasting toast. Share mead or a non-alcoholic honey drink at a handfasting or anniversary. Toast to sweetness that lasts, a custom tied to the old idea of the honeymoon.
Works well with: Litha, Beltane, Gold Candle, Ansuz, Amber
Folklore
Mead may be the oldest fermented drink in the world, brewed wherever people found wild honey. In Norse myth the Mead of Poetry, brewed from the blood of the wise being Kvasir, gave anyone who drank it the gift of verse, and Odin stole it back for the gods. Feasting halls rang with toasts of mead, and folk tradition says newlyweds drank it for a month of moons, the honeymoon. Witches pour it for the old gods and for inspiration.
The Witch's Cabinet is a free reference for your practice. Correspondences are traditional associations, not medical advice. Always follow the safety notes, especially with herbs and essential oils around children, pets and during pregnancy.