Hawthorn Heart Tincture
Cyre is a space for experimentation and interpretation, we’re fascinated and informed by historical celebrations, rituals and incantations, but we’re also drawn to the ways that the creatives in our community have incorporated magic and sacred occasions into their practise. Someone once told us ‘the best spells are the ones you make up for yourself’, as with any other form of creativity, the goal is to find your own signature style. To inspire creations of our own, we asked some of the artists we admire to create a spell or ritual, using the sensory power of the Cyre candles.
First to contribute a spell to the Cyre Spellbook, founder of SALT Textiles, artist and brand consultant Jordan Storm Louise... Inspired by traditional folk stories and herbalism from her home isles, Jordan shows us how to forage for Hawthorne to create a love potion on the magical evening of Beltane.
The Flower and Fire of Beltane: How to make Hawthorn Heart Tincture
"Your eyes are lode-stars; and your tongue's sweet air
More tuneable than lark to shepherd's ear,
When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear."
- Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I, Scene 1 (1600)
Once upon a time there was an evening of fertility and fire. A night of ecstasy and orgasm. The first light of the summer sun conjured celebrations of beauty, love and mischief. A festival named Beltane.
Desires leapt over the fire, dances spun around poles of birch and rowan, and honey wine lingered on maiden lips. A world far gone but still alive in the hedgerows as plants unravel in full bloom, their potent fragrance kissing the air.
Ingredients
Foraged hawthorn blossom
Organic brandy
2/4 TBSP local honey
Small airtight jar (jam jar)
Dark glass vessel
Eros candle
Method
For this practical spell, a passed down folk method, you’re asked to visit the Hawthorn queen on the eve of Beltane. Court her for blossom to infuse into a tincture with sweet honey and brandy, to later be slipped into a lover's drink or dropped into water to conjure beauty, love and protection. Ask with care and respect as Hawthorn is known not only for her thorns but also as the tree of the Fae.
On the eve of Beltane, the 30th April, visit the hedgerows and ask the *hawthorn to unburden themselves of a few blossoms. Taking only the flower (of course never too much) fill your jar. Offer a song, prayer, drop of cream or simply your thanks in return.
Light your Eros candle with a heart full of desires. The notes of Beltane birch melting under the flame. With the filled hawthorn jar add your honey, let your golden liquid slowly descend over the blossom. Next add the brandy and using your fingers, push the flowers and honey down until there are no air bubbles. Make sure the brandy covers your honeyed hawthorn blossom before placing on the lid and shaking gently.
Allow this potion to infuse in a cool, dark place for an entire moon cycle – occasionally turning and shaking. Once 28 days have passed, strain the hawthorn petals from the liquid using a muslin cloth, offer these petals back to the earth. The liquid, infused with desire on the potent eve of Beltane, can be bottled into a vessel and taken when matters of love and the heart arise. Perhaps even dropped into a lover’s cup on the coming night of Midsummer.
*Cross check your plants as Hawthorn is very similar to Blackthorn. Forage responsibly and sustainably, not just for yourself but for the creatures you share these lands with.
Jordan is the founder of SALT Textiles, an artist and brand consultant. Her work pairs a reverence of nature with an evolving absorption of alternative ways of being – drawing inspiration from traditional crafts, the healing arts and the natural world. These curiosities are further explored through ritual, movement and meditation. Jordan is on a journey exploring the forgotten wisdom of her British heritage, she also holds a weekly meditation circle.
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