Talismanic Mulling Spices

This was such a fun offering! I liked it as a form because I felt like it was fun to use and opened up many possibilities for how to spread the magic across. Also the shapes of the spices were so rounded and felt so special?? Not sure if that's me being silly! Would love to see more of this in the future.

I love these spices. I spent all winter (my love's birthday season) rationing them out into drinks and snacks. They successfully fought off seasonal affective disorder and got us through the depths of winter, by Jupiter's grace!

So I'm not a 'morning person,' but of course come Christmas morning, everyone's up and about and in high spirits, which tends to only make my Saturn-heavy morning mood even more curmudgeonly. Well, not since I've started a new ritual of brewing my morning tea with talismanic mulling spices on Christmas mornings! I've used it on similar occasions that time of year, too, but I've definitely noticed a big difference in my overall 'Christmas' mood and willingness to engage with everyone else when the scent of this stuff starts permeating the kitchen air on that particular day. Also, it's noticeably contagious: others will perk up around me, asking 'what smells so good??' and buzzing with a kind of 'fun' energy as it gets going. Really nice effects! I've also used it at various times throughout the year as an altar offering or to sprinkle a little festive joy wherever it may be useful 😉

I made the most uplifting, cheerful Mulled Cider to share with my partner and family. Everyone loved it! So tasty. A little bit goes a long way. So much fun seeing the edible gold leaf floating around while it was cooking. I felt like I was sharing something really special. I am so glad I got them!

There's an old Pagan story called "Visions of Sugarplums" by Margaret Morrison which explains what these spices do better than I could:

"I tasted rum ball. Peppermint. Those hard candies with the picture all the way through. Mama's favorite fudge. A chorus line of Christmas candies danced through my mouth. The Swedish Angel Chimes, run on candle power, say tingatingatingating. Mama, with a funny smile, promised to give Santa my letter.

Greeting cards taped on the refrigerator door. We rode through the tree farm on a straw-filled trailer pulled by a red and green tractor, looking for a perfect pine. It was so big, Daddy had to cut a bit off so the star wouldn't scrape the ceiling. Lights, ornaments, tinsel. Daddy lifted me up to the mantle to hang my stocking. My dolls stayed up to see Santa Claus, and in the morning they all had new clothes. Grandma carried in a platter with the world's biggest turkey, and I got the drumstick. Joey's Christmas puppy chased my Christmas kitten up the tree and it would have fallen over but Daddy held it while Mama got the kitten out. Daddy said every bad word there was but he kept laughing anyway. I sneaked my favorite plastic horse into the nativity scene, between the camels and the donkey."

This stuff makes everything taste like happy holiday memories - I experienced Christmas, my partner experienced Thanksgiving. The warmth and love of family gathered together. The complicated feelings those memories bring up being held within loving arms.

It also let me discover that I can not only cook, but cook well, as if all the effort my mom put into trying to teach me as a teenager was just waiting to ripen. I put the spices into a grinder and added them to a pork roast along with canned peaches and naranja marinade and it was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted. I wept right there in the kitchen.

I can't wait to see what culinary offerings Kait shares in the future <3

I set a spoonful of these simmering in water on my stove, and a warm glowing aura permeated my whole apartment. The scent transformed my space into a cozy haven free from winter's chill and the heartbreaks of current events. The energetics from this election are wonderful experienced this way.

Flavor-wise, this is dark and spicy, with the clove standing out to me the most, followed by the allspice.

I've used these for a perfect mulled wine. I added a pinch to a pot of beans, and yes they were delicious. I look forward to grinding these and baking with them as well.

Absolutely warm, cozy and beautiful. I used the spices in a couple ways. I used them in a blueberry compote for a honey cake I made and as a tea decoction. They embody everything about the holiday season, but also just general warmth and happiness. On the solstice I used them as my incense and it was a perfect match to welcome back the light and to extend that feeling through the winter months.