Kitchen Witchery: Heart-Opening Hawthorn Tea
Bobbie Challenger • 29 September 2025
Hawthorn: Guardian of the Heart

As the days shorten and the wheel of the year turns towards autumn, we begin to notice the bright red berries of hawthorn glowing in the hedgerows. This small, thorny tree has long been held sacred in folklore. It is known as a guardian of thresholds, a protector of boundaries, and a keeper of the heart.
Hawthorn offers us her medicine across the seasons. In spring, her tender leaves may be plucked straight from the branch and nibbled. In early summer, she blossoms into clouds of white and pink flowers, carrying the energy of renewal, joy, and open-heartedness. And as autumn draws near, her berries ripen, rich with antioxidants and flavonoids, strengthening the heart both physically and emotionally.
To work with hawthorn is to practise cyclical living. She invites us to notice what is available at each stage of the year, and to use it with gratitude. The leaves offer gentle uplift, the flowers bring expansion and lightness, and the berries ground us with resilience as we prepare for the darker months ahead. When we accept these gifts in their season, we align ourselves more deeply with the rhythms of nature.
Magically, hawthorn is associated with love, devotion, and protection. She is a tree of courage, resilience, and balance - qualities we all need as the year turns. Her thorn is a reminder that love and strength coexist with healthy boundaries. Her blossom opens the heart, while her berries fortify it.
One way to connect with hawthorn’s energy is with a delicious heart-opening tea. The recipe below combines seasonal herbs and fruits to nourish both body and spirit.
Heart-Opening Hawthorn & Rosehip Tea
Ingredients (makes 2–3 cups):
- 3 cups cold water
- ½ cup smashed hawthorn berries
- ½ cup cleaned, de-seeded rosehips (or 2 tbsp if dried)
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 3 slices of apple (with peel)
- A sprinkle of dried rose petals
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- Local honey to taste
Method:
Add water, hawthorn berries, rosehips, cinnamon and apple slices to a pan. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20–25 minutes. As it simmers, stir in your intentions.
Add rose petals and lemon, and allow the tea to rest for 5 minutes.
Strain through a fine cloth. Sweeten with honey to taste. Serve and enjoy, drinking mindfully to connect with the heart-opening energies of the season.
⚠️ Contraindications
Avoid hawthorn if pregnant or breastfeeding.
Those on heart medications (digitalis, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, nitrates) should only use hawthorn under medical supervision.
Hawthorn may lower blood pressure — avoid if you tend toward hypotension.
Rosehips should be prepared carefully: remove seeds/hairs, or strain well to avoid irritation.
This tea is more than a drink - it is a seasonal ritual in a cup, a way to slow down, reconnect with the land, and strengthen the heart as the wheel of the year turns. Whether sipping quietly or sharing with loved ones, the tea carries both physical nourishment and magical intention, honouring the gifts that nature offers in every season.

Sometimes the simplest spells, done in the spaces between moments, are the most powerful…It’s all about your intention. One of my favourite tools for quick, powerful, everyday magic? The humble bay leaf. Why Bay Leaves? Bay leaves are easy to find, inexpensive, and quietly powerful. They’ve been used for centuries for manifestation, protection, banishing, and dream work. You can tuck them into your wallet, burn them like incense, or whisper your wishes into them. This is kitchen table magic. Morning coffee magic. Lunch break magic - Perfect for busy women who want to weave enchantment into their real, beautifully imperfect lives. 5 Quick & Practical Bay Leaf Spells 1. The One-Minute Wish Write your wish on a bay leaf. Hold it, breathe into it, visualise your wish coming to life. Burn it safely and let the ashes go to the wind. Small time. Big magic. 2. The Invisible Home Shield Tuck bay leaves behind doors, in kitchen cupboards, or under cushions to create subtle protective wards. Refresh them when they start to crumble. 3. The Pocket Cleanse Burn a bay leaf like incense when your space feels heavy. Let the fragrant smoke clear stuck energy from your home—and from you. 4. The Prosperity Magnet Write "success", "abundance" or "I am a magnet for money" on a bay leaf and carry it in your purse. A simple, powerful daily charm. 5. The Tiny Banishing Write what you want to release (fear, procrastination, bad vibes) on a bay leaf. Burn it safely and say: “I release this from my life. I set it free. I set myself free.” ⚠️ Witch’s Note : Not for banishing people. The universe has a wicked sense of humour. Everyday Magic for Real Life You don’t need to wait for the perfect moment. You don’t need to have it all together. You don’t need to be a ‘professional witch’ to work real magic. You just need a few quiet seconds, a bay leaf, and your beautiful, focused intention. That’s it. That’s the spell. Want to Go Deeper? Request My Free Bay Leaf Magic Guide I’ve created a beautiful PDF guide with more bay leaf spells, magical properties, and simple rituals you can do anytime - even on your busiest days. It’s yours to keep, print, and tuck into your journal, altar, or bag. May your magic always find you, even on your busiest days✨

The ancient roots of yoga go deep - but somewhere along the modern path, we began shaping it into neat, linear sequences, taught in brightly lit studios to hurried, overcommitted bodies. While these forms have offered structure and accessibility, they often forget something vital to us, as women: the feminine rhythm. Women’s bodies don’t move through life in straight lines. We ebb. We flow. We bleed. We bloom. Our energy rises and recedes like tides. To meet ourselves with tenderness and truth, we need a yoga that honours this rhythm. Enter women’s yoga: This is not a trend, nor a niche, but a reclamation. Honouring the Unique Rhythms of the Female Body From our first bleed to our final hot flush, we are guided by cycles - whether we listen to them or not. Our hormonal blueprint is ever-changing. Some days we crave fire and movement, other days, we long for stillness and rest. And yet, many women force themselves into practices designed for steady, unchanging energy. This mismatch can lead to burnout, injury, or emotional disconnection - not because yoga is harmful, but because it just isn't meeting us where we are at. Women’s yoga dares to ask: What if we stopped overriding our body’s wisdom? What if we actually listened? What Is Women’s Yoga? Women’s yoga is cyclical. It’s grounded in the understanding that we are not the same every day - and we were never meant to be. It’s intuitive. It invites us to soften the need for achievement and drop into deeper layers of awareness. It is truly somatic in its nature and asks: How do I feel today? What do I need? It’s strong in its softness. It honours resilience without glorifying overexertion. Here, slowing down is not laziness - it’s power! This kind of yoga opens space for emotional and energetic intelligence. A women’s yoga class is a sacred space, you might move slowly, cry freely, or lie in stillness as your greatest act of power. You’re allowed to be complex. You’re allowed to be real. Key Differences from Traditional Yoga Where traditional yoga often follows structured, masculine-aligned patterns (think: discipline, repetition, achievement), women’s yoga chooses a cyclical path. It changes with the moon and the seasons. It flows like water. It leans into the language of the womb, the pulse of the earth. Some key differences: Linear vs. Circular : Traditional sequences may prioritise structure and symmetry; women’s yoga embraces flow, spirals, and waves. Performance vs. Presence : Rather than aiming to “master” poses, women’s yoga prioritises presence, sensation, and alignment with one’s inner world and personal anatomy. One-size-fits-all vs. Life-stage Adaptable : Whether you are in the flow of your personal moon, trying to conceive, pregnant, postpartum, or transitioning through menopause - there’s space for you here. Every phase has its own sacred signature. And perhaps most radically: you are not asked to push through . You are asked to feel . Why It’s Deeply Needed Today We are living in a world that rewards speed, productivity, and outward achievement. For many women, this creates a quiet (or not-so-quiet) war with the body. We push when we should pause. We numb when we need to feel. We perform when all we really need is to rest. Women’s yoga is a counterculture. It says: You are not broken. You are tired. And that’s a very different thing! This practice is deeply trauma-informed, recognising the body as a storehouse of unspoken stories. It blends ancient practices with modern somatic wisdom, offering space for safe reconnection, release, and healing. Most importantly, it’s a reclamation. Of feminine movement. Of sacred rest. Of trusting your own pulse over any prescription. How I Hold Space In our women’s yoga community, we do things differently. We tune into the energy of the seasons, the moon, and our own inner cycles. We breathe, move, and rest in ways that honour where we truly are - not where we think we should be. Each class is an invitation to return home to yourself. You won’t find mirrors, competition, or hustle here. You’ll find warmth, welcome, and wildness. We weave together practices like womb yoga, yoga Nidra, intuitive movement, and breathwork - each one crafted to nourish body, heart, and soul. One woman recently said: “ I’ve been doing yoga for years, but I’ve never felt seen like this. Your class gave me permission to just be. I didn’t know how much I needed that. ” Another told me that since joining our circle, she’s started syncing her work week to her cycle, saying 'no' more often, and finally feels “ back in her body ” after years of disconnect. This is the power of women’s yoga. It’s not just a practice. It’s a remembering. Ready to Reconnect? Our Wellness Circle Membership is a sanctuary for this remembering. It includes: A weekly women’s yoga class that flows with the moon and your energy A monthly Yoga Nidra for deep rest and nervous system healing A monthly women’s circle for connection and reflection Our 13 Moons Workbook for cyclical living Seasonal journeys to honour your inner and outer transitions Access to a growing library of over 100 recorded practices so you can meet yourself where you are No time for full practices? Our Bitesize Membership offers nourishing sessions that are all under 30 minutes - perfect for busy women who still want to show up for themselves. BONUS: Receive our free “Cycle Syncing Yoga” PDF when you join. Because you deserve a yoga that sees you - All of you. With love & Magic, Bobbie xx