Written by Melanie Hartt, Star, Naren Michael

Tea Party for the Soul

Melanie

I didn’t come from a family who “takes tea.” Nor did I host pretend tea parties as a child. The closest I ever came to one was through Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The magical whimsy and masterful wit of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – to me – represented a light-hearted and imaginative view of life. Chaotic charm.

So when my filly Star set up an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party for us during a recent metaphysical visit, she had my full attention.

“It’s time we sat down for tea,” she said, munching on a stack of tea leaves piled high on an ornate platter. Star was dressed in her best halter: one with a headband that looked like a royal tiara. It had emerald sapphires encased in silver. She said she chose that one because it complimented her eyes. “They match,” she said, sputtering tea leaves and lavender twigs out of her mouth as she spoke.

I sat down at the table she had set and picked up my cup. It had yellow and orange floral accents on it which reminded me of skipping through the horse pastures of the farm where I grew up. My heart frolicked in step with the memory and a warm midsummer sunlight settled upon my cold skin.

“When was the last time you ate?” Star asked, a concerned look… no, a knowing look… on her face. I admitted that I hadn’t really eaten much of anything that day, to which she replied: “Tut, tut, and all that jazz!” in a very Alice in Wonderland know-it-all voice. She slid a plate of petit-fours cakes across the table to me. They were lemon scented and coated in white frosting. The aroma lifted my spirits off the chair and a laugh began to grow in my belly.

My mouth watered; but instead of reaching for a little cake to satisfy my hunger, I hesitated. “Desert before lunch? Petit-fours are not a very healthy lunch choice.”

Star laughed, a big guffaw, and more tea leaves flew out of her mouth. “No, but they remind you of a happy day, right? The day you and your dear friend went to that special pastry shop and ate the most delicious mini cakes while you both laughed at her pregnancy brain and how she flitted around like a very big bee. Eat up the good memories! Any and all. This is the kind of sweetness which doesn’t go to your hips... though, this tea is flavored with rose-hips!”

The citrusy scent of rose hip brought me to another cherished memory in which I harvested rose hips for the first time at my house. I had learned how high in Vitamin C they were and wanted to make a tea. Even though I didn't harvest enough to make a large batch, I remembered feeling proud at the time, like a capable woman who could live off the land and support her family well.

“You have plenty of rose bushes now,” Star said to me from across the table. “What’s stopping you from harvesting more?”

Then Star showed me a vision of me making a journal from scratch, decorating a paper with pictures of flowers and rose hips and stems and greenery. I looked like I was enjoying the process of creation and expression. In my real life, Junk Journaling (as the hobby is sometimes called) is actually a pastime I took up earlier this year as a way to preserve special memories with my horse Chandler.

Star nodded her head exuberantly and said that was exactly what she meant for me to notice. “Gathering up beautiful papers instead of throwing them out, making a scrapbook of uplifting memories can combat times when you feel the slowed, lowered vibrations of heaviness.” As I assembled the pages in my vision, I felt my energy change from heavy to light.

Star lifted her tea cup to her muzzle and smiled as she sipped.