Barley Water:
A Delicious Beverage
with Many Magical Uses

by Tess Whitehurst

To this day, the crux of the Eleusinian mysteries remains a mystery. Still, these elaborate and highly revered rites were practiced in Greece for thousands of years, and initiates reported again and again that the experience changed them irrevocably, convincing them beyond all doubt of the literal existence of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, and infusing them with a certainty of their own immortality.

In Homer’s Hymn to Demeter it says, “Then Metaneira filled a cup with sweet wine and offered it to her; but she refused it, for she said it was not lawful for her to drink red wine, but bade them mix [barley] meal and water with soft mint and give her to drink. And Metaneira mixed the draught and gave it to the goddess as she bade. So the great queen [Demeter] received it to observe the sacrament.” Historians believe that ancient Greeks would have recognized this immediately as one of the most essential practices of the Eleusinian mysteries: the abstinence from wine, and the drinking of a very specifically prepared barley water and mint potion, known as kykeon. (Interestingly, some renowned experts, such as chemist Albert Hoffman and mythologist Carl Kerényi, have hypothesized that the barley used for the mysteries helped cause intense spiritual experiences because it was riddled with ergot, the parasitic fungus that inspired and helped formulate LSD. But please note: I am just mentioning this for informational purposes! If you happen to find to barley containing ergot, DO NOT ingest it in any form, as it can cause violent illness and even death.)

The Magic of Barley Water

Barley water in and of itself (even without hallucinogenic properties) is very magical stuff, especially when prepared with reverence and intention. It serves as a lovely offering or libation to the goddess Demeter, and it can be employed as a sacred beverage during ritual (in lieu of wine) or a grounding beverage after ritual (in lieu of ale or beer). What’s more, it’s delicious, and drinking it regularly has a ton of health benefits. It detoxifies the body, supports clear and glowing skin, helps heal bladder and kidney infections, clears mucus, soothes the throat, and reduces inflammation. It also has a cooling effect on your system, which comes in very handy while exercising or spending time in warmer climates. (I’d reach for it as a thirst-quencher before a sports drink any day!) Some studies even indicate that it might help prevent diabetes, bowel cancer, and high cholesterol.

Other ingredients commonly added to barley water are mint, honey, and lemon—all uplifting, energizing, and clarifying magical ingredients. In ancient Greece, the “mint” was most likely pennyroyal, but for safety’s sake (and a pleasant flavor!), don’t use pennyroyal, as it can be toxic. Spearmint, peppermint, or a similarly innocuous mint will do the trick.

Here’s how you can make barley water at home.

Magical Barley Water Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup pearl barley

2 lemons, scrubbed clean

1 bunch fresh mint

8 cups water

Organic honey, or another sweetener of your choice, to taste (perhaps start with 3 tablespoons)

Begin by lighting a white candle and placing it on or near the stovetop. Call on the goddess Demeter and invoke her divine assistance by saying,

Goddess Demeter, I call on you.

Thank you for this barley, and all these ingredients.

Please bless them.

Please bless my efforts.

As I prepare this potion, please infuse it with your magical essence.

May all who partake of it be cleansed, refreshed, renewed, inspired, and blessed.

Great mother Goddess, as I prepare this kykeon, I honor you.

Great mother Goddess, from deep within my heart, for all your abundance and bounty, I thank you.

Blessed be.

Rinse the barley (some say this might not be necessary, but I just do it to be on the safe side) and place it in a usable cauldron or large cauldron-like pot. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 to 60 minutes until the barley is soft enough to eat. While it’s simmering, grate the lemon peels and juice the lemons. When you remove the cauldron from the heat, add the lemon zest (grated peels) and steep, covered, for an additional 20 minutes. Drain. Combine with sweetener and transfer to a pitcher or bottles to cool. Add the lemon juice. To serve, crush a small handful of mint in a mortar and pestle, place it in a chalice or glass, and pour the barley water over the top. (Ice is optional.)

But wait! Don’t discard the barley. First, take a small handful and go outside. Place it on the earth (perhaps at the base of a tree) as an offering to Gaia, Demeter’s mother and the Earth Herself. Then save the rest of the barley to eat. You can add it to salads or soups, use it as you would rice or risotto, or prepare it with sweetener to eat as a hot breakfast cereal.

Magical Uses for Barley Water

Simply preparing barley water magically (as above) and drinking it regularly can boost health and to help fortify an everyday magical mindset. As previously mentioned, it can also be a perfect altar offering or libation to the goddess Demeter, as well as a ritual drink or post-ritual grounding beverage. And considering that barley water’s ingredients lend themselves to magical intentions as diverse as prosperity, clarity, creativity, cleansing, grounding, vitality, and goddess energy—barley water can be employed in countless magical ways. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Household Prosperity Ritual

On a Thursday during a waxing moon, brew a batch of magical barley water, as above. Place the candle in the center of the dining table and serve a glass of barley water to every member of your household. Before drinking, say:

Great Goddess Demeter, Grain Goddess, and Earth Mother Gaia,

We call on you and ask that you infuse us with your abundance and sustenance.

May our wealth multiply, our blessings expand, and our fortune endlessly grow.

In all ways may we prosper and thrive.

Thank you.

As you drink, go around the table clockwise and take turns sharing things—big or small—for which you are grateful.

Goddess Alignment

Brew a batch of magical barley water on a Friday. As it simmers, direct your palms toward the cauldron and say, “Great Goddess, I call on you. Please infuse this potion with powerful feminine balance and strength. As I consume it, may it strengthen the health of my womb, my inner equilibrium, my beauty, and my feminine power. Thank you.” Drink regularly.

Creativity Boost

While crushing the mint in your mortar and pestle for a glass of barley water, chant, “I now release the fresh, inspiring spirit of mint!” After preparing your beverage, but before you drink it, hold it in both hands and visualize it filled with very bright golden light with rainbow swirls and sparkles. Say, “Great Mother Goddess, Divine Creatrix, I call on you. As you breathe beauty and magic into all beings, may I breathe beauty and magic into the world through my creations. As I ingest this beverage, may I ingest your powers of infinite creativity. Thank you.”

Grounding Tonic

While preparing the barley water, just before you put the barley in your cauldron, take a measuring cup containing the barley outside, spread a clean, undyed cloth (such as muslin) on the earth near the base of a tree, and place the measuring cup on top of it. Kneel and visualize the earth energy coming up from the soil to bless and consecrate the barley. Say, “Earth Mother Gaia, please recognize this barley as your child: as the fruit of your womb. Please consecrate it and activate it with your deeply grounding, nourishing, and stabilizing energy. Thank you.”

Clarity Potion

Once the barley water is prepared, add two drops of apophyllite and one drop of fluorite essence. (These are gem elixirs that can be purchased from Alaskan Essences online or at metaphysical supply stores, or you can make them if you know how to do so safely.) Hold the pitcher or bottle in both hands and visualize it filled with blindingly bright white light. Say, “Great Goddess, I call upon your wisdom and your clarity. May I see and know the truth in all things. May I see and know just what to do. Thank you.”

For Further Study:

Chevallier, Andrew. Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1996.

Hoffman, Albert, Carl A.P. Ruck, and R. Gordon Wasson. The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2008.

Homer. Trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Hymn to Demeter. Cambridge, MA: Loeb Classical Library, 1914.

Illes, Judika. The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft. London: Harper Element, 2005.

Kerényi, Carl. Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967.