Charlie Rainbow Wolf
Catmint is also called catnep, but it shouldn’t be confused with catnip. While they’re both a member of the mint family, catmint (Nepeta mussinii) is a much showier plant than catnip (Nepeta cataria), and has a much milder taste. There are well over two hundred species of Nepeta, and it’s native to Europe, Africa, and Asia and has been naturalized in the Americas.
Catmint is easy to grow. It adapts to most soils but does seem to prefer something that is chalky and well-drained. The stalks are square and sturdy and can grow up to three feet high in some instances. The leaves are somewhat heart-shaped and covered in a slight fuzz, which gives them a pleasant downy appearance.
The flowers of the catmint are spiky and bloom from late summer until early autumn. They come in shades of pink, lavender, and mauve and attract valuable pollinators, such as bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Catmint is also useful at deterring aphids, squash beetles, and other garden pests, making it an appealing and beneficial addition to the herb garden—folklore even tells us that the roots will repel rats! Like all mints, though, it does have a tendency to spread, so make plans to contain it before deciding where it’s going to grow.
While the blooms are very pleasing, it’s the leaves that are the most important part of the plant when it comes to folklore and herbal use. You’re probably aware of catnip’s exhilarating influence on cats. This is due to the nepetalactone in the catmint stimulating the neurons in the cat’s olfactory bulb. It doesn’t have quite the same influence on humans, though, but don’t rule it out just yet!
The leaves of the catmint are used in both cooking and herbal remedies. The best time for harvesting them is in the morning, after the dew has gone but before the sun gets too high in the sky. Choose the leaves from young stalks, as those on older ones tend to be a bit woody.
Catmint tea has a mild sedative influence, and when combined with lemon balm, it makes a very pleasant and pacifying bedtime beverage. It calms the nerves, soothes the stomach, and helps to relieve bloating and gas. It should be made as an infusion, though, because boiling water will decrease its healing properties. It’s hard to overdose on catmint tea, but don’t drink too much—it may act as a laxative!
Magically, catmint is associated with the planet Venus and the element of water. It’s an ideal herb to use in springtime spells for love, beauty, and fertility. A sachet filled with catmint and rose petals is said to attract a lover or increase the bond between existing couples. If you’re looking for love, catmint wrapped in a bit of pink or red cotton cloth and carried with you at all times is believed to draw a lover into your life.
An Ostara Ritual for Love
For this ritual, it’s best if you’ve grown your own catmint, but purchasing it from an apothecary will do. You will also need a kettle in which to boil water, a teapot, teacups, green tea bags (available from most groceries or herbal stores), some honey, a teaspoon, two pink candles, and something with which to light them. You can do this solitary or with a group—the outcome will be the same—creating a place where love can grow.
At the appointed time, bring the kettle to the boil and pour the hot water onto the green tea bags in the teapot. Use one tea bag for every eight ounces of water that your pot holds. While this brews, put your two pink candles on your altar or ceremonial table. Let your tea steep for about five minutes, then add the catmint—a teaspoon if you’re working on your own, or a good tablespoon if you’re with others. Let the tea rest for another five minutes or so while you set out the teacup(s) in your sacred space.
Place the teapot and the honey (with the teaspoon) between the two ceremonial candles. As you light the first candle, think about what love you are projecting from your heart out into the world. Are you happy? Do people enjoy your company, are you pleasant and uplifting to others? What are your good points, what do you have to offer in terms of friendship and love? Focus on those, and envision them radiating from you. You might want to say something aloud (which can be recited in unison if you’re with others—or each person can share their own thoughts). You can write your own or use this example:
Spring’s light lengthens in the sky
Let my love from my heart shine
Friend and lover hold me near
May these words my goddess hear.
With the candles lit, pour the tea into the teacups. Add up to a teaspoon of honey per cup, depending on taste. Now focus on what is sweet about you. What do you share willingly, what do you hope to achieve this year? How can you start it now? Focus on those goals and envision them coming to you. You can state your intent out loud, or use something like this:
Sweet is the tea upon my lips
Sweet are my thoughts between my sips
Sweet is the love that shines from my soul
Sweet is the love that makes my life whole.
Quietly sip your tea, relaxing in its goodness, its warmth, its sweetness. If you’re doing this with others, everyone can have their own cup, or you can share the one cup around as if it were a chalice. Spend some time with your thoughts, because you’re setting yourself up for what you want to manifest.
After the tea has been consumed and the ritual is coming to an end, it is time to extinguish the candles. Either pinch them out or use an extinguisher (it’s ill-advised to take a life force with a life force). As you do so, say a few words in closing. Again, this can be off the top of your head, something you’ve composed or something along these lines.
Tea and light have blessed me
And now it’s time to leave
I thank you for the sweetness
Of joys I will receive.
Tidy away your items, keeping in mind what you have set in motion. If you garden, the tea (when it has cooled) can be tipped onto a flower bed or into your compost pile. All that remains now is to go forward and sow the seeds of kindness and light, and prepare to reap the harvest of joy and fulfillment. Catmint reminds you that when you relax and try to approach things from a calm and positive mindset, you can achieve a lot more than if you worry about them.