Another Autumn favourite coming at you! I made this one for the first time last year and not only does it taste delicious it makes your house SMELL amazing!
Apple Cider at its core consists of 3 ingredients (and water) apples, cinnamon and cloves. Beyond that though there are many things we can add into it. A very popular addition is orange to add a little extra sweet, tart and that telltale citrus flavour. I usually do this but my next grocery trip isn't until this weekend. But because I think this is almost a necessary addition I’m going to throw it into the recipe even though I didn't get to do it this time around. As well as the addition of orange there are a bunch of other spices that compliment the flavours and elements of apples namely nutmeg, allspice and ginger. I always prefer whole spices in a recipe like this but dried works too.
**pro tip** if using dried spices I highly recommend cheesecloth over a sieve (or both!) to really separate out the grit of the spices.
You can play around with these spices for different flavour profiles as well as matching your correspondences to your intent a little more pointedly. I know it’s a little early, and I’ll have a Samhain post coming out closer to the date, but this is a great recipe for the holiday. In that vein I suggest adding allspice to your pot as it is specifically associated with Samhain.
I wanted to make this easy to make a batch for just your family as well as a larger batch to serve at gatherings especially with the current state of the world, many of us will not be having a thanksgiving or Halloween gather this year but that doesn't mean we cant have a tiny celebration with our household or get festive with a zoom call!
Ingredients
water
5 apples (a variety of your choosing, I'm using Macintosh)
1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
15 whole cloves
optional
to taste, sweetener (brown sugar, maple syrup etc)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 in slice fresh ginger
1/2 tsp whole allspice
* all spices more or less depending on your preference, WARNING be careful with nutmeg. As I've said before it can cause some health problems if over consumed
Quarter your apples and oranges and place in a stock pot. You should be able to cover your fruits with water plus 2 to 3 inches to avoid boil over.
Add your spices and cover with water. Bring to a simmer on high heat and then lower the heat to medium-high. 
Simmer for about 2 hours or until the apples are soft. Grab a wooden spoon or potato masher and squash the hell out of the fruits. This will release the flavours. Simmer for another hour or so. 
Give your cider a taste. If it is to your liking in the spice flavour it's time to strain out all that gunk. Using a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth (or both!) to do this. You will probably have to move the mixture around a bit to allow the liquid to drain but dont push it down. There will be pulp, you cant get rid of it entirely but you can always double strain it.
*pro tip* keep this mash and use it in baking! It's like apple sauce just a little more
fibrous. I'm going to use it in muffins in place of the oil so I'll let
you know how it turns out (but you'll have to follow me on Instagram)!
Taste your cider again and adjust the sweetness if necessary.
Serve warm now or store in a sealed container in the fridge and heat it up when ready (you can enjoy cold but it's oh so much better warm.)
Bonus points if you enjoy outside under the autumn leaves! I want to see pictures!
Apples: love, fidelity, fertility, marriage, beauty, vanity, wisdom, the soul, the afterlife and immortality.
Cinnamon: spirituality, success, healing, adds energy, protection, prosperity, good luck, love, happiness, and money
Clove:
Protection, clarity, banishing evil, love, stopping gossip, money,
clairvoyance, keep good friends close, good luck, prosperity exorcism,
purification
A cool thing to point out about these correspondences is that the spices
are all associated with fire and apples with water so they really come
together to balance the elements. I find so many of the ingredients I
use are fire based so its refreshing to be able to balance that out with
the water element in the apples.
But onto the spellwork...
Since the main ingredient here is apples you may want to use this as a love potion especially with the addition of things like cinnamon and nutmeg, which of course is a great direction to go. I wanted to focus more on the spiritual aspect of these correspondences. (I can't help but be excited for the thinning of the veil and approaching Halloween/Samhain day, especially with the blue moon landing on the 31st.) The other main correspondence of the apple is its attachment to the afterlife, the soul and wisdom. We see apples in a lot of religious stories both Abrahamic and Non-Abrahamic. They make great offerings to the dead as well as a perfect ingredient to add into spellwork to get more in touch with the spirits around you and your ancestors. In addition to apples, cloves and nutmeg can definitely add to this intention with their association with clairvoyance and clarity. So stir in your intentions and sit down in a quiet, safe place and enjoy a meditation focused on contacting your loved ones on the other side.
And let me know if this recipe helped you feel closer to your loved ones, living or passed!
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