Mystic Tea & Stories

What was the Eye of the Needle and why did Jill pass through it? What made Puddleglum's foot so strong in stomping out the green fire? How did we get stuck with a comfort-breaking challenge again? (How did three sisters get through recording this?)  I hope you enjoy this episode, and in these dangerously contentious times, I hope we can all take with us what the Underlanders of Bism learned: "Why, then, your majesty is a friend!" 

Four signs, two children and a marshwiggle walk into a castle... Colleen Mueller joins us on the journey from British boarding school to a Parlaiment of Owls, through the icy moors and to Harfang Castle. Grab some berries-and-cream tea and enjoy the nostalgia and the challenge. (Are we really going to talk about comfort again? I'll give you one guess!) For more of Colleen, you'll find her blog at colleenmuellerwrit.wix.com/mysite.  She shares musings on both popular books and writing itself.  As always, you'll find more on Substack, Instagram and Etsy under Mystic Tea and Stories.  Thank you for listening!

JC Alexandre is back for another adventure to the Utter East of Narnia (and into the things of God). The tea: Wait, we might actually mean punch? The narrative: More like a story than a spell, and He'll tell it to us for years and years.  The PARDES: We're invited into a personal confidence, and reassured. The Challenge: Five minutes to transform your day. As always, you'll find more on Substack, Instagram and Etsy under Mystic Tea and Stories.  Thank you for listening!

JC Alexandre, fantasy author, and I explore The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from The Chronicles of Narnia.  JC brings us droll humor, sailors' tea punch (you must try it) and new recs (a Narnia cartoon by the director of Peanuts? Who knew?) Content warning: Things get a little dragonish, by which we mean, disgusting. Watch your tummy.  You can find JC at jcalexandrewrites.com and on social as @jcalexandrewrites. His book, The Light Prince Grail, is available in paperback and e-book. 

Old Narnians on the Dancing Lawn, David and Goliath & doubting Thomas, (what's with the DLF acronym?) and Biblical astrology (as opposed to today's trends). Join Cathy Scoon and I for some realizations and musings from the Chronicles of Narnia's Prince Caspian.  You'll find Cathy on Instagram as @cathanascoon, and you can follow her podcast, Eruditely Ersatz, on Spotify. As always, you can reach me (Amanda) at [email protected]. 

Inspired by The Magician's Nephew, Shinto Misogi, Sahlil Bloom and...grubby bathrooms? But really, though. Check out the results of three spiritual challenges inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. They're quick (though maybe not easy), and impactful, so I say you try them!

It's possible you've never wondered why you might want to drink Lion's Mane tea (by the lion's mane, ahem), or whether the Christian poem, Footprints in the Sand, is actually the Horse's Boy, Shasta's, story.  It's likely you've never thought about why the Hermit of the Southern March only had one window that faced North - or how North figures prominently in Narnia AND other mythologies.  But now that I've posed the questions, you can't very well just go away without finding out the answers, can you? Give us a listen - it's myself and Sarah Coogan this episode - and let us know what you think!  As always, you can reach me (Amanda) at mysticteaandstories.com, and you'll find Sarah at sarahcoogan.net. Happy listening (further up and further in)!

Excited this week to have Sarah Coogan, scholar of Irish & British literature, join us to explore the mystic depths of the Chronicles of Narnia's The Horse and His Boy!  Join us as we ask: - Did Shasta & Corin have a bit of twin telepathy? - What message are the settings (city, desert, hermitage) trying to convey?  - How judgy is Lewis really trying to be? (We actually hit on some realizations in the next episode, coming soon!) As always, you can reach me (Amanda) at mysticteaandstories.com, and you'll find Sarah at sarahcoogan.net. Happy listening (further up and further in)!

In this episode of Mystic Vintage Fiction by Tea & Stories, wet snow gets in our boots and lions jump up to kiss our faces. Join us to find out why Snow Shan tea is amazing, how Aslan's roar echoes both the Book of Joshua and Frozen II, and hear me try not to cry three different times (it's Narnia, guys!). 

Join us for a fresh look at The Chronicles of Narnia's iconic story, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Let's explore Lucy (a real girl), Edmund (never had a chance), Susan (doomed or just arbitrary?), and Peter (more the green ice fishing hole he visited, but he's in there).  Our PARDES this time: Lucy said, "this is queer," and then stepped FORWARD, not back. Let's explore the implications of that with our Wild Application for Our World.  Reach me (Amanda) at [email protected] and on Instagram at _tea.and.stories_. (And check out teaandstoriespod.com for Narnia (and other) merch.)

In the second half of The Chronicles of Narnia's prequel, The Magician's Nephew, you can hear about: Color-changing tea What's going on with names?  A thrilling realization about Lantern Waste Our A Wild Application for Our World this time is a challenge to define your own missions (not goals; deeper and fuller missions). I promised the link to the guide; it's at sahilbloom.com/newsletter/the-life-changing-power-of-missions (or search "Sahil Bloom Missions"). Reach me (Amanda) at [email protected] and on Instagram at _tea.and.stories_. (And check out teaandstoriespod.com for Wood Between the Worlds Tea and other giftables!)

A twist on Chronicles of Narnia's prequel The Magician's Nephew, by which I mean: standard vs achievable villainry a Kabbalistic interpretation of plunging and rushing and spiritual skinny dipping We explore the mystical moments where the divine intersects with everyday life and wind up with A Wild Application for Our World. You can always reach me (Amanda) at [email protected] and on Instagram at _tea.and.stories_. (And check out teaandstoriespod.com for some fun Narnia merch!) Shouts out to: The Finer Tea Company in West Chester, PA The Spiritual Wanderlust podcast The Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast  

Journey with us through vintage young adult fiction with a mystical method. Each episode, a guest and I explore a book from the Chronicles of Narnia, LM Montgomery’s New Moon series, Lewis’s Space Trilogy, and more. Mysticism: ”An adventure through the wild things of God.”  We follow this pattern: 1.Teatime. To enjoy the story properly (each story has a pairing, you know!). 2. Rehash the narrative. Each chapter in 5 sentences or less (for the fun of it), plus callouts of great moments and characters. 3. PARDES. A few minutes interpreting a passage from the story with an old Kabbalistic practice, where we look at the passage from 4 different angles to find meaning. 4. Florilegia. A few delightful sentences to carry with you. 5. A Wild Application for our World. A challenge - for us and for you - to bring the mysticism of these stories into everyday life. I do hope you will join us. Follow the podcast for new episodes and reach out at [email protected]. Don't forget to check out our bookish merch at teaandstoriespod.com. Have a beautiful day!