Is Mead the Oldest Sacred Drink?

Early Mead Vessals from Europe during the Bell Beaker Culture

Mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with water. Sometimes herbs, spices, or even hops are added but overall it’s a pretty simple drink to create. Due to the wide availability of honey across the word this was one of if not the first alcoholic beverage to be created.

In ancient times mead was consumed across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The oldest evidence we have of mead drinking comes from 7000 BCE in Northern China. In Europe mead drinking began around 2000 BCE during the time of the Bell Beaker Culture. There is also some crossover with Mead and the magical ritual beverage known as Soma that is mentioned in various religious texts such as the Rigveda. The ancient Greeks were very fond of Mead and it was the preferred drink during the age of Great philosophers. It was a little later during the Roman Empire that we get one of our first written recipes for mead:

Take rainwater kept for several years, and mix a sextarius of this water with a pound of honey. For a weaker mead, mix a sextarius of water with nine ounces of honey. The whole is exposed to the sun for 40 days, and then left on a shelf near the fire. If you have no rain water, then boil spring water.

Mead has also played a big role in Norse Paganism as it is mentioned in various stories through the prose and poetic Edda. There is one specific story that talks of a magical beverage known as the “Mead of Poetry.” This special mead was made by mixing honey with the blood of a slain man named Kvasir. Kvasir was a promethean type figure who travelled the world to give the gift of knowledge to mankind. When his blood was used to make the mead of poetry, Kvasir's vast intelligence was passed into this magical drink so that anyone who drank the mead would have the knowledge to answer any question or to solve any riddle. Anyone who drank this mead would immediately become a Skald or poet, hence the name “Mead of Poetry.”

The Mead of Poetry was under the ownership of the Giant Suttungr until the God Odin famously tricked him and took the mead for himself. When Odin came across the sacred mead he drained the whole container into his mouth and transformed into an eagle to escape from the Giant who quickly also transformed into an Eagle and chased him. The other Norse Gods met Odin with vessels for him to spit the mead into and from that point this magical beverage belonged to Odin and the Aesir. Though, it is said that Odin offers this magical mead to anyone who may be particularly gifted in Poetry.

The connection between Mead and poetry continued throughout time. Mead is mentioned as being drunk by Danish warriors in the epic poem of Beowulf. And In 550 CE the Welsh bard named Taliesin wrote a famous piece called the ‘Song of Mead’ that inspired many later poems throughout Britain and Wales. After Christianity fully took hold in Europe the monasteries continued to preserve the traditions of mead-making. Today, mead is having a bit of a resurgence in popularity. Growing up I don’t recall seeing anyone drinking mead but now you can find it at most liquor stores and even in some bars.

So, as we modern Pagans strive to resurrect ancient traditions, Mead can be a really fun thing to incorporate into your practice. It can be used in a ritual way to perhaps inspire poetry or creative expression. Or it can be used as an offering beverage, especially if you follow or work with the Norse Gods.

Personally, I just think it’s so amazing that this beverage can take us back through millenia to a more ancient time where the world seemed a bit more magical.

Have you ever used mead in your Pagan practice? Or do you have a favorite mead you’d like to suggest. Share your thoughts below in the comments.