Moon tea, or tansy tea, is an herbal tea popular in the Seven Kingdoms and beyond the Wall. Its medical properties give it the ability to prevent or abort pregnancies. Because of its potency, it is used by almost every type of woman in Westeros, from nobles to prostitutes. The use of moon tea has created many controversies in the Seven Kingdoms. Devout members of the Faith of the Seven believe that taking the drug is murder.
After the Red Wedding, Jeyne Westerling, Robb Stark’s wife, learns that her mother had secretly been drugging her with the dangerous natural abortifacient, moon tea. Furious at her parent’s actions, she rips her finely made clothes and remains mournful until she leaves Riverrun. Maesters and wood witches mostly make moon tea. Its ingredients include a flowering herb called tansy, mint, a spoon of honey, wormwood, and a drop of pennyroyal.
History
In 131 AC, Grand Maester Orwyle disguised himself under the alias Old Wyl to mix moon tea, pennyroyal, and tansy for the prostitutes at the brothels of King’s Landing who wanted to abort their unwanted pregnancies.
In 282 AC, Lysa Tully started sleeping with Petyr Baelish after he took her virginity and learned she was pregnant with his child and revealed the news to her father, Lord Hoster Tully, who she hoped would let her marry the love of her life. However, Lord Hoster refused to let his daughter wed Littlefinger because he was too lowborn to marry her. He forced her to abort the pregnancy with tansy tea provided by maester Kim. The process almost killed Lysa, and she never forgave her father for his actions.
After marrying King Robert Baratheon, Cersei’s relationship with her husband rapidly deteriorated as he hurt her during their sexual intercourse. One of their acts led to Cersei getting pregnant. However, she removed the child with the help of her brother, Ser Jaime Lannister, who got her a woman to help get rid of the child.
When Asha Greyjoy had sex with a Lysene sailor for the first time, she met a woods witch who taught her how to brew moon tea.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Storm of Swords
While slowly dying, Lord Hoster Tully repeatedly says ‘blood’ and ‘tansy,’ and asks for forgiveness. Lady Catelyn Stark, who stays beside her father, thinks he is apologizing to a woman. However, she soon realizes that her father forced Lysa to commit an abortion. Across the Riverlands, some milkmaids take moon tea to prevent Tom of Sevenstreams from impregnating them.
When Sansa Stark reaches the Vale, she overhears a conversation between her aunt and Lord Petyr Baelish. Lysa Arryn tells littlefinger about how she had a child for him after giving him her maidenhead and how she had lost the pregnancy because of her father. She tells Petyr it was not her choice to lose the child and says the people responsible for the act are dead.
Beyond the Wall, Tormund Giantsbane tells Jon Snow that if Ygritte were to get pregnant and did not want to keep the child, she could meet a woods witch who would give her moon tea to help abort her pregnancy; this came after Jon admitted his fear to not wanting to father a child who will suffer because of being born to a bastard.
A Feast for Crows
In Sunspear, Princess Arianne Martell starts having an affair with Ser Arys Oakheart. She drinks moon tea before she sleeps with him to prevent a pregnancy. Arianne ultimately convinces her lover to help her crown Princess Myrcella Baratheon Queen. However, before the plan comes to fruition, Areo Hotah arrives with some of Prince Doran Martell’s guards and ends the rebellion.
Back in King’s Landing, Queen Cersei Lannister Plots against Margaery Tyrell. After threatening Grand Maester Pycelle, she learns that Margaery has been collecting moon tea from the maester; this makes her believe the new Queen has a secret lover. Cersei then arranges for the High Sparrow to arrest Margaery. The new leader of the faith lists Margaery’s transgressions, including her killing the fruit of her fornications in the womb using moon tea.
A Dance with Dragons
After Margaery’s arrest, Grand Maester Pycelle feels Lord Mace Tyrell dislikes him. Pycelle tells Lord Tyrell that he never wanted to say anything, but Cersei forced him.
Relevance in Adaptation
In HBO’s Game of Thrones, moon tea was one of Westeros’s most potent herbal abortifacients. Cersei Lannister had Pycelle slip the potion into her wine to prevent her from getting pregnant. She later led the High Sparrow against Margaery on accusations of adultery. However, Cersei later got arrested when her crimes came to light.
In House of the Dragon, King Viserys Targaryen, played by Paddy Considine, orders Grand Maester Mellos to give his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, portrayed by Milly Alcock, moon tea in her chambers, after she started sleeping with Ser Criston Cole. Years later, Visery’s wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, gives the medicine to a maid after Prince Aegon Targaryen raped her.
Moon Tea: The Deadly Solution
Though it was potent in helping women get rid of their unwanted pregnancies, moon tea is a dangerous drug that could kill a woman. It had many terrible side effects, including uncontrolled bleeding, and sometimes, it could lead to permanent sterilization in some women. In real life, George R. R. Martin stated he added elements of fantasy to the creation of moon tea as the ingredients in the story exist in real life and are poisonous when taken.
