Moon tea

Moon tea prepared by Grand Maester Mellos.

"A tea, princess. From the king. It will rid you of any unwanted consequences."

―Mellos to Rhaenyra Targaryen

Moon tea is a medicinal herbal tea used in Westeros and beyond to prevent and abort pregnancies. It is known to have negative side effects on the gut.

History

House of the Dragon: Season 1

Rhaenyra Targaryen takes moon tea prepared for her by Grand Maester Mellos on the order of her father King Viserys I Targaryen.

Over fifteen years later, Talya gives Dyana moon tea on the orders of Queen Alicent Hightower, after the serving girl was raped by Prince Aegon Targaryen.

House of the Dragon: Season 2

Pregnant with Criston Cole's baby, Alicent drinks moon tea prepared by Grand Maester Orwyle to rid herself of it.

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, moon tea, also called tansy tea, is commonly used in Westeros. According to Lysa Arryn, it is made with tansy, mint, wormwood, a spoon of honey, and a drop of pennyroyal. It can be produced upon request by castle maesters, as well as woods witches or other local apothecaries. According to George R.R. Martin, tansy and pennyroyal are powerful and dangerous natural abortifacients, so he was purposely vague and added a few fantasy touches to moon tea, to make sure no one tried them in real life.

There is no mention that using moon tea may cause gastrointestinal disorders.

It is unclear what the attitudes are towards abortion by the major religions in Westeros: if they do not oppose abortion due to moral objections, or if they officially oppose abortion, but the rule is very commonly ignored and difficult to enforce in a decentralized medieval society. Devout members of the Faith of the Seven apparently consider the use of moon tea to be murder, as the High Sparrow reacted to the information that Margaery Tyrell had taken moon tea by saying "She has drunk of moon tea, to murder the fruit of her fornications in her womb."

While moon tea was never mentioned in the Game of Thrones TV series, it was first referred to by name starting in the third novel. Several characters have used or considered using moon tea in the books:

• Shortly before her death, Lysa reveals that her father forced her to drink moon tea to abort Littlefinger's child.
• After losing her maidenhead to a Lysene sailor, Asha Greyjoy learned from a woods witch how to make moon tea.
• After sleeping with Ser Arys Oakheart, Arianne Martell drinks a cup of moon tea.
• Under pressure, Cersei learns from Pycelle that Margaery asked him for moon tea. She takes it as evidence that Margaery has been unfaithful to Tommen.
• The Free Folk beyond the Wall also know how to make moon tea. After Jon Snow has sex with Ygritte he reiterates that he is terrified of leaving her with an unwanted bastard child, to which Tormund casually remarks that if Ygritte gets pregnant but doesn't want to have his child, she'll just decide to obtain moon tea from a local woods witch.

Fire & Blood does not specifically mention that Rhaenyra or Alicent ever took moon tea or was ever presented with it. This is an invention of the TV series, though due to the "unreliable narrator" nature of the text as an in-universe history book with conflicting sources, it is possible: affairs conducted in private or in secret wouldn't have left a record in the historical sources.

External links

• Moon tea on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for House of the Dragon)