Remembering.
Gathering.
Planning.
Aspiring.
Matariki marks the traditional Maori New Year - Te Mātahi o te Tau, and is a unique and important family time in the calendar. It is an ending and a beginning of a yearly cycle allowing whānau to rest, reflect, celebrate and plan for the coming year. Family and friends gather to share food harvest and honour the efforts of local kai from the whenua, the land, of Aotearoa. Ancestors, tipuna, are remembered.
The event of Matariki takes its name from the Matariki star cluster in the night sky. It is known in the natural science of astronomy as The Pleiades. While there are about a thousand stars in the cluster, it is the nine stars of Matariki that are visible to the unaided eye when the sky is free from cloud, that each have a highly valued association with the environment and human wellbeing. In te ao Māori, the Māori worldview, human beings and the environment are inextricably linked, and the nine stars serve as guides, sources of energy, and pathways to physical and spiritual vitality. The celebrated Matariki in the winter night sky comes from its heliacal rising, which is the moment it appears on the earth's north-eastern horizon just before dawn. This specific celestial event occurs annually around June or July. (10 July, 2026)
An introduction to the wisdom and understanding, the mātauranga, behind the nine Matariki whetū, stars, is:
- Matariki: She is recognised as the Mother of the other eight stars signifying health and wellbeing of people, reflection, and connection to the environment.
- Pōhutukawa: This star connects the cluster to loved ones from ancestral lineage, tipuna, who have passed away, and nurtures memories of them for the living.
- Tupuānuku: It is known as the earth star governing what grows in the ground for kai and rongoā, food and wellbeing.
- Tupuārangi: The sky star is associated with life above ground, such as fruit, tree bark, and the bees and birds.
- Waitī: The water star represents fresh water and the life it sustains in water bodies of the land, such as our streams and rivers, tarns and lakes.
- Waitā: The ocean star's domain is naturally the salt water and the creatures of the sea.
- Waipuna-ā-rangi: The rain star is a guide for life-giving rain and different types of atmospheric moisture.
- Ururangi: The wind star is connected to the nature of the winds and weather patterns.
- Hiwa-i-te-rangi: The youngest star in the cluster, to which you can send your aspirations and intentions for the year ahead. Wish upon a star!
Infusing Tī Ani with the Whetū
At Tī Ani we treasure our wildcrafted native teas of Aotearoa and their authentic connection with Matariki. They are steeped in tikanga, the traditions of our indigenous people. Rongoā Māori, Māori medicine, is directly connected to the Matariki star cluster, because it serves as a celestial guide for gathering, preparing, and applying medicinally active plants. The stars provide a seasonal calendar that indicates when the mauri, the life force, of medicinal plants is at its peak. The Matariki event is key in forecasting the coming year's healing resources from native plants, and acknowledged as a useful pathway to support the wellbeing and spiritual healing of people.
Tupuānuku, the Earth Star, is specific to the plants and trees. It governs the terrestrial medicinal flora, such as kūmarahou (primarily used in respiratory and digestive conditions); mānuka (primarily used for digestive, and skin conditions, seasonal infections and nervous system balancing); tataramoa (primarily used in emotional support and nervous system conditions); kawakawa and horopito (are primarily used in skin and digestion conditions). You can find these medicinal plants as loose leaf teas in our online Tī Ani shop.
The Sky Star of Tupuārangi connects us to medicinal resources sourced from elevated places in the trees. For example mānuka bark and honey, tānekaha bark (primarily used in dysmenorrhea, digestive and skin conditions), and berries that are used in traditional infusions and tonics.
Waipuna-ā-Rangi, the Rain Star, is fundamental in te rongoā with an invaluable life-giving role. For example, infusing plant tea and preparing herbal decoctions, washing wounds, poultice applications and kai preparations. The rains govern our purification systems of both the environment and human life. When rain purifies the soil it renews the healing properties of the flora.
The Wind Star, Ururangi, guides the removal of environmental toxicity, influencing air quality and the airborne distribution of seeds for ongoing medicinal plant life. These actions consequently nurture the wellbeing of people.
At Tī Ani we uphold the connection to Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the wishing star of Matariki. Beyond physical care, te rongoā involves the mind and spirit. We can direct our aspirations, intentions, and karakia, prayers, for the health and spiritual vitality of our communities in the new year to this star. Specifically, we will be setting goals this Matariki to offer you ongoing supportive tea infusions for your wellness from the land of these islands we call home, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mānuka Matariki Recipe
Tī Ani invites you to make the following tea recipe this Matariki to allow you to infuse with the fascinating whetū. It would be wonderful to drink from a flask while observing Matariki rising on the dawn horizon this winter while snuggled in a rug. However this infusion recipe serves your immunity through the winter season at any time of day.
Serves 2.
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon of Tī Ani Mānuka loose leaf tea.
- 500ml of freshly boiled water, which has been allowed to rest until the steam has settled to avoid scorching the mānuka leaves.
- 1–2 spray free lemons, juiced.
- Lemon zest.
- Raw Mānuka honey or other raw native bush honey of your choice.
Method
Infuse the Tī Ani Mānuka loose leaf tea in the water for 5 to 10 minutes in a tea pot. Strain into cups. The tea tends to taste bitter when infused longer. Add the lemon juice and honey to taste. Cut thin lemon zest strips adding to the cups of tea to make a beautiful visual effect, and to be eaten for their nutritional value. Infuse with the whetū!
