This week's Stew celebrates the first of the three harvests, Lughnassadh. Some folks refer to it as Lammas, but since that's a Catholic term, I refrain from its usage. Lughnassadh isn't actually about Lugh, so much as a tribute to his stepmother, Tailtiu (Telsha). According to legend, after she died plowing the whole of Eire so the crops could be planted, he set up a day of Olympic-style games to honor her sacrifice for the land. Many of us celebrate Lughnassadh with a picnic, games, and lots of good food. Tailtiu was a phenomenal step-mother, and a heroine of the land. While I know several Pagans who skip this day, I believe in honoring such a wonderful story of sacrifice and loving tribute. However, you celebrate it, I wish you the best of blessings as the harvest season comes upon us.
We have a lot of wonderful ingredients this week. Several of our chefs are serving up recipes of their own, Sosanna is walking you through her Lughnassadh celebration, Adelina discusses her own take on Lughnassadh, and Loren has an exciting reveal for you. In addition to all of your favorite regular fare, we've replaced the Shameless Plug this week with an announcement from one of our most beloved bloggers, Danni Supplicki. Please be sure to check it out. As always, we want your feedback. This is our gift to you each week, and we want to be sure you're satisfied. Leave us a comment here or on Facebook. We love interacting with you!
Appetite whetted? Okay, let's dig in!
Happy Birthday this week to Melissa Lussier, Miriam Nagel Short-Poncer, Lori Darnall-Norris, Mandy Wells, Patrecia Jackson, Dianna Jones, James Harold Thompson, Sandra Kee, and Crone Grimalkin!
May this be your best birthday ever, and may your next year of life bring you joy, peace, happiness, good health and all the very best of life in its abundance!
Besides bread, Lughnasadh always brings to mind the idea of healthy competition. As a child of the 80's and someone who lives in the Philly burbs its hard not to think of this song when I think of competing! But it's always been about a bit more than just competition.
It's about rediscovering the old passions inside that we might have let die back a bit when we've gotten too comfortable with where we are. Even though there might be another physical competitor you have to reckon with, the fight starts with yourself, challenging your ideas of personal best and pushing you not to settle for old victories but break new ground. OK, there is a bit of a cheese factor associated with this song (what do you want? It *was* the 80's after all!) but something about the hook makes me want to try new things, beat my old best efforts and see what I can come up with next.
Keep dancing,
Kestril
Every witch way: The image problem of sorceresses
Being in the age of Pagan Sexuality
Return to Paganism on the rise in England; Norwich leads the way
David Barton: Christian Professors Were Trained By Pagan Professors Who Hate God
Paganism Part 2: How does one become a Druid? You ask nicely.
Have they really found the Wicker Man?
Wiley attacks Cumbrians as 'inbred pagans' after being booed offstage
From Macbeth to the Wizard of Oz: New exhibition explores the erotic side of witchcraft
5 Witchcraft Suspects Arrested in Vihiga
Sunday, July 28
In the olden days of Pagan Europe, the great thunder-god Thor was honored on this day with prayers for protection of the crops against destructive storms.
Monday, July 29
On this day in Tarascon, France, the annual festival of Tarasque takes place. The festival, celebrated since early Pagan times, commemorates the capture of a mythical fire-breathing dragon. A decorated dragon float is paraded through the streets of the city and touched by spectators for good luck and to ward off evil.
Tuesday, July 30
In Nova Scotia, this day is sacred to the Micmac Indian tribe. It is believed that all those who are wed or christened at this time will be blessed with happiness and good health by the Great Spirits. Saint Ann (the Mother Goddess) and Gloosca (the Father God) are honored.
Wednesday, July 31
This is August Eve, Lammas Eve, The Eve of Lughnasadh. In pre-Christian times, the Oidhche Lugnasa was celebrated by the Celts on this night in honor of their solar deity named Lugh. His annual sacrifice at the end of the harvest ensured the fertility of the corn and grain for the next growing season. An old August Eve tradition in rural Scotland is predicting the following year's marriages and deaths by throwing sickles into the air and then drawing omens from the position in which they fall. On this date in the year 1831, famous mystic and spiritualist medium Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born in the Ukraine.
Thursday, August 1
On this day, the Lammas Sabbat is celebrated by Witches and Pagans throughout the world. Lammas (which is also known as Lughnasadh, August Eve, and the First Festival of Harvest) marks the start of the harvest season and is a time when the fertility aspect of the sacred union of the Goddess and Horned God is honored. The making of corn dollies (small figures fashioned from braided straw) is a centuries-old Pagan custom which is carried on by many modern Witches as part of the Lammas Sabbat rite. The corn dollies are placed on the Sabbat altar to represent the Mother Goddess who presides over the harvest. It is customary on each Lammas to make or buy a new corn dolly and then burn the old one from the past year for good luck. On this day in the country of Macedonia, Neo-Pagans celebrate the Day of the Dryads, an annual nature festival dedicated to the maiden spirits who inhabit and rule over forests and trees.
Friday, August 2
On this day, the Feast of Anahita is celebrated in honor of the ancient Persian Goddess Anahita, a deity associated with love and lunar powers. Lady Godiva Day is celebrated annually on this date in the village of Coventry, England, with a medieval-style parade led by a nude woman on horseback.
Saturday, August 3
The harvest season begins on this date in Japan with an annual festival called the Aomori Nebuta. Bamboo effigies with grotesquely painted faces are paraded through the streets in order to drive away the spirits of sleep.
I wish everyone a blessed and wonderful Lammas celebration -- may your harvests be plentiful, no matter what kind they are!
Karen
Lughnassadh is the first harvest festival celebrated on the first of August. Many people celebrate this in different ways. As the days are full of sun and usually hot as heck here in our area, generally I keep our festivities to the cooler evening hours.
In past celebrations I’ve set up an altar outside and added harvest style offerings to give back what we are taking from the earth. One year hubby and I teamed up with Golden Phoenix Society and had a Lughnassadh Celebration at our house.
We created a bread in the shape of a man and after our merriment, we broke off parts of the bread and placed it around the four corners of our property to give back to the earth the things we harvest from it.
After we completed our offerings we had a huge bonfire. I tossed a red carnation into the fire as an offering for the Goddess Hecate.
The next day, we went out to clean up and I found the flower, still completely intact. It was wilted but not at all burned.
I took the flower inside, dried it out and put it on my altar for Hecate. It’s still there today.
No matter how you choose to celebrate Lughnassadh, the basic thought behind it much like all the other pagan holidays is to give thanks for what we have, salute the earth for what she gives us and appreciate good food and family.
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
Lughnasadh (or Lammas) is a Sabbat that tends to slide right by me. It’s the first of the Harvest celebrations but as I’m no farmer/gardener and the trees on my street are still pretty green, so I don’t often notice. I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my husband and my cat in the middle of suburbia near several shopping malls. I don’t have indoor plants or a garden and I’m not an especially outdoorsy-get-your-hands-in-the-dirt kind of gal. Definitely modern, not quite entirely a ‘city witch’, but close enough to make the traditionalists shake their heads and ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ at me.
Now understand that I LOVE the fall…the colors, the energy, the crisp air…. However, this Lughnasadh does little to remind me of the Harvest celebrations to come. This year, we have been sweltering amidst awful, lingering heat waves! When it wasn’t hot enough to fry the proverbial ‘egg on the sidewalk’, we had thunder and lightning storms that increased the humidity rather than cool things off. I felt more like I was in the middle of a lava pit and had a hard time reminding myself that summer is coming to a close and the days will be growing shorter. I don’t feel particularly spiritual about anything and as we head into the ‘dog days’ of summer. Yet the Wheel of the year continues to turn despite my frizzy hair and irritable, verging-on-heat-stroke attitude.
Where Imbolc and Beltane are Sabbats often associated with the joy of new life, Lughnasadh and Samhain are on the side of transformation and death. It is actually the perfect time for self-reflection of what we have ‘planted’ and worked on since the spring. It is not easy to see the ‘bright and shiny’ if you don’t let yourself look for it and appreciate it. To me, THAT is the true meaning for the celebration of Lughnasadh. Now, while I could go with the traditional activities like ‘make a corn husk dolly’ or ‘bake a fruit pie or bread’ or something like that, my way of acknowledging the Sabbat is a little…different.
The first part of how I acknowledge Lughnasadh is to consider what I should be thankful for. Look around at what you have ‘harvested’ so far this year. Some things I’ve done pretty well with. I can also see areas where I need to double some of my efforts to reach the goals I have before Mabon. Overall, things are working out well and I can see what has helped in the areas I’m successful in. For example-I have a great support system which has grown since the Spring. I made some choices and allowed myself to take some chances. I have worked so clearly the new friendships I am reaping the benefits of show it was the right thing to work on. For that, I am grateful.
Another way I would acknowledge Lughnasadh is through mourning rituals. The sacrifice and death of the Oak King can be honored through ritual, offerings, crafts, feasts….any way you want. It is also another time to reflect on those ancestors who have passed before us, who laid the foundation for the lives we are now ‘harvesting’, who-whether for good or bad, helped shape the people we have become today. I personally will always make a space for an offering for my parents. I am the fruit of that union and Lughnasadh is a perfect time to honor what they sacrificed in their lives so that I could then have a life of my own. This year, I will honor their passing by beginning the altar for them at Lughnasadh that I hope to have finished by Samhain.
Lughnasadh is a time to say good bye to regrets by transforming and releasing that energy. Writing your thoughts on paper and then burning or burying them, transforms regrets that affected your current harvest so it will not affect the next. Release them so they will have no hold over you as the cycle continues. Infuse pinecones with your thoughts then toss them in a fire (I am fond of that ritual!) or (for the gardeners) infuse a bulb with your thoughts and plant it to be transformed to something beautiful in the springtime.
I have been on a very strong purging kick lately. Lughnasadh is also a way for us to spiritually clean house. Release what does not serve us well, what we don’t have room for, or what will not give us what we need to thrive when the darker days arrive. It is a time for us to stop and sweep the debris away. Then begin to examine and bring in what is feeding our spirits and helping us to grow. Have an apple…have a piece of bread…or just sit and admire the sky. Take a deep breath and think on what you are harvesting….close your eyes…ground and center…then say aloud…
“Life is Good…”
What better way to celebrate the First Harvest than having a yummy cobbler for dessert. Blackberries are at their peak right now, so why not try some in a cobbler.
Blessed Lughnasadh
Ingredients
•2 C Berries, frozen or fresh
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 cup milk
•1 cup self rising flour*
•1 cup sugar
•1 stick butter
•Whipped Cream or Ice Cream (optional)
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt stick of butter in oven proof casserole dish in oven while mixing ingredients.
2.In a heavy bottom pot, place 1 T butter on top of berries. Pour 1/2 cup sugar over berries. Stir. Heat until sugar begins to melt.
3.Mix together 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar until blended. Pour in 1 cup milk and mix until blended.
4.After butter is melted, take casserole out of oven and pour batter on top of melted butter. Pour berries on top of batter. DO NOT STIR! Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over cobbler. Place in 350 oven and cook for 55 minutes or until golden.
5.Let cool on baking rack for 25 minutes. Then serve topped with whipped or ice cream.
*If you don’t have self-rising flour you can add 1 ½ tsp of baking powder, and ½ tsp of salt to all purpose flour
July 28- Moon Void of Course from 2:19 pm through the rest of the day
July 29- Moon Void of Course until 12:42 am when it moves into Taurus
Last Quarter Moon: 1:43 pm
Good day for business after the void ends
July 30- Good day for business, all day
July 31- Moon Void of Course 4:17 am - 11:41 am when it moves into Gemini
August 1- All's clear in the heavens
August 2 - Moon Void of Course from 3:54 pm through the rest of the day
August 3- Moon Void until 12:19 am when it moves into Cancer
Good day for business after the void ends
Weekly Horoscopes from DarkStar Astrology
"The achievement of balance and inner harmony after a great trial. Agreements, contracts, or treaties concluded justly. Things set to rights. Karma restored. A turn for the better in legal matters." ~facade
This is a week where the chips fall. Outcomes have been determined and it's time to reap what we've sown. Justice represents a fair and balanced result. You recognize that your actions have long-term consequences and that you are seeing those play out. Actions now will bring future results from lessons learned in the present.
This card is also about truth, and the search for it. Truth can be difficult to find, but if you remain calm, fair, and impartial, you will be able to see it clearly in yourself and in others.
This is also the week for legal matters that will be handled fairly. It could be anything from a marriage/divorce to business contracts or other legal matters. This is a good week to tie those up, as Justice will be in your favor- that is, if you have been upright, honest and truthful in your dealings, depositions and testimonies.
There is a need to be fair when the Justice card arrives. This means everyone must be on the same page, and playing by the same rules. If someone is stirring the pot, or going against the grain, then resolution may have to be sought that does not seem fair at the time.
This is also a respite for those who have been going through trials lately. Achieving balance and peace is possible at this time.
I'm not a fan of wasps. There is a species of wasp that attacks and kills one of my personal totems- the spider. Spider is the totem of writers and creative types, and it happens to be my dreamtime guardian/guide. So, I'm a bit protective when it comes to spiders, and I tend to lump all wasps into the 'enemy' category.
The truth is, not all wasps are spider-killers, and not all of them sting people. There are some extremely beneficial wasps to those of us known as 'plant-whisperers'. For example, the braconid wasp will come to the aid of a tomato plant by inserting it's larvae into the body of the tomato worm (which eats tomato plants) and the larvae will eat the worm from the inside out. A truly painful death, I am sure, and it doesn't seem fair, but that is the cycle of the violent planet upon which we live. By the way, braconids do not have stingers :)
Wasp is all about gaining control of our circumstances, and expressing ourselves through orderly, clear communication. Wasps are master architects and can help us in achieving our goals and dreams. They can assist us with productivity and building a firm foundation in any area of our lives.
Questions to ask yourself this week:
Am I keeping organized and up to date on my responsibilities?
Am I owning my life and not allowing others to control it?
Have I been keeping myself from striving for and reaching my highest potential?
If you need assistance in organizing, planning, and assertiveness, wasp is the ally for you this week.
Here is a video of a tomato worm with braconid wasp larvae attached:
I have a new blog, called Saga's Cottage! I will be posting about my art, my home, crafts, and life in general. From time to time, I will have art giveaways!
Tara at PIP Designs (also the designer for this blog) and I are celebrating my blog design by having a giveaway for your very own blog design! Look for it at the end of this post!
Lughnasadh is the first of the harvest Sabbats. It isn't yet fall, it is still summer. Even though this is a harvest craft, it still has symbols of summer. Lots of flowers, fruit, wheat, the sun, bright colors.
I had these banners lying around for a while, unsure of what I wanted to do with them. I've been meaning to do something with the upcoming Sabbat, and the idea just popped into my head.
(read more at Loren's new blog here)
Editor's note: There will be no "Shameless Plug" this week. Instead, we have a Special
The Sunday Stew is a free, e-publication delivered as a loving gift to the Pagan community. All submissions are the intellectual property of their authors, and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the blog owner. We welcome your feedback! Please be sure to tell us how we're doing and give us suggestions for improvement. You can leave a comment here (remember, they are moderated so it may take some time for yours to appear), use the contact form at the top of the page, email Kallan, or comment on Kallan's Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you!
We have a lot of wonderful ingredients this week. Several of our chefs are serving up recipes of their own, Sosanna is walking you through her Lughnassadh celebration, Adelina discusses her own take on Lughnassadh, and Loren has an exciting reveal for you. In addition to all of your favorite regular fare, we've replaced the Shameless Plug this week with an announcement from one of our most beloved bloggers, Danni Supplicki. Please be sure to check it out. As always, we want your feedback. This is our gift to you each week, and we want to be sure you're satisfied. Leave us a comment here or on Facebook. We love interacting with you!
Appetite whetted? Okay, let's dig in!
Happy Birthday this week to Melissa Lussier, Miriam Nagel Short-Poncer, Lori Darnall-Norris, Mandy Wells, Patrecia Jackson, Dianna Jones, James Harold Thompson, Sandra Kee, and Crone Grimalkin!
May this be your best birthday ever, and may your next year of life bring you joy, peace, happiness, good health and all the very best of life in its abundance!
Kestril's Song of the Week
Compete With YourselfBesides bread, Lughnasadh always brings to mind the idea of healthy competition. As a child of the 80's and someone who lives in the Philly burbs its hard not to think of this song when I think of competing! But it's always been about a bit more than just competition.
It's about rediscovering the old passions inside that we might have let die back a bit when we've gotten too comfortable with where we are. Even though there might be another physical competitor you have to reckon with, the fight starts with yourself, challenging your ideas of personal best and pushing you not to settle for old victories but break new ground. OK, there is a bit of a cheese factor associated with this song (what do you want? It *was* the 80's after all!) but something about the hook makes me want to try new things, beat my old best efforts and see what I can come up with next.
Keep dancing,
Kestril
In the News
Witch will not have to repay $23k conned from flood donationsEvery witch way: The image problem of sorceresses
Being in the age of Pagan Sexuality
Return to Paganism on the rise in England; Norwich leads the way
David Barton: Christian Professors Were Trained By Pagan Professors Who Hate God
Paganism Part 2: How does one become a Druid? You ask nicely.
Have they really found the Wicker Man?
Wiley attacks Cumbrians as 'inbred pagans' after being booed offstage
From Macbeth to the Wizard of Oz: New exhibition explores the erotic side of witchcraft
5 Witchcraft Suspects Arrested in Vihiga
Pagan Lore with Karen Szabo
Good Morning, Sunday Stew readers! Can you believe we're about to kiss July goodbye and welcome August? Where does the time go? Here's the Pagan lore for this week, in which we celebrate Lughnasadh (or Lammas, whichever you call it):Sunday, July 28
In the olden days of Pagan Europe, the great thunder-god Thor was honored on this day with prayers for protection of the crops against destructive storms.
Monday, July 29
On this day in Tarascon, France, the annual festival of Tarasque takes place. The festival, celebrated since early Pagan times, commemorates the capture of a mythical fire-breathing dragon. A decorated dragon float is paraded through the streets of the city and touched by spectators for good luck and to ward off evil.
Tuesday, July 30
In Nova Scotia, this day is sacred to the Micmac Indian tribe. It is believed that all those who are wed or christened at this time will be blessed with happiness and good health by the Great Spirits. Saint Ann (the Mother Goddess) and Gloosca (the Father God) are honored.
Wednesday, July 31
This is August Eve, Lammas Eve, The Eve of Lughnasadh. In pre-Christian times, the Oidhche Lugnasa was celebrated by the Celts on this night in honor of their solar deity named Lugh. His annual sacrifice at the end of the harvest ensured the fertility of the corn and grain for the next growing season. An old August Eve tradition in rural Scotland is predicting the following year's marriages and deaths by throwing sickles into the air and then drawing omens from the position in which they fall. On this date in the year 1831, famous mystic and spiritualist medium Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born in the Ukraine.
Thursday, August 1
On this day, the Lammas Sabbat is celebrated by Witches and Pagans throughout the world. Lammas (which is also known as Lughnasadh, August Eve, and the First Festival of Harvest) marks the start of the harvest season and is a time when the fertility aspect of the sacred union of the Goddess and Horned God is honored. The making of corn dollies (small figures fashioned from braided straw) is a centuries-old Pagan custom which is carried on by many modern Witches as part of the Lammas Sabbat rite. The corn dollies are placed on the Sabbat altar to represent the Mother Goddess who presides over the harvest. It is customary on each Lammas to make or buy a new corn dolly and then burn the old one from the past year for good luck. On this day in the country of Macedonia, Neo-Pagans celebrate the Day of the Dryads, an annual nature festival dedicated to the maiden spirits who inhabit and rule over forests and trees.
Friday, August 2
On this day, the Feast of Anahita is celebrated in honor of the ancient Persian Goddess Anahita, a deity associated with love and lunar powers. Lady Godiva Day is celebrated annually on this date in the village of Coventry, England, with a medieval-style parade led by a nude woman on horseback.
Saturday, August 3
The harvest season begins on this date in Japan with an annual festival called the Aomori Nebuta. Bamboo effigies with grotesquely painted faces are paraded through the streets in order to drive away the spirits of sleep.
I wish everyone a blessed and wonderful Lammas celebration -- may your harvests be plentiful, no matter what kind they are!
Karen
Sparkle and Shine with Sosanna
Celebrating LughnassadhLughnassadh is the first harvest festival celebrated on the first of August. Many people celebrate this in different ways. As the days are full of sun and usually hot as heck here in our area, generally I keep our festivities to the cooler evening hours.
In past celebrations I’ve set up an altar outside and added harvest style offerings to give back what we are taking from the earth. One year hubby and I teamed up with Golden Phoenix Society and had a Lughnassadh Celebration at our house.
We created a bread in the shape of a man and after our merriment, we broke off parts of the bread and placed it around the four corners of our property to give back to the earth the things we harvest from it.
After we completed our offerings we had a huge bonfire. I tossed a red carnation into the fire as an offering for the Goddess Hecate.
The next day, we went out to clean up and I found the flower, still completely intact. It was wilted but not at all burned.
I took the flower inside, dried it out and put it on my altar for Hecate. It’s still there today.
No matter how you choose to celebrate Lughnassadh, the basic thought behind it much like all the other pagan holidays is to give thanks for what we have, salute the earth for what she gives us and appreciate good food and family.
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
Mid-Air Moxie with Adelina Soto Thomas
LughnassadhLughnasadh (or Lammas) is a Sabbat that tends to slide right by me. It’s the first of the Harvest celebrations but as I’m no farmer/gardener and the trees on my street are still pretty green, so I don’t often notice. I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my husband and my cat in the middle of suburbia near several shopping malls. I don’t have indoor plants or a garden and I’m not an especially outdoorsy-get-your-hands-in-the-dirt kind of gal. Definitely modern, not quite entirely a ‘city witch’, but close enough to make the traditionalists shake their heads and ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ at me.
Now understand that I LOVE the fall…the colors, the energy, the crisp air…. However, this Lughnasadh does little to remind me of the Harvest celebrations to come. This year, we have been sweltering amidst awful, lingering heat waves! When it wasn’t hot enough to fry the proverbial ‘egg on the sidewalk’, we had thunder and lightning storms that increased the humidity rather than cool things off. I felt more like I was in the middle of a lava pit and had a hard time reminding myself that summer is coming to a close and the days will be growing shorter. I don’t feel particularly spiritual about anything and as we head into the ‘dog days’ of summer. Yet the Wheel of the year continues to turn despite my frizzy hair and irritable, verging-on-heat-stroke attitude.
Where Imbolc and Beltane are Sabbats often associated with the joy of new life, Lughnasadh and Samhain are on the side of transformation and death. It is actually the perfect time for self-reflection of what we have ‘planted’ and worked on since the spring. It is not easy to see the ‘bright and shiny’ if you don’t let yourself look for it and appreciate it. To me, THAT is the true meaning for the celebration of Lughnasadh. Now, while I could go with the traditional activities like ‘make a corn husk dolly’ or ‘bake a fruit pie or bread’ or something like that, my way of acknowledging the Sabbat is a little…different.
The first part of how I acknowledge Lughnasadh is to consider what I should be thankful for. Look around at what you have ‘harvested’ so far this year. Some things I’ve done pretty well with. I can also see areas where I need to double some of my efforts to reach the goals I have before Mabon. Overall, things are working out well and I can see what has helped in the areas I’m successful in. For example-I have a great support system which has grown since the Spring. I made some choices and allowed myself to take some chances. I have worked so clearly the new friendships I am reaping the benefits of show it was the right thing to work on. For that, I am grateful.
Another way I would acknowledge Lughnasadh is through mourning rituals. The sacrifice and death of the Oak King can be honored through ritual, offerings, crafts, feasts….any way you want. It is also another time to reflect on those ancestors who have passed before us, who laid the foundation for the lives we are now ‘harvesting’, who-whether for good or bad, helped shape the people we have become today. I personally will always make a space for an offering for my parents. I am the fruit of that union and Lughnasadh is a perfect time to honor what they sacrificed in their lives so that I could then have a life of my own. This year, I will honor their passing by beginning the altar for them at Lughnasadh that I hope to have finished by Samhain.
Lughnasadh is a time to say good bye to regrets by transforming and releasing that energy. Writing your thoughts on paper and then burning or burying them, transforms regrets that affected your current harvest so it will not affect the next. Release them so they will have no hold over you as the cycle continues. Infuse pinecones with your thoughts then toss them in a fire (I am fond of that ritual!) or (for the gardeners) infuse a bulb with your thoughts and plant it to be transformed to something beautiful in the springtime.
I have been on a very strong purging kick lately. Lughnasadh is also a way for us to spiritually clean house. Release what does not serve us well, what we don’t have room for, or what will not give us what we need to thrive when the darker days arrive. It is a time for us to stop and sweep the debris away. Then begin to examine and bring in what is feeding our spirits and helping us to grow. Have an apple…have a piece of bread…or just sit and admire the sky. Take a deep breath and think on what you are harvesting….close your eyes…ground and center…then say aloud…
“Life is Good…”
The Spice with La'Trice Lott
Blackberry CobblerWhat better way to celebrate the First Harvest than having a yummy cobbler for dessert. Blackberries are at their peak right now, so why not try some in a cobbler.
Blessed Lughnasadh
Ingredients
•2 C Berries, frozen or fresh
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 cup milk
•1 cup self rising flour*
•1 cup sugar
•1 stick butter
•Whipped Cream or Ice Cream (optional)
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt stick of butter in oven proof casserole dish in oven while mixing ingredients.
2.In a heavy bottom pot, place 1 T butter on top of berries. Pour 1/2 cup sugar over berries. Stir. Heat until sugar begins to melt.
3.Mix together 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar until blended. Pour in 1 cup milk and mix until blended.
4.After butter is melted, take casserole out of oven and pour batter on top of melted butter. Pour berries on top of batter. DO NOT STIR! Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over cobbler. Place in 350 oven and cook for 55 minutes or until golden.
5.Let cool on baking rack for 25 minutes. Then serve topped with whipped or ice cream.
*If you don’t have self-rising flour you can add 1 ½ tsp of baking powder, and ½ tsp of salt to all purpose flour
Lammas
Since Lugh has always been one of my favorite deities, I have lots of recipes for celebrating his feast.
One of my favorites is:
Pickled Carrots
Wash and trim 1 qt. of small carrots of uniform size. Parboil them for 10 mins. or until the skins can be slipped off easily. Boil 4 cups of white vinegar, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 3 tbls. of mixed pickling spices tied in a muslin bag for 10 minutes. Put the carrots in a large bowl, pour the hot syrup over them and let them stand overnight in the syrup. Put the carrots and syrup in a kettle and bring the liquid to a bowl quickly. Cook the mixture for 3-5 minutes. The carrots should be barely tender. Pack the carrots into hot sterilized jars with hot syrup to over-flowing. Seal at once.
They are beauitful and keep well and look so pretty with fall meals.
Another favorite is:
Autumn Sweet Bread
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cups melted butter
3/4 cups chopped nuts (I love filberts or black walnuts, but use what you like)
1/2 cup raisins or craisins
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots or dried apples
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
Sift first four ingredients into mixing bowl. Beat eggs, honey and milk and add to dry ingredients. Stir until well blended and mix in melted butter. Fold in the rest of the ingredients and pour into greased loaf pan.
Bake at 325 for 65 minutes or until it tests done.
This keeps really well and is lovely to serve. I like to serve it with honey butter.
Seasoning the Seasons
Maybe I’m just old-fashioned. Maybe I’m longing for the simpler times of my youth, growing up in very rural areas that didn't have all of the glitz and glamour of cities. Maybe I’m just…old? Meh, whatever. An old pirate is still a pirate, and this pirate’s nostalgia is just a way of truly looking at what is happening in the world today and not understanding why everyone is in such a bloody hurry all the time.
Lughnasadh, or Lammas, is a time of “first fruits” as it were – the first true harvest of the crops of the field, bringing in the sheaves of wheat, the bushels of beans, the bunches of carrots, the baskets of Summer squash…or, at least, it was.
You see, when I was growing up, my most favorite dessert of all time was pumpkin pie with a big mound of whipped cream on top. It was a special treat like no other, because it was only available around Samhain (Hallowe’en). The anticipation of waiting through the summer until Autumn fell upon us, then the countdown until that mouthful of goodness…but now, it’s no longer special. Why? Because I can go to any grocery store and pick up a box of Mrs. Smith’s and pop it in an oven and be done with it, or a can of Libby’s and a couple of cans of Eagle brand condensed milk…the magic is gone. I still love pumpkin pie, don’t get me wrong, but it’s no longer my cherished special treat. Modernization has ruined it.
This brings me to other treats, meals, goodies…you can have pasta with arrabiata and basil in February, fresh green salads at Yule, zucchini bread in April, pumpkin pie for Eostre…we no longer eat seasonally, and because of this demand for things that are completely out of season, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that they can be grown at any time. Enter hothouse cucumbers, hybridized tomatoes, GMO corn, importing from other countries in other hemispheres…all of this has created an increase in carbon emissions, petrochemical pollution, biological catastrophe, monocrop cultures, destruction of rainforest land and indigenous cultures, all so we can enjoy tzatziki in November and fresh-squeezed orange juice at New Year’s.
One wonders just how this has affected us as a species as well. We’re now eating things that are out of season – surely this has thrown off something in our own metabolism. Maybe this is why there has been such a dramatic increase in food-related illnesses and allergies? It definitely gives one pause…
Unfortunately, we (as a society) have become so conditioned, even addicted really, to getting what we want, when we want it, that we would complain to the point of filing lawsuits against whomever if we suddenly couldn’t get our bell peppers to make that Super Spicy Superbowl Salsa.
Maybe we should try it on our own? There are a lot of different veggies that are available at different times during the year…maybe that pumpkin pie can become special once more? I know I’m definitely going to give it a try!
For now, here’s one recipe that is perfect for this time of year. Please don’t make it for Litha. Enjoy it now…or wait until the time is right. Anticipation makes for a truly wonderful seasoning!
CAP’N DAVE’S VOODOO VEGGIE KEBOBS
2 large purple onions
2 medium-sized zucchinis
2 8-oz. packages tempeh, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dark molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch garlic powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth/stock
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
bamboo kebob skewers
Preparation:
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the red wine vinegar, molasses, ginger, white pepper, garlic powder, and vegetable stock. Boil gently until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.
Turn heat to low and add brown sugar, water, and olive oil. Stir occasionally.
Let the marinade cool, then pour over tempeh in a sealable container. Allow tempeh to marinate at least two hours (preferably overnight).
Cut onions, squash, and peppers into 1- to 2-inch pieces and thread with tempeh onto skewers, alternating as appropriate and aesthetically pleasing as you wish. Grill on medium- to medium-high heat, basting with the marinade until the pieces begin to caramelize.
Serve with steamed brown rice (the marinade makes a wonderful sauce to pour over the rice) and iced tea out on deck an’ leave the galley cleanin’ fer yer mates!
This Week in Astrology
At a glance:July 28- Moon Void of Course from 2:19 pm through the rest of the day
July 29- Moon Void of Course until 12:42 am when it moves into Taurus
Last Quarter Moon: 1:43 pm
Good day for business after the void ends
July 30- Good day for business, all day
July 31- Moon Void of Course 4:17 am - 11:41 am when it moves into Gemini
August 1- All's clear in the heavens
August 2 - Moon Void of Course from 3:54 pm through the rest of the day
August 3- Moon Void until 12:19 am when it moves into Cancer
Good day for business after the void ends
Weekly Horoscopes from DarkStar Astrology
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Art by Knightflyte96 |
Weekly Tarot: Justice
Key words: fairness, truth, cause and effect, the law (both human and universal)"The achievement of balance and inner harmony after a great trial. Agreements, contracts, or treaties concluded justly. Things set to rights. Karma restored. A turn for the better in legal matters." ~facade
This is a week where the chips fall. Outcomes have been determined and it's time to reap what we've sown. Justice represents a fair and balanced result. You recognize that your actions have long-term consequences and that you are seeing those play out. Actions now will bring future results from lessons learned in the present.
This card is also about truth, and the search for it. Truth can be difficult to find, but if you remain calm, fair, and impartial, you will be able to see it clearly in yourself and in others.
This is also the week for legal matters that will be handled fairly. It could be anything from a marriage/divorce to business contracts or other legal matters. This is a good week to tie those up, as Justice will be in your favor- that is, if you have been upright, honest and truthful in your dealings, depositions and testimonies.
There is a need to be fair when the Justice card arrives. This means everyone must be on the same page, and playing by the same rules. If someone is stirring the pot, or going against the grain, then resolution may have to be sought that does not seem fair at the time.
This is also a respite for those who have been going through trials lately. Achieving balance and peace is possible at this time.
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Braconid wasp |
Weekly Totem: Wasp
Key words: Order, Progress, Teamwork, Involvement, CommunicationI'm not a fan of wasps. There is a species of wasp that attacks and kills one of my personal totems- the spider. Spider is the totem of writers and creative types, and it happens to be my dreamtime guardian/guide. So, I'm a bit protective when it comes to spiders, and I tend to lump all wasps into the 'enemy' category.
The truth is, not all wasps are spider-killers, and not all of them sting people. There are some extremely beneficial wasps to those of us known as 'plant-whisperers'. For example, the braconid wasp will come to the aid of a tomato plant by inserting it's larvae into the body of the tomato worm (which eats tomato plants) and the larvae will eat the worm from the inside out. A truly painful death, I am sure, and it doesn't seem fair, but that is the cycle of the violent planet upon which we live. By the way, braconids do not have stingers :)
Wasp is all about gaining control of our circumstances, and expressing ourselves through orderly, clear communication. Wasps are master architects and can help us in achieving our goals and dreams. They can assist us with productivity and building a firm foundation in any area of our lives.
Questions to ask yourself this week:
Am I keeping organized and up to date on my responsibilities?
Am I owning my life and not allowing others to control it?
Have I been keeping myself from striving for and reaching my highest potential?
If you need assistance in organizing, planning, and assertiveness, wasp is the ally for you this week.
Here is a video of a tomato worm with braconid wasp larvae attached:
Oh the Humanity! with Loren Morris
Announcement and a Lughnassadh Craft!!
Tara at PIP Designs (also the designer for this blog) and I are celebrating my blog design by having a giveaway for your very own blog design! Look for it at the end of this post!
Lughnasadh is the first of the harvest Sabbats. It isn't yet fall, it is still summer. Even though this is a harvest craft, it still has symbols of summer. Lots of flowers, fruit, wheat, the sun, bright colors.
I had these banners lying around for a while, unsure of what I wanted to do with them. I've been meaning to do something with the upcoming Sabbat, and the idea just popped into my head.
Lughnassadh Banner |
Editor's note: There will be no "Shameless Plug" this week. Instead, we have a Special
A Special Guest Announcement and Request by Danni Supplicki
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Danni Supplicki |
Five years ago, just a few months before my husband and I were married, his sister's life was forever changed when she was diagnosed with a lung disease called Pulmonary Hypertension.
Three weeks after her diagnosis, we got a call that she was in the hospital - she had suffered a stroke and was in the ICU. At 30 years old. Tara recovered but complication after complication arose and her condition continued to get worse despite all the efforts of herself and her doctors. A few months back, the doctors gave Tara 5 years maximum at the rate at which her disease is advancing with decreasing quality of life as time progressed - she'd be dead by 40. But hope was present in the form of a dangerous and incredibly invasive procedure; a lung transplant. Needless to say, Tara had a monumental decision to make.
Three weeks after her diagnosis, we got a call that she was in the hospital - she had suffered a stroke and was in the ICU. At 30 years old. Tara recovered but complication after complication arose and her condition continued to get worse despite all the efforts of herself and her doctors. A few months back, the doctors gave Tara 5 years maximum at the rate at which her disease is advancing with decreasing quality of life as time progressed - she'd be dead by 40. But hope was present in the form of a dangerous and incredibly invasive procedure; a lung transplant. Needless to say, Tara had a monumental decision to make.
The one thing, that has stuck with me throughout this ordeal, the one thing that blows my mind and humbles me... is how incredibly upbeat Tara is. Before she got sick, Tara was hands down one of the chattiest, bubbliest people I've ever known. Ever. Before getting sick, Tara worked in retail and she was ridiculously kind and helpful to even the nastiest customers. And when you work in jewelry, there are a lot of really nasty customers! She's one of the most amazing friends someone could ask for and she'll tell you she loves you 100 times in one phone call; she's just that kind of person.
And throughout the last 5 years, right up until now, I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard her say 'why me?' or get down on herself and her situation. She's always got a positive spin to put on something: "Oh, yea, I have to carry this oxygen tank and have medication pumped in to my chest via this little machine now. But I can stick them in these pretty Vera Bradley purses so at least I'll always look fashionable!" or "That line site got infected and they have to poke another hole in me and hope it lasts longer this time. That's ok, I hated having it there anyway, because it was getting tangled up when I tried to wear my favorite necklaces. Now I can wear them again!." And even when faced with one of the scariest decisions anyone I know has ever had to make, she was only upset for a brief period of time. And you know what, when faced with your own mortality at 35, I think anyone would be upset!
But her decision has been made. She's going to take her chances and get the transplant. She's been accepted to receive it and is now awaiting all the details; she is currently expecting to be listed by the end of the month for transplant. As you can imagine, there is a lot of stress involved with this sort of life decision, physically, mentally and financially.
In order to help relieve some of the burden of financial stress from her shoulder, we've talked her in to starting a page on Go Fund Me where people can donate to help her cover part of the procedure, aftercare and medications she will require for the rest of her life. She's done so much for so many people and has been such an inspiration and trooper throughout all of this that she deserves whatever help we can give her.
If you, friends and strangers alike, would be so kind as to click the link you can read Tara's story, share it via several social media platforms and donate, if you are able. Please don't feel like whatever you do isn't enough - if you send prayers, share the link or pitch in $5 it's tremendously helpful and appreciated. There's no end date for the campaign, so share as often as you'd like or donate when you are able. You can also share this post if you prefer.
And throughout the last 5 years, right up until now, I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard her say 'why me?' or get down on herself and her situation. She's always got a positive spin to put on something: "Oh, yea, I have to carry this oxygen tank and have medication pumped in to my chest via this little machine now. But I can stick them in these pretty Vera Bradley purses so at least I'll always look fashionable!" or "That line site got infected and they have to poke another hole in me and hope it lasts longer this time. That's ok, I hated having it there anyway, because it was getting tangled up when I tried to wear my favorite necklaces. Now I can wear them again!." And even when faced with one of the scariest decisions anyone I know has ever had to make, she was only upset for a brief period of time. And you know what, when faced with your own mortality at 35, I think anyone would be upset!
But her decision has been made. She's going to take her chances and get the transplant. She's been accepted to receive it and is now awaiting all the details; she is currently expecting to be listed by the end of the month for transplant. As you can imagine, there is a lot of stress involved with this sort of life decision, physically, mentally and financially.
In order to help relieve some of the burden of financial stress from her shoulder, we've talked her in to starting a page on Go Fund Me where people can donate to help her cover part of the procedure, aftercare and medications she will require for the rest of her life. She's done so much for so many people and has been such an inspiration and trooper throughout all of this that she deserves whatever help we can give her.
If you, friends and strangers alike, would be so kind as to click the link you can read Tara's story, share it via several social media platforms and donate, if you are able. Please don't feel like whatever you do isn't enough - if you send prayers, share the link or pitch in $5 it's tremendously helpful and appreciated. There's no end date for the campaign, so share as often as you'd like or donate when you are able. You can also share this post if you prefer.
Thank you all, from the very bottom of our hearts.
Danni
Editor's note: Danni is the owner of "The Whimsical Cottage Blog".