Special Treats: A book giveaway and a special announcement from Jeffrey and Briana Pierce of The Old Ways!
Happy Birthday this week to our very own Karen Szabo, Maggi Shelbourn, Bobbie Lyn, Trish Schmeidl, Spike Kumar, Briana Pierce, Jessica Packer, Vicki Brennan, Christine Druin, Patricia Henderson, Tess Muin, Merlin Stone, Robin Ingvallsen, Lisa Davis-Woolwine, Alan Sheridan, and Sarah Kimball!!! May this be your best birthday ever, and may your next year of life be filled with the very best of all good things in abundance!
Song of the Week
Pagan Lore with Karen Szabo
Sunday, September 22
On the first day of Autumn (which normally occurs on or near this date), the Autumn Equinox Sabbat is celebrated by Wiccans and Witches throughout the world. Autumn Equinox (which is also known as the Fall Sabbat, Alban Elfed, and the Second Festival of Harvest) is a time for thanksgiving, meditation, and introspection. On this sacred day, Witches rededicated themselves to the Craft, and Wiccan initiation ceremonies are performed by the High Priestess and Priests of covens. Many Wiccan traditions also perform a special rite for the Goddess Persephone's descent into the Underworld as part of their Autumn Equinox celebration.
Monday, September 23
On this date (approximately), the Sun enters the astrological sign of Libra. Persons born under the sign of the Scales (the Balance) are said to be artistic, resourceful, extroverted, balanced, and often indecisive. Libra is an air sign and is ruled by the planet Venus.
Tueday, September 24
In ancient Egypt, the annual death and rebirth of the god Osiris was celebrated once a year on this date. A festival held in his honor consisted of song, dance, and ceremonial plantings. In West Africa, this day is sacred to Obatala, a hermaphrodite deity who was believed to have given birth to all Yoruban gods and Goddesses.
Wednesday, September 25
On this date in ancient Greece, a feast of beans known as the Pyanopsia was celebrated annually in honor of the great Olympian god Apollo and the beautiful Goddesses of the four seasons known as the Horae. The birthday of Sedna, the Eskimo Goddess of both the sea and the Underworld, is celebrated annually on this date in Greenland, northeastern Siberia, and the Arctic coastal regions of North America.
Thursday, September 26
Theseus, the great hero of Athens who slew the Minotaur and conquered the Amazons, was honored on this date in ancient Greece with an annual festival called the Theseia. The celebration lasted until the twenty-ninth day of September. In ancient times, a goat sacrifice was performed annually on this day to appease Azazel, a Hebrew fallen angel who seduced mankind. He was associated with the planet Mars.
Friday, September 27
Moon Festival. On this date, an annual ceremony takes place in China to honor the Moon Hare and to give thanks to the gods for a harvest of abundance. The rites associated with the Moon Festival are always performed by women as the Moon represents yin, the female cosmic element.
Saturday, September 28
On this date in ancient Athens, an annual Thesmophoria festival was celebrated in honor of the Greek Goddess Demeter, mother of Persephone. The festival lasted until the third day of October.
Have a wonderful week, everyone! See you next time with more Pagan Lore!
Karen
Uncharted Seas with Cap'n Dave
Leaves change from a vibrant green to blazing orange, fiery red, rich brown...and fall from their branches to carpet the ground to slowly decay and fill the air with the pungent aroma that is Autumn. The days grow cooler and the nights turn cold, fireplaces are cleaned out and chimneys once again smoke, fields become fallow and frost forms on forgotten gourds...this...this is my time - my favorite season of all.
The abundance of vegetables, now ripened and spilling over at the markets, the chill in the air, that familiar scent of burned dust as the heater is turned on for the first time in months, the crunch of dead leaves underfoot, oh...how I love it!
This is a time of change - of maturation, of slowing down from the daily rush, of solitude and reflection. A wonderful time to meditate and a time to contemplate the coming months without feeling the all-pervasive need to itemize and categorize every single thing. It's a slower time now..mentally, at least. The tasks ahead are simpler - chop wood, can vegetables, bail hay...
At least, this was how I grew up. Nowadays, there are far too many things to do that I just can't wrap my head around it all. People seem intent upon ensuring that every waking moment is spent in preparations for Halloween parties, sending out Thanksgiving invitations, shopping for Christmas presents and attending Christmas parties and preparing New Year's parties and...
It's as if when the leaves change, people go into overdrive. I'm sorry, but this isn't healthy, nor is it productive, nor is it...living. At least, it's not living with the land. No, instead, it's merely trying to impress others and denying yourself.
Live for you.
Go out for a walk in the park, listen to and feel the crunch of those leaves along the path, smell the hardwood smoke from the chimneys, shop in the market stalls for that butternut squash, make some split-pea soup and sit out on your porch, your deck, your balcony, or just at a park bench with a good book, a blanket, and enjoy the change of the seasons while sipping your soup and reading a chapter or two and...living.
Don't worry about the Halloween party - you can make those preparations during the 2nd week of October.
Don't worry about Thanksgiving dinner until the second week of November.
Don't worry about the Christmas presents until after Thanksgiving (that's usually when the best sales happen anyway).
And the New Year will come when it comes. Deal with that...later.
For now...just...be.
This is the feast of Mabon. This is the changing of the seasons. This is when things slow down.
Quit trying to speed them up and just enjoy the moment.
Live.
Ashé!
Kallan's note: Cap'n Dave is taking his own advice and will be on hiatus until after Samhain :)
Sparkle and Shine with Sosanna
Mabon is the time of the year when our thoughts turn to corn, harvest and preparing for the winter ahead. As a devotee of the Goddess Hecate, I generally do not follow the traditional customs of a practitioner of Wicca. Some in this group tend to look at Hecate as the crone aspect of the triple Goddess. Her association with childbirth and children and all the historical representations of her in more of a maiden view, or in a triple goddess with all the same faces leads me to believe that this is more likely the case. In my study of Hecate she is considered a dark Goddess and is often associated with Samhain & Hecate’s Night celebrated on November 30th.
Reading up on Mabon however, I do see that it is sometimes called the time of introspection. Introspection is where we sit down and take a personal inventory of what our own thoughts are. To look at our own feelings and what we think about things.
What about you? Look inside yourself. What do you see? What do you think about that person? Is this a good person? Would you want to have tea with them? Would you trust them with your secrets?
If you can look at yourself and say honestly, “I like me”, then other people probably like you too. While you’re looking deep, remember that what you see there is not permanent. You can slide either way on the scale. Stay true to who you are. Stay honest with yourself. If you have done people wrong, fix it. Take this time of introspection to offer a truce.
Namaste and Blessed Be
Blessed Mabon
Sosanna
)O(Mid-Air Moxie with Adelina Soto Thomas
Mabon (or the Autumnal Equinox) is a time where day and night are of equal length. At this Second harvest we gather and get a clearer picture of what we have which will sustain us through the coming Winter. It is the time of contemplation and giving thanks. We are grateful for what we have, but ponder how we will make it through the dark days ahead. We celebrate the abundance that comes from our hard work but must acknowledge what is left to be done. For those of us who are not farmers and don’t live as close to the earth, I am talking of the spiritual balance we seek as the light of the year is conquered by the darkness.
Real spiritual balance…the moment where light and dark, positive and negative, life and death are absolutely equal…does not exist for very long. Balance in our spiritual life is not usually a case of pure stillness but in recognizing energy and mastering our inner motion. At times it is absolutely imperceptible to the eye, but spiritual balance is not about what we see, but what we FEEL. Even if we are sleeping or meditating and are silent and still, is there not still motion within our minds and bodies? Our heart beats, we inhale, we exhale and our minds work continuously on the sights, sounds, emotions and events that are processed through our brains. Life is energy….motion….mental, physical and spiritual. At Mabon we go within and look at the way we have lived to this Second harvest, to see where we are in ‘imbalance’ and what we need to do to prepare to be more balanced as the new year approaches. Any imbalance can affect us the same way extreme stress or trauma does. We have anxiety, depression, no time to relax, no time to play or socialize with friends and family, we are often angry or frustrated, we are tired all the time but never feel rested even after sleeping, we have headaches or other physical maladies flare up frequently, we don’t eat well, etc… The true blessing of Mabon is we ask spirits or God/Goddess to help as we honestly examine our lives and commit to the work of going within and renewing our balance during the Winter months.
To read the rest of this post, come visit Lina at Mid-Stride Moxie!
Oh the Humanity! with Loren Morris
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for your patience with me during my break. My best friend's CT scan came back good, so even though she will still be having surgery, she does not have cancer. I will be celebrating with extreme thankfulness this Mabon. I am also looking forward to the birth of a 2nd grandson in less than a month!
So, can you feel Fall making its way to you? The mornings this past week have had a chill to them and they have been a bit foggy. I can't wait for the days to hear the leaves crunching under my feet. I made a batch of butternut squash soup and it brought fall happiness to my mouth. Just around the corner will be corn mazes, pumpkin patches and rides on my bicycle on the pathways with newly fallen leaves.
Since this is the Mabon edition of the Stew, I thought it would be fun to look at different celebrations of the Autumnal Equinox. Read the rest of this post at Saga's Cottage blog.
My Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SagasCottage
My facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SagasCottage?ref=hl
Notes from the Circle with Alan Heartsong
The Witches Pyramid, which many of us old-fashioned traditional wiccans were taught early on, has 4 basic principles: To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silent.
As I reflect on my own online presence and that of others, I think there’s a dearth of that last important bit: Keeping Silent about our magic and our craft.
Don’t get me wrong, sharing is good and you don’t grow a spiritual movement or tradition by keeping quiet about it, but sharing too much dilutes ones own power and personal energy. That’s been what’s going on with me lately, and I’m definitely feeling the results in several areas of my personal life.
Reflecting back on my reasons for starting this blog and the turns my life and spiritual path have taken, it has become clear to me that I need to stop blogging. Or at the very least, take a hiatus of indeterminate length. So effective 11/1/2013, I’m doing my bit to Keep Silent and the blog is going quiet. I’ll leave it up in case there’s anything people want to reference, but I won’t be adding to it any longer. I just need time to go back to basics, handle some life changes, and re-establish a roadmap for my own personal growth.
Peace out, witches. Be good to each other.
Harmony and Blessings,
Alan
The Spice with La'Trice Lott
Apple Coffee Cake
(adapted from Taste of Home)
Ingredients: (this recipe makes 2 -8 in square cakes)
•½ cup butter
•1 cup sugar
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•2 cups all-purpose flour (if using Gluten Free flour, I recommend King Arthur’s All Purpose GF)
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•½ teaspoon salt
•1 cup (8 ounces) Sour Cream
•1 – ¾ to 2 cups chopped tart apples (I prefer granny smith)
Topping:
•3/4 cup packed brown sugar
•1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
•2 tablespoons cold butter
•½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Directions:
•Pre-heat oven to 350◦
•In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
•Beat in Eggs and vanilla
•Combine Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
•Gradually add to the cream mixture alternately with sour cream, mixing well after each addition
•Stir in apples
•Transfer to two greased 8 in square baking dishes
•For topping, combine brown sugar and cinnamon
•Cut in butter until crumbly
•Stir in nuts and sprinkle mixture over batter
•Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
•Cool completely before serving.
Second cake may be frozen for up to six month. Thaw overnight before serving.
Live. Laugh. Blog. Design. with Tara Smith
Anyone can start up a blog. It’s simple, easy, and a great way to get yourself or your business noticed. What sets bloggers apart, in my opinion, is the design of their site. Your design is a digital representation of you and your business. You would not go to a business meeting in a stained shirt, with buttons missing, and your hair in a crazy bird nest. Treat your blog like it’s your clothes. The first digital impression should be positive, if it’s not, you will lose potential customers/readers in a matter of seconds.
What design aspects of your blog should stand out?
a)Color scheme- chose a color scheme that not only represents you and your business but also goes with any existing logos or graphics you may have. Limit the design to 2-3 main colors and 2-3 accent colors. Keep in mind what colors are easy to read. Font colors are important too. Link color should stand out from the rest of the text. Many readers find dark background colors with light text colors hard to read. It’s not always about you, but find that balance that works for your brand as well as for your readers. www.design-seeds.com is a great resource.
Read the rest of this article on Tara's site!
Next week, I will have tips on the function of your blog as well as a freebie.
Tara is the creative genius behind the design and look of this as well as the Samhains Sirens site. When she is not busy at her full time job, she plays graphic designer/blogger creator, mother to Cupquake Danger and her IT nerdy hubs, as well as caretaker of many fur children. She can be found researching the latest technology gadgets, online crazes at home on a Saturday night and Minecraft secrets for the Danger girl.
Personal blog- http://kenleysmomma14.blogspot.ca/
FB Fan page- https://www.facebook.com/pipdesigns
Pawitively Witchcraft! with Tiffanie Dovich
Introduction and Familiars
Hi there, I’m Tiffanie Or T.K. depending on who you talk to or what time of day it is and I’m here to add a doggie bag of delights to your weekly stew. So Sit, Stay and Wait for pawesome tips & tricks and random info about including your favorite furry (or scaly) pals to your witchy workings.
Hi there, I’m Tiffanie Or T.K. depending on who you talk to or what time of day it is and I’m here to add a doggie bag of delights to your weekly stew. So Sit, Stay and Wait for pawesome tips & tricks and random info about including your favorite furry (or scaly) pals to your witchy workings.
The following are some of the most asked questions I get when it comes to familiars.
Q: So what is a familiar exactly?
A:D.J. Conway’s Wicca The Complete Craft has the following definition:
Familiar: A physical or astral creature that has a psychic bond with a witch
Normally when people talk about familiars they are referring to a pet that they have formed some sort of spiritual bond with. That pet then becomes a helpful assistant in your magical workings. They are interested in said workings and become a source of strength and add extra oomph to your spells. A good familiar can help you go further along your path and help you become a better witch. A familiar is able to carry the energy of a spell someplace else or to someone for you. They act as guardians for you during your spell work or everyday stuff. A familiar also acts as a vessel to store extra energy until you need it. Familiars are also awesome for helping a witch to ground!
Q: What types of pets make good familiars?
A: Any creature can be a familiar. Dog, cat, rat, bird, hedgehog, snake, The list is endless! I have a friend whose familiar I kid you not is a beta fish! A fish! She brings his little bowl into circle with her and I’ll be damned if you can’t feel that little beta add force to her magic. He’ll spread his fins and tail out and swish them in time with her chanting it’s almost unreal!
Q: How do I know if my pet is my familiar?
A:Well here’s where it gets tricky. There is really no right or wrong answer. Having a familiar is such a personal thing and individual journey that no one can tell you the answer. I look for certain things in a potential partnership that might not matter to you. Luna might be your perfect idea of a familiar. (Pssh You can’t have her cute little butt she’s mine, Slobber and all.) I can, however, tell you that your familiar finds you and not the other way around. You’ll only find one when you are ready for them and be opened minded. Familiars can come in any size, shape, color, or species.
Take my super adorable awesome white boxer Luna.
She is furry little slobber monster and I loves her! However, familiar material she is not. She trashes my circles, has no regard for the tools of my craft (Think magical wand = chew stick and smudge wand = nothing but a mass of drool covered feathery remains), and did I mention she sucks at alerting me to presences of ghosts, astral beings and other things that go bump in the night. All in all she flunked out of familiar school.
She’s an awesome companion. She makes me feel better when I’m having a bad day, and always knows when I need a cuddle. However, If I ever need to do battle with the “He who shall not be named” I’ll be leaving her at home.
Now her failure at being a familiar is does not mean she can’t ever be helpful when it comes to spellcraft but that is a whole different story and fodder for another blog but back to the point at paw. (see what I did there?)
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Q:Does a familiar have to be a domestic pet?
A: They do not have to be pets! One of my group mates has a wild owl attend him in every outside ritual. When quarters are called, Mr. Owl will hoot to alert him/us of his presence and then again when we close circle. Another old group mate of mine tends to have bats start flying overhead during every ritual. These are just a few personal ensamples of wild familiars attending witches in circles. So keep your eye out you might even already have a familiar and you just didn’t realize it!
Check back soon, for more tail wagging posts about familiars and pets in spell crafting!
This Week in Astrology
Sunday, September 22: 4:44pm Autumnal Equinox, Sun is in Libra
11:07 pm Disseminating Moon
Great day for business after 4:44pm
Monday, September 23: Moon Void of Course from 9pm through the rest of the day
Great day for business until 9pm
Tuesday, September 24: Moon Void of Course until 3:44am then moves into Gemini
Great day for business after 3:44am
Wednesday, September 25: Great Day for business all day!
Thursday, September 26: Moon Void of Course from 7:21am until 3:24pm then moves into Cancer.
11:55pm Last Quarter Moon
Great day for business until 7:21am
Friday and Saturday: All's quiet in the heavens
To celebrate the equinox, we're having a giveaway! The gracious author, Thea Berg is offering her book, "The Magical World of Sebella: The Magic Castle" as the prize. This is a children's book and it has phenomenal reviews. Retail value of this prize is $5.99 on Amazon. You can read more below or at The Magical World of Sebella website.
Here's the synopsis from Amazon: "Sebella, a witch, lives in a house once owned by an infamous magician, where strange things often happen. While playing the game of Spooks, Sebella’s bratty cousin Prudence accidently knocks over a gargoyle statue, and it magically comes to life! The gargoyle’s red eyes torpedo into the fireplace revealing a secret opening. Out of the statue’s mouth flow these words… The All-Powerful Magician needs your HELP! He requests your services to SAVE the Magic Castle! Succeed and win the Grand Prize. To save the Magic Castle, so children can visit again, Sebella, Prudence, her friend Kendall, along with Sebella’s little brother Drac must first: Capture the Shadows Tame the unruly dragons Vanquish the Villainous Mentalist Can they save the Magic Castle? Will they win the Grand Prize? And who is the All-Powerful Magician requesting their help?"It's going to be an easy giveaway this time. In the comments section of this blog, simply post "enter me in giveaway" with your valid email address. I will select a winner by random number generation on Monday, September 23 at 9am EDT. I'll email the winner and post it on my blog. The winner will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address. Thea will sign the copy of your prize and ship it to you herself. This offer is open to U.S. residents only. Sorry international friends. I'll get one you can participate in soon!
Good luck!
Old Ways Re-opens TODAY!
Founded in March 1997, Old Ways has been stripped down, redesigned, and the site is relaunching today! Created by Jeffrey Pierce (a traditionally trained shaman and the author of "Principles of Magick") and his lovely wife, Briana (a Reiki practitioner and third generation herbalist) they offer daily insight in what they refer to as "Touch the Earth Paganism."
If you're looking for lessons, articles, photo essays, original videos, podcasts, recipes, and much more regarding the path they walk - all offered completely free of charge - point your browser toward the site and give them a try. As the site is beginning from scratch, content will be appearing daily - and with a backlog of more than 800 original articles and lessons - the site will be expanding by leaps and bounds as additional content is added.
Stop by for the free "Daily Paganism" lessons (beginning Monday) and stick around for new content, seven days a week, that touches on everything from magick to intentional communities, from relationships to ritual, and all the things in between. Don't expect to be told what to do, just anticipate being given insight to help you explore and expand your own practice. As the Pierces like to say, "The only right path is the path that's right for YOU."
Old Ways Website
Old Ways Facebook Page
Old Ways Facebook Group
That's it for this week's Stew. Mull. Digest. Enjoy!
The Sunday Stew is a free, e-publication delivered every Sunday 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. All photos used are either copyrighted to their owners and are used with permission. 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!