The Sunday Stew
Editors: Jennifer Rasmussen, Kallan KennedyThe 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 are used with permission.
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In the News
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Angola: Sociologist Wants Urgent End to Witchcraft Accusations Against Children
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The Festival Where ‘Christianity’ Is Just Earth Worship
Pagan Lore with Karen Szabo
Sunday, July 13
On this day, the birth of the vegetation- and fertility-god Osiris is celebrated by many Wiccans & Pagans of the Egyptian tradition. The annual death and rebirth of Osiris personifies the self-renewing vitality and fertility of nature.
In the country of Japan, the annual Bon festival is celebrated on this date in honor of ancestral spirits.
On this date in the year 1527, John Dee was born in London, England. He was renowned as an alchemist and was skilled in the arts of wizardry. For many years he served as the royal astrologer of Queen Elizabeth I. He sadly died in poverty in the year 1608.
Monday, July 14
On this day, the birth of the Egyptian falcon-headed god Horus is celebrated by many Wiccans & Pagans of the Egyptian tradition. Light a royal-blue altar candle and burn some frankincense and myrrh as a fragrant offering to him.
On this day in the year 1988, a series of mysterious crop circles began to appear in a wheat field near Silbury Hill in southwestern England.
Tuesday, July 15
On this day, the birth of the Egyptian god Set (or Seth) is celebrated by many Wiccans & Pagans of the Egyptian tradition. Set is an ancient god of darkness and the magickal arts.
In China, this day is sacred to Ti-Tsang, the rule of the dark Underworld. He is honored with an annual Festival of the Dead.
Wednesday, July 16
On this day, thousands of Haitians begin an annual pilgrimage to the Saut d' Eau waterfall, which is scared to Erzulie Freda (the Voodoun Loa of love and beauty) and is believed to possess miraculous healing powers
Thursday, July 17
On this date in the year 1992, a Pagan-based radio show called The Witching Hour (hosted by Winter Wren and Don Lewis) made its debut on radio station WONX in Evanston, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago).
In China, the sun-Goddess Amaterasu is honored annually on this day with a Shinto procession called the Amaterasu-Omikami.
Friday, July 18
On this date, the birthday of Lu Pan (the patron saint of Chinese carpenters and house builders) is celebrated annually by workmen (and women) throughout the city of Hong Kong.
On this day, the birth of Nepthys (the Egyptian Goddess of death, and sister of Isis) is celebrated.
This day is also sacred to the Goddesses Arstat and Copper Woman.
Saturday, July 19
On this day, the birth of the Egyptian Goddess Isis is celebrated by many Wiccans & Pagans of the Egyptian tradition. Isis is an ancient Mother-Goddess of fertility and a Neo-Pagan deity associated with magick and enchantment.
On this date in the year 1692, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, and Susanna Martin were hanged on Salem's Gallows Hill as punishment for the crime of Witchcraft.
Wishing you all a fantastic week! See you next time with more Pagan Lore,
Karen
I am an Independent Avon Representative
Serving all your Avon needs -- come see what's new!
http://www.youravon.com/karenszabo
Sparkle & Shine with Sosanna
There are two torch festivals in China that are celebrated in the month of July. Both the Naxi and the Xichang Torch Festivals are celebrated in July and go on for three days.
The Naxi Torch Festival is celebrated on July 31st. For three days, torches burn outside homes not only by the Naxi but also by the Yi, Bai, Jino and Lahu as well. Each village can have a separate day and most say it originated as a way to keep evil out of the village and to give thanks for the past and future. Some of the activities include sheep, bull and cock fights as well as singing and dancing. The torches keep burning for three days while the festival is celebrated.
In a similar festival, torches are carried by men and women for three days while dancing and singing. The Xichang Torch Festival is a time used to meet prospective mates. Torches are kept in front of each house and in a large pile in the center of the village. After a horn sounds in the evening, everyone comes out and lights the pile in celebration.
I couldn't help but noticed that the Naxi Torch Festival includes sheep and bulls as part of their celebratory activities. Both animals are known in antiquity to be animals that were sacrificed to Hecate. The Greeks would strap yew wreaths around the necks of black bulls before they were sacrificed.
Hecate is also known as a Triple Goddess, or Triformis. There are many references to the number three, including the crossroads in her mythology. Both of these festivals are held for three days and one has elements of a fertility rite. Though a solitary Goddess without a consort, Hecate was considered a midwife Goddess who protected women and children. This would be expected in a fertility festival.
Torches hold a special place for me as they are a symbol of the Goddess Hecate. In the Xichang Torch Festival the torches are placed at the entrance to each of the homes. Hecate is known as a liminal deity.
That is, she is a goddess who presides over gates or doorways. Placing the torches at the doorway to each of the homes links directly to her.
Many follow Hecate as the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess construct. Meaning she is the final part, the older, wiser part of them. However, I believe that she is older than this. In working on my studies for Torchbearer for the Covenant of Hekate, I read many writings that lead her to be much older than that. She is mentioned in texts as old as the Chaldean Oracles and has been associated with Lions. Lions were generally associated with deities from Asia. Hecate has several cults in Asia Minor including Ephesos, Kolophon and one that celebrates her yearly in Lagina (Karia). To me, these simple torch festivals seem to offer some interesting bits of information that could be taken as indicating that this could be a possible source for her.
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
www.sosannascloset.com
www.confessionsofamodernwitch.blogspot.com
From Madness to Mindfulness with Jennifer Rasmussen
My son-in-law’s friend posted an awesome status the other night. When asked if he is a ‘glass half-empty’ or ‘glass half-full’ kind of person, he said he responds with “I will make it enough.” I had to stop and thank him for that awesome philosophy. The more I thought about it, the more I realized the implication of those two sides of the same coin: whether you view the glass as half-empty or half-full, you are still looking for more. What is presently in your glass is still not enough. One the one hand, you fear you are running out. On the other, you are almost full but not quite.
If we look at this from a mindfulness perspective, we would view the glass exactly as it is without judging its volume. We would accept the contents of the glass as they are; neither too little nor not quite enough. Since the glass is a metaphor for our lives, let’s look at it again. Sometimes, we look at our lives and see everything we want but do not have. Other times, we look at our lives and see everything we do have but still believe more will finally make us happy. In the meantime, we miss out on what is in the here and now. We miss the things that life is really about.
We can also apply this to ourselves or our loved ones. We may view ourselves as inadequate or not good enough, or we may look at ourselves as better than we used to be but not quite where we should be. I am guilty of this, so I am not judging anyone. How many of us look in the mirror and think demeaning thoughts? Maybe we are unhappy with our bodies (too fat, too skinny, too flat, too busty, etc.) or our minds. Maybe we have started to lose that weight or grow our hair, but we just aren’t quite good enough yet. Maybe our children just don’t do well enough in school or our spouse doesn’t fold the towels quite right.
Being mindful forces us to accept things exactly as they are without judgment. As my mom said to me a few weeks ago, “non-judgment is the hardest part!” It really is. We are hard-wired to judge people and situations. It is partly a survival mechanism. We are conditioned to judge situations or people as safe or unsafe, good or bad. The problem comes in when we take these judgments to the extreme. When we do that, we are short-changing ourselves in life. When we are practicing mindfulness, we are in a better position to be open and accepting to what life has in store for us.
I am still working on accepting life as it is without judgment, but old habits die hard. I know the road is long and filled with bumps and twists, but I am willing to navigate it to get where I am meant to be. Now, the question is: is your glass half-empty, half-full, or is it enough?
There and Back A-Hen: Just a bunch of clucking nonsense with Melissa "Chicky" Cassick
I write to be free,
To make myself like me;
But I will never be
The woman I once thought I could be.
My head’s full of ideas that will never see the light of day
I try to get them out but I get scared, and throw them all away.
I fear rejection,
So I’m in a state of suspension;
Watching every other braver soul break through all that tension,
And pour out their neuroses and psychoses and poses
In half-assed prose -- and no one supposes
That I could beat them all with my eyes half-closed --
But I don’t.
The words stay in my head,
and maybe this will be read when I’m cold and I’m dead.
And they’ll say, “she never said---”
Because I left it all unfinished,
Diminished
By my fear
I left nothing to hear,
And nothing to feel;
No words to make my children know I was real:
That I doubted and pouted and I cried and I screamed,
I got angry, got jealous, I hoped and I dreamed.
But will they ever know?
If I can’t break through?
If I can’t express myself the way I wanted to?
If I haven’t the courage to put it all out?
Will they ever say, “We understand what she was about?”
I write and I write, but it all stays hidden,
Those lines that come to my mind unbidden.
I don’t want to leave the story of my life unwritten
But does anyone want it? Who the hell am I kidding?
There’s a billion people out there, all with something to say
Why they hell would they want to hear about me, anyway?
What do I have that’s new, that’s fresh?
Do I have anything that would pass any test,
Would make people stop. read. think. change.
Make it worth their while to turn every page
Is there anything that I can say that hasn’t been said
by voices louder than mine,
stronger than mine,
better than mine.
That’s the part that stops me cold:
Someone’s already written the story I want told;
And they did it better, with a fine turn of phrase
I could never hope to replicate in all of my days.
And that leaves me crazed:
I will never be the best
So I let it rest.
And there ends my quest --
Got stopped by a dragon
I never tried to get past.
Left my words to blow in the breeze,
Paper caught in the trees,
Pen on the ground.
Off I bound,
Because I once again found
A challenge I couldn’t answer.
I make my own disaster
And the thoughts just swirl faster,
But I will never be their master:
Never let them off their leash
Never see who they could reach
or what they could teach.
This will be my legacy:
A heart too full to remain silent;
Too full of fear to speak.
-- Melissa Cassick 2014
Stirring the Pot with Marissa Dean
As far back as I can recall, I have always crushed equally on both genders. If someone noticed, I would shrug and tell them I enjoyed pretty things. Once I entered high school. I learned there was a term for girls like me. I was bisexual. After much agonizing and many sleepless nights, I confessed. First to my best friend, who shrugged and told me she loved me no matter what.
Then, I had to tell my parents.
Much to my surprise, my mom simply asked if I was sure, and if I wanted to tell my Dad. My dad's only response was "Really? Okay, what should we have for dinner?"
And I would do that all over again in comparison to telling my mother I'm studying voodoo. Coming out of the'broom closet', so to speak, scares me more than admitting my bisexuality.
How can I possibly tell my very Christian mother that I have found religion, like she had been hoping, it's just not the religion she wanted me to find? How does one even begin to explain their religion to a devout Southern Baptist in a way that will not end with me having holy water splashed on me?
Some days, even the passing mention of multiple Gods in religions evokes a genteel shudder from her. But this is what I choose to follow. This is what I hope my daughter chooses to follow. It may not be accepted in mainstream society, and it may not be what she wants for me, but I'm 27 and a mother myself.
I hope she accepts it and wants to learn at least a little of the religion that's been calling to me since I was a preteen. I'll even accept complete disinterest, so long as I can come out of the broom closet and be the woman I am being called to be completely and openly.
The Good Greenwitch with Rhonda De Felice
I am learning a lot from the chefs at the Sunday Stew, and it’s a wonderful thing. For instance, this week I learned about a healing pilgrimage that takes place in Haiti this time every year.
Then, I Googled it and learned more. The trek is to Saut-d-Eau, French for Waterfall. Interesting story here - a wonderful blend of religions and beliefs under the flow of a waterfall. United by women. It is believed the Virgin Mary appeared there, so the Catholics flock there. Followers of Voodoo go for Erzulie Dantor, the Voodoo spirit of water, to be possessed by her. All hope to be healed there. I find the blending of two strong female figures, from two such different religions, completely intriguing. (Of course, I was raised Catholic and always thought it had way too many similarities to Voodoo, but that’s another conversation.)
Water is very purifying and healing. I started to wonder if we had anything similar here in the States, but I quickly realized how much we take water for granted. Oh - and of course, we don’t revere women much. That’s two strikes right there.
Water. People complain when it rains a little too much, people complain when it doesn’t rain enough. People who live in areas where it doesn’t rain that much complain when they get rain that is sorely needed. I used to ask complainers, “Do you shower?” When they answered with a snort-“yes”, I would point out that they should not complain when the water needed to do so too. I never really got anywhere with that one. Several states are in drought situations. California is 100% in drought and yet, people continue to hose down their sidewalks in Los Angeles as if they were not using the very stuff they might need to drink next month. Their sidewalks.
Water. So undervalued. You turn on the faucet, there it is. It’s a massive inconvenience when it’s out for some reason or another.
Water. What will it take to make us think about it as something as precious as it is? These pilgrims in Haiti travel many miles to bathe under the waterfall. The water is sacred, the location is sacred. They don’t muck it up with a lot of garbage and crap. I can’t help but feel that if a bunch of Americans went, there would be plastic debris left behind for miles.
I have plenty of water where I live, and I collect it in barrels so I that have even more. I think about water all the time. Water is the lifeblood of our planet. Is it a coincidence that the salinity of the Earth’s oceans is the same as the salinity of our blood? That the water content of the planet is the same as the water content of our bodies? I think not.
So, here is an event that to most Americans would deem Pagan (even though it’s very Catholic) and wild (Women without tops on??? How unseemly. No perfect breast or implants, how dare they?), and yet it is two different belief systems, getting along, side by side, in a sacred, respectful gathering. I find it beautiful. I wish there was more of that going around.
Can’t wait to learn more around here!
http://goodgreenwitch.com
The Magical Garden with Johanna Lawson
This year has been a very challenging year in the garden for me. You may think that, being a Master Gardener, I would have no problems, no pests, and no diseases among my plants. But you would be wrong. Each week brings a new issue to tackle, a new question in need of answering, a new frustration to overcome. I keep asking myself how I, this witchy, Mother Earth-worshipping, magical, Pagan Master Gardener, can encounter so many problems in one growing season. I stumbled upon the answer this week.
I start every Spring in the garden with a plan, as every good gardener should. I start with the after-Winter clean-up in mid-March and work through to around Earth day, at the end of April, to prepare my garden beds for planting and returning bulbs and woody perennials. I plant the vegetable and herb seeds indoors to be planted right around Mother’s Day. This year, all of this was hampered by winter’s refusal to release its icy grip from around us in favor of warmer spring weather. So I had to push my plans back a bit, by about two or three weeks. After the Polar Vortex, I was itching to get out there and work in the garden but, instead of clearing the beds in mid-March, the task was completed in the first week of April. No biggie!
Then Mother Earth threw me a curve ball or two. We had snow, ice and a killing frost in the middle of April. The night before the snow arrived found me running around my garden, a small flashlight firmly grasped between my teeth, trying to creatively cover every emerging plant possible. I made tents from reusable shopping bags and plastic trash bags and staked them into the soil so the expected icy winds didn’t blow them away. I said charms of protection and called on Mother Earth to be gentle on my garden. Despite my best efforts, I am sad to say, that several plants were lost.
I almost lost my lilac bush, a great-granddaughter of one my mom planted at our seashore home in the early 1970’s and a constant in my garden for the past 14 years, the memories entwined in it irreplaceable. The leaves were wilted and the flower buds and the branches were all coated in ice. The bad winter had already killed my beloved Burkwood’s Broom and I just could not bear to lose the lilac. It thankfully pulled through (with the help of some good energy and prayers from all my witchy friends!) and bloomed better than in years past.
I almost lost my lilac bush, a great-granddaughter of one my mom planted at our seashore home in the early 1970’s and a constant in my garden for the past 14 years, the memories entwined in it irreplaceable. The leaves were wilted and the flower buds and the branches were all coated in ice. The bad winter had already killed my beloved Burkwood’s Broom and I just could not bear to lose the lilac. It thankfully pulled through (with the help of some good energy and prayers from all my witchy friends!) and bloomed better than in years past.
The next curve ball was on April 30th, when 6 inches of rain fell, heavy relentless tropical-like rain. I was washing up a few things in the kitchen sink and watching the rain fall outside my kitchen window when I first noticed it: rivers of muddy water running through my raised vegetable and herb garden beds from the rock garden. I threw on a raincoat, grabbed an umbrella and dashed outside to investigate. I nearly sat on the ground and cried. Water and silt was running from the two properties behind me, which sit about four feet higher than my own, carving its way through my rock garden and spilling over into my raised beds. My plants were being swamped with rain, old mulch chips and all other sorts of debris.
In a valiant effort, my son came out, wearing only a white t-shirt, comfy shorts and flip flops, and began to engineer a rock wall to divert the water away from my plants and out to the driveway. There he was soaking wet in the torrential downpour, covered in mud and trying to save my plants. Goddess bless him! He did it! And by the end of May, veggies, herbs and flowers were all flourishing.
Enter the marauding groundhogs. These furry little friends have always been in and around the garden. I welcomed them and protected them, defending their right to be there to all of my neighbors. I left them fruit and vegetable scraps and, in return, they would not bother my garden much. At some point though, they called off the truce and decided they would devour anything they wanted in my garden. Gone were the dill, parsley, cilantro, chamomile, kale, brussel sprouts and broccoli. Nibbled were the yarrow, sage and tomatoes. My husband and I put up wire fencing, wildlife netting and other deterrents. Some held firm and some would be found upended in the morning and the plant it guarded would be chewed down to a few stalks. We reinforced, reworked, and rebuilt the defenses several times only to be outsmarted by a ground hog! My husband began to channel Bill Murray in Caddyshack while I tried to talk him down from violent actions. Back to the drawing board and more reinforcements! We finally gave up and just let them have a few of the herbs, mainly the parsley. To date, this tactic has worked very well.
The last few days of June brought another unwanted twist in my gardening woes. At first sight of the yellowed leaves at the bottom of my Yellow Pear and La Roma tomatoes, I chalked it up to the near 100-degree temperatures and just watered every day. Then I noticed withered green leaves and newly-forming fruits dropping off. Too hot? Not enough water? Something else? I hit the books, surfed the net, and contacted a Master Gardener friend of mine who is an avid tomato-grower. We narrowed it down to one of three things: a nutrient deficiency, accidental 2,4-D (an herbicide) poisoning, or a fungal infection. The first is easily fixed by amending the soil a bit but the others are fatal to the plants. The fungal infection could keep me from planting tomatoes in that spot again for the next three to five years! Head? Meet wall!
This latest development sent me into a “why me” spiral. How could all of this happen to me and my garden and all in the first year of being a Master Gardener? All of my learning and all of my magic did not stop any of it. What kind of Pagan Master Gardener was I? Bad Pagan! Bad Mother Earth worshipper! Bad Master Gardener! And then She spoke to me. “It is just the nature of Nature,” She whispered as I held my hands over the withering tomato plants trying to heal them. Palm? Meet forehead!
There it was! My answer. Well, maybe it was more of a reminder. Sometimes things do not go as planned. Sometimes they go very wrong. I am not a bad Pagan Master Gardener. I am doing what I can to keep it all balanced out there in my little part of the world. But sometimes it is just the nature of Nature.
Nature's Most Wanted with Julie Baker
Zub zzzzub zub…. Bzzzzz………
That sound. The one that makes you smile when you see the fat bumble bee swaying on a flower drooping under its weight. The smile of watching honey bees meander bloom to bloom, covered in pollen on a summer afternoon. It’s the sound of life in a garden, and it is a blissful thing, until those blasted jerk wasps come along. You know, those annoying, mean, hostile, suckers that are out to get you.
Ha ha! I fooled you. You thought I was going to tell you how awful wasps were. Sorry, but though they have pointy arses, pinchy cutty mouths, big fearful eyes, and that habit of landing on you in a way that makes you want to pee your pants, wasps are one of our planets most beneficial insects. I know, I know. You were mowing your lawn yesterday and, surprise! Suddenly it’s a dance party! Everyone is invited. Just throw your hands around, shriek and run in circles. Everyone knows the steps! I know that last week you were sitting on your deck, eating a sandwich with some tea, having found a way to avoid being dinner for mosquitos and blissfully unaware of the ants carrying away half the kitchen when you took a sip of tea and Zap! Suddenly your lips had that much sought after bee-stung pout! For free even! I know, you weren’t exactly looking for it and that trip to the emergency room because you didn’t actually know you were allergic was exciting but for a few days: va va va voom!
It’s all about the bright side…. Um….. erm…. Honest, there IS a bright side.
Did you know that there are well over 100,000 species of wasp? They are of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita, which include bees and ants. All of them have stabby butt parts, though most wasps use their butts for good! See, most wasps are parasitic, the jabby rear end parts are ovipositors that are used to lay eggs, most of the time, into the bodies of living hosts. Imagine being a wasp squirrel, and running up to a chipmunk, knocking it out, and then using a drinking straw connected to your lady parts to pump eggs directly from your ovum into the chipmunk… then tucking it gently into bed to have sweet ‘munky dreams until your beloved larvae hatch and eat it alive. From the inside!
I bet Disney is just falling all over themselves to make an animated movie about that happily ever after!
This is the magic that most pest species are part of, because most pest insects are prey to one species of wasp or another. Wasps are such efficient bio-control that an increasing number of them are used to control pest populations in crops instead of dangerous insecticides. The nature conscious farmer understands the value of these animals in agriculture and welcomes them, pointy butts and all.
I know that a great many people get stung by them, and a massive number of people are deathly allergic to them. They are still more benefit then harm, even in the average yard. Wasps, in fact, were once my greatest fear, a phobia that ruled my life for the first two decades. I worked hard to grow past my fear for my children, and in doing so, have developed not only a vast respect for these creatures but also a love and appreciation for what they are.
I found out the stinging sort of wasp is a lineage within Apocrita called Aculeate. The females of this division have evolved their ovipositor into a stinger. Not all species of this group can sting, even though they have lost the ability to lay eggs with this device. But we do know that many can, and do, as a fear response and to protect themselves and their colony. This means that every stingy-butted wasp or bee you see is female. Most wasps that do not have stingers are just single moms out supporting their babies, doing no harm. They’re just stabbing bugs that screw up our lives and lay their eggs.
Wasps come in two types: solitary and social. Social wasps are the kind that build a big hive. Some, like yellow jackets, are ground dwellers; some are builders, like paper wasps, that create the large balls that most people think about when they mentally picture a hive. Some species of wasp are even aquatic! Solitary wasps have fertile males and females, both of which create small dens to live in and get together only to mate.
Social wasps, on the other hand, usually only have a fertile queen or two and some males who can control their sperm production and fertilize each individual egg after it is laid until the hive gets too large. Then, some males and workers carry off a few larvae and a queen to create a new nest with.
Females wasps all come out of fertilized eggs and males are produced from unfertilized eggs. In some species the males mate with the queen in fall. She hibernates with the sperm of several males balled inside of her, lying dormant until the next spring when this queen uses the stored sperm to produce an entire colony. Once she is out of sperm, all of the eggs laid after those are male. The males fly away to find females that have been produced by a full nest and leave to start nests of their own. They mate into the fall to start the cycle over.
The grown wasps, depending on the species, have a diet that in one way or another benefits us as humans. Some grow to be nectar-feeders as adults. Some feed exclusively on pest insects as adults. Some feed on carrion and some are omnivorous. And though wasps are not the most efficient pollinators out there, they do do their part. Some species of plant have even developed in such a way that they can only be pollinated by wasps; figs are one of these plants.
Now, I know sometimes we humans cannot live side by side with a wasp nest in the yard. But here is some good news about that. Depending on the size and location of the nest, most wasps die through the winter. Each year, ground wasps find a different place to create a nest. So, if you have a nest near your home, and it’s not in a place that would cause harm to others if left alone, just leave it be. They are just out doing their job and making your world a better place.
If, however, you do need to remove the nest, please use soapy water. Yes, soapy water.Wasps are invertebrates and have an exoskeleton so (much like water beading on a car) the cohesive nature of water makes it roll off the insect. Soap breaks up the surface tension of the water, allowing it to pool on and seep into the insect’s body and lungs, effectively drowning it.
Fill up a hose end sprayer with very soapy water. Do this at dusk, when the wasps are home and sleepy. Wear long sleeves and try to get as much distance between you and them as possible. Blast away, making sure to saturate them. It’s sad when it comes down to this but sometimes, they just pick a bad place to nest and cannot coexist with the humans around them. If you must buy a spray, please by a good grade of insecticide that breaks down and dissipates after. Do not use gasoline. It does not break down and seriously- you on fire, wasps on fire, house on fire, yard on fire.
None of this leads to a good outcome. If the nest is huge and you are deathly allergic, please call professionals.
In the end, however, there will always be wasps. They are part of life and a good part, at that. We need them to exist. Learn to avoid getting stung by understanding their habits and thinking in terms of prevention. Cover drinks and food until you are actually eating or drinking and always check. If you spill something, clean it up so it doesn't attract a hungry hornet for you to sit on accidentally. Think of yourself as a part of nature and look at it from the inside. Nature is going to happen whether you like it or not. You can try to control it, but in the end, it will continue to do what it does long after we are gone.
Special thanks to Mike Dame for allowing me to use his photo, and for being so united with the world around him that he hand feeds wasps at their nest. They recognize him and will calmly take the offering right from his fingers. With a mind for science and an eye for beauty, he fights fear with knowledge and captures the beauty of the world around him in photos.
The Witches’ Cupboard by Autumn Earthsong
Hello everyone! Last week I posted some delicious adult beverages using fresh peppermint leaves. This week I’m giving you a few easy recipes using peppermint leaves for a medicinal stomach soothing tea and some great recipes for bathing and for your sore, tired feet! Some of these recipes use fresh leaves and some use dried. The benefits are the same either way! Enjoy!
Stomach Soothing After Dinner Tea
1 teaspoon dried chamomile flowers
1 teaspoon dried peppermint leaves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried cut ginger pieces (not ground)
8 ounces boiling water
Honey to taste (optional)
Combine the chamomile, fennel, ginger, and peppermint in a tea pot or mug. Pour boiling water over. Cover and steep for 10 minutes. Strain tea, then sweeten with honey, if desired.
Rejuvenating Foot Scrub
1 cup fine sea salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup oil (grapeseed, sweet almond or olive)
10 drops peppermint essential oil
1 tablespoon dried peppermint leaves
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Store in a jar with a lid. To use, just wet your feet….get a nice dollop of the scrub and rub it in! The oil will soften your skin, the salt will pumice dead skin away and the peppermint will cool and soothe tired feet. Rinse well and pat dry.
Pamper Me Chamomile Mint Bath Soak
1 cup of dried chamomile flowers
1 cup of dried peppermint leaves
2 cups of Epsom salt
1 cup of powdered milk or buttermilk
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and store in an airtight container. Put 1/2 to 1 cup in your running bath water. This will soothe your body and your mind! Very healing to your skin as well.
Start Me Up Bath Soak
1 cup Epsom Salt
1 cup Dead Sea Salt
1/2 cup Baking Soda
10-20 drops Eucalyptus essential Oil
10-20 drops Lavender essential Oil
1/4 cup fresh Peppermint Leaves
Mix well together and store in airtight container. Use 1/2 to 1 cup per bath. This will be a detox bath….invigorating and will elevate your mood!!
I hope that you try these recipes and let me know what you think! There is nothing better than the healing properties of peppermint whether external or internal. Again, peppermint is a must in your arsenal of Witches Herbs!!
Blessings and Love, Autumn
To read my blog go to www.autumnearthsong.com
To see my herbal bath, beauty and healing products go to www.etsy.com/shop/verbenalaneshoppe
Saga's Spirit with Loren Morris
Every year around this time I long for the fall. I start thinking about Halloween/Samhain, about fall decorating, about pumpkin and apple flavored goodies and drinks, leaves falling, and fall attire. I'm not sure why I do this during the hottest part of the year. I think maybe it's the tree we have in our front yard. Every year in the heat of summer it starts dropping its leaves. Then I have a small area of autumn right there in my very own yard. Maybe that kicks in my thoughts of cooler nights and pumpkins?
At any rate, I thought it would be a good excuse for a Halloween craft. It's never too early to start your decorations, right?? Come, let's revel in our thoughts of autumn and hayrides and the flight of witches over pumpkin fields!
I'm really on a clay kick right now. It's an awesome material to work with. I'm also trying to use a lot of the craft items that I have lying around. So for this project, I'm going to make a decorative paper mache box. A little painting, a little clay, maybe a little decoupage; nothing too difficult.
Read further and make the craft: http://sagascottage.blogspot.com/2014/07/halloween-in-july.html
My spirit boards: http://lapuliabookofshadows.com/product-category/spirit-ouija-weejie-boards/
Cooking the Seasons with Kallan Kennedy
Radishes tend to be one of those love them or hate them kind of vegetables. Today, I'm going to provide you with three different recipes to see if you can't find one that suits your fancy. I say this, because radishes are really good for you. Radishes contain significant levels of vitamin C. Cruciferous plants, which include radish, broccoli and cabbage, are linked with anti-cancer properties, and since they are both cheap and in season, why not give one of these a try?
HISTORY
The origins of the radish are uncertain but they have been eaten in Japan, China and parts of Europe since prehistoric times. Records show they were enjoyed in ancient Egypt and Greece but were not cultivated in Britain until the sixteenth century. Soon afterwards they were introduced to the Americas and are now popular across the globe.Radishes are taken from the roots of Raphanus sativus, a plant related to horseradish, turnip and mustard. There are many varieties, including the red radish, white radish (daikon or mooli - popular in Japan) and black radish.
BUYINGLook for plump, firm bulbs and bright green, crisp leaves (if attached).
STORING
Remove the tops to prevent nutrients and water being leached into the leaves and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
PREPARING
Wipe clean and trim off the stem end and tip. The peppery flavour is most concentrated in the skin and so this can be peeled or cut off if the radishes are too pungent. For added crispness soak in iced water for an hour before use. The tops can be used in salads or cooked like other greens.
THE RECIPES
Grilled Radishes with Brown Butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
Sea salt
3 bunches of radishes (about 2 1/4 pounds), 2 cups of the greens reserved
1 cup lightly packed mint
Grilled rustic bread, for serving
In a small skillet, cook 4 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat, swirling, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes; let cool completely.
In a bowl, blend the cooled brown butter with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and the heavy cream, lemon juice and rosemary. Season with salt.
Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. In a large bowl, toss the radishes with 2 tablespoons of the rosemary brown butter and season with salt. Grill on a perforated grill pan (if using a grill) over high heat, tossing occasionally, until lightly charred and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Return the radishes to the bowl. Add the 2 cups of radish greens and the mint; toss well. Pile the radishes and greens on a platter and serve with grilled bread, sea salt and the remaining brown butter.
Make Ahead: The rosemary brown butter can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Radish Cranberry Cole Slaw
serves 8-10
Ingredients
1 green cabbage thinly chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup cilantro leave, chopped
6 small to medium radishes sliced into matchsticks
½ -1 cup honey mustard (from a bottle or homemade) or ½-1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Directions
Mix all ingredients well adding salt and pepper to taste. Let sit 20 minutes before serving. Best used if chilled for at least 2 hours first.
10-12 small to medium red radishes
1 stick (8 TBS) butter, softened
to taste: salt and pepper
Cooking Directions
Trim leaves and root strand off of radishes, then wash and dry the radish bulbs.
Place radish bulbs in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped.
Add the butter and pulse until smooth.
Mix in salt and pepper to taste, or spread on bread and sprinkle individual servings with salt and pepper.
Serve at room temperature. Can be kept covered at room temperature for three days.
Broome Shtick with Rob Houck
Broome Shtick' was born out of cartoonist Rob Houck's desire to hear less crickets at night, and more cackling witches. Check out more of his witchy/toony goodness on Facebook, and find out why the Reverend John Hale is saying, 'God save us all from Rob Houck.'
This Week in Astrology
Planets in Retrograde:
Saturn until July 20
Neptune until November 16
Chiron until November 23
Upcoming Rx Warnings:
Uranus: July 21-December 21
The Week at a Glance
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The Weekly Divine with Kallan Kennedy
Kallan Kennedy is a professional tarot/totem intuitive with more than 20 years of divination experience. She offers private readings to her clients via her website, Secret Services or come like her Facebook Page. Order your personal reading today!
This Week's Tarot: Page of Pentacles (Discs, Coins)
The Page of Pentacles, like the pages of all the suits, is a card of new beginnings, of inspiration and the initial stages of a creative project or venture. It is a card of dreams and the desire to manifest those dreams in the material world. This is the initial motivation and energy to begin the process of creating those dreams in reality. Now is the time to start acting on all of those grand ideas and concepts that have been brewing in your imagination. The Page of Pentacles is the essence of earth- as in a mountain. It's time to begin moving mountains and making things happen. All of the energy is there for you to do it. You just have to act.
This Week's Totem: Peacock
Key words and phrases: Glory, Vision, Royalty, Spirituality, Integrity
In Greco-Roman mythology the Peacock is identified with Hera (Juno) who created the Peacock from Argus whose hundred eyes (seen on the tail feathers of the Peacock) symbolize the vault of heaven and the “eyes” of the stars.In Hinduism the Peacock is associated with Lakshmi who is a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck.
The Peacock is associated with Kwan-yin in Asian spirituality. Kwan-yin (or Quan Yin) is also an emblem of love, compassionate watchfulness, good-will, nurturing, and kind-heartedness. Legend tells us she chose to remain a mortal even though she could be immortal because she wished to stay behind and aid humanity in their spiritual evolution.
In Babylonia and Persia the Peacock is seen as a guardian to royalty, and is often seen in engravings upon the thrones of royalty.
Peacocks in Nature
"Peacocks are large, colorful pheasants (typically blue and green) known for their iridescent tails. These tail feathers, or coverts, spread out in a distinctive train that is more than 60 percent of the bird’s total body length and boast colorful "eye" markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality of these outrageous feather trains...Peacocks are ground-feeders that eat insects, plants, and small creatures. There are two familiar peacock species. The blue peacock lives in India and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found in Java and Myanmar (Burma). A more distinct and little-known species, the Congo peacock, inhabits African rain forests." ~National Geographic
Those with a peacock totem are known to have good self-esteem. They live life vibrantly and are sometimes viewed as cocky or arrogant- this is far from true. They simply love everything about life and know who they are and what they want. They strut because they believe everyone should be proud of who they are. They tend to have an air of royalty about them, and are extremely gregarious.
Peacock's message is that you and your life are special, colorful and wonderful. If you've forgotten this, call upon this vivacious totem to assist you in reviving your spirit.
If you remember, last year, we had a giveaway of the first book in this series. The lovely Thea Berg has a second book out in The Magical World of Sebella series, and we're giving one away today!
Three Little Werewolves live on the outskirts of a town called Skullvilla. They are powerful and important.
On October 31st when the sun goes down, the werewolves must howl into the night sky to awaken the moon and signal Halloween to begin.
If this doesn’t happen, it will not get dark. And you know what that means…there will be no Halloween since no one goes trick-or-treating in the daylight.
* * * * * * * *
It is All Hallows’ Eve and Sebella, Drac, Prudence, Kendall and Grandma are having their annual dinner at the Black Cat Café.
All the magical creatures from Skullvilla are there. The Fangs, Frankie and Francesca Stein and their little monsters, the Invisible Man and his curvy mummy date and of course, Bones.
Nothing out of the ordinary… until a hairy paw appears and grabs Grandma!
Could the hairy paw belong to one of Three Little Werewolves?
Is the Legend of Halloween true?
Can they find Grandma?
Will there be a Halloween this year?
The winner will receive a signed hard copy of this book. It's sure to become a classic. This is for U.S. residents only. My apologies to our international audience.
Here's how to enter:
1 entry: Like The Magical World of Sebellia Facebook Page (Facebook is in no way sponsoring or endorsing this page or giveaway). Come back and let us know in the comments that you did. BE SURE YOU GIVE US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS (by law, we have to notify you this way).
Additional entries:
- Blog about this giveaway. Come back and share the link to the blog post.
- Tweet about this giveaway. Come back and share the link to your tweet.
- Share The Magical World of Sebellia Facebook Page with your Facebook friends. Come back and let us know you did.
That's it! The winner will be drawn on Tuesday, July 15 using a random number generator. After an email notification, it will be announced here on the blog.
Good luck everyone!
That's it for this week's Stew. Mull. Digest. Enjoy!