Beltane April 30, 2014

Blessed Beltane everyone! It is that time of year again when we celebrate Beltane, or mayday.

Some of you may have heard of the figure called the green man (Also known as Jack in he green, or the May King). He is commonly seen during Beltane. The Green Man is a god of vegetation and plant life. He symbolizes the life that is found in the natural plant world, and in the earth itself. The Green Man is typically portrayed as a human face surrounded by dense foliage. Such images appear as far back as the eleventh century, in church carvings. As Christianity spread, the Green Man went into hiding, with stonemasons leaving secret images of his face around cathedrals and churches. He enjoyed a revival during the Victorian era, when he became popular with architects, who used his visage as a decorative aspect in buildings. Now that we've discussed a familiar face during Beltane, lets talk about Beltane it's self.


In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health.

The Christian religion had only a poor substitute for the life-affirming Maypole -- namely, the death-affirming cross. Hence, in the Christian calendar, this was celebrated as 'Roodmas'. In Germany, it was the feast of Saint Walpurga, or 'Walpurgisnacht'. An alternative date around May 5 (Old Beltane), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus, is sometimes employed by Covens. (Both 'Lady Day' and 'Ostara' are names incorrectly assigned to this holiday by some modern traditions of Wicca.)

The May pole was a focal point of the old English village rituals. Many people would rise at the first light of dawn to go outdoors and gather flowers and branches to decorate their homes. Women traditionally would braid flowers into their hair. Men and women alike would decorate their bodies. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion. Ancient Pagan traditions say that Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. To celebrate, a wedding feast, for the God and Goddess must be prepared. Let Them guide you! Breads and cereals are popular. Try oatmeal cakes or cookies sweetened with a dab of honey. Dairy foods are again appropriate...just make a lovely wedding feast and you are sure to enjoy yourself! An early morning walk through a local park or forest could be fun for everyone. Gather up some plants or flowers to display in your home. Mom and daughter could braid their hair, and weave in a few tender blossoms.
Have A blessed Beltane everyone! If you haven't seen them already, take a look at some of the Beltane recipes I posted a few weeks ago. Please comment and share how you celebrate Beltane, maybe you'll get some new ideas for next year.

Holidays

 There are 8 wiccan holidays; Samhain, Beltane, imbolc, Lughnasadh, yule, Ostara, Litha, & Mabon.  Each one has a different story behind it; but I'll cover those later. For now it's why and when:

Samhain
Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.

It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.

Beltane
Many Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Beltane. It is one of eight solar Sabbats. This holiday incorporates traditions from the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, but it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as May pole dancing). Some traditions celebrate this holiday on May 1 or May day, whiles others begin their celebration the eve before or April 30th.

Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. The name means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times.

Imbolc
As with all Old Tradition observances, this holiday is usually celebrated beginning at sundown on February 1 and continuing through the day of February 2. Imbolc means in the belly of the Mother because that is where seeds are beginning to stir as it is Spring.

Another name for this holiday is Oimelc, meaning milk of ewes since it is also the traditional lambing season in the old world. Herd animals have either given birth to the first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders. It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year.

This holiday is especially sacred to the Celtic Fire Goddess, Brigit, patron of smithcraft, healing, midwifery, and poetry. It is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her season to prepare for growth and renewal. The Maiden is honored, as the Bride, on this Sabbat. Straw Brideo'gas (corn dollies) are created from oat or wheat straw and placed in baskets with white flower bedding. Young girls then carry the Brideo'gas door to door, and gifts are bestowed upon the image from each household. Afterwards at the traditional feast, the older women make special acorn wands for the dollies to hold, and in the morning the ashes in the hearth are examined to see if the magic wands left marks as a good omen. Brighid's Crosses are fashioned from wheat stalks and exchanged as symbols of protection and prosperity in the coming year. Home hearth fires are put out and re-lit, and a besom is place by the front door to symbolize sweeping out the old and welcoming the new. Candles are lit and placed in each room of the house to honor the re-birth of the Sun.

Lughnasadh
At Lammas, sometimes called Lughnasadh, it's time to celebrate the first harvest of the year, and recognize that the hot summer days will soon come to an end. The plants of spring wither and drop seeds to ensure future crops. Grains are ready to be harvested and the fruits are ripe for picking. We can give thanks for the food on our tables.

Lughnasadh means the funeral games of Lugh (pronounced Loo), referring to Lugh, the sun god. However, the funeral is not his own, but the funeral games he hosts in honor of his foster-mother Tailte. For that reason, the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last for a year and a day) are also celebrated at this time.

Yule
The date varies from December 20 to December 23 depending on the year in the Gregorian calendar. Yule is also known as the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere due to the seasonal differences.

Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, the sun's "rebirth" was celebrated with much joy. On this night, our ancestors celebrated the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth. From this day forward, the days would become longer.

Ostara
As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

Litha (Also known as Midsummer)
Although the name Litha is not well attested, it may come from Saxon tradition -- the opposite of Yule. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant. At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks.

Mabon
Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) is the Autumn Equinox. The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Various other names for this Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, Winter's Night, which is the Norse New Year.

How To Make a Book of Shadows

A huge part of Wicca is your personal Book Of Shadows (BOS). This has to be one of the more time consuming aspects of Wicca. You can use a notebook, an unlined book, a three ring binder, or anything else. I wouldn't making it on the computer; yes I know you can make it look really pretty and very quickly and easily but it doesn't . I chose to use a 3 ring binder, with dividers, and loose leaf paper. and drew out my covers for the fun of it and to make it more personal.


The Front cover; featuring a tribal wolf head with "Wicca"



The back cover; featuring the Green Man with the saying "Merry meet, Merry part, Merry meet again"



I chose to put the "Wicca rede" as the very first page in mine, you may put what ever you want as your first page. When you actually start working on it you can put the information in any order you want, just so long as you can find what you want/need with ease. Here's a list of things that I have included in my BOS

• Correspondences
• Holidays
• spells
• Gods/Goddess
• Results of spells
• Tarot cards
• Glossary (for words that I have found in my research that I didn't know before)

This is just how I have mine set up. You are free to make and organize yours how ever you wish. Make sure the information that you put into your BOS is correct, I always find multiple sources that show the information that I'm looking for to double check what I've found. Good luck on making your BOS.

 

Merry Meet, Merry Part, Merry Meet Again.

Beltane recipes

 

A huge part of any holiday is the food. Everyone loves that special dish that only gets made during the holidays; stuffing on thanksgiving, frosted sugar cookies on Christmas, etc. Today I'm going to give some recipes for Beltane. Beltane is on the 30th this year.

  Go ahead and try these wonderful recipes, comment what you think of them :)

 

Fried Honeycakes

 

These cakes were left in the garden to please Faery visitors. If you plan to leave an offering to the Faery, double the recipe to keep some for your family. They're scrumptious.

 

 

• 1/2 cup sweet white wine
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup honey
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• Oil for frying
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

 

 Beat the wine & egg in a medium bowl. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt & sugar in a small bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Let stand 30 minutes. Combine the honey & nutmeg in a small bowl.

 

Heat 1/2-inch of the oil in a frying pan until hot, but not smoking. Drop the batter into the oil 1 tablespoon at a time; fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dip into the honey.

 

 

 

Dandelion Salad

 

 

 

• 1/2 pound torn dandelion greens
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste

 In a medium bowl, toss together dandelion greens, red onion, and tomatoes. Season with basil, salt, and pepper.

 Makes 4 servings

 

 

Strawberry Cookies

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• red and green food coloring

 

 

Cream the sugar and shortening until fluffy, on medium speed if using an electronic mixer. Beat in egg, milk, zest, and extract. Sift flour and powder together in a bowl and gradually add to the other mix. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

 

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Half dough and put the other half back in the fridge. Form dough into flattened balls and roll to 1/8 inch on a floured surface. Using strawberry-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies, and cut out little indentations like strawberry seeds if desired.

 

Put 1 tablespoon of water into each of two dishes and add a few drops of each color of food coloring. Paint the cookies with a paintbrush using the colors, making the body of the strawberry red and the stem and leaves green. Bake them on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes, then cool on racks. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.

 

Yield: 5 dozen

 

SAVORY CHEESE SCONES

 

 

• 2 cups Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups Grated cheddar cheese
• 3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup Butter
• 1/3 cup Milk
• 2 Eggs

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients, stir in cheeses and toss well. Cut in butter. Combine eggs and milk, add to flour mixture and gently knead to form a stiff dough. Cut dough ball into halves and pat each half into an 8" diameter, 1/2" thick circle. Cut into wedges, place wedges on a baking sheet and bake 15 to 17 minutes, until lightly browned.

 

 

 

 Merry Met, Merry part, And merry meet again! Stayed tuned for more ;D

 

P.S. ~ If there is anything you wish for me to cover in a blog, I would be more than happy to cover it :)

 

 

 

How to read Tarot Cards

Reading the cards isn't as hard as people make it out to be. The cards are not bad either, people get afraid because of the death card. They assume that since the card is death, that someone is going to die. That is not right! Don't let the death card scare you or others from tarot; reading the cards is cheaper and quicker than trying to find someone to help you with a problem.
 
First we're going to start with the Minor Arcana

• 0 the Fool
• New beginnings, adventures, pleasure. The moment before the first step is taken.
• I The Magician
• Using knowledge, resources, and will to create change in the world. Originality, creativity, skill, will power, self confidence, dexterity, and sleight of hand; grasping the unseen around you &making it become a reality.
• II The High priestess
• Wisdom, knowledge, learning, intuition, purity, virtue. something that can only be understood through experience.
• III The Empress
• creativity generosity, patience, love, abundance, & creation.
• IV The Emperor
• creating order out of chaos authority, leadership, strength, establishing law and order.
• V The Hierophant
• Living faith in everyday life.
• VI The Lovers
• making a decision that makes your heart glad
• VII The Chariot
• the triumph of will in difficult circumstances
• VIII Strength
• Calm control and healing that brings strength
• IX The Hermit
• retreating from distractions to determine your own truth
• X The wheel of fortune
• A random occurrence is at hand
• XI Justice
• the consequences of your actions are at hand
• XII The Hanged Man
• willing surrender to an experience or situation
• XIII Death
• an ending making transformation possible
• XIV Temperance
• the right things at the right time in the right place
• XV The Devil
• A choice, situation, or action that is contrary to your best interest
• XVI The Tower
• an unexpected event that changes everything
• XVII The Star
• guidance, serenity, and hope
• XVIII The Moon
• A situation of flux and uncertainty, fraught either with deception or revealing of important truth
• XIX The Sun
• Clarity that brings joy
• XX Judgment
• hearing and heeding the call
• XXI The World
• successful completion

Now onto the Major Arcana. This is where things become a little more simple. The major Arcana is set up in a simple two "step" interpretation; the suite of the card and the number/face. I'll cover them in that order.

• Wands
• passion activities and projects; fire
• Cups
• relations, emotions, & creativity; water
• Swords
• Challenges/ problems, thoughts, & intellect; air
• Pentacles
• resources, physical things, & the body; earth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• Ace
• New beginnings, potential
• Twos
• Duality, balance, relationship, choices
• Threes
• creativity, birth, growth
• Fours
• stability, structure, stagnation
• Fives
• conflict, uncertainty, instability, loss, chaos
• Sixes
• communication, problem solving, equilibrium
• Sevens
• reflection, assessment, evaluation
• Eights
• movement, power, progress, speed
• Nines
• compromises, compassion, spirituality
• Tens
• completion, perfection, end of a cycle
• Pages
• youthful, enthusiasm, a message
• Knights
• extreme, fast, bold
• Queens
• mature, caring, experienced
• Kings
• leader, protector, authority

This is a lot of information to process and remember. So, here's a little tip to remember them; get the cards out and make a story based on the picture that demonstrates what the card means. The key thing is that you have to make the story interesting so you will remember it. Have a blessed day everyone