Good Time for Pumpkin Soup…

… Don’t you think?

Autumn is probably my very favorite season. The colors, the harvests, the weather, the… EVERYTHING, really.  One of my favorite bits of the season is the food though, especially the food made with pumpkin. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice mead, pumpkin pies and cakes, I could live off of pumpkin based foods. In celebration of the season, the weather and al the rest of the amazingness of Autumn, here’s a great recipe for a vegetarian (easily made vegan) pumpkin soup!

Ingredients

1 pumpkin (or one can of pumpkin)
2 cups vegetable stock
1 large onion (you can caramelize the onion for a slightly more complex flavor)
1 cup heavy cream (can use coconut cream)
5 peppercorns
5 cloves
salt to taste

1. Peel and chop the pumpkin, and the onion.
2. Put into large pot with 1-1/2 cup vegetable stock and 1/2 cup cream (or coconut cream) and the remaining ingredients.
3. Let the ingredients boil until soft. Cloves can be removed at this point, but it is up to you.
4. Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth.
5. If soup needs thinning, add more vegetable stock or water.
6. Serve in a bowl topped with a small amount of cream and a sprinkle of black pepper.

Mabon

Symbolism of Mabon: The completion of the Harvest begun. Day and night are equal and the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen.
Symbols of Mabon: all harvest symbols, corn, autumn flowers, red poppies,nuts, grains, leaves, acorns, pine and cypress cones, oak sprigs, wreaths, vine, grapes, cornucopia, horns of plenty, burial cairns, apples, marigolds, harvested crops. wine, gourds
Colors : Orange, Dark Red, Yellow, Indigo, Maroon and Brown.
Goddesses: Modron(Welsh), Bona Dea, Harvest Dieties, Persephone, Demeter/Ceres, Morgan(Welsh- Cornish), Snake Woman(Aboriginal), Epona (Celtic-Gaulish), Pamona(Roman), the Muses(Greek).
Gods: Mabon, Modron (Welsh), Sky Father, John Barleycorn , the Wicker-Man, the Corn Man, Thoth(Egyptian), Hermes, Hotei (Japanese), Thor, Dionysus (Roman), Bacchus (Greek) and all wine Deities.
Tarot Cards: Judgment and The World
Altar Decorations: Acorns, pinecones, autumn leaves, pomegranate, statue of the Triple Goddess in her Mother phase.
Mabon Herbs: Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile, almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense, rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.
Foods of Mabon: Cornbread, wheat products, bread, grains, berries, nuts, grapes, acorns, seeds, dried fruits, corn, beans, squash, roots (i.e. onions, carrots, potatoes, etc.), hops, apples, pomegranates, carrots, onions, potatoes, roast goose or mutton, wine, ale and ciders, breads, apples, pomegranates
Animals: Dogs, wolves, stag, blackbird, owl, eagle, birds of prey, salmon & goat, Gnomes, Sphinx, Minotaur, Cyclops, Andamans and Gulons.
Element: Water.
Incense: Pine, sweet grass, apple blossom, benzoin, myrrh, frankincense, jasmine, sage wood aloes, black pepper, patchouli, cinnamon, clove, oak moss
Mabon Stones : During Mabon, stones ruled by the Sun will help bring the Sun's energy to you.clear quartz, amber, peridot, diamond, gold, citrine, yellow topaz, cat's-eye, adventurine.
Customs: offerings to land, preparing for cold weather by bringing in harvest, cutting willow wands( Druidic), leaving apples upon burial cairns & graves as a token of honor, walks in forests, gather seed pods & dried plants, fermenting grapes to make wine,picking ripe produce, stalk bundling
Spell workings of Mabon: Protection, prosperity, security, and self- confidence. Also those of harmony and balance. Taboos:It was considered unlucky to cut down the very last of the Harvest, and so was also left to stand in the field by some traditions.
Activities of Mabon:

• Select the best of each vegetable, herb, fruit, nut, and other food you have harvested or purchased and give it back to Mother Earth with prayers of thanksgiving. Hang dried ears of corn around your home in appreciation of the harvest season.
• Do meditations and chanting as you store away food for the Winter.
• Do a thanksgiving circle, offering thanks as you face each direction - - for home, finances, and physical health (North); for gifts of knowledge (East); for accomplishments in career and hobbies (South); for relationships (West); and for spiritual insights and messages (Center).
• Decorate the table with colorful autumn leaves in a basket.
• Display the fruits of the harvest - corn, gourds, nuts, grapes, apples - preferably in a cornucopia. Or decorate with wildflowers, acorns, nuts, berries, cocoons, anything that represents the harvest to you.
• Like its sister equinox, halfway across the Wheel of the Year, the Autumn Equinox is a good occasion for a ritual feast. Plan a meal that uses seasonal and symbolic fruits and vegetables. You can serve bread, squash, corn, apples, cider and wine.
• Make some homemade wine or cordial gather and dry herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods.
• Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter-sweet herb for protection.
• Use ribbons of gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow or cinnamon sticks. Make a protection charm of hazelnuts (filberts) strung on red thread.
• Make a witch's broom.
• Tie dried corn husks or herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender, peppermint, rosemary) around a strong, relatively straight branch of your choice.
• Make magic Apple Dolls Gifts of the Harvest can be used to make tools and emblems that will remind us of their bounty all year round.
• Look for colored leaves. Collect fallen leaves and make a centerpiece or bouquet for your home. Save the leaves to burn in your Yule fire.
• Visit an apple orchard and, if possible, pick your own apples. Hang apples on a tree near your home. Watch the birds and other small animals who will enjoy your gift.
• This is also the time for replacing your old broom with a new one. As the broom corn is ripe now, besom making is traditional and magickal this time of year. Begin the festival with a vineyard or orchard harvest. You might check the farm lands in your area to see if there's an orchard or pumpkin patch that allows customers to harvest produce for themselves.
• Traditionally Sabbat festivals begin at sun set on the eve of the Holiday. You can use the daytime hours of this holiday eve to prepare baskets for harvesting the next day. Baking a pumpkin pie (from scratch if possible) is a wonderful way to bring in the fragrance of the holiday season.

From The Crone's Cottage

Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh usually takes place on July 31st or August 1st (depending upon a person’s choice). My family usually celebrates Lughnasadh by visiting FaerieWorlds, and then, if the Sabbat does not take place during the festival, we will often have a small celebration of our own. Below I have included information about Lughnasadh.

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Lughnasadh
Usually takes place around August 1st
Fire Festival

Lunasa (meaning August), Lughnasaad, Lughnasadh (Celtic), First Harvest, August Eve, Feast of Cardenas, Feast of Bread, Tailltean Games (Irish), Teltain Cornucopia (Strega), Ceresalia (Ancient Roman), Harvest Home, Thingtide (Teutonic), Lammas (Christian), Laa Luanys, Elembious, Festival of Green Corn (Native American), Freyfaxi, Loaf-Fest (Norse)

Lughnasadh is the first in the trilogy of harvest festivals. It marks the beginning of the harvest season and the decline of summer into winter. 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. It is the turning point of the earth’s life cycle. Festivals and rituals typically center around the assurance of a bountiful harvest season and the celebration of the harvest cycle. A bountiful harvest insured the safe passage of the tribe through the upcoming winter months. The gathering of bilberries is an ancient ritual symbolizing the success of the of the Lughnasadh rituals. If the bilberries were bountiful, the crops would be, also.

Lughnasadh is the festival in honor of Lugh, the Irish god. Lugh, God of all skills, is known as the “Bright or Shining One”, He is associated with both the Sun and agricultural fertility. Lleu, Lugh’s equivilant in Britian and Wales, is the son of Arianrhod, Goddess of the Stars and Reincarnation.

Games of athletic prowess are played in honor of Lugh. The games are said to be funeral games for Lugh, and, in some traditions, his foster mother, who is honored at this festival because she died while preparing the fields for planting. More about the games below, under ‘customs’.

Many grains, seeds, herbs, and fruits can be harvested and dried, at this time for later use through the remaining year. Corn is one of the vital crops harvested now, and in some areas, the sacrifice of the corn king is preformed. Death and rebirth are a part of the life cycle Lugh journeys through his mating with the Goddess during the remaining waning year. The Goddess oversees the festival in her triple guise as Macha. She presides in her warrior aspect, the crow who sits afield awaiting the dead. She is the Crone, Maiden, and Mother, Anu, Banba, and Macha, who convoys the dead into the realm of the deceased. Macha is forced, while heavy with child, to race against the King of Ulster’s horses. She wins the race and gives birth to twins, and cursed the men of Ulster with the pain of labor when they most need their strength. She becomes the Queen of Ulster through battle for seven years. Her fortress in Ulster is known as the Emain Macha and it’s otherworldly form known as Emania, the Moon Goddess’ realm of death.

Lughnasadh is a time of bounty, celebration, and hopes for and abundant harvest. We celebrate the bounty of our life’s own harvest, the work we have done in and within our own lives, as well as in our community. We understand and acknowledge the need for successes in both the physical and spiritual realms. For without success and a fruitful harvest we will not have the staples we need to continue to work on all levels. Our religion is one of service, not sacrifice. For there is no service in sacrifice, and no sacrifice in service. We need to fill our own cups and when our cups runneth over, we can’t help but splash those around us with the life giving waters.

For as we are members of the Universe and children of the Mother expect to share in the benevolence of Her love. For ours is the mother who nurtures and loves Her children, sharing Her bounty. Prosperity is not amassing and hoarding a great profusion of assets. Prosperity is having more than what is essential, and never having less than we desire. We understand the abundance and magnanimity of the Universe and celebrate, recognize, and honor this.

It is appropriate to plant the seeds from the fruit consumed in ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Goddess and God.

Wheat weaving (the making of corn dollies, etc.) is an appropriate activity for  Lughnasadh.  Visits to fields, orchards, lakes and wells are also traditional. The foods of Lughnasadh include bread, blackberries and all berries, acorns (leached of their poisons first), crab apples, all grains and locally ripe produce. A cake is sometimes baked, and cider is used in place of wine. If you do make a figure of the God from bread, it can be used for the Simple Feast.

RECIPES

Lughnasadh Incense Recipe
1 Part Bay Leaves
1 Part Coriander
1 Part Cinnamon
1 Part Rosemary
1 Part Rose Petals
1 Part Rose Hips
1 Part Oak Moss
1 Part Juniper Berries
1 Part Barley berries (ground up)
1 Part Wheat berries (ground up)
1 Part Basil
1 Part Blackberry Leaves
1 Part Chamomile
1 Part Cardamom
1 Part Clove
1 Part Cannabis
2 Parts Balm of Gilead

Lughnasadh Oil
To be added in the future.

Lughnasadh Oregano Salt Sticks

CORRESPONDENCES

Symbols                          Fruitfulness, reaping, prosperity, reverence, purification, transformation, change, The Bread of Life, The Chalice of Plenty, The Ever-flowing Cup , the Groaning Board (Table of Plenty), Cornucopia, Corn Dollies, Baskets of Bread, Spear, Cauldron, Sickle/Scythe, Threshing Tools, Harvested Herbs, Bonfires, Bilberries, God figures, Phallic symbols

Colors                              Red, Orange, Golden Yellow, Green, Light brown, Gold, Bronze, Gray

Gods                               Johnny Barleycorn, Lugh, Arianrhods golden haired son Lleu ( Welsh God of the Sun & Corn where corn includes all grains, not just maize), Dagon (Phoenician Grain God), Tammuz/ Dummuzi (Sumerian), Dionysus, plus all sacrificial Gods who willingly shed blood/give their life that their people/lands may prosper, all vegetation Gods & Tanus (Gaulish Thunder God), Taranis, (Romano-Celtic Thunder God), Tina, (Etruscan-Thunder God), the waning God

Goddesses                     The Mother, Dana (Lugh’s wife and queen), Tailltiu (Welsh/Scottish), Demeter (Greek), Ceres (Roman grain goddess, honored at Ceresalia), the Barley Mother, Seelu (Cherokee), Corn Mother, Isis (Her birthday is celebrated around this time), Luna (Roman Moon goddess), other Agricultural Goddesses, the waxing Goddess

Animals                           Roosters, Calves

Mythical Creatures           Centaurs, Phoenix, Griffins

Foods                             Corn, First Fruits/Vegetables of Garden Labor, Bread, barley cakes, nuts, apples, rice, lamb, Grains, Berry Foods and any locally ripe produce, potatoes, summer squash, pears

Beverages                       Elderberry Wine, Ale, Cider, Beer, Meadowsweet Tea

Plants                             Red, Orange and Yellow Flowers; Sheaves of Grain; Grapes, Heather, Blackberries, Sloe, Crab Apples, Pears, Goldernrod, Peony, Nasturtium, Cloverblossom, Yarrow, Heliotrope, Boneset, Vervain, Queen Anne’s Lace, Myrtle, Sunflower, Rose, Poppy, Milkweed, Irish Moss, mushroom, wheat, corn, rye, oat, barley, rice, garlic, onion, basil, mint, aloe, acacia, meadowsweet, apple leaf, raspberry leaf, strawberry leaf, bilberry leaf, blueberry leaf, mugwort, hops, holly, comfrey, marigold, grape vine, ivy, hazelnut, blackthorn, elder, bee pollen

Oils/Incense                    Wood Aloes, Rose, Rosehips, Rosemary, Chamomile, Eucalyptus, Safflower, Corn, Passionflower, Frankincense, Sandalwood

Gemstones                     Aventurine, Citrine, Peridot, Sardonyx, Yellow Diamonds, Citrine, Cats-Eye, Golden Topaz, Obsidian, Moss Agate, Rhodochrosite, Clear Quartz, Marble, Slate, Granite, Lodestone, Carnelian

Essence                         Fruitfulness, reaping, prosperity, reverence, purification, transformation, change, the Bread of Life, the Chalice of Plenty, the Ever-Flowing Cup, the Groaning Board (Table of Plenty)

Customs                         Games, the traditional riding of poles/staves, country fairs, breaking bread with friends, making corn dollies, harvesting herbs for charms/rituals, Lughnasadh fire with sacred wood & dried herbs, feasting, competitions, lammas towers (fire-building team competitions), spear tossing, gathering flowers for crowns, fencing/swordplay, games of skill, martial sports, chariot races, hand-fastings, trial marriages, dancing round a corn mother (doll)

Lughnasadh Recipe–Oregano Salt Sticks

Found this recipe on Ms. Graveyard Dirt’s blog.

Oregano Salt Sticks
This recipe's been adapted from The Herb & Spice Book by Sarah Garland, any alterations made are noted below in "MS. GD NOTES".

YIELD:
Approximately 20 sticks

INGREDIENTS:
* 450g (1lb) flour
* a handful of chopped fresh oregano or marjoram
* salt
* 15g (1/2oz) fresh yeast
* 1/2 tsp brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 3 tbspns cooking oil
* 150ml (1/4 pint) warm milk
* 3 tbspns grated Parmesan cheese
* 40g (1 1/2oz) coarse sea salt

METHOD:
Put the flour and a pinch of salt to warm for a few minutes in a low oven. Crumble the yeast into a bowl, add the sugar and a few spoonfuls of warm water and mix well. Leave in a warm place until frothy. Make a well in the flour and tip into it the yeast mixture, egg, oil, and sufficient milk to make a pliable dough. Knead for a few minutes, then leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Knead in the oregano or marjoram and Parmesan. Divide the dough into about 20 pieces and roll into long sticks the thickness of a pencil. Lay them on a greased baking sheet, brush with milk, sprinkle thickly with the sea salt and leave to rise again in a warm place for 10 minutes. Bake in a moderate oven, 180C/350F/Mark 4, for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned and crisp.

MS. GD NOTES:
Instead of using fresh yeast I used dry yeast (one yeast packet, roughly 7.5g), and my cooking oil of choice was a lemon-infused rapeseed oil (locally produced!). I incorporated BOTH marjoram and oregano and threw in a small handful of fresh parsley too. What I DIDN'T do was use all of the sea salt; I sprinkled liberally down every stick until partially covered, and that turned out to be the right amount of seasoning. (I don't EVEN want to contemplate how inedible they would've been if I stuck with the instructed 40g!)

Blue Lace Agate

Blue Lace Agate is one of the rarer forms of Agate, discovered in Africa and still mined there to this day. It is characterized by a light blue color, typically with wavy lines across its surface.

• Candle Color: Pale blue.
• Chakra: Throat.
• Cleansing: Use the light of the waxing moon to recharge blue lace agate.
• Element: Air/water.
• Flowers & Plants: Bluebell, forget-me-not and periwinkle.
• Herbs - Incenses - Oils: Fern, star anise, vervain and yarrow.
• Planet: Neptune.
• Zodiac: Aquarius.

Uses:

• Use blue lace agate to help with noisy domestic animals.
• Use it to help soothe restless children.
• Use blue lace agate to send peace energy to war zones.
• It is a calming stone and can make one feel lighter and more positive.
• It is good for headaches, sore throats and swollen neck glands. It also calms stress and soothes skin conditions.
• Blue Lace agate is a peacemaker and will help avoid confrontation at family gatherings.
• Blue Lace Agate can be used to remove tension from relationships and household situations.
• It is protective against anger from others.
• It will help develop clairaudience and give difficult divination readings a positive boost.
• It Is The Stone Of: Public speakers.
• It is good for communication and clear thinking.
• It can help with stuttering, headaches, arthritis and emotional tension and anxiety. Used in treatment of arthritic conditions, strengthen skeletal structure, mending breaks & fractures, remove blockages of nervous system & capillaries, disorder of the pancreas & glands associated with digestion. Heals sore throats, hoarseness, & opens voice.
• It helps you to think on your feet when giving speeches at work.
• Can help reach extremely high spiritual spaces.
• Can also be used for fluid balance around the brain, & to diminish dilation of the blood vessels of the iris.
• Aids speaking out, self-expression, emotional truths, courage, shyness.
• It is an inspiring stone that can assist in inner attunement, and has been used to perform miracles.

Amethyst

• Candle Color - Dark blue or purple.
• Chakra - Brow.
• Cleansing - Recharge amethyst under moonlight.
• Element - Air.
• Flowers & Plants - Lavender, lilac and violet.
• Herbs/Incenses/Oils - Chamomile, lavender, patchouli and sweet grass.
• Planet - Jupiter.
• Zodiac - Aquarius.

Uses -

• Protection stone.
• Use amethyst water to help calm hyperactive pets and to stop excessive barking in dogs. It will also help to deter fleas and ticks.
• A geode should be used to help children who suffer from nightmares.
• Set in the ground in polluted areas.
• Soothes irritability, balances mood swings, dispels anger, rage, fear and anxiety.
• Aids in understanding dreams and prevents insomnia sobering effects.
• General all-round healer and is excellent for distance healing.
• Any dark or negative areas of your house should have an amethyst placed there. It will also help to soothe anger and impatience.
• It is protective against dark energy and should be placed in any part of the house (or wherever) that feels negative. Amethyst is also protective against technological pollution wherever it occurs.
• Use amethyst to enhance psychic dreams.
• It will help soothe anger and impatience and prevent you from becoming anxious.
• Amethyst will help cleanse and charge any crystals that have been used for divination, healing or protection.

Amber

Amber is fossilized resin, so is a natural organic substance that has been transformed in the Earth.

 

Candle Color – Gold

Chakra – Sacral

Cleansing – Leave Amber in the noon sunlight for a few minutes.

Element  - Fire

Flowers & Plants - Dandelion, marigold, and sunflower.

Herbs/Incenses/Oils - Bay, frankincense and saffron.

Planet - Sun.

Zodiac - Leo.

 

Magickal Uses –

• This substance is very powerful at transforming negative energy into positive energy.  Its color and transparency help soothe and enliven. Historically, it has been burnt to cleanse an environment of negativity, and used to cleanse birthing/re-birthing rooms.
• Amber is useful in turning desires into reality, particularly towards universal perfection, and also assists in the realization of unconditional love.
• Used as an elixir, or carried or worn, it purifies one’s mind, body, and spirit.  
• Another of the stones of protection, power and majesty used in the past by high-priests.
• Amber is a powerful healer and cleanser.
• Amber links the everyday self to the spiritual self and is highly protective against any negativity, especially from psychic sources and is said to be one of the better natural crystals for psychic protection.
• Helps to relieve stress and clear depression. Amber aids emotions and creates a more positive outlook on life.
• Amber is a strong stone to aid with enhancing creativity.
• For spiritual work pair an Amber stone with Moldavite or the other high crystal energy stones to aid inner transformation.
• Use amber to help animals (particularly older animals) self-heal.
• It will help children to overcome shyness and is protective against spite and sarcasm at school.
• Amber should be used in any area to guard against modern technological pollution. It will also help to safeguard ancient sites.
• Amber will attract prosperity and success. It is a lucky stone. 
• Amber will help increase inner radiance and to strengthen self-esteem.
• Amber should be used for astral travel and any past life work. It will help transform negative into positive energy.
• Amber should be used in all fertility magic and is especially effective when used in conjunction with jet. It can also be used to help invoke power and protection when channeling the wisdom of the Goddess. Amber should be used in any ritual that is performed for an area that is under threat.
• It is a stone of fertility.
• It will help you to be successful at work and it will aid in removing rigid or confrontational attitudes in others.

Physical Uses-

• Also used for healing goiter or bladder/kidney disorders.
• It’s an excellent stone to wear during and after illness to help recovery.
• It is favorable to wear it during and after illness, to bring relief from many different afflictions.
• It heals the glandular system and stimulates the healing of problems within the DNA as well as relieving karmic related illness.  It will work to heal muscular pain and promote tissue revitalization.
• Amber will help stimulate the body's ability to self-heal. It can also be used to help relieve inner ear complaints, sore throats, stomach complaints, and will help to strengthen the central nervous system, lungs and spine. It is a very good crystal for anyone suffering from anxiety or depression.