Mistletoe

Mistletoe

Also known as the golden bough. Held sacred by both the Celtic Druids and the Norseman. Once called Allheal, used in folk medicine to cure many ills. North American Indians used it for toothache, measles and dog bites. Today the plant is still used medicinally, though only in skilled hands...it's a powerful plant.


It was also the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day.


Mistletoe was used by the Druid priesthood in a very special ceremony held around this time...five days after the New Moon following winter solstice, to be precise. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from a holy oak tree with a golden sickle. The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground.


Celts believed this parasitic plant held the soul of the host tree. The priest then divided the branches into many sprigs and distributed them to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. The folklore, and the magical powers of this plant, blossomed over the centuries A sprig placed in a baby's cradle would protect the child from faeries. Giving a sprig to the first cow calving after New Year would protect the entire herd. And so forth.

Recipe Of The Week

BASIL AND GARLIC MINESTRONE


~ 3 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
~ 3 cloves garlic, minced
~ 1 scant cup olive oil
~ pinch of oregano
~ 1/2 cup whole peeled Italian tomatoes, drained
~ 1 tsp chicken bouillon (or soup base)
~ 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
~ pinch of pepper
~ pinch or red pepper flakes
~ 10 ounces spaghetti or linquine, broken
~ 3 tablespoons fresh basil, coarsely chopped
~ 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


In a large skillet, saute chopped pancetta in olive oil, when browned, stir in tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally.
Add 6 cups cold water (1 1/2 quarts). Add salt. Bring to a boil, then drop in broken pasta. Cook pasta until al dente (literally, "to the tooth", which means that the pasta should not be mushy, and should have a little "bite").


When pasta is cooked, remove from the heat. Add basil, and some of the grated cheese. Sprinkle to taste with sea salt or kosher salt, and freshly grated black pepper. Add a light dusting of hot red pepper flakes (optional), as you like it.


Serve hot, with extra Parmesan cheese at the table, for sprinkling. At my table, we never grate the cheese in advance, but the block of cheese is placed at the table with a grater, for extra helpings.


This dish is as versatile as pasta itself and can be varied as desired; a few suggestions are included below.


Substitutions and variations: Use pork soup base instead of chicken bouillon. Bacon, ham or salt pork may be used instead of pancetta. Diced fresh or canned tomatoes can be substituted for whole peeled. Fresh pasta noodles can be used in place of dry pasta.

Love Simmering Spell

Love Simmering Potpourri
from Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects by Scott Cunningham


To expand, broader or to introduce love into your life, simmer this mixture of herbs. (This can also be used to strengthen a longstanding relationship or to bring your own family closer together. Love begins within. Love yourself, then seek another with whom to share love.)


3 tbsp rose petals 
2 tbsp chamomile 
1 tbsp coriander 
1 tbsp lavender 
1 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 vanilla bean


Mix in a small bowl and charge with loving energies. Simmer while saying:


Love awakens
In these rooms
Come by the power
Of these blooms

Prosperity Spell

Prosperity Spell

This spell is best worked on a Sunday or a Thursday during the waxing moon.


Tools:
Cauldron with burning charcoal inside
Basil, Chamomile and Sage (all are herbs associated with prosperity)
Cup of water
Dish of salt or earth
Athame or wand


~ Cast the circle however you choose.
~ Invite the Lord and Lady to your circle in whatever manner is most comfortable to you.
~ Cast the herbs onto the burning charcoal while visualizing your goal -whether it be bills that you need to pay or whatever reason you are seeking financial help.
~ Sprinkle a few drops of water and salt or earth upon the charcoal.
~ As you move your athame or wand over the cauldron clockwise, to blend the energies, say:


"By the powers of air, fire, water and earth,
I release this spell.
I ask for Divine guidance as I seek help this day.
With harm to none,
this spell be done."


~ Spend a few moments in meditation, visualizing the smoke from the cauldron carrying the energies out of the circle and into the universe.
~ Thank the Lord and Lady for the assistance in your magickal working.
~ Release the circle.
~ Ground and center yourself.

Cat Spell

Spell To Become Closer To Your Cat

Preparation: 
You will need three brown candles and the following herbs:


Catnip-helps create a bond between you and your cat
Vervain-for Peace and Protection
Gardenia-for Spirituality
Saffron-for Strength
Love Seed-for Friendship
Passion Flower-for Friendship


Consecrate each herb before starting. Take 1/2 of the empowered herbs and wrap in a small square of brown cloth and tie it off with a brown cord or string. Take the other half and make a smaller satchet for your pet. Wear yours four days meditating with your pet at least once a day. You can tie the pets satchet on while meditating. After those four days take all the herbs and burn as an incense while sharing a meal with your pet.

Serenity Sunday

Dream Pillows Dream pillows are small, decorative pillows filled with stuffing and a small amount of dried, fragrant herbs, such as lavender or rose petals, to promote restful sleep or love. Dream pillows were once called comfort pillows because of their use with the sick. Relaxing herbs, like lavender and chamomile, also helped crying babies get to sleep. The shamans of old believed dream pillows carried messages from the gods. These days, you can make a dream pillow for yourself or others and help everyone sleep and dream like a baby.

Dream Pillow


Combine the following in a bowl:


~ 1 cup mugwort
~ 1/2 cup rose petals
~ 1/2 cup german chamomile
~ 1/2 cup sweet hops
~ 1/3 cup lavender buds
~ 1/3 cup crushed catnip
~ 1/4 cup peppermint


Mix the ingredients together....make cloth bags from a 5 x 12 inch piece of material....fill the bag with your mixture....sew the top of the bag shut.

*Note: Please be careful and do not use any herb or oil that may be toxic, especially if you are giving this pillow to an older child or pregnant woman. If this is a gift for a child, make sure that they are old enough not to eat the contents.





My List:


1.) My kids


2.) Making new friends


3.) Herb gardening


4.) Laughter


5) Nine of Cups days


6.) Roses


7.) My sewing machine


8.) Flonase


9.) Old movies


10.) New tarot decks

"What Is...?" Wednesday

Wildcrafting

Wildcrafting is a term for the age-old practice of collecting plant materials in their natural habitat for food, medicine, and craft. Originally such activity was the only grocery store, medicine chest, and hardware store, available to man. But eventually the “found materials” became a source of income to buy what could not be “gleaned” from nature.

Opportunities for wildcrafting are not just found in the countryside. There are “wild” places in cities and in one’s own backyard. Many landscaping plants and trees have fruit that goes to waste every year. Crabapple and quince are just two examples. In your own yard or in your neighborhood may be native persimmons, walnuts, blackberries, dandelions and wild roses. In wildcrafting we are harvesting the bounty of the earth and should always approach collecting with respect and thankfulness.

Herbs are commonly collected by wildcrafters, who may sell them fresh, dry them, or distill them into essential oils. Some wildcrafters are also herbalists, offering a variety of herbal treatments to their clients including tisanes and infusions, and they may create specialized herb blends as needed. Many of these herbs are rare and they do not do well in gardens, so wildcrafters are needed to harvest these wild plants.

Your emotional state will greatly affect your plant and habitat locating abilities. Concerns, fears, and a constant replay of yesterday's traumas will cloud your awareness of the signs around you. When you're upset, you are more likely to miss obvious animal clues, get lost in thick shrubs of the ever spiny Devil's Club, Oplopanax horridum, or even fall off a cliff. Many places of power are inaccessible without a proper emotional state. No rock climber in their right mind would attempt a difficult ascent without a centered consciousness. The same applies to plant hunters. One must approach the earth with openness and respect if you expect to learn anything from it.



Guidlines For Wildcrafting:


~ Do you have the permission or the permits for collecting at the site?


~ Do you have a positive identification?

~ Are there better stands nearby? Is the stand big enough?

~ Are you at the proper elevation?

~ Is the stand away from roads and trails?

~ Is the stand healthy?

~ Is there any chemical contamination?

~ Is there any natural contamination?

~ Are you in a fragile environment?

~ Are there rare, threatened, endangered, or sensitive plants growing nearby at any time of the year?

~ Is wildlife foraging the stand?

~ Is the stand growing, shrinking, or staying the same size?

~ Is the plant an annual or a perennial?

~ Is tending necessary and what kind?

~ How much to pick?

~ Time of day? Time of year?

~ What effect will your harvest have on the stand?

~ Do you have the proper emotional state?

~ Move around during harvesting.

~ Look around after harvesting. Any holes or cleanup needed?

~ Are you picking herbs in the proper order for a long trip?

~ Are you cleaning herbs in the field? Do you have the proper equipment for in-field processing?

An excellent educational resource for both adults and children is a board game called Wildcraft made by LearningHerbs.com. I recently purchased this game and my kids absolutely LOVE it!

Feverfew

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)), a member of the sunflower family, has been used for centuries in European folk medicine as a remedy for headaches, arthritis, and fevers. The term feverfew is adapted from the Latin word febrifugia or "fever reducer."Feverfew is also used to treat menstrual irregularities, labor difficulties, skin conditions, stomach aches, and asthma.


Feverfew is a perennial herb native to south-eastern Europe and Asia. Naturalized widely elsewhere. Found growing on rocky slopes, walls, waste places and a weed of gardens. Cultivation: A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in an ordinary garden soil, plants can even be grown in walls. Often grown in the flower garden, feverfew is usually self-sowing. The leaves have a refreshing aromatic aroma. Growing to 2 1/2 feet with  strongly aromatic leaves, light green about 4 inches long, and divided into broad, lobed segments.  Many daisy-like flower heads bloom June-August, with white ray flowers surrounding nearly flat yellow centers, growing to about 1 inch across. Gather entire plant in bloom, dry for later use.

Sunday
Color: Yellow gold
Planet: Sun
Metal: Gold
Deities: Brighid, Helios, Ra
Gemstones: Quartz crystal, diamond, amber, carnelian
Associations: Agriculture, beauty, hope, victory, self-expression and creativity.


Use Feverfew  and these herbs in tea for:

Migraine- equal parts ginger, rosemary and a caffeinated tea. 


Sinus- 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp honey, green tea.


Tension- handful mugwort (dried), honey to taste.

Serenity Sunday

Well, I'm on my way to getting my Green Witch Tea going...so many things to do. I'm keeping a blog about the whole process from beginning right up until I'm ready to advertise my tea ( you can find the link in my sidebar). There are so many things to get in order before then, I didn't realize just how much! There's  tea descriptions to write, prices to decide on, supplies to receive, labels to make, PayPal issues to resolve ( there is SO much reading just to figure out what buttons I need!)...it almost seems like making the tea is the easiest part! I hope to be ready for the marketplace in a few weeks so keep an eye out for an announcement! Any suggestions or constructive criticism is very welcomed!

My List:

1.) My children

2.) My cats

3.) Great friends

4.) Courage

5.) Quiet evenings listening to the rain

6.) Kisses

7.) Walking the dog

8.) The smell of the crisp air in the morning

9.) Hot chocolate

10.) FaceBook

~Announcement~

Hey, if you have a moment...drop by The Domestic Witch and check out her cool giveaway!  The goodies include these great items:

*A sachet of dried chamomile for magical endeavors evolving money, love and purification.


*A sachet of dried lemon balm which comforts the heart and driveth away melancholy and sadness.

*Coal, associated with the North and Earth, and it can be used with any corresponding witchery in that arena. It rules in Winter, Samhain and Yule; at night and in the third quarter to Dark Moon phases. It represents wisdom, the Sage and Crone.

*A homemade lavender smudge stick to smoke negative forces away and attract positive forces, most especially love.

Chicken Cacciatore

I haven't put up a recipe in a while, so while getting dinner ready yesterday, I got the brilliant idea to blog about my version of Chicken Cacciatore I like to add a few things that recipies usually don't have in their list of ingredients to kind of give it a bit 'o flair.

Lizzie's Chicken Cacciatore

*4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil
*1 medium green bell pepper (thinly sliced)
*1 medium yellow bell pepper (thinly sliced)
*1 medium red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
*2 medium onions (red or yellow)
*3 cups diced tomatoes, undrained
*1 large can sliced mushrooms, drained

* 1 large can sliced black olives
*2 tablespoons oregano leaves
*2 tablespoons pesto basil leaves
*3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
*Grated Parmesan cheese (to sprinkle on top just before serving)

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Rinse chicken breasts and place in 9x11 in. pan (I user a glass one), chop onions, bell peppers, garlic, and herbs and place into a large mixing bowl. Next add the oil, diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, salt and sliced olives and mix together. Pour mixture over chicken and let marinate for about an hour, cover with aluminum foil then put the chicken in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake until cooked through. Just before the chicken is done, sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and serve with a fresh sprig of parsley. Voila...bon apetite!

A Very Witchy Garden Update

The last couple weeks have been unbearably hot and it's been a bit of a struggle trying to keep my little herb garden from wilting in the sweltering afternoon heat but I've managed to do pretty good.

It wasn't that long ago that I put in my herb garden and pond and looking at the pictures I took right after I planted, I can see just how far they've come!

My cats love to dring the refreshingly cool pond water and have not benn tempted to do any fishing and love to feel hidden amongst all the bushy herbs. I have even been able to throw together a few tasty dishes with clippings taken from my favorites. I still have a few things in mind for appearance of the garden but right now, I'm feeling pretty darned pleased!

Litha

Summer Solstice (or Litha as it is also called) occurs on or about the 21st of June when the Sun enters zero degrees Cancer. It marks Midsummer for many cultures even though in most of the US summer has barely started and the kids are just now getting out of school. It is the longest day of the year and the shortest night; when the sun reaches his apex in the sky, and the days will now grow shorter as the light begins to wane.

Many legends explain this phenomena as the darkness triumphing over the light. The darker brother kills the lighter brother in these legends, and the brother who dies resides in the underworld until it is time for him to return and slay his brother again, to rule for the next 6 months. The stories of Lugh and Goronwy, and the Oak King and the Holly King are but two of these legends.

Litha celebrates the verdant Earth in summers, abundance, fertility, and all of the beauty and abundance of Nature in full bloom. This is a time of strong magic and empowerment and this time is used a lot for Handfasting ceremonies. It is also used for communication with the spirits of Nature especially the faery folk. This is a time known as the first harvest; Litha represents the pregnant Goddess and honoring the Sun God.

Herbs For Litha and their magical associations:

Basil: Love, Exorcism, Wealth, Protection

Chamomile: Relaxing, Sleep, attracting money, love, purification

Cinquefoil (five finger grass): money, protection, prophetic dreams, sleep

Fennel: Protection, healing, purification

Lavender: Relaxing, sleep, love, purification, happiness, peace

Lemon Balm: Purification and Love

Mullein: Courage, protection, health, love, divination, exorcism

Nettle: Exorcism, protection, healing, lust

Rose Petals: love, healing, divination, luck, protection

Elemental Herbs

I moved into this house just about three years ago and started to revamp the yard as it was mostly red rock (super yuck) and weeds. So far the front area is now sporting a thriving rose garden and a majority of the weeds are gone but there's this one really ugly area that I've been wracking my brain to come up with a solution to. It is a raised area that nestles in the corner of where my house and porch meet.

The previous owner had thrown in two monstrous, ugly, stinky, juniper bushes and I've been wanting to remove them, I just haven't had a whole lot of time or energy to apply myself at fixing it. Just when I thought it might have to wait till next spring, I read the page about The Language of Flowers Ritual in the book Pagan Everyday and my little light bulb switched on.

How about if I combine a small water feature with this ritual, the result would be a gorgeous little area that would catch visitors eyes like a magnet! The ritual basically goes like this...I am going to pick an herb that, to me, would signify all five elements...Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. Air could be Sage and symbolize wisdom or clarity of thought....Fire can be Lemon Balm to symbolize healing...Earth can be Briony for money and protection...Water can be Catnip for love....Spirit can be Bay symbolizing psychic powers and purification.

I'm going to place them in the directions that they correspond to and in conjuntion with the pond I have in mind, with water lilies and koi, I think this is going to be one of those projects that I can't wait to get going on and show off when finished. I think I will like explaining what my little garden represents and how it reflects my spirituality. What better way to celebrate my inner goddess!

Soothing Homemade Bath Salts

My favorite therapy for a long, stressful day has always been soaking in a hot bath with some soothing bath salts. Bath salts are very easy to make and it's a great idea for that "just because" occasion or for that someone who has everything. I have always thought that gifts made by hand are superior in every way to store bought because it saves money and is a terrific activity that includes you and your children in creating wonderful memories that will last forever.

What You'll Need:
*Large glass or metal mixing bowl
*2 cups Epsom's salts
*1 cup Sea Salt
*1/4 teaspoon Glycerin
*Essential oil for fragrance- such as vanilla, citrus or peppermint
(I like to use a few drops of Patchouli oil)
*Clean, dry jars with cork stoppers or metal screw-on lid
*optional: a couple tablespoons of dried Lavender flowers or Rosemary, you could also add a couple of cinnamon sticks or any other dried herb that you like.

How To Make It:
Try and do this on a day with low humidity, the salt will absorb moisture from the air.
1.) Combine salts in bowl and mix well. Add a couple drops of food coloring and mix well.
2.) Add glycerin and essential oil (4 or 5 drops) and mix well.
3.) Add the dry herbs
4.) Spoon salts into the jars and close them.
5.) Make a gift tag with the scent (if you used one) and suggesting using 1/3 to 1/2 cup in the bath.
Some folks like to put a few drops of food coloring in but I prefer the natural look
**Makes 3 cups of bath salts.**