New Years Ritual

by Sable Aradia

You will need:

• A candle
• A cookie, piece of cake, cracker, piece of fruit, or whatever small food item you prefer (seasonal fruitcake or baking is especially appropriate)
• A horn, bell, chime, drum, or other loud noisemaker (or just your voice even)
• A drinking container filled with your choice of beverage (alcohol is traditional, but feel free to substitute sparkling fruit juice or whatever celebratory drink you prefer)
• A besom or household broom

Light the candle at about a quarter to midnight on December 31.  Make the space sacred in whatever way you prefer.

Imbue the chosen food item with the energy of the past year, using the candle as a focus.  Consider what you learned, what you gained, and what you have to be thankful for.  Eat the food with the intention of accepting the gifts given in an “attitude of gratitude.”  Consciously thank the Old Year for its gifts and lessons.  If you like, you may also thank your household gods and spirits for protecting you through the year and make offering to them at this time.
Fill the drinking container with your chosen drink and set it by the candle.
Observe the countdown to midnight in whatever manner you prefer.  Listen to the radio, gather around your clock to count down the seconds, or turn on your TV and watch the descent of the ball in Times Square.

At the stroke of midnight, bellow “Happy New Year!” and make noise!  (I like to go to my door and blow a horn three times at the threshold.  For me this invites the Wild Hunt to chase ill-meaning energies and spirits away.)  Maybe sing “Auld Lang Syne” if you don’t have noisemakers (or just want to).  Traditionally, all the noise scares away evil spirits.

Take the broom and sweep negative energy out of the house, ending with your most-used entranceway.  Shut the door firmly on it and lay the broom across the doorframe.  This symbolically seals the threshold against the return of what you’ve banished.  (I also view it as an omen; the first person who crosses the threshold and steps over the broom will have a powerful effect on the household in the next year.  I usually leave it until it has been crossed by both someone from the household and a guest.)  If you don’t want to leave it for a long time because it’s in the way, at least try to leave the broom for the night before you remove it.
Imbue the drink with the energy of promises and hope for the New Year and make a celebratory toast, drinking deeply of the liquid.  This would be a good time to make oaths, New Year’s resolutions, or engage in the Norse “brag and boast” custom. Drink all of the liquid (and make sure to offer some to the household spirits also, if that is part of your custom.)

Thank the gods you follow and extinguish the candle; or leave it burn for the rest of the night until it goes out, symbolizing the light of hope in darkness (to do that, you can often put it in a kitchen sink if you’re worried about possible accidents; even if it spills over, sinks are usually fireproof.)
That’s it!  Happy New Year to you!

Peppermint lip balm DIY

Pies

WITCH TIP When making pies you can inscribe sigils and symbols into the crust to add magic to the finished product.

ROSEMARY

Rosemary: burn rosemary to rid your home of negative energy, or as an incense while you meditate. 

Hang bundles on your front door to keep harmful or negative people from entering. 

Stuff a healing poppet with dried rosemary to take advantage of its medicinal properties, or mix it with juniper berries and burn in a sickroom to promote healthy recovery. 

In spell work, substitute rosemary for other herbs such as frankincense, if needed.

You might be a Redneck Pagan

You might be a Redneck Pagan.......

if your cakes-n-ale are cornbread and moonshine.

if  your voodoo doll is made of WalMart bags.

 if "All Hail" is often misinterpreted as "awww hell"

if you gall stones for runes

 if instead of colored candles you use colored Yule lights.

if skinny dipping in the crik is part of your ritual bathing.

if your ritual robe is made out of mossy oak camo.

 if your ritual knife is also a skinning knife

if your chalice is a red solo cup

 if your ritual chalice is a mason jar that once had pickles in it.

if your cauldron is also a wash tub...

 if your cauldron is the old rusty top-load washing machine in the front yard

if you reenact the wild hunt, and actually hunt

if you call the quarters as "North, East, South and Over Yonder."

 

Altar blessing

Orange Scones

Orange Scones

For the scones:
½ cups orange juice, freshly squeezed
 ¼ cup buttermilk
1 whole large egg
2 T. orange zest
3 cups flour
⅔ cups sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt
2 sticks butter

Preheat oven to 350° F.

To make the scones, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, egg, and orange zest.  Set aside.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Bake for 20-25 min.... 400 degrees

For the glaze:
3-½ cups powdered sugar
⅔ cups orange juice
1 Tablespoon orange zest
¼ teaspoons salt
To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and salt until smooth.  Adjust sugar/liquid to reach desired consistency.

Sweep away your troubles

Sorrel

 

 No matter what it's called, it's a totally tasty treat!!!!!  I grew up eating this, and now I grow it in my own garden.... but, people with lawns just think of this as a weed!

 

 

Common sorrel has been cultivated for centuries. The leaves may be pureed in soups and sauces or added to salads; they have a flavor that is similar to kiwifruit or sour wild strawberries. The plant's sharp taste is due to oxalic acid, which is mildly toxic.

 

In northern Nigeria, sorrel is known as yakuwa or sure (pronounced suuray) in Hausa or karassu in Kanuri. It is also used in stews usually in addition to spinach. In some Hausa communities, it is steamed and made into salad using kuli-kuli (traditional roasted peanut cakes with oil extracted), salt, pepper, onion and tomatoes. The recipe varies according to different levels of household income. A drink called zobo (sorrel squash) is made from a decoction of the plant calyx.

 

In Romania, wild or garden sorrel, known as măcriş or ştevie, is used to make sour soups, stewed with spinach, added fresh to lettuce and spinach in salads or over open sandwiches.

 

In Russia and Ukraine it is called shchavel (щавель) and is used to make soup called green borscht. It is used as a soup ingredient in other countries, too (e.g. Lithuania, where it is known as rūgštynė).

 

In Hungary the plant and its leaves are known as sóska (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈʃoːʃkɒ]). It is called kuzukulağı ('lamb's ear') in Turkish. In Polish it is called szczaw.

 

In Croatia and Bulgaria is used for soups or with mashed potatoes, or as part of a traditional dish containing eel and other green herbs.

 

In rural Greece it is used with spinach, leeks, and chard in spanakopita.

 

In the Flemish part of Belgium it is called zurkel and preserved pureed sorrel is mixed with mashed potatoes and eaten with sausages, meatballs or fried bacon, as a traditional winter dish.

 

In Vietnam it is called Rau Chua and is used to added fresh to lettuce and in salads for Bánh Xēo.

 

In Portugal, it is called azeda or azeda-brava , "sour", "fierce sour", and is usually eaten raw in salads or used to make soups. This is identical to its use in Brazil, under the name of azedinha , "small/lovely tart").

 

In India, the leaves are called chukkakura in Telugu, and are used in making delicious recipes. Chukkakura pappu soup made with yellow lentils is also called toor dal in India.

 

In Albania it is called lëpjeta, the leaves are simmered and served cold marinated in olive oil, it is used in soups, and even as an ingredient for filling byrek pies (byrek me lakra).

This name can be confused with the hibiscus calyces or hibiscus tea.

Health Protection Spell