Lughnasadh Blessings: Welcoming the Harvest

Wishing you all a beautiful Lughnasadh tomorrow, however you may celebrate it.

I find this Sabbat incredibly bittersweet. We are well beyond the Summer Solstice now and we are heading towards the darker part of the year. I’m not looking forward to the damp and cold, which start in September in our old stone house. It means there are only two seasons here; winter and summer, and summer has (nearly) gone all too quickly. I’m actually quite nervous of what’s to come as last winter was so difficult.

What are you doing to celebrate this turn of the Wheel?

What is the harvest you gather this year?

I am proud of my ability to keep going, even though this year has been very challenging and the challenges are not over yet. 

However you celebrate I hope it’s a good one. Love and blessings,

Wren. X

NEXT - Journaling: Harvest Reflections for Lughnasadh

NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Lughnasadh

Review: Sunflower Journal (Autumn 2022)

There’s no better way to celebrate autumn than by grabbing a blanket, a cuppa and the latest edition of Sunflower Journal (@sunflowerjournalmag)

The only way I can describe this publication is utterly enchanting. It gently takes you through the seasons, providing articles for celebration and reflection, with a sprinkle of seasonal crafts.

The Autumn 2022 issue has several delicious recipes ~ Apple and Caramel Cupcakes did NOT escape my eye ~ plus all sorts of Autumn Equinox and Samhain joy.

Thank you, Carmen Rose, for sending this - I think it’s your best issue yet!

What are you waiting for? Grab a copy of Sunflower Journal for some seasonal cheer and let it keep you company as the days get colder and darker.

NEXT - Review: The Bewitching by Jill Dawson 

Autumn Equinox Blessings!

A blessed Autumn Equinox everyone!

I didn’t observe it at the official time of 02:03 this morning, I was happily tucked up in bed.

Some people refer to this festival as Mabon, a name which was adopted in 1974 from Welsh mythology, but it has little to do with the Autumn Equinox. Mabon is taken from Mabon ap Modron, which means “Son, son of Mother.”

Using the name “Mabon” came into usage when Aidan Kelly tried to find a myth associated with autumn, in the same way that some associate Kore (Persephone) with spring. Some Welsh people dislike this appropriation of their mythology, and it takes away from the figure of Mabon ap Modron, so I tend to avoid the term where possible.

The Equinoxes appear twice a year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Spring (or “Vernal”) Equinox happens around the 20th March, and the Autumn Equinox falls around the 22nd September.

The Equinoxes appear between the Solstices, and mark the point at which the Sun crosses the equator’s path, and becomes positioned exactly above the equator. They are a tipping point. Although the days started getting shorter at the Summer Solstice, we are now surpassing the point of balance and the nights will become longer than the days. The process starts all over again at the Winter Solstice, and at the Spring Equinox the days will start to be longer than the nights.

During the Equinox the day and night are roughly the same length - they are nearly equal. A few days after the Autumn Equinox we have the Equilux - when the day and night are exactly equal. The Equilux in March happens a few days before the Spring Equinox.

Equi = equal 

Nox = night 

Lux = light

I love the solstices and equinoxes for their astronomical roles in our calendar. The extremes - the longest and shortest days (the solstices), with the balanced and liminal days in between (the equinoxes).

Today we had Sunrise at 0650hrs, and Sunset will be at 1900hrs, so the descent towards darkness is quite marked now.

Wishing you many autumnal blessings from my home to yours. 

NEXT - Magickal Places: The Goddess Temple - Glastonbury
NEXT - Review: Witchology Magazine - Mabon 2020 Issue
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Blackberry
NEXT - Recipe: Wren's Faery Berry Jam

Recipe: Wren's Faery Berry Jam

As there are so many connections between faeries, elderberries and blackberries, I named this jam Wren's Faery Berry Jam.

WREN'S FAERY BERRY JAM

Ingredients:
800g Blackberries

200g Elderberries

1kg Jam Sugar (has added pectin)

2 Lemons, juiced

Butter, small nob (optional)

Method:

1. Put a saucer in the freezer.

2. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and berries.

3. Heat on a low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Turn the heat up and cook on a rolling boil for ten minutes, being sure to stir, so that no fruit burns or sticks to the pan. Skim off any scum.

5. Put a small blob of the mixture on the saucer, and leave aside for a minute. 

6. Push the mixture with your finger - if it wrinkles the mixture is ready.

7. If it doesn’t wrinkle, cook for another 5 minutes and then try again. Keep trying until it’s ready.

8. When the mixture is ready, stir in the butter to dissolve any scum. (I personally don’t bother).

9. Pour into sterilised jars, top with a waxed disc, and add the lid. Do this when hot.

10. Store in a cool, dark place. 

NEXT - Recipe: Elderberry Vinegar
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Blackberry
NEXT - Review: Witchology Magazine - Mabon 2020 Issue
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Foxgloves 

Recipe: Elderberry Vinegar

The elderberries are out! At least they are in my part of the Midlands.

‼️ Please be aware that elderberries should NEVER be eaten raw or undercooked, so please avoid the common advice to put them in muffins or apple pies. They must be cooked thoroughly at heat to handle the cyanide-inducing glycosides. Failure to do so can result in nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Here is a gorgeous recipe using elderberries that we love at home - I like to put this stuff on my chips!

ELDERBERRY VINEGAR

Ingredients:
200g Elderberries

500ml Red Wine Vinegar

50g Sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Wash the berries.

2. Remove from the stalks into a pan using a fork. Mash slightly. Add the Red Wine Vinegar.

3. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down a little, simmering on a high heat for 10 minutes.

4. Decant into a sterilised jar and leave to cool before closing the lid.

5. Store in a cool dark place for 1 month.

ONE MONTH LATER...

1. Strain. Use the berries in stews, soups, salads, or discard.

2. Decant the vinegar into a sterilised bottle

- or -

add back to the pan with the sugar, heat until the sugar has dissolved, and bottle.

Don’t forget to Save this post for later. You can actually create folders of Saved items to find them easier later. This one is good for “Autumn Recipes”.

The elder is associated with the Faerie lands and is sacred to many goddess traditions, especially to the goddesses Venus and Holle. 

NEXT - Recipe: Wild Garlic Pesto
NEXT - Review: Traditional Jams & Preserves by Eve Parker
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Cleavers

Journaling: Harvest Reflections for Lughnasadh

The beautiful fields of golden grain that carpet my local landscape have all been brought in now. We celebrated Lughnasadh earlier on in August, but the harvest energy is still current.

I think Lughnasadh, and the weeks that follow up to the Autumn Equinox, are the best time in the year for reflection and goal setting, so I spent some time thinking about Grimoire journaling prompts for this time. It’s important to think about our own personal harvests and the direction we want to move in over the coming months.

Journal prompts:

• What are you harvesting in your life right now?
• What has been the highlight of the last twelve months?
• What achievement are you particularly proud of?
• Where is there room for improvement?
• What would you like to achieve in the next twelve month?
• Why is this important to you?

What have you achieved over the last twelve months? Is there something you have achieved that you are particularly proud of? 

NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Lughnasadh 

NEXT - Autumn Equinox Blessings

Fabulous Folklore: Pumpkins

There’s a lot of blurring between Halloween and Samhain, and this is especially true on Instagram. In fact, Samhain is the only festival that Stewart and Janet Farrar suggested celebrating on a different date, mostly so that observances would not be interrupted by trick or treaters.

So how have pumpkins come to be associated with both festivals and this time of year?

It has been suggested that at around November 1st, the Celts carved faces into turnips and put candles inside to distract wandering spirits. It was believed that the souls of those who had died that year traveled to the otherworld, and some souls would return to their homes.

We also have the story of Stingy Jack, a mythical creature associated with All Hallows’ Eve. The story goes that Jack, a devious and manipulative drunkard living in Ireland several centuries ago, cleverly tricked Satan into turning himself into a coin to pay for Jack’s drinking, which ultimately spared Jack’s soul from Satan, but also stopped it from entering heaven. Jack was left to roam in limbo, with only an ember, which he placed in a hollowed out turnip to light the way. The ghostly figure was known as Jack of the Lantern, then later Jack O’Lantern.

Jack used the lantern to guide his soul, in the same way that the lit turnips of the Celts would guide spirits, and scare off evil spirits.

European traditions made their way across the Atlantic with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the mid-1800s, and pumpkins - native to North America and absolutely perfect for lanterns - were used, and I guess eventually found their way back to the UK. Turnip, potato and beet “pumpkins” were all carved in the UK long before regular pumpkins were used.

I’m a day late but I’m going to tag @pagan.parenting for their October challenge. Their theme for the first week was “Harvest”, and this gorgeous pumpkin patch will be harvested very soon.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Toads in Witchcraft

NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Samhain - The Celtic Roots of the Modern Halloween Custom

NEXT - Customs & Traditions: Samhain

Word Magick: The Season of the Witch

We’re halfway through September, so I’m late to the party, but I wanted to add my voice to what Louisa @thewitchesstone and Crow @marget.inglis_witchcraft think about the suggestion, made by many witches, that autumn is the “Season of the Witch.”

Don’t get me wrong - I love the “-ber” months as much the next person - but I always feel a bit confused when 1st September rolls around, and everyone is going a bit bonkers about the “Season of the Witch.”

I love autumn. I get excited for the leaves changing colour. The trees shedding them is the perfect reminder that it’s ok to let some things go. I appreciate the cooler temperatures, and embrace getting my boots, scarves and chunky knits out. I adore Samhain for its depth and beauty; for the opportunity for reflection and remembrance, but like Louisa and Crow, I don’t agree that autumn is the Season of the Witch.

To me, Witchcraft, and indeed life, is all about balance. Many (but not all) modern pagans, witches and Wiccans celebrate the Wheel of the Year; the cyclical journey through the seasons. At each point on the Wheel we are afforded an opportunity for introspection, a chance to look backwards, and forwards. There is balance in each festival, each season, the year. Each Sabbat has something special for witches and pagans. Therefore in my mind, EVERY season is the Season of the Witch.

I do understand having a favourite festival and season. Beltane will always, always have my heart! Summer will always be my favourite time of the year. Maybe it’s just that the majority of witches love the autumn?

What do you think?

Do you think autumn is the Season of the Witch? If so, why is that? Has it become known as the Season of the Witch because of the association of witches at Halloween? (Which is separate to Samhain, of course).

If autumn is your favourite season what is it you love about this time so much?

Maybe another season is your favourite? If so, what is your favourite season (or festival), and why?

I’d love to hear your thoughts! 

NEXT - Samhain: Samhain Night Blessings 

NEXT - Personal Magick: My Beltane Handfasting 

NEXT - Magickal Places: The Goddess Temple - Glastonbury

Magickal Places: The Goddess Temple - Glastonbury

Here is this year’s Autumn Equinox altar at the Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

The Glastonbury Goddess Temple is a community organisation dedicated to worship of the indigenous British Goddess in all Her forms. It is believed to be the first formally recognised public indigenous British Goddess Temple in Europe for 1500 years (or more).

The Temple was originally pop-up in structure, but has been permanently housed in the High Street since Imbolc 2002, formally being recognised as a place of worship the following year.

As you can see it has been decorated in beautiful Mabon colours. It was the first time in all the years I’ve been visiting that it was empty, so Mr Cemetery and I had a beautiful and private moment of reflection, introspection, and contemplation together.

I always find the run up to Samhain a very deep and thoughtful time; my thoughts always stray to those who have passed over. 

NEXT - Autumn Equinox Blessings
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Sheela-na-Gig
NEXT - Recipe: Wren's Autumn Apple Cake

Recipe: Faery Berry Jam

Tread quietly,

O people, hush!

For don’t you see,

A spotted thrush,

One thrush or two,

Or even three,

In every laden elder-tree?

They pull and lug,

They flap and push,

They peck and tug,

To strip the bush;

They forsaken

Snail and slug;

Unseen I watch them, safe and snug!

The Elderberry Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker

As there are so many connections between faeries, and elderberries and blackberries; I call this my Faery Berry Jam.

FAERY BERRY JAM

Ingredients:

800kg Blackberries

200g Elderberries

1kg Jam Sugar (added pectin)

2 Lemons, juiced

Butter, small nob (optional)

Method:

1. Put a saucer in the freezer.

2. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and berries.

3. Heat on a low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Turn the heat up and cook on a rolling boil for ten minutes, being sure to stir, so that no fruit burns or sticks to the pan. Skim off any scum.

5. Put a small blob of the mixture on the saucer, and leave aside for a minute. 

6. Push the mixture with your finger - if it wrinkles the mixture is ready.

7. If it doesn’t wrinkle, cook for another 5 minutes and then try again. Keep trying until it’s ready.

8. When the mixture is ready, stir in the butter to dissolve any scum. (I personally don’t bother).

9. Pour into sterilised jars, top with a waxed disc, and add the lid. Do this when hot.

10. Store in a cool, dark place. 

NEXT - Recipe: Elderberry Vinegar
NEXT - Autumn Equinox Blessings!
NEXT - Magickal Places: The Goddess Temple - Glastonbury

Fabulous Folklore: All Hail the Blackberry!

One of the best things about the arrival of autumn is blackberries! I’m always overtaken with an urge to create from the hedgerows at this time of year, it must be survival instinct to prepare for winter.

The Bramble (Muin) rules over the 10th lunar month in the Celtic Ogham - 2nd-29th September. (Some sources replace Muin with Vine.)

I love Blackberry, she is very direct, and firm in her demand for respect. And it’s not just her brambles! I got stung by intertwining nettles when picking these.

Bramble is used in healing, money, and divination magic - use leaf, thorn, and twig in mojo bags and charms. Bramble is also very good for prosperity magic in relation to wellbeing - for food, shelter, and creative endeavours related to financial success.

There is an abundance of Bramble stories and lore. Some say that as Blackberries ripen, their colour represents aspects of the Triple Goddess: first green (Maiden), then red (Mother), and then black (Crone).

Some say Brambles offer protection against vampires. Planted near the home the vampire will be distracted, obsessively counting the berries and forgetting what he is about!

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Blackberry

NEXT - Recipe; Faery Berry Jam

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Yew

Fabulous Folklore: Blackberry

Blackberry ~ Rubus fruticosus

Also known as Bramble, Bumble-Kite, Bly, Brambleberry, Scaldhead, Dewberry. It’s not a berry as such - it’s an aggregate fruit made up of tiny "drupelets."

There is an abundance of Bramble folklore. British stories say that Michaelmas (29th September) is the last day that Blackberries can be picked. This is the day that St Michael cast the Devil from Heaven. He fell out of the sky, landed in a Blackberry bush, and cursed the berries. He scorched them with his fire (it’s notable that leaf miner appears on the leaves around this time), and urinated and spat on them, making them unpalatable (it’s true that Blackberries aren’t that nice after this date). Consequently, Blackberries are known as the “Devil’s Fruit” by some people in the U.K.

Manx folklore states that the first berries of the season should be left for the Faery Folk. If you ignore this advice then any berries you eat thereafter will be full of grubs!

It was once believed that Bramble had healing powers; sick people passed through the loop of a branch were believed to be cured of rheumatism, whooping cough, rockets and hernias.

Blackberries make the perfect ritual food, and are often left as offerings to nature spirits and Faery Folk. They are said to offer protection from earthbound spirits. 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Fairy Rings  

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Bittersweet

Recipe: Elderberry Vinegar

Autumn Equinox blessings to you all! As we enter this liminal space of balance, may you gather abundance in preparation for the darkness ahead, and may the seeds you plant now bring you cheer next year.

Equinox blessings to our brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere, also; have a blessed Ostara!

I’ll be celebrating today by bottling the Elderberry Vinegar that I started last month...

ELDERBERRY VINEGAR

Ingredients: 

200g Elderberries

500ml Red Wine Vinegar

50g Sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Wash the berries.

2. Remove from the stalks into a pan using a fork. Mash slightly. Add the Red Wine Vinegar.

3. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down a little, simmering on a high heat for 10 minutes.

4. Decant into a sterilised jar and leave to cool before closing the lid.

5. Store in a cool dark place for 1 month.

Method - One Month Later:

1. Strain. Use the berries in stews, soups, salads, or discard.

2. Decant the vinegar into a sterilised bottle

- or -

add back to the pan with the sugar, heat until the sugar has dissolved, and bottle.

What are you doing to celebrate the Equinox?! Do you have any special traditions for this time of year?

Wishing you an abundance of love and good wishes! 

NEXT - Recipe: Beltane Carrot Cake
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Fairy Rings
NEXT - Pagan Holidays: 65 Samhain Magickal Correspondences