Greetings, friends! In the spirit of the coming season (which we’ve been waiting for to bring out new recipes from the World of Warcraft Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel), we are preparing for the Pilgrim’s Bounty Feast aka Thanksgiving next week. I’m getting a head start by preparing my spices and herb blends in advance; because it’s…
Category: Holidays
Happy Spring! Creating House Magic for Ostara and the Equinox
Happy Ostara/Vernal Equinox! The Vernal Equinox is one of only two such magical times of the year where night and day are precisely balanced. Only on the equinox does the equator, the point of solar termination on Earth, line up with the Sun, and creates a vortex of energy; a point of balance. March is…
St. Brigid’s Day/Imbolc
St. Brigid’s Day, February 1, marks the start of Celtic spring. Imbolc, also known as the Feast of Brigid and Candlemas, on February 1, celebrates the arrival of longer, warmer days and the early signs of spring. It is one of the four major “fire” festivals (quarter days between a Solstice and an Equinox) and…
HerbMagic of the season: Lavender Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Lavender whipped cream and Lavender Vanilla Bean sugar
First off, Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you had the brightest of joy and blessings fill your house this season. Okay, now to the business… this recipe is not quick and easy. It is also not cheap. So if you are looking for quick, cheap and easy cheesecake, THIS AIN’T IT. This recipe requires…
Bright blessings for a very Cool Yule!
Yule is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the morning of the 21st 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…
Mabon: Magic Season of Balance
The coming of Autumn brings a sense of peace and security with its energies. The days are already getting shorter and the nights are longer. The crops have come in, mostly, and our larders and freezers are full of preserves, tomatoes, pickles, sauces. There is a sense of fullness and accomplishment; a welcome end to…
Rethinking Lughnasadh; The First Harvest
Lughnasadh (Lew-nah-sah) is the first of three harvest festivals on the wheel of the year with the second and third being Mabon in September and Samhain (Shah-ven in Scots Gaelic or Sow-een in Irish) in October. It is named after the Celtic god Lugh (Lew) who is a god of light, and therefore Lughnasadh/Lammas is…
Happy Litha: Full Strawberry/Honey Moon Conjuncts with Summer Solstice
Today (at 11:34 pm) is Litha, or Midsummer, or the Summer solstice. Something cool is happening as we have the full Strawberry (or Honey) moon occurring on the same day as the solstice, which is the celebration of the full power of the sun. This conjunction hasn’t happened since June 1967 (my birth year!), and…
Beltane/Bealtuinn – Welcome May!
May Day originates from the Celtic festival of Beltane/Bealtuinn/Bealtaine, which was related to the waxing power of the sun as we move closer to summer. Beltane is an ancient spring festival that celebrates joy, optimism, union and fertility. It’s an astronomical holiday, one of the year’s four cross-quarter days, or day that falls more or less midway…
Mindful Hearth 