Friday May 1st is almost here, so we wanted once again to peel back the curtain and show you our personal ways to celebrate Beltane. DISCLAIMER: Many items profiled in this article are sold in our shop at mysteriousdragonfyre.com. We recommend them because we use them regularly in our practice. Deity & Decoration This festival of fire and fertility opens the doors to the worship of all manner of Gods and Goddessses, including Fire, Fertility, Nature, and Solar Deities, and there are many to chose from. We personally turn to the Egyptian pantheon at this time, worshiping and honoring Ra and Sekhmet. You may feel the pull of the May Queen Herself, the Welsh Goddess Creiddylad, but if not, here's a (very) short list of other Deities you may feel inspired by right now: Artemis, Bacchus, Bel, Cernunnos, Demeter, Flora, The Green Man, Hera, Pan, and Sheela-na-Gig. We certainly have a lot going on here! To honor the Fire festival, we have lots of Fire! Six taper candles in shades of yellow and green are woven into the spaces of our altar tile, three tealights, again in shades of yellow and green, and the main event, a fiery cauldron! Earth and Nature are represented by a richly coloured green altar cloth, a Flower of Life incense holder, salt in one of the chalices (family heirlooms I love to use), a clover plant and home made wreaths of spring flowers. It's still cold here in the GTA, so this was what I could gather from my own garden. Bird's feathers and green moss agates round out this category. Goddess and God are heavily represented on our altar since this is also a fertility festival. Sticks of incense and tall taper candles represent the Male, while chalices and a cauldron represent the Female. In honor of The Great Rite, we have the phallic, masculine, Maypole surrounded by the feminine wreath, and the athame penetrating another floral wreath evoke the same symbolism. There are many ways to decorate and personalize your altar for Beltane. Green is the traditional colour for altar cloths, but you can also use yellow or blue. Add as many candles as you like, along with acorns, antlers, bees, birds, braids, butterflies, Deity statues, horns, rings, seeds, spring flowers, statuettes of couples, sticks, and swords. Sprinkle some stones and crystals about, such as amber, carnelian, emerald, fire agate, and malachite. Lastly, add the wonderful scents of jasmine, peach, rose, ylang ylang, and vanilla incense. Traditional & Modern Ways to Celebrate Beltane is the perfect time of year to perform fertility and love spells. Indeed, all spellwork related to closeness and prosperity are powerful at this time of year, whether you perform them with the intention of bringing another person closer, communion with your chosen Gods and Goddesses, fertile crops, or financial prosperity. We would be remiss to post a list of May Day activities without starting with the most popular and widely known: dancing around the Maypole. MarthaStewart.com has a simple step-by-step guide you can follow to make one of your very own. I would suggest a floral ring for the topper rather than a finial, in keeping with tradition. If you don't want to erect a large pole in your backyard, or you don't have access to one, make a Maypole centerpiece for your altar like we did! Have a (safe!) backyard bonfire. Traditionally, the Celts put out all other fires and kindled a special, sacred fire. All the people in the community came out and jumped the fire to purify themselves and to bring fertility. They would also drive their farm animals through the smoke for the same reasons. Once the celebrations were over, everyone took some of the sacred fire home with them to restart their own fires. Spend some nature time and dress a tree. Traditionally, hawthorn, rowan, and birch trees were decorated with ribbons at Beltane, but any tree you choose will be happy for your company. As you tie a ribbon onto a branch, make a wish or say a prayer. Once you're done, dance around the tree, sing to it, talk to it, and/or just sit at it's base and honor the tree and it's fertility. Make a wreath or headdress of fresh spring flowers. That may be a little more difficult for those if us who are Canadian and are just starting to warm up, but this time of year has it's fair share of grape hyacinth and a few yellow daffodils showing off their bright colours in my front yard. A walk through your local wild space will net you some pretty foliage that you can use, or you can always use greenery and make a mask to honor The Green Man. Delicious Things to Eat Traditional foods to enjoy and share with friends and family during Beltane include: fresh baked bread, honey, oats (bannocks, oatmeal, oat cakes, oatmeal cookies), and dairy (creams and cheeses). Here are a few of our favorite recipes for you to try out. Strawberry Oatmeal Crisp 1 cup uncooked rolled oat flakes 1 cup flour 1 cup brown sugar ¼ cup chopped walnuts ½ cup butter ½ cup white sugar ¼ tsp salt 3 tbsp maple syrup 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries *Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8" square pan with parchment paper. *Mix together oatmeal, nuts, flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. *In another bowl, mix together strawberries and white sugar. *Spread half the oat mixture on bottom and cover with strawberries, then spread remaining oat mixture over top. *Bake for 60 minutes. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies ½ cup + 2 tbsp softened butter ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 1 egg 1½ tsp vanilla ¾ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt 2½ cups oat flour 1 cup chocolate chips *Cream the butter with the sugars then mix in the egg and vanilla until smooth. *Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, mix until well combined, then stir into the wet ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips. *Refrigerate 2-6 hours. *Spoon onto baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden brown Asparagus & Goat Cheese Quiche Source: southernliving.com ½ (15-oz.) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury) 1 small bunch fresh asparagus spears, ends trimmed 2 tbsp unsalted butter 1 large leek, thinly sliced 8 large eggs 1 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1½ tsp kosher salt ¼ tsp black pepper 4 tbsp crumbled goat cheese Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish *Preheat oven to 400°F. *Prepare the crust: Roll the pie dough to 1⁄8-inch thickness, and transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan, and trim excess dough around edges. Line bottom of dough with aluminum foil (or parchment paper), and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 5 minutes. Remove pie weights and foil, and prick bottom of pastry evenly with a fork. Return to oven; bake until pastry is light golden brown, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; cool crust completely, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. *Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Set aside 6 or 7 whole asparagus spears, and cut remaining asparagus into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high. Add leek, and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in asparagus pieces, and cook, stirring often, until bright green, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat; cool vegetable mixture 5 minutes. *Whisk together eggs, cream, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until well combined. Transfer cooled crust to a baking sheet. Spoon vegetable mixture over the bottom of the crust, and sprinkle evenly with crumbled goat cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable-goat cheese mixture. Arrange the reserved whole asparagus spears on top. *Bake quiche at 350°F until center is just set, 50 to 55 minutes, shielding crust with aluminum foil after 10 minutes, if needed, to prevent excess browning. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool at least 15 minutes. Remove quiche from pan, and garnish with parsley leaves before serving. Thank you for spending some of your time with me. I wish you a blessed Beltane!
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As Ostara fast approaches, falling on Thursday March 19th, I wanted to share some recipes, decorations, and ways to celebrate the Spring Equinox as the Wheel turns again. DISCLAIMER: Many items profiled in this article are sold in my new shop at mysteriousdragonfyre.com. I recommend them because I use them regularly in my practice. Deity & Decoration Ostara is a wonderful time of year to ask blessings of and give offering to the Triple Goddess. In Dragonfyre Wicca, this is the time of year when the Queen of the Witches features prominently in our rites and rituals, and we set our altar with items sacred to Hecate. No matter which Deity you prefer to work with, it is easy to use our setup as a guide. As you can see in the picture above, we have the main items set in the shape of a pentagram, with a framed print of the Triple Goddess representing Spirit, a beautiful chalice that belonged to my grandmother filled with spring water representing the Water Element, a patchouli-scented candle resting in a glittery holder represents Fire, Earth is represented with a soapstone trinket box containing pink salt*, and finally, a black brass incense burner contains purple sand, a charcoal disc, and some dried lavender, ready to burn during prayer. For an offering bowl, we used a tiny selenite bowl and filled it with apple chips that just came out of the oven. This is the basic setup, which features items sacred to Hecate. Since it is Ostara, we like to add a few extra decorations which represent the Sabbat: We’ve included a picture of our decorated altar, where we’ve added some yellow flowers and a potted shamrock, an egg (dyed using turmeric, see below) in a 'nest' of fresh thyme, and some rose quartz. Feel free to add any of the above, or mix it up a little with a floral wreath made from springtime wildflowers, which you can wear during ritual, then place around your statue or picture, statues of small springtime animals such as bunnies or lambs, and herbs and stones of the season such as lemon balm, sunflower seeds, rosehips, vervain, clear quartz, agates, lapis lazuli, and amazonite. Traditional & Modern Ways to Celebrate Ostara is all about springtime and the celebration of new life, and so at this time, it is a good idea to perform spells for prosperity, growth, and agriculture. In the days leading up to Ostara, dyeing hard boiled eggs is an ancient tradition that survives to the present day among Wiccans, Christians, and many others. Highlight your wishes for the new season by decorating them with symbols of the season, and then consecrate them in the name of the Goddess of Spring and the God of the Sun. Runes are perfect to decorate your eggs with. Pictured above: Berkano - beginnings | Fehu - wealth | Sowilo - good fortune | Wunjo - joy. Photo Credit: Peter Lomas via Pixabay Dyeing eggs from natural foods you may already have in your home is incredibly easy. Here are the basics: Bring 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to a boil. Add colouring ingredient, lower heat, and simmer for a half hour. When the 30 minutes are up, remove pot from heat and let cool completely and strain to remove foodstuffs. Now, you can add your eggs, and once they reach the shade you like, remove them (with tongs!), dry them with a paper towel, and enjoy! 4 cups chopped beets will make pink eggs, 4 cups of onion skins orange, 3 tablespoons ground turmeric yellow, 3 cups of chopped red cabbage light blue, and 4 cups of blueberries dark blue. I found this recipe and the colour combinations at goodhousekeeping.com, click on the link to be taken to their page with full instructions. You can also create magickal amulets and talismans for fertility, protection, and prosperity. wisewitches&witchcraft.com has a great article with step by step instructions how to make portable magickal items. On Ostara Eve, place some patchouli incense in a hanging censer (or any incense burner you can carry without dropping or burning yourself) and light a lavender candle (also in a receptacle that enables you to safely carry it). Carry both throughout your home, briefly visiting each room, and bid farewell to Winter and welcome the Spring. Once your celebrations are done, take your crushed eggshells and toss them into your garden as an offering to the Fae Folk and as fertilizer for the new plants that will soon begin to poke their heads through the soil. Delicious Things to Eat Traditional foods to enjoy and share with friends and family during Ostara include: biscuits, cheese, eggs, fish, ham, honey cakes, lamb, nuts, seeds, and sprouts. Here are a few of our favorite recipes for you to try out: Deviled Eggs 6 eggs [hard boiled, cooled, and peeled] 1 shallot, finely diced 3 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper Smoky (sweet) or Hungarian (hot) paprika *Slice eggs lengthwise and remove yolks with a small spoon, being careful not to damage the white. Place whites on a plate and yolks in a small bowl. *Add all remaining ingredients except paprika and mash and stir together with a fork. *Spoon (or pipe) mixture back into holes left by the yolks, and top each with a pinch of paprika. Honey Cakes (I found this wonderful recipe for Medieval Honey Cake online! I bake them in ramekins so they’re smaller, and bake for only about 30 minutes. Source: poppyandprune.com) 3 cups cake flour 1 cup honey ½ cup oil ½ cup milk *Preheat oven to 350°. Line the bottom of a 9” round cake pan with parchment paper and oil the interior. *Mix together flour and honey. When reasonably combined, mix in oil. Then add the milk. When thoroughly mixed, the batter should have a consistency not unlike that of Play-Doh. *Spread the batter into the pan, smoothing with a spatula. Bake 35-40 minutes. This cake is best served warm. Ham & Spinach Quiche (Source: catzinthekitchen.com) 1 store bought pie crust 7 eggs 1 cup chopped fresh spinach 1 cup chopped cooked ham Salt and pepper 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream 2 cups shredded cheese (a blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack) *Preheat oven to 400 degrees. *Place pie crust in pan, flattening it into the sides and trimming any excess. Place in fridge while preparing filling. *Crack eggs into a large bowl, and add heavy cream. Beat until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then stir in cheeses. Add ham and spinach and stir the entire mixture until well combined. *Pour mixture into pie crust, using a spoon to ensure that it spreads about evenly. Carefully place quiche in oven, and bake for 35 minutes, or until texture is “jiggly” but solid. *Remove from oven and let sit for three to four minutes, then cut and serve immediately. Thank you for spending some of your time with me.
I wish you a blessed Ostara! |
AuthorHi! I'm Sonja and I'm glad you're here! I'm happy to share some recipes and gardening tips with you while I let you know about great (or not so great) products, services, and media I encounter. Visit my online shop at MysteriousDragonfyre.com
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