“It Is Also Important To Avoid Making Regular Offerings To The Spirits, Including You Familiars. Each

🌾Lughnasadh/Lammas Ritual🌾

(Originally created and hosted for The Alexandria Archives on 8/1/19)

Instrumental/Nature music for this ritual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiveDidzPyw

Supplies:

a small handful oats/rice/grain (or paper scraps to symbolize the grain) to scatter on the ground or table

a simple grain-based snack (cracker, popcorn, ricecake, slice of bread, bagel, cookie, etc.) berries or grapes or a pear/peach. Enough to be split- half for yourself and half as an offering.

A candle 

Candle dressings with holiday associations (oil/tincture/tea of rose, sandalwood, or citrus; gold or yellow colored flower petals (dandelions count!); amber, citrine, peridot, carnelian crystals; gold, orange, yellow, green, or light brown ribbon/thread/fabric)

a pen/pencil and paper

a divination tool

Today we give thanks for the first harvest. This no longer means literally for most people but it doesn’t we can’t do it symbolically! Also a harvest, in witchcraft, can mean many things beyond agricultural hauls. We are through the first half of the year and are reaping what we’ve sown for those first six months. Observing the changes in your community, your local wildlife and foliage. This greater connection is all a part of the harvest of life.

Get settled somewhere safe and comfortable; your supplies nearby. Collect the oats/rice/paper scraps in your hand. Feel their texture and the way they connect to the earth. How they hold the very foundation of a harvest in a tiny compact little vessel; waiting to be planted and tended to. Cup your hands in front of your face and gently blow on the grains. Think of the sun, the rain, the warmth needed to turn a seed into a crop. You are lending your energy to them. Tonight they are going to help guide us along this ritual. I like to take a breath and blow on the grains three times, but you can do it as many times as you need until it feels like the grains are bathing in your energy.

Gently scatter the grains/scraps on the floor (or a table surface- that’s okay). We are asking for the Harvest’s Blessing tonight and give this grain in trade. Close your eyes. Envision that you are now in a field and the grains you’ve scattered are already sprouting, growing, until there is a field of grain at least waist high around you. Run your hands gently through the soft shoots. Hear the wind blow through them; birdsong joins in joyously- it almost sounds like music. Wander through this field at your leisure; reflect on what this year has brought you. The good and bad. Think about how you can weed the bad out of future harvests and how to multiply the good for the next harvest. At some point, you will stumble across a small curved knife or pair of scissors in the field. Pick them up. They feel warm and familiar in your hand. The earth offers you some of her harvest willingly. Cut a small sheaf of the grain, the size of a small bouquet.

As you come back to yourself in your physical space imagine the sheaf of wheat came back with you and was transformed into energy that infused your candle dressing. Take a moment to hold the dressing and visualize that- the energy of the Harvest filling that oil/ribbon/petals/stones/etc. Take your candle and dress it with the Harvest imbued dressing; thinking of those wheat fields and the music they made. Charge the candle with the energy of the sabbat (charging methods: visualizing, rubbing, singing/humming, tapping, blowing, etc.). 

Light your candle.

Take your pen and paper and think back to that walk in the field. Think about those personal harvests this year has brought you so far. On the top of the paper write down the good harvests you’ve been brought. On the bottom write down the bad. Tear the paper in half. 

Feed the “bad harvests” to the candle- the Light of Lugh consuming it and cleansing it. Take the other half and place it under your offering you have. Focus on the good of those harvests and how they made you feel filling that snack and lighting the way for the rest of this year. Take a portion and eat it. The warm glow of prosperity and luck of the holiday fills you all the way to your toes as you eat this offering. Declare the other portion for the earth and deities/spirits of this Harvest. Leave your paper underneath until you dispose of the offering (in whatever manner you are comfortable with).

Lastly, time for some sabbath divination! You can do this at your leisure and share the results if you’re comfortable! I also have a specific holiday cartomancy spread below if you happen to be using those tools and feel so inclined! Once you’ve performed and recorded your holiday divination, take a moment to ground yourself and be gentle in returning to a more solid frame of thought. Please share any impressions, observations, feelings that you’d like to!
 
Harvest Blessings to you all!

Baking Bread Spread The Knead: What you must surrender in order to develop your next harvest/goal 
The Dough: The central goal/idea of your next harvest The Oven: What you need to perfect your next harvest/goal(edited)

I have had a lot of difficulties because of my depression and anxiety lately, which has made me not do anything basically. Now I’m just so tired of not being able to get out of bed so I decided to use what little energy I had to make a spell involving something edible. Here are my negative energy banishing cupcakes.

You’ll need:

1/2dl vegetable oil 1dl granulated sugar A few drops of vanilla essence (to make you love yourself) 1dl coffee

Mix the wet ingredients - not the coffee - together until the batter is a little lighter and fluffier. Then add the coffee and mix everything together.

Then mix the dry ingredients together in a different bowl: 1 and 3/4dl all purpose flour 1tsp vanilla sugar 1tsp baking powder 1 pinch of baking soda 2tbl of cocoa powder ~100g dark chocolate, chopped However much peppermint you want. I used dried peppermint and just crumbled it up (to clear out sickness and negative energy) A few shakes of cayenne pepper (for banishing negative thoughts)

Fold in the dry mix into the wet mix and make sure there are no clumps in there. (Except for the pieces of chocolate, of course.) Divide the mixture into 12 cupcake tins and place in oven for about 12-15 minutes at 175°C.

I also drew a sigil for self love and acceptance on the bottom of every tin with vegetable oil!

When the cupcakes are done and have cooled down you can also make a frosting. I mixed some icing sugar with water, sea salt (for protection as well as banishing) and lime juice (to brighten my mood).

I see people talking about a person who has been making transphobic comments on my dash. And its made me want to say this.

Just because some one makes claims about something in the magic, witchcraft and spirituality community. (Yes even someone with a big following) it doesn’t mean they are right!

If some one says that you have to use special tools to do magic, they are wrong. If some one makes a claim about someones Gods, and its historically inaccurate they are wrong. And this one came from some one in discord. if some one says the Gods punish you or make you uncomfortable in your worship, They are wrong. And especially if some of one says that if you have a spell meant for “women”, so it doesn’t work for trans women they are wrong.

Never support uninclusive magic!

What I mean by inclusive magic, is practices that do not use homophobia, transphobia or racism.

Here is stuff to watch out for!

You need special tools to do magic. (Absolutely not. Some spells can even be cast with a glass of water. I have a pair of scissors on my altar. And you can use playing cards In divination.)

My family says something needs to be done in a certain way. (Like if they say “my family says you can only read your cards once a day.” That is fine for them to practice it that way, but you are fine to do it your own way.)

If a spell is meant for a women, then it means a trans women cannot use it! (Absolutely not true. You can use any spell for a “women”, as a trans women. Because trans women are women. we should never accept transphobia in magic)

Men cannot be witches! (Absolutely anyone can be a witch or magic practitioner.)

My religion or practice is superior. (every practice that is not racist, homophobic or transphobic is valid)

Its ok for me to use rituals from closed practices, that I am not in. (Absolutely not)

If you take a brake from magic or stop trying to spiritually better yourself, you are a failure. (Wrong, people do what is comfortable for them. Some times it takes people time and many brakes.)

Feel free to add more red flags to watch out for!

Liquor Magic: Ginger Cardamom Vodka

A long time ago I made a few posts with recipes for flavored liqueurs that could be made and used for magical purposes that also just tasted really really good. It’s been awhile, but here’s another tasty one. Of course, this recipe is intended for those of legal drinking age. 

This is a vodka flavored with raw ginger, honey, cardamom, and thyme. It’s great on it’s own or as a hot toddy. It can also make the deadliest dark and stormy ever. This recipe is best for when you need the energy and confidence to make things happen. For this recipe you will need

-One fifth of vodka, or 3 and a quarter cups of vodka

-1 cup of honey

-1 cup of grated raw ginger (be careful when doing this, my hand was burning by the end of it)

-¼ cup of crushed caradmom pods or of ground cardamom (I recommend using the pods, I used ground cardamom and you can’t really strain it out as well, so it leaves a precipitate at the bottom)

-2 tablespoons of dried thyme 

To make:

Combine all the ingredients in a large jar, awakening the desired property of each ingredient. Store away in a cabinet somewhere for 3 to 5 days. Once that time has passed strain out the solid ingredients into another jar or bottle using a mesh strainer or cheese cloth. And you’re done! 

Microwave Healing Broth Recipe

Fill a bowl with water and a small piece of bullion cube. Microwave for thirty seconds. Stir in bullion cube. Add mushrooms, curry powder, minced garlic, and onion powder. Microwave for a minute. Add tomato paste, soy sauce, sriracha 

I used to do magic when shit hit the fan in my mundane life. Now I do regular magic to ensure shit never hits the fan. Doesn’t even come close.

Something it took me a long time to learn: wealth magic for financial stability is not born out of greed and is very necessary to the contemporary magician/witch. Don’t neglect it.

lammas

- 🥖🌾🌻🍂✨

lammas, or lughnasadh, is the first of our three annual harvests and is celebrated on august 1st; this holiday is centered around giving thanks for and reflecting on the abundance’s and opportunities given to us this year. this sabbat marks the time period in which we‘ll now begin to notice the whispers of autumn creeping in, though still plenty warm, the sun will soon set earlier and earlier and we may even notice just a few, small yellow leaves brushing by in the breeze~

[ recipes ]

• heart-warming potato soup

• vegetarian mushroom ravioli

• cheddar garlic biscuits

• gooey s’mores bars

[ activities ]

• making corn husk dolls

• lots of baking! drown the house in bread

• tend to plant life and make sure it’s strong & ready for the seasons coming

• picnics (wear sunscreen! bring/plan for shade! social distance!)

• camping (heavy shade is a must, be safe in the heat!)

• foraging

• good deep sweep of the house/your space

• deep dusting while you’re at it

[ spellwork ]

• protection & warding

• healing & restoration

• growth & prosperity

• gratuity & offerings

• reflection & planning

• intention setting & manifestation

[ crystals ]

• honey calcite

• howlite

• tigers eye

• peridot

• citrine

• pyrite

• clear quartz

• moss agate

• smokey quartz

• black tourmaline

• clear fluorite

• green aventurine

• sunstone

• hematite

[ herbs ]

• basil

• hops

• cinnamon

• valerian

• cayenne pepper

• bay laurel

• rosemary

• garlic

• thyme

• ginger

[ colours ]

• orange

• yellow

• white

• gold

• brown

• tans/beige

• richer greens

[ grains ]

• wheat

• rye

• wild rice

• brown rice

• oats

• grits

[ veggies ]

• sweet potato

• normal potatoes but especially russet, yukon golds, red potatoes, and those tricolour minis

• corn & sweet corns

• carrots

• any squash (summer, zucchini, pumpkin, etc)

• wild mushrooms (be f*cking.. oh my gods be f*cking careful here- just use these as offerings or in spells, please don’t even think about eating wild mushrooms unless you could consider yourself an expert on foraging and have done plenty of thorough research)

• earthy deep coloured mushrooms (the edible kinds; portobello, baby bella/cremini, shiitake)

• eggplant

• green peas

• spinach/rich greens

[ fruits ]

• grapes

• black currant

• raspberries

• apples

• lemon

• apricot

• elderberry

• fig

• peaches

• blackberries

• blueberries

• watermelon/other melons

• banana

[ nuts ]

• almond

• walnut

• pistachio

[ vegan & omnivore proteins ]

• tofu

• edamame

• turkey/‘turkey’

• chicken/‘chicken’

• salmon, mackerel

• scallops

• crab/imitation crab (snow, king crabs) **(imitation crab isn’t vegetarian/vegan, it’s just ground whitefish instead of crab meat, if you didn’t already know)

• mussels

[ cheeses ]

• white & sharp cheddars

• bleu cheese

• goat cheese

• feta

• marinated cheeses

• gouda

[ drinks ]

• tart, dry, medium bodied berry wines

• airy, crisp white whines

• light-medium brew beers, dryer and not too heavy bodied/bitter (samuel adams boston lager is perfect for lammas in my opinion if you wanna feel like you know what’s up or you’re just looking to try out new drinks, & miller/bud lite is also A1 if you’re a cheap date like me)

• any sort of spiked or nonspiked apple beverage (yes even just plain apple juice)

• ginger beer

• iced teas/coffee/matcha

• americanos/cold brew

[ decoration ]

• scythe

• corn husks

• dried sunflowers

• grain stalks

• iron

• cast iron

[ flowers ]

• sunflowers

• chamomile

• calendula

• marigolds

• yellow roses

-

this, whew, is just about everything i’d like to have on here i think. i’ll be adding recipes as the season goes on probablyyy, and i might add in more specific little notes like i did with the beer and stuff if i find anything else like that along the way, feel free to leave any questions or feedback, hope this was helpful!! wishing you all abundant health this harvest~

Hot Toddy for Good Health and Cheer

So, hot toddies are my absolute fave drink (read: alcoholic drink) for those cold nights where your hands are freezing and you’re feeling a little run down. They’re also a remedy for colds in one of my friend’s family, and who am I to argue with folk remedies? But I also like to put a little ~woo~ spin on it.

So, what you’ll need:

A large cup of tea (my favorite is chamomile, for its healing and sleep-inducing properties)

Honey (again, something I associate with healing in the magical as well as mundane)

A lemon slice (purification)

A cinnamon stick or a little sprinkle of cinnamon, if you can’t find cinnamon sticks (healing and strength)

Whiskey! Or liquor of your choice. I mean, you don’t have to, but this really gives it a kick. (originally distilled for medicinal purposes, I think whiskey is great for a healing drink)

Brew your tea like you normally would. Squeeze the lemon into the drink, and visualize it purifying you of any illness; add the honey (maybe in the form of a sigil if such is your jam), and focus on how it will trap any negativity and bring sweetness. Add a splash (or two or three, hey I don’t know your life) of the whiskey, thinking of it killing any foul microbes that might be lurking (this is not how it actually works in the body, though I think it’s a great visualization) and filling you with warmth (it may just be vasodillation, but it’s still a great feeling on cold nights).

Finally, take your cinnamon stick and stir either clockwise to bring in good health and happiness or counterclockwise to banish illness and negativity. Whichever feels right for you is the one I would recommend. For some reason, I tend to do clockwise when I’m just in it for the whiskey and good feelings and counterclockwise for my common colds.

Add or modify to your desire, but this is the basic outline of my hot toddy for good health and cheer!

Witches type

Source IG: @waterofwhimsy

MAGICK APPLE THREE CHEESE SOUP FOR FALL

This soup, is actually pretty tasty, so don’t be scared off by the title. Apple and cheese are really good together. And this recipe, from my kitchen to yours, is infused in magick!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1 cup apple cider ~ love, comfort, divine energy, healing, folk lore cure all

2 tbsp brown sugar ~ Love, comfort

1 large granny smith apple ~ revitalize, love, healing

 1 large onion, diced ~ warding, protection

1 1/3 cup freshly shredded cheddar

Sprig of thyme ~ symbol of Venus, beauty, courage, fairy communications, protection, psychic abilities

Ground garden sage (Note- Do NOT use white sage as it is sacred to the indigenous and should be saved for native practices) ~ clarity, protection, grounding, cleansing, wisdom, nightmare relief

Salt and pepper ~ Warding, cleansing, protection

½ cup gouda cheese

4 oz bree cheese

¾ cup half and half

3 cups broth of choice

Flour to thicken it

8 oz beer (Optional)

To prep: Cook your apple slices till soft, then purée them with a stick blender. Add a big pot to the stove, add oil to heat up on medium heat.

Cooking the soup: Add diced onions, pureed apple, and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in broth, apple cider, seasonings, and beer (optional) into the pot and stir. You’ll want to bring this to a boil, and then turn down to simmer for an additional 12 minutes. 

Stir in your half and half and flour to thicken, along with your brown sugar. Cook this enough for the alcohol to boil off if serving people under 21 years of age or if you don’t want alcoholic soup at that matter. Cook for another 15 minutes stirring on a low medium heat.

Now stir in the cheese until it has melted in nicely in the soup, remember you can always add more things to you’ll liking. 

Authors Notes: Beer can be substituted for more broth, stir clock-wise for a more effective outcome. You can also substitute beer for one of you other potions, or edible elixirs. Pecans pair well with this, along with walnuts. You add bacon, or even dip apple slices into the soup.

Blessed be~

Angel….