I hope everyone is having a fantastic Memorial Day weekend! Mine was pretty great (although my sunburn is less than wonderful)… we drove allll the way down to San Francisco for the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th Birthday!
For a few red, white and blue (if belated) ideas to honor our troops and remember those who have fallen, check out the Labor Day and Veterans’ Day post back in August:
http://witchofhowlingcreek.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/wheel-of-the-year-secular-holidays/
Hey – I’m back! The summer issue of Pagan Living is close to done and will be out the first week in June.
I thought since we’re coming into the warm months, I’d do a post about lemonade. As we know, lemons represent love and friendship, making an ice-cold glass of lemonade the perfect drink to share among friends. Even lemonade can be spiced up a bit though, in delicious and magickal ways.
Orange Blossom Water: Lemons and oranges go hand-in-hand and share many of the same magickal properties, namely love and friendship. So add a few drops of orange blossom water to your lemonade to give it an extra boost! If you can’t find orange blossom water, trying replacing half the water with orange juice for a similar effect.
Tea: Replace the water in your lemonade with iced tea for a fun, flavorful change. Use green tea for health and energy or black tea for strength. You also might want to try experimenting with different flavored teas such as peach or pomegranate!
Cinnamon: Add a cinnamon stick to each glass of lemonade for a sweet, spicy kick of good fortune and wealth.
Eeep, it’s been a week and a half! Major apologies. I am right in the middle of finals and getting the summer issue of Pagan Living squared away – I will be back soon!!
April showers bring May flowers… magickal flowers! It’s been a while since I did a Top 10 list (okay, so it’s a Top 5 list) so I thought this would be fun, just in time for warm weather and blooming gardens:
Top 5 Magickal Flowers
Okay, so the Kentucky Derby isn’t exactly a pagan holiday but it is a lot of fun! Horses have been loyal companions and workers for thousands of years all across Europe and the Middle East and in America for the last few hundred. But, let’s be honest, the day is really more about the hats and the drinks than the race (after all, it only lasts two minutes!)
Tuck a red rose in your hat in honor of the beautiful red rose bouquets presented to the winners and to attract a little love into your life. Or, present your significant other (or wished for significant other!) with a red rose for their hat.
Mint juleps are a Southern classic and the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. But, if you’re like me and bourbon isn’t exactly your favorite… try this rather more girly spin bursting with magick to promote healing, prosperity and love:
For the Mint Simple Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 stems fresh mint (each has about 6-10 leaves on it)
For the Mint Sugar Garnish
1/4 cup sugar
2 stems mint, leaves plucked from the stalk
1 slice lemon
For Each Wintergreen
1 1/2 tablespoons mint simple syrup
1 tablespoon cold clear crème de menthe
Champagne, chilled
Mint sugar for garnish
Mint leaf for garnish
Make mint simple syrup : put sugar, water, and mint in a saucepot, and bring to a boil, stirring so sugar dissolves. Shut off the heat, and allow syrup to come to room temperature. Remove the mint.
While syrup is cooling, make mint sugar by combining the sugar and fresh mint in a mini food processor. Blitz the two until completely combined into a mint-green sugar. Place the mint sugar on a salad plate.
Rub the slice of lemon around the rims of the champagne flutes. Dip the wet rims into the mint sugar. It should stick and form a sparkling crown on the glass.
Trying to avoid disturbing the sugared rim, pour 1 1/2 tablespoons mint simple syrup and 1 tablespoon clear crème de menthe into the each champagne flute. Top with champagne; be careful not to pour too quickly, or the fizz will ruin the sugar rim. Float a single mint leaf in each glass.
Happy Beltane! Although you may have already partaken in a well-dressing party with your coven or friends, it’s a nice, relaxing activity to make in miniature for your ritual as well:
Place one or more white pillar or floating candles in a glass bowl and fill it with a few inches of moonwater. Light the candles.
Decorate the “well” with ribbons, flowers and greenery. Meditate on the well, contemplating the Goddess and wishes for the coming months.
Eat fresh fruit with local wine or iced tea. Blow out the candles.
Blessed Be.
Strawberries are a sweet fruit associated with Beltane and creativity. Sliced strawberries tossed with a tablespoon or so of sugar make for a fabulous snack but there are thousands of incredible recipes to really bring out their flavor as well. Serve them in a variety of ways at your Beltane party as they are great in both sweet and savory dishes:
