Thursday, October 30, 2008

For the Dumb Feast


I don't do a dumb feast every year. How morbid can you get? However, I see no harm in a remembrance feast. Keep it short, sweet, and simple and your guests will think well of you. Don't forget to set that empty place at the table for our spirited guests, just in case someone does decide to show up.
Lena

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Candy Spook House and Halloween Beanbags



Another candy house, just for fun. Kids should enjoy themselves, and I like the kid in me to come out and play.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Cakes and Ale-- Pumpkin Bread



This is my best Samhain bread, made for bread machines. It's easy and delicious. I skip the pumpkin seeds, personally, and just throw in some pecans. What can I say? I'm lazy.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Ghosts and Grave


This grave has the best "post mortem" for after Halloween. Just when you could use a little fresh soil in your garden to wait for spring, all you have to do is drag the tarp to your garden on Nov 1. The tarp can cover any part going fallow, with the new dirt to hold it down until spring. Weed seedlings won't have a chance.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Pumpkin Nog-- For Cakes and Ale



Who says we have to wait for Yule to get a nog? This is even diet! How cool is that.

BTW, if you right click on any image I post, you can use "Save As" to get it so you can have a copy.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Ritual Ideas for Samhain-- Pagans Only

Samhain (October 31st)

8. HISTORY

Samhain to the Celts was their New Year's Eve even. That mysterious moment belonging to neither past nor present, or this world nor the other. It was a time when the herds were slaughtered and the meat salted, which also led to the use of salts in magic ritual as a disinfectant against psychic or spiritual evil. On this night also, the spirits of dead friends sought the warmth of the Samhain fire and communication with a living.

The divinatory aspect of Halloween is understandable for two reasons. First, the psychic climates of the season favored it, and second, the anxiety about the coming winter demanded it. The fertility ritual aspect was reflected in legends of gods and heroes. As such, it was a time of deliberate (and tribally purposeful) sexual freedom. That is primarily a Celtic tradition, as many other superstitions say to refrain from sex for fear that your former (dead) friends would take over your body and you might have A Change Child.

"So, Halloween was on the one hand a time of propitiation, divination, and communication with the dead, and on the other, and uninhibited feast of eating, drinking, and defiant affirmation of life and fertility in the very face of the closing dark." (Witches Bible Complete page 122)

"The feast itself, in the banquet sends, the original food was of course a proportion of the newly slaughtered cattle, roasted in the purifying Halloween fire, and doubtless having the nature of ritually offered first fruits. The fact that the priesthood had first call on the board divinatory purposes and that what they did not use provided a feast for the tribe, points to this." (Witches Bible Complete page 126)

B. THE ALTAR AND CIRCLE

1. Decorate with apples, pomegranates, plug-ins (as he is or cut into jack-o'-lanterns. If using jack-o'-lanterns, let the mark the four corners), squashes, marigolds, and chrysanthemums. The altar cloth and candles should be our range, to symbolize the harvest.

2. Foods-turnips, apples, corn, nuts, gingerbread, pumpkin dishes, meat, pumpkin cookies, candy apples, popcorn, and candy corn.

3. Drinks-cider, the mulled wine, pumpkin nogs and smoothies

4. The cauldron should be in the north quarter, filled with firewood.

See. RITUALS

1. This is the time of reflection, of looking back over the past year and friends who have passed on. Honor them, but do not call them to you. Leave the plate of food outside the home for the souls of the dead. A candle placed in the window guides them to the afterlife, varying apples "feeds" them on their journey.

2. Right on a piece of paper and aspect of your life you wish to be free of. Such as anger, a baneful habits, disease, or misplaced feelings. Burn it in a ritual. (Solitary Practitioner page 142)

3. Past life regressions are sometimes done in CIRCLE.

4. Scry eating into the past or future in CIRCLE

5. Return the corn dollies of last year to the ground. (See Imbolg)

6. Bobbing for apples. There were many divination practices associated with Halloween, many of which dealt with marriage, health, and the weather. Ducking for apples was a marriage divination based on the belief that the first to bite into an Apple would be the first to marry in the coming year. This is similar to the wedding tradition of throwing the bride's bouquet for women and her garter for men. Apple peeling was another type of divination to determine how long one's life would be. The longer the unbroken peel the longer the life of the one peeling it.

7. Have the high priest dress in "Man in Black" costume and charcoal for his space. He leads a chance within the CIRCLE.

8. Divination using tarot cards in CIRCLE.

9. At the close of the Halloween CIRCLE, please extinguish the altar candles to symbolize the dark half of the year now beginning.

10. This is an invocation. Wise one of the waning moon, goddess of the starry night, I create this fire within your cauldron to transform that which is plaguing me. May the energies be reversed; from darkness, light! From bane, good! From death, birth!

11. Carved jack-o'-lanterns

12. Finish any incomplete projects and payoff lingering bills, if possible, to close out the old year and begin the new year fresh.

13. Leave food out for the birds and other wild animals. Make a donation of food or funding to an animal shelter in honor of the spirit of animals who have died for your family's nourishment over the year.

14. Put pictures of ancestors who have passed on your altar for your Sabbat rite. Light a special candle for them. Visit the graves of your ancestors or if this is not possible, the nearest cemetery. Be still there and listen for the voices of those who have passed. Leave offerings of food and drink for them, and for the animals.

15. Have a mask making party in which you create masks to celebrate and represent your ancestry.

D. SYMBOLISM

1. Farewell to the God. The God dies, and prepares to be reborn at Yule.

.2. Time of sacrifice when animals were slaughtered to ensure food throughout the winter.

3. The feast of the dead, when the veil between the worlds is thinnest, sometimes called the Dumb Feast.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Scare up a Haunted House




Who says we can only make candy houses at Halloween? Why not have the kids help with this project? Why not have the coven create them?

Monday, October 20, 2008

Indian Corn Treats-- Delicious!!


Folks, you've just gotta try this tasty treat! YUUUMMM! I'm a sucker for Rice Krispie Treats, and this is close enough to make my mouth water.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

A Halloween Stitch to Do


I can no longer do countd cross stitch, so I'm sharing this with all my friends. Enjoy!
Lena

Saturday, October 18, 2008

"Moth-eaten" Curtains Craft



"Moth-eaten Curtains" are so easy, you'll laugh. Don't worry if you can't sew. Use fabric glue or spray adhesive for a quick fix with no needles or machine needed.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Mini Bundt Pumpkin Cakes



Mini bundt pans are all you need to create these delectable treats. Go ahead. Right click on the recipe to save it for your own.

Lena

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Spider Web Dip and Chips



Even if you don't like the dip, do try the chips. I cut the tortillas using a pizza wheel to make quick wedges and serve with cheese dip or salsa. It's a quick snack people will appreciate any time of year.

Lena

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Meringue Bones for your Party


This is easier than you think. Give it a try.
Lena

Monday, October 13, 2008

Cooking Fresh Pumpkins


A little hint or two on how to deal with those sloppy things. I personally use an ice cream scoop to scrape out the nasty stringy bits, and I open my pumpkin from the bottom.
For pies and other recipes, I'll use a tiny pie pumpkin. Those big honking pumpkins for sale as jack-o-lanterns make lousy food. They're grown for size, not taste. Get a pie pumpkin and be sure your recipes will be the very best.
Lena

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Halloween Wine Bottles


This is too fun not to do.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Halloween Fun: Specimin Jars


Another thing is to put cooked spaghetti in a bowl with oil mixed with red food color. You'll get something resembling intestines.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Halloween Fun: Silhouette Curtains


Imagine these eerie silhouettes in your windows. Fun, huh?
Lena

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Recipe: Blithe Spirited Grog (Adults Only)



I've had this recipe for about twenty years. We rarely drink, but our friends tell us it's delicious.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Practical Pagan- Lunch Box Sandwiches


For Samhain, use the large spooky cookie cutters. This small trick can really enhance your kids' prestige with their friends because they have "cool food."

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Craft: The Bewitching Witch Statue




This is much easier than you might think. However, that cheesecloth is very messy. This is not a project to do over the carpeting by any means.

Make the form and get ready one day, then proceed. Take your time.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Humidifier Plant Tray -- Winter for your Plants


Think about it. If you live in a place where you shut in for the winter, your plants will be living in the same dry, heated atmosphere you do. They need moisture, same as you. Their leaves are their "skin" and it needs extra help.
This is an easy solution for just about any budget.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Craft: Coffin Tables and Ghost Glasses


Note on the Ghost Glasses:
An alternative to the glassine is more permanent. Tape the handprint to the inside of the glass. Use glass etching solution and paint it on the outside of the glass. Follow the directions on the bottle of glass etching solution for wait time and rinsing. Oh, and don't forget to remove the handprint before washing.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Craft: Severed Finger Invitations



This is too cool not to use, even though you need to start many days in advance of the party.

Can you imagine a little black box arriving in the mail with a severed finger with a ribbon tied around it as a "reminder"? LOL!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Halloween Craft: Tombstones



I can't wait to do this one! This is easy work for a decoration that will last for years with reasonable care.
Just be aware you must test your paints to be assured that the ingredients will not melt the styrofoam and give you the effect you want. Please test the paint on a scrap of styrofoam.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Bloody Mary Pot Roast


I used V-8 juice and a dash of hot sauce instead the Bloody Mary mix. It worked very well.
However, my itty bitty Dutch oven would not come close to holding the roast and veggies my DH likes in his roast. I used my grandmother's roaster instead.
Lena

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Frugal Housekeeper


I've used the fabric softener trick, and it works.
Here's another: If you have ceiling fans, put a pillow case over a blade, close the end, and wipe in one motion. All the dust will fall inside the pillowcase and not all over your furnishings.
I use a sock to dust the furniture. I dampen it with spray polish and start swiping. When it's full, I drop it in the laundry and grab another.