September 22nd, 2016

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d

With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my shady roof; there thou may’st rest,

And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, 

And all the daughters of the year shall dance! 

Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers. 

“The narrow bud opens her beauties to 

The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins; 

Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and 

Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve, 

Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing, 

And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.

“The spirits of the air live in the smells 

Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round 

The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.” 

Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat, 

Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak 

Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load. 

- William Blake 

A happy Mabon to all; may the coming season bring you abundance, while the growing dark offer you rest and transformation.

October 30th, 2015

I carved my other pumpkin last night!

The electric candle doesn't show it very well, but it's Harry Potter! I'm taking it to the Samhain ritual tomorrow, and will be able to light it with a real candle then. I also made up another batch of pumpkin seeds to take.

Today, the dining hall is all decked out.

The cider is locally made and delicious. I could drink the entire vat of it.

They also have a coffin cupcake display, which is fun. 

Tonight, I'm planning to go to a bonfire with some friends, and then tomorrow is Samhain! I can't believe how fast October has flown by, but it's been so much fun this year!

October 11th, 2015

What an idyllic October day! It was in the mid-70's here today, and I got to go apple picking with my family. We saw a coyote on the drive up to the orchard, as well as a pheasant, which I don't think I've ever seen in the wild before.

The orchard was beautiful, and the Empire apples had just come into season; they're our absolute favorite, and we got a lot of good ones. 

We also picked Jonafree, Liberty, Ultra Gold, and Cortland.

The orchard also has a pumpkin patch, as well as raspberries, melons, and more. In the past, they've had fantastic deals on their produce, but I think we came too early for that this year, so we didn't get a ton of gourds or anything, although dad did pick up a turban squash.

While we were there, I also found a perfectly straight apple-wood stick and a bunch of guinea fowl feathers. I'm going to turn them into a new wand!

September 7th, 2015

Today I tried making a carved apple head! I read about them a long time ago in a book of witchy crafts, but then I was reminded of them about a week ago when Ember HoneyRaven did a video about making some.

That's how mine turned out. Apple heads are great decorations for Mabon and Samhain altars and generally for throughout the autumn season. To make one, you only need:

• Apple(s)
• A knife
• A peeler (optional)
• Lemon juice (optional)
• Paper towels

First, peel the apple. This can be done with a peeler, or a knife. Either way, be careful not to cut yourself. Then, take the knife and carve the outline of the main facial features into the apple.

Once the outlines are there, dig out the eyes. Those should be deeply carved. Also carve around the nostrils, though not as deeply. Add definition to the lips, and create a deep mouth cavity. If possible, over-emphasize all the features, because the apple will shrink as it dries. If desired, ears can also be carved on the sides, and one can add eyebrow ridges and cheekbones by carefully shaving away apple. 

Once the face is finished, rub it with lemon juice to prevent the fruit from browning.

Dry in a dehydrator, in an oven at 150⁰ for one hour, or over the course of several days in the sun. When finished, one can add a hanging string to the stem. 

For a visual tutorial, check out my video here:

October 21st, 2012

Well, it has certainly been an interesting weekend! Yesterday, having had beautiful weather, my family and our neighbors from across the street drove an hour to Royal Oak Apple Orchard. We picked probably a bushel of apples total, and, because they're essentially organic, they're delicious.

We also got some apple cider and apple cider doughnuts, which were equally delicious. My mom noticed that the farm was having a sale on gourds, squash, and pumpkins - fill a wheelbarrow with anything marked with a yellow flag for only $20. Seeing as we usually pay more than that to get B-grade pumpkins, we lept at the chance to get a gazzilion really awesome ones.

 

I feel like perhaps we overdid it a little... Still, it'll be great for Samhain! I just have to find a spectacular pattern to carve now.

Today, we had a little "incident" with the electricity. As we were eating lunch, my brother and I noticed a weird sound coming from the furnace. Somewhat alarmed, my dad turned off the power and called our electrician, who was kind enough to come check things out even on a Sunday. Apparently, the main power fuse fried itself and was actually melting the fuse box; if we hadn't switched off the electricity, the whole house could've caught fire! Thank Goddess that didn't happen. Unfortunately, we did have to get a whole new fuse box, but the other one wasn't up to code anyway. Things turned out okay, and we even got the power back tonight.

September 15th, 2012

It's a beautiful Saturday! I had set-build for the fall play until noon, but after that I got outside for a while and re-colored the deck for my dad. I also saw that woodchuck again; he's been poking into our gardens recently, eating our plants. Anyone have suggestions for keeping woodchucks out of a garden?

~~~~~~~~~~

Mabon, of course, is next Saturday, and to get in the Sabbat mood I'm still looking for interesting activities to do. Here are some that I've come across on the vast expanse of the world-wide-web:

• If you follow a Druidic tradition, consider cutting willow wands at this time.
• Apples can be left on grave sites and/or burial cairns as a token of honor and blessing.
• Take a walk in the forest to gather dried seed pods and other organic materials for decoration.
• If you grew fruits or vegetables over the summer, pick a piece of high-quality produce and return it to the land with prayers of Thanksgiving.
• In a meditation, offer thanks to each direction - North for finances, the home, and health, East for gifts of knowledge, South for a career and hobbies, West for relationships, and Spirit for spiritual insight.
• Plan a feast using the produce of the season - squash, apples, corn, bread, and cider. 
• For a protective charm, string Hazelnuts on a red thread and empower.
• Make a wreath out of grapevine, wrap with gold ribbon to bring in the God's energy, and add any desired herbs and seasonal flowers.
• Visit an apple orchard, pick grapes, or harvest pumpkins.
• Make rattles out of dried gourds.

Don't forget the "mundane" stuff, either - just because a tradition doesn't take place in a circle doesn't mean that it doesn't have its own magick.

• Fix up anything in the house that needs to be mended before winter.
• Take a look at family scrapbooks and pictures, and remember loved ones, both living and passed.
• Fill up your bird-feeder, and put some of that dried corn out for the wildlife.
• Consider what you can do to reduce your ecological footprint. Can you use less water or electricity? Recycle more?

September 2nd, 2012

Happy Sunday, everyone! 'Tis the first weekend of the school year, for us at least, and personally, I'm quite enjoying the peace and quiet. It's a rainy day, and that too adds to the calm. Something about rain is soothing; I've heard that science attributes it to the negative (as in a + or - charge) ions that water releases - they cause the body to relax.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mabon is on the 22nd this year, a Saturday. I've got a ritual planned out, of course, but as always, I look for fun activities I can do up to that point to get in the Sabbat mood. Part of that is the decorating - anyone who knows me can tell you that I love to decorate, and though I can't put Mabon symbols all over the house, I can add to my altar. Here are some ideas to consider:

• Use colors like red, orange, maroon, brown, yellow, and indigo.
• Use acorns, fall leaves (especially oak), and statuary of the Mother Goddess.
• Other plants of the season include marigolds, yarrow, sage, rose hips, and apples
• If you like tarot cards, consider using imagery from Judgement and The World.
• Add gourds and cornucopias.
• Stones ruled by the sun can be included (i.e. citrine, clear quartz, gold, peridot, diamond, yellow topaz, and adventurine).
• Animal statuary (or pictures) can include birds of prey, salmon, owls, wolves, stags, and blackbirds.
• Mythical creature imagery can include Gnomes, Sphinxes, and Minotaurs.
• Incense can include sage, frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, pine, and apple blossom.

Picture from About.com.

October 15th, 2011

Today was another one of those days with simply Goddess-blessed, stellar weather. There's not been a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining, and the autumn air is crisp and cool. I had been worried that it would rain today, after a wet Thursday and Friday, but it didn't. I went apple picking with my family this afternoon, at Royal Oaks Orchard, which is about an hour from where I live. The apples were delicious, and plentiful! We picked half a bushel, and got some white mini pumpkins to add to the house's decor. Mom also got some apple cider, and apple cider donuts. Mmmmm..... If you have an apple orchard anywhere near your house, I highly recommend going. We're going to make pies and apple-sauce with ours, but they could also be baked into breads, used to top off yoghurt, or just enjoyed as-is. If you cut an apple in half cross-wise, as in the picture, you can see nature's little pentagram in the center. It's a great thing to share with kids. I mean, hey I'm a teenager, and I find that really cool. One could also go apple-picking before Mabon, but I think more varieties are available in October. That would be something to look into, though, as apples are the fruit of the Mabon season. I hope to post some pictures from our trip soon, but I forgot my camera, so I have to wait until mom puts her pictures on Facebook.