NO-KNEAD CRUSTY ARTISAN BREAD

I tend to stay away from anything related to fertility (rocks, herbs, sabbaths, etc) because I *really* don’t wanna get pregnant, but then sometimes I think “maybe there’s another meaning for fertility, like, fertile ground for plants”. Is it safe to do things related w fertility (like celebrating imbolc) if I don’t want a baby?

A fair question! Firstly, I’ll say that celebrating sabbats is always good fun and there’s no real risk of encouraging your own fertility just by feasting and dancing on May Day (unless you round off the festivities with unprotected, penetrative sex of course). Secondly, your inclination is correct - fertility has so many other meanings than the literal sense of pregnancy (in fact in terms of the sabbats we’re often celebrating the fertility of the land to promote growth for harvest, as you say, and our harvest gods are our fertility gods for that same reason). But you can absolutely make use of symbols of fertility for celebrating growth and fecundity in all its iterations - growing ideas and projects, growing plants and new life in that way, growing yourself and even reparenting yourself, etc. - there are a lot of possibilities and as long as you’re not working any magic to expressly become pregnant then simply incorporating obejcts/rituals/deities of fertility into your practice won’t put you in danger of that. 

If you don't understand why salt is important in witchcraft what the heck have you been reading?

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

By the way I don't just mean salt circles.

Mental clarity bottle

Salt - cleansing

Mint - refreshing

Ginkgo - memory

Lotus incense ash - purity

Sage - cleansing

Juniper - rejuvenating

Clear quartz - clarity

White candle - purity

Cleanse your space well and layer the ingredients in the bottle, focusing on the intent of each one. Now some of these are more personal and can vary for different people, e.g. I used desert sage because it grows wild here. Maybe you hate mint, if so then don't use it. Etc. Put the candle in the bottle and light it any time you need to clear your brain fog or make a tough decision.

I don't have an incantation for this one because I typically don't use them. Instead I use bells (pictured) or some other instrument to raise the energy and bring everything together. In this case I rang the bells over the bottle, focused on their ring, and let the sound gradually fade, then focused on the silence.

I feel like selenite works be a good addition, I just didn't have any extra on hand.

🌿🍊Litha Orange Honey Cake🍊🌿

Hello my greenies! Happy Litha! I hope you’re all enjoying the summer sun and nature. Even during quarantine, if you’re able to take a walk in nature without contact with others, I highly recommend doing so. If you’re unable to go outside, I recommend taking the time to bake and maybe listen to some nature sounds on youtube. Those have helped me during these times. I wish you all the best with this yummy cake! I hope you all like this recipe:)

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup softened unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup milk

½ tsp salt

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

2/3 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract

around a tbsp of orange zest

Optional Glaze

½ cup honey

¼ cup brown sugar

some lemon juice

juice of 4th of orange

couple pats of ground cinnamon

dash of vanilla

½ cup (maybe.. I never measure this out)sliced almonds

Mix until syrup state.

Directions

Preheat Oven for 350°F and coat pan with non-stick or other alternative. I honestly don’t know what size my pan is…so I’d say eyeball it and see how much you can fit? Lol

In medium bowl, mix dry ingredients (including the orange zest). Set that to the side while you mix the other ingredients in a larger bowl.  

Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the other ingredients in batches. So, sift a little in and mix then repeat that until all the dry ingredients are mixed in.

Pour the mixture into the pan and cook for about 28 to 35 minutes. Check with a long toothpick:3 After you take out you can pour over an optional syrup that I think is amazing!

There’s no particular chant I do for this recipe, I mostly just pray for the sun and for the health of those I care for. I like to visualize the sun and its heat and color wrapping me in an embrace and that same warmth infusing the cake.

I hope you call have a lovely Litha and special time with those you love a care for.

- Kenzie

*Lucky Chai Tea Latte*

I originally found this post from @starlight-witches. This is specifically for one of the lattes on the long list, called The Lucky Chai. I thought I would try it out and it’s absolutely delicious! It’s perfect for those cold, winter days where all you want to do is cuddle up with your pets and watch Netflix!

Recipe: from @sidewalk-crystal  

｡･:*:･ﾟ★, ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆   ｡･:*:･ﾟ★, ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆   ｡･:*:･ﾟ★, ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

This recipe makes one serving. I tripled this and made three servings!

What you’ll need: ✧ Milk or milk alternative ✧ Filtered water ✧ Tea that goes well with milk (not green tea or fruit flavored teas) ✧ Cinnamon or cinnamon sticks for clairvoyance and prosperity ✧ Cardamom for luck and love ✧ Sugar or honey to taste Optional: ✧ whipped cream ✧ chocolate chips ✧ ground cinnamon for topping

｡･:*:･ﾟ★, ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆   ｡･:*:･ﾟ★, ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆   ｡･:*:･ﾟ★, ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Steps: ✧ fill your mug ¾ of the way with milk ✧ fill the rest (¼ of your mug) with water ✧ By this point, your mug should be filled all the way. So more than half of your mug should be milk and the rest water. ✧ Pour the mixture into a medium sized pot with your sugar or honey and wait until your mixture boils.  ✼ Tip: Make sure you stir it well as you boil it and leave it on medium-low heat or it will boil over! ✧ As it’s heating up, put in your cinnamon and cardamom. I used only one cinnamon stick per serving, but feel free to add more ground cinnamon at the end. And I only used a pinch of cardamom! ✧ When it’s done boiling, it will get frothy and foamy. At this point, take it off the heat and add in your tea. Steeping it would take way too long so just cut open the tea bag and pour it right in! You can strain this if you want to, but I found no need for this unless you’re cooking with big tea leaves. ✧ Serve hot, and depending on your preferences, serve with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and ground cinnamon for topping!

It came out even more beautiful than I ever imagined! Thank you for this recipe! 

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼ ☆ ｡

I hope this brings you luck and warmth this season!

Just a few of the books my mother brought up with her this weekend. I haven’t gone through the majority of these yet, but I’d love to hear all of y’all s thoughts!

Baking a brioche on a stormy afternoon. A slow living approach.

We had a stormy day last week. The weather was gloomy and it was really windy. I decided to bake a Brioche. Bread making is such a great activity to slow down, and brioche are such a decadent treat. 

Making brioche was really hard for me the first couple of times, and I wish I watched videos on how to make it. 

 Brioche makes wonderful food for any celebrations of the pagan year! You can adapt the recipe to your need and add the flavours and herbs. They are perfect for you feasts are they are the embodiment of the little luxuries, the little extra we enjoy on a celebration day! At the end, I give you some ideas to adapt the recipe to each of the sabbats!

Prep time: 40 min

Rest time: 1h30

Proving time in the fridge: a whole night

Cooking time: 25 to 30 min

Material needed:

A standing mixer with a hook or a hand mixer with hooks. If you don’t have any of those, you can mix by hand but it is going to get really messy and it is much longer.

Ingredients

2tsp dry yeast

4tbsp milk

1tbsp suger

250g plain flour

30g sugar

125g butter at room temperature

3+1 eggs at room temperature

1tbsp Cointreau or Rhum

Recipe

Activate the yeast by mixing 2 tsp of dry yeast with 4tbsp of luke warm milk and a tbsp of sugar. Mix well and let it rest for at least 15min. The yeast is activated when there is a fluffy foam on the top of the milk.

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt and butter together until crumbly.

In a small bowl beat 3 eggs with a tbsp of Cointreau or Rhum.

Add the beaten eggs and the yeast to the crumbly dough.

Start mixing with the robot for at least 5 min. The dough is ready when it is smooth, silky and sticky (don’t worry about that)

First proving:

Cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough rest in a warm place. Near a radiator is really good or in the oven at minimal heat (no more than 30°C / 86°F). Let it rise for about 1h30 or when the volume has doubled. If there is a wind draft, the dough will never rise.

Second proving:

Once the first rising is done, punch the dough to remove the gaz accumulated. At this point the dough is really sticky and that’s normal, don’t be tempted to add more flour. Cover the bowl again and let it rest a full night in the fridge. The dough will rise a bit again.

The day after:

Pre heat the oven at 180°C/350°F

Sprinkle flour on your worktop and start rolling the dough in a large cylinder. Cut it in 3 equal parts.

Roll each part in a long sausage, then braid them together.

Beat one egg and spread it on the braided brioche with a brush. It will make the crust gold and shiny

Bake 25 to 30min at 180°C/350°F

A few important tips:

This dough has a lot of butter that make is very sticky. That’s why the nigh in the fridge is very important. It makes the dough hard enough to be manipulated. Try to work quickly so the dough stays cold.

If you don’t have room temperature butter, shred the butter with a cheese grater it will do just fine.

No alcohol? No problem! Try to perfume the brioche with vanilla or orange zest!

Sabbaths celebrations ideas:

Mabon - 20th-22nd September - Add some sliced apples to the dough before the first proving time

Samhain - 31st October - Add a tsp of pumpkin spices to the flour.

Yule - 20th-22nd December - Add orange zest and orange juice to the mix instead of the Cointreau

Imbolc - 1st February - Don’t change the recipe it is perfect for this celebration day!

Ostara - 20th-22nd March - CHOCOLATE! Add chocolate chips to the batter before mixing everything together

Beltane - 1st May - Use 30g of honey instead of sugar

Litha - 20th-22nd June - Again, you can use honey and also add oranges. Maybe brush a bit of orange marmalade when it is straight out of the oven

Lughnasadh - 31st July - Add Strawberries / Raspberries / Blueberries to the mix before the first proving time

🌱🍵 Green Garden Goddess Dip 🍵🌱

for Midsummer - Litha

1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced

1 T. garlic, minced

1 T. olive oil

8 oz. spinach, triple washed, patted dry, and de-stemmed

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

1 cup loose parsley, washed well

1/4 cup chives, sliced

1 T. freshly chopped dill

1 T. lime juice

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. hot sauce, of choice

1 - 8 oz. container plain vegan soy yogurt

In a non-stick skillet, saute the green onion and garlic in the olive oil for 2 minutes to soften. Add the spinach and continue to saute until the spinach just wilts. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool completely. Transfer the spinach mixture to a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, except the vegan yogurt, and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Add the vegan yogurt and process well to combine. Taste and add additional salt, hot sauce, or lime juice, to taste. Transfer the mixture to a glass bowl, cover, and chill for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve as an appetizer with raw vegetables, bread slices, crackers, or chips, or use as a condiment on sandwiches, cooked vegetables, or grains. Yield: 2 Cups

🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵🌱🍵

Herb of the Day

#HOTD

Echinacea

Binomial nomenclature:

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea augustifolia

Echinacea is a genus, or group, of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. The Echinacea genus has nine species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are found only in eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas.

Today we will deal with my two favoured species, augustifolia and purpurea.

Echinacea angustifolia, the narrow-leaved purple coneflower or blacksamson echinacea, is a North American plantspecies in sunflower family. It is widespread across much of the Great Plains of central Canada and the central United States.

Echinacea angustifolia is a perennial herb up to 40 to 70 centimetres (16 to 28 in) tall with spindle-shaped taproots that are often branched. The stems and leaves are moderately to densely hairy. The plant produces flower heads one per side branch, each at the end of a long peduncle. Each head contains 8-21 pink or purple ray florets plus 200-300 purple disc florets.

Echinacea angustifolia blooms late spring to mid summer. It is found growing in dry prairies and barrens with rocky to sandy-clay soils.There are two subspecies:

Echinacea angustifolia subsp. angustifolia is native to central Canada and the central United States from Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the north to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana in the southEchinacea angustifolia subsp. strigosa has a more limited range in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

Obviously I grow and wildcraft the southern variety, but I find them both here sometimes.

Many Native American groups used this plant for a variety of medicinal purposes, including pain relief and relief of colds and toothaches.

Echinacea purpurea is an herbaceousperennial up to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide at maturity. Depending on the climate, it blooms throughout spring to late summer. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. Its individual flowers (florets) within the flower head are hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs in each flower. It is pollinated by butterflies and bees. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies and barrens, as well as in cultivated beds.

I grow this Echinacea in the garden, as I find it’s leaves more potent than the western and northern varieties.

Echinacea contains multiple substances, such as polysaccharides, caffeic acid derivatives (including cichoric acid), alkylamides, and glycoproteins.

Traditional herbal medicine

In indigenous medicine of the native American Indians, the plant was used externally for wounds, burns, and insect bites, chewing of roots for toothache and throat infections; internal application was used for pain, cough, stomach cramps, and snake bites.

The plant is important economically, to the pharmaceutical trade. It is purported that all parts of the purple coneflower stimulate the immune system.

Side effects include gastrointestinal effects and allergic reactions, including rashes, increased asthma, and life-threatening anaphylaxis. But I’ve never seen this happen. Side effects of allergy are usually similar to hay fever.

WebMD says

Echinacea seems to activate chemicals in the body that decrease inflammation, which might reduce cold and flu symptoms.

Laboratory research suggests that echinacea can stimulate the body’s immune system, but there is no evidence that this occurs in people.

Echinacea also seems to contain some chemicals that can attack yeast and other kinds of fungi directly.

Magickal uses:

Echinacea is used quite extensively to stregthen and boost spellcraft.

It is used in Defensive Magick, Healing Magick and in various forms of Protection Magick.

If anyone knows any correspondence for Echinacea, please comment. I don’t have it in any book I can find.

As always, I will try to answer any question that you can think of.

Brightest Blessings

Eye Harvester