To those of us who bide our time patiently each year for our beloved October, November can bring about a certainly melancholy stemming from the reality that we must begin that long wait over again.

And yet, November’s presence is neither a bad nor an unfortunate thing. Regardless of what the weather may get up to, November is still fall time in the Northern Hemisphere.

In fact, it is the last full month of the present season, which will officially conclude when the Winter Solstice comes calling in December.

Instead of viewing November merely as the first step on the journey until next October, I consciously choose to bask in the lingering afterglow of my favourite month and to celebrate each precious moment of autumn while it is still here.

Since time immemorial, for those in colder climates, fall has often meant a return to heartier fare. One needs sustenance, fortitude, and flavours that both warm the belly and the heart alike as the mercury plummets.

To my mind, few cuisines anywhere on the globe can deliver that quite like the classic offerings that hail from the Celtic lands.

With the nights dropping well below freezing, arctic winds screeching past like frenzied owls, and the near-certain promise of multiple months of bone-chilling winter ahead, November means it is time for me to reach for an especially beloved book once again.

And, moreover, to share some of my thoughts on that very title here with all of you.

The book I’m speaking about is Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala.

This title is not particularly new, having first been released in 1998 (I currently own the fifteenth printing, which came out in 2017). Yet, like many an excellent book, it has qualities that make it both endearing and timeless.

As we will soon dive into, Celtic Folklore Cooking is much more than “just” a compendium of excellent Celtic recipes.

This book is also chock-a-block with engaging Celtic folklore, proverbs, and poetry from countries such as Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; and is by far one of the most compressive looks at traditional Celtic cuisine that I have come across.

Book specs

Name: Celtic Folklore Cooking

Author: Joanne Asala

Page count: 384

Publisher: Llewellyn

Binding: Softcover

A feast for the tastebuds and imagination alike

Have you ever walked into someone’s kitchen, be it for the first time or the five hundredth and instantly felt comfortable, at peace, and warmed from the inside out before you’d even eaten a single morsel of food?

Just as some kitchens and the home cooks behind them are able to impart this sense of nurturing serenity, so too are certain books pertaining to the culinary arts.

Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala is one of those books.

Asala is the author/compiler of more than 25 books pertaining to folklore, fairy tales, cooking, and traditional customs from various parts of Europe. A native of Chicago, she has travelled across the continent extensively to learn and gather information for her books. This point shines out vibrantly in the depth and scope of knowledge that she imparts throughout Celtic Folklore Cooking.

Clocking in at a touch under 400 pages, this hefty paperback title features more than 200 traditional dishes hailing from the land of the Celts.

While this book does not have any photographs or (save for the front cover) colour illustrations, it does house a selection of charming black and white illustrations that accompany some, but not all, of the recipes and tales that this engaging book includes.

No doubt Celtic Folklore Cooking would have been an even more captivating book with colour photos and/or illustrations. Yet, the strength of the author’s writing and the breadth of fascinating folklore covered here adds proverbial colour to each delightful page in its own right and as such, I rarely find myself longing for photos or drawings when reading this book.  

On top of the 200+ dishes included in this cookbook, one also finds an enchantingly selection of folktales, poems, proverbs, and customs hailing from traditional Celtic lands, such as Scotland and Ireland.

Before we go any further this review, I should mention that though this book will find favour with many a witch, Wiccan, and Pagan, it was not written solely for that audience.  

And while Asala begins her introduction by stating that, “The goal of Celtic Folklore Cooking is to help you select foods to serve at your celebrations of the Sabbats and Esbats”, the dishes and captivating folklore contained within this book can just as easily be utilized for every other day of the year as well.

Celtic Folklore Cooking is a culturally rich, expansive, captivating look at the traditions and history of Celtic cuisine and is bound to appeal to a wide range of readers, both inside and out of the Pagan/witchy sphere.

For those who fall under the former header, you will be interested to know that the author does make a point of mentioning which Pagan sabbats she feels best suit each recipe in the book.

Broadly speaking, I agree with the majority of her choices for corresponding sabbats and if anything, wouldn’t so much change her suggestions as add on an additional sabbat or two in some cases.

Of course, these recipes – like nearly any recipe, for that matter – can be utilized whenever you desire, be it for the sabbats, esbats, or otherwise.

Celtic Folklore Cooking is arranged into the following nine chapters:

-The Celtic Wheel of The Year

-Beverages (which includes recipes for numerous homemade alcoholic beverages such as Mead, Blas Meala, Welsh Posset Cup, Eggnog, and Wassail)

-Breads, Porridges, and Breakfast Foods

-Milk, Eggs, and Cheese

-Soups and Stews

-Vegetables

-Fish, Shellfish, and Seaweed

-Meat and Wild Game

-Desserts

In addition, there is an introduction, bibliography and related reading, glossary, and index. The latter of which is especially handy if you’re keen to look up recipes for a specific ingredient.

Speaking of which, a good many of the ingredients called for in these recipes are classic ones that strive to mirror the traditional cuisine of the Celtic nations.

In the very earliest days of our relationship, Tony and I lived in Ireland (ROI) for a couple of years. Getting to experience both contemporary and traditional Irish firsthand in its homeland stands out as one of my most treasured memories from our adventure in the Emerald Isle.

Each time I dip into Celtic Folklore Cooking, I feel as though I am reliving our time in Ireland and the incredible food we got to experience there.

The recipes in this book are accessible and welcoming. Many are relatively simple and quite a few are fairly budget-friendly.

This book is not geared specifically to any one type of diet (such as vegetarianism or eating gluten-free, for example) and, as with the bulk of generalized cookbooks pertaining to almost any cuisine, if you follow a specific type of diet for medical, cultural, religious or other reasons, some of the recipes in Celtic Folklore Cooking may not work for your dietary requirements.

Or, perhaps, in certain instances, you could alter them so that they were able to work. Switching out, say, animal dairy products nut, plant, or seed options instead. Those (like myself) who eat Low FODMAP could also make certain substitutions, such as using the green parts of scallions/spring onions or leeks in place of onions.

These are just a couple of examples, of course. You know your diet and health best, so should hopefully be able to determine if some of the recipes in Celtic Folklore Cooking are able to be adapted to your specific dietary needs or not.

If the answer is “not” across the board, that is 100% okay, naturally, and you may still enjoy the culinary history and folklore that abounds in this book all the same.

It is worth noting that there are some ingredients in this book that were not native to the lands the ancient Celts inhabited and others that have become commonplace mainstays of these corners of Europe in more recent centuries.

This point doesn’t bother me personally, as I feel it is generally unrealistic to expect most 21^st century cookbooks to ask readers to solely use ingredients that were available in a given part of the world during a specific long-ago time period.

Another element of this book that does not trouble me, but which might put some readers off a touch is that not all of the recipes are presented in the same format. Some are arranged in paragraph form, while most are laid out in the usual contemporary way of presenting recipes (as in the photo above), starting with their ingredients and then how to prepare and cook a given dish.

I am a massive proponent and long-time adoptee of eating traditionally/ancestrally, eschewing heavily processed foods whenever possible and seeking out healthy local offerings for as much of what we consume as is realistically (and economically) possible.

This book embraces traditional foods, cooking methods, and meals that, in many instances, take longer than a few minutes to bring to the table.

That isn’t to say they are challenging or require ages to prepare or make. With relatively few exceptions this is not the case.

Instead, they are homey, classic dishes (think soups, stews, and hot breakfast cereals, for example) that benefit from decent cooking times and which may taste even better when reheated in the following days after they have been prepared.

These are recipes that encourage you, if so desired and if such is feasible, to live (or to live all the more) in tune with the seasons and the foodstuffs that are most readily available through each chapter of the year.

As you lap up the recipes in Celtic Folklore Cooking, you are treated to a multi-course meal for the mind via the delightful array of folklore tales, proverbs, poetry, and general folk wisdom that Asala has generously peppered throughout the book.

Even if one opted to never cook a single recipe from this book, the Celtic lore, charming folk wisdom, and history that call this title home would make reading Celtic Folklore Cooking more than worth it.

Celtic Folklore Cooking is a terrific year-round cookbook. It boasts an impressive selection of over 200 delicious recipes from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall.

This point is especially refreshing, as it is fairly common for books pertaining to Celtic culture (be it Celtic cuisine or otherwise) to lock their sights on Ireland and budge nary an inch from that one country, when in truth the lands that the Celts called home spanned multiple modern-day countries.

How Celtic Folklore Cooking rates with me

Cooking, the culinary arts, and food history have been some of my greatest passions in life since I was a young child.

Even though the scope of my own diet is profoundly restricted due to needing to eat for/around several different chronic illnesses and I have a metabolism that’s so slow it makes a snail look like a supersonic rocket by comparison, nothing life has thrown my way has dulled this important interest.

I am the kind of person who reads cookbooks with the intensity and interest many reserve for their favourite novels.

Toss not only culinary history and traditions but also folklore into the mix and my head nearly explodes with joy!

Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala ticks each of those boxes and more. It is wonderfully well suited to Pagan/witchy individuals, while being no less appealing or accessible to those who are neither of those things.

The layout of its chapters invites you to read this book cover to cover, eager not only to see what recipe comes next, but to savour the captivating Celtic folklore, proverbs, and traditional writing this book houses in abundance as well.

There are many excellent books on Irish, Scottish, Welsh, (broadly) Celtic and similar cuisine to be had these days, but few marry folklore and wisdom with 200+ recipes – nor do so with the same level of knowledge and passion that Asala liberally garnishes each page in this fantastic book with.

Learning more about the traditions and/or folklore associated with each recipe in this book further endears it to my heart – just as I’m sure it will for many fellow readers as well.

This is the kind of cookbook that you don’t just read once, try out a recipe or two from, tuck it away on a shelf and pretty much forget about.

It is an engaging, beautifully written, well-presented book that honours the culinary traditions of the Celtic lands and presents a true feast’s worth of inviting recipes that are sure to appeal to a wide range of people from around the globe.

With autumn out in full force and winter barrelling around the corner, this is the kind of book I reach for time and time again, not only for our own daily meals, but also when we entertain company and when I’m asked to bring a hearty dish to a meal elsewhere.

In addition, I love that as someone whose ancestry is comprised almost exclusively of Celtic, Norse, Germanic, and Slavic origins, the recipes in this book are likely not far off from some of those that were enjoyed by many generations of my ancestors.

Not to mention the fact that this book is many a kitchen witch’s dream cookbook – particularly if you work with The Wheel of The Year and/or British, Scottish, Welsh, Irish or similar branches/traditions of Druidism, Wicca, and/or witchcraft.

If I could only pick one book about Celtic cookery to work with for the rest of my days, Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala would surely be it.

And as such, it warms my heart every bit as much as one of the truly delicious traditional Celtic recipes it contains to bestow my highest rating on this book.

Working on a scale of 1 – 5, with five being the highest possible rating, I would give Celtic Folklore Cooking 5 stars out of 5.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Have you read Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala? Are you a fellow fan of traditional Celtic cuisine?

The post Book Review: Celtic Folklore Cooking by Joanne Asala appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

As touched on in 10 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Ostara, this series is not being published in purely sequential order. Nor will each entry appear here in the span of a single year.

Today’s post, in which the spotlight is shone upon the resplendently lovely sabbat that is Mabon, will be the third in this series.

(The first, 10 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Imbolc, appeared as a guest post that I wrote for The Witch of Lupine Hollow, earlier this year.)

As time marches ever onward, I intend to cover all eight of the sabbats – so be sure to watch this space for future economy-minded ways to embrace and make all the more of your Pagan holidays.

In the weeks leading up to Mabon 2020, I brainstormed a slew of possible post ideas for this year’s second harvest season sabbat.

And while many of them tickled my fancy (and are now tucked away in my post inspiration file for possible later use), a voice inside kept driving me back to writing about ways to embrace and make the most of Mabon that cost little to nothing.

Let’s face it, this year has not been kind to many people around the world. From layoffs and lost jobs to steep medical bills, increased costs of living, and so much more, belts have been tightened and pennies pinched in countless ways by a good many of us.

I am nothing if not a witch who listens to her intuition, so it was with pleasure and thanks (to the universe for nudging me in this direction) that I recently sat down to write this list of 15 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Mabon.

Read on to learn about these fun, festive approaches, plus info about what Mabon is, when Mabon falls, and more!

What is Mabon?

Mabon is the second of three harvest season Pagan holidays/sacred days that take place annually.

It falls between Lammas in early August and Samhain at the end of October.

As with each of the eight sabbats that comprise the Wheel of the Year, Mabon’s roots run deep into the bedrock of the past.

However, Mabon as it is observed today, in the 21^st century, is essentially a modern Pagan practice.

That said, countless cultures around the world have long celebrated the harvest season in myriad ways throughout the late summer and fall months.

Mabon draws richly on some of these traditional harvest time/fall equinox celebrations, particularly those from the British Isles, Ireland, Nordic and Germanic lands.

Interestingly, the word Mabon, in its neo-Pagan context, was termed in c. 1970 by New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn founder, Aiden Kelly. It is a reference to a Welsh mythological figure named Mabon ap Modron.

While the word Mabon tends to denote a Pagan/witchery harvest festival and the Fall Equinox or Autumn Equinox as both the astrological event and the more secular observance of such, some people happily use the two names interchangeably.

Other names for Mabon include Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair, An Clabhsúr, Alban Elfed, and the rather lovely, Harvest Home.

Mabon, much like its counter-sabbat Ostara, is a time of immense balance, as the night and day are roughly the same duration on the Fall Equinox.

From Mabon until Yule in the second half of December, the days will continue to grow ever darker, as we prepare for the long, cold winter months ahead.

At the moment though, at least a hint of warmth still remains in the air for many north of the equator. Far from being an overly solemn event, Mabon is a time of beautiful thanksgiving, inner reflection, harmony, balance, planning, and reflecting on what we’ve reaped or harvested in our lives over the past year.

Mabon is also an excellent time to take a well-deserved break. To relax, slow down, and honour both the shifting seasons and the bountiful harvest of autumn, as well as what we’ve helped to nurture and grow into being in the scope of our own daily existence.

September is one of the richest and most abundant months in terms of food crops, so it is quite natural to include feasting in your Mabon festivities, if so desired.

Not everyone personally identifies with the classic Triple Goddess archetypal iteration of the Maiden/Mother/Crone (and that is 100% okay).

Amongst those that do, however, Mabon is often seen as the point in the year when the Goddess/Divine feminine shifts from her role of Mother to that of the sagely and very powerful Crone.

When is Mabon?

Many, if not most, who observe Mabon in the Northern Hemisphere opt to do so in unison with the September Equinox.

The September, or Fall/Autumn, Equinox, denotes the moment when the sun appears to traverse the celestial equator on its exciting journey south.

It is also – excitingly – the first official calendar day of fall in many parts of the word.

As with Spring Equinox and both the Summer and Winter Solstices, the Fall Equinox can fall within a tight window of days each year. In the case of the Fall Equinox, that window spans September 21^st to September 24^th.

This year, the Fall Equinox is on September 22^nd.

Thus, if you’re wondering when is Mabon 2020, the short answer becomes September 22^nd.

However, that said, when and for how many days, one opts to observe a given sabbat is a highly personal choice. Plenty of witches, Pagans, and Wiccans will celebrate Mabon on the Autumn Equinox itself.

Doing so is not a requirement though by any means. Broadly speaking, September 20^th to September 30^th is considered to be Mabon season – though, in some ways, this season extends until Samhain, at the end of October.

I strongly encourage you to follow your heart and instincts when it comes to celebrating (or not) each of the sabbats and the days that you personally choose to observe them on.

While I generally observe the sabbats that correspond with solstices and equinoxes on the official dates that these events occur, I’ve been known to begin my Mabon celebrations + magickal workings as early as the start of September and to carry on with them well into the highly spiritually charged days of late October.

Is Mabon just for witches, Wiccans and Pagans?

Happily, the sabbats are open to those of all faiths and beliefs. They are days that mark important points in the ever-turning wheel of the year – something that impacts every single person’s life, regardless of their spiritual path or where they live on the planet.

If you feel called to observe and celebrate the Autumn Equinox/Mabon, then by all means have at it.

Life needs all the cheer, positivity, gratitude, and reasons to make merry that we can possibly muster.

After all, it is not without good reason that Mabon is sometimes called the Pagan Thanksgiving or Witches Thanksgiving.

However, I personally believe that the Fall Equinox has the ability to serve as a universal Thanksgiving Day for anyone around the world who wishes to focus on the blessings of the harvest season.

How to celebrate the Fall Equinox/Mabon

In the list that follows this section, numerous specific ways to celebrate Mabon are laid out. However, these are but fifteen of the limitless approaches one can take to honouring the harvest season.

Mabon is an excellent time to focus on thanksgiving, blessings, gratitude, warmth (what remains from the sun’s rays and that which we foster in our own lives and relationships), harmony, serenity, the liminal nature of the equinoxes, and other aspects of the season that resonate with our own hearts.

You may wish to create or decorate an existing altar for Mabon, hold a Mabon feast – be it for one or one hundred, take a leisurely nature walk, decorate your home for fall time (one of my personal faves!), reach out to people you hold dear to thank them for the ways in which they enrich your life, harvest some fruit, vegetables, herbs or other plants of your own, visit a corn maze or pumpkin patch, make seasonally related jewelry or other craft projects, create corn dollies, watch the leaves fall, or have a lovely bonfire at this point in the year.

Celebrate Mabon in the way(s) that feel right and natural to you and your spiritual path, that realistically work within the parameters of your daily life, and which, hopefully, bring you both happiness and an even deeper sense of connection to the wonders of fall time.

15 free and low-cost ways to celebrate Mabon

1. Gather natural treasures. While spring and summer might see more live greenery, I’d argue that no season offers quite the bounty of natural treasures that autumn does.

Even in the heart of sprawling metropolises, fall still shines radiantly and proudly via the changing leaves and early morning frost.

If you’re able to do so, head outside and take a leisurely look around for offerings from Gaia that you can bring home with you to use for all manner of purposes. From decorating your home and altar to (when applicable) eating now or storing away for the coming year until fall returns once again.

As always, ensure that anything you source is done in a legal and ethical manner, and that you are not greatly disrupting the local ecosystem by removing any elements from a given surrounding.

Some wonderful things to keep your eyes on high alert for during the crisp, gorgeous days of early to mid-autumn include dried leaves, strips of shed bark, seed pods, pine cones, chestnuts, acorns, walnuts, hazelnuts (filberts), seasonal wildflowers, corn husks, safe to eat wild foods (fruits, berries, vegetables, roots, herbs, mushrooms, etc), shed animal skins and antlers, empty bird’s egg shells, and feathers.

Give thanks for each treasure that you find and consider leaving an offering, picking up trash in the vicinity, or otherwise honouring the area that you’ve been forging for fall time nature finds in.

2. Engage in banishing magic. Banishing is something that aligns powerfully with the harvest season, as one distinct chapter of the year (the growing season of spring and summer) transforms into the harvesting, resting and renewing period that is fall and winter.

This year, most of us are feeling the need to weave some banishing work into our spiritual practices now more than ever.

If you’re keen to do just that, I highly recommend this Apple Magick Banishing Spell for Mabon that I penned as another of the guest posts that I had the pleasure of writing for The Witch of Lupine Hollow.

This spell is simple, meaningful, and, in my personal experience, highly effective. It also supports the spirit of the Autumn Equinox, which invites us to part ways with was and to gather strength and renewed focus for the coming chilly months.

3. Learn a new skill or further your education. While many a year may have passed since you last sat behind a school desk, one of the greatest gifts in life is that we have the ability to keep learning long after our days of formal classroom education are behind us.

In many parts of the world, the new school year begins in August or September.

Growing up, I adored the start of the school year and often find myself missing the heady rush of resuming classroom learning, a backpack bulging with new pencils and notebooks slung over my shoulder, when September returns.

While I won’t be raising my hand during rollcall again anytime soon, one way I can help temper this longing is to throw myself into learning or honing a new skill or area of interest as fall returns.

Sometimes my focus is squarely Pagan/witchy related, at others it may pertain to crafts, my health, the culinary arts, photography, or a multitude of other topics.

If there’s something you’ve been keen to learn more about, a class you’ve been wanting to take, or a subject you’d like to brush up, the Autumn Equinox is a superb time to honour your mind and enrich your life in the process.

4. Practice leaf divination. Formally known as phyllomancy, divining via leaves is an ancient practice whose roots (pun intended) likely stretch back to the early days of human existence.

Leaves are abundant in most parts of the world, so it stands to reason that they were a probable source for early peoples to turn to when engaging in divination. Historical records tell us that phyllomancy was used by cultures such as the ancient Greeks, Assyrians, Romans, Celts, and Chinese, to name but a few.  

There are various ways to look for omens, signs, meanings, and answers in leaves. They include listening to the sounds, such as rustling, that they make, interpreting their shapes and colours (as well as if a leaf has fallen face up or face down), reading the veins and characteristic markings of a given leaf, using groups or piles of leaves in much the same way as tealeaf reading (tasseomancy), interrupting images seen in burning leaves, and mental impressions that present themselves to you when looking at autumn leaves.

5. Donate to a local food bank or other food-related charity. While fall is known as the season of plenty thanks to the abundance of agricultural crops that are harvest at this point in the year, the sad truth is that even in a world teeming with food, not everyone gets enough to eat and/or has an ongoing sense of food security.

If you have unexpired non-perishable foods to share, the means to make a monetary donation, and/or ability to volunteer some of your time to help out at a local food bank, soup kitchen or similar facility, Mabon is an excellent time of the year to do so.

If this is not possible, think about other ways that you might be able to share some of the bounty – be it modest or vast – of your own food stores with others.

For example, do you have an elderly neighbour who would appreciate a hearty homemade pumpkin bread, a pot of delicious acorn squash soup, or basket of perfectly ripe apples from the tree in your backyard?

As in many areas of life, it is often possible to give and enrich the lives of others without breaking the bank – or, in some cases, involving any money at all.

6. Create a crystal grid for Mabon. Crystal grids are incredible ways to harness the power, energy and benefits of working with crystals.

I adore putting together blessed and charged crystal grids for the Pagan holidays, often leaving them on one of my altars until the next sabbat approaches.

The sky is the limit when it comes to designing and laying out a crystal grid for Mabon.

You could opt to include only crystals, stones and/or rocks or may wish to involve other natural or manmade elements as well.

Numerous crystals are associated with Mabon. These include, but are not limited to, citrine, aragonite, jasper, sunstone, garnet, amber, cat’s eye, orange calcite, carnelian, pyrite, aventurine, peach selenite, rhyolite, and peach moonstone.

In addition to crystals and stones, I love including natural materials – particularly those that I’ve gathered myself – in my Mabon crystal grids.

Some great additions are sunflowers and their seeds, marigolds, dried summertime flowers, pumpkin seeds, mini pumpkins and gourds, apples (fresh or dried), pears (fresh or dried), ears of dried corn and/or corn husks, sheaves of wheat, fall leaves, acorns, chestnuts, seed pods, and feathers.

7.  Recycle old candles to make new candles. Let’s face it, most of us witchy and Pagan folk love a good candle – or fifty! And while plenty may be burned until completion, chances are that you have some partially used candles laying around the house as we speak.

This Mabon season, to honour the warmth and light that helped to create the bountiful fall harvest, to prepare for the coming months of autumn and winter darkness, and to celebrate the fact that the fall equinox is a day of balance between the eternal sources of light and darkness, why not make some candles from existing ones that you have on hand?

The web is rife with tutorials on how to turn old candle ends, bits and pieces into new candles. YouTube is a great place to watch videos of how to do just that.

Check out How to Make New Candles from Your Old Candles Tutorial, How to Melt Old Candle Wax into New Candles to REUSE Candle Wax!, and How To Make a Candle from Old Candle Pieces to get started.

While a small number of basic candle making materials may be required for some of these techniques, the outlay in cost can usually be kept to a minimum – especially if you don’t plan to turn candle making into a major hobby or business.

Fall is a fantastic time of the year to sweep away, clean up and declutter the old, parting ways with what we can, while recycling and revamping in other areas. Handmade candles are one shining – again, pun intended – way to do just that.

8. Reflect on loss, death and the natural cycle of life. It’s safe to say that 2020 has driven these themes home for many people in powerful, perhaps for some individuals even unprecedented, ways.  

It is beyond the scope of this post to even so much as skim the surface of grief processing and management or to delve into the extraordinary degree of loss + suffering that the world has endured this year.

Whether you chose to reflect on how death has touched and shaped 2020 or these subjects as they pertain to other areas of your life/spiritual path is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong here at all.

Of all the sabbats (as they transpire in the Northern Hemisphere), none is as closely linked to death, the spirit realm, ancestors, and imagery pertaining to the dead than Samhain.

Yet, Mabon, which proceeds Samhain by just a few short weeks, is another point in the year when the veil thins and workings (and thoughts) pertaining to death are especially appropriate.

After all, what does the autumn equinox mark but the death of summer. Even if the warmth and radiant sunlight of the former season lingers a while longer, as far as science and the calendar alike are concerned, summer is officially over.

While one might feel full on grief over the loss of summer – and, conversely, plenty rejoice when this point arrives – it is worthwhile to reflect on the season that was and to thank the universe for the chance to experience another summer.

Consider performing rituals and workings pertaining to some aspect of death, be it seasonal, connected to departed people or animals, or the general theme of death and the roles it plays in each of our journeys through life. 

Visit a graveyard or cemetery, hold a dumb supper, connect with ancestral spirits, do tarot or oracle reading that relates to death, engage in death positive activities, or do anything else pertaining to death that feels right (and safe!) to you this autumn.

9. Dress is fall time colours. While black and grey (and to a lesser extent, dark brown) are have been the powerhouses of my wardrobe for years now, fall’s colour palette has a starring role in my closer the whole year through as well.

When autumn itself returns, I leap headfirst all the more into donning rich, earthy, elegant shades of everything from maroon to saffron, pumpkin to olive, cocoa to crimson and plenty of others.

Each colour in the visible spectrum connects to elements of nature, has meaningful spiritual correspondences and connections, and can impact everything from our mood to how people perceive us.

When it comes to fall time dressing, some great colours choices include:

-Burgundy and maroon

-Reds, especially darker shades (such as scarlet, brick, and cranberry) and those with blue undertones

-Muted or, conversely, intense shades of earthy pink and peach, such as puce, salmon, and dusty rose

-Oranges, including rust, pumpkin, marigold, copper, persimmon, and terracotta

-Yellows and golds, including honey, saffron, sunflower, camel, brass, bronze, and mustard yellow

-Earthy greens like chartreuse, olive, sage, and moss

-Darker greens such as spruce, pine, forest, and hunter

-Deep, inky blues such as navy, midnight, dark denim, teal, and peacock

-Purples such plum, berry, sangria, bordeaux, eggplant (aubergine), and dusty shades of purple

-Browns, particularly medium and darker toned shades, as well as those with golden undertones, such as caramel, nutmeg, butterscotch, and toffee

-Greys in general, though darker shades spanning slate to charcoal are especially appropriate

-Silver and gunmetal

-Muted whites, creams, and ivories

-Black and colours so dark they almost look black (e.g., black cherry)

You do need to look like a walking poster for fall 24/7, of course (though, I’ll be the first to welcome you to team fall fashion, if you do! ).

From small splashes – say a scarf, pair of boots, bracelet, or hair accessory – to full-on ensembles and everything in between, you can rock as much or as little of autumn’s color palette this season.

And, in doing so, know that you are aligning yourself all the more with the energy and natural palette of this beautiful chapter of the year.

Likewise, these colours are all stellar choices for fall time altars, candles, home décor, seasonal décor, party colour schemes, craft projects, and even the foods you prepare throughout the autumn months.

10. Create an outdoor Mabon altar. If you have a safe, private place to do so, consider creating a seasonal altar outdoors for Mabon or adorning an existing outdoor altar in ways that align with Mabon and your spiritual path.

The wonderful blog Raising Knights and Fairies has a great post How to Make an Outdoor Mabon Altar, if you’re looking for some handy inspiration for your own altar Fall Equinox season altar.

Your altar need not be massive. You can base it off of small outdoor table, a stable rock or tree stump, or simply a cleared spot of land.

During the years when I lived on the 23^rd floor of a high-rise apartment building, I often made lovely little outdoor altars throughout the year on our balcony in (or on top of) small recycled wooden and plastic crates.

Another possible place – assuming doing so wouldn’t risk damaging anything you may have planted – is to create altars in planter style window boxes.

Plus, a hanging altar can also be constructed from things such as planters, macramé, or woven baskets, if elevating your altar is a more feasible or desirable approach.

11. Make sun prints from leaves or other seasonal items. The process – aided by a little bit of chemical alchemy – of crating prints using the sun and natural (or manmade) objects is known as cyanotype. It is a form of non-mechanical, aka camera-less, photography that’s creates a cyan blue coloured print.

This process helped to name the act of making blueprints, as cyanotypes were a relatively easy way to create copies of drawing before the advent of more advance copying and image reproduction methods.

Cyanotypes often have a serene elegance to them, and the finished product – be it on paper or fabric can make for gorgeous home décor or be put to work in craft projects.

Creating cyanotypes will likely incur the expense of the materials needed, so it is not the absolute lowest option on this list. However, most kits (or individually sourced and utilized materials) create multiple prints, which helps to keep the costs down on a project-by-project basis.

If you’d rather skip the outlay involved, there are other methods such as preserving leaves with wax paper that are apt to cost you little to nothing (if you have waxed paper to hand already).

As well, the classic act of simply placing fall leaves beneath drawing paper and rubbing a wax crayon, pastel stick, or pencil crayon overtop to produce a rubbing of the leaves never goes out of style and can bring back a lovely hit of nostalgia for those of us who made leaf rubbings during our school days.

With any leaf art related project, consider displaying the end result on or near your altar/sacred space or otherwise giving it pride of place in your home this fall.

12. Gather up and record your favourite recipes. I’m a passionate home cook and kitchen witch the whole year through, but the moment the first fall leaf drops, I make a beeline for the pantry + stove like there’s no tomorrow!

Many of us associate the colder months with comfort food, nostalgic dishes, and fond memories of the eats we adored (or otherwise ate) when we were growing up.

If you’re not already recording some of your favourite recipes – or haven’t updated your recipe book in a while – fall is the ideal time to jot down those dishes that make your heart, stomach and soul alike all happy.

If so desired, feel free to include notes on any magickal workings or other spiritual elements that you’ve preformed or associate with your recipes.

Let your loved ones know about your treasure trove of recipes and don’t be shy about sharing copies of them. Passing along recipes is a time-honoured tradition and one that feels all the more at home come the season of potlucks (potlatches), Thanksgiving, Halloween/Samhain, and fall feasting.

13. Make your very own corn husk witch doll. I gasped, audibly gasped, when I first saw this beautiful DIY project online. With a few craft and household supplies, you can create what has to be one of the most perfect, witchery approved corn husk related crafts of all time: a corn husk witch doll.

Not only is your finished corn husk witch doll a wonderful representation of the spiritual bond we share with fall, but it can become a treasured piece that you either bring out each autumn or leave on your altar or elsewhere in your house the whole year through.

As well, I cannot help but think what a splendid gift for your fellow witchy and Halloween adoring friends one of these special corn husk dolls would be.

14. Go on a fall time picnic. Unless you are fortunate enough to live somewhere that never gets truly cold, chances are that pristine al fresco dining weather will soon be drawing to a close in your area.

Before it does, why not prepare or purchase and pack up a scrumptious picnic to be enjoyed in the majesty of the great outdoors (be it a safe public setting or the comfort of your own backyard)?

For extra fall time fun, correspondences and meaning, you could opt to feature a menu comprised of seasonal foods such as those involving pumpkin, squash, apples, plums, pears, grapes, cider, perry (pear cider), mead, wine, honey, pomegranates, corn, squash, leeks, onions, garlic, cornbread, hearty breads, oats, nuts and seeds, salmon, turkey, venison, and warm spices such as pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger, mustard, and cardamom.

15. Set intentions for the coming year. Samhain is often seen as the witches New Year. I myself view and utilize it in this meaningful capacity. Yet I have long been doing much the same with the return of fall as well.

The ball may drop on time square at the stroke of midnight on January 1^st, but for myself and plenty of others, different points in the year feel like more natural or intrinsic starts to the next year for us.

Fall’s return is my new year and as such I make a point to be brutally and lovingly honest with myself about what it is I would ideally like to accomplish between now and the following Mabon.

I set intentions big and small, access how those from past years are doing, and accept that some past intentions either will not come to be or may no longer be realistic.

You can do the same through thoughts alone, by writing your intentions down, doing intention related spell work, making a vlog style video about your intentions, or utilizing another method that jives with your life.

Think big and dream broadly, but remember to keep at least a toe or two planted firmly in the reality of your current existence.

And keep in mind too that, much like traditional New Year’s resolutions, you will generally have to actively work to make your intentions and goals come to fruition.

Hope, luck, and faith all have their place, but so does self-propelled manifestation.

Reaping the blessings of Mabon

Much like the balance of light and dark that Mabon houses, the second fall harvest sabbat is a meaningful blend of joy and somberness. It celebrates life and thanksgiving, while also honouring death and, in some instances, rebirth as well.

Samhain might be the rock star of the Pagan sabbat world in the eyes of many, but Mabon holds its own, too, and is a powerful, spiritually charged, beautiful chapter of the year.

Yes, we’ve officially bid farewell to summer, but that just means we get to enjoy the next several weeks of fall weather before plunging into the icy heart of winter.

Mabon, much like autumn itself, is a time of both productivity and rest. It invites us to banish what no longer serves our lives and spiritual practices, while also providing us with comfort, joy, inspiration, beauty, magick, and merriment aplenty.

The blessings of this season are abundant. They shine out in every leaf and tendril of chimney smoke, greeting us via smiling jack-o-lanterns and scrumptious fall time comfort dishes. They are present in our communications with the departed, our evening walks through jewel toned carpets of crunchy leaves, and the dreams + goals we make for the year ahead.

May this Mabon bring unlimited goodness, support, safety, and enchantment your way, dear friends!

The post 15 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Mabon appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Historically, Beltane has often marked the start of the light half of the year, which is characterized by such things as abundant sunlight, warmth, and a wide variety of fresh crops.

This light-filled half will conclude, from a sabbat standpoint, with Samhain at the end of October, from which point onward the world will experience the darker half of the year. Until, in a dance that has played out since time immemorial, the cycle begins anew once more the following Beltane.

For those north of the equator (south of this point, the seasons – and, optionally, Wheel of the Year – are experienced in reverse order to those in the northern hemisphere), May and June are often a gloriously lovely time.

All of nature has come out of hibernation, the sky rivals tropical seas with the depth of its azure tones, the grass is verdant, lush and inviting to our sandal clad feet, and some of the most delicious fresh food of the entire year is once again in season.

This year, however, while all of those same things still ring true, the Covid-19 pandemic and continued need to remain in self-isolation, coupled with global food chain and supply shortages of certain products means that popping down to the nearest grocery store or farmer’s market for fresh produce may not be possible at present

Even if our local supermarkets are open, there’s no guarantee that the items we’re after will be on their shelves. Nor that we’ll be in a position – be it due to health, finances, or safety – to reach the stores nearest to us in the first place.

I’m a huge proponent of eating fresh, shopping locally, and (if feasible and so desired) growing some of your own food.

Tough times alter our lives, however. The types and availability of food that we presently have available to us is currently one of the ways in which many people are experiencing the impacts of this devastating global pandemic.

In today’s post, we are going to explore some of the foods that are closely associated with Beltane coupled with ways to make the most of those foods in store cupboard form, as that is what an ever-increasing number of us are working with for our daily menus and sabbat meals alike.

What foods are traditionally associated with Beltane?

Beltane is the Celtic May Day festival whose roots stretch far back in history, to a time of a primarily agrarian-based society the predated the industrial revolutions by hundreds upon hundreds of years.

It is one of the four traditional Celtic/Gaelic festivals that helped to delineate the seasons for these early people (the others were Samhain, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh/Lammas, respectively).

Beltane was heavily associated with the start of the summer pastoral season, fresh produce, and energy filled life, plus fiery passion, and was seen to be a time when – much as at Samhain – the veil between the worlds thinned.

The ancient Celts were certainly not the only culture to celebrate, honour and/or worship the start of May, but it is largely through their observance of this annual happening that we’ve derived much of our 21^st century interpretation of Beltane. Influences from other early European cultures, including the Norse and the Germanic peoples can be felt as well.

As this springtime sabbat is typically observed on, or right around, May 1^st, the foods that have traditionally been associated with Beltane tend to be those that are at are in season at that point in the spring.

These include, but are not limited to, the following:

-Asparagus

-Artichokes

-Baby/new potatoes

-Bannock

-Blueberries

-Carrots

-Celery

-Dairy products (vegetarians, vegans, and those who do not otherwise consume animal milk products can easily swap in dairy alternatives instead)

-Garlic (as well as wild garlic)

-Green beans

-Green peas

-Edible springtime flowers such as honeysuckle, lilacs, jasmine, roses, and violets

*IMPORTANT NOTE* Only Jasminum officinale is edible. All other jasmine species, including “false jasmine” are poisonous. Please see this page on edible flowers for more details.

-Honey

-Leeks

-Lemons

-Lettuce

-May Wine (alcoholic or non-alcoholic versions; here is a lovely May Wine recipe that you may enjoy)

-Oatcakes

-Radishes

-Ramps (a species of wild onions)

-Roses (and rose water)

-Rhubarb (in some areas, in others it may be ready later in the summer)

-Scones

-Spinach

-Spring onions

-Strawberries

-Swiss chard

-Various herbs such as chives, dill, lavender, lemon balm, rosemary, tarragon, and thyme

-Watercress

Importantly, it should be noted that the ancients did not have had access to all of these foods at the same time and in the same place. (Ye olde Whole Foods Market was definitely not a thing yet! )

However, chances are that of those they were able to harvest or otherwise obtain (such as through trading), they would likely have included a variety of these healthy offerings into their diet during the spring and early summer months.

Some of the above listed foods are going to be explored in further detail below, complete with their respective magickal correspondences.

Are fresh foods a better choice for Beltane?

While you might prefer the taste or texture of fresh versions of certain foods, from a magickal standpoint, I do not personally believe that canned, tinned, frozen, dehydrated, or otherwise non-perishable forms of food are automatically less effective, magickal, or meaningful (especially if little to no preservatives or artificial ingredients have been added to them).

You can impart, bless, charge, or otherwise imbue anything that you eat or work with in your practice with the energy and intent of your choosing.

Doing so should help to ensure that foods with far off expiration dates are just as useful and beneficial in your workings (and daily meals) as those that were just plucked from the field or tree.

Objectively, while some foods are seen as being fairly common non-perishable pantry or store cupboard staples, I have no way of knowing what you have on hand and/or may readily have access to at present.

I encourage you to keep in mind as you continue reading from this point onward, that this is not a checklist. It is totally okay if you do not currently have some or even all of these different foods at your house.

Necessity is the mother of invention and of substitution. As lovely as it is to try and eat foods that are traditionally in season – or otherwise plentifully available – at the time of each of the sabbats, if that isn’t feasible for you, please try not to worry about it.

As an alternative, you could aim instead to focus more on the colour of your food. For example, luscious greens and sunny yellows, pretty reds and elegant purples to mirror and correspond to the hues that we see in abundant in the natural world during the month of May.

As well, for the purpose of keeping things concise, I have used the terms “pantry” and “store cupboard” quite liberally here, extending them to cover various foods that you may have in canned, tinned, packaged, frozen or otherwise non-perishable form.

Naturally, if you currently have ready access to the fresh versions of these foods and wish to enjoy them during the Beltane season, by all means do so.

That said, we witchy folk are nothing if not resourceful and know that making the best of what we have at our disposal right now is one of the keys to a happier, more content, and abundantly blessed life and magickal practice alike – so reach for those store cupboard staples!

15 foods for Beltane and their magickal correspondences

1. Asparagus: Magickal properties for asparagus pertain in no small part to lust, sex, power, and fertility – making it one of the most well-suited foods to tuck into at Beltane. In addition, asparagus is linked magickally to cleansing, purifying, healing, water magick, money magick, fortitude, keeping a calm head, standing up for yourself and others, boldness, and masculine energy.

Common non-perishable forms of asparagus include frozen, pickled, and canned/tinned.

2. Artichokes: Magickal properties for artichokes tend to gravitate heavily towards matters of shielding and protection, as well as areas of personal growth, getting to the heart of the matter, letting your inner desires shine or manifest, exposing the truth, boldness, honesty, caring for others, and love of all sorts.

Common non-perishable forms of artichokes include frozen, pickled, and canned/tinned.

3. Blueberries: Magickal properties for blueberries abound – much like the healthy properties of these powerhouse fruits. Turn to blueberry magick for protection (including of pets and other animals, as well as houses and property protection), the moon, feminine energy, health, healing, restoration, aura cleansing and strengthening, divination, faeries, sweetness, vitality, completion (of projects, goals, tasks, etc), shielding and protecting from energy vampires and psychic attacks, and optimism.

Common non-perishable forms of blueberries include frozen, dehydrated, powdered, freeze-dried, syrups, jams, jellies, preserves, and canned/tinned.

4. Carrots: Magickal properties for carrots – by far one of the most iconic and beloved of springtime vegetables – include such things as grounding, healing, protection, desire, sexuality, fertility, seeing things for what they truly are, planting seeds of your desires, positivity and fun, sweetness, healing, opening your third eye, dreams, visions, youthfulness, and playfulness.

Common non-perishable forms of carrots include frozen, dehydrated, freeze-dried, jams, preserved in sweet syrups, relishes, pickled, and canned/tinned.

5. Celery: Magickal properties for celery include those that can help with a number of important areas of our lives, including mental clarity, releasing, banishing, concentration, psychic awareness and gifts, soothing, helping to pass or speed along unwanted situations, serenity, calming, weight related matters, balance and harmony, unearthing the truth, and (much like asparagus) water workings and rituals.

Common non-perishable forms of celery include frozen, dehydrated, celery salt, celery seeds, and canned/tinned.

6. Garlic: Magickal properties for garlic, one of the world’s most frequently used and adored culinary ingredients, are quite abundant and pertain to matters such as protection, luck, distancing yourself from unwanted energies and individuals, health, personal growth, masculinity, strength inclusion in witch jars, spell jars, mojo bags, and poppets; home protection, cleansing, purification, ancestor work, spell breaking, hex and curse breaking, working at the crossroads, and nighttime magick.

Common non-perishable forms of garlic include minced and crushed forms of garlic sold in jars, frozen, freeze dried, garlic salt, garlic powder, garlic paste, pickled, and canned/tinned.

7. Green Beans: Magickal properties for green beans are plentiful – much like the culinary applications for perineal springtime vegetables. Matters of divination, money, creativity, new starts, standing tall (standing up for yourself), insight, wisdom, communication, clarity, personal space, getting out of ruts, hopefulness, creativity, garden and the fae are some of the key areas where green beans can help your magickal spells and other witchy workings. (Note, these magickal properties apply to yellow wax beans as well.)

Common non-perishable forms of green beans include frozen, freeze-dried, pickled, and canned/tinned.

8. Green Peas: Magickal properties for green peas (including sugar snap peas) share points in common with those of green beans, as well as some of their own special strengths. Turn to green pea magick when you want to focus on areas relating to new growth, love, traditions, family matters, ancestor work, history, gardening, environmental protection, Gaia, strength, grounding, acceptance, serenity, and money matters.

Common non-perishable forms of green peas include frozen, freeze-dried, canned/tinned, and green pea snack crisps.

9. Honey: Magickal properties for honey flow as abundantly and beautifully as this ancient, much adored culinary treasure. Work with honey in your spells, rituals, offerings and other magickal activities that pertain to love, happiness, peace, serenity, creativity, femininity, fertility, healing, self care, vital energy, binding, friendships, reaching amicable outcomes, traditions, family, celebrating both life and death (including as an offering at cemeteries, launching new project and businesses, sweetness, kindness, romance, longevity, the sun, in hoodoo honey jars, and as an offering to a wide array of gods, goddesses, and spirit allies.

Most forms of honey, assuming they are properly stored are inherently long-lasting. If needed, honey can be frozen and thawed for later use (or used straight from its frozen form in some types of recipes).

10. Lemons: Magickal properties for lemons are generally upbeat and sunny, reminding one of the vibrant hue of this beloved citrus fruit. Make lemons your magickal main squeeze when you want to focus on spells, rituals, offerings and other witchy workings pertaining to awareness, spirituality, clarity, purification, cleansing, rejuvenation, happiness, compassion, prosperity, warm and friendly relationships, friendship, femininity, fertility, children, auras, lightness of being, dreams, breaking negative ties, optimism, and the moon. (And, my fellow Cancers may enjoy knowing that lemons are closely associated with our astrological sign, much as it is with that of Pisces.)

Common non-perishable forms of lemons include frozen, freeze-dried, dehydrated, preserved, dried lemon peel, lemon extract, lemon juice, lemon concentrate, lemon pepper, jams, marmalades, and candied lemon peel.

11. Oats: Magickal properties for oats stretch far back into the past and oats remain one of the most versatile and useful magickal ingredients you can keep in your kitchen or witchy ingredient cabinet to this day. Use oats in your magickal workings when you’re focusing on areas of happiness, health, tradition, stability, fertility, ancestor work, family matters, fortitude, endurance, persistence, personal change, meditation, house and home, beauty, friendship, faithfulness, good luck, stick-to-itiveness, comfort, healing, respect, spiritual growth, venturing out into the world, education, employment, and achieving balance in your life.

Most varieties of oats, assuming they are properly stored are inherently long-lasting. Some of the most common forms of oats include oatmeal, quick cooking oats, old-fashioned oats, rolled oats, steel-cut oats, oat flour, oatbreads, oatcakes, oat crackers, oat based breakfast cereals, granola, musali, granola bars, British flapjacks, oatmeal cookies, and oat milk.

12. Rosemary: Magickal properties for rosemary abound and this beautiful herb is one that should have a standing spot in both your magickal workings and your kitchen. Use rosemary when you’re focusing on areas pertaining to love, attraction, spicing up your life, the solar plexus, dream work, warding off nightmares, memories, loyalty, sleep, strength, kitchen witchery, home blessings and protection, family, jealousy, bonding, purification, divination, protection from the evil eye, cleaning your space, offerings, the dead, hedge riding, spirits, ancient history, creativity, strengthening relationships, rejuvenation, bathing, and the element of air.

Common non-perishable forms of rosemary include dried, frozen, rosemary paste, rosemary-infused oils, and rosemary salt.

13. Spinach: Magickal properties for spinach are strong and ample (much like the delicious culinary possibilities when cooking with spinach). Tap into the green goodness of spinach when you wish to focus your magickal workings on areas of personal growth, money, fertility, passion, strength, determination, shielding, charging, the forest (and nature in general), travel, transportation, ley lines, astral projection, or the planet Jupiter.

Common non-perishable forms of spinach include frozen, canned/tinned, and dehydrated.

14. Strawberries: Magickal properties for strawberries are generally sweet, upbeat and highly welcome – much like this sunny weather culinary staple. Turn to strawberries in your magickal workings when you’re centering your attention on romance, love, pregnancy, family, youth, beauty, femininity, positivity, hope, truthfulness, creativity, warmth, friendship, overcoming hardships, dedication, success, stamina, reliability, giving, spiritual detoxification and cleansing, good luck, or the goddess Venus.  

Common non-perishable forms of strawberries include frozen, dehydrated, freeze-dried, powdered, syrups, jams, jellies, preserves, and canned/tinned.

15. Thyme: Magickal properties for thyme include those pertaining to purifying, cleansing, releasing and banishing negativity, happiness, personal style, prosperity, sweetness, hope, stability, tradition, balance, personal freedom, boldness, positive outlooks, letting go, compassion, reaching peaceful agreements, easing anxiety and nervousness, grief, trauma processing, releasing negativity, the fae, forest spirits, history, ancestors work, finding lost items, house hunting, financial matters, longevity, creativity, performing arts, writing, and honoring the dead.

Common non-perishable forms of thyme include dried, frozen, thyme paste, thyme-infused oils, and thyme salt.

As discussed earlier in this post, it is useful to remember that the magickal properties of each of the above listed foods apply whether a given food is fresh or preserved in some manner.

I aimed to include foods in this list that are, under normal (aka, pre-Coronavirus) circumstances, relatively readily available in many parts of the world in at least one non-perishable form, such as canned, tinned, frozen or dried.

Thus making them more likely to be a store cupboard (or freezer, spice rack, etc) item that you already have in your home or which you may be able to purchase – depending on what the shops or online sources for groceries (and magickal ingredients) in your area still have in stock at the moment.

Ways to work with food at Beltane

If you’re wondering how to work with food at Beltane, you’ve come to the right place!

The following are some lovely and meaningful ways to involve springtime foods in your Beltane celebrations, rituals and magickal workings.

Before hopping into this list, I need to preface it by making an important point. If you – or anyone in your household/family – need every last bite of food at present, please do not sacrifice even so much as a single blueberry or crumb of oatcake for purposes that do not involve human or pet consumption of said food.

It is a wonderful thing to celebrate the sabbats with food-related activities and festive meals, but we are currently living through some exceptionally different and difficult times and survival must always come first.

So with that important point established, let’s continue on and explore a number of different ways to perform Beltane kitchen witchery and otherwise work with food at Beltane in a magickal context.

–Place offerings of food on your altar or in another spot in your house (or yard) for whatever spirit allies, deities, elementals, angels, or other entities you presently work with.

–Hold a dumb supper. While most commonly associated in a modern Pagan sense with Samhain, the act of holding a silent – or “dumb” – supper in order to honour the departed is a poignant act that is inherently at home come Beltane as well.

This is especially true since Beltane and Samhain are exactly opposite each other on the Wheel of the Year and both are liminal times when the veil between the worlds grows thinner. If you’d like to learn more about Dumb Suppers, I suggest checking out this guest post I wrote on the subject back in 2018.

-Whip up some delicious Beltane recipes and have an early morning feast to welcome the rising sun on Beltane morn (or later in the day as a fun and festive May Day brunch.

-Make a batch of beautiful Beltane cupcakes or a charmingly lovely May Pole Cake, both of which honour the centuries old tradition of dancing around a maypole at the start of May.

–Anoint candles with dried or fresh herbs or flower petals (ensure that anything you burn is safe to be inhaled by humans and any animal friends who live with you).

–Mix dried or fresh herbs with salt (white, black, pink, etc – depending on what you’re aiming to accomplish or manifest) and use it to cleanse, bless, protect, or banish unwanted elements or energies from your house, by sprinkling the herbed salt mixture in various areas inside or out of your home (again, make sure any ingredients you use are safe for pets and humans – especially if you live with children).

–Create healthy, all-natural treats for your beloved pets using some of the same store cupboard ingredients that you may be tucking into this Beltane. For example, these 4-Ingredient Dog Treats that star blueberries and whole wheat flour or these inviting looking Carrot and Catnip Kitty Treats.

-Make a loaf of bread, cake, batch of cookies, tray of brownies, or another recipe that includes two or more of the Beltane foods listed in this post for extra seasonal potency.

For example, what about a carrot, thyme and lemon cake? Why not a vegan pot pie with green peas, spinach, leeks and assorted herbs? Or why not a delicious overnight oatmeal loaded with strawberries and blueberries, plus rosemary or lavender, if you have some to hand.

–Connecting all the more with the fae is one of the key elements of Beltane for some folks, myself included. Why not bake classic oatcakes, scones, Fried Honey Cakes, or Elderflower Fritters to leave as an offering for those faeries who inhabit your immediate environment.

-If you have access to pesticide-free edible flowers that are safe for human consumption, consider creating a gorgeous flower-infused honey that celebrates two of spring’s most meaningful (and delicious elements).

This Rose Honey recipe does the trick superbly (and would also make for a wonderful drizzle atop a wide range of Beltane baked goods, from muffins to cakes to berry crisps, crumbles, and buckles).

-If you’re imbibing this Beltane or otherwise utilizing alcohol in your workings, rituals or offerings, consider adding some delectable spring fruits – such as strawberries and blueberries or, if you can get them, early season or frozen peaches – to the wine or your choice for a delectable Beltane sangria.

–Start a book of your favourite sabbat recipes or magickal recipes, including those for Beltane, and add to it each time you hit upon a dish that’s a winner. Alternatively, jot down your sabbat recipes in your grimoire, book of shadows, or another existing book in which you record information pertaining to your path.

Creating our own light during the darkest of times

Beltane is a time to actively embrace, honour and celebrate the sunshine generated light that has returned to our world.

To this end, bonfires have long been a traditional part of many Mayday festivities and rituals. They are not the only way to let the light shine all the more brightly in our lives, however.

Things are not just tough, they’re out and out brutal for the planet as a whole right now.

At Beltane, I encourage you to look for safe, meaningful ways that you transmit energy, positivity and hope out into the world.

Ensure that you focus on your own well being, while also remembering that of others and the countless ways that we are each doing our best to stay afloat, keep our worlds intact as best we can, and remain alive during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition to working with seasonal foods and kitchen witchery in general, ask yourself what are some things you could do right now to brighten your days or those of others?

Much as there is a limitless amount of energy in the universe, so too do we have a profound amount of both inner energy and light that resides within ourselves.

This Beltane, tap into and honour that light.

Let it shine, allow it to help you process and cope with the current state that the world is in, and permit it to guide you onward through the remaining months of 2020 that lay beyond May 1^st.

With all my might, I wish you a safe, sacred, beautiful, and blessed Beltane.

The post 15 excellent pantry staple foods for Beltane and their magickal properties appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Imbolc (also known as Imbolg), is a meaningful and magickal point in the year. Rooted though it is in the heart of winter for plenty of folks around the world, Imbolc’s return helps to align us all the more with the journey towards spring. This road is one that quite literally comes about thanks to the power of light – specifically, sunlight.

Many of us honour, embrace and celebrate this fact at Imbolc by ensuring that candles are an integral part of our sabbat rituals, working and festivities.

Their warmth and light representing that of the sun, while also reminding us of a time in our-not-so-distant collective past when candles often played a vital role in helping people get through the long, dark months of winter (just as they still do, even in this age of electric lighting, for many in today’s world).

This winter, I started to feel Imbolc’s rejuvenating energy quite early on. Shortly after it made its presence known to me again, I decided that I wanted to create a handmade tag that acknowledged and expressed the importance of light at Imbolc.

Oversized “lit from within” candle tag

It’s been a hot minute since I last made a tag!

What better time, I thought to myself, than the year’s first Pagan sabbat to do just that again.

I began with a jumbo-sized premade tag base. You could easily create a tag yourself here instead, either with a ruler, pencil and scissors or with a metal die and a die cutting machine (or electronic die cutter).

This tag base measures 8.5 inches/21.5 cm tall and just over 4 inches/10.1 cm across/wide.

Paper crafting colour options for Imbolc projects

Numerous colours are traditionally associated with Imbolc. These include, but are not limited to, red, black, white, cream, pink, silver, blue, yellow, and gold.

Personally, I tend to associate each of the sabbats with the colours that are most prevalent in nature at the time that these special days occur.

Here in the wild woods of Western Canada, that means plenty of icy whites, muted browns, pale creams, faded blues, and the deep verdant shades of evergreen trees.

While blue and green did not make an appearance on this project, the other colours just mentioned – coupled with gold to further symbolize the returning light of spring – were used on this generously sized tag.

Some other possible colour combinations that could have looked lovely here, and which work great for Imbolc craft projects in general, include the following:

-Grey, silver, and white (and/or light blue)

-Red, black, and white

-Green, brown, and gold or brass

-White, silver, and pale pink

-Navy blue, white, and gold or silver

-Icy blue, white, and silver or platinum

-Brown, green, and cream

-Gold, red and white (or brown)

-Silver, red and pink

How to make the “lit from within” candle element of this Imbolc tag

Once I’d settled on my colour palette and selected the papers and cardstock that I’d be using for it, I went to work creating the star element of this tag: the glowing candle in the middle.

To do this, I first die cut a candle from cream colour cardstock. I then used Copic Ciao markers to outline the candle and the area that looks like dripping wax, as well as to colour in the flame.

Copics do tend to feather (bleed) a bit on ordinary cardstock, the one that I used here included. I wasn’t concerned in this instance, though, as I’d already planned to nestled the die cut candle underneath of some vellum.

While it is somewhat harder to see in these photos verses in real life, I placed the candle and yellow circle of paper on light grey and white snowflake print paper.

You can see this paper more clearly at the very top of the tag, as I used the same paper on that portion of this project as well.

I wanted the candle to look as though it was illuminating out into the world from a window, as snow fell peacefully outside. This is a scene that is very common to me all through the winter and which often occurs at our house on Imbolc itself.

If you do not have a candle-shaped die or access to a digitally equipped die cutting machine, some alternative options include the following:

-Stamp, colour and fussy cut out a candle-shaped piece.

-Pre-made candle die cut, sticker, or chipboard piece.

-Draw a candle yourself and then fussy cut it out.

-Cut out the image of a glowing candle from a photograph, illustration, magazine page, or similar.

-Print and cut out a digi stamp of a candle.

-Use clip art or dingbat font with a candle shape from your word pressing program or an online source. Print, colour (if it is not already coloured) and fussy cut the shape.

To help further convey the sense of a glowing candle, I die cut a small circle from golden yellow coloured paper and placed it behind the flame area.

Alternatively, you could easily use a circle punch, circle stencil, or freehand a circle shape instead.

Once my candle was assembled, I backed it against the snowflake print paper. I then dug through my stash for the creamiest coloured vellum that I had.

I specifically wanted the vellum to look aged and for it to give the candle a somewhat opaque appearance, again, as if one was viewing it through a snowy, frosty, or icy window.

I combined two different brown papers (one plain, one text print), positioning them at a horizontal angle both for visual interest and to represent the divide between the darker and lighter halves of the year.

I then die cut a lovely elongated/primitive style heart shape from the two brown papers. I backed this area with the cream vellum and placed my “glowing candle” beneath it, with the grey and white snowflake print paper behind the candle itself.

Next, I cut out a smaller frame in the same die cut heart shape and positioned in the aperture area. I specifically went with metallic gold cardstock in this spot as I wanted to further convey the sense of warmth and light that accompanies lit candles.

Embellishing an Imbolc tag

To further embellish this Imbolc tag, I selected some dimensional flowers, a curly branch/vine piece, cream coloured fabric leaves, and cute little painted white wooden snowflakes (one even has a tiny heart cutout in the center, which I chose because it complimented the die cut heart aperture here).

I also used a small sticker with the hashtag #blessed on it, as I feel Imbolc – like all of the sabbats – is a time of immense blessings and positive energy in our lives.

I freehand cut a notched-end piece of brown plaid paper and die cute a larger notched end piece from both gold metallic and brown cardstocks. I layered these two pieces together and topped them with some white Thickers letter stickers, which I used to spell out the word Imbolc.

Let’s face it, there aren’t exactly a lot of premade Pagan sabbat related paper crafting products out there. In most cases, you’ll need to create your own titles and sentiments for sabbat themed projects.

To top things off, I selected two shades (beigey-grey and light gold) of seam binding and a cute white and brown polka dot print ribbon, which I looped through the hole at the top of the tag.

Tag making tips and ideas from this project

-If you don’t have cream or ivory coloured vellum to hand, use white instead or apply a light layer of pale ivory or very pale grey, taupe or brown ink to the underside of your vellum to tint it (ensure the ink is dry before proceeding to layer the candle beneath it).

–Combine two or more papers diagonally, vertically, or horizontally to break up larger areas, add visual interest, and potentially use up some of your paper scraps in the process.

-Instead of wooden snowflakes, you could easily use snowflake-shaped die cut pieces, stickers, chipboard, resin pieces, flatback charms, or even cute little hand-cut snowflakes instead.

-And by the same token, if you didn’t want to use snowflakes, how about hearts, leaves, stars, or crescent moon shapes, sequins, enamel drops, rhinestones, metal charms, or other dimensional embellishments instead?

–Any shape of opening (aperture) that allows the candle portion of the tag to show could be used here. Circes, ovals, diamonds, triangles, squares, rectangles, stars, and snowflakes are just some of the possible options.

-While vellum works like a charm in this setting, alternatively, glassine, wax paper, cellophane, densely woven tulle or lace, sheer fabrics, acetate, and even tracing paper could be used instead.

-No gold metallic paper or cardstock? Use silver, platinum or rose gold metallic cardstock instead. Or how about white, silver, or gold glitter cardstock?

Or you could change the colour of your cardstock (starting with a white cardstock base) with gold embossing powder, gold glitter, gold paint, metallic gold coloured pencil crayon, gold leafing, gold Nuvo Glimmer Paste, or gold gilding wax instead.

–You could easily turn this same design into a card front instead, either with or without the actual tag component itself.

Likewise, you could use this elegant “lit from within” candle technique on scrapbook pages, mini albums (how gorgeous would it be on the cover of an album?), and many other types of paper crafting projects as well.

Create “lit from within” candles for other occasions

This candle works wonderfully for Imbolc – just as it would for other Pagan sabbats, particularly Samhain and Yule.

It would also be fantastic for a multitude of different occasions as well. These include:

-Birthdays

-Weddings

-Anniversaries

-Thank you wishes

-Get well wishes

-Sympathy wishes (including the loss of a pet)

-Support and encouragement wishes

-Supporting or thanking members of the military or police for their service

-Graduation

-Candlemas (February 2^nd)

-Valentine’s Day (what’s more romantic than candlelight?)

-Mother’s Day

-The 4^th of July

-Halloween

-Remembrance Day

– Hanukkah

-Christmas

-Kwanza

-New Year’s Eve

-Eid

-Diwali

Products to help you recreate this “lit from within” Imbolc tag

-Oversized tag base – I used a Ranger Ink Dylusions Media Tag

-Dark brown cardstock

-Light brown cardstock

-Golden yellow cardstock or paper

-Metallic gold cardstock or paper – I used Kodamaa Metallic Special Bright Gold Paper

-Brown and white text print paper – I used Respirer l’air de la Mer from Prima’s French Rivera collection

-Grey and white snowflake print paper – I used Beautiful from Bo Bunny’s Winter Wishes collection

-Cream, white or very light grey coloured vellum

-Candle shaped metal die (or use one of the alternatives suggested above)

-Circle-shaped metal die (or use one of the alternatives suggested above)

-Heart-shaped metal die (or use one of the alternatives suggested above)

-Banner die (or hand-cut a banner instead)

-White gel pen – I used Signo White Gel Pen (for the hand-drawn faux stitching detailing). Sakura’s White Gelly Roll Pen would be another good option

-White letter stickers – I used Rockabye Thickers from American Crafts (you could use die cut or stamped letters here instead)

-Brown and white or cream plaid paper – I used a piece of paper from the 6×6 inch Cider Woods Mat Stack by DCWV

-Various shades of brown ink for edging some of the papers and cardstock – I used Memento Dew Drop ink in Toffee Crunch, Rich Cocoa, and Peanut Brittle

-Markers of choice to colour the candle and flame with (you could also use pencil crayons, watercolour paints, acrylic paint, inks and a fine point ink applicator tool, Faber Castell Gelatos, gel pens, Distress Crayons, or another suitable colouring medium.

-Word sticker (optional) – I used the #blessed sticker from the Fall Market Element Sticker Sheet by Carta Bella

-Various dimensional flowers, leaves, and (optionally) vine/branch embellishment – for the branch, I used Leaf Spray 460867 from Recollections

-Wooden snowflake embellishments (or use one of the alternatives suggested above)

-Various colour coordinated ribbons and/or seam bindings or other trims of choice

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Other ways to use candles in your Imbolc papercraft projects

The snowy sky is the limit when it comes to ways of using candles in your Imbolc projects.

Some other ideas would be to use papers featuring candle prints (images of the sun would be a great fit as well), stamp and colour candles on your project, adhere actual mini candles to your projects (such as birthday candles or chiam candles), use melted wax or melted wax crayons, create 3D candle-shaped projects, or use a candle themed stencil or embossing folder on your makes.

In general, themes of light, warmth, hope, prosperity, cleansing, renewal, fertility, love, comfort, strength, and renewal are natural fits for Imbolc.

Candles can help convey these messages and are a beautiful, classic symbol both of this sabbat and of wintertime itself (which, let’s face it, isn’t budging for many of us until at least March or April).

Bright blessings of Imbolc from my heart to yours!

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

If you make a project based on or inspired by this Imbolc tag – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I can see your beautiful creations.

The post Lit from Within Candle Tag for Imbolc appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Frequently observed on February 1^st, Imbolc is a traditional Gaelic festival which celebrates and honours the start of spring.

While in many parts of the world snowy weather is still out in full force and an event that gets the ball rolling on the coming season may seem a tad premature in early February, that is all the more reason why mid-winter is an excellent time for Imbolc.

Imbolc’s ancient past

In connection with Beltane, Lammas/Lughnasadh, and Samhain, Imbolc (or Imbolg, as it is also spelled) is one of the four Gaelic festivals that were observed throughout the British Isles by the ancients.

It is believed that the goddess Brigid was strongly connected to Imbolc, which is further evidenced by the fact that as Christianity spread across the area, Imbolc was reworked by the early church to become Saint Brigid’s Day.

If observed on February 1^st, Imbolc is immediately followed the next day by the Christian holy day of Candlemas (the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ) and by, on the same date, the more secular observance of Groundhog Day. 

While some of us might enjoy the good-natured fun of Punxsutawney Phil, the Christian observance of Candlemas is not something a great many contemporary Pagans and witches observe.

Yet Imbolc itself is a day to celebrate and give thanks for the longer hours of daylight that are gradually returning to our world.

This point is one of the first signs that spring isn’t quite as far away as the present icicle covered weather may have us believe.

Newness is an overriding theme at Imbolc. It relates to the lambing season, to the first stirrings of spring, to the prospect of brighter days ahead, and to making the most of the blessings of mid-winter.

Fertility, vitality, reunification, growth, optimism, fresh starts, hope, abundance, comfort, caring, light and love (including that expressed through the rejoining of the god and goddess at Imbolc) are just some of the themes and meanings that people have long imbued Imbolc with and derived from its happening alike.

These are all excellent points for the modern observer of Imbolc to incorporate into their magickal workings, spiritual practices, and daily lives.

Why is Imbolc associated with dairy foods?

Imbolc is deeply connected to themes of hearth, home and livestock. While far fewer of us today raise our own sheep, goats, and cows for dairy production, the connection to the calving season and to the historical significance that the return of spring had on the diets and daily lives of many earlier peoples ties dairy products to Imbolc.

Further, dairy was often a key source of vitamin D, something that the diminished sunlight fails to deliver in potent enough quantities to those living in more northerly parts of the world, including Ireland and Scotland, during the colder half of the year.

Thus dairy, which contains this vital vitamin, was one way to help to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D until spring and summer returned.

The modern dairy industry

To go even slightly in-depth into the workings, practises and atrocities of the modern dairy world is beyond the scope or intended key focus on this post.

It warrants mentioning, however, that the ways in which milk is generally obtained from cows, how the calves that are produced to trigger (or sustain) the production of cow’s milk are treated/dealt with, and what problems can accompany dairy products differs radically in many respects from how small scale milk production was often achieved in centuries past (particularly those before the industrial revolution and widescale shift towards city living).

I am not here, however, to judge or criticize those who opt to eat dairy. We must each make our own dietary and ethical decisions based on a myriad of factors, and this post is not about telling you why you may not want to eat/drink dairy products.

Instead, it suggests alternatives for those who cannot, or do not wish, to consume milk and other animal-derived dairy foods, whatever the reason(s) behind such a decision or dietary requirement.

Why bother with milk alternatives for Imbolc?

Firstly, I should point out that there are, of course, no hard and fast rules that say you “must” consume dairy – or any other specific type of food – for Imbolc. You can eat whatever your heart desires on this beautiful sabbat celebration.

Dairy and dairy alternatives are logical choices for this special day, however. They represent the calving season, as well as the bond between mother and baby (animals and humans alike)

In addition, milk and dairy-free alternative milks are often white or cream coloured, which corresponds with the snowy landscape that is common in many parts of the world in early February, as well as newness, peace, hope, and possibility. All themes that jive marvelously with Imbolc and the promise of spring’s return.

If you cannot, or choose not to, eat dairy, that does not mean that you have to forgo foods that pay homage to the meaning and historical importance of dairy at Imbolc and throughout the coming spring months.

Imbolc is a time for hearty foods that dig into our modern-day winter caches or which represents those held by the ancients.

Rich, filling, stick-to-your-ribs fare is a common theme at this time, as are warming/spicy foods that represent the returning light and increased temperatures of spring.

Although lighter menu options are no less appropriate for Imbolc, as well.

Reasons to choose dairy substitutes for Imbolc

There are numerous reasons why someone may not, or cannot, consume animal-based dairy products.

These include, but are not limited to, the following:

-Medical reasons: Including allergies, lactose intolerance, digestive disorders, and various other serious health issues.

-Religious or cultural reasons.

-Dietary reasons: Whereas some vegetarians (including lacto-vegetarians) will consume dairy products, others, and all vegans and plant-based eaters eschew animal-derived dairy products.

-Ethical reasons: Similar to the entry above, though there are some people who consume certain animal products (for example, meat, fish, or game they’ve hunted themselves) yet do not eat/drink dairy because of their personal views on the modern dairy industry, milk’s potential to cause health issues, or other reasons.

And, again, all vegans and strictly plant-based eaters avoid dairy in any form. Whereas not everyone on a plant-based diet may do so from a purely ethical standpoint (dairy avoidance thus being a by-product of their chosen animal product-free diet, which may be adopted for health, weight management or other reasons), vegans typically refuse to eat/drink any animal products on the grounds of ethical reasons.

-Unavailability of dairy products: Sometimes, a person may not have immediate assess to dairy foods where they live, simply be out of them at home that day, or have a food budget that does not allow for some/all dairy products at present.

-Dislike of dairy: Common as dairy products are, not everyone enjoys eating them, even if they are technically able to do so from health, diet and/or ethical standpoints.

12 plant-based milk alternatives for Imbolc

-Almond milk: For those who are able to eat nuts, specifically almonds, almond milk is a wonderful alternative to dairy milk for Imbolc, especially since nuts and seeds are often associated with this sabbat, housed as it is in the depth winter, when, traditionally, by and large, only foods could last for months on end were available to those in many parts of the world.

As well, almond milk is low in calories (roughly 30 calories per 240 ml of unsweetened almond milk), very low in carbs, and, I’ve personally found, one of the easiest alternatives to substitute for dairy when cooking and, especially, baking.

Magickally speaking, almonds have a rich history around the world and are associated with the element of Air, quite a few different gods and goddesses, and on the magickal working front abundance, psychic abilities, luck, love, banishing, fertility, hope, healing, prosperity, and clarity.

-Cashew milk: Someone of a newcomer on the mainstream alternative milk scene. It is generally creamy, somewhat earthy flavoured, fairly interchangeable with almond milk, low in calories (some brands are as low as 25 calories per cup) and carbs, and great, I find, for sweet and savoury dishes (especially those involving sauces, Asian and tropical flavours).

Cashews are linked magickally with love, communication, prosperity, career, travel, adventure, and stability.

-Coconut milk: A stable of many household cupboards, both in the homes of animal product eaters and non-animal product eaters alike. Commercially prepared coconut milk and its associated products, such as coconut cream, have become fairly easy to find in some parts of the world over the past couple of decades in particular.

Coconut milk is lovely, creamy, versatile, and a good alternative for those who cannot eat, or dislike the taste of, nut milks. It is, however, more caloric on a cup per cup basis than most other dairy milk alternatives, with pure coconut milk averaging around 230 calories per cup.

In addition to coconut milk and cream, coconut oil can be a great choice for Imbolc, used in place of dairy fats, such as butter or ghee.

Magickally, coconuts are linked with water magick, the moon and lunar magick, purification, travel, happiness, protection, summertime, and revitalization.

-Hemp milk: An increasingly popular alternative to dairy milk, hemp milk (which averages about 80 – 90 calories per cup) is a good source of plant-derived protein and while it does come from the same type of plant that produces marijuana, drinking hemp milk will not cause one to get high as it contains only trace amounts of THC.

Hemp has been a vital crop in various parts of the world for thousands of years, its fibres being used for everything from rope to paper, wicks to clothing. Magickally, hemp is linked to many of the same things that pot itself is, including grounding, visions, happiness, prosperity, peace, serenity, meditation, removing negativity, relaxation, healing, helpfulness, and love.

-Flax Milk: Earthy, mild and pleasant tasting, flaxseed milk is low in calories (25 calories per cup of some brands), low in carbs and fat, and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

On the magickal front, flax seeds are associated with areas such as physic visions and abilities, protection, hearth and home, guarding, protection (especially of babies and children), luck, interpersonal relationships, increasing the accuracy of divination, and weaving things into being/reality.

-Macadamia milk: A gentle, appealing flavoured nut milk, macadamia milk is somewhat higher in calories than almond and cashew milk (50 – 70 calories per cup, on average), but still lower than certain other dairy milk alternatives, such as coconut milk and hazelnut milk, respectively.

Macadamia nuts are connected magickally with areas such as protection, love, friendship, communication, and protection.

-Oat milk: Oat milk is similar in calories to (what is known here in Canada as) 1% milk, at about 130 calories per cup. It has around 2 grams of fibre and 4 grams of protein per cup and is a rising star in the dairy milk alternative field.

While delicious – and terrific in everything from hot cereals to baked goods – it is important to note that oat milk may not be suitable for some people with gluten sensitivities, gluten intolerances, and celiac disease.

Certain brands of oat milk are made from gluten-free oats, however, the risk of cross-contamination with gluten may still be present. In addition, not all celiacs (myself included) are able to eat gluten-free oats. One reason for this is the presence of a protein in oats called avenin which has a similar amino acid structure to that of gluten itself, which some with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease are sensitive to as well. If oats trouble you for any reason, then you’ll naturally want to opt for a different dairy milk alternative instead (I’m partial to almond milk myself).

Oats are a stellar choice from Imbolc from a spiritual and magickal perspective, as they have longstanding ties to the goddess Brigid. Corn dollies, for example, which are sometimes used to represent Brigid or the goddess/feminine divine in general, are a traditional part of Imbolc celebrations. Despite their name, they often created from wheat or oat straw, which makes oat milk an especially apt choice for Imbolc.

In addition, oats are linked to prosperity, abundance, helping to harvest the seeds of your efforts, comfort, the sacred feminine, healing, nurturing, ancestry, support, fortitude, mindfulness, tradition, and both fall and winter.

-Quinoa milk: Quinoa has emerged, over the past decade or so, as a beloved and widely used super grain far outside of its native region of Lake Titicaca. It’s not surprising then quinoa milk would quickly spring into being at a commerical level and enter the dairy milk alternative sense as one of its fastest rising stars.

Quinoa milk has about 70 calories, 2 grams of protein, and 12 grams of carbs per cup. It is taste is generally mild, fairly neutral, a little earthy, a touch nutty, and great in both cooking and baking.

Magickally, quinoa is a handy grain (or grain-based milk) to utilize in magickal workings pertaining to strength, well-being, harmony, wholeness, clarity, serenity, stability, bonding, and abundance.

-Rice milk: Back in the day, when I first started adapting my diet for medical reasons, rice milk was one of the few dairy alternatives that existed in many parts of Canada (soy and almond were the other two biggies at that time). These days, as this list highlights, many other options exist, but rice milk remains popular and for good reason.

Rice milk has about 110 – 120 calories per cup. It is awesome for drinking as is, cooking, and baking; naturally subtly sweet tasting, and produced by a wide range of brands.

You can also easily make your own rice milk at home if you’d like (the blog Simply Vegan has a simple three-ingredient rice milk recipe, for example, if you’d like to give doing so a shot yourself).

Rice is one of the most abundantly eaten grains in the world and it has strong cultural and spiritual ties to, and for, many cultures around the world. Magickally, rice is associated with a number of different areas, including good fortune, love, fertility, wealth and money matter, abundance, tradition, stability, commonsense, stick-to-itness, keeping unwanted spirits at bay, wellness, blessings, mothering and motherly energy, and cleansing.

-Soy milk: Another long-time player on the dairy milk alternative shelf, soy milk is great for adding to warm beverages, drinking on its own, cooking and baking with. It is more caloric than some other milk substitute options, coming in at about 130 – 140 calories per cup. While I do not generally drink soy milk myself, my husband (who also eats a plant-based diet) loves frothing it and adding it to his daily coffee.

In terms of its magickal connections, soy is linked to many things and, much like rice, has been an integral part of many traditional cultures and diets, particularly in Asia, for thousands of years. Use soy in your magickal workings when you’re focusing on areas such as psychic abilities and awareness, protection, strength, balance, unity, creativity, newness, spiritual health and wellness, being flexible, and grounding.

In recent decades, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of non-dairy substitutes and alternatives hitting supermarket and health food store shelves in many parts of the world.

As well, more and more people are appreciating the cultural significance that non-dairy milks and the foods made from them have long had in the traditional diets of scores of different cultures.

If you wish to make your own dairy milk alternatives, recipes abound online and in various cookbooks nowadays that can help novice and veteran cooks like create healthy dairy-free milks at home themselves.

The act of doing so can be a wonderful way to incorporate further kitchen and hearth/cottage witchery into your Imbolc celebration.

It is also a terrific activity to get kids (and non-Pagan household members, too) who are old enough to help out involved with.

Of course, store-bought or farmer’s market sourced versions are great choices, too, and it is by no means essential that one creates their own non-dairy milk alternatives for Imbolc.

In addition to drinkable liquid forms of dairy substitutes and alternatives, there is an ever-increasing number of foods such as cheese, butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, condensed milk, whipped topping, and eggnog available nowadays.

Such products can make for great options at Imbolc, either as standalone foods or to be used as ingredients in recipes for this festive Pagan occasion.

Other foods that are associated with Imbolc (and that make great Imbolc menu options)

In addition to dairy, and as we’ve discussed in this post, dairy-free milk alternatives, numerous other foods have both long-standing and more contemporary connections to Imbolc.

Many represent what was available to earlier peoples at this time of the year, long before the modern, life-changing invention of things such as refrigeration, global food transportation, and supermarkets were mainstays of most peoples’ lives in the industrialized world.

Some other tasty, meaningful options for Imbolc include:

-Bread: Especially breads with Irish (including Irish soda bread), Scottish, British or otherwise Northern European roots, those made with traditional recipes, and options that include one or more of the other foods listed in this post.

-Pancakes and crepes: The shape and colour (light golden brown) of pancakes and crepes represents the returning sun. Plus, both pancakes and crepes can include other foods on this list, such as dairy/dairy alternatives, eggs, oats, dried fruits, preserved fruits, warm spices, or certain root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc).

–Oats: Harvested in the golden sunshine of late summer and early autumn, oats, when properly stored, can keep well for many months.

Their connection both to the warmer months that we’re eager to usher into our lives again, as well as the traditional diet of the Scottish people, plus their pale, creamy colour and nutritiously rich composition make oats (as well as foods such as oatcakes) a natural fit for Imbolc.

Enjoy oats in oatmeal and porridge, cookies, muffins, crackers, breads, as a coating for other foods, cakes, smoothies, granola and muesli, crumble toppings for fruit dishes, dumplings, and numerous other recipes.

-Root vegetables: Onions, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, garlic, beets, turnips, carrots, parsnips and other vegetables that, when properly stored, helped many of our ancestors to survive the long winter months when food stores and sources were often scarce and the threat of starvation could be a frighteningly real possibility.

-Preserved fruits and vegetables: Canned, tinned, frozen – you name it! Now is the time to put those tasty warm weather produce items that you preserved or purchased to good use.

-Dried and dehydrated fruits: From raisins to apricots, currants to dates, dried fruits are another food that tends to hold up well during the long months of winter. Their sweetness suits the optimism of Imbolc and their culinary abilities make them a tasty standalone treat or addition to other dishes spanning rice puddings to salads to baked apples.

-Dried legumes and pulses: Again, another traditional form of food preservation that helped generations past to endure the fresh food shortages of the cold half of the year. Lentils, especially yellow and orange varieties are a beautiful – and nutritious way – to represent the light, warmth and revitalized energy that we welcome back into our lives at Imbolc (chickpeas and hummus do the job there wonderfully as well).

-Rice and pasta: Hearty, versatile, easy to store and keep fresh, as well as often being vegetarian and/or vegan in their natural states (some pastas though, for example, include animal products such as eggs, milk or squid ink), these are wonderful ingredients to combine with dairy or dairy alternatives or enjoy as is at Imbolc.

-Warm spices and hot foods: Think cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, turmeric, curry, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, horseradish, wasabi, chili peppers, cayenne, paprika, lemongrass, and pepper (including white, red and pink peppercorns).

These are ingredients that bring much-needed pizzazz and warmth or heat to dishes, something that is often welcome in the dark heart of winter that Imbolc calls home.

Again, these are awesome options to help impart kitchen magick into your dishes and have the added bonus of often residing already in a witch’s herbal collection.

-Saffron: By far one of the most vibrantly golden yellow naturally foods that we can eat, saffron is a brilliant – albeit, somewhat pricey – option to include in your Imbolc dishes (though a small bit goes a long way, which can cut down on the cost per dish).

From creamy risottos to a silk pasta sauces, saffron – which is harvested from the crocus sativus, or saffron crocus – is a beautiful addition to your Imbolc menu.

-Nuts and seeds: Are you noticing a trend towards foods with long shelf lives, high nutrient content, and versatility?

Nuts and seeds often excel on that front. While the oil content in some does mean that you need to keep an eye on their expiration dates, in general nuts and seeds are hearty and relatively shelf-stable.

Both, but particularly seeds, are a mightly apt representation of the seeds from which countless new plants with soon grow again come springtime.

As well as symbolizing the agricultural process in general, renewal and rebirth, and the germination of new ideas, prospects, hopes and dreams that we can plant and nurture at Imbolc.

-Eggs: If you eat eggs, they are a sound choice for Imbolc dishes (as well as magickal workings and altar setups), as they represent new life, rebirth, faith, hope, and warmth. Their iconic colours of white and yellow also correspond excellently with the hues of both wintertime snow and the returning sunshine of spring.

-Honey: While some people (myself included) tend to think of honey as being associated more with Litha and Lammas, its long shelf life, warm gold and amber colours, health-giving properties, ability to be substituted for refined sugars in many dishes, and ancient history all make honey a natural partner for Imbolc.

Naturally, those who eat animal-product free plant-based or vegan diets, or who are unable to consume honey for medical reasons, will want to bypass its usage.

Interestingly, and excitingly, more “vegan honeys” are hitting the shelves these days.

Much like dairy alternatives, these products generally do not include any actual animal products or by-products and are honeys simply in name. Examples include Vegan Honae and Blenditup Bee Free Vegan Honey.

Additionally, you can make your own vegan “honey” from various commonplace ingredients, including apples, as this YouTube recipe for vegan honey demonstrates.

-Chocolate and cacao products: Store cupboard staples and beloved foods alike for many of us, chocolate and cocoa are terrific choices for Imbolc.

Their sweetness, richness and near-universal appeal make chocolate (both dairy and dairy-free versions) a great choice for the chilly days of Imbolc season, representing the pleasures of bright, warm spring days ahead.

These are just some of the possible culinary options that can help you to celebrate and honour Imbolc.

In addition, various herbs are strongly associated with Imbolc, these include basil, pine, dandelion, lemon verbena, tansy, bay, violet, angelica, blackberry leaves, and jasmine.

Dive into your favourite cookbooks, personal recipe collection, or online recipe sources (Raven and Crone has a lovely list of Imbolc recipes, for example) and let your creative juices flow as you mindfully put together an Imbolc menu – be if for yourself, two people, a group, your coven, or any other gathering – that helps to honour the first of the three springtime sabbats.

Imbolc is more than just what’s on the menu

As much as food can be a key component of our sabbat celebrations (and/or altars and ancestor or spirit ally offerings), there is more to Imbolc, of course.

This chapter of the year invites us to honour Brigid, the sacred feminine/goddess in general, to light a proverbial spark inside ourselves for the changes we wish to create in our lives, to cleanse and refresh ourselves and our homes, to reflect on what the heart of winter means to us, and to prepare for spring’s return.

It encourages us to be patient and remember that even the coldest winter will eventually pass.

Imbolc is an excellent time to lean into hygge, to use the dark nights as times of either peaceful rest or busy productivity, and to begin activity keeping an eye out for the shifts in nature that will facilitate spring’s return.

Whether you involve real dairy, dairy alternatives or neither of these types of food in your Imbolc happenings, this sabbat can be a time of warmth, rekindling, hope, positivity, and joy.

Bust out the candles, light a fire, create a new altar setup, whip up a festive feast or humble, hearty meal and activity look for ways to let your own inner light shine brightly as the current year embraces its second month and all that remains in store for us between now and the end of December.

Blessings of warmth, love, happiness and serenity to you at Imbolc and always, dear friends!

Note: This post is not sponsored in any way. My household purchased all of the food used in the photographs above. These foods are shown for illustrative purposes only.

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