The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Some traditional dishes to serve this Samhain ( Halloween)






Good Afternoon,

Yes, it's that spooky time of year again. Halloween or what we Celtic Druid's call Samhain, pronounced (Sow-en). I've gone over the history of Halloween with you before and shared spooky stories of hauntings and spirits, so today I'm going to talk with you about the feasts of Samhain and what they encompass.  

The ancient Druid's consumed the sacred Swine, or pig meat for their Sabbat feasts.  A nice pork roast served with apples is a traditional harvest dish. I, as a matter of fact, just had a wonderful pork roast dinner the other night with loved ones and it really was delicious.  Root vegetables are predominant during harvest season so serving potatoes, turnips, beets, as well as cabbages and brussel sprouts are also tasty and timely.

Cooking potatoes with cabbage (Colcannon) is  traditional Celtic-Irish dish served with lots of sweet butter. Roasting root vegetables is a wonderful way of bringing out the Autumnal flavors of the season. Remember to serve all meals with bread as the harvest Sabbats are reminiscent of harvesting the grains from the fields and bread was a primary staple for the ancients when they had a bountiful harvest.

One type of traditional feast was called the Dumb Supper. Samhain is a 'Memorial Day' for us, a day of the dead if you will, remembering those who have passed on. One way of remembering those loved ones is by serving an entire dinner with all of the guests refraining from speaking at all. Everything, from serving the food, consuming it and cleaning up afterwards was done in total silence. This is to honor those who can no longer speak with us on this side of the veil.

A less somber way of honoring those who have passed on is to serve a dinner, talking allowed, and have a single plate set aside for those who have passed on. Be sure to place on the plate a sampling of the foods available along with a drink. No one is to touch the plate or chalice of drink as the dinner or party progresses. They are there for the spirits to partake of. Now, of course, they don't actually eat or drink the offerings, but it is believed that they intake of the essence of the food and drink. After the dinner is over the food and drink can be discarded, but not eaten by the living.

A delightful dish for the dessert portion of the feast can be an apple pie or cups of homemade applesauce with dollops of whipped creme' on them. Having something sweet brings the importance of living life fully to the forefront.

I hope you have a delightfully spooky Halloween/Samhain. Celebrate, honor those who have passed on and live life to the fullest.  This is my Samhain wish for you!


Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

See Ms. Faith this Halloween season all around Manchester!





Good Afternoon,

My Goddess is October a busy month for a witch in New England! I just finished a lecture and PowerPoint presentation for the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT  last Friday night. We had a good turn out and it was a lovely evening all around. My presentation was "Witchcraft- Yesterday and Today".  There were many good questions asked and the audience seemed very interested in the subject matter.  The director of the Mark Twain House and Museum even asked me to do my presentation again in 2015 and wants to arrange a night where I go through the Mark Twain house and see what kind of spirits are lurking about! Sounds like fun to me. I'll let you know more when we get closer to doing something like that.

In the meantime, you can see me and watch another of my presentations this Friday night, October 24th at Manchester Community College at 6 pm. My presentation is "The History of Halloween". My wonderful assistant Ms. Laurel and I put on a  little play depicting the witches from Macbeth which shows how people have perceived witches throughout the history of witchcraft and then afterwards I present a PowerPoint presentation showing the real history and talk about what witches are like today.   I would love for you to attend this show, there are still a few seats available.

To attend you only need to call this number 860-512-3232 and have the course number #CRN31768 and pay the fee of $20 with a credit card. The program will be held in the Great Path Academy GP138 from 6 - 8 pm on Friday. I hope to see you there!





© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Even More Autumn Magicks to be Found in our Gardens!

Good Afternoon,

We finish up today talking about the magicks to be found in our Autumn gardens.  It's important to note that I have touched upon just a few of the plants, vegetables and fruits that hold magick for us, in the past few weeks of our discussion. Today we discuss some of the season's favorites.

Pumpkins

The pumpkin holds a magick that will help you find a way into a man's heart. The recipe for pumpkin pie, for instance is actually a love spell that you can eat. Pumpkin's magickal property is love. Add sugar for sweetness, spices for lust and passion and voila' you have a tasty love spell that no man can resist. The pumpkin as a gourd also holds protection as a magickal property also. Carve a pumpkin into a scary face and place on your doorstep with a lit candle inside to keep evil and frightening forces from your home.

Gourds

Gourds magickal property as mentioned above with the pumpkin is protection. It's important to not eat any gourds that are not sold as food, as many of them are poisonous. Placing gourds around your front doorstep helps keep evil from your home. also tying them into a long string or rope of gourds and draping them over your doorway also repels negative spirits. Drying the gourds and using them as shakers with the seeds inside makes them good for magickal rituals when singing and dancing takes place.


Apples

Apples can be used in love spells also. In this case any dish made from apples, sweetened with sugar and spiced up can be a love spell, much like the pumpkin, but this time it's most effective on the woman. The apple also has healing energies in it. A new witch is often taught that to cut the apple in half horizontally will allow one to see the seed pod within, in the shape of a star or pentagram. The pentagram is a protective symbol for witches.  Apples are also consumed on Samhain (Halloween) as they are considered a food of the dead.


There is so much magick around us, to be found in the natural world. To be used, appreciated and blessed. I hope you are enjoying this Atumn season and the wondrous gifts of the Autumn garden.



Peace and Happiness

 

© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.



 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

More Autumn Magick to be found in our gardens

 Good Afternoon,

Today we will discuss the magickal properties of more gifts from our Autumn gardens. Today I focus on vegetables rather than flowers, as the magickal vegetable garden is giving us the last of Summer's abundant produce right now.

Corn-

Magickal properties are protection, luck, divination and money or prosperity. Hang a bunch of corn cobs or a wreath with corn cobs interspersed throughout for protection of the home. Hanging corn in bedrooms will protect the sleepers during the night. Blue corn is scattered as an offering to the Gods and Goddesses.


Tomato

The lovely tomato is abundant this time of year, giving us the tastiest and largest choices of the year. There is nothing as wonderful as a late summer tomato. The magickal properties of the tomato is prosperity, protection and love. Give a dish of tomatoes to one you love and the love will be returned. A tasty dish of tomatoes that we make every year around this time is called fried tomatoes. It's more like a tomato soup and very delicious. Here's the recipe:

Fried Tomatoes

Use several large fresh tomatoes right from the garden, rinsed and green stem removed. Then quarter or chunk tomatoes and put in a fry pan over medium heat. Let cook for several minutes until tomatoes have broken down and have made a soup. Chunks of tomato are O.K. Bring to a soft boil. Take off the heat and place several small pats of butter in the hot tomatoes and allow to melt. Stir to mix the melted butter throughout and serve with bread on the side. That's all there is to it! And it's a very tasty way to enjoy fresh tomatoes.

Cabbage-

The cabbage brings luck to a new marriage or relationship. Plant, grow and eat cabbage for luck and good fortune in life. The cabbage is ruled by the moon, it's element is water and it's gender is feminine. Cabbage is very good this time of year in an Irish dish called Colcannon. Here's how you make it.

Colcannon

Heat in a large heavy pan, several boiling potatoes with or without skins. Place into water quarters of cabbage with center stem removed. Bring all to a boil and let boil until potatoes and cabbage are cooked and tender. Place all in a colander and drain of all water. Then place in a large mixing bowl, add plenty of butter, milk and salt to taste and mashed together until all is incorporated.  The cabbage gives the potatoes a sweet taste and the butter makes it a rich and savory dish. No need to wait until St. Patrick's Day to enjoy a dish of Irish Colcannon.

Enjoy!


Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2014 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.