New Month, New Year, Updates for the Holidays

MM All,

Sorry I've been MIA. Yesterday I lost my job (well...they wouldn't let me work out my 2 weeks notice...) so there's been a lot going on. I'm currently looking for something I can use my skills in whether its my certification in bartending, my writing skills, or even my divinatory skills. I'm considering a candle spell for Thursday but I'll have to figure everything I'll need for it first...might have to be next week.

What else is going on...

Recap of Halloween/Samhain

Friday I hung out with some friends just talking about Halloween in general, having a few drinks, enjoying each other's company.
Saturday I went to a party at the local club with a bunch of friends, old and new, and my hubby. He was dressed as a Gangster and I was a witch.
Sunday was the Witch's Tea Party for my friend's birthday, pictures shown previously. We had so much fun just hanging out and eating. The dinner was very autumnal with apple stuffing and appled pork and roasted potatoes and brie...yum! And of course my cake was a show-stopper hahahaha

The next holiday for me is Thanksgiving. We're probably traveling this year, I'm not sure how its all going to work out between out spread out family. I think we're having one Thanksgiving at home with our relatives here and another one in Maryland with my father-in-law's family. I'm considering making a couple of healthy vegan or raw dishes for both events.

After that is the biggest holiday of the year...My Birthday! I'm havign a goth-lolita party at the local club. I'll be making myself a small pink and white layer cake and a bunch of matching pink-champagne cupcakes. I'm so excited!!!

Of course following my birthday, by a Day, is Yule and then Christmas. I celebrate both (hey, why not). For Yule I mostly eat drink and make merry (considering trying a mead this year or some dandelion wine).
For Christmas, to make Damon and I both feel more comfortable with decorations, we're following the same theme as last year - Tim Burton Christmas. We have a small black tree and Tim Burton decorations mixed with ornaments that look like candy and blue snowflakes as well as purple Christmas lights. I only buy 1 ornament a year and this year it will be a set of skeleton reindeer on Etsy that I find adorable ^_^

We also don't have children so thankfully we've not had to figure out what we're gonna tell them about the 2 different holidays or what they mean or any of that. Leave that worry and fight for another year...or two...or five lol.

Do you celebrate both Yule and Christmas? How do you compromise the beliefs?

The Witch's Tea Party/Birthday Party

So I had to, for sake of time, combine my Witch's Tea Party with my friend's birthday party - which she was all for and loved the idea.

I baked the cake and did a few of the decorations.

The little witch hat candy bowls were my friend's party favors for us ^_^

Its me all pretty in my lace hat ^_^

31 Days of Samhain: an over view 11-18

Since I've missed 13 days of the 31 Days of Samhain fun posted by Salem Witch Child...I'll do an overview of some of the posts in the next few blog posts. I don't have kids, so I wont be doing the posts regarding them and I don't put my cat in costumes so I'm skipping Day 15 as well...
That leaves...

Day 11: What's your favorite recipe for Samhain Dinner?
Pumpkin pie of course but there are a few other pumpkin recipes I would like to try and share, most are from
www.PumpkinRecipes.org including
Pumpkin Curry
Pumpkin Stuffed with sausage - I would use a sweet and spicy sausage for this, preferably one that was apple smoked...mmm

And this recipe is not form that website: Pumpkin Risotto


Day 12: How do you celebrate Samhain/Halloween?

I normally go to a party or a club night thats local (there's usually one in Knoxville, TN that has a good goth crowd for Halloween). This year I'm hosting a birthday party for a friend of mine in Halloween style - a Witch's Tea Party ^_^ I'll also be making the cake

For the Samhain part of that, I celebrate alone. I normally set up a small altar, thank my ancestors, specifically my Aunt Venus and my great-grandmother Bertha and my grandfather Walter.
I ask for guidance form the Crone, my patron, and do some divination for the coming year.


Day 13: Favorite Halloween Movie

Oooo...thats tough as I am a major horror movie fan...
I suppose i would choose Nightmare on Elm Street (original), Pet Cemetery 2, Salem's Lot, Dracula...yea i can't pick one...sorry

Day 14: Favorite Costumes for Adults:

I will say I love group costumes

Day 17: What's your favorite scary monster?

Day 18: What God/dess do you invoke on Samhain?

The Crone. She is my patron deity and has been with me since birth. I dedicated my divination to her since i was 14, when she showed herself to me.

More to come in next post...

Samhain Treasury Lists on Etsy

I've made a few Samhain Treasure Lists on my Etsy and thought I would share these favorite Halloween blessings with you, my readers.

Samhain Blessings - mostly pre-made spells and ritual kits.

Under the Samhain Moon - jewelry and other pretties

More coming soon I'm sure ^_^

31 Days of Samhain: Day 9

I've finally caught up on Salem's Creations' 31 Day of Samhain list!

Day 9: Share a Pagan/Wiccan Story about Halloween/Samhain

I don't know very many stories about Halloween that relate back to witches or paganism. I know about the myths and legends only as a text book would explain them.

I will say that I am currently reading (on my new Kindle) The Book of Hallowe'en by Ruth Edna Kelley and it is a good book for explaining the history and origins of this celebrated holiday.

31 Days of Samhain: Day 8 (belated)

Day 8: What sorts of things do you put on your Samhain altar?

Sadly, my altars are usually pretty sparse and simple, so this post won't be all that elaborate.

For Samhain, I am usually alone in my celebration and will decorate either a blanket on the floor or a small table with black candles in candle holders, a small pumpkin, maybe some maple leaves, a pentacle, my athame, and a black bowl with water for scrying. Also available will be the ritual written out on parchment nearby for me to work off of.

Sorry for the simple and short post. In order to make this post a little more pleasing to read, I'll include some photos of beautiful Samhain altars I've found through a search engine.

31 Days of Samhain: Day 6 and 7 (belated)

I am skipping Day 6: If you're a parent, how do you involve your children in Samhain celebration? as I do not have any children of my own, yet.

Day 7: What is your favorite design for a jack-o-lantern?

I actually prefer nicely painted pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns as they last much longer than carved. I've painted most of my own, though I sadly have no pictures of these.

I will show some carved jack-o-lanterns I like though for the sake of having an aesthetically pleasing blog post ^_^

31 Days of Samhain: Day 5 (belated)

Day 5: A Short Biography of an Ancestor

My Aunt Venus aka Jodi was one of my favorite aunts. She was my grandfather's only sister and 1 of 8 children.
She never married and there have been many comments just in my lifetime about how she was called Jodi, rather than Venus, because she was not nearly as pretty as her namesake implied.
Though my aunt was not a beauty, she had a beautiful heart.

Aunt Jodi took care of my of her family from her grandparents to her brothers' grandbabies.
It was stated after she died that though she had no children of her own it seemed like she was the mother of many.

I am told I am very much like my aunt. We are both crafty women, making everything from our own jewelry to up-cycling clothes. We also shared a love of herbalism.
When I was sharing the recipe for the Essiac cure and speaking about Sheep's Sorrel, my mother commented on how Aunt Jodi would make the children go harvest sheep's sorrel for a cleansing tea.

I celebrated the life and blessed the after-life of my dearest aunt last Samhain, asking that she in turn bless me and my works as I follow in her footsteps of creation and healing. I will do so again this year.

BB
Dawn

31 Days of Samhain Day 4 (belated)

Day 4: A favorite picture that represents Samhain

I couldn't choose...BUT I did find an old post by witchy woman, Celtic Lady that list several Samhain-y pics that feature the Crone along with a good article about her HERE. The crone is a patron deity of my own and I love to celebrate her this time of the year.

I hope that satisfies (^_^) <- my attempt at a jack-o-lantern smiley.

31 Days of Samhain Day 3 (belated)

Day 3: What do I want to Teach people about Samhain?

That its not a commercialized party but a true religious holiday...

Remember in the movie, Hocus Pocus, where the boy was talking about how Halloween was created by the candy companies? Well, it seems that this is the accepted belief by many and is encouraged, sadly, by the chuches around me as they discourage people from going to parties and taking their children Trick or Treating. I hear most churches are doing "Harvest" celebrations at the church, which involve candy and food and a little bit of preaching for your immortal soul. It just makes me a lil sad.

And then theres this little anecdote:

I'm sitting at work earlier this week and learn that I get Monday off for Columbus Day...a day celebrating a person who did not do anything. He did not found the Americas, they were already found by Europeans, he did not even set food on American soil!.
I playfully asked, what were we supposed to do on this day, apologize to Native Americans?
Another pagan I work with asked if we got Halloween off.
Answer: No...we work overtime that Monday...
So we get off for a holiday celebrating someone who didn't really do anything to warrant celebration...but we don't get off for a holiday that is thousands of years old...has a religious background...and is actually celebrated?

I would like to teach people that Halloween isn't just some excuse to get candy, dress up and party. Its an actual religious celebration, the most important holiday for many.

Sorry for my rant, I try not to do many of those.

31 Days of Samhain Day 1 and 2 (belated)

The lovely witch at Salem's Creations is doing a 31 Days of Samhain blog topic reel and I decided to join in...a little belatedly. These next few days I'll be making multiple posts in hopes to play catch-up.

Day 1: What is a Memorable Experience During Samhain? combined with Day 2: What do I remember as most exciting about Samhain/Halloween as a child?

While it isn't particularly pagany, my most memorable Halloween experience was when I was about 9 or 10 and my mother took me to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom for Halloween. I went as a vampire and enjoyed the entire day riding rides, seeing so many people in costume, and just being an excited kid during my favorite holiday.
We were late getting home and I almost missed trick-or-treating but my mom grabbed a pillow case off a pillow and walked me through the neighborhood and the surrounding streets to fill my pillowcase (turns out that you'll get loads if you go late as people unload what they didn't previously get rid of).
I remember be exhausted by the time I got home but I was so happy. I wished then that every day could be like Halloween...and grew up a goth witch...heh.

Maybe this little anecdote isn't what Salem's Creations was expecting but this is one of my favorite Halloween memories as vague as it is...

Halloween Movies: Witchcraft

So Halloween is my favorite time of the year, and because of that I thought I would get a jump start on some Halloween blogging including lists of favorite Halloween witchiness including movies, books and more.

My Favorite Witchy Halloween Movies include:

Hocus Pocus - very cute and the soundtrack is full of campy fun ^_^

The Craft - loved this movie since I was twelve and trying to bespell my black lipstick from being seen and thrown away by my parents.

Halloweentown - this is also one of Damon's favorites and he'll watch it every time its on TV without fail.

The Witches - Raold Dahl movie I've liked since I was a kid

The Witches of Eastwick - the book was terrible and gave the impression that women are either virgin goddesses or sluts...or so I thought, but the movie is hilarious and one of my favorites with Cher.

Teen Witch - another hokey teen movie complete with dance numbers but cute all the same and another of Damon's guilty favorites.

Practical Magic - of course!

The Worst Witch - I somehow sympathize and am jealous at the same time o.o

And all of the Harry Potter movies ^_^ I love going to Harry Potter Halloween Parties as Bellatrix Lestrange.


This year I also plan to watch:

Season of the Witch
Bell Book and Candle
Both Wicker Man movies back to back and decide which one I like best o.o
The Worst Witch series
and all the Hallmark, Family Channel, Disney etc Halloween series of movies and shows that will be played next month! Green make-up not included...wish me luck!

Halloween Tea Party

I will be attending Frosted Petunia's Hallween Tea Party blog event this coming month along with my many other Halloween events I have planned. I plan to get some witchy friends together, complete with glorious witch hats, for a picnic style tea party if the weather allows. The menu will includ Witch's Brew tea, scones, cookies and more ^_^ Thanks to Frosted Petunia for another excuse to party it up! Will you be joining the party, dear reader?

Consecration

Last night Night and I cleansed and empowered our new altar. It’s so nice to finally have a permanent standing altar after years of makeshift stools and quick-to-hide blankets caused by living in a Christian household. It was also nice to perform something so simple yet so powerful as a blessing with my life-partner.
We’re not quite done with the consecration and won’t be until Wednesday, the last night of this full moon. On that night we’ll also be consecrating some of our new tools such as the wands we harvested back in the spring.
Such work along with the weather makes me anxious for Samhain.

Merry Meet Again

Samhain fast approaches. The very air carries the intense smells of falling leaves, smoke from fires, and the crisp ice of coming winter.
My thoughts are busy with preparations. My physical work will start on the 18th, 13 days from the Sabbat. I tend to work with fairies as the day draws near, to renew my connection with my inner child (a process that is and should be on going), and mediate on the death of the Mother Goddess and the Oak God that harkens the coming of the Crone and Holly King.

Such a magical time is felt by all people, witch and mundane alike. Signs for Trunk or Treats, Fall Festivals, and Harvest Fairs are posted, decorations of warding Jack-O-Lanterns, spooky ghosts, ensnaring spider webs, and enchanting witches are set out, and boys and girls of all religions are fired-up with the energy of Halloween.

Your meditations for the Sabbat could be on ancestors and death for the season is one of endings (and eventual re-births). They could be on abundance and growth as the third Harvest comes. Or they could be on beginnings and the Witch’s New Year.
Whatever your thoughts are on I know they are blessed. Be sure to go outside and enjoy the autumnal breeze, the pumpkin moons, and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet.

Blessed Be,
Dawn