#third harvest

[harvestmoss]

Samhain

A little late on this one, I've actually been horribly busy so I haven't been able to plan my Samhain day much! There's a certain... "pesky force" that's been pissing me off lately. I have been unable to plan or go through with plans because of this "force" as this "force" constantly needs my attention and makes me plan around or down right cancel plans. Anyways, I still do have some time to celebrate such a wonderful holiday.

🍎 Foods

Soul Cakes:

180c, 15 min.

Cream 120g butter and 120g sugar. Add 2 egg yolks.

Sift 150g flour, pumpkin spice mix, salt, into the butter mix.

Add currants, 60g milk, and stir.

Roll it out to half a centimeter thick, and cut around 20 cookies out in circles.

Cut crosses on each cookie.

Sprinkle sugar when out of the oven.

I'm also having left overs of a good hearty tomato pasta dish, as well as having coffee with pumpkin spice in it. I haven't planned much else to eat today, unfortunately.

🎃Spells

Soak a piece of paper in Four Thieves Oil and dirty waters. Let the paper dry and write about your target using Raven’s Ink, name and information, as usual. Burn the paper over a black candle. Throw everything out in the trash afterwards. Hopefully a pesky someone will stop bothering me finally.

🧹Activities

I will be lighting candles in my home, it'll be the first time doing so for the evening since it's dark enough for it.

I have been collecting leaves and going on walks.

I'll be watching a horror movie.

[ruins-of-her-peace]

Let the torch-light lead your way

to the crossroads where fresh fruits and flowers lay.

Gently crawling fog, it whispers,

surrounding us, dancing sisters.

The raven of coal feathers flutters

above the heads of my dear brothers.

If you listen, all the living sounds with croon;

the revered forest, hills and the waning moon.

A memory embodied by a candle-flame;

none shall grow forgotten, call them each by name.

In my ebony hair the wreathed yew,

as death entwines with something new.

Emily Yvonne

[angeloftheshore]

samhain

Samhain Pronunciation: SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SOW-een October 31 – November 1 Themes: death, rebirth, divination, honoring ancestors, introspection, benign mischief, revelry Other Names: Samhuin, Halloween, Third Harvest, Day of the Dead, Feast of the Dead (Félie Na Marbh), Ancestor Night, All Hallows Eve(the 31st).

This celebration marks the end of the growing season and the beginning of…

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[wizardismlife]

[educationofawitch]

I spent the Third Harvest and the Day of the Dead in the company of the living. No time for ritual. And I wanted to do this elaborate thing, too. Clean my living room, then cleanse it, then set up an altar, do a Tarot reading to reflect on the past and peek at the groundwork for future. It was the Witches' New Year, after all.

But I didn't. Third Harvest I spent drinking wine and eating mushroom fettuccine in the company of two friends, who are unaware of the significance of Hallowe'en for me. Day of the Dead I spent in the company of my father, who is a religious Christian. He can be understanding, but I didn't feel like breaching it that day.

So I decided to set up a small something on Guy Fawkes. It's not so much an altar, just... light, I guess. If Midwinter is about light in the middle of Dark, and if Imbolc is saying hello to Light, then Third Harvest is saying goodbye to Light. Or, at least, that is my logic.

Oh, but my house was still dirty! And, most importantly, my living room window, on which I planned to set the candles. And I haven't prepared for ritual. I felt restless and scatterbrained, and in no way ready to perform a Tarot reading, let alone raise energy for magic. 

And then I just though, "Fuck it." The dead I will be honouring, they love me. They couldn't care less if my window was dirty or if my mind was all over the place.

And the Gods? The Gods have seen it all. Your shame, your guilt, your restlessness. They are aware. And they don't mind. As long as you are respectful, they don't care if your window is not pristine. Or if your offering is small. Or if you wanted to fashion a bouquet from autumn leaves to add it to a special type of altar decoration you've been working on, but didn't have the time for it. They only care that it comes from the heart, and with a healthy intent.

So that was it. I set up some candles and an aroma lamp with lavender oil (in a feeble attempt to calm myself). I lighted the candles on Guy Fawkes and let them burn for several  hours, until I had to put them out to go to bed. And I lighted them again today, and I let them burn out. And tomorrow I'll feed the nuts to the pigeons that live in the alcove outside my window. And so it shall be done.

[thebacchichuntress]

The Feast

This past Saturday we had our early Samhain feast, and if I do say so myself, it was very successful. As soon as I got off work I went home and grabbed all the food from my place and took them over to Mare's. After changing into my costume and letting Cainan know he was free to head over whenever he was ready, I started cutting up the potatoes for dinner.

Half way through that Cainan knocked on the porch door behind me, and I let him in and we had a wonderful little reunion, because it felt like we hadn't seen each other in forever and I've missed him terribly, but that's another story. After we had a bit of a chat and hugged a few times he helped me finish cutting up the potatoes, and the chicken for Henne in Bokenade while Mare got the stuff together to grill.

Nox and Vivi arrived around 7:00, and they helped me prepare the salad and the rolls while I finished what I was doing, and Doll and Vivi set the table. When everything was done and everyone had arrived, we all sat down to eat. I gave a quick speech and the Feast commenced. Soup was passed around, and wine circled the table, an extra glass going in the center between the candles for the Ancestors and the Gods. Everyone ate and drank their fill (and then some), then Mare went to start the fire while Cainan and I made mulled wine.

There was music and more wine and cider and drunken revelry (though some were more drunk than others); the Dionysian spirit was high. Soul Cakes and Lembas were had as well, with good reception to my delight. Later in the evening Nox cast and read stones and I read Tarot, and her reading for me was startlingly on point, and gave me a lot of things to think about.

The morning after we all shared apple muffins with cinnamon butter, and then I took the last of the mulled wine and the henne in bokenade and made my offerings to Dionysus and Artemis, respectively, in the woods.

All in all, I'd say the feast was successful. I'll be making offerings again, come true Samhain, and once more at the Grove's ritual, so I think the spirits and the Gods will be well fed come the end of October.

I have high hopes for the coming year, and this one is ending on a good note. I've been closer to my friends than I have been some time, and it is something sorely missed. I only hope this continues, and I have every intention to make it so.

~~~

Be Well,

- The Bacchic Huntress

[thebacchichuntress]

Samhain Feast

Greetings Friends,

So, I decided to take the chance offered to me and have my Samhain Feast early this year. On Saturday, the group and I will be gathering at my partner's house for food, drink, and a bonfire to honour the spirits and the Gods. My preparations are a little late starting, but everything should be fine.

This year Cainan and I are dividing cooking again. He's taking on the main course, while I'm taking care of things like the soups and the salad and breads. It worked out well last year and we put together an amazing feast. I'm also planning to make mulled wine this year, which I'm really excited about.

Either Thursday or Friday night I'm picking up Artie and I'm teaching her how to make Soul Cakes. Friday I may also start making my Henne in Bokenade, because it's always better reheated (I just have to find my recipe for it). I'm still on the hunt for recipes to see if anything else catches my eye, so if anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

I have candles and sage for offerings, and I'll be bringing my Tarot deck to do some readings if anyone wants them. I'll still be doing my own acknowledgements later, on the true Samhain, but for now I look forward to feasting with my friends.

~~~

Be Well,

- The Bacchic Huntress

[thebacchichuntress]

Plans for the Third Harvest

Samhain is in a few weeks, but plans for this year may have already been a little mixed up.

My partner's parents usually go out of town once a month for a weekend, leaving us to take care of their house. Last year, we used this opportunity to host a Samhain feast with friends, and it was timed perfectly, just a few days before Samhain last year, and it even snowed which was beautiful. For the transition between Summer and Winter, it snowed on our feast.

This year, the opportunity for us all to gather and feast together is much earlier than I expected, falling on the second weekend of October, as opposed to the last. As unconventional as it may be, I might take what time I have for a mock-Samhain feast. That way, the friends and I all get to have a good meal together, I'll have the room to cook, there will be plenty of space for everyone and we won't disturb anyone while we have the chance. Then, later in the month, when its actually appropriate I'll do my own celebration.

The decision isn't finalized, but it's something I'm considering. I don't know if I'm comfortable bending time that far, but I think as long as I have my own personal time on the true day it will be fine.

One day I'll have my own home and I can set it up and use it as I please. I'll have a kitchen of my own to cook in, a garden to plant herbs in, a place for offerings, and a place for celebration. I won't keep having to schedule around everyone else. That will be a wonderful day.

An upside is, my Pagan friend has invited me to join her at The Grove for their Samhain ritual at the beginning of November, if I'm interested. I could not turn down the chance even if I wanted to; it sounds like such a beautiful experience from the stories she's told me. I would love to experience it, at least once, so I'm certainly going assuming no complications arise.

I look forward to seeing what this new year holds.

~~~

Be Well,

The Bacchic Huntress