Your Animal Spirit for Today
September 16, 2012
Has turkey gobbled his way into your life today? If so he brings a message of sacrificing for the greater good. To some indigenous tribes, Turkey represents the spirit of the giveaway–a ceremony where those who have more give to those who have less, thus “sacrificing” for others. If Turkey helps you feel the spirit of giving, who can you help?
16 Coll/Metageitnion
Day of the Apple Tree
Color: Apple-green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon an apple-green cloth set a vase of apple branches, a bowl of apples, a single green candle, a pot of soil, seeds, a bowl of water, a jug of cider, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Feed people outside the home.
Daily Meal: Vegan, with apples, applesauce, and cider.
Invocation to the Green Man of the Apple Tree
Hail, Green Man of the Autumn!
Apple tree of immortality
Whose branches hide the white hind,
Whose fruit nourishes all,
Whose juice gives gladness
To those who work your Earth,
Whose seeds show the pentad
Of the eternal Goddess,
Tool of Eris which shows
How the mighty may fall
Beneath your spreading branches,
Equal to the lowest in their folly
And fate; this is your gift,
Love-fruit, merry one,
Brightest star in the harvest
With the universal star at your core.
Teach us that this joy
Belongs to everyone,
As does your gift of health,
So may we all be hale!
We hail you, sacred apple tree,
Green Man of the Autumn,
On this your day of greatest nourishment.
Song: Here’s To Thee, Old Apple Tree
(Each comes forward and plants a seed in the pot of soil, saying, “Hail Green Man of the Earth!” Water is poured onto the pot, and then the rest is poured out as a libation. Pass the cider and apples around for everyone to share, and pour out the last as another libation. Ring bell and dismiss.)
September 11 – Daily Feast
Everything is not our fault, All of life is not our doing. But the one thing we can count on is our thinking. Think things through honestly and without excuse. Don’t tell it, and don’t think that’s all there is to it.The mind is the doorway to the heart and spirit. This is where the real part of us lives, where life springs forth or gives up. Knowing this, we can go in and clean house and begin to feed ourselves life-food. Life-food is from Galun lati, the Spirit – and without the Spirit, everything is our fault. Never be without the Spirit.
~ You fought me and I had to fight back. ~
GALL – HUNKPAPA SIOUX
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II’ by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Mabon the Autumn Equinox , is celebrated in many ways around the world. It is a day of balance, with equal amounts of darkness and light, but soon, winter will arrive. In some Wiccan traditions, it marks the time when the Sun King descends into the underworld, from which he will be reborn atYule
In many pantheons, the apple is a symbol of the Divine. Apple trees. are representative of wisdom and guidance. This apple ritual will allow you time to thank the gods for their bounty and blessings, and to enjoy the magic of the earth before the winds of winter blow through.
Difficulty:
Average
Time Required:
Varied
Here’s How:
Decorate your altar with symbols of the season — a basket of gourds or small pumpkins, colorful fall leaves, acorns ,vines,, grapes or blackberries. You’ll also need a pair of orange candles to symbolize the harvest, a cup of cider or wine, and an apple.
If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, do so now. Light your harvest candles. Face the altar and hold the apple in both hands. If you can do this rite outside, raise the apple up to the sky, and feel the wisdom and energy of the gods coming to you. Say
The apple is sacred, a symbol of the gods,
and holds the knowledge of the ancients inside.
Tonight I ask the gods to bless me with their wisdom
1. Slice the apple in half across the middle. Where the seeds are, you will see a five-pointed star. Place the two halves in the center of your altar. Say:
Five points in a star, hidden inside.
One for earth, one for air, one for fire,
one for water, and the last for spirit.
Turn to the north, arms raised to the heavens, and say:
The world passes from light into darkness,
and the golden fields of the earth bring the promise
of food and nourishment through the winter.
Face east, and say:
I stand on the threshold of the darkness,
and know that the summer breezes give way to autumn chill,
which bring forth the blazes of color in the trees.
Next, turn to the south and say:
I call upon the wise ones, the ancient gods,
as the sun moves away and fire fades,
to be replaced with the chill of the night.
Finally, face west, and say
I will reflect on the guidance of the gods,
and let the cool autumn rains wash over me,
cleansing my heart and soul.
Raise the cup of wine or cider to the sky, and toast the gods. Say:
The wild god returns this night to the belly of the Mother.
The mother goddess tonight becomes the Crone.
As the Wheel of the Year turns, the earth dies a bit each day.
I willingly follow the old gods into the darkness,
where they will watch over me, protect me, and keep me safe.
Sip from the cup, and as you drink your wine or cider, think about the power and energy of the Divine, in whatever aspect you choose to honor.
Extinguish one of the candles, and say:
The wild god has gone to rest in the Underworld.
I look to the darkness for renewal and rebirth.
Extinguish the other candle, and say:
The mother goddess has entered her most powerful stage.
She is the Crone, the wise one, and I ask for her blessing.
Stand in the darkness for a moment. Reflect upon all the changes that are to come, and those things that will stay constant. Feel the energy of the gods as you connect to them, and understand that even though winter is coming, the light will return again.
When you are ready, end the ritual.
Tips:
Leave the apples on your altar overnight, and the next morning, put them in your garden as an offering to the earth.
Feel free to replace the wild god and mother goddess with the names of deities from your own tradition.
What You Need:
A pair of orange candles.
A cup of cider or wine.
An apple and something to cut it with.
30 Weodmonath
Charistheria
Color: White
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a white cloth set two white candles, a chalice of milk, white bread, and a dish shaped like open hands.
Offering: Work for a charity.
Daily Meal: Except for what is shared in ritual, fasting today until Hesperis.
Charistheria Invocation
We open our hands to others
And we do not judge their deserving,
For none of us, hard though we try,
Are always deserving ourselves.
To seek the path of grace
Begins with graciousness.
To learn the dance of graciousness
Requires learning grace
In the giving and the taking.
Holy Charis, embodiment of grace
And graciousness, you whose hands
Are always open to all,
Help us to step beyond our feelings
Of who is deserving, who is worthy,
Who commands our compassion,
Who is pitiable, who is loved.
Help us to step beyond our emotions
Of who should receive your gifts, and ours,
Yet do not ever let us cease feeling,
For your gifts are not given out of cold duty
But out of universal love.
We open our hands to others
And we do not judge their deserving,
For none of us, hard though we try,
Are always deserving ourselves.
(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual, and who should be dressed in white, brings the bread and milk to each person, and says, “You take, but you do not now give, for this is charity.” Each person replies, “Now I take, but later I give, for charity is grace,” and partakes of the bread and milk. Any remaining is poured out as a libation.)
Like Hermes and Mercury – the Gods to whom the Greeks and Romans 
dedicated this herb – lavender is thought to have the power to encourage healing, and is extremely versatile, so that its flowers can also be used to provide perfume and to impart a tasty tang to culinary oils, dishes, and salads. The roots of its name lie in the Roman verb lavare, “to wash,” which points to its cleansing properties. It also helps to keep the home hygienic by warding off flies and other disease-spreading insects, which appear to be repelled by its strong smell.
If you like fragrant bathwater, simply stuff a few handfuls of dried lavender flowers into the toe of a clean stocking or nylon knee-high and tie a knot in the top. Now place it in the tub while you are running the hot water, and the sachet will release its delicious scent.
This spell works best at midnight.
Say your name loud and clear, while in full view of the moon. Say your name eight times in total.
Then say your wish, nice and clear. And be very specific. Like don’t say, ‘I wish I fit in more.’ You might become a fish, fitting in with all of these other fish, in the middle of the ocean. After you say your very specific wish, say your name again eight times. Imagine your wish coming true, and you being very happy.
Also, don’t wish to be twenty pounds lighter, if you’re going to eat twenty gallons of ice cream a day.
When a Bad Apple Spoils the Bunch
When dealing with negative people we can choose not to respond to their behavior and allow our positive behavior be an example.
Because life requires that we interact with different personalities, it is not uncommon for us to encounter a situation where there is one person whose behavior may negatively impact the experiences of others. Someone who is loud and crass can interrupt the serenity of those who come together to practice peace. A disruptive worker can cause rules to be imposed that affect their colleagues’ professional lives. A team member who is pessimistic or highly critical may destroy the morale of their fellow members. And one “bad apple” in your personal life can be a potent distraction that makes it difficult to focus on the blessings you’ve been given and the people who love you.
There may always be people in your life who take it upon themselves to create disruption, foster chaos, stamp out hope, and act as if they are above reproach – even when, in doing so, they put a blight on their own experiences. But you don’t need to allow their negativity and callousness to sour your good mood. Often, our first impulse upon coming head-to-head with a bad apple is to express our anger and frustration in no uncertain terms. However, bad apples only have the power to turn our lives sour if we let them.
If you can exercise patience and choose not to respond to their words or actions, you will significantly limit the effect they are able to have on you and your environment. You can also attempt to encourage a bad apple to change their behavior by letting your good behavior stand as an example. If your bad apple is simply hoping to attract notice, they may come to realize that receiving positive attention is much more satisfying than making a negative impression. While you may be tempted to simply disassociate yourself entirely from a bad apple, consider why they might be inclined to cause disturbances. Understanding their motivation can help you see that bad apples are not necessarily bad people. Though bad apples are a fact of life, minimizing the impact you allow them to have upon you is empowering because you are not letting anyone else affect the quality of your experiences. You may discover that buried at the very heart of a bad apple is a seed of goodness.
14 Weodmonath
Rice and Millet Day
Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth lay bowls of cooked rice, bowls of cooked millet, a jug of African beer and a jug of sake.
Offering: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Food made with rice and millet.
Rice and Millet Invocation
(First the beer and sake is passed around, and the remainder poured out as a libation.)
I sing the praises of Rice.
Great grain of Asia,
Fruit of a million paddies,
Life of a billion people,
Grain of the rat god Daikoku,
Giver of prosperity,
I sing the praises of Rice.
(The rice porridge is passed around until it is eaten.)
I sing the praises of Millet,
Great grain of Africa,
Planted in the hot fields
Among the yams and melons
Grain of the warmest sun
Yin to buckwheat’s yang
I sing the praises of Millet.
(The millet porridge is passed around until it is eaten.)
Song: Lammas Prayer
Wraps — sandwiches that forgo bread and are instead rolled in tortillas — are a fast, fresh and fun way to make a magickal meal in no time. Choose vegetable such as yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, onion or cucumber. Charm the vegetables to enhance their natural power: simply connect with the energies in the food and calll out the attribute most suited to the magick, magnifying the ingredient’s inherent qualities or color associations. Prepare the begetable using a magickal slicing technique, then either put them fresh into the tortilla or quickly saute them in a little butter, letting the heat magnify the magick of your empowered ingredients. Add protein with a bit of cold tofu salad, a nice begetarian assimilation of chicken salad — just drain a package of firm tofu and mash it up with a little mayonnaise and curry powder. If you’re a meat eater, simply add sliced turkey or forkfuls of tuna. Serve rolled in wheat or spinach tortillas, adding cheese or honey mustard if you wish.
Excerpt from: Ten-Minute Magickal Meals By Melanie Marquis Llewellyn’s 2012 Witches’ Companion, An Almanac for Everyday Living by Llewellyn
12 Weodmonath
Amaranth and Quinoa Day
Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set an armload of amaranth stalks, a basket of quinoa stalks, a jug of water, bowls of the threshed grain, amaranth flour bread and quinoa porridge.
Offering: Give food to the poor.
Daily Meal: Amaranth bread and quinoa porridge.
Amaranth and Quinoa Invocation
(The jug of water is passed and the remainder poured out as a libation.)
I sing the praises of Amaranth,
Great grain of the Mexican desert,
Sacred grain growing taller than a man
Yet with the smallest seed of all,
Abundance in the dry time
Savior in a drought,
I sing the praises of Amaranth.
(The amaranth bread is passed and the remainder scattered in the garden.)
I sing the praises of Quinoa,
Great grain of the high mountains,
Nourishment of the south continent,
Reaching closest to the sky,
Porridge and cleanser,
Ground under the gleam of gold,
I sing the praises of Quinoa.
(The quinoa porridge is passed until it is finished.)
Song: Lammas Prayer
August 2 – Daily Feast
It is not easy to forget the hours we spent as children along some sparkling stream – and there were more sparkling streams then. It is not hard to remember every sound that carried up the creek, how the fishing was, and how it tasted fresh from the water and cooked in an old tin skillet over an open fire. There were a nv s tsigi, violet flowers, blooming in clusters along the banks – and poison ivy we had to avoid – and didn’t always. A cardinal sang a fishing song and the sound of oars dipped in warm water with a soft splish-splash. Bugs, like people on water-skis, slipped over the surface of water. And as we passed, tsisdvna, crawfish backed into holes in the mud. Every moment was a thing of joy and knocks softly on our minds today when the need for solitude is there.
~ What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night….the breath of a buffalo in the winter time….a little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. ~
CROWFOOT, 1821
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Everyone else might be dancing in honor of today’s Lughnasad, or the Celtic celebration of the upcoming harvest, but I’ll be making some magically delicious ‘Lammas Cooler’ to keep the heat away and the mystical here to stay. If you’d like to join me in this uplifting libation then you’ll need one half cup each of blueberry puree and freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately a dozen limes), three tablespoons of agave sweetener, two tablespoons of brown sugar, three cups of cold spring water and some fresh mint for garnish. Place the berries and the agave in a blender and blend until smooth. In a mixing bowl stir the puree, lime juice and the sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Divide this mixture among drinking glasses filled with crushed or shaved ice. Stir in the spring water and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Of course, it couldn’t hurt if you’d like to add a little something more potently potable. Either way, the Llamas libation is believed to banish the blues while allowing you to feel lighter, brighter and better about life in general. Now, that’s a wonderful way to start a waning summer month!
By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com
If the summer sun has caused a crop of unwanted freckles to spring up on your face, you could try encouraging them to fade by taking the following
advice, which was originally published in The Compleat Cook, an English handbook, in 1671: “To take away freckles or the Sun burning. Steep a piece of copper in the juice of Lemon till it be dissolved, and anoint the place with a feather morning and evening, washing it off with white wine.” Alternatively, regularly dab a freshly cut lemon slice on your freckles and then do not wash your face for at least 10 minutes.
Not only is this Leonian day governed by the sun, but its element is fire and its polarity is masculine, all of which point to barbecuing! So take advantage of the relaxed summer vibe and warmth of the evening to hold an outdoor feast – just fire up the barbecue and get grilling!
Magickal Uses: Grown around the home, fennel confers protection. Wearing a piece of fennel in the left shoe will prevent wood ticks from biting your legs. Fennel is also hung up at windows and doors to ward off evil spirits, and the seeds can be carried for the same reason.
Fennel is used in purification sachets, as well as in healing mixtures.
How could you not love today’s sweet and sticky vibe on an entire day devoted to that southern staple — pecan pie. But why stop at the gooiness of pie when you can also have pecan cake or pralines, pecan butter or ice cream? You could also soon see some extra cash, since pecans are considered to be a magically delicious food that can bring a boost to your bottom line. Pecans are also said to help you keep your job. To ensure your employment, shell a handful of pecans and eat them slowly, all the while visualizing a new you who is gainfully and happily employed. Take the shells, wrap them in a small bag and put them somewhere at work where they won’t be noticed or removed. This is a mystical and tasty way to make sure that you won’t be removed either.
By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com
by Sarah Cooke
Today, a friend and I had a conversation about the role that relationships can play in our enjoyment of food. For example, when I prepare dishes using my mother’s recipes, the flavor is the same but the experience is often less fulfilling than enjoying a meal she has prepared for me. Similarly, when I prepare a meal for my fiancé and myself, I often enjoy the dish more than I do when I am the only one eating.
It is not only the flavor of a dish or the quality of the ingredients that contributes to our enjoyment. It is the energy surrounding the food – and the consumption of it. When a meal is prepared and eaten with love, it is generally more enjoyable.
Yes, this phenomenon can lead to emotional eating when we try to recreate the positive memories and feelings associated with particular foods. But it also has the potential to be quite beneficial. When we enjoy food on the level of the spirit, we are often more likely to feel more fulfilled, meaning we consume fewer empty calories than we do when we eat processed foods, which are less fulfilling. When we eat processed food, we often must eat more to feel fulfilled. In addition, when we learn to appreciate the deep, emotional nourishment that food can offer us in a balanced way, we are likely to choose high quality foods that can offer that kind of sustenance.
7 Duir/Skirophorion
Day of the Dagda
Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth lay a wand made of an oak branch, a great cup of ale, a bowl of porridge, and four brown candles.
Offerings: Feed the hungry.
Daily Meal: Soup, stew, or porridge, enough to feed more than just the House. Let the rest be given to those who need it.
Invocation to the Dagda
Hail Eochaid Ollathair, Father of All!
Hail Ruad Ro-fhessa, Lord of Perfect Knowledge!
Lord of the Oak Tree,
Phallus of the summer saplings,
Rough as tree bark is your wisdom,
Yet deep as sunken roots.
You who can call the seasons with your harp,
You are called upon by the common people
For your gift of fair weather.
You whose club is so great
That nine men are required to carry it
And even then it plows a great ditch;
Whose terrible end slays hundreds at a blow
And whose other end can restore them to life;
You stake your life on the fertility of the land
That others may survive the cold winters.
You who build great fortresses,
You know what it is to be the sole protection
Of those you love, and to go forth
In battle to save their lives.
You are a king, yet you go among the people
In the rough clothing of a peasant,
Rejecting the trappings of the wealthy.
Your great cauldron is never empty,
Nourisher of your people, and of all people.
(The ale is passed, and then poured out as a libation. The stew is ceremonially carried into the kitchen, and the day’s chant sung over the kitchen table.)
Chant: May you never hunger, may you never thirst.
Heal Me Tea
Although your potions should never replace a trip to the doctor when you are ill, this tea can give you a magical boost to speed your healing. Focus on ridding your body of whatever ails you. If you are running a fever, add 1 part of Feverfew.
4 parts rose petals
3 parts violet petals
2 parts dried apples
1 part dried blackberries
1 part eucalyptus leaves
1 part ginseng root
Aries
(March 21 – April 19)
Good day to put a few kumquats, some of those teensy little ears of corn, and a few brussels sprouts in a tiny little bowl, and leave it on someone’s doorstep with a tiny little note reading “Dear Big People….”
Taurus
(April 20 – May 20)
What are you looking here, for? You should be on a spaceship, sticking a fish in your ear. It’s not like you didn’t get enough hints. If you are vaporized, it’s your own darned fault, I’d say.
Gemini
(May 21 – June 20)
You are sad about an upcoming event, but can do nothing about it. Try knitting — people say it’s wonderfully relaxing.
Cancer
(June 21 – July 22)
It will turn out that someone you spend a great deal of time with is actually one of the last remaining Sinanthropus (Peking man), rather than an actual Cro-Magnon. This will explain things you’d been wondering about.
Leo
(July 23 – August 22)
That new employee seems honest, and is a really hard worker – so who cares if she wants to wear a studded dog collar? You’ll have to draw the line at butt sniffing, though.
Virgo
(August 23 – September 22)
Good day to power-walk. It not only looks silly, it is silly.
Libra
(September 23 – October 22)
You will win 12,000 cases of peanut brittle today, on a call-in game show. That’s a LOT of peanut brittle, as it turns out.
Scorpio
(October 23 – November 21)
In this world you have a choice between being clever, and being pleasant. I recommend pleasant.
Sagittarius
(November 22 – December 21)
You will spend another full day attempting to shuffle a deck of cards with your toes. Fortunately, nobody will find out.
Capricorn
(December 22 – January 20)
Today you will suddenly realise how sensuous pudding can be. This will mark a turning point in your life.
Aquarius
(January 21 – February 18)
Try not to be too impulsive, today. Ask youself if you really need that howitzer, or if you just think it’d be fun to have.
Pisces
(February 19 – March 20)
Good day to ponder the parable of the itsy bitsy spider, and the futility of climbing up water spouts during spring weather. You’ll be able to apply this lesson to one of your current relationships.
Witches Of The Craft® 
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