Tag: Honey

Calendar of the Sun for May 5th

Calendar of the Sun
5 Thrimilchimonath

Oshun’s Day

Colors: Yellow and gold
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a cloth of yellow and gold set six yellow candles, a pot of honey, many ornaments of gold and brass, peacock and vulture feathers, golden coins, a glass of river water, a bottle of honey brandy, peaches, and pumpkin seeds.
Offerings: Pumpkin seeds, yellow or orange fruit, honey, and brandy.
Daily Meal: Yellow food, fruit, sweet things, honey.

Opening Chant for Oshun:
Love is a river,
Flowing from my heart,
Flowing from my heart.

Oshun Invocation

Daughter of the River,
Goddess of Love,
Golden one whose taste is honey
Whose touch is the flow of water
Whose dance is enchanting
Who is the glint of gold and the sound of laughter
And who is much more than these things,
Bless us with your ability to love
And see the divine within every one of us.
Lady of the peacock,
Let us appreciate beauty when we find it,
In any form that it arrives.
Lady of the vulture,
Let us remember that even those things
Which are ugly and rotting
Need merely to be transformed
And that they, too, are part of the cycle of life.
Let us be a vehicle for that transformation.
You love is like the river
That flows along forever,
Mixing sweet waters with the salt of the sea,
And as we live our bittersweet lives,
We will remember and revere your shining dance.

(All take drums in a circle, and let there be drumming and dancing in honor of Oshun.)
Source:

Pagan Hour of Hours

A Little Humor for Your Day – Elderly Couple Anniversary

Elderly Couple Anniversary

An old couple celebrates their 50th wedding anniversary in their home.

“Just think,” the old man says, “we were sitting here at this same breakfast table, naked as jaybirds, 50 years ago.”

“Well,” the old lady snickers, “what do you say — should we get naked?”

The two immediately strip to the buff and sit back down at the table. “You know, honey,” the little old lady says slyly, “My breasts burn for you now as they did 50 years ago.”

“I’m not surprised,” replies the old man. “One’s in your coffee and the other is in your oatmeal!”

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Sweet Success Moon Potion

Sweet Success Moon Potion

(Wolf Moon)
You will need a vanilla tea bag, three drops of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey.
Begin by brewing the vanilla tea and letting it steep for a few minutes. Add the three drops of lemon juice while saying  the following:
One drop, two drops, and one more, makes three     May sourness never get the best of me.
Add the teaspoon of honey while saying:
With this spoonful of honey,
I bring sweet success to me.
As you drink the cup of tea, review in your mind all of the successes that you hope to have in the coming year. Envision  each of your magickal patterns as coming to fruition and being highly successful. Taste the sweetness of the honey and let it be a prequel to the sweet  success to come. Repeat to yourself:
Sweet success, come to me
By the Lady, blessed be!
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Treat Yourself Today

A Little Special Treat Just for You

Relaxing Lavender Honey Bath

Did you know that Honey has a calming effect? Combined with pure essential oil of Lavender it’s a yummy bath treatment. Why not try it tonight!

2oz. of Honey
5 drops Lavender

Combine in a jar, use 1 -2 Tablespoons per bath. Enjoy!

Brought to you by AromaThyme.com 

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Calendar of the Sun for September 11

Calendar of the Sun

11 Halegmonath

Meditrinalia

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: In the center of the altar should be a fire laid and waiting to be lit in a pot, and around it trays of small honey-cakes (crusta mellei), jugs of old and new wine, a cup of water, a sprig of rosemary, a bowl of salted spelt flour (mola salsa), incense of myrrh, and lanterns.
Offerings: Cakes,
Daily Meal: Honey-cakes, salted spelt flour bread with rosemary and olive oil, wine, lentils.

Meditrinalia Invocation

Caller: Incendio! (One steps forward and lights the fire and lanterns.) So doth the lively flame thrive, whether a little earthen bowl feed the thirsty linen wick, or pinewood that lends its pitch. Accept, Divine One, we pray, the light which we offer you.
Response: Vivax flamma viget, seu cava testula sucum linteolo suggerit ebrio, seu pinus piceam fert alimoniam. Lumen quod vobis offero, suscipe, precor, dive.
Caller: O Father Liber, grant us your favour! We who are come to your sacred rite in your service now open our lips. (One takes the mola salsa and passes it around to be tasted.)
Response: Liber Pater, fave! Quia tibi nunc operata resolvimus ora, quae ad sacrae tuae adsummus.
Caller: Purificatio! (One steps forward and sprinkles the remaining mola salsa.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius honore friaris. (One steps forward and asperges each with rosemary and water.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius honore spargaris. (One steps forward and censes each in turn.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius cremaberis.
Caller: Before thee, Liber, the altars were without offerings and grass grew on the cold hearths.
Response: Ante tuos ortus arae sine honore fuerunt, Liber, et in gelidis herba reperta focis.
(Two step forward and mix the old and new wine together with water, and pass them about.)
Caller: As I drink of this wine old and new, so of all ills old and new may I be healed.
Response: Vinum vetum novumque bibo, de morbo veto novoque medeor
Caller: Liber enjoys honey, and it is right that we give its discoverer honey cakes.
Response: Melle Liber fruitur, liboque infusa calenti iure repertori candida mella damus
(One steps forward to place four cakes on the fire, and pass the rest about to be eaten.)
Caller: So may the fruits of Autumn be sweet to us!
Response: Sicut nobis dulces fruges autumni.
Caller: Ambulatio! (All approach the altar and lay the garlands on it.)
Caller: Sacrificio! Sacred spirit of the spring, be honoured.
Response: Vina dat Liber, fert sibi quisque coronam, miscendas large rivus agit aquas. Anima sacra fontis, macte coronae vinoque crustoque quod inferimus.
Caller: So may all the waters of the earth be sacred to us. So may it be!”
Response: Sic sacrae nobis omnia aquae terrae. Ita sit! (Silence for a moment, then all exit.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Ginger Tea

Ginger Tea
1 inch or so fresh ginger root, sliced thin or grated
1/2 a fresh lemon, sliced (peel & all)
1 clove garlic, mashed
~2 c water
Very generous spoonful honey

Place water, ginger, lemon, & garlic in saucepan; bring to boil, then turn
down heat and simmer gently for 20 min. Strain into mugs and add lots of
honey. The tea *will* get stronger if you let it sit! Most invigorating!
The garlic adds a bit of bitterness, but the honey masks that. This tea is
very soothing to the throat and warms and opens the chest and nasal
passages. Plus there are all those vitamins and other good things! I now
make this tea at the first sign of a cold, which helps me fight it off. I
find it more effective than the commercial hot lemon remedies, and of course cheaper!

Hyssop Cough Syrup

Hyssop Cough Syrup

Licorice flavored, soothes sore throats.
2 tbsp dried hyssop (flower tops) or 1/3 cup fresh hyssop (chopped flowers)
1/4 cup water
1 cup honey
1 tsp aniseed

In a saucepan combine honey and water. Stir until the mixture is consistency of pancake syrup. Bring slowly to a boil (over a medium heat). Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

Use 1-2 tbsp water to moisten the dried hyssop. Crush the aniseed. Stir both into the honey. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover, and allow to cool. While the mixture is still a little warm, strain into a jar. When completely cooled, screw on the lid. Should keep for 1 week.

Calendar of the Sun for September 11

Calendar of the Sun

11 Halegmonath

Meditrinalia

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: In the center of the altar should be a fire laid and waiting to be lit in a pot, and around it trays of small honey-cakes (crusta mellei), jugs of old and new wine, a cup of water, a sprig of rosemary, a bowl of salted spelt flour (mola salsa), incense of myrrh, and lanterns.
Offerings: Cakes,
Daily Meal: Honey-cakes, salted spelt flour bread with rosemary and olive oil, wine, lentils.

Meditrinalia Invocation

Caller: Incendio! (One steps forward and lights the fire and lanterns.) So doth the lively flame thrive, whether a little earthen bowl feed the thirsty linen wick, or pinewood that lends its pitch. Accept, Divine One, we pray, the light which we offer you.
Response: Vivax flamma viget, seu cava testula sucum linteolo suggerit ebrio, seu pinus piceam fert alimoniam. Lumen quod vobis offero, suscipe, precor, dive.
Caller: O Father Liber, grant us your favour! We who are come to your sacred rite in your service now open our lips. (One takes the mola salsa and passes it around to be tasted.)
Response: Liber Pater, fave! Quia tibi nunc operata resolvimus ora, quae ad sacrae tuae adsummus.
Caller: Purificatio! (One steps forward and sprinkles the remaining mola salsa.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius honore friaris. (One steps forward and asperges each with rosemary and water.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius honore spargaris. (One steps forward and censes each in turn.) Ab illos benedicaris, in cuius cremaberis.
Caller: Before thee, Liber, the altars were without offerings and grass grew on the cold hearths.
Response: Ante tuos ortus arae sine honore fuerunt, Liber, et in gelidis herba reperta focis.
(Two step forward and mix the old and new wine together with water, and pass them about.)
Caller: As I drink of this wine old and new, so of all ills old and new may I be healed.
Response: Vinum vetum novumque bibo, de morbo veto novoque medeor
Caller: Liber enjoys honey, and it is right that we give its discoverer honey cakes.
Response: Melle Liber fruitur, liboque infusa calenti iure repertori candida mella damus
(One steps forward to place four cakes on the fire, and pass the rest about to be eaten.)
Caller: So may the fruits of Autumn be sweet to us!
Response: Sicut nobis dulces fruges autumni.
Caller: Ambulatio! (All approach the altar and lay the garlands on it.)
Caller: Sacrificio! Sacred spirit of the spring, be honoured.
Response: Vina dat Liber, fert sibi quisque coronam, miscendas large rivus agit aquas. Anima sacra fontis, macte coronae vinoque crustoque quod inferimus.
Caller: So may all the waters of the earth be sacred to us. So may it be!”
Response: Sic sacrae nobis omnia aquae terrae. Ita sit! (Silence for a moment, then all exit.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for September 9

Calendar of the Moon

9 Coll/Metageitnion

Taliesin’s Day

Color: Sky-Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of sky-blue set a chalice of wine, a cup of honey, a ring of keys, a single stone, and many blue candles.
Offerings: Words that you have written yourself.
Daily Meal: Any food transformed to look like something else, such as a subtlety.

Invocation to Taliesin

Hail, Greatest of Bards!
You who were once Gwion Bach,
A wandering child with no home and no luck,
You who minded the Cauldron of Cerridwen
And stole from it three drops of wisdom,
You who heard the language of birds
And fled from the Goddess’s wrath,
You who were hare and fish and otter,
You who were a bird and a single grain of corn,
You who were seized by Her sharp eyes
And devoured by Her questing beak,
You who grew to fullness again in Her belly
And were birthed forth a second time,
You who were cast into the sea and blown forth
Upon the shore of a far land,
You whose words bedazzled the throned ones,
You whose curse turns men to stone,
You whose song confounds and enlightens,
You who are the Power of Words
Cascading over our ears and our minds,
Infuse us with the Spirit of Inspiration
And may our own words gleam
With the treasure more precious than gold.

(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual pours the honey into the wine cup and stirs it, and takes it about to each one present, bidding them drink and saying, “May thy tongue flow with honey.” Each drinks, and the rest is poured out as libation. As this is the day of the God of Bards, one should be brought in from outside the house to sing or speak to all the folk present. They should be feasted as the reliquary of Taliesin, and given honor. Many books should be read tonight.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for September 8

Calendar of the Sun

8 Halegmonath

Mead-Day

Color: Golden
Elements: Fire and Water
Altar: Upon a golden cloth set four yellow candles, goblets, a jug of home-brewed mead, a bee skep, the figure of a honeybee, and a small jar of honey.
Offerings: Mead libations.
Daily Meal: Food sweetened with honey. Mead.

Mead-Day Invocation

Hail to the Queen Bee who gathers the workers!
Hail to the workers who gather the nectar!
Hail to the hundreds who make the honey!
Hail to the brave who gather the sweetness!
Hail to the brewers who create the liquor
That the Aesir stole from the duergar
That the gods all covet
That is the finest sacrifice of any fluid.
Nectar brewed of the meadow’s flowers,
From the orchard’s blossoms,
From the sexual fluids of a thousand plant-souls.
Hail to the Queen Bee and all her progeny,
Forgive us our theft of your hard labor,
And may you multiply in plenty
In a world that blossoms with richness every spring.

Chant:
More than even a rich man can hold,
We drink the sunrise, we drink the meadow’s gold.

(Mead is poured into the goblets, and everyone takes a sip. Then some is poured into the libation well for the Gods, and the rest is taken out to the garden or the orchard. Libations are poured for the trees of the orchard, the garden, and especially the beehives.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Lighten Up – The Hearing Test

THE HEARING TEST

There was an elderly gentleman who feared his wife was getting hard of hearing.

So one day he called her doctor to make an appointment to have her hearing checked. The doctor made an appointment for a hearing test in two weeks, and told him of a simple informal test that he could give her so that he ( the doctor ) would have an idea of the severity of her problem.

“Here’s what you do,” said the doctor, “start out about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response….”

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he’s in the living room. He says to himself, “I’m about 40 feet away, let’s see what happens.” Then in a normal tone he asks, ‘Honey, what’s for supper?” No response. So the husband moved to the other end of the room, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, “Honey, what’s for supper?” Still no response.

Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, “Honey, what’s for supper?” Again he gets no response. So he walks up to the kitchen door, only 10 feet away. “Honey, what’s for supper?” Again there is no response. So he walks right up behind her. “Honey, what’s for supper?”

(I just love this!)

“Jack, for the fifth time, CHICKEN ! “

 

Lighten Up – Wisdom from Grandpa

WISDOM FROM GRANDPA

When a man marries a woman, they become one; but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.

On anniversaries, the wise husband always forgets the past – but never the present.

A foolish husband says to his wife, “Honey, you stick to the ironing, washin’, cookin’, and scrubbin’. No wife of mine is gonna work.”

Many girls like to marry a military man – he can cook, sew, make beds, and is in good health…and he’s already used to taking orders.

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know ” why ” I look this way. I’ve traveled down a lot of roads in life and some of them weren’t paved.

When you are dissatisfied with aging and would like to go back to your youth….Remember about Algebra. !!!

Just because you have one
doesn’t mean you have to act like one.

Calendar of the Moon for August 9

Calendar of the Moon

9 Coll/Metageitnion

Taliesin’s Day

Color: Sky-Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of sky-blue set a chalice of wine, a cup of honey, a ring of keys, a single stone, and many blue candles.
Offerings: Words that you have written yourself.
Daily Meal: Any food transformed to look like something else, such as a subtlety.

Invocation to Taliesin

Hail, Greatest of Bards!
You who were once Gwion Bach,
A wandering child with no home and no luck,
You who minded the Cauldron of Cerridwen
And stole from it three drops of wisdom,
You who heard the language of birds
And fled from the Goddess’s wrath,
You who were hare and fish and otter,
You who were a bird and a single grain of corn,
You who were seized by Her sharp eyes
And devoured by Her questing beak,
You who grew to fullness again in Her belly
And were birthed forth a second time,
You who were cast into the sea and blown forth
Upon the shore of a far land,
You whose words bedazzled the throned ones,
You whose curse turns men to stone,
You whose song confounds and enlightens,
You who are the Power of Words
Cascading over our ears and our minds,
Infuse us with the Spirit of Inspiration
And may our own words gleam
With the treasure more precious than gold.

(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual pours the honey into the wine cup and stirs it, and takes it about to each one present, bidding them drink and saying, “May thy tongue flow with honey.” Each drinks, and the rest is poured out as libation. As this is the day of the God of Bards, one should be brought in from outside the house to sing or speak to all the folk present. They should be feasted as the reliquary of Taliesin, and given honor. Many books should be read tonight.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Heather (Aprox. June 20)

HEATHER LORE

  • Tree of the Summer Solstice (Aprox. June 20)
  • Latin name: Calluna vulgaris
  • Celtic name: Ura (pronounced: Oor’ uh)
  • Folk or Common names: Common Heather, Ling, Scottish Heather
  • Parts Used: herb, flowering shoots.
  • Herbal usage: Heather’s flowering shots are used to treat insomnia, stomach aches, coughs and skin problems. The plant, used fresh or dried,  strengthens the heart and raises blood pressure. It is slightly diuretic and a Heather Tea is often prescribed in cases of urinary infections. Heather is  sometimes used in conjunction with corn silk and cowberries.
  • Magical History & Associations: Heather is associated with the sun, and with the planet of Venus. Its color is resin colored and its element is  water. Heather’s bird is the lark, and its animal association is the honey bee. In ancient times the Danes brewed a powerful beer made from honey and  Heather. And for centuries the heather flowers have also been a special beverage to the bee, who in return creates delightful Heather honey! Its stones are  amethyst, peridot, and amertine – and it is a feminine herb. The herb is sacred to many Goddesses: Isis, Venus-Erycina, Uroica, Garbh Ogh, Cybele, Osiris,  Venus, Guinevere, and Butes among them. White Heather was considered unlucky by Scottish loyalists because of its connection with the banishment of Bonny  Prince Charles. Haether is the home to a type of Fey called Heather Pixies. Like other Pixies, the Heather Pixies have clear or golden auras and delicate,  translucent wings. But these faeries are attracted specifically to the moors and to the Heather which covers them. They are not averse to human contact, but  they don’t seek them out. They have a pranksterish nature.
  • Magickal usage: Heather is sacred to the Summer Solstice. Heather is used for magick involving maturity, consummation, general luck, love, ritual power,  conjuring ghosts, healing, protection, rain-making and water magick. Charms made with Heather can be worn or carried as protection against danger, rape and  other violent crimes. This flower represents good fortune and Heather can also be carried as a lucky charm. It was believed that wearing the blossom  associated with your month of birth would bring exceptionally good luck – therefore people born in the month of Heather (August) should carry White Heather,  for even better luck throughout the year. Legend has it that a gift of white Heather brings luck to both the giver and the receiver, wheras red Heather is  said to have been colored by heathens killed in battle by Christians, so is less lucky. Heather is associated with secrets from the Otherworld. A sprig of  white Heather placed in a special place of silence and meditation has the power to conjure ghosts, haints or spirits. After picking a piece of white Heather  at midnight, place it in a glass of river water in the darkest corner of your home. Sit and think of a departed loved one and it is said that the loved ones  shadow will visit you. Heather is said to ignite faery passions and open portals between their world and our own. Heather represents solitude because it  thrives in wide open spaces, and Faeries who enjoy living in such undisturbed places are said to feast on the tender stalks of Heather. The Fae of this  flower are drawn to humans who are shy. Heather is useful for Solitary healing work (going within). Heather, if used along with Mistletoe, creates powerful  healing medicine in both spiritual and physical aspects. Heather can be used at Midsummer to promote love – carry red Heather for passion or white Heather  for cooling the passion of unwanted suitors. If you give someone a gift of Heather it means: ‘Admiration’. A charm bag filled with Heather can be  carried for decreasing egotism or self-involvement. As a water herb, Heather is very useful in weather magick. When burned outdoors with Fern, the herbal  smoke of Heather attracts rain. Bouquets of Heather and Fern can also be dipped in water to call rain.

Hazel (Aug 5 – Sept 1)

HAZEL LORE

  • 9th Moon of the Celtic Year – (Aug 5 – Sept 1)
  • Latin name: European hazel – corylus avellana; American Filbert – corylus americana.
  • Celtic name: Coll (pronounced: Cull). Coll means “life force within you”.
  • Folk or Common names: tree of Wisdom, Lamb’s Tails Tree, Collo or Coslo (Gailic), The tree’s name shares a common root with the walnut tree and  its nut, or cnu and hnot in Europe and Nux in latin.
  • Parts Used: Nut, leaves, branches, wood.
  • Herbal usage: Hazel can be used as a drainage remedy and can help restore elasticity to the lungs. Hazelnuts, of course, can be eaten, and are a good  source of phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, protein and fatty acids. The nuts can be powdered and be mixed with mead or honeyed water to help a  cough.
  • Magical History & Associations: The bird associated with this month is the crane, the color is brown, and the gemstone is band-red agate. The Hazel,  a masculine herb, is associated with the element of air, the planet of Mercury, the day of Wednesday, and is sacred to Mercury, Thor, Artemis, Fionn, Diana  and Lazdona (the Lithuanian Hazelnut Tree Goddess). Hazel wood is one of the nine traditional firewoods that is part of the Belfire that the Druid’s  burned at Beltane – it was added to the fire to gain wisdom. In fact, in ancient times the Hazel was known as The Tree of Wisdom. It is often associated with  sacred springs and wells and salmon. Celtic legend tell of a grove of Hazel trees below which was a well, a pool, where salmon swam. These trees contained  all knowledge, and their fruit contained that knowledge and wisdom in a nutshell. As the hazelnuts ripened, they would fall into the well where they were  eaten by the salmon. With each nut eaten, the salmon would gain another spot. In order to gain the wisdom of the Hazel, the Druids caught and prepared the  salmon. But Fionn, the young man stirring the pot in which the salmon were cooking, accidentally burned his thumb with the boiling stew. By reflex, he put  his thumb into his mouth and thus ingested the essence of the sacred feast; he instantly gained the wisdom of the universe.
  • Magickal usage: The Hazel has applications in magick done for manifestation, spirit contact, protection, prosperity, wisdom, divination-dowsing, dreams,  wisdom-knowledge, marriage, reconciliation, fertility., intelligence, inspiration, and wrath. Hazel is a good herb to use to do magick associated with asking  for wisdom and poetic inspiration since the Hazel is known as the Tree of Immortal Wisdom. In England, all the knowledge of the arts and sciences was thought  to be bound to the eating of Hazel nuts. Hazel also has protective uses as anti-lightning charms. A sprig of Hazel or a talisman of two Hazel twigs tied  together with red or gold thread to make a solar cross can be carried as a protective good luck charm. The mistletoe that grows on hazel protects against  bewitching. A cap of Hazel leaves and twigs ensures good luck and safety at sea, and protects against shipwrecks. In England, the Hazelnut is a symbol of  fertility – a bag of nuts bestowed upon a bride will ensure a fruitful marriage. The Hazel is a tree that is sacred to the fey Folk. A wand of hazel can be  used to call the Fey. If you sleep under a Hazel bush you will have vivid dreams. Hazel can be used for all types of divination and dowsing. Until the  seventeenth century, a forked Hazel stick was used to divine the guilt of persons in cases of murder and theft. Druids often made wands from Hazel wood, and  used the wands for finding ley lines. Hazel twigs or a forked branch can be used to divine for water or to find buried treasure. The wood of the Hazel can  help to divine the pure source of poetry and wisdom. Hazelnuts can be used for love divination. Assign the name of your passion to a nut and throw it in the  fire while saying:”A Hazelnut I throw in the flame,         to this nut I give my sweetheart’s name,         If blazes the nut, so may thy passion grow,         For twas my nut that did so brightly glow.”

    If the nut burns brightly you then will know that your love will burn equally as brightly. Hazels are often found at the border between the worlds    where magickal things happen, and therefore Hazel wood is excellent to use to make all-purpose wands. Any Hazel twigs, wood or nuts should be gathered    after sundown on Samhain since it will be at the peak of its magickal energy. Hazel must not be cut with a knife, but with a flint.

Calendar of the Moon for June 9th

9 Huath/Thargelion

Thargelia Day III: Eireisione

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set a cut branch of some food-giving tree, such as olive or apple. Each member of the community should bring some small thing to tie to it, for it shall be a charm to hang over the door for good luck. Its name is Eireisione. Also set out a cup of wine, a cup of milk with honey in it, a wreath of flowers, and a small bowl of barley.
Offering: Good wishes for the House and its members.
Daily Meal: Vegan. Thargelos, which is a soup of barley, corn, and fruit, sacred to Apollo.

Eireisione Invocation

As we cast up our barley in little showers,
A little grace from the birds is ours.

(The officiant throws a handful of barley into the air.)

A holy heifer’s milk, white and fair to drink,
Bright honey drops from flowers, bee-distilled,
With draughts of water from a virgin fount
And from the ancient vine its mother wild
An unmixed draught this gladness and fair fruit
Of gleaming olive, ever-blooming
And woven flowers, children of Mother Earth.

(The milk and honey is poured out as a libation.)

Eireisione brings all good things,
Figs and fat cakes to eat,
Soft oil and honey sweet,
The brimming wine-cup deep
That she may eat and sleep.

(All approach the altar with their items. Traditional items are dried barley cookies, sacred wool from first-shorn sheep, small corked bottles of wine, figs and dates, and small bags of grain. Anything will do, however. Each ties their offering on and speaks its meaning. The wreath of flowers is ceremonially added last by the officiant, and then Eireisione is carried in procession to the front of the House, where she is hung over the door with great ceremony. She is taken down on Puanepsia and burned in the fire.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Daily Feng Shui Tip for June 1 – “World Milk Day”

Some calendars refer to this first day of the month as ‘World Milk Day,’ so I thought I’d share some milky legends and a silky soak. Milk was once considered a mystical gift from the gods. It was also believed to strengthen and enhance your own ability to give and receive love. And that promise pertains whether you’re wearing a milk mustache or bathing in it. This particular milk bath recipe offers soothing and calm while bringing restoration to body, mind and spirit. You’ll need a half-cup each of honey, milk and Epsom salts, as well as a few springs of fresh parsley and mint. Mix the milk and honey in a bowl and add the herbs. Run a bath and pour in the salt and let dissolve. Add the honey and milk mixture and soak in that for twenty quiet minutes. Ah, milk. It does a body good.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Calendar of the Sun for May 26th

26 Thrimilchimonath

Lemminkainen’s Day

Color: Light blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of light blue set two spears, two arrows, a black cup of water, and a pot of honey with the figure of a bee.
Offerings: Examine the area where you feel most clever, and humble yourself.
Daily Meal: Venison.

Invocation to Lemminkainen

Great Lemminkainen,
Trickster of the cold north country,
Yours is the story of the fall from pride.
You took your wife by force
Because she was the only one
Who would not have you,
When all others were impressed.
You fought the Saami mages and won,
You slew the great moose of the snows,
You caught the fiery horse of the mountains,
But when you faced the River of Death
Dark Tuonela caught you, Lemminkainen,
And cut you into a hundred pieces
Floating in the dark water.
Only the love of your mother,
Who fished out all your lost parts,
Who sent bees for the sacred honey
To restore your life with sweetness,
Could save your humbled heart.
Remind us, trickster of the north country,
That when we fall from grace
By our own fire and pride,
That only the love of those we scorned
And thought so little of
Can save our souls from the river’s rushing dark.

(The water is passed around, and all sip from it, saying, “I will face the River of Death.” Then the honey is passed around by the eldest or most frail member of the House, who says, “Only this humble sweetness can save you from the River.” All taste of it, kneel, and bow their heads to the floor, saying, “I will never forget what it is to fall and be restored.”)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

May 11 – Daily Feast

May 11 – Daily Feast

Honeybees that relied on early flowers in the garden can now feast all across the meadows. Red clover, honey locust trees, and rose-colored Indian paintbrush abound in clusters to feed the bees and give peace to the eye. An evening chorus of field sparrows trills in the wheat field and a nesting killdeer demands privacy by doing her broken-wing act to sidetrack walkers. The whole meadow teems with activity until dusk – and then a silence pervades, only to be broken by the throaty voice of the tree toad. It is common knowledge among the Cherokee that every animal, except man, knows the main business of life is to enjoy it, and he, the Cherokee, sides with nature.

~ Seed time is here but your grounds have not been prepared for planting. Go back and plant the summer’s crop. ~

KEOKUK, 1832

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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