Blessed Spring Equinox

It's the Spring Equinox, also known as Ostara or on your everyday Gregorian calendar, the first day of spring. I woke up to a lovely sunny day and decided to experience the signs of spring around Oak Haven Cottage nestled in our Midwestern small town. Join me, will you, lets see what magic we can find.

Let's step out the door and explore, magic is all around if you just know where to look! I bet you have many or all of these magical plants in your yard too.

I'm delighted to see a bee! They are facing so many challenges, poison in my yard won't be one of them, they can harvest pollen from my dandelions all they want.  Some people just can't stand these wildflowers, but they are edible (if you don't spray with poison) and have many health benefits. Dandelions have magical uses in spellwork as well, they increase psychic ability, are used for calling in helpful spirits, making wishes, protection while sleeping, banishing anger and bitterness, and boosting self expression. Dandelions are associated with Goddesses Hecate, Rhiannon, and Brigid and the God Belenos. Dandelions are aligned with both the sun and the underworld. 

Creeping Charlie is in bloom of course! In old witch's grimoirs it's sometimes referred to as ground ivy or cats foot. Use it for protection against baneful magic, overcoming shyness and anxiety, peaceful sleep and meditation,  also for welcoming friendship, and healing.

The forsythia a traditional Ostara flower was hurt by the freeze a bit, but still beautiful. What would a witch do with forsythia? Spells for optimism, positive state of mind, and healing healing troubled nerves.

I stated aloud, "Blessed Ostara, Spirits of the Land, show me your magic!" And low, I saw a sparkling in the grass! You can't tell by this photo, but it's a lovely little quartz druzy that sparkles in the sunlight! Druzy quartz strengthens the spirit, quells feelings of dread, reduces stress and promotes relaxation. Thanks spirits, this is going on my Ostara altar when I bless the hexenspiegel necklaces I'm making today! More on that at the end of this post. *wink, wink!*

The elm tree that I love to look at from my kitchen window is in bloom. Elm is a tree associated with elves and the Goddess, aids powers of concentration,  balance between heart and head, love, protection from lightning, and meditation in the realm of the fae.

This plantain is hanging out at the base of the elm which has dropped blooms on it, but like most yards I have plantain growing everywhere. Considered a common weed by many, witches know it holds magic for healing, squelching gossip, protection, driving away nightmares, and even protection from snakes, (both literal and figurative.) Also a great poultice for insect bites and stings and other skin problems 

I was delighted to spot a little shepherds' purse! This sweet little wildflower packs a magical punch including

magic for a healthy pregnancy, vitality, perseverance,  healing, prosperity, and protection.

I just love tiny Persian speedwell, also known as birds eye dotting the grass, in addition to being just sweet and charming, it's great for spells such as healing or fertility. In folk magic it was sometimes sewn into garments as a charm for protection. Also use it for banishing negativity and baneful spirits.

The honeysuckle by the bird feeders outside my dining room window hasn't bloomed yet, but it's getting lovely, tender spring leaves. Witches use the wood of honeysuckle Honeysuckle, aka woodbine for magic involving love and devotion,. The blossoms for psychic powers, money and prosperity magic. The honeysuckle growing in your yard can be charged to provide magical protection.

Moss is so magical to me, it always has been. Traditionally moss is a mysterious faerie plant, can be used in prosperity magic and magic to bring comfort and peace. I find it even more fascinating since I discovered that microscopic Tardigrades, also known as water bears live in moss. These tiny guys are the most badass creatures, they're so resilient they can survive the most extreme temperatures and can even survive space! Plus, they're adorable, look them up if you haven't seen one. "Hi water bears! I think your awesome!" wave, wave!

That was fun, thanks for joining me. Now that I've enjoyed the world in bloom around me, I have work to do today. Yesterday I made a prototype for a new batch of hexenspiegels and put them on Etsy so that people may pre-order them if they like. These magical witch's mirrors are a beautiful way to banish negativity from your personal space. Since so many people have felt as if they are under a barrage of negativity these days, I thought the Spring Equinox would be a great time to whip up a bunch of these fantastic magical charms that I wrote about in my book The Witch's Mirror.

I might paint the new hexenspiegels out on the porch if the weather holds up, it's a beautiful day and that would fill them with even more joyful energy.

I'm making these lovely magical witch's mirror charms today on the Spring Equinox, I'll be blessing and charging them on my altar later this evening and then I'll start shipping them out to happy Etsy friends who order them. Want me to save you one? Here's where to pre-order yours, get one before they're all gone: Click here!

 

You can visit the link to read more about the magical hexenspiegel, I have lots of info there and more pics too. If you want to make your own hexenspiegel or learn more about working with mirrors for magic, check out my book The Witch's Mirror.

Blessed Be!

Mickie

Stop! Don't Toss Those Radish Greens,They're Delish!

Fellow gardeners, have I got a treat for you, this will seriously change your life.  When you harvest those lovely radishes this summer and you cut off all those pretty green leaves, don't toss them in the trash can or compost, I have a much better use.  You work hard to grow your produce, watering, weeding, encouraging, so why wast a bit if you don't have to?

It all started for me when I watched the indie movie Chef on Netflix directed by and starring Jon Fareau (which I highly recommend.) Near the beginning of the film, Chef Carl goes to the market to get fresh produce for the restaurant where he works and he tells the produce guy that he wants fresh radishes with the tops still on, "I use those." What?  I wondered what do you use them for?  I was intrigued.

Chef Carl at the produce market with his son in the indie film Chef.

So when the radishes in the garden were ready to harvest, I remembered the statement and just googled, "radish greens recipes."  Wow! You can make all kinds of dishes with radish greens, so I saved them in a plastic bag and tossed them into the crisper drawer instead of the compost, feeling very proud of myself for not being wasteful. Radish leaves contain more fiber, vitamin C and protein than those pretty red roots do, and the roots are pretty good for you, so that's saying a lot!  Here's more info on the health benefits of radishes, both the roots and leaves, click here.

Tonight, I picked up one of those roasted chickens from the grocery store, it's a quick and easy dinner when I have lots of work to do.  With two book illustration jobs and revisions for my upcoming book all due around the first of the month, I like easy.  Then I remembered those radish greens...

So I looked up some recipes online, and I created this version based on what I had in the house...I must say, it's a new family favorite!  We'll never toss those radish greens again!  I hope you enjoy this one as much as my family did.

Tossing the potatoes and radish greens in the pan.

Sauteed Potatoes and Radish Greens

I've included the magical folklore uses for all you kitchen witches out there.  This is a great happy home recipe, not only does it taste wonderful, but if made with magical intention it's ingredients will fill you with blessings and keep negativity, envy, and gossip away from your dinner table.

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped radish greens, be sure to rinse them before you chop (fire energy, defends against the evil eye, induces passion)
1 medium onion halved and sliced thin (the moon, healing, hex breaking)
2 cups of diced red potatoes with the skin on (primal earth energy, manifestation)
1 pinch of turmeric (purification, courage)
1/4 tsp powdered cayenne pepper (breaks up negative energy and hexes, promotes love and passion)
fresh cracked pepper to taste (breaks up negative energy and hexes, stops envy)
sea salt to taste (blessing and protection and purification)
2 tablespoons olive oil (divine favor, associated with Athena)
1 pinch of sugar (dispels evil, sweetens the family life)
balsamic vinegar to flavor, I used about a tsp. (fire energy, breaks up baneful energy and gossip)

In a skillet, heat the oil and saute the onions until slightly transparent.  Add potatoes, salt, pepper, turmeric, and cayenne and toss.  Reduce the heat and cover, cook until the potatoes are soft.
Add chopped radish greens, toss to combine with potatoes and onions, cover and cook about 5 minutes until the leaves have wilted. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and balsamic vinegar, toss and enjoy as a side dish or serve with on warm tortillas and feta cheese.

Our radish harvest!

If you love this recipe just google "radish greens recipes" There are a ton of uses for this healthy green, I plan to try more recipes myself.

Blessed Be!

Mickie

This Girls New Greenhouse

About a month ago Dan and I discovered a nice little greenhouse at Big Lots for a reasonable price. We decided that since we would have a giant garden at Aelfheim to fill with plants, we should get that little greenhouse and start our own seeds.

Building it was like a gigantic tinker toy! Then Dan drove four fence posts into the ground to keep it from blowing away in the  nutty Missouri weather.  We secured it with zip ties and topped each fence post with layers of white foam packing material to keep any sharp edges from poking through the cover.

We put the cover on and secured the ties, it got hot in there really quickly!  Now we needed to get the seeds into trays! 

My mom had this cool planting station, since we're sharing the garden, she and Grandpa Gecko brought it over. They're right next door at Frogbirds Farm, so we're sharing this giant garden plot.  We found a great spot right outside one of the stables in the barn and went right to work. 

We had fun sorting seeds, filling trays, and getting those little babies ready to sprout!  We used two different kinds of trays, the traditional Jiffy trays with the disks that you add water to, mom said those were the kind my grandpa (my moms dad) used. He would have loved our garden set up. We also tried the new hex shaped trays with some Miracle Grow soil, they're supposed to help the little roots and make transplanting less stressful. We'll see which we like best.  We used plastic spoon handles to make markers, don't worry, we're recycling the other end of the spoons. I sometimes use paper plates, but not a fan of plastic utensils, I think someone gave me these years ago and I never used them. They make great markers for the seedlings.

And here are the first trays in the greenhouse! Just a few minutes after I put the trays in, the greenhouse got that lovely smell of moist earth, life and potential! Dan and I were married in a greenhouse (although a much bigger and more permanent one than this.)  I can't wait to see the little green leaves pop up from the soil.  Magic truly is all around!

Blessings,

Mickie

Breaking Ground in the Garden at Aelfheim

Spring is looking up, I'm so excited, we finally broke ground on our first garden here at the home we call Aelfheim.  We had a corral in the front of the barn where the horses had been hanging out for years, it gets lots of sun and has had plenty of manure dropped all over the place. We decide it would make a perfect vegetable garden.  The horses left to go with the previous owner last fall, so it sat all winter.

It's also pretty cool because Dan and I like to use organic gardening methods and as far as anyone knows, this land has never been planted, so there should be just natural soil with no residual chemicals lurking.

We used to use a little hand tiller back at the old place, but Grandpa Gecko has a great garden tractor with tiller attachments.  When you're tilling up a 25' x 30' vegetable garden this is the only way to go!

Tilled it deep and the earth was actually fluffy!  Gecko ran the tiller and Dan, Mom, and I went behind gathering rocks as he tilled them up.

Dan got down and just smelled the soil, I have to admit, it really smelled amazing.

It was just beautiful! I'm sure not everyone falls in love with the earth, but we have.  When you grow your own food, you can't help but love the earth and it's potential for life. There were tons of earthworms too, always a good sign. One end of the garden is lovely, the other end is partially clay, but Dan and I have amended clay soil before, and much worse than this.  We have a big pile of oak leaf mold that we're putting on the clay end along with three stables full of perfectly seasoned manure the horses left as a going away present, we couldn't be happier about a pile of poo!

Speaking of piles, right now we aren't harvesting anything but rocks...lots of rocks.  See this big pile of rocks?  This isn't the only one this size that we pulled out of the new garden.  I'll use all the rocks we harvested to build a little wall around a new herb garden.

Soon, we'll till all the added material in, and then we'll be ready to start planting. We'll be starting our own seeds, and I just can't wait to see this beautiful earth bursting with life!

Mysteries of Life, Death, and Rebirth in the Garden

Today Dan and I went outside and opened a wonderful gift, our compost bin!  We have been battling our clay Missouri soil for years and have managed to work two decent raised beds for vegetables.  Last spring my mom passed on a compost bin that she wasn't using and all year long we have been dumping all of our vegetable scraps and coffee ground in there, my neighbor even donated some  pulp from her juicer! Occasionally we added a couple shovelfuls of earth or a few handfuls of straw, other than that, we've just let the sun, rain and Mother Nature take care of the business of the decomposition of the materials.

Our big black cauldron of life, death and rebirth, (aka the compost bin,)
provided our garden with a whole wheel barrel full of life-giving soil! 

It's hard to believe that this gorgeous rich humus full of nutrients was once kitchen scraps and yard clippings, this is a perfect example of the wheel of life in action!  We harvested fresh living growing vegetables from our garden all summer and he little ends of zucchini, tomatoes, the leafy tops of carrots and radishes all growing and full of life were placed in the compost bin.  There in the warm, soft cauldron, all the cells died off, they decayed, the original structure broken down to it's basest elements.  Coffee grounds, weeds pulled from the garden, and the entire plants that grew our wonderful vegetables all summer all found their dark rest there.  Watching the action of decay is fascinating, the process of the dank and moldy waste becoming a force for new life is one of the magical mysteries of the Craft.

We pondered these mysteries as we shoveled this lovely fertile compost into the garden bed, knowing that from death and decay, new life would soon burst forth!  When you work the earth to grow some of your own food, it seems such a shame to waste even the inedible parts of the plant, after all, those stalks and leaves worked so hard in the sun and rain to provide our family with sustenance.  Returning them with honor to the earth from which they came seems appropriate, and the reward for our effort is the opportunity to bring new health giving life back into the world!

The "Three Great Mysteries" card from my oracle deck  "The  Hidden Path"
See more of my magical art from this deck and more in my Etsy shop, click here!

The lessons that compost has to teach us is truly a great opportunity for anyone following a magical path to learn the mysteries of birth, life, death and rebirth and witness it in action!

Volunteer radishes growing in the garden, a gift from Mother Nature! 

To add to this lesson, we discovered volunteer radishes that had gone to seed and even though we haven't gotten our garden officially planted yet, those seeds have burst forth!

What a lovely gift from the earth!

The other night we had a salad with fresh radishes that were gifted to us from Mother Nature!  Those radish plants had died at the end of their season.  They dropped their seeds into the earth, pure potential, passing on their life to the next generation.  Those seeds rested in the dark earth all winter while the world lay in sleep beneath the snow and ice.  They knew when the time was right to begin their new life.  The radishes were delicious, and of course you know where the leafy tops went...you guessed it, right into the compost bin!  And the circle continues!

Brightest Blessings!

Lammas/Lughnasadh Blessings of Abundance to You!

Bright Blessings of abundance to everyone on this lovely Lughnasadh morning! 

The weather has cooled down a bit, down to a breezy 90 degrees, a regular cold snap!  We even got a little rain fall here a couple of days ago so that was a real blessing.  Living in the suburbs of St. Louis, there is actually a little farmland nearby, when I'm running my errands I've watched fields of corn and wheat growing to maturity.  Unfortunately many farmers are suffering from the heat and drought we've been having here and many has lost their harvest.  We thought we were going to loose some of our vegetables from our little garden.  We had hardly any rain at all , we watered every day using a soaker. When everything started to suffer from the heat we mixed 1/3 cup Epsom salt with 2 liters of water an poured it right on the roots of each plant. We almost lost everything a couple of times from the heat alone, I think the magnesium in the Epsom salt saved it. Here's a link with more information about gardening with Epsom salt for anyone interested... Epsom Salt For Gardens

We've been harvesting vegies a little at a time but this was our biggest harvest to date a couple of days ago, much of it is already in the freezer, and some has been eaten....nom,nom...

 I wanted to share my Lammas/Lughnasadh Spell for the First Harvest published in the Llewellyn Spell-A-Day Almanac 2012, which is posted on their website this morning, I hope you enjoy it.

First Harvest

Spell Date: Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Color of the day: White

Incense of the day: Lilac

Today is Lammas/Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-na-sa), the first harvest and a day honoring Celtic Sun god Lugh. It's a time to be grateful for what you have and for your opportunities. In modern times, our harvests are often figurative rather than literal. (Click for Full Spell)

I'll be baking a lovely loaf of southern beer bread this evening and lighting a candle to honor Lugh the Celtic Sun God of many skills and bringer of the first harvest, how will you celebrate?

Lugh candle sconce made right in our studio, available in our Etsy shop

May your harvest be abundant and your table be blessed with love, health and happiness!

Bright Blessings!

Flowers, Cats, and Art from Scotland

I had a very sick cat last week, and art that arrived from Scotland just in time to soothe my spirit.

Celtic Blessing Tree by Ruthie Redden, read on for more on how this talented artist made my day!

Here's the Willow recap, for those who missed it on Facebook.  My cat Willow (yes, the little calico seen on my art table above) ended up in the emergency vet late last week on May 3.  Willow ate some day lilly which is very toxic to cats!   My cats are both indoor cats, so I seldom worry about what plants I put in the garden as far as what's toxic to cats.  I picked up the lilly at the store to plant in the yard, but not thinking, I carried it in the house with the groceries. I set the groceries down and turned around to take the plant back outside and she was already munching on the leaves! I told her, "That might be poison, stop eating it!"  Dan was sitting there on the Internet so he Googled "is day lilly toxic to cats" just to check while I proceeded to put groceries away.  He discovered that if at cat eats daylilly and go untreated, kidney failure can develop in 48 hours! She threw up most of it 5 minutes later and we got her to the vet right away. They gave her activated charcoal to absorb any left in her system and she had to stay there for 48 hours on an IV. 

I went to see her several times, she hated the IV in her little paw.

A poster in the vets office, some pretty plants toxic to cats and dogs, some are toxic to people as well.  Click here for more info

Our other cat Garfield the gray tabby missed her terribly.  Of course I sent lots of reiki to her the whole time and was totally overwhelmed with the outpouring of compassion on Facebook.  So many people sent energy, prayers and well-wishes.  How life can change in just a few moments!  Thankfully, she's home now and doing fine, and back to her old self.

There are many plants that are bad for cats and dogs to eat that you might not even think of.  Of course not all cats and dogs will eat them, lucky me, I have a cat that eats all plants like they're made of tuna.  I know many people who have told me their cats play amongst day lillies in the yard and don't eat them.  I think that outdoor cats that are used to being around a larger variety of plants are probably less likely to chew on random greenery.  I've tried that cat grass they sell for cats to eat, but that's the only plant Willow doesn't want, much like the fact that the couch is always better to scratch than a scratching post.  For those interested, here's the ASPCA's website with info about toxic plants and foods, (click here) it's actually quite surprising.  It's good info to have just in case, after all I could have lost a wonderful member of our family because I didn't know.  I'll tell you what else, after a 48 hour stay at the emergency vet, that was the most expensive flower I ever bought!  Willow was worth every penny, but I would have preferred to avoid the whole thing.
On the last day Willow had to stay at the vet, on the night of the full Celtic Willow moon, which was also a Supermoon (see previous post) I got a package in the mail that lifted my spirits! 

All the lovelies in the package from Ruthie Redden, along with the gorgeous print, she included a handmade card, a card with the poem on it, seashells and feathers all the way from Scotland.  Such treasures, it's like she knows me!

 I had been notified the previous week that I had won a giveaway from the 5 Precious Things blog, Celtic pictorial storyteller Ruthie Reddens beautiful Celtic Blessing Tree print.  Written around the tree is the Celtic Irish blessing "Deep Peace"  in elegant calligraphy.  The colors are so rich and the details are a delight, it looks like a page from an illuminated manuscript.  It came on a day that I really needed it, I was feeling very sad over my poor kitty and here was this gorgeous blessing in the mail.

Ruthie's business card, visit her website http://www.ruthieredden.com and pick up a print for your home too!

As I write this little Willow with her two little shaved front legs is purring happily in my lap, life is good!

Willow is a great cat model, here she is "painted black" for the Hidden Path card, Art of Magic" Click here

Willow showing her "true colors" for my Magic is Afoot piece. Click here

Willow and my cat Garfield will also be making an appearance in the upcoming Mystical Cats Tarot, we'll see what card they end up on!

Blessings,

A Magical Plant You Might Not Know

Dan and I have had a great time with the garden this spring.  It's taken us several years to discover through much trial and error what works in our yard.  One of our biggest problems is that we have a lot of clay in our soil, or should I say we have a little soil in our clay.  We've often joked about getting a kiln and opening up a pottery shop with the proceeds going towards several trucks of top soil, but since we rent this land that never made much sense. 

We added a garden to the front yard last year and Dan had the excellent idea of making it a raised bed filled with decent soil that we could put several containers in and then surround them with ground-cover.  We used Speedwell (magically associated with the moon and healing) for the ground-cover, which has beautiful little purple flowers and has almost filled in the area completely which was exactly what we wanted.  We were so happy with the Speedwell that when we added another garden this year, we decided that the raised bed containers and ground-cover concept was a great idea to repeat.  We wanted a different ground cover this time just to shake things up a bit and so I began my quest. 

I researched low ground-cover that could handle a little clay and could survive the summer heat and found several possibilities.

My Grace Ward seems to be very happy in it's new spot!

Then one day I was up at Green's Country Store near my home looking through their plants and I discovered these beautiful little cobalt blue flowers and I was hooked.  I had never heard of this lovely perennial called Grace Ward but it seemed obvious what at least two of the magical properties might be.  Since the garden bed in near the front of my home, a plant to ward the area seemed like the perfect fit and it felt to me like a blessing plant as well, so I figured that must be where the name comes from.  The plant has a very cheerful vibe, just seeing it makes you want to smile, it's an absolute delight. 

I did some research on this lovely little plant and made some interesting discoveries that I wanted to share with you.  Here is a plant to add to your ever growing list of magical plants.

Grace Ward (Grace Ward Lithadora) is classified in the Borage family, Boraginaceae.  It was named by German botanist, August Grisebach, 1814-1879, who is most noted as author of Flora of the British West Indian Islands.  It comes from Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. It has a spreading dark green mat and produces true blue flowers from March to July. Excellent as an edger or in the rock garden. Needs full sun and not to much water preferring Mostly Sand to Clay Loam. Cut it back after flowering to freshen the foliage.
Planetary energy: Jupiter
Element: Air
Magical Use: Warding and protection from negativity, blessings, courage in battle, anti-stress, lifts spirits, psychic shield, boost psychic powers

My Grace Ward growing next to Buddah

If you happen to find this sweet spirited little perennial at your local garden center, I highly recommend that you pick some up if you have a sunny spot that need some ground-cover and magic!