Daily Stuff 10-12-19 Shoe-banging

Hi, folks!

Pan-Pagan starts today! Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

The computer is saying, “partly cloudy” but I don’t see any blue up there in the sky. Just a slight chance of rain this evening. 52F, wind at 2mph and gusting to 10 or more on the beaches and headlands. AQI49, UV3. That chance of rain on Tuesday has gone up to 90% and it’s looking like 3/4 of an inch or more! …the chance and the amounts tail off over into next week but it’s still at 40% chance on the next Sunday.

Yesterday was a put-your-head-down-and-slog kind of day. I was tired. Tempus was more so. He went out mid-afternoon to run the Newport errands and we got busy. I had about a dozen people through the door, some of whom were really shopping. We had a few in before he left, too.

In between customers I finished up the dock seeds and got them bagged. As soon as the printer is hooked up I have a *lot* of headers to do! We also got the 2×4 bags so I can do up the sandalwood. I’ve started bagging it, but I think I’m going to tuck it away and go on with it after the weekend.

Once Tempus was back we both got something to eat and I chased him in back to nap. He didn’t even have enough energy left to sit…. After awhile, neither did I, so I followed. We woke back up late in the evening and got more done. We never did actually quit for the night. At 7am I was working on the newly installed printer that wouldn’t cooperate…. and finally did an hour later!

Today is OCPPG!

• The opening ritual is at 10am.
• Simpling and Herbwifery at 11.
• Science and Magic at 2pm/
• What is Initiation? at 4pm.
• We’re planning a Full Moon ritual at 7pm.
• Midnight Questions follows that.

Quite a full day!

Little Miss Wigeon came to see us for a couple days! Isn’t she pretty? Eckman Lake is full of American Wigeons this week. (jo) (Photo from 10/10/19 by Don and Jo Leach) Used with permission

Today is the anniversary of Nikita Khrushchev’s notorious “shoe-banging”. He got mad at someone (a Philippine diplomat?), yanked off his shoe, brandished it at the man and walloped the table in anger, possibly getting even madder because his pounding stopped his watch! More information on the incident here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-banging_incident and on Kruschev here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruschev

Today’s Plant is Lovage, levisticum officinale. It seems to have originated somewhere near the eastern Mediterranean and has been cultivated for a long while, being a very useful plant. It has a strong, long-lasting scent, that reminds a person of celery and parsley, but with the volume turned up. I harvested some one afternoon around 4pm and at nearly 9am the next morning, having washed my hands several times, I could still detect it! It’s great in salads, but chop it small and mix with other greens or it overpowers! Both leaf and seed are great in soups, especially seafood chowders and the roots can be eaten as a vegetable. I’ve drunk lovage cordial, which is tasty. It has a high flavonoid content, as well. Medicinally, a strong leaf tea, iced, is a good antiseptic, especially for extensive scrapes, where it takes down the sting and swelling very quickly and can be splashed on as often as needed. It can be used for mild cases of water retention, as well, and even with high blood pressure. – Masculine, Sun, Fire – This herb is often used in love magicks, but works best as a self-confidence enhancer. Take a bath with a sachet of the leaves, or make a strong tea that you toss into the bathwater before going out to meet new people or to start a new job. It also helps to squeeze a small sachet of the leaves if you’re having trouble concentrating on a task. Wiki has more:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovage

The shop opens at 11am. Fall hours are 11am-6pm Thursday through Monday. Need something off hours? Give us a call at 541-563-7154 or Facebook or email at ancientlight@peak.org If we’re supposed to be closed, but it looks like we’re there, try the door. If it’s open, the shop’s open! In case of bad weather, check here at the blog for updates, on our Facebook as Ancient Light, or call the shop.

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro & Calendar

Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or healthy, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends at the Tide Change on 10/13 at 2:08pm. Waxing Gibbous Moon – From seven to fourteen days after the new moon. For spells that need concentrated work over a ¼ moon cycle this is the best time for constructive workings. Aim to do the last working on the day of the Full moon, before the turn. Keywords for the Gibbous phase are: analyze, prepare, trust. It is the time in a cycle to process the results of the actions taken during the First Quarter. During this phase you are gathering information. Give up making judgments; it will only lead to worry. Your knowledge is incomplete. Laugh. Analyze and filter. LOOK WITHIN. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, but in the uncommitted phase, the Warriors – Associated God/desses: Dion, Dionysius, Venus, Thor. Phase ends at the Full on 10/12 at 2:08am. Full Moon – The day of, the day before, and day after the true Full Moon. “And better it be when the moon is full!”! Prime time for rituals for prophecy, for spells to come to fruition, infusing health and wholeness, etc. A good time for invoking deity. FRUITION Manifesting goals, nurturing, passion, healing, strength, power. Workings on this day are for protection, divination. “extra power”, job hunting, healing serious conditions Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. God/dess Aspect: Mother/Abundance/Kingship – – Associated God/desses: Danu, Cerridwen, Gaia, Aphrodite, Isis, Jupiter, Amon-Ra. Phase ends on 10/15 at 2:08am. 

 

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Soon after dark, you’ll find zero-magnitude Arcturus >>> low in the west-northwest at the same height as zero-magnitude <<< Capella in the northeast. When this happens, turn to the south-southeast, and there will be 1st-magnitude ^^^ Fomalhaut ^^^ at the same height — if you’re at latitude 43° north. Seen from south of that latitude Fomalhaut will appear higher; from north of there it will be lower.
And whatever your latitude, in the southwest at that time you’ll find bright Jupiter about as high as Fomalhaut. Jupiter continues to dominate the early evening sky from its perch in southern Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer. The giant planet shines at magnitude –2.0 and stands some 15° above the southwestern horizon as twilight fades to darkness. When viewed through a telescope, Jupiter shows a 35″-diameter disk with striking details in its dynamic atmosphere. You also should see four bright points of light arrayed around the planet: the Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Ignore the moon in this pic

Look above the nearly-full Moon this evening for the Great Square of Pegasus through the moonlight. It’s balancing on one corner, and your fist at arm’s length fits inside it. For your location, when it is exactly balanced? That is, when is the Square’s top corner exactly above its bottom corner? This will probably by sometime soon after the end of twilight, depending on your latitude. Try lining up the stars with the vertical edge of a building as a measuring tool.

Orion above Yunnan Observatory – The photographer caught the arc of the winter Milky Way above the building that houses the 2.4-meter telescope of Yunnan Astronomical Observatory. The distinctive shape of the constellation Orion the Hunter appears directly above the dome. – Jeff Dai

The night sky’s most conspicuous harbinger of winter now rises in the east around midnight local daylight time. The constellation Orion the Hunter appears on its side as it rises, with ruddy Betelgeuse to the left of the three-star belt and blue-white Rigel to the belt’s right. As Orion climbs higher before dawn, the figure rotates so that Betelgeuse lies at the upper left and Rigel at the lower right of the constellation pattern.
Jupiter (magnitude –2.0, in the feet of Ophiuchus) is the white dot low in the southwest as twilight fades. Can you still spot Antares, one sixteenth as bright at magnitude +1.0, 10° to Jupiter’s lower right?

Old Farmer’s Almanac Sky map for October – https://www.almanac.com/content/sky-map-october-2019
Goddess Month of Hathor runs from 10/3 – 10/30
Celtic Tree Month of Gort/Ivy  Sep 30 – Oct 27 
Runic half-month of Gebo/ Gyfu – Sept 28-Oct 12 – Gyfu represents the unity that a gift brings between the donor & recipient. It is a time of unification, both between members of society and between the human and divine.Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, p. 102 Runic half-month of Wunjo/Wyn – October 13-28 – Wyn represents joy, the rune being the shape of a weather vane. The month represents the creation of harmony within the given conditions of the present.

Sun in Libra
Moon in Aries
Neptune (11/27), Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: Purple

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Celtic Tree Month of Gort / Ivy  Sep 30 – Oct 27 – Gort – (GORT), ivy – Ivy (Hedera helix L.) is also a vine, growing to 30 m (100 feet) long in beech woods and around human habitations, where it is widely planted as a ground cover. Ivy produces greenish flowers before Samhain on short, vertical shrubby branches. The leaves of these flowering branches lack the characteristic lobes of the leaves of the rest of the plant. Like holly, ivy is evergreen, its dark green leaves striking in the bare forests of midwinter. Ivy is widely cultivated in North America. It is a member of the Ginseng family (Araliaceae).

Gort – Ivy Ogam letter correspondences
Month: September
Color: Sky Blue
Class: Chieftain
Letter: G
Meaning: Take time to soul search or you will make a wrong decision.

to study this month Uilleand – Honeysuckle Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Yellow-white
Class: Peasant
Letter: P, PE, UI
Meaning: Proceed with caution.

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Tides for Alsea Bay

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Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
~            /Low      Time    Feet     Sunset                                    Visible
Sa  12     High  12:09 AM     7.0   7:28 AM     Set  6:04 AM      96
~    12      Low   6:26 AM     0.9   6:38 PM    Rise  6:40 PM
~    12     High  12:34 PM     7.4
~    12      Low   6:51 PM     1.0

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Dear Creator, allow me to see freedom in a way that I can understand.

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Journal Prompt – What? – What is something that makes you melancholy?

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Quotes

~   If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live. – Lin Yutang (1895-1976) Chinese writer
~   Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans. – Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
~   I ain’t got no quarrel with the Vietcong. – Muhammad Ali, American boxer and conscientious objector, born Cassius Clay on January 17, 1942
~   When you follow your bliss, doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors. – Joseph Campbell

The splendor falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

O love, they die in yon rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river:
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And grow for ever and for ever.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying. – Alfred Tennyson, British poet laureate, died on October 5, 1892; from ‘The Princess’, Chapter III

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Magick – Recipes

Curried Pumpkin Stew – Contributed by White WinterWolf – not sure where the “curried” comes in?

Ingredients

• 1 quart (liter) chicken stock
• 2 cans pumpkin
• 1 pint (1/2 liter) whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1. Bring chicken stock to a boil
2. Reduce to a simmer.
3. Add pumpkin. Stir well.
4. Add whipping cream and sugar.
5. Bring to a good simmer.
6. Add spices, serve hot!

Enjoy!

Maso s brambory (recipe ©M. Bartlett 2009) (also called Brambory a klobasa)

• Ethnic – Czech
• Holiday – Samhain or Imbolc
• Main Dish – Potato & meat
•             Serves 8 (or so)

Babicka loved this dish. She often made dishes out of season that she explained by when they were usually served, rejoicing in the easy availability of “things I have a taste for!” This is a “meat harvest (option 2)” or “end of winter” (option 1) dish.

• 8 large potatoes (don’t try to shortcut with potato flakes, bleah!)
• Water
• 1 pound of “made” sausage (opt 1) or 1 lb. of hamburger or 1 lb. of stew beef or meat scraps (opt. 2)
• 1/2 cup butter (Not Margarine!!!!!!)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 very large onion or two medium (I prefer red for the contrast)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon caraway seed
• Butter dish with butter & Saltshaker for serving
• Chopping Knife & board, large boiling pot, fry pan & spatula, colander, potato masher & bowl, stirring spoon, large casserole or crock pot (optional)

1. Peel and hack potatoes for boiling
2. Put the potatoes in the boiling pot with enough water to cover.
3. Cook on medium heat until soft.
4. Finely chop onion while they are boiling.
5. Slice sausage or mince meat if necessary.
6. Cook meat in fry pan and drain. Set aside.
7. At this point wait until the potatoes are cooked, then drain the potatoes through the colander.
8. Mash the potatoes in the bowl.
9. Put butter in the bottom of the boiling pot and swirl to coat as it melts.
10. Add the mashed potatoes and the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
11. Cook over low heat while blending them together.
12. Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring occasionally until the mixture is warm enough to eat. OR coat casserole or crockpot with reserved grease and add potato mixture. Turn crockpot to medium and heat at least 1 hour, or put casserole in over @ 350 for 1 hour.
13. Serve with butter & salt on the side.

Note 1 – I actually remember this dish being served during butchering time. When I was very young and the “uncles” were in their 40’s and 50’s, my family would butcher a beef and several hogs in the late fall. Most of the scraps went into “chop meat” (we call it hamburger, but they did it with chopping knives, not a grinder), that was cooked immediately and frozen, or became sausage or went into dishes that were served during the 3 days of work. Freezers were very new, then, and my up-to-date (and proud of it!) aunts each had a large chest-style freezer to pack the winter’s meat into.

Note 2 – In late winter potatoes dug the previous fall begin to sprout or rot. Frozen meats are also reaching the end of their shelf life without an electric freezer. This dish and the various winter stews are the last remnants of a time before electric appliances made it possible to keep foods much longer and they had to be cooked before we lost them and went hungry.

From THE FESTAL BOARD Samhain edition by Rain Redknife NOTE: Real Pagans don’t steal. I worked hard to become a good cook, and so did the folks credited above. If you share these recipes elsewhere, pretty please care enough to leave the source tags on them!

Avesha’s Belt-Bustin’ Shepherd’s Pie (can be made ahead)

[Ed.-This recipe makes a pie that will serve 6. If group size is unknown, don’t hesitate to make two or three of ’em; leftovers will freeze.]

• Two 12-oz. packages veggie “ground beef” crumbles
• 1 med. red onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut up
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 2 Tbsp. chopped chives
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, or to taste
• 1/2 cup butter (or vegan margarine)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil (optional–see below)
• Paprika (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350^F.
2. Boil potatoes in enough salted water to cover.
3. Meanwhile, saute onion in a large skillet with 1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil until translucent.
4. Add “beef” and herbs, and cook till heated through.
5. Salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
6. Transfer mixture to a non-greased baking dish, a deep 10″ casserole or a 9″x13″ pan; if this is a non-metal dish, the pie can be nuked quickly between ritual and dinner.
7. Spread each type of corn in a layer over the “beef”. Do the same with peas and set aside.
8. Pour off water from potatoes. Add garlic, chives, remaining butter, salt & pepper and mash to your favorite consistency. Spread the mashed potatoes over pie and sprinkle with paprika.
9. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet (pie will bubble over.) Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until potatoes are golden and the juices from the “beef” and veggies are bubbling around the edges.
10. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes and serve or refrigerate. Reheats fine, and can be frozen. Serves 6.

Source: adapted by Rain from a recipe by Avesha on www.vegweb.com <http://www.vegweb.com/>

Baked stuffed Pumpkin ©2009 M. Bartlett

• Holiday – Samhain
• Main Dish – Meat/Starch/Veg
• 8-12 servings

This recipe developed from the need to feed the kids before then went Trick-or-Treating and stuffed themselves on candy. A full kid *might* eat just as much candy, but usually they’re more moderate. I wanted something seasonal, that was filling, had the necessary nutrients and didn’t take tending while costumes and makeup were being argued over. Believe me, with 6 kids those costumes took a lot of time! I would start this just after feeding the toddlers lunch and getting them down for naps.

Ingredients

• 1 medium to large pumpkin 10”-12” diameter (don’t overdo it!!!!!!!!)
• 2 recipe Stovetop Stuffing Mix (varies by size of pumpkin!!!!!)
• 3 cups Water (check box)
• 1 stick Butter (check box)
• 1 small onion (or a generous shake of dried onion flakes)
• 1 bunch green onions
• 2 Large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked
• ½ bunch of celery
• 1 small can sliced olives
• 2 cans sliced water chestnuts
• 1 small can sliced mushrooms (don’t use fresh unless you’re sure people love them)
• 1 cup sunflower seeds or crushed hazelnuts (opt.)

Method

1. Cut top from pumpkin at an angle so that it won’t fall in even when cooked.
2. Scoop out “guts” and seeds and discard (or save seeds for toasting.)
3. In a large microwavable pot or bowl put water and butter. Add spice mix from stuffing (if not included with the crumbs).
4. Chop onions, chicken and celery and add to mixture.
5. Zap in nuker for 5 minutes. Stir.
6. Add mushrooms, water chestnuts, olives and stir.
7. Keep zapping, for two minutes at a time, stirring between, until nearly boiling.
8. Add seeds or nuts. Stir. Add breadcrumbs from stuffing mix. Stir well and fluff with a fork.
9. Pile stuffing mix into the center of the pumpkin, pushing down and into the corners.
10. Put the “lid” back on.
11. Wrap the pumpkin in foil and set on a baking tray large enough to catch any dripping.
12. Cover and bake at 350 for about two hours. Pumpkin is done when the sides push inward with finger pressure. It gets pretty soft.
13. Serve hot. Will “stand” if properly wrapped (I use a blanket!!!) for up to 3 hours and still be hot. Store leftovers, covered in fridge. Can be reheated in the microwave by servings.

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Silliness – Quick Quotes

“I called a company and asked to speak to Bob. The person who answered said, Bob’s on vacation. Would you like to hold?”