Everything You Need to Know About Ritual

The Purpose of Ritual

Why are rituals important in life? Ritual helps to make your intent known to the universe so you can better manifest it. It also provides a time and place to make covenants with your-self and your higher power as well as creating time and space to mark special occasions. A ritual can be as simple as wishing on a falling star or as complex as a full- blown wedding ceremony with all its layers of traditions.

 The Components of Ritual

There is a saying; “what you put out, comes back to you three times over”. If you are putting out negativity, that is what will come back to you, so it’s better to put out good intentions and gratitude to keep the cycle flowing in a positive way. Even if your ritual is for letting go of something, do it with love and respect.

An alter is used as an anchor for your intentions. It’s a place to focus your energy and to put representations of your gratitude, your desires and any deities or ancestors that you wish to call on and honor. It creates a place that transcends normal time and space to become sacred.

Many cultures maintain a shrine or alter in their homes and/or businesses and tend to them daily. They realize the importance of communicating with spirit on a regular basis. Like a plant, their bond with their higher power grows stronger with regular attention.


Most traditions leave an offering of water and food, usually fruit, to symbolically feed and tend to the spirits/ancestors. (Many traditions also take a small portion of each food served to them at every meal and place it aside with a prayer to feed the spirits and give thanks for the meal)

Also present could be a candle to light the way and focus attention along with a representation of your higher power (Buddha, Christ etc.) and any ancestors you wish to honor. Some form of incense or smudge is usually burned with the thought that the smoke is taking your prayers to a higher realm.


Movement of any kind is seen as a way to move prayer. The Tibetans write their prayers on flags that blow in the wind or on scrolls enclosed in a spinning wheel; whirling dervishes send their prayers through spinning dances. The Japanese send candles and prayers aloft with balloons to honor the ancestors. These are just some examples of how you can use movement to signify intention.


There is no right or wrong way to pray or conduct ritual but a few basics should always be adhered to.

First of all, stop and center or ground yourself. This is a sacred time and you need to be there fully and presently. Smudging with sage is a wonderful way to do this. It’s very grounding and the intent with sage is to clear negative energy. Sweet grass is another herb that is often used, but its intention is, to welcome in good influences after the bad have been driven out. Cedar can also be used as a purifier and to bring in good energy.


When burning herbs may be impractical or dangerous, you can use cedar branches and run them over your body to brush away bad energy and surround you with blessings. Its nice after each sweep of the branches to run them over a stone to hold the negative energy and not leave it for others to pass through.

If you don’t have smudge available you can just run your hands over your body symbolically washing away any negative energy and with a deep breath and outstretched arms, draw in energy from the universe and pull it down with your hands and place it in your heart.


Once you are grounded and centered, invite your higher power (Male and Female, Mother Earth that nourishes us and the Creator), your ancestors, the spirits of the four directions and all those who love you to be present and hear your prayers. Prayers should be said out loud, putting their intent out to the universe.

Start by giving thanks. No matter how bad things are in life there is always something to be grateful for.

Send prayers to those in need. Pray for others before yourself. Respectfully ask for your prayers to be answered if it’s in your best interest and the best interest of the universe. (Sometimes it seems as if our prayers aren't being heard. You have to understand that each of us are here to have our own lessons in life. It may be that we are going through what seems like a negative experience to learn a greater lesson. Don't ever look at adversity as a punishment directed at you but as an experience to learn from.)

Thank the spirits and guides for taking the time to listen and close the prayers with something that symbolically finishes the session such as “amen” or “all my relations” for example.

Prayers should come from the heart. They can be different every time. Better to speak from your heart than mindlessly repeating something you memorized. If you want to say a standard prayer, focus on the words and mean them.

As well as prayer, you can sing, dance, drum, chant or express yourself in any other way you wish to show thanks and give honor. This is also called “raising energy”. Perform your rituals, make your covenants, and celebrate your intentions.
When you are ready to wrap things up, ground the energy that you have raised.
One way to do this is to say

The roots of me go down and down
O Mother Earth in thee I ground

If you are in a group its always nice to form a circle and have a closing song or prayer.
Chanting OM together is a powerful way to finish.

Ritual can take any form you want, from extremely simple to outrageously elaborate. It’s your ceremony. Write your own vows. Design your own stage, costume and sacred objects to represent your intentions as seen by you.
There are many tables of correspondences to help you focus your intent. You can plan your rituals around the lunar calendar, the days of the week, or dates with meaningful numbers. You can use specific colored candles, crystals, animal, or deity representations to layer your ceremony with your specific intentions. Again there is no right or wrong, its all in your intention in the end, but by using agreed upon correspondences you can make your ceremony that much more powerful.

It’s always wise to have a healthy snack after any ritual to ground yourself.

Don’t forget to give thanks!

What kind of rituals or traditions are in your life? I would love to hear your stories.

Rhianna

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Edible Flowers

Flowers aren't just for looking at and smelling. Quite a few of them are edible as well. Our massage class held a fundraiser by gathering recipes from the students and making a cookbook with them. Of course we had to have  a party to taste all the dishes. The one that stood out in my mind the most, was a gorgeous, delicate salad that was predominately flower petals. The light perfumed flavours danced across the tongue like a scented breeze. 

Now that I live in a house with a large flower garden, I thought I would do some research and see which ones were edible and what I could do with them.

 Before we go any further though, please read this list of Dos and Don'ts

IMPORTANT

Following are some simple guidelines to keep in mind before you eat any type of flower:

DO'S:

Eat flowers only when you are positive they are edible. If uncertain, consult a good reference book on edible flowers prior to consumption.

If pesticides are necessary, use only those products labeled for use on edible crops. No flowers is safe to eat unless it was grown organically

Wash all flowers thoroughly before you eat them.

Introduce flowers into your diet in small quantities one species at a time. Too much of a good thing may cause problems for your digestive system.

Remove pistils and stamens from flowers before eating. Separate the flower petals from the rest of the flower just prior to use to keep wilting to a minimum. Eat only the flower petals for most flowers except pansies violas, and Johnny-jump-ups (in which they add flavor).

If you have allergies, introduce edible flowers gradually, as they may aggravate some allergies.

DON'TS:

Do not eat flowers from florists, nurseries or garden centers. In many cases these flowers have been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops.

Do not eat flowers picked from the side of the road. Once again, possible herbicide use eliminates these flowers as a possibility for use.

Just because flowers are served with food served at a restaurant does not mean they are edible. Know your edible flowers - as some chefs do not.

It's easy and very attractive to use flowers for garnish on plates or for decoration, but avoid using non-edible flowers this way. Many people believe that anything on the plate can be eaten. They may not know if the flower is edible or not and may be afraid to ask.

Picking Edible Flowers:
Pick your flowers in the morning when their water content is at its highest.


What Part of the Flower To Eat:

The Following information is from the book, Edible Flowers - From Garden To Palate, by Cathy Wilkinson Barash:

Remove the stamens and styles from the flowers before eating. The pollen can detract from the flavor of the flower. In addition, the pollen may cause an allergic reaction in some individuals. Remove the sepals of all flowers except violas, Johnny-jump-ups, and pansies.

Only the petals of some flowers such as rose, calendula, tulip, chrysanthemum, yucca, and lavender are edible. When using just the petals, separate them from the rest of the flower just prior to use to keep wilting to a minimum. Others, including Johnny-jump-up, violet, runner bean, honeysuckle, and clover can be eaten in their entirety.

Roses, dianthus, English daisies, marigolds and chrysanthemums have a bitter white portion at the base of the petal where it was attached to the flower. Break or cut off the bitter part off the petal before using.

Cleaning Edible Flowers:

Shake each flower to dislodge insects hidden in the petal folds.

After having removed the stamen, wash the flowers under a fine jet of water or in a strainer placed in a large bowl of water.

Drain and allow to dry on absorbent paper. The flowers will retain their odor and color providing they dry quickly and that they are not exposed to direct sunlight.

Preserving Edible Flowers:

To preserve flowers, put them on moist paper and place together in a hermetically-sealed container or in plastic wrapping. This way, certain species can be preserved in the refrigerator for some 10 days.

If the flowers are limp, they can be revitalized by floating them on icy water for a few moments; don't leave too long or else they will lose some of their flavor.

You can also store the whole flower in a glass of water in the refrigerator overnight.


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Some Flower Recipes

Crystallized/Candy Edible Flowers:

Candied flowers and petals can be used in a variety of imaginative ways - to decorate cakes large and small - all kinds of sweet things, such as ice cream, sherbet, crèmes and fruit salads, cocktails.

Ingredients:

1 egg white or powdered egg whites

Superfine granulated sugar (either purchased or made in a blender or food processor - just blend regular sugar until extra-fine)

Thin paintbrush

Violets, pansies, Johnny-jump-ups, rose petals, lilac, borage, pea, pinks, scented geraniums, etc.

Wire rack covered with wax paper

Directions:

Carefully clean and completely dry the flowers or petals.

Beat the egg white in the small bowl until slightly foamy, if necessary add a few drops of water to make the white easy to spread.

Paint each flower individually with beaten egg white using the small paintbrush. When thoroughly coated with egg white, sprinkle with superfine sugar.

Place the coated flowers or petals on wax paper on a wire rack. Let dry at room temperature (this could take 12 to 36 hours). To test for dryness, check the base of the bloom and the heart of the flower to make sure they have no moisture. Flowers are completely dry when stiff and brittle to the touch. NOTE: To hasten drying, you may place the candied flowers in an oven with a pilot light overnight, or in an oven set at 150 degrees to 200 degrees F with the door ajar for a few hours.

Store the flowers in layers, separated by tissue paper, in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.



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Garnishing Cheeses with Edible Flowers

The cheese can be prepared 24 hours in advance of serving. Use flat chunks of cheese, with edible rinds, in a variety of shapes. (Cheddar, Jack, Brie, or Camembert, in round, wedge, or square shapes)

Edible flowers or herbs
Cheese
2 cups dry white wine
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

Lay the flowers and herbs flat on top of the cheese in the presentation that you want to display.

Then remove the flowers and herbs, lay them aside in the pattern you want to display them.

In the medium size saucepan over medium heat, combine the white wine and gelatin. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and the mixture is clear. Remove from heat and put the saucepan in a larger container filled with ice. Keep stirring as it thickens, NOTE: Stir slowly so you don't create bubbles. (If it gets too thick, you can reheat and repeat.)

Place the cheese in a dish to catch the drippings from your glaze.

Spoon the glaze over the cheese and spread evenly. After a few minutes it will become tacky to the touch, then you can "paste" on your flowers in the design pattern you planned.

Refrigerate about 15 minutes; then remove from refrigerator and spoon more glaze over the flowers.

NOTE: Make as many layers of glaze as necessary to cover your decorations - can be three layers for a thick design. If the glaze thickens up too much, just reheat and replace in ice.

Serve with crackers.



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Making Flower Petal Tea:
2 cups fresh fragrant rose petals (about 15 large roses)*
3 cups distilled water
Honey or granulated sugar to taste

*All roses that you intend to consume must be free of pesticides. Do not eat flowers from florists, nurseries, or garden centers. In many cases these flowers have been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops. The tastiest roses are usually the most fragrant.

Clip and discard bitter white bases from the rose petals; rinse petals thoroughly and Pat dry

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, place the prepared rose petals. Cover with water and bring just to a simmer; let simmer for approximately 5 minutes, or until the petals become discolored (darkened).

Remove from heat and strain the hot rose petal liquid into teacups. Add honey or sugar to taste.

Makes 4 servings.


Making Blossom Ice Cubes:

Gently rinse your pesticide-free flower blossoms.

Boil water for 2 minutes for all the air trapped in the water to escape. Remove from heat and let the water cool until room temperature. NOTE: This will ensure that the ice cubes are crystal clear.

Place each blossom at the base of each individual compartment within an ice tray. Fill each compartment half full with the cooled boiled water and freeze.

After the water is frozen solid, fill each ice cube compartment the rest of the way to the top with the remaining boiled water. Freeze until ready to use.



Making Flower-Infused Syrup:
1 cup water (or rosewater)
3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 to 1 cup edible flower petals (whole or crushed)

In a saucepan over medium heat, add the water or rosewater, sugar, and edible flower petals; bring to a boil and let boil for approximately 10 minutes or until thickened into syrup. Remove from heat.

Strain through cheesecloth into a clean glass jar.

Keeps up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Can be added to sparkling water or champagne for a delicious beverage. Or, it may be poured over fruit, pound cake or pancakes.

Makes about 2 to 3 cups syrup.


How To Make Flower Butter:

1/2 to 1 cup chopped fresh or dried petals
1 pound sweet unsalted butter, room temperature

Finely chop flower petals and mix into softened butter. Allow the mixture to stand at room temperature overnight to allow the flavors to fuse.

Chill for a couple of weeks or freeze for several months.
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Disclaimer:
The author, Linda Stradley, and What's Cooking America have researched all the mentioned edible flowers. However, individuals consuming the flowers, plants, or derivatives listed on this web page, do so entirely at their own risk. Neither the authors or What's Cooking America can be held responsible for any adverse reaction to the flowers.

 This site has a list of edible flowers for you to experiment with.

Edible Flowers

They also have a yummy looking recipe for Lavender Jelly, that I can't wait to try someday. Saltspring Island has a wonderful organic lavender farm. I think I will make a trip there this summer to get some good quality lavender so I can try this recipe.

Lavender Jelly Recipe

 Lavender Tea cookies

                                         

These are making my mouth water.

If you have never eaten a flower, do so if you have the chance,it's a delight for the senses( just be sure to follow the guidelines above please)

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This post is linked to Cindy's Show and Tell  Friday



and the Oregon Cottage Tuesday Garden Party

Your Spirit Guides and How to Connect withThem

Everyone has guides, whether they know it or not, and those who consciously communicate with their guides have an enormous wealth of resources to tap into. We  have guardian angels, spirit guides and animal totems that help, support and nurture us throughout life. Some stay with us our whole life, while others are there for specific occasions.

We have several different types of guides depending on the culture you come from.

Metaphysically speaking there are 4 basic categories or types of guides:

The Relative Guide.

This is usually a person who knew you in this lifetime. They are the relative who helps you through day to day situations. They are the soul who greets you at the door when your time comes from 'transition' from life to death.

                                                             The Spirit Guide.
This is usually a person you knew in a past life. Or it might be a Power Animal. Someone who is on the same spiritual level as yourself. This soul helps you with your higher purpose or mission in this embodiment. The karmic issues, the spiritual lessons, the gifts and talents you brought from the past into this life and so on. Their main purpose is to help you evolve your soul during this incarnation and to learn and grow.

                                                                The Angels.
Everyone has a Guardian Angel watching over them, protecting them and providing a connection to the higher Divine Force. Angels are rarely incarnated beings. They are 'of the stars' and are the messengers of the Divine.

                                                              The Master Teacher.
Our Master Guide joins with us at birth, and stays by our side right through our lives until we pass on. This Guide gives us direction or emphasis. At different times in our lives, depending on the situation and lesson(s) we have to learn, we have new guides join us to provide guidance and insight into the situation. If there is a change in life direction or emphasis, the Master Guide will step back and these other guides will come forward. These guides can come in unexpected forms. You will also have with you, at the appropriate time, a Master Teacher. This soul is someone who is on a higher spiritual plane than yourself. They help you with the responsibility of 'development', the dissemination, the higher more advanced spiritual evolutionary issues that a person will need to be aware of.


Within this life exists different dimensions of reality, different vibrational dimensions which we can reach through raising our own vibrations through meditation, hypnosis, ritual, and other energy raising actions such as drumming, chanting, dancing... etc.


Spirit guides, among many other beings, reside in such dimensions and come to us from this world of spirit to help us in our evolution. Spirit guides generally don't have a physical form; therefore they tend to reside on higher vibrational planes (dimensions) because they are not hindered by the physical lower-vibration body. They work from these planes (the world of spirit) and move into our reality (3rd dimension) occasionally to offer guidance, assistance and insight. We can reach them through the above mentioned methods such as meditation, hypnosis and by "tapping in" to our life-force and raising our vibrations that way.

Spirit Guides will stay with us even if we choose to ignore them, and they will continue to love and honour us throughout our life. These guides are here to help us with our Lesson or Lessons, and it is often true that their own Lessons may run in tandem with ours.They can be teachers or protectors as well as helping to direct our paths and to release old past life karma. 

Spirit guides can be many things and have usually lived in a physical body, on a physical plane like Earth, and have usually had some connection to us from a past life of ours. They can be souls of people who we knew in past lives and to whom we have a karmic link. They could also be ancestors of our present life or perhaps souls who have decided to stay in the spiritual realms for a while and not reincarnate to the physical plane and therefore volunteered with our approval to be a guide for us.

They are essentially, like us, energy-vibration which manifests in whatever form they choose...or which is acceptable to us. However, they do retain an identity because they are also souls, and have usually led lives in the physical plane also, just like we are doing now. They have their own personalities, their own goals, their own perspective and their own styles of communication.

Spirit guides will usually approach us in a form that is most comfortable and acceptable to us. For most people this is probably in the human form, though some of us might choose to see an animal, a crystal, colours, shapes or stars etc.

 These guides can come in unexpected forms, such as a stranger coming out of nowhere and giving us a helping hand. These guides can stay with us for a long period of time, or a very brief period... depending on what the lesson(s) is, and whether or not we're learning it.

There is always a guide of ours nearby... whether it's our spirit guide, animal guide or angel, someone will always hear what we say/think. So in effect we can talk to them any time we choose.

Just don't always expect an answer straight away.

There are many ways of meeting your guides. Most children know their guides from birth, and can easily open up the channels to talking to them (remember those imaginary play friends? Were they really imaginary?), but as we grow older we get negative messages from our parents and other adults around us, "time to stop playing with imaginary friends Darling" "Don`t be silly" "No they don't really exist." "That's nice dear, but shouldn't you be playing with some REAL friends?" and messages like this, so children learn to break their connection to their guides and forget about these wonderful beings.

For those people that work to connect with their guides or naturally do so - often hear their guides speak, others get distant visual images, and yet others just get a sense of what their guide is trying to communicate, the important thing is to begin to develop trust that will allow us to be aware of the communications that we are being given.

Each person's experience will be different.

Saying that, some people do have difficulty connecting with their Spirit Guides and have trouble visualising them possibly because they are a sentient person and have trouble "seeing" things that are not in the 3rd dimension. However, they can usually "sense".

They may get flashing images, but `sense` more. So, don't be disappointed if you can't see, or sense, or hear perfectly in meditation or through some of the above methods. Not everyone is that gifted.

We must trust that whatever messages we get, however we get them, are right... and what we need to know just at that point in time and learn to trust ourselves. My personal advice is to go with the technique that is the simplest and most comfortable, easy and relaxing for you.

Guides may also approach us in dreams or daydreams, imparting messages and giving guidance from there, where we are in a more open state and less critical in receiving these messages.
A guide can arrive as a feeling, a smell, a light, a sound, or even just a `knowing` that it is present.
Spirit Guides are not the same as Angels. They are of the same "energy", being that of a higher vibrational force, but I don't agree they function in the same manner. Yes, we do have an angel who also stays with us throughout our lives too, but this is not our spirit guide. Angels rarely incarnate on the physical plane, preferring to do their work from the angelic realms (higher energy realms).
Spirit guides, though they can take on any form they choose, usually take a "gender". i.e. they appear as male or female; this is based mainly on the person/being they are presenting to us. Angels on the other hand are without gender. They may appear to us as more masculine or feminine if they appear to us, but they are in essence genderless, androgynous... it's their energy, which supplies them their more masculine or feminine attributes.

An encounter with an angel in it's full glory could very well scare someone more than assist or sustain them. Angels are such beautiful beings with such love that their energy itself can bring too much truth to the person and as humans we are capricious creatures. They are the essence of purity. Too much truth can be scary or even terrifying, that is why angels will usually take on a form of lower stature when we encounter them, someone on our level so we can interact with them without the head-on, possibly overwhelming experience of an angel.

They are excellent conveyors of universal love, they are not always equipped to deal with earthy problems.
Spirit guides on the other hand have a lower energy and aren't nearly as intimidating in their full form.

To put it simply - Angels are of the stars and guides are of the earth.

                                                                 Animal Totems

Animal totems, animal guides or Power Animals can be a little of both. Spirit guides can and do take the form of animals and may always appear to us as an animal but I also believe that animal totems in the strict sense are different. They are the essence of the animal with it's message which appears in our life through various means such as divination, dreams, physical appearance of the animal etc when we need to receive this message, similar to spirit guides who come in and out of our life. By `sharing` with one particular totem we gain access to its qualities.

In the past animal totems functioned as spirit guides for those in native cultures, and they often appear in meditations and past life regressions as guides for those who have had past lives in native cultures.
However, anyone from any culture can benefit from accessing his or her totem animal.

According to some Native American beliefs, we have two animal spirits who walk with us, one on our left and one on our right. These animals appear to us in dreams and visions to guide and protect us along the path of life.

We also have a guide within us, which envelops and surrounds our very being. It is through these guides we derive our personal strengths, and it is with this animal's Medicine that we can shape our path in life.

I personally believe that we have several animal totems we learn about as we progress through life... these animals and their essence protect different aspects of ourselves and guide us in that area.
In contrast, the spirit guides tend to look after our whole well being.

It is true that some people view guides not as spiritual entities with consciousness outside of ourselves, but as part of ourselves. These people view and feel that guides are our 'higher self' personified that hasn't yet been 'owned' or integrated into our personalities. In the world of 'Spirit', this could well be part of the picture, part of our Divinity or WHOLE but the picture is 'huge' and it hasn't been completed yet.

In conclusion, it is largely due to ego that people have not really been able or willing to perceive or interact with their Spirit Guides, as the ego is a barrier against recognising the Whole, and to understanding one's own place within the Whole. Ego, in this context, is the belief-system which says that Humanity is the most important aspect of Life, and that I, as the individual, am greater than the Whole. Many people are sadly not even consciously aware of their own egoistic outlook; yet they reflect this philosophy in their isolation, sadness, scepticism and general imbalance through life.

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Herb of the Week - Arnica Montana

Arnica montana has tall stems, 20–60 centimetres (7.9–24 in) high, supporting usually a single flower head. Most of the leaves are in a basal rosette, but one or two pairs may be found on the stem and are, unusually for composites, opposite. The flower heads are yellow, approximately 5 cm in diameter, and appear from May to August.

Arnica is currently used in liniment and ointment preparations used for strains, sprains, and bruises. Commercial arnica preparations are frequently used by professional athletes. The thymol derivatives concentrated in the plants' roots have been clinically shown to be effective vasodilators of subcutaneous blood capillaries. Arnica preparations used topically have been demonstrated to act as an anti-inflammatory and assist normal healing processes by facilitating transport of blood and fluid accumulations through a dilating action of subcutaneous blood capillaries. If ingested internally, the toxin helenalin produces severe gastroenteritis, and internal bleeding of the digestive tract if enough material is ingested.

Arnica gel is a constant product in my medicine cabinet. It works wonders for bruising, sprains and strains. If you apply it as soon as you are injured, chances are, you won't get a bruise at all, or the one you do get will be much less severe and fade much more quickly. A word of caution..... only apply it to unbroken skin, don't put it in open wounds as it is toxic in the bloodstream.

General Safety Advisory

The information in this document does not replace medical advice.

Before taking an herb or a botanical, consult a doctor or other health care provider -- especially if you have a disease or medical condition, take any medications, are pregnant or nursing, or are planning to have an operation.

Before treating a child with an herb or a botanical, consult with a doctor or other health care provider.

Like drugs, herbal or botanical preparations have chemical and biological activity. They may have side effects. They may interact with certain medications. These interactions can cause problems and can even be dangerous.

If you have any unexpected reactions to an herbal or a botanical preparation, inform your doctor or other health care provider

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Ostara, Eostre, Easter

The Sabbat of OSTARA (Spring Equinox) March 20 or 21


Ostara, Estro, Easter - The origin of the word Easter is actually from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring.

Eostre - goddess of fertility - Each vernal (Spring) equinox she is celebrated for going to to the underworld, dying and being reborn to bring new life to the world. Her symbols are the egg (union, fertility), the moon (cycles of life, fertility, femininity), and the hare or rabbit that many cultures see in the moon. This ancient celebration survives today with the colourful and cherished Easter bunny (Eostre's hare) tradition.


Ostara (also known as Eostre) is the beginning of the agricultural year. It is time for the Earth to "spring" into action and for us to initiate and celebrate new beginnings. One of the most universal symbols of this sabbat is the planting of seeds and the sprouting of new life from the womb of the Earth Mother. The Vernal or Spring Equinox marks the beginning of the 'light' half of the year, when day gradually becomes longer than night. From now until Autumn, the power of the Goddess dominates our festivities, bringing light, warmth and fertility to the earth. The courtship of the God and Goddess commences with this sabbat and this is an appropriate time to focus on the balance of male and female energies within ourselves.

The word "Easter" is derived from the word "Eostre" and the symbols used to celebrate Easter have pre-Christian origins. The Easter bunny reminds us of the hare, the animal most sacred to the Goddess Diana and the eggs that the hare brings symbolize new beginnings, rebirth, continuity and growth. Have you ever wondered why Easter changes dates and months from year to year? Interestingly it is always the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox!


Some folk customs associated with Ostara are: spring cleaning (new beginnings); sunrise observances (to celebrate the growing light of the sun); sowing and planting done ceremonially; ashes from the Ostara eve bonfire mixed with the planting seed as a fertility charm; eating of cake and cider in the planting fields, burying a piece of the cake then pouring a cider libation to show the earth what it is expected to produce; moon cakes which are round cakes marked on top by a cross dividing it into quarters or 'farls' symbolizing the quarters of the moon and the four elements - they are the original hot cross buns; tree planting. Have fun with your traditions!


A tradition that my Mother passed down to me was the creation of an Easter Tree.
 

To make your own, cut a few branches of spring flowers and put in a vase or into some florists foam in a pot. Decorate the branches with symbols of Easter; small chicks, rabbits, eggs etc.
 
I just love these egg shaped bells I found the other day. A few branches from the garden and a cross shaped piece of driftwood complete my Easter tree for this year.


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Here is a ritual you can do to release your burdens or bad habits, utilizing the four elements


The Earth renews herself in spring and so can we. If you have a habit you want to release (like smoking, compulsive eating, or chronic complaining, for example), or if old emotions are weighing on you, the elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air–and the power of your own focused intention–can help you to transform these burdens from the past so you can feel lighter and ready to begin anew.

These simple, effective rituals practiced by people from all around the world can help us to let go of our old issues. You can do any or all of these four simple elemental ceremonies. They have worked for thousands of years to help people feel free.

1. First, give some real time and thought to the things you want to release.

2. Now write them on one very small piece of biodegradable paper for every element you want to ask for help. (Really stuck stuff may need all four!)

3. Choose one or more of the following rituals. As you perform each one, be sure to ask the element for help and thank it when you are finished.

Earth
The all-embracing Earth takes everything back into herself, slowly transforming all things into the essential elements of which they are made. Bury your paper, marking the spot with a stone, if you like. When you see the stone, be reminded of the process going on underneath it. Earth is slowly helping your issues to transform.

Water
Flowing Water is a wonderful purifier, cleansing and making things new. Take your paper to a river or stream and tear it into tiny pieces, then offer them to the water. If you don’t have moving water nearby, you may flush the papers down the toilet. (Be sure your paper is really small!)

Fire
Lively Fire changes everything into itself with lots of lovely light and heat. Burn your paper in a safe receptacle (with proper ventilation and water nearby), watching as the transformative power of fire turns your paper into flame and smoke and ash.

Air
The Air carries our intentions outward, bringing in new hope like a fresh breeze. Take your paper to a high place and tear it into tiny pieces, then release them into the air. Watch as they flutter and float downward.

(By Cait Johnson, author of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air (SkyLight Paths, 2001).

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The Birth of a Blog

Hello and welcome to Sage Advice. Please go here to find out more about me and my blog.

 I specifically chose to launch Sage Advice today as it is Spring Equinox, the first day of spring and all the new beginnings that spring  represents. I have been pondering how to best share all my knowledge for a long time and  I believe this blog will give me the most flexibility to do so. I look forward to meeting you all and sharing our stories.

Please join me by adding yourself as a follower by clicking on the followers button at the bottom of the page so others can meet you as well.
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Lupercalia - theTrue Orgins of St. Valentines Day

(I found this fabulous article about the origins of Valentines Day which is connected to an ancient pagan festival known as Lupercalia. Its a fascinating read with lots of great information on all kinds of things including the origin of the card and chocolate giving rituals. )

Lupercalia is uniquely Roman, but even the Romans of the first century were at a loss to explain exactly which deity or deities were being exalted. It hearkens back to the days when Rome was nothing more than a few shepherds living on a hill known as Palantine and was surrounded by wilderness teeming with wolves.




Lupercus, protector of flocks against wolves, is a likely candidate; the word lupus is Latin for wolf, or perhaps Faunus, the god of agriculture and shepherds. Others suggest it was Rumina, the goddess whose temple stood near the fig tree under which the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus. There is no question about Lupercalia's importance. Records indicate that Mark Antony was master of the Luperci College of Priests. He chose the Lupercalia festival of the year 44BC as the proper time to offer the crown to Julius Caesar.



According to legend, the story of Romulus and Remus begins with their grandfather Numitor, king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa. He was ousted by his brother Amulius. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was made a Vestal Virgin by Amulius and forbidden to marry since her children would be rightful heir to the throne. Mars, the god of war, fell in love with her and she gave birth to twin sons.



Fearing that the boys would grow up and seek revenge, Amulius had them placed in a basket and thrown into the freezing flooded waters of the River Tiber. When the waters receded, the basket came ashore on Palantine Hill. They were found by a she-wolf who, instead of killing them, nurtured and nourished them with her milk. A woodpecker, also sacred to Mars, brought them food as well.

The twins were later found by Faustulus, the king's shepherd. He and his wife adopted and named them Romulus and Remus. They grew up to be bold, strong young men, and eventually led a band of shepherds in an uprising against Amulius, killing him and rightfully restoring the kingdom to their grandfather.



Deciding to found a town of their own, Romulus and Remus chose the sacred place where the she-wolf had nursed them. Romulus began to build walls on Palatine Hill, but Remus laughed because they were so low. Remus mockingly jumped over them, and in a fit of rage, Romulus killed his brother. Romulus continued the building of the new city, naming it Roma after himself.



February occurred later on the ancient Roman calendar than it does today so Lupercalia was held in the spring and regarded as a festival of purification and fertility. Each year on February 15, the Luperci priests gathered on Palantine Hill at the cave of Lupercal. Vestal virgins brought sacred cakes made from the first ears of last year's grain harvest to the fig tree. Two naked young men, assisted by the Vestals, sacrificed a dog and a goat at the site. The blood was smeared on the foreheads of the young men and then wiped away with wool dipped in milk.

The youths then donned loincloths made from the skin of the goat and led groups of priests around the pomarium, the sacred boundary of the ancient city, and around the base of the hills of Rome. The occasion was happy and festive. As they ran about the city, the young men lightly struck women along the way with strips of the goat hide. It is from these implements of purification, or februa, that the month of February gets its name. This act supposedly provided purification from curses, bad luck, and infertility.



Long after Palentine HIll became the seat of the powerful city, state and empire of Rome, the Lupercalia festival lived on. Roman armies took the Lupercalia customs with them as they invaded France and Britain. One of these was a lottery where the names of available maidens were placed in a box and drawn out by the young men. Each man accepted the girl whose name he drew as his love - for the duration of the festival, or sometimes longer.



As Christianity began to slowly and systematically dismantle the pagan pantheons, it frequently replaced the festivals of the pagan gods with more ecumenical celebrations. It was easier to convert the local population if they could continue to celebrate on the same days... they would just be instructed to celebrate different people and ideologies..



Lupercalia, with its lover lottery, had no place in the new Christian order. In the year 496 AD, Pope Gelasius did away with the festival of Lupercalia, citing that it was pagan and immoral. He chose Valentine as the patron saint of lovers, who would be honored at the new festival on the fourteenth of every February. The church decided to come up with its own lottery and so the feast of St. Valentine featured a lottery of Saints. One would pull the name of a saint out of a box, and for the following year, study and attempt to emulate that saint.



Confusion surrounds St Valentine's exact identity. At least three Saint Valentines are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of February 14th. One is described as a priest in Rome, another as a Bishop of Interamna, now Terni in Italy, and the other lived and died in Africa.



The Bishop of Interamna is most widely accepted as the basis of the modern saint. He was an early Christian martyr who lived in northern Italy in the third century and was put to death on February 14th around 270 AD by the orders of Emperor Claudius II for disobeying the ban on Christianity. However, most scholars believe Valentine of Terni and the priest Valentine of Rome were the same person.



Claudius' Rome was an extremely dangerous place to be Christian. Valentine not only chose to be a priest, but was believed to have been a leader of the Christian underground movement. Many priests were caught, one by one and imprisoned and martyred. Valentine supposedly continued to preach the word after he was imprisoned, witnessing to the prisoners and guards.



One story tells that he was able to cure a guard’s daughter of blindness. When word got back to Claudius, he was furious and ordered Valentine’s brutal execution – beaten by clubs until dead, and then beheaded. While he was waiting for the soldiers to come and drag him away, Valentine composed a note to the girl telling her that he loved her. He signed it simply, "From Your Valentine." The execution was carried out on February 14th.



Another legend touts of a well loved priest called Valentine living under the rule of Emperor Claudius II. Rome was constantly engaged in war. Year after year, Claudius drafted male citizens into battle to defend and expand the Roman Empire. Many Romans were unwilling to go. Married men did not want to leave their families. Younger men did not wish to leave their sweethearts. Claudius ordered a moratorium on all marriages and that all engagements must be broken off immediately.



Valentine disagreed with his emperor. When a young couple came to the temple seeking to be married, Valentine secretly obliged them. Others came and were quietly married. Valentine became the friend of lovers in every district of Rome. But such secrets could not be kept for long. Valentine was dragged from the temple. Many pleaded with Claudius for Valentine's release but to no avail, and in a dungeon, Valentine languished and died. His devoted friends are said to have buried him in the church of St. Praxedes on the 14th of February.



The Feast of St. Valentine and the saint lottery lasted for a couple hundred years, but the church just couldn't rid the people's memory of Lupercalia. In time, the church gave up on Valentine all together. Protestant churches don't recognize saints at all, and very few Catholic churches choose to celebrate or observe the life of St. Valentine on a 'Valentine's Sunday'. The lottery finally returned to coupling eligible singles in the 15th century. The church attempted to revive the saint lottery once again in the 16th century, but it never caught on.



During the medieval days of chivalry, the single's lottery was very popular. The names of English maidens and bachelors were put into a box and drawn out in pairs. The couple exchanged gifts and the girl became the man's valentine for a year. He wore her name on his sleeve and it was his bounded duty to attend and protect her. The ancient custom of drawing names on the 14th of February was considered a good omen for love.



Arguably, you could say the very first valentine cards were the slips of paper bearing names of maidens the early Romans first drew. Or perhaps the note Valentine passed from his death cell. The first modern valentine cards are attributed to the young French Duke of Orleans. He was captured in battle and held prisoner in the Tower of London for many years. He was most prolific during his stay and wrote countless love poems to his wife. About sixty of them remain. They are among the royal papers in the British Museum.



By the 17th century, handmade cards had become quite elaborate. Pre-fabricated ones were only for those with means. In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained suggested sentimental verses for the young lover suffering from writer's block. Printers began producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called “mechanical valentines,” and a reduction in postal rates in the next century ushered in the practice of mailing valentines.



This made it possible to exchange cards anonymously and suddenly, racy, sexually suggestive verses started appearing in great numbers, causing quite a stir among prudish Victorians. The number of obscene valentines caused several countries to ban the practice of exchanging cards. Late in the nineteenth century, the post office in Chicago rejected some twenty-five thousand cards on the grounds that they were not fit to be carried through the U.S. mail.



The first American publisher of valentines was printer and artist Esther Howland. Her elaborate lace cards of the 1870’s cost from five to ten dollars, some as much as thirty-five dollars. Since then, the valentine card business has flourished. With the exception of Christmas, Americans exchange more cards on Valentine’s Day than at any other time of year.

One of Estar Howlands first Valentine Cards

Chocolate entered the Valentine's Day ritual relatively late. The Conquistadors brought chocolate to Spain in 1528 and while they knew how to make cocoa from the beans, it wasn't until 1847 that Fry & Sons discovered a way to make chocolate edible. Twenty years later, the Cadbury Brothers discovered how to make chocolate even smoother and sweeter. By 1868, the Cadburys were turning out the first boxed chocolate. They were elaborate boxes made of velvet and mirrors and retained their value as trinket-boxes after the chocolate was gone. Richard Cadbury created the first heart-shaped Valentine's Day box of candy sometime around 1870.

The ultimate romantic couple....Romeo and Juliet

© 2007 Wendy Brinker



Linking to Cindy's Show and Tell Friday

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