As we wind up the season, it's time to get more serious. Tomorrow evening, we begin our Ancestral Remembrance known as Samhain. It's been fun, and we've enjoyed every moment of this month with you.

The Thinning of the Veil by Loren Morris. Available for purchase at Primitive Witchery

Before we go further, we need to announce the winner of the Cordelia's Charms Giveaway. And the winner is...


Congratulations! Please be sure you send Kallan your mailing address so Kourtney can send out your prize!

What kind of witches would we be without a song from Damh the Bard? Perfect for Samhain Eve.

Samhain Altars

Today, we show you some of our own Samhain altars from years' past. We hope this may inspire you for your own altar, and you'll enjoy this. We're also going to give you a preview of the Grand Prize Giveaways- winners to be announced tomorrow.


From Autumn Earthsong:
















From Debbie Becker:







From Dawn Leith-Daugherty







From Silver Swan:


Please take a moment to comment and thank these wonderful Sirens for sharing their Samhain Altars with you. These are very personal, and most people don't like sharing for that reason. These are beautiful and creative.

Grand Prize Giveaways!

For those of you who have been entering our giveaways all season, you are already entered into the grandprize giveaway. Every time you posted a valid entry, that entry counted toward our grand prizes. This year, we have two grand prizes to give away. Here's what the lucky winners will receive:


Grand Prize Giveaway #1:  From LaPulia Studios

The Witches’ Pentacle Blank Book of Shadows
Blank Book of Shadows comes with 1000 blank pages ( 500 leaves) of acid free french parchment paper.

The five-pointed star, or pentacle is the most recognizable symbol in magick. It represents the integration of body and spirit, and the spiritual mastery of the four elements. The pentacle is considered to be the most potent, powerful, and persistent symbols in human history. It is used in a number of rituals, and as a Grade sign in many traditions. The pentacle is often worn as a symbol of recognition among practitioners, especially those who practice a code of secrecy and with this thought in mind we have created Witches’ Pentacle Book of Shadows.

LaPulia Book of Shadows’ purpose is to bring real magick, as a way of life and as a world view, into our world of physical forms from the world of ideas. We infuse each and every book with the magical energy needed to serve its owner and become a powerful magickal artifact. As magickal artifacts, our Book of Shadows and Grimoires create strong connections with their owners and will activate and increase your magickal consciousness.

Your magical Blank Book of Shadows or Grimoire will be crafted in accordance with the oldest witchcraft traditions. LaPulia Book of Shadows only uses brand new, pristine and virgin clean materials of the highest quality. In addition, before use, all of the materials used to create your book undergo a special cleansing ceremony to remove any negative energy and prepare them for use in production. Lastly, every single Book of Shadows and Grimoire is magically blessed before it is shipped to you.

This prize will have a 2-week delay in shipping due to back-orders.

Grand Prize Giveaway #2:  Total Value $491.90

Baublesmith, Hauntiture Creations, Primitive Witchery, Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends, Cordelia's Charms, and Marie Bargas, The Hollywood Witch

From Baublesmith:




Handmade Copper Tree of Life wired across a Picture Jasper.  This unique piece hangs from a cotton cord and is brought to life by the unique way the picture jasper creates a landscape for the three of life to dwell. This one of a kind piece fills the palm of the hand and is a bold focal piece to any ensemble. Retail price: 49.95
From Hauntiture Creations:


The Work of a Wizard (Wizard Tray, Figurine, and Book)















As masters of the secret knowledge of fairies, elves, and a whole host of other spirits invisible to human sight, the wizard holds a position of power that must be used only for good.  It is considered a defect of manners if a person is ever aware of your wizardly efforts on his behalf. Magic is not one of the Natural Sciences.  Wizards do not seek to perform repeatable experiments.  Alchemists, astronomers, natural philosophers, and geographers who consider their work to be in a par with that of wizards are sadly mistaken.

     The Red Dragon of Wales

The national emblem of Wales has been a red dragon.  This goes back to an ancient story about Merlin, the great wizard.  The story tells how a red and white dragon had been fighting each other and doing terrible damage to the country. They were captured by magic and imprisoned under the hill called Dinas Emrys.
      All was quiet then for centuries, until King Vortigern tried to build a castle on the hill. Each day the workmen would start building the walls, and each morning they would find that their work from the day before had been destroyed during the night. Local wise men led Vortigern to a young boy called Merlin, who lived near the hill and who was known to have magic powers. Merlin told the King about the dragons under the hill.  Nobody believed him, but finally Vortigern had the hill opened up.  Everyone was terrified as the two huge dragons flew out and at once began fighting again. A battled followed, and at last the red dragon overcame and killed the white dragon.  This was the beginning of Merlin's career as a great wizard.

There are so many interesting stories of Merlin to read. Such important lesson in life to learn for our younger generation by reading with them.

Fairy Tales are more than true...not because they tell us Dragons exist, but because they tell us Dragons can be beaten.     G. K. Chesterton.

A marvelous treat you can give your young one, is the gift of knowledge thru wonderful books to read.
             Magyk.   By Angie Sage.
             Book One- Septimus Heap
This spell binding series opener is a book full of wonders, charms, and surprises. Beautifully written and richly imagined, it invites us into a world we never want to leave.

Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he was born, pronounced dead by the midwife.  That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heaps, comes across an abandoned child in the snow-a newborn girl with violet eyes.  The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?

Total Value: $75.00


From Primitive Witchery:

Set of Wolf Hair Runes
Full set of 24 Elder Futhark Ulfhednar Ice Runes featuring actual wolf hair. They come in burlap bag and they are fully handcrafted and handpainted. The wolf hair is from shedding wolves.

Retail Price: $54.95

Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends: Mojo Box Giveaway


Retail price: $11.00


From Cordelia's Charms:




Whimsical Witch Hat Dangle Earrings: $22  --  Cute little witchy hats are suspended below purple bicone and olive green roundelle Swarovski Crystals. Total length measuring from the top of the ear wire is 2 inches.



From Marie Bargas. The Hollywood Witch: Two prizes




Retro-buster candle set. Value: $90.00

As seen on TV's "Extra"

Psychic Reading from The Hollywood Witch. Value $150.00

From The Lapis Dragon:











This Samhain Besom is designed to add both decoration and protection to your hearth. At 32" tall, it's not quite large enough for flying, but traditionally placed at the door or above it, you can use this besom to sweep negativity out the door and keep it from entering again. Decorated with crow and pheasant feathers, with a crow's head accent and scented with our Samhain oil (patchouli, vanilla and cinnamon), this is the perfect piece for the season, or all year round.
Retail Value: $40.00

How to enter:
If you have not entered any of our giveaways until now, you still have one more chance left! Comment on this blog (be sure to either post your email address or send it via email to Kallan)

Those of you who have already entered, you can go ahead and give us a comment (email addresses please)- perhaps a farewell?


Canadian residents: One last trivia question for an entry-



When did the flag of Canada make its first official appearance?
1867
1965
1982

That's all for today! Tomorrow, we post remembrances and the winners.
Samhain Blessings!
The Sirens

Johanna Lawson!!

English Translation:

Oh the flying cranes,

They sat in a field on fertile land,

They sat in a field on fertile land.

They sat in a field on fertile land,

Yes, speaking of fertile fields,

Yes, speaking of fertile fields:

Either better early,

Or better late,

Or better late.

And in the early planted fields,

There is growing rye, and wheat,

There is growing rye, and wheat,

And later on the fertile fields,

Are only weeds, and bentgrass,

Are only weeds, and bentgrass.

The men have gathered,

Yes, to talk about the women,

Yes, to talk about the women:

Was the first the best,

Or was the second better,

Or was the second better?

I had small children with the first,

And the second, she raised them,

And the second, they raised them.

And the third, she scattered them,

And the third, she scattered them,

And the third, she scattered them...

A Samhain Pat and Buckle Tale by Melissa Cassick

Pat and Buckle make friends wherever they go. Last fall brought a new idea: actually making a friend? It was challenging; Pat had to stand on Buckles head. But when they stepped back and regarded their work, they were amazed at what they saw: Here - in blazing orange glory, in flesh and seeds – was a new friend. Here was Jim.

When his mortal form grew squishy, we acted quickly. The spirit of Jim could be recaptured – with a very special magic.

No one could have guessed how quickly Jim would become part of the family.  He celebrated the winter holiday season, even sitting for the official portrait.

He played in the snow with Pat, who was warm and snug in her mitten.

And he was tickled to be included in late night poker games.

His greatest honor was when Pat and Buckle asked him to officiate their wedding. It was a very special day.

Sadly, the months began to take a toll on Jim’s health. His increasing wrinkles and sponginess became a great concern to the family. Perhaps it was exacerbated by touring with Buckle’s alternative blues band, the Buckle-tones. He clearly did not look well on the cover of their album.

For more fun, visit Pat and Buckle and their friends on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckleandPat/

Jr. Sirens' Corner

Mr. Matthew Cassick

Miss Margery Cassick

Miss Margery Cassick

Now that school is back in full swing preparing dinner is made easier with the trusty crock-pot. Our house seems to have acquired a collection of said crock-pots in many assorted sizes and styles. Our youngest son, Garrett, loves French Onion Soup with cheese and a hard roll. Since I am careful with cheese and stay away from breads that are not gluten free I found this recipe where we can all enjoy it. 
This is not a prepare and leave soup if you will be caramelizing the onions.

Crock-Pot French Onion Soup
The Paleo Kitchen

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 3 to 4 hours or if caramelizing onions 6 to 8 hours
Serves: 4

2 (4 if caramelizing) tablespoons bacon fat or coconut oil, melted
3 pounds onions, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups beef broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1. Grease the inside of a slow cooker with 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or coconut oil.
2. If you’re not caramelizing the onions, skip to 3. Otherwise, place the onions in the slow cooker and pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of bacon fat or coconut oil over the top of the onions. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every 2 hours while onions caramelize.
3. If you have not caramelized the onions, add the raw onions to the greased slow cooker.
4. Add the chicken broth, beef broth, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Taste soup and add additional salt to taste if needed. Remove herbs from the soup before serving.
Paula Lupi does what she can to keep herself and family healthy. One of the steps towards that was eating more in the Paleo side of choices. While integrating these changes into every day meals Paula also learned that she has a gluten sensitivity.  She is a mother of three, but two are now out of the house, and a wife and partner to her husband of 27 years.
Paula enjoys spending time outdoors with Mother Nature, her hands in the dirt, and sweet talking the herbs and vegetable to grow healthy for the table.
She has two Boxers – Izzy and Vino, a polydactyl cat – Scrunch, two lizards – Ford and Karma, and her Chilean Rose Tarantula – Morticia.

Today's Giveaway: Halloween Wreath by Debbie Becker

Hand-crafted Halloween wreath valued at $45.00


Instead of sending you to websites etc.. each of you will get 1 entry for this one. You must guess the number of  pieces in the bucket.  If there is a tie, it will be broken by random number generator.