October 15: Samhain's Sirens Wrong-Turn Wednesday!

Wrong-Turn Wednesday is winging its way to wonderful whackiness!

Don't forget to send in your Forget-Me-Nots! We're all about honoring our ancestors at this time! Send your tributes/photos to samhainsirens@gmail.com

We hope you're enjoying our offerings! We know you like the giveaways. Please be sure to let our blogging sirens, musical siren, recipe siren,et al.. know you appreciate their efforts. A little comment goes a long way :)

On to the fun!

The winner of the Kindred Kollections giveaway is:

Star Firewitch!

Archeology of Samhain

By: Sam Curtin from Chronicles of an Anthropology Nerd (http://anthrobum.blogspot.com)

When it comes to explaining the origin of practices – religious or otherwise – most of us anthropologists look to the archaeological record for evidence of these practices. Artifacts used in rituals, religious sites, and texts from the origin period are helpful in shaping this knowledge of practices. When it comes down to Samhain, there really isn’t much evidence in the archaeological record. We have evidence of many sacred sites in Ireland and we have texts that reference the practice of these rituals, but finding tangible evidence has been something archeologists have struggled with.

However, there is one site that is referenced a lot in medieval text: the Hill of Ward or “Tiachtga.” This hill is located near Athboy which is now in the modern county of Meath. This site has been referenced as a host for the feast of Samhain. It is characterized by its prehistoric ringfort (an ancient circular fortification of earth or stone, found especially in Ireland) and is 380 feet in height. The legend goes that the druids would journey up the hill to light huge fires; this would signal the start of the Samhain festivities. Evidence of these fires go back to pre-Christian times.

There is a good amount of medieval manuscripts that refer to “Feis Teamhrach” (also known as the feast of Tara) which was rumored to be held three days before and three days after Samhain. This feast was held at another important Irish heritage site: The Hill of Tara. It is thought that this was also a site for Samhain rituals but there is little evidence to back up those claims.

When you think about it, it kind of makes sense that there isn’t much archaeological evidence surrounding Samhain. The Celtic pagans didn’t worship in temples or erect large buildings to practice their rituals. They celebrated in nature, feasting and praying the gods/goddesses of the nature around them. Most of Celtic Paganism is routed in Nature with a “harm none” philosophy. This would mean that if a site was laughed trashed with artifacts after a ritual, they would be going against all that the rituals stood for.

What we are left with is the texts and the stories from that time. Even those have their problems since most of history was influenced by the Roman Empire who were Christian. They focused on the “evils” of Samhain rather than the historic significance. Modern day pagans know about Samhain through the oldest form of history: storytelling. Stories of Samhain rituals have been passed down from generations but “word of mouth” isn’t something that can be added to the archaeological record.  

References:

Archaeology Magazine: “Halloween’s Celtic Rituals” by Jenny Butler

Dictonary.com 

The Witches’ Kitchen by Autumn Earthsong

Breakfast in the Fall just screams for some warm, creamy oatmeal.  This slow cooker version will be ready when you wake up in the morning!  All warm and nutty with apples, raisins, nuts and cinnamon.  It will warm your belly and soothe your soul I believe….

Cozy Apple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

*slow cooker recipe

2 cups milk

1 cup quick cooking oats, uncooked

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 Tb butter, melted

2 Tb maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup apple, cored, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker sprayed with non-stick cooking spray

Cover and cook on low setting for 7-8 hours. 

Stir before serving.

Serves 6-8

*I find that 7-8 hours is a bit much..it tends to get dry.  I think 6 hours tops would be best.  Set your timer on your slow cooker if you have one. Spray the cooker well with the oil too!

ENJOY, Autumn

Read my blog at www.autumnearthsong.com

Visit my herbal shop at www.etsy.com/shop/verbenalaneshoppe

Welcome back..

This one is for Kallan and all of the other children of the Morrigan.

Today's first giveaway comes from Sharon Rawson at Touch of the Goddess.
It's a one hour long past life regression via Skype only. A transcript of the session will be e-mailed afterwards. Value-$45.00

Rules: (READ CAREFULLY)

YOU MUST PROVIDE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS. If you choose not to share it in the comments, please use the contact form at the top of the page to provide your email address. You must provide your email address once per giveaway.

Drawing is held by random number generation and winner will be notified in email (that's why you have to have an email address listed). Announcement will be made in tomorrow's post.

Note: These giveaways are open to the U.S., Canada and where allowable. Void where prohibited.
Canadian residents, please pay close attention as by law, you have to use a different set of rules. Not to worry, we have you covered :)


CANADIANS READ HERE: You will be given the same number of entries for answering the following (remember, we STILL NEED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS):

Which major sport was invented in Canada?

U.S. Citizens, and others- READ HERE:

1. Go to the Touch of the Goddess Site.  Look over the site and tell us which product you like best.

EXTRA ENTRIES: (USE SEPARATE COMMENTS. If you throw them all into one comment, it counts as one entry only)

2. Be a follower of this blog. Comment that you are following us.

3. Like the Sirens FB page (come let us know you did in comments)

4. Like/Get Notifications for The Touch of the Goddess Facebook Page. Let us know you did.

5. Blog about this giveaway (comment with the url for your blog entry)

6. Tweet about this giveaway (come back and give us the url for your tweet)

So, all in all, you get 6 entries for this giveaway! The deadline for entries is midnight eastern time (11 Central, 10 Mountain, 9 Pacific) tonight. Announcement tomorrow, same time, same bat channel ;)

Questions? Email Serena.


See you tomorrow for Fearless Friday!