October 22: Samhain's Sirens Wrong-Turn Wednesday!

Hello again, you scintillating psychopaths!

We're ready for some Wrong-Turn Wednesday wonderment!

Tomorrow is our deadline for your forget-me-not submissions. Send them to Serena at samhainssirens@gmail.com and we'll compile/post them on Samhain.

Let's check out what the Sirens have cooked up in the cauldron today!

The winner of The Bibliophile's Dream Giveaway by Author Wendy Callahan is...

Katy Magee!!

Kemetic Ancestral Altar by Tiffany Newson

Honoring your ancestors is one of the more common things done during Samhain. In the Afro-Diaspora one of the easiest ways to honor your ancestors is to build an ancestral altar.

Cultures everywhere honor the dead, but in Kamitic/Kemetic (Ancient Egyptian), not all deceased relatives are considered an ancestor. They only consider a relative an ancestor if he/she had self-discipline in his/her life. A relative is expected to help the living. You would not want to honor someone who was an addict in life because this person couldn't teach you anything valuable. You want to exalt those whose self-discipline made them honorable while alive.

An ancestral altar is easily adapted to anyone's purpose.

Some of the basics for building your altar:

• Make a devoted space such as a shelf, top of dresser or table. It is preferable to cover the surface with a white table cloth, but feel free to use your own ideas and make it personal. If you plan on using lots of incense,  or are worried about wax drippings, you may want to use something to protect the surface of your altar that is easily cleaned. The white tablecloth serves as a barrier and act as a purifying agent. Alternately, you can use other items such as coarse sea salt, sea shells, crystals, gemstones or stones.
• You'll need photos of your ancestors (deceased  relatives that you respect and/or teachers).  
• Arrange nine glasses (symbolizing the nine netcharu-Kamitic guardian spirits) into a semi circle to stand for the guardian angel(s) that governed your ancestors. Fill them with cool water. 
• From here you can add other items such as that ancestor's favorite jewelry, lock of hair or another item that represented them. You could also add your Deity of choice. 

This year we are adding a loved one to our family altar. My husband's grandmother, the matriarch of his family. She will be forever missed.

I think you may have discovered my love for Vincent Price. This is his third appearance this month! This one is for all of my spider-loving friends.

The Witches’ Kitchen by Autumn Earthsong

I adore October and Sundays and one reason for it is Football!  I love to put something in the slow cooker for dinner and make a yummy snack for during the game.  This recipe is quick and easy, will feed several people and everyone loves it!  It’s a family favorite for holidays too.





Hot Reuben Spread Appetizer

16 ozs shredded swiss cheese
16 ozs shredded cheddar cheese
28 oz jar sauerkraut, drained
8 oz dried beef or corned beef, chopped
1 1/2 cups mayo
Thousand Island salad dressing
Party rye or pumpernickel bread

Preheat oven to 350*
Mix first 5 ingredients well in a large bowl.  Pour into a greased 13” x 9” baking dish.
Bake at 350* for one hour until browned and bubbly.
Serve on small party rye or pumpernickel slices with a dollop of the salad dressing.
Warms up great too!!
*You can half this recipe to make an 8” x 8” dish for a smaller crowd of 4 or less.

ENJOY, Autumn

Read my blog at www.autumnearthsong.com
Visit my herbal shop at www.etsy.com/shop/verbenalaneshoppe

Oracle Reading from Amy of Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends!

What is Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends?  One of a kind, hand blended, artisan teas with an energetic theme, clearing out old emotional junk, settling your mind, inspiring love, and increasing protection.  Lots of these recipes are herbs that are used in food and teas anyway, why not make these same potent and magical oil recipes into tea form.  Thus Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends was born.

Amy has been working as a professional intuitive since 1999 and has made it a point to develop her own personal style when it comes to reading. She uses 2-3 or sometimes more decks during a single reading, and seamlessly blends them into a single narrative for her clients.  Amy's multiple strand technique easily illustrates important themes in the lives of her clients due to multiple decks often displaying the same card for emphasis in a reading.  Trained in divination methods from cards and stones to gemstones, bibliomancy and the Oracle Cards she has designed herself over eleven years of photography and study of the Victorian Flower meanings.

What you’ll win: A 30 Minute Oracle Reading (Valued at $50) from Amy Blackthorn of Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends via Email, Skype, Facetime or Phone. Testimonials and Details can be found here: http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/pages/divination-services

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):

What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?

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

1. Go to the Blackthorn Hoodoo Page. Choose your favorite blend, then come back and tell us all about it.

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 Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends 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 9pm eastern time tonight. Announcement tomorrow, same time, same bat channel ;)

Questions? Email Serena.

See you tomorrow!