Sirens Celebration: Day 5

It's Friday, and we know how much you love the weekend. Today, we offer our first Forget-Me-Not Tribute to someone who has contributed much to the Pagan and Wiccan communities. We're ending our first week of celebration, and tomorrow, we'll have a cool craft to share with you. We take Sundays off, but we'll be back to see you bright and early on Monday!

Before we get to the frolicking, let's get some important business out of the way.


The winner of the Hauntiture Creations giveaway is....

Loren Morris!

Congratulations! Don't forget to send your mailing address to kallan.kennedy@gmail.com so Tara can send your prize to you!

Forget-me-not Tribute: Raymond Buckland

Raymond Buckland (born 31 August 1934, died 27 September 2017), whose craft name was Robat, was an English writer on the subject of Wicca and the occult, and a significant figure in the history of Wicca, of which he was a high priest in both the Gardnerian and Seax-Wica traditions. In 1968, Buckland formed the First Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in the United States.

Mr. Buckland was known to many as "Uncle Bucky" and had a reputation for being a sweet and supportive elder to numerous Pagans and Wiccans throughout the world. His contributions to our community were many, and his writing was prolific. He will be greatly missed, and we honor him in both life and death.

Doorways

A piece of paper tells me where they came from.
It speaks in fractions and borders.
It predicts, codifies, calculates me; pinpoints and places me.
The paper is cold and flat. I feel nothing when I touch it.
The candle burns, inviting them. Open the doors, and let them in, let them show me.
A woman with my strong jawline turns from me to open a doorway behind her, revealing that same regal face, this time crowned with brilliant red hair.
She turns, and she turns, and she turns, and as each door opens, I can see traces of myself growing fainter – but they are all still me, all pathways to who I am, where I am, why I am.
Nothing cold or flat here.
Some smelling of perfume, some of sweat.
 Some white and fresh as a gardenia, some brown and calloused.
Some resplendent in satin and silk, some in plainest homespun.
Some flashing sparkling brooches and earrings, some possessing nothing but a plain gold band.
All of them with one thing in common:
They lead to me.
How many doorways could I open before I can go no further back – to a place where no one took a snapshot, painted a picture, held on to a keepsake, told a story?
Will I be received when I stand in the doorway, waiting to turn? Who will remember? Who will invite me?
One by one, the doorways close.
The candle sputters, its flame nearly spent –
but it is still enough for me to char the corner of the paper:
watch it curl and scorch, consuming decimal points and percentage signs and digits one by one.

 - Melissa Cassick, September 2017

Chickyn Jane Cassick has been writing all her life, though in her diapered days, her choice of medium was dubious. She began scribbling her name on the walls of the boys bathroom in first grade, and quickly progressed to humorous limericks, and a senior thesis on why John Taylor was the hottest member of Duran Duran. Once her children began arriving, she rarely had time to write more than a single word on a scrap of paper with a broken crayon, but now that they are old enough to be locked in their bedrooms for lengthier amounts of time, she has loftier goals. She has been a pagan since high school, a Chickyn since 1989, and a sarcastic snot since the egg split. She lives in Buffalo, New York, with the most gorgeous man in the universe, four children, three cats, and a chihuahua named Biscuit, who wisely keeps her opinions to herself.

Today's Music: Moon by Omnia

Everyone's favorite Pagan folk band is here to prepare us for the first full weekend in October!

Today's Recipe: Autumn's Peanut Butter Cake by Autumn Earthsong

Hope your Autumn season has been wonderful!  You may notice that I’m doing a lot of sweet baked goods this year…and well….why not.  This time of year is just wonderful for baking warm, yummy goodies.  This recipe is a family favorite and feeds a crowd!  Perfect for harvest parties, Samhain gatherings, and Beggar’s Night!.

Autumn’s Peanut Butter Cake
*Be sure and read all the way thru it…the ingredients are spread thruout the recipe
 Mix in a large bowl:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Set aside.   In a med saucepan, bring to a boil:
1 cup water
1 cup peanut butter
1 stick butter

Stir often..when it comes to a boil remove from heat and add to the dry mixture and mix well with a spoon.
Then stir in:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Blend well.  Pour into a greased jelly roll pan.  Bake at 375* for 20 mins or until golden brown.
While cake is baking:
Bring to a boil in the same saucepan:
1 stick butter
1/3 cup milk

Remove from heat and stir in:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 lb. confectioners sugar

*Hint–add the peanut butter first, when melted well, stir in the sugar 1/2 at a time, to keep frosting from getting lumpy!
Pour over warm cake and spread evenly.
This cake is sort of like the Texas Chocolate cake..dense and almost like a brownie ..and YUMMY!  Freezes well too!

Enjoy, Autumn Earthsong

Autumn Earthsong is a wife, mother, grandmother and a Witch! She’s been the Kitchen and Herb Witch for Samhain’s Sirens, The Sunday Stew and Imramma magazine for a few years now. Her Craft revolves around the kitchen, garden, hearth, altar, Mother Earth and Grandmother Moon. She feels Goddess blessed every day.   Autumn is also a healer as a Master Reiki practitioner and she’s knowledgeable in herbalism and crystals for healing as well. Autumn is the founder of her Coven and you can find her blogging at autumnearthsong.com.  Autumn is her favorite time of year as you may guess by her name,  and she especially loves sharing her favorite seasonal recipes!  She hopes you add them to your own  recipe files and enjoy them!  Blessed Samhain to all!

Friday Siren Cocktail

Bitchcraft Martini with Marie Bargas

1 part vodka
2/3rd part lemon juice
 1/3 part triple sec
1 tsp sugar, plus a little extra for the rim
chili powder to mix with the sugar for the rim
 a dash of REVENGE.

Place Vodka, Triple Sec, lemon juice and sugar into a cocktail shaker with 4-5 ice cubes and shake vigorously for 30 seconds while visualizing your enemy broken and defeated while  repeating this incantation:

"Vodka is smooth, lemon is tart, sugar is sweet ...my spell is complete." 

Run the lemon twist around the edge of the chilled martini glass and dunk in a small amount of sugar with red chili powder and salt for a coated rim. Pour the strained martini into the chilled glass and take a sip. 

Los Angeles Celebrity Psychic Marie Bargas lives and works among the stars and celebrities.  She is a clairvoyant, medium and energy healer who incorporates tarot, pendulum divination,  chakra cleansing and balancing, sound healing, house cleansing, yoga and meditation into her work and her life as a mystic, yogini and spell crafter. Best known as a successful "bride maker," Marie specializes in love, romance and finding true love. She began her career as an expert on "Entertainment Tonight," made appearances on the Fine Living Network and was featured on the Love and Sex Report with Millionaire Matchmaker - Patti Stanger and most recently on NBC's "EXTRA." Marie has also joined the team of researchers, psychic mediums and paranormal experts on the ongoing "Horsefly Chronicles Investigations" based upon the best selling book, "The Horsefly Chronicles: A Demonic Haunting: Based on a true story by Phil Siracusa," alongside Phil and her bestie Julia Siracusa. She is also 
Managing Editor of the ezine Entertainment 2morrow. 
www.mariebargas.com
www.entertainment2morrow.com
https://magicklab.wordpress.com/

Today's Giveaway from Tree of Life Apothecary Body Care Line

 Here is a sampling of all-natural body care products from Tree Of Life Apothecary; You will be entering for the following: Luxurious Body Balm, Bath & Baby Powder, Eyelash & Eyebrow Conditioner, Conditioning Nail and Cuticle Oil. $40 value


Here's how to enter:

US Residents

First entry:  Go to  the Tree of Life Apothecary Etsy shop, peruse the amazing creations, come back here and tell us which is your favorite in the comments.

Second entry: Share this giveaway on your Facebook page (note: Facebook in no way endorses our giveaways). Come back, tell us you did in the comments (share the link, please).

Third entry: Share this giveaway on Twitter or Instagram (your choice). Come back, post the link to your share in the comments.

Fourth entry: Like the Tree of Life Apothecary Facebook page. Leave a comment on their Facebook page telling her you're visiting from Samhain's Sirens. Come back here, and let us know you did.

Fifth entry: Like the Samhain's Sirens Facebook page. Leave us a comment below letting us know you're a follower (hint: this is going to be a gimme if you do it now or if you've done it in the past. It'll be one of the entries for all of our giveaways).


Canadian Residents

For 5 entries, please correctly answer the following question in the comments section:

          Canada's highest mountain is located in which province or territory?




You have until 11:59p EDT on Sunday to enter this giveaway. Winner will be announced in Monday's post. Good luck!


That's it for today. See you tomorrow for more Sireny fun!

Happy Samhaining!