Showing posts with label #Johanna Lawson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Johanna Lawson. Show all posts
Welcome back, you Monday Marauders! Let's plunder this treasure!

We have all kinds of booty in store for you today.

Come check out our blog, recipes, stones and crystals, song of the day (you Morrigan guys/gals will love it!) and another giveaway!

The October fun has just begun.. let's play!












The winner of Author Samantha Curtin's "Return to Summer's Hollow" is...
Angie Crabtree!




Today's Blogger: Johanna Lawson


Gone But Not Forgotten

 My mother is buried in one of the oldest cemeteries in the Philadelphia area, actually located just on the city's outskirts and about a half mile from its sister cemetery in the Fairmount Park area. It is a beautiful serene place, full of gardens, reflection areas, and very old trees sitting high above the Schuylkill River. It is steeped in history, dating back to the mid-1800's, and is the eternal resting place for several notable Philadelphians including founding fathers of Philadelphia commerce and industry, civil war soldiers and heroes, and even a survivor of the Titanic disaster. The cemetery is now entering the 21st century by paving the way for green burial practices, a section of it planted with only native trees and flowers, only using natural untreated materials in coffins and shrouds, and, as I have just found out, using goats as environmentally-friendly vegetation control.

In the first months following my mother's funeral and burial, I visited often, sitting in the grass by her gravesite, talking to her, filling her in on all the latest events, wishing she were still here. I did this out loud most times because there never seemed to be anyone nearby visiting a departed loved one. After hanging out with Mom for a bit, I roamed around, checking out her neighbors, saying a hello to them. I visited some of the much older graves, their headstones and monuments worn from age and weather, trying to read the words taken away by time and the elements, sometimes tracing them with my fingertips to discern the letters. It began to dawn on me that many of these people no longer received visitors of their own kin, their families gone from the area or just plain gone, no longer alive, their bloodlines maybe halted by disease, war or catastrophe. An even worse thought came to mind. What if these people were no longer among the memories of their descendants, long-forgotten, forever out of mind? I just could not bear the thought of these people being lost to time.

With that realization, I made up my mind then and there. These people would no longer be forgotten as far as I was concerned. From that moment on, a new tradition was started. Each year, on or around Samhain, I spend a few hours at that cemetery visiting these long-departed people. There are many graves that seem to have been neglected for decades, if not a century or more, so I do not visit the same sites each year, although I have a few personal favorites that I check on regularly. I take a few minutes to clean the area, brushing debris from stones and statues, wiping away the years of built up dirt caked into the chiseled letters. I place a sprig or two of fresh rosemary, the herb of remembrance, at each grave and sit with the person for a bit, pondering, wondering and imagining.

Who was this person? What did they look like? Who did they love and who loved them? What happened during the course of their daily life? How did they die? Sometimes I envision the person and their life very clearly, almost as if they are allowing me into their past. Other times, the images are blurred or the words to describe them just won't come. Perhaps those people are uncomfortable about letting me get to know them or maybe even wish to remain forgotten. Occasionally, I may hear a whisper, feel a gentle tug on my shirt or a playful pull on my hair, or catch a glimpse of something out of the very corner of my eye, all very brief harmless encounters. Always I experience this amazing warmth moving around and through me and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and peace falls over me.

I must always pay my respects to the family buried across from my mother. There are at least fifteen headstones (unbelievably, I have never counted them!) marking the graves of several generations of this family, including a few children under the age of 5, all having died in 1918 during the influenza epidemic. I sit in the middle of all of them, where an ancient gnarled oak tree once stood, blown down in a tropical storm four or five years ago. I picture this large family, all together, happy, lively, in a huge home at the turn of the century in the booming city of Philadelphia. It is the same vision every time.

These trips to the cemetery always end at the same place, back at my mom. I sit with her the longest. I do not need to wonder or ponder or envision here at this grave, just remember. I sit in that beautiful, serene cemetery, surrounded by nature, surrounded by the ancestors of many people in many places, and remember her vividly and hope that someday, when I am long gone, someone will come by her grave and stop a moment to say hello, brush away the fallen leaves, clean the dirt from the engraved headstone, and just envision who she was in this world. Then they will move in and around the much older graves and do the same for them. Maybe, just maybe, that person will be one of my own descendants, a witch too perhaps following a long-held family tradition of visiting that cemetery at Samhain, who will ensure that, while we all may be gone, we are not forgotten.


Today's Spooktactular Song with Jennifer Rasmussen:

I know Omnia’s tribute to the Morrigan is a favorite for many, so crank it up.





Today's Recipe with Autumn Earthsong

Squash is one of my favorite veggies.  And they fit right in with your cooking this time of year.  They are still abundant at your grocery and baked in the oven in a multitude of ways, warm and good, they are a great comfort food this time of year!  I thought this recipe sounded really healthy and good!

Stir-Fried Squash

2 Tbs olive oil
2 cups zucchini, sliced
2 cups yellow squash, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
Optional: 1/4 cup chicken broth

Add olive oil to wok or large skillet.  Heat over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.  Add zucchini, squash and onion; cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 8-10 mins until veggies are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add the broth if mixture becomes too dry.
*Makes 4-6 servings

And this soup recipe sounds warm and comforting!

Curry Butternut and Apple Soup
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 tsp butter, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved and cored
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tb lime juice

Place squash halves cut-side up on a baking sheet.  Add one teaspoon butter to each half; season with salt and pepper. Place apples next to the squash on the pan.  Bake at 400* for 30-45 minutes, until fork tender.
Scoop out squash with a spoon.  In a large saucepan, combine squash pulp, apples, broth and seasonings. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until heated through.  Meanwhile, stir together sour cream and lime juice; set aside.  
Puree soup in batches in a blender until smooth; then reheat soup if you need to. 
Serve in soup bowls topped with sour cream
*Makes 4-6 servings

Now I’m heading to the grocery for some squash!

Blessings and Love, 
Autumn

Autumn Earthsong is back for the 3rd year as our resident Kitchen Witch. You may have seen her recipes in Imramma Magazine and The Sunday Stew as well.  Autumn has been a practicing Witch for 17 years and hails from Ohio. She is a wife, mother of two, and Nana to three busy little grandchildren.  Samhain is a favorite time of year for her….with her name indicating what Season she loves!  Cooking for family and friends this time of year is also a joy…..Especially this time of year!   Hearth, Fire, love of family and good food is how She brings Magick to her home.   You can also find her blogging at www.autumnearthsong.com.   She looks forward to sharing her recipes with you all and hopes that you have a very Blessed Samhain Season!



Stones and Crystals by Jennifer Hodson

Apatite is a great stone to help clear away confusion, apathy and negativity. 

This stone is a spiritual stone and a great influence on the aura. Apatite is great to use in past - life work and is able to access the energy levels of the Akashic records an individual has. Apatite is also a great dream stone.
Blue apatite is also a good stone for the throat chakra and for public speaking. A great stone to honor Gaia. 





Today's Giveaway from Touch of the Goddess!

Important note: We are now extending the deadline for giveaway entries until 9pm PDT (Midnight, Eastern time)

Past Life Reading from Touch of the Goddess!

By exploring your past life experiences you can identify and rectify problems and behaviours in this life. Past life vows, karma, past life relationships can be affecting you now. These sessions last 45-90 minutes and include a counseling session on how best to use the information we have gleaned. You are totally aware during the session and will remember your experiences. For your convenience, a typed summary will be e-mailed to you.

$45 value




Here's how to enter: (Canadians, skip this part and go to your section)

Like/Get Notifications on the Touch of the Goddess Facebook page . Come back, comment on this blog post and tell us that you did. 

Remember to add your email address to the page (if you don't want to post it publicly, simply send it via the contact form at the top of the page).

Want extra entries??

1. Go to the Touch of the Goddess Etsy shop. Come back and tell us in the comments section about your favorite item there.

2. Tweet about this giveaway. Comment with the link to your tweet.

3. Blog about this giveaway. Comment with the link to your blog post.

4. Follow Samhain's Sirens on Facebook. Comment, and let us know you did (if you're already following, just comment and say so!)

5. Follow this blog so you'll be in on all of the fabulous fun throughout October! Comment here that you did.

That gives you 6 chances to win this fabulous prize!

CANADIANS, LOOK HERE!

Canadians, your country requires that you answer questions instead of participating the American way ;) So, we're bringing you some good old-fashioned trivia about your country this year. Answer the question correctly in comments (don't forget to put your email address in the comment!) and you'll be given 6 entries in the giveaway!

Here's your question: 

At what time of year does Halifax Harbour freeze?


This giveaway is open until 9pm PDT tonight. Winner will be announced tomorrow  at 9am EDT. Remember, we have to notify the winner in email first, so those email addresses are critical for you to qualify for the giveaway!

Good luck everyone!

See you here tomorrow! Same time, same bat channel!
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Welcome back, grinning gremlins!

We have some very witchy happenings today!

Don't forget to send in your forget-me-not tributes and photos to Serena no later than Thursday, October 23rd.

Are you remembering to give us your email address when you enter the giveaways? It's a legal requirement. Good luck!





The Winner of the Verbena Lane Botanicals Giveaway is...

Rebecca Powell!!!






Samhain: A Time to Remember My Fallen Leaves by Johanna Lawson


October has always been my favorite month, my most loved time of year, and Samhain my favorite of the sabbats. Perhaps it is because I am an October baby. Yet I think it is more so because of the month itself, the mystery of this turn of the wheel, all of the beauty amongst all the decay, and a time to remember my fallen leaves.

Mother Earth, weak and tired from the weight of ripened fruits and vegetables and branches of abundant leaves and flowers, is lightening her load, sending leaves from the trees in a flourish of gold, yellow, orange and red. The sun is warm yet the breezes are cool and crisp and the rich earthy scents of wood smoke and decaying leaves linger on the currents. Hearty and sweet aromas of beef stews, candied apples, and cinnamon waft from kitchen windows and transport me back to autumns of yesteryear.

Patios, porches, doorsteps and yards are adorned in symbols of the final harvest like hay bales, cornstalks, gourds, pumpkins, and the jeweled colors of chrysanthemums, breathtaking against the skeletal remains of summer gardens. Everywhere there is magic, an electrical charge of power rippling around me. The veil is thinning. Sometimes I think I can see it, a dark violet shimmer and wave in the night sky behind the stars, like a curtain on the stage of the universe. At times, I feel it, a gentle tug at my soul, nudging me to fly free into the dark. Samhain is near.

I spend most of October with death and decay as I put my garden to rest for the winter. The once bursting garden beds are now full of withered and brown branches, dried seedpods, and spent blossoms. I layer them with fallen autumn leaves, burying them to be reborn in spring. In whispers, I thank each plant for their beauty and abundance as I cover them for another year and wish them a safe and peaceful slumber through the ice, snow and harsh winter winds. I harvest the last of the herbs, bringing them indoors for drying, my kitchen becoming a fragrant final resting place for hanging bunches of herbs and a reminder of the life that was, just a short time ago, growing all around me. Most of my summer visitors have flown south for the winter. Those that remain find shelter in bird houses, wood piles, and mounds of twigs and fallen leaves. After all my plants and shrubs are safely laid to rest for the year and my feathered and furried friends have settled in for the dark time of the year, I leave gifts of thanks to the spirits of nature, to Mother Earth, and to the flora and fauna throughout the garden.

Indoors, I prepare my home to welcome the dead, my beloved dead, my fallen leaves. In and around the usual autumn and Samhain décor upon my altar, I place a garland of autumn leaves and to it I pin the pictures of the family and friends, the people and pets, who slipped beyond the veil. The pictures have become too recent, no longer the faded sepia or black and white photos of great-grandparents or grandparents but the colorful images of parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and childhood friends, bringing tears to my eyes and a heart-wrenching sob to my throat as I place them on the altar, hardly believing that they are no longer only a phone call away. I spend many moments just staring at their faces smiling out at me from among the brightly colored autumn leaves, speaking to them, hoping for a reply, sometimes imagining that they wave back at me like the photographs in the Harry Potter movies. Perhaps it is my old Catholic upbringing but I leave the pictures there through November 2nd, All Souls Day. There are some people in those pictures who would appreciate that.

Samhain arrives and I let the magic of the day take over. The pumpkins are carved with jagged smiles and triangular eyes and noses and then lit. The soul cakes are made and set aside for later in the evening. I cleanse and bless the house and gardens, clearing the way for those people in the pictures to drop by for a bit, even if it is for a minute. The dining room table is set for the Ancestor Feast, the traditional meal my mother used to make at Halloween – beef stew, biscuits, and a sweet treat, usually an apple crisp. As always, there is one empty seat at the table with a full place setting for whoever wishes to slip back through the veil and join us. Family and friends gather around the table and stories are told, laughter is heard, and tears are shed through dinner. We remember all of those moments captured in the colorful pictures on the altar and many more moments frozen in time in our memories. Yes, they are here at the table, laughing with us, crying with us, missing us like we miss them. As dinner is cleared away, I quietly mourn the fact that my son is “too old” to trick-or-treat now and page through my mental photo album of every Halloween costume he wore through the years.

As the night winds down, I head outside to my patio to light the Samhain fire pit into which are thrown bunches of dried herbs from my garden and slips of paper on which are written the things I wish to leave behind me now. I mourn what once was and embrace what will be. I celebrate who I was (because we all change with each turn of the wheel) and lay the old me to rest. I rededicate myself to my ever-twisting Pagan path and welcome the new me. I sit under the night sky and the parted veil and talk to my fallen leaves, sharing with them just as I would if they were still just that phone call away. The fire dies down to glowing embers, the ashes of which I will scatter in the garden, and I head indoors for another piece of apple crisp and some spiced apple wine in a spot close to my altar. The Jack O’Lantern smiles down at me from there as I look down the road a bit, with tarot cards or runes, at what may lie ahead.

Yet, where there is death there is also life. I look around at all those who gather at the Ancestor Feast table and see my beloved dead in their faces, their habits, and their mannerisms, hear them in their voices and their laughter, and feel them pulsing in my veins. Many of them are present in the image I see in my mirror each day. I stroll around my garden and see the leaves mulching down to nourish the life that will grow in spring. The seed pods of this year’s plants will become next year’s plants. The costumes my son once wore may someday be worn again by his children. Parts of me fall way like the autumn leaves so that I may continue to grow. The wheel turns, the leaves fall, and life goes on.













Today’s song and video is sure to clear the sleep out of your eyes!
 How I wish I could move like this!




The Witches’ Kitchen by Autumn Earthsong

October is such a great month for kids…of course because it’s the same month that has Halloween!  The anticipation of the magickal night, picking out costumes, school parties, costume contests, visits to the pumpkin patch or corn maze…all too much fun!!

This recipe will be a hit with your kids…an easy snack mix to make and great to enjoy while watching Halloween movies.  It’s such a pretty mix too!  Serve in fun colored bags!

Beggar’s Night Snack Mix
2 bags microwave popcorn, popped
 1 bag candy corn
 1 16-ounce package white chocolate bark*
 Halloween sprinkles
 wax paper

Place the popped popcorn and candy corn in a very large bowl (you need plenty of room to stir the popcorn). Melt the white chocolate bark in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each time, until melted.
 Drizzle over the popcorn and candy corn and stir to coat each piece of popcorn. Pour the mixture over wax paper and spread into an even layer. 
Sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles and allow to cool for at least 15-30 minutes. Break into pieces.

Now I would make this even better by putting in some raisins or dried cherries and peanuts too if your kids aren’t allergic.  Pretzels, chocolate chips, Reeses pieces or candy coated chocolates in orange and brown and black can be substituted for the candy corn. Might take a bit more white chocolate if you do but well worth it! 

ENJOY, Autumn

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



Hemlock and Garnet Fortune Teller's Chest Giveaway

"Fortune Teller design" and comes with 8 herbs:

The chest has four drawers that are almost 2 inches deep. The chest has been decoupaged and handpainted.

The herbs that are included are:

Frankincense, Myrrh, Rowan berries, Sloe (blackthorn) berries, Hawthorne berries, Sweetgum balls, Sage, and Mugwort. They will each come in
their own little bag and will be labeled.

$50.00 Value


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 X 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 Hemlock and Garnet Etsy Shop (it'll show up as Saga's Cottage).  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 Hemlock and Garnet 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 8pm EDT tonight, as Loren is going out of town and needs to get it shipped out quickly. Announcement tomorrow, same time, same bat channel ;)

Questions? Email Serena.

Tune in tomorrow for a really big show ;) See you then!
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