Blessed Mabon

"Listen! The wind is rising and

the air is wild with leaves.

We have had our summer evenings,

now for October eves!"

~Humbert Wolfe

(a favorite)

Apples, Apple Pies,

Corn Stalks, Hay, Straw, Grapevine Wreaths

Ornamental Corn, Corn Bread, Corn Chowder,

Chrysanthemums

Gourds and Pumpkins...

All things to show your joy for Mabon!

"There is nothing in the world more peaceful

than apple leaves with an early moon."

~Alice Meynell

A blessed Mabon is wished to you, friend. Enjoy this season with magick, love and wonder.
Blessings,
~Rhiannon

'Tis the Season for Apples

In a few weeks, we will visit Willowbrook Farms for some apple picking and some fresh cider pressing. Mmmmmm, Mabon!



Here are a couple favorite apple recipes for you to print out and try. A simple way for you and your family to enjoy in the magic of the season.

~Vermont Baked Apples~

Prep. time: 10 min.    Bake time: 1 hr. 45 min.

6 large cooking apples (Rome Beauty or Cortland hold their shape well when baked)

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove apple cores beginning at stem, peel one-third of way down. Stand apples in shallow 13" by 9" baking dish. Place 1 1/2 teaspoons butter into cavity of each apple. Pour maple syrup over and around apples.

2. Bake apples, basting occasionally with syrup in baking dish, until tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Serve hot or cover and refrigerate to serve chilled.

~Optional~

Serve with whipped cream!

Makes 6 servings

~Apple Brown Betty~

Prep. time: 35 min.   Bake time: 50 min.

8 slices firm white bread, torn into 1/2" pieces

1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2  pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6 med.), peeled, cored and thinly sliced

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bread pieces in jelly-roll pan; bake, stirring occasionally, until very lightly toasted, 12-15 min. Grease shallow 2-quart baking dish.

2. In medium bowl, combine melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Add toasted bread pieces, tossing gently until evenly moistened.

3. In large bowl, combine apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, nutmeg and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to coat.

4. Place 1/2 cup toasted bread pieces in baking dish. Cover with half of apple mixture, top with 1 cup toasted bread pieces. Place remining apple mixture on top and sprinkle evenly with remaining bread pieces, leaving 1-inch border around edges.

5. Cover with foil and bake 40 min. Remove foil and bake until apples are tender and bread pieces have browned, about 10 min. longer. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

~Optional~

Be indulgent: Pour a little heavy cream over each serving!

Makes 8 servings

Blessings,

~Rhiannon~

Countdown to Mabon

Aahhh, Mabon. My time of the year.



A time for deep reflection. A time for rememberance for those who have passed. That in turn makes me more aware of what life has to offer...in the time of Mabon.

                        

                                         The Apple Gatherers by Frederick Morgan

The simple ways I look forward to spending Mabon will be with apple picking this year, for myself, my husband and son and anyone else I can tow along. On my menu of apple goodies, I will of course make an apple pie (or 3), apple cinnamon bread, caramel glazed apple cake (with Granny Smiths), an Apple Brown Betty, an Apple Charlotte and simple baked apples. Hm. That sounds quite ambitious. Well, we'll see how much energy I have :)

As always, there is the fabulous fall foliage. This picture above is not of my local area. This is the very blessed New England area. Blessed, as far as this nature lover is concerned, for having some of the countries most beautiful and stunning foliage, one that I plan to visit soon.



Aaaahhh, then of course there is the food, the feasting, the family gatherings. Raised by non-practicing Christian parents, we did not celebrate Mabon and the like. We did the usual Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. which I still celebrate today, although I celebrate in the pre-Christian traditions of Mabon, Samhain, Yule, etc. needless to say, this goes unbeknownst to my family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles). As many American pagans, we celebrate Thanksgiving, as it isn't a religious holiday but one of coming together and giving thanks and is high on my list of favorite Mabon celebrations...mainly for the food and family visits!

by Pierre Auguste

Now, being born and raised in Southern California, people are shocked to hear that I don't care for abundant, never-ending sunshine. I do love the beauty of a sunny day but like anything else, I like it in doses. Also, now living in the Southern California mountains, we have a whopping average annual of 310 days of sunshine! I'm one of those few, rare and perceived strange, Southern California natives that loves rain. I love rain, cloudy days, stormy and windy days (the darker and windier, the better!), occasional fog...and snow is always fun ;) But to get caught in a rainstorm, I'd like nothing better.

                                   

                                                            Seven Little Princes by Will Moses

Then, there's Samhain. My absolute favorite holiday of the year. No, it's not a recognized national holiday, but it is, nevertheless, for me and many fellow Pagans. I do not participate in group activities but am a solitary worker. I have my own quiet plans this year but for my family, I plan on a special dinner menu, my son's trick-or-treating, as usual, then home to a candle-lit house where we can feast on breads or pies and as always watch the Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride and any other Tim Burton fantasy that my husband will bring home. Later in the evening, I will find my quiet spot and celebrate quietly.

There is so much to do and to look forward to in every season but I'm counting down to Mabon's Magic. A favorite by Humbert Wolfe:

"Listen! The wind is rising and

the air is wild with leaves.

We have had our summer evenings,

now for October eves!"

Apple recipes to come...Blessings Friends!

Looking for Inspiration and a Good Nudge

Merry Meet Friends,

First I would like to say, my main reason for this blog is partly to get back into Spirit. Something I have, unfortunately, moved away from, progressively over the past 1-2 years. Life got in the way and it crept in and masked my senses to what I have always regarded as central to my being; my spirituality. My beliefs have and always will remain the same but I have felt lost, scattered, unfocused and short tempered, to only name a few, over the past couple of years. So, here I am, trying to re-kindle that Spirit that is my flame, get inspired by my fellow pagans and bring more balance to my life, that in turn, brings balance to all around me; my family, my household and Great Nature herself.

Last night, I thought I would lull myself off to sleep with a stack of dusty books, well-hidden beneath my nightstand from um, possible family visits. Non-believing family, that is. Dusty books with a wealth of life-giving inspiration just screaming at me to pick them up for too many moons to count. Last night, I did just that. I knew it was right. It was time...and as for 'lulling off to sleep', ha! They excited me, had me thinking thoughts I hadn't thought of in years; vegetable gardens, Sacred Space, raised flower beds, meditating, clothes drying lines, grounding and focusing and just being more aware, even decorating! Yeah, there's a bit of the witchy Martha Stewart in me.

So, today, I wake up to a much cooler day here in the mountains. One that whispers of Autumn. That, in itself gives me inspiration. Autumn is my time on the wheel. The time of the year this happy, gentle, whimsical soul came to be. The time of the year I chose for my year and a day to begin and end. The time of the year I gave birth to my own little Libra Goddess nearly 21 years ago. My Scorpio husband is also an Autumn baby. My beloved Mabon and Samhain take place and not to mention the colder temps, crisp apples, cherubic pumpkins, winds and whirling leaves that add to the magic of the season. It's time...

Time to be inspired, as I was saying. I woke up this morning with a purpose, a meaning, a focus, a flame. Well, to be honest, a small spark but it's such a different direction I had been on, it feels like a bonfire. A bonfire of inspiration :)
My other reason for the blog, was to not only get inspired, but hopefully I will inspire anyone else who feels the way I had; mentally listless, becoming unaware, becoming hardened and jaded and the list goes on.
Hopefully, I can also pick up some great gardening tips while on my new blog :) Although I have a natural green thumb, I have been presented with a new challenge; our new house (of 3 months) seems to have nutrient depleted soil and plenty of gophers and chipmunks that loooove to munch on anything I have tried to seed. I have ONE lonely sunflower and foxglove left of everything I planted. I tell ya, that sunflower is the most well-protected plant you've ever seen with it's netting and wires! But my green thumb is no match for the critters and soil problems. Raised garden beds is what I'm looking at. I need a little skill, a little info and a lot of blessings to get this thing going...but I have time. As Autumn looks like she'll be here soon, I'm only in the planning stage.
Well, thank you for reading my bit of rant, I look forward to returning each time with more inspiration, given and recieved :)
Blessings,
Rhiannon