ANCESTRAL FOOD. HERBAL WISDOM. MAGICAL COOKERY. SEASONAL CELEBRATION.
Right now every bakery to big-box superstore that is open has yeasty, doughy Hot Cross Buns for sale. Most feature large swipes of thick white icing that are irresistible, at least to me. Their popular longevity is amazing considering their history dates back to the dawn of civilization! According to a variety of food scholars, […]
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Coloured with magical dyes and painted with magical symbols, eggs have played a central role in spring rites and feasts for thousands of years. From Egypt, Persia, Russia to Europe eggs were sacred objects embodying the essence of life. For northern European peoples eggs embodied the fertilizing power of the spring sun because it was […]
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“Rose is sent to earth by the gardeners of paradise for empowering the mind, the eye and the spirit.” Rumi This is the time of year I release my stingy hold over my stores of dried roses and allow myself to enjoy their enchanting presence more liberally in teas, in cooking and in treats. I […]
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The grace of a grey bannock is in the baking of it… Scottish Proverb Oatcakes or Bannocks were traditionally eaten on old-world feast days to mark the changing seasons. And roundabout Feb 1st or 2nd, they were known as “Bannoch of Bride” in honor of St. Bride or Brìghde. St Bride of Brightness, as she […]
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Across the world, for thousands of years, our ancestors celebrated the turn of the seasons through sacred feasts and plenty of magic. Marking the astrological alignments of the sun and moon, theses activities had one central purpose – to harmonize human activity with the great cycles and forces of nature, thereby ensuring fertility, abundance and […]
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Long before Santa charioted his flying steeds across our mythical skies, it was the female reindeer who drew the sleigh of the sun goddess at Winter Solstice. It was when we “Christianized” the pagan traditions of winter, that the white-bearded man i.e. “Father Christmas” was born. Today it is her beloved image that adorns Christmas […]
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“May, queen of blossoms, and fulfilling flowers, what pretty music Shall we charm the hours? Wilt thou have pipe and reed, Blown in the open mead? Or to the lute give heed, in the green bowers.”— Lord Edward Thurlow Sacred to fairies, witches, and the goddesses of old, no tree is more central to “Going a […]
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It’s the season when we tell children the tales of Santa and his flying reindeer. But this year why not tell the story of the sacred “Deer Mother” of old? Taking flight from the darkest, longest night of the year, it was she who brought the life-giving light of the sun back to the land, […]
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Okay, so let’s start by going back to the very beginning – women and wild food. Because once upon a time all food was wild – and it was the women who gathered it. And from harvest to preparation to consumption, no aspect of food production was left untouched by magical ritual. Many ecofeminists see […]
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“When we learned to cook is when we became truly human, but we’ve lost touch with how that food got to our plates.” Michael Pollan in Cooked. As is so often the case with history, the “herstory” tends to get left out – and food is no exception. While there are as many books on food […]
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Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about witches. Not just because top ten lists of hot tv witches and sexy Halloween selfies currently swamp my social media feeds, but because my tables and shelves are currently so laden with herbs, plants, berries, phials and bottles that if an inquisitor of old were to […]
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This magical Venus Vinegar is composed of the most vitalizing wild foods, herbs and medicines offered by mother nature this season. And it is no ordinary herbal vinegar, but a nutrient-rich, beautifying, fortifying tonic that is fruity, tangy, spicy and earthy all in one. By balancing the fruits, shoots, seeds that embody the energetic principles […]
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