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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in fall equinox

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Joining the Dance

I start awake with the prickling knowledge that someone is in the room.

Every house has its secrets. I am about to learn one.

My eyes fly open. A luminescence hovers mid-air at the foot of the bed.

We'd been in the house nine months. My bedroom faces west, so I was accustomed to wake to darkness.

But now a shaft of red-gold, ancestral light slants in, spans the room, and illumines the windows of the west.

Minneapolis is a four-square city, its good Midwestern street-grid laid out cardinally. As the Sun rises due east at the equinoxes in his annual journey along the horizon, his light shines in through the east window, streams in a thick, tangible column down the hall, and into my bedroom on the west.

Like something out of New Grange.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Chaff from the Harvest

When you harvest most items, there’s always something you discard whether it’s the vines or the stalks.  I’ve been seeing all these ads about summer only has so many weekends and it is coming to a close.

It’s made me think of what I’m harvesting from my summer.  What have I accomplished this summer?  What do I need to keep in my life and keep going with?  What do I need to let go of?  

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Wining and Dining

Beer enthusiasts may beg to differ, but there is no other alcoholic beverage that compliments food more splendidly than wine. For this Autumnal Equinox, get in the kitchen and see what can be whipped up for a pairing feast. To get your party started right, try the following impressive appetizer and welcome your guests with a glass of dry sparkling wine to set a festive tone. I used it  at a fall wine party a few years back, and it was very well-received.

DATES STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE (from WILLIAMS-SONOMA ENTERTAINING, by George Dolese)
(Serves 6)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs
24 large dates, preferably Medjool
3/4 lb. soft fresh goat cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly oil a baking dish just large enough to hold the dates in a single layer. In a small frying pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring constantly, until the bread crumbs are evenly golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the bread crumbs to a plate, and let cool.

With a small knife, make a a small lengthwise incision in each date. Carefully remove the pits. Stuff 1 tablespoon of the goat cheese  into the cavity left by each dates's pit. Arrange the dates, with goat cheese side facing upward, in the prepared dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top. (The dates can be prepared up to this point up to 24 hours in advance. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.)

Bake the dates until warmed through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm.

For the main dish, cook up your favorite couscous and toss with some stir-fried and roughly chopped fall produce of the harvest. Toss everything together lightly with some extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs. Serve it up with a fruity Syrah or Red Zinfandel.

Finish with a dessert plate of assorted apples, grapes, berries and locally-made chocolate. Match with a ruby port or a sassy Riesling. Assign each guest a bottle to bring for one of your courses, and be sure to have some mellow, romantic tunes playing throughout your party. If a round of Indian Leg Wrestling breaks out later, don't say I didn't warn you. ; )

Photo "Wines and Vines," by Xedos4 from freedigitalphotos.net

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Sorry about the lack of posts this month!  I've been working a lot of extra hours at my day job and then I was busy with Sabbat celebrations.  In that spirit, I thought I would share a couple of Autumn Equinox related recipes from my personal formulary.

Apothecary by Sable Aradia.  Copyright (c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Apothecary by Sable Aradia. Copyright (c) 2015. All rights reserved.

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August 2015 106Supplies

  • Items from nature for a collaborative nature mandala: leaves, stones, acorns, seeds, twigs, feathers, and other items from nature (mindfully collected and ideally found on ground). If a group ritual, ask each person to bring a quantity of something to add to the mandala. If it is a family ritual, go out together before moonrise to collect your items. Note: Depending on size, composition, energy, and patience of the group, you may wish to create the mandala together first before beginning the rest of the ritual and then gather around it for the rest of the ritual itself.
  • Paper leaves (can be simply cut out ovals using scrap paper) or dry, fallen leaves + markers to write on them.
  • Optional: drums, rattles, or bells
  • Optional: a candles for each participant (place around outer edge of nature mandala)

Before the ritual: ask each person to respond to the prompt: “my bounty is” and collate the responses into a collaborative bounty poem. If you are working alone, respond to this prompt on your own and form a poem for yourself (example poem)

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

Weed it out
cast it off
let it go.b2ap3_thumbnail_September-2014-004.JPG

Let it sink
into the body of the Earth
where it will be recycled
renewed
refreshed
reborn.

Let the seeds drift where they may
let your fear drift where it may.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Sunsteads and Evendays

English: the sacred language of the Witches.

“Solstice” and “equinox” are fine old words with a rolling, Latinate solemnity to them, but to my ear they have a rather clinical sound. Wishing someone a happy Equinox always sounds a little stilted to me. When I'm snugged up in bed with another guy, we're probably not going to talk about “penises.” Chances are, if we're talking, we'll use something a little more intimate instead.

A while back I sat down with my friend Ro (“Granny”) NicBourne to see what we could come up with. We pulled my old grad school Anglo-Saxon dictionary off the shelf and gave it a look-see.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Thanks Archer, I'm glad you like it. Tell your fiends [sic]. And since we're within the Evenday Thirtnight, I can still wish you a
  • Archer
    Archer says #
    I always enjoy your work Steven and I especially appreciate your love of language. "Sunstead" and "evenday" do sound so satisfying

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