The Mystical Cauldron


Mabon Edition - September 2008




Table of Contents

Mabon Activities

Mabon Poem

Mabon Thoughts

Recipes for the Mabon Feast



Mabon, the Witches' Thanksgiving is, and should be, a time of great rejoicing. Early in the year we planted our seeds (even those of us who do not live on a farm). Perhaps our seeds were of a more personal nature; such as improving our self esteem, or making a daily effort to help others, or remembering to be thankful for what we have even when it may not be what we want. Our harvests have reached maturity and we have seen the fruits of our labors manifest... whether those labors were physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

This is the time of year when it is so important to remind ourselves of just how bountiful our lives really are. Do you have a roof over your head? Food in your stomach? Shoes on your feet? A job? People who love and care about you? Then you are 'richer' than a good many other people who live in our country... not to mention the millions around the world whose wildest dreams might not even hold such riches as you and I take for granted every day.

Mabon (or the Autumn Equinox) is a time of balance, which makes it the perfect time for us to bring ourselves into balance. Is your ego over inflated? Do you find yourself overwhelmed with stress? Is there anything in your life that just feels unbalanced or 'out of whack'? Well, my friend, now is a good time to work on bringing it into balance as we honor the equal day and night. If you aren't sure how to go about this, try meditating on the true meaning of the Equinox. Ask The Goddess (Demeter or Gaia) or the God (Dionysius or Bacchus) to help you get in touch with that which you seek.

Remember though that even as you seek, you must be kind to yourself in the seeking for even if you have not yet met all your goals or found all you seek, it is still a bountiful harvest for you because you have learned and grown, you have changed and improved during this year and you will continue to do so. As long as you strive to maintain balance and work to better yourself, how can you have less than a bountiful harvest at Mabon?


Mabon Activities

There are many ways to celebrate Mabon and each should help us remember what we are celebrating. Who knows, it may also help us remember why we chose to walk this spiritual path to begin with...

  • As a family (or a coven) collect non-perishable food items and donate them to a local food pantry.

  • Volunteer at a local homeless shelter.

  • Make a point of telling the people you love how thankful you are to have them in your life.

  • Talk to your neighborhood children... smile and wave at them when you pass.

  • Volunteer at a nursing home.

  • As a family (or a coven), go to a local orchard and harvest your own fruit.

  • Donate half (or more) of what you harvested to a local homeless shelter.

  • Invite someone who otherwise would have no one to share Mabon with, to have dinner with you. (If they would not understand your way of celebrating, invite them to dinner on another day.)




Mabon Poem


© Angelus Webweaver 2003


Mabon is upon us,
Sweet Autumn Equinox
The time of hope and balance
Of harvesting our crops
When day and night are equal
As on Ostara day
We share our food, our hope, our love,
Our God and Goddess' way.
Today we must remember...
Just what this day's about.
To thank the Gods for what we have
And share with those without.
We keep some of our harvest
And give the rest away.
For some in life do not have much
And some of us have more.
So take a risk and share your love
And open your heart's door.
For Mabon is a chance to show
Our commonality.
For no matter what path we may walk
We are all family.


Mabon Thoughts


Have a Bowl of Abundance Crisp a la' Mode! by our own Sarah Yves

So, there we were my toddler and I locked in rush hour traffic. It was hot. It was aggravating. I was desperate. A woman can only sing so many chants, nursery songs and nonsensical, made up lyrics before she and her child snap. My wee little man was howling. We had just come within an Athame's width of being sideswiped and for the first time in my life I had flipped a fellow driver the bird. Life was not looking too rosy friends and oh how low I had sunk. Naturally, my mind started to turn negative and bitter. What stopped me from turning into a road raging break down lane driving maniac? Apples. Yup, you read correctly... apples.

I started to think about my web article for Mabon and the lovely much maligned apple came to my mind. What other fruit has had such a torrid history; what other fruit is blamed for the fall of the human race (according to some biblical interpretations). The apple has a heady fragrant luscious sensuality to it. Not to mention that bold vital lifeblood color which hides a perfect pentacle within it's sphere. Apples are the fruit of life's abundance and it's sweetness through the bitter bite of adversities skin. That is probably why the apple is featured in so many olde love spells.

Some ideas to promote abundance in your life using the lovely apple:

Make a Prosperity Drawing Wreath: String quarter (as in 25 cent pieces) width apple slices on parchment string. Coat apples and string with citric acid (in a pinch you can use vitamin C pills dissolved into a little water) and dry. Make into special prosperity drawing wreaths with lovely forest foraged greenery (please make sure you aren't getting into poison oak or ivy, take a forest field guide with you to make sure). Make sure you cleanse and consecrate your wreath supplies before construction and it is very important you charge the finished Prosperity Wreath with your desired intent. Every time you look at your wreath think about how the Goddess and God have blessed you and your loved ones with abundance.

Make a Quickie Special Prosperity or Home Tranquility Drawing Potpourri: Gather together cloves, thinly sliced apples, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, a bit of sacred salt, some brown sugar and spring water. Infuse this lovely mixture with your intent and visualize that intent wafting in your door or window attracted to the scent. Please make sure that your intent is a positive one, remember something is going to be coming into your home. Slowly simmer this on the back burner of your stove to fragrance your home for hours. Please be careful and do not leave unattended. This trick makes a great before coven meeting air and space clarifier, as most people are not allergic to the smell of apple pie. You might actually want to have a wonderful apple desert handy for after the meeting!

Make an Abundance Apple Crisp Desert:
What better way to bring abundance into your life than to share abundance with those you love!

Ingredients you'll need:

1 ½ Cups shifted Whole Wheat or Graham Flour.

1 Cup of Steel Rolled Quick Oats

1 Cup of Light Brown Sugar

½ Tsp of Sacred Sea Salt

½ Tsp of Baking Soda

½ Cup of Sweet Cream Butter

Filling

6 to 8 Horizontally Sliced (1/4 inch thick). Apples sliced like this make a natural pentagram.

¼ Cup Turbinado Sugar (Raw Sugar) or if you must White Sugar

1 Tsp of Cinnamon

½ Tbl of Real Vanilla Extract (Notice I DID NOT SAY Imitation)

1 Tsp of Lemon Juice (or in a pinch Orange works well)

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. (Did you know that according to Feng Shui your oven brings in prosperity?)

2. Combine your flour, oats, sugar, salt and baking soda thoroughly in a large glass bowl.

3. Using a fork cut your butter into this mixture no more than a ¼ inch pat at a time.

4. Blend the ingredients with your fork until mixed well. Mixture will be uniform and sort of pebbly. While your cutting the butter into the dry ingredients, "work" your intent or love and abundance into the mixture clockwise.

5. Lightly butter a 9-inch square glass pan.

6. Gently turn and mix your apples, Turbinado sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and lemon juice until apples are well coated.

7. Place apples in buttered pan, completely covering the bottom evenly. While you're placing your apples in the pan name and see each apple or small handful of apple mixture as your intent or as love and abundance.

8. Cover your apples with your flour and oat mixture. Infuse whole mixture with health, love, abundance and good tidings for anyone who partakes of your abundance apple crisp.

9. Slide your spell into your oven and bake for about 45 minutes.

10. Serve 5 of your best friends some Abundance Apple Crisp with a little Love a la Mode and spread the overall feeling of prosperity and joy!

The above craft ideas and recipe are intended to help the reader recognize and infuse their life with abundance, joy and love. But as with any spell, INTENT is everything! Whatever you put out my dears is what you will bring in. So if your intent is terribly negative or manipulative, ahhhh well do I have to finish this statement? Tune in next time... same broom time, same broom channel for our next installment. Till Then May Your Blessings Be Abundant and May You Have the Ability to See Them!



More Mabon Recipes

Angel's 'Hot Damn' Apple Pie

Created by Angelus for Dreamweaver in 1999


6-8 crisp sweet/tart apples (like Granny Smith or Macintosh) cored and sliced into1/4 inch thick slices

1 small bag Brach's Cinnamon Imperials candies (8-10 oz.)

2-4 Tbl butter

1-2 Tbl cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1/4 - 1/3 C "Hot Damn" Schnapps (OPTIONAL)

2 pie-crust (I like refrigerated pre-prepared pie crusts for convenience but frozen pre-prepared pie crusts work well also. Of course, if you're ambitious, you can always make them from scratch!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place pie crust in pie tin, Pierce the bottom with a fork a few times.

3. Place the sliced apples and the Cinnamon Imperials in a medium-large saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently (but being careful not to break the apples up), until the candies melt. By this time, there will be quite a bit of liquid in the pan.

4. Add the butter and the salt into the apple mixture stir, allowing butter to melt. (Now is the time when I taste the mixture to make sure that it has enough salt and to adjust the butter content.... the butter mellows the hot cinnamon a bit... the more butter, the mellower the cinnamon flavor)

5. If you are going to add the Snapps, now is the time to do so. If you aren't going to add it, just go on to the next step.

6. In a very small dish, mix the corn starch with just enough water to make it slightly thin. Then pour it into the apple mixture and stir it in.

7. Once the mixture has come back to a boil and thickened slightly, remove it from the heat.

8. Pour the apple mixture into the pie shell then place the top crust over the pie.

9. Cut a vent hole in the center of the top crust, seal the edges and decorate as you like. Lightly sprinkle the crust with sugar.

10. Bake until crust is golden brown (approximatly 15-25 minutes)

11. For best results, let cool completely before cutting and serving.


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Peach Preserves


2 lbs peaches (freestone peaches are a wonderful choice)

3 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Water


Directions

1. Peel peaches. Remove pits. Cut each peach into 6 or 8 pieces.

2. Combine sugar and water. Boil 5 minutes.

3. Add fruit.

4. Boil slowly until fruit is clear and juice is thick.

5. Pour mixture into sterile canning jars and seal.

Unless you can your own food on a regular basis, it would be best to store these preserves in the refrigerator.


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Blue Cranberry Sauce


1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries

1 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Wash and pick over cranberries. Place in a medium saucepan with water, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, stir and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.

2. Slightly mash the cranberries with the back of a wooden spoon to insure all skins are broken.

3.Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Mix well.

4. Remove from heat and mix in the blueberries (don't be afraid to break a few, but don't over mash either). The sauce will thicken as it cools.

5. Transfer to a bowl, cool slightly and place plastic wrap directly on top of sauce to cover. Refrigerate until chilled.


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Baked Pears


6 fresh bartlett pears

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Core pears and remove skin halfway down.

3. Combine brown sugar, walnuts and butter.

4. Fill center of each pear with mixture.

5. Place pears in a square baking pan.

6. Pour juice over pears and sprinkle with lemon and orange zest.

7. Bake 1 hour. Baste occasionally.

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Funky Corn

with thanks to our own Faery Dancer for the yummyness of this recipe!!


1 lb bag frozen corn kernels

1 stick real butter

8 oz. Cream Cheese

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium-large bowl

2. Cover and microwave 5 minutes.

3. Remove from microwave and stir.

4. Repeat process until butter and cream cheese are melted and corn is hot.

I know what you're thinking... this sounds funky (that's where it got its name) but it really does taste wonderful. We usually have to make a triple or quadruple batch for coven's Sabbats.

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Sweet Potato Pie


4 large sweet potatoes

2 cups sugar

1 stick butter

1 pinch cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

1 store-bought pie crust

1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks. Place chunks into a large pan with water and boil them until fork-tender.

3. Drain and mash thoroughly.

4. Melt the butter and pour it, the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and milk in the bowl of potatoes. Stir until well mixed.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can make a meringue topping by blending confectionary sugar with egg whites and beating them until stiff. Then, when the pie is almost done, spread the meringue thinly across the top, covering it completely. Continue baking until the meringue turns light brown. If you use the meringue, you can add the egg yokes to the pie if you like, for extra richness.



Table of Contents

Mabon Activities

Mabon Poem

Mabon Thoughts

Recipes for the Mabon Feast

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