Jeudi: Root Work

I have been asked on occasion whether or not the workings of root workers down through the ages are based on anything besides "mumbo-jumbo" and "oogie-googie myths." It's a fair question, really, and not a surprising one in our current anti-religious political climate. Does bayberry really draw wealth? Will rosemary water in your floor wash truly bring peace to your home? Can a white candle help one achieve healing? The questions go on and on.

There is a deeper issue at stake, of course, and that is the issue of belief. If you believe - truly believe - in the efficacy of anything, you will perceive that it has helped you. Changing your mindset is the most important part of any magickal system. On the other hand, much of root work is based on very old and, unfortunately, frequently forgotten knowledge of healing herbs, minerals and other natural formulas. Rosemary water brings peace and piece of mind to a household because its scent soothes the anxiety receptors in the brain. This has been proven by clinical research and so have a hundred other little notes in the ongoing hymn that is magick.

Another point in this discussion is the long standing use of so called "personal concerns" in root work and hoodoo. The use of bodily effluvia and things that have come in contact with same is an established tradition in these magickal disciplines. Everything from simple strands of hair to very private secretions such as menstrual blood are used. It makes sense to think that the getting of someone else's very personal items - underwear, hair, foot tracks, photographs - would allow one to have control over that person and these types of workings are certainly older than hoodoo.

One of the most effective of the "personal concerns" tricks - and one that is a clear illustration of root work being very plausible - involves keeping your dog from straying away.

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for rescuing dogs. But sometimes the dog you bring home is still pining for his or her old environment - no matter how abusive it may have been. This was certainly the case with our Saint Thor who, for a few weeks after we took him in, would find any excuse to run away looking, one has to imagine, for where he used to live. It was quite distressing, but root work gave me two options for a simple solution.

The first - and depending on your sensibilities least troublesome - is to make sure that something you have worn is spread out in the dog's chosen sleeping area(s). An old, unwashed t-shirt is the very best option. Many dogs will become very fond of sleeping on your clothes but be warned: one of the Shar-Peis we had in California took to clothing so well that he would pilfer items out of the hamper. I'm sure you can imagine the ones old Magic liked the best...

The second is an even older trick that goes back to the days when people would occasionally "borrow" good hunting and/or guard dogs from one another. For this working you'll need to go without showering and deodorant for a day. Once your body's scent has returned after its almost permanent cultural sterilization, rub a few pieces of bread under your armpits and mix them with your dog's food. This need not be repeated unless you have a particularly stubborn free spirit, then you can work the trick as often as you like. A little sweat on his bread isn't going to trouble your dog.

Both of these workings have a sound explanation for their efficacy. Dogs, like their wolf ancestors, live by their noses. Scent creates pack bonds and humans have become a dog's pack. As your new best friend becomes familiar with your scent he also becomes comfortable with being part of your pack. It's the simple use of the animal's nature to make you both happy together.

And that is the best outcome of all, no matter how you slice it.

Header: Man's Best Friend by Repin via Wikimedia

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

We're having a troublesome day here at chez Pauline. It is time to say good-bye to our very old and very sick Saint Bernard, Thor. The wait for the vet appointment at 11:30 Alaska time is like slow torture. How fortunate we are, though, to be able to stop the animal's pain and see an old friend off to a better place.

My thoughts turn to something that will help bring peace and piece of mind to me and my family as we say adieu to one of our own. I'm wishing I had a few bachelor buttons, those pretty blue blooms also known as corn flowers, to help me do the trick.

In Wicca, corn flowers are used to draw and/or prognosticate about love. Women should wear them on the lapel as a corsage to attract affection. Scott Cunningham advises that men should carry a flower in their pocket. The freshness or wilting of the flower at the end of the day is said to predict future success - or lack thereof - in love.

In hoodoo, the flowers are steeped in water along with other blue or bluish-purple blooms like periwinkle and forget-me-not. Rosemary, which is very affective at improving one's mood, is often added as well. The water is strained and used to sprinkle in the corners of the home to bring peace to those who live there, people and animals alike. You can add some of the water to your floor wash to achieve the same end.

Dried corn flowers are also sprinkled into the corners of a room where a fight has occurred. This is said to restore harmony to the environment as well as relax the tensions of those who are at odds.

As an aside, the forget-me-not, which happens to be Alaska's state flower, is said to bring peace and prosperity to a home when grown in the kitchen. I have a big yellow pot with a thriving forget-me-not in our kitchen. With luck, it will help us through this difficult process. Bonne chance ~

Header: Letters by Annie Stegg via American Gallery

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

This time of year there is a lot of talk about peace. Peace on Earth, wishes of peace and, of course, peace in the home. One can imagine all those things more readily in the stillness of the season. But stillness, and even peace, are not usually the reality of this time of year. Quite the opposite, actually. How handy that hoodoo has a little helper for just that problem.

Motherwort, a fuzzy-leafed, bitter member of the mint family, comes to the rescue. Though not much thought of in other magickal disciplines - Scott Cunningham doesn't even mention is in his all-inclusive Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs - motherwort has been a boon to many a hoodoo homekeeper.

The dried herb is brewed into a tea, which it should be said is not for drinking. The tincture is added to bathwater to bring calm to fussy children and grouchy adults. A bit of the tea can also be added to the clothes washer to achieve the same results. In the past, underwear in particular was washed with motherwort tea since that particular article of clothing would invariably touch the skin of the wearer.

The tea can be included in a floor wash to encourage not only the family but guests in the home to interact peacefully. Rub your doorways and window sills with the same mixture to protect from unwanted visitors and belligerent intruders.

Another nice use for motherwort is to collect a photo of each member of your household - so much the better if it is just one picture and everyone is gathered happily together - and put them/it in an envelope or box with a sprinkling of dried motherwort. Tuck the container away in the bottom of a drawer or under your bed. Done with intention, this trick will keep peace and love flowing among the members of the family. Don't forget to include your pets.

Motherwort is believed to have gotten its unusual name because it was used by midwives to calm and relax pregnant women and women in labor. This application is frowned upon now as the herb tends to relax not only the mind and the muscles but the clotting process as well, creating the potential for hemorrhage.

Joy and peace to you and your families, then. Take a moment at some point during this long holiday season to enjoy the blessings of silence and rest. They can do wonders not only for the body but for the soul as well. Bonne chance ~

Header: A vintage greeting card via Mid-Century

Jeudi: Root Work

People want to protect what is theirs.  Whether it's just a pair of shoes, maybe the only ones we have, or an entire home full of stuff - half of which we keep telling ourselves we should give away or sell - we want to keep it and the people inside of it safe.

This primal need goes back to habits that probably began with our prehistoric ancestors.  Anthropologist note that the urge to protect what is ours tends to grow stronger at night and even in artificial darkness.  Our brains, no matter how tweaked by technology that evolution has not yet found a fit for, still remember the predators in the dark who would do us harm or even eat us whole.  We want to fend them off almost instinctively.  For most humans, that means doing something.

Historians call the action of guarding our homes at night shutting, or sometimes locking, in or down.  In Europe, clear documentation of this begins in the post-Roman era, when families became more nuclear and less extended and putting slaves on guard was no longer an option for most.  Animals and people would be brought into the home/barn and doors and shutters would be closed and locked.  Everyone was in for the night at that point and, baring a catastrophe like fire or earthquake, there would be no venturing outside until morning.

Today, most of us do the same thing. The predator at the mouth of the cave is no longer a wild animal but he (face it, 99.9 times out of 100 the person trying to break into a home is a man) could potentially be equally as savage.  Close the windows, lock the doors, make the rounds just to be sure before you go to bed.  The word paranoid might come to mind but that is an over-simplification.  There is real danger in our world and a few extra precautions cannot hurt.

That's why, as I lay in bed each night, I call up the four massive gargoyles who stand at the corners of my home to keep watch while we sleep.  In my mind, these four handymen look very much like the demonic mountain king in Disney's original Fantasia.  You know, the finally segment set to Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain"?  They work for me probably because that movie stuck with me as a kid and I'm a great lover of gargoyles.  I see them in mind's eye quite clearly and happily thank them in the morning for their help and hard work. 

I also call on ravens and wolves, two animals who I have always had an affinity for, to help out in keeping home and hearth safe.  Please do not mistake this for a familiar situation, as is common in Wicca.  That's great if it works for you, however if you happen to be a rabbit or a garter snake person, a larger, and yes, more potentially vicious animal might be in order.

Connect with creatures, or even humanoid forms such as samurai, Vikings or angels, that work for you.  As to animals, go big if you like: basilisks, griffins, lions, elephants, heck, I have a friend who has a Tyrannosaurus Rex running around his yard at all times of the day and night.  The visualizations and connections are key; if you can see these protectors clearly in your mind's eye, you're well on your way to securing their assistance.

Also, a sing-song or rhyming chant can sometimes help with this kind of visualization and, once you memorize your chant, you can connect to the visualization almost immediately upon beginning it.  I borrowed a bit from Silver RavenWolf, and begin my chant each night with "My house has four corners, one, two, three four; four ancient guardians protect her from rafters to core." 

From there the connection is made, and though my little rhyme goes on, I'll let you modify your own to your taste.  In times like these, to secure peace we must prepare for war, even on the home front.  Bonne chance ~


Header: The Flight Into Egypt by Adam Elsheimer c 1609 via Old Paint

Samedi: The Black Dog

I was poking through my books, looking for inspiration for a Halloween short story contest that a friend told me about, when I remembered the story of the churchyard guardian known in European folklore as the Church Grim.

I first heard a similar tale in Haiti, where it is believed that the first person buried in a churchyard will become its guardian, looking after those buried there to ensure that bokors do not use the body parts - or indeed the whole bodies - of the dead for evil purposes.  This is also the origin of the legend of the Church Grim in both Celtic and Teutonic lore.  It seems reasonable to imagine that the belief translated to Haitian Voudon through either French belief, or the superstitions of indentured servants brought from Ireland.  Perhaps curiously, the Church Grim is not much part of New Orleans Voodoo lore.

In Northern France and the British Isles, the Church Grim was also considered a guardian of a churchyard but it came in the form of an animal, most often a black dog.  The ancient belief that the first person buried in a churchyard would become its guardian led to concern for the soul of that dead person once Christianity took hold.  How would they find their reward in Heaven - or punishment in Hell or Purgatory - if the soul was tied to earth?  The solution was to bury an animal in the churchyard first, sometimes unfortunately while the poor thing was still alive, to have it take up the position of protector of the dead.

As noted, people of Celtic descent usually chose a dog for the duty; the larger and blacker the dog, the better.  With the advent of Catholicism, the dog's duty expanded from guardian against witches and sorcerers to protector against the Devil.  It was said that a churchyard that had a Grim was the best place to be buried, for the angry spirit of the dog would keep the Devil from dragging your soul off to Hell.  Whether or not that meant you got a free pass to Heaven is left out of the folklore, however.

In Teutonic countries, the legend remained essentially the same but the animal differed.  In Sweden, during the vary early days of Christianity, a lamb was sometimes slaughtered and buried under the altar stone of a new church.  This lamb, often black, was from then on referred to as the kyrkogrim who defended the dead against the Devil.  Meanwhile, in Denmark and Hanover, the Grim came in the form of a black, female pig.  Known as the kirkegrim or "grave-sow" she did the same duty on her graveyard turf.

All of these sacrificial animals get a bit of their own back in the end.  It was universally believed that seeing the Church Grim, and in Celtic countries hearing its howl or bark as well, was a certain sign that death awaited the beholder. 

And that, you have to admit, is a pretty good story.

Header: The Church Grim via Trapped by Monsters (see the sidebar)

Vendredi: Chthonian Histories

When my dear friend Undine passed along a link to Romanian artist Mihai Mihu’s Lego interpretation of Dante’s Inferno, I got inspired.  Seriously: Dante plus amazing Lego art equals a chthonian post. 

Today, then, I offer my overview of the brilliant Dante Alighieri’s vision of Hell with its nine progressively more horrific circles.  You can follow along with Mihu’s astoundingly detailed masterwork, if you like.

The Forest or Hell’s Antechamber:  Here Dante finds himself rather suddenly, without much knowledge of how he got there:

Midway upon the journey of our life / I found myself within a forest dark, / For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

Dante encounters wild beasts and finally meets Virgil, the Roman poet, who offers to lead him on his quest.  The two bards converse briefly with the shade of Dante’s great platonic love, Beatrice, “who did bid you here.”  Then they move onward to the now famous gate of Hell: “All hope abandon, ye who enter in!”

The First Circle: Either fearless or reckless, the two poets pass through the portal to behold the river Acheron and the ancient boatman Charon “the demon, with the eyes of glede.”  They are ferried across with the moaning souls of the damned to Limbo, where the “innocent souls” of those who accomplished nothing, including evil, in life live hopelessly.  Also here, in a more pleasant glade, are the shades of pre-Christian heroes and poets; these are righteous souls who are denied Heaven only by an accident of birth.

The Second Circle: At the lip of a great chasm, Dante and Virgil witness the punishment of the lustful: “The infernal hurricane that never rests.”  Here, Dante recognizes Cleopatra and Helen of Troy buffeted by the unending winds.  He also converses with the shades of Paolo and Francesca, whose story of star crossed love and murder at the hand of her husband causes Dante to “swoon away as if I had been dying.”

The Third Circle: The poets descend and meet Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hell whom Virgil seems to know.  The great dog guards the gates of the realm of the gluttons, where those who were avaricious in life are forever pelted by painful, freezing rain as they wallow in mud.  Here Virgil meets Pluto and reprimands him: “Be silent, thou accursed wolf.”

The Fourth Circle: Here those who horded their wealth and longed only for money are doomed to Sisyphus fate: they must push enormous bags of coin uphill, only to repeat the process over and over for eternity.

The Fifth Circle: Dante and Virgil come to the river Styx where the irascible, “those whom anger overcame,” are condemned to flail in the filthy water.  While being taken across the river by a second boatman, Phlegyas, Dante is confronted by the shade of Philippo Argenti who struggles to climb into the boat.  Virgil handles this situation: “Whereat my wary Master thrust him back.”

The Sixth Circle: On the far bank of the Styx, Dante and Virgil are confronted by the grim City of Dis.  The ancient Furies of Greek mythos live here and heretics are tortured beneath them.  These sad souls “make themselves audible by doleful sighs” from where they are walled away in sulphur spewing tombs.

The Seventh Circle: The poets descend past the City of Dis and enter the wood of the suicides.  Those who took their own lives have become living trees condemned to feel every branch that snaps off their bodies, which bleed when inflicted with this torture.  Beyond, blasphemers are pelted with fiery rain in an endless desert.  Nearby, the violent are perpetually sunk in a bloody lake.

The Eighth Circle: Descending on Geryon, the monstrous symbol of deceit, Dante and Virgil achieve the Maleboge, Hell’s sewer.  Here flatterers “smother in filth,” pimps and seducers are whipped by demons and those who sold the favors of the Church are buried in fiery holes with only their feet protruding forth.  Hypocrites march grimly by burdened forever under lead cloaks.  Dante and Virgil narrowly escape a tumult of demons and then move on to the place where thieves are eaten by enormous snakes.  Schismatics and alchemists are disfigured and dismembered.  It is here that Dante meets Mohammed who opens his chest with his hands saying “See now how I rend me.”  Finally, forgers are condemned to a burning leprosy which causes them to itch themselves until they tear their skin away.

The Ninth Circle: Dante and Virgil are handed down into the freezing abyss by the giant, Antaeus.  They maneuver across a frozen lake where traitors are trapped beneath the ice.  Here, the sad story of Ugolino who in life was locked away and starved to death with his four sons by the Archbishop Ruggieri plays out.  Trapped next to each other, Ugolino eternally gnaws on the head of the Archbishop.  Then Virgil warns Dante that he will see Lucifer, “Where thou with fortitude must arm thyself.”  They encounter the massive, bewinged Devil, chewing perpetually on Judas, Brutus and Cassius – the ultimate traitors.

With all this under his belt, Dante says:

The Guide and I into that hidden road / Now entered, to return to the bright world.

And thus they begin their journey through Purgatory to Heaven, where the saintly Beatrice awaits the pious pilgrim.  Vendredi heureux ~

Header: Dante and Virgil in Limbo; Lego art by Mihai Mihu

Vendredi: Chthonian Histories

Most people have a passing knowledge of the Hellenistic underworld that was embraced by the Romans when they conquered Greece.  At the very least we know the name of the place and the god who ruled it: Hades.  The actual evolution of Ancient Greek chthonian beliefs bears looking at as it heavily influenced Jewish, Christian and Islamic portraits of what becomes of a soul after death.

Originally, Greek mythology envisioned an underworld similar to the realm of the Mesopotamian goddess Ereshkigal.  Here the dead had diminished to nothing more than shadows.  They could not speak, hardly moved and ate dust.  There was no real outline of what the underworld looked like and there were certainly no specific areas with names and functions.

This changed with the widespread availability of the works of Homer.  In the Odyssey, Homer has his hero travel to Hades which he finds by sailing to the west.  Here, what remains of the dead are called eidolon, which is perhaps clumsily translated as “shade”.  They chirp quietly and flit from place to dark place like injured birds.  Everything good about life is denied them, and they long for even the most difficult existence on Earth.

When Odysseus slaughters two sheep and pours out their blood in a trench to appease the needy shades, they leap forward:

From this multitude of souls, as they fluttered to and fro by the trench came a moaning that was horrible to hear.

Contact with fresh blood would give the sad shades a momentary memory of the life they so desperately longed for.

In Hades, Odysseus also found a grove of poplars sacred to Persephone the underworld queen, a field of the pale lilies known as asphodels (which were, interestingly enough, a staple of the peasant diet in Greece) and the rivers Acheron and Styx.  The three headed dog Cerberus is at the gate, keeping the unfortunate eidolon from trying to escape, and Eurynomus, an indescribable creature that would tear off men’s skins, crouches in the shadows.

Homer also tacked on other features to the classical Greek underworld that were more in keeping with the way the average Greek imagined things might be in Hades.  Odysseus witnesses three men tortured eternally for crimes against the gods.  There is Tantalus, forever hungry and thirsty but unable to reach the food and water just in front of him.  Sisyphus hefts a huge bolder up a hill, only to have it roll back down so that he must return to the bottom and begin again.  Homer also writes of Tityus, whose punishment is the same as that of Prometheus the fire-bearer; vultures appear each day and rip Tityus’ liver from his side only to have the wound heal and the torture repeated over and over again.

As time went on, other writers added to the list of tormented souls in Hades until the pit of Tartarus, where those who had done evil were tortured in all manner of gruesome ways, became a staple of Greek belief.  Along side Tartarus grew the Elysian Fields, where the righteous dead would know the joys of life for all eternity or until they were called to drink the waters of the river Lethe, “forgetfulness”, and be reincarnated on Earth.

The fact that what we would now call Heaven and Hell were within sight of one another in Greek mythology did not escape early Christian theologians.  Certain authors, including Augustine, speak of the damned having to watch the joys of Heaven as part of their torment.  Medieval writers and artists, whose sadistic depictions of Hell border on the psychotic, added to this idea by picturing the souls in Heaven enjoying the suffering of the damned.  That, of course, is a very wide leap in philosophy from the days when all that stood ahead of us was eternity as an eidolon.

Header: Orpheus in the Underworld by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, 16^th c

Lundi: Recipes

Today's recipe isn’t necessarily for you (although you can tweak it a bit to make people cookies), it’s for your dog.  If yours is as spoiled as mine, this will be just the kind of thing you’ll both enjoy.  And these cookies make a great Holiday gift for your four legged pal.

Here’s what you’ll need for the canine version of this recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

 ½ cup mashed banana, cooked and mashed sweet potato or solid packed canned pumpkin

½ cup nondairy milk or water

¼ cup vegetable (such as canola) oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease two cookie sheets or line them with a Silpat or parchment paper and set aside.

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and process until mixed well.  Note that if you’re like me, and don’t have a food processor, old fashioned elbow grease and a wooden spoon work today just as they did 200 years ago.

Transfer the dough to a flat work surface and roll it out to about ½ inch thick; this is made much easier by placing the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap or floured parchment paper.  Once dough is rolled, cut out cookies with your choice of cookie cutter, arrange them on your baking sheets and bake until lightly brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.  The dough will hold in a bowl placed in your refrigerator if you have to do more than one rolling.

Allow cookies to cool thoroughly before offering them to your best friend.

Note that this recipe can be made for people simply by adding a cup of sugar to the stated recipe.

This recipe is courtesy of Adopt-A-Pet and Petfinder email and comes from Robin Robertson.  Visit her website for lots of wonderful vegan recipes.  Bon appetite à votre chien ~

Header: Our gentle giant Thor in the snow last spring

Vendredi: Creatures in the Tea Leaves

Animal shapes have some curious meanings in tasseography.  It seems, at least to me, that they can be unusual and sometimes even mythical.  A cow might be sitting next to a basilisk in your cup.  Next time you may find a jackalope running with a dog.  It’s a little off-putting at first but I suppose you get used to it.  Here are a few of the living creatures I’ve encountered so far – and some I haven’t – along with their general indications in tea leaf reading.

Alligator ~ someone is deceiving the petitioner (or they are deceiving themselves).

Bee ~ a very propitious sign; much success after hard work.  Loyal friends are also indicated, particularly if two or more bees are seen.

Bird ~ if the bird has lighted, the petitioner will land on their feet after some trouble.  If the bird is in flight, good news is on its way.  The exception to the positive indications of birds is the owl, who foretells potential failure.

Bull ~ an aggressive nature is indicated; the petition or someone in their immediate circle may be acting without consideration for the feelings/needs of others.

Butterfly ~ happiness.  If the butterfly is surrounded with dots, the petitioner may be a free spender who is frittering away their cash.

Cat ~ someone in the petitioner’s life is acting the part of their friend while preparing to stab them in the back; beware.

Chicken ~ a pompous personality is indicated.

Cow ~ a comfortable situation; nurturing from others.

Crab ~ watch out for the silent person in your life, they are sharpening their claws.

Deer ~ untrustworthiness.

Dog ~ reliable friends; a dog at the very bottom of the cup means a friend needs help.  A running dog means trustworthy associates while a dog at rest warns against talking about a friend behind their back.

Donkey ~ forbearance; strength.

Dragon ~ a frightening occurrence is on the horizon but the petitioner will get through it, and be the better for it (this is also the case with other mythical beasts like basilisks, gargoyles, griffins, etc.)

Elephant ~ an indication of wisdom in the petitioner, and the strength to push through to a positive outcome even if the endeavor takes many years.

We’ll stop there for today and then return with another list of animals next week.  Vendredi heureux ~

Header: Mastiffs Wilbur and Anchor backstage at the 2010 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show via NYT online

Dimanche: Swimming

A dog in the swim via iGoogle

Samedi: The Hoodoo Garden

I've had a couple of folks online and a couple more in “real life” ask me about the herbs, trees and flowers I would suggest for starting a hoodoo-friendly garden.  This has been over the course of the last month and I’ve thought about it very carefully.  As my daughter and I were putting the finishing touches on our own garden shopping list, I thought I’d turn the idea into a post.

I’m not much of a gardener myself, sorry to say, so I tend to rely on authorities who know better than I what will grow in my far northern climate.  Fortunately Lewis Hill wrote Cold Climate Gardening in 1981 and ever since our move to Alaska in 2000 I have relied on his sage, Canadian advice.  Then, too, my daughter could grow a noble fir in the Mojave so I’m lucky in my gardening partner.

So here is my list of “must haves” for a hoodoo garden far from hoodoo country.  No poke or lemon, but plenty of wonderful plants that can be helpful all year round.

Apple: if you can at all have an apple tree somewhere on your property.  Even those first few years when the apples aren’t much to speak of, the tree will keep relations at your home sweet and ward off bad vibrations.  Never forget to offer some spiced apple juice or cider to your tree on the Winter Solstice in the tradition of wassailing.

Catnip: even if you don’t have cats, this herb can be amazingly helpful for women (and gay men) as a love herb to draw men to you. 

Comfrey: the leaves of this plant are not only good in salads but great for money spells.  The flowers are a reasonable substitute for borage, which is harder to grow in cool climates.  Use them in workings for courage and relief of depression.

Horehound: an easy to grow and wonderfully versatile herb for protection.

Lavender: an all around love herb that will also sweeten your home and your laundry.  The plant attracts bumble bees, who will pollinate your garden at no extra charge.

Lemon grass: a delicious addition to many Asian dishes, this easy-to-grow grass is great for house cleaning and is an aphrodisiac.  Just as an aside, dogs love to eat it to settle their stomachs.

Marigold: plant these golden flowers in front of your house in tubs or window boxes to draw in money.  Dry them at the end of the season and sprinkle in your wallet to keep and grow the wealth you already have.

Mint: all mints are lucky, purifying and fantastic at breaking jinxes.  They also, much like marigold, protect the money you have.  Pennyroyal, which is in the mint family, can be used as a ground cover and insect repellant while also helping crossed conditions in relationships (particularly marriage).

Rosemary: will grow just about anywhere, although it likes direct sun best.  Its uses are endless from beauty treatments to breaking jinxes to finding love to encouraging psychic dreams.

Sage: this hearty herb is not only delicious with poultry but will also bring wisdom and impart fortitude to women.

Wormwood: helps to repel insects from your garden and, when dried and carried in your car, will protect you from accidents and carjacking.

Most of these plants are perennial in cold climates as long as they are mulched in before the first frost, marigold excepted.  Your apple trees, if they are selected for your climate area, will be hearty regardless.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Conversation with the Gardener by Auguste Renoir

Dimanche: Swimming

A dog swimming race in the river Spree, Berlin, Germany circa 1891

Mercredi: The Art of Beauty

While we tend to imagine human beings to be the only animal that cares about how they look, I think that may be erroneous perhaps even to a fault. Some would say that the beauty of the dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, which finished up last night, is all for the people who care for them, show them, breed them and watch them and has nothing to do with the animals themselves. I beg to differ. Watching Best In Show winner Hickory, the willowy Scottish deerhound, lope around the ring and then stand stock still with remarkable elegance I was brought to mind of America’s Next Top Model. Tyra Banks would call Hickory “fierce” and I’m pretty sure Hickory thought she was too.

After reading about Hickory at the NYT online, and finding that she is a hard working farm dog, I thought to offer this concoction for the beauty – and health – of our furry friends. This calendula paw cream (which is also great for humans, ferrets and monkeys) is all natural and relatively easy to make. The flowers of the calendula (commonly known as marigold) are much like aloe in their anti-inflammatory and healing properties. In small doses calendula is safe to ingest so there is very little chance of your pet getting sick should they lick at their paws after application.

8 tbsps jojoba oil
3 tsps grated beeswax
4 tbsps rosewater
4 500 IU vitamin E capsules
10 drops calendula essential oil

Warm up the rosewater to a simmer in a small pan. Put the jojoba oil and beeswax into a double boiler over simmering water and allow them to melt together. Remove all from the heat and, when they are both lukewarm, whisk the rosewater into your oil/beeswax mixture. Then use an electric mixer on low to whip the cream for about 3 to 4 minutes. Or use your whisk for a nice workout; you’re looking for a creamy but not hard consistency, kind of like whipped cream with soft peaks. Add the vitamin E from the capsules (usually pricking with a pin and then squeezing will work fine) and the calendula oil. Whisk until completely cool to the touch. Place this mixture in a wide mouth jar with a tight lid. Scoop some out with your finger, warm it up by rubbing between your hands and then slather Fido or Fluffy’s clean, dry paws to keep them soft and crack free, especially in winter. À votre animal familier ~

Header: Scottish deerhound Hickory and her handler at Westminster last night via Times Union online

Mercredi: The Art of Giving

This time of year is about all family members, not just the opposable thumbs variety. At least it is around my house. Since I’m allergic to cats, have a phobia about rodents (with the noted exception of Walter Jr., the bilge rat) and don’t currently share my space with any fish, reptiles or arachnids (despite my ongoing campaign for a tarantula), that means I need to make something giftable for the canine in my life. Maybe you do, too.

This is my favorite dog biscuit recipe. It’s easy, very healthy and really popular with every dog I have ever known, even the ones that turn their snouts up at the store bought variety. It was given to me by my only celebrity friend, the actress Christi Sweeney, on the occasion of my husband and me bringing home our first dogs; two Shar Pei named Magick and Tucker who are now in the land of Good Dogs.

3 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup powdered milk
1 egg
1 cube of beef bouillon
¾ cup boiling water
½ cup cream cheese, soften
¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325.

Dissolve bouillon cube in boiling water and let stand to cool. Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, powdered milk, egg and salt together. Add cooled bouillon and mix well. The batter will be runny. Now add flour one cup at a time and mix thoroughly before moving on to the next cup. The batter will become very stiff; keep after it. While you work, think of your animal companion being healthy and happy, strong and safe throughout the coming year and impart that into your dough.

Roll out on a floured surface to approximately ½ inch thick and cut shapes with cookie or biscuit cutters. Place on a greased or Silpat lined cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Then turn your oven off and leave the biscuits in it for an hour.

Hints: If your dog is allergic to wheat you can use rice flour. The biscuits won’t be as firm but dogs still eat them up. If you really want to go all out for Spot, use chicken fat or lard instead of cream cheese. Finally, look for bone shaped cookie cutters around Halloween; I’ve found two now, both at the market.

Keep the biscuits in a tin or zip top bag for treating your best friend all through the Holidays. Bon appetite mes chiens amis ~

Header: Thor, God of Thunder and official Saint Bernard of chez Pauline, out for a walk last summer