Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Decoctions, tisanes and teas are used in both traditional and magickal healing to keep us healthy or to nurse us back to that state.  Tea proper, whether black or green, has uses in both areas as well.  It is a mild stimulant and diuretic and has astringent properties that benefit skin and hair.  Its magickal uses are somewhat limited in the west but probably only for the fact that it has not been known as long as it has been in the east.

In Wicca, tea is thought to impart courage and strength as well as draw wealth.  Tea is a sign of good fortune, as well as hospitality, in many eastern cultures as well.  Dried tea leaves are burned to draw money to a home or business.  They can also be sprinkled in cash registers and safes for the same purpose.  Scott Cunningham recommends adding them to all money mixtures and sachets.  He also recommends infusions of dark tea to add to any lust-inducing drink.

In hoodoo, tea leaves are not much thought of but odd items are sometimes brewed in boiling water and added to tea or coffee to ensure the fidelity of a partner.  In one such application, women are advised to boil a pair of underwear after wearing it for a day and add some of the resulting “tea” to their lover’s or husband’s morning coffee.  This is thought to ensure his fidelity, at least as long as he does not discern what’s in his morning cup of Joe…  Bonne chance ~

Header:  Lady at a Tea Table by Mary Cassatt c 1883

Lundi: Recipes

Eighty percent of the world’s population lives near – basically within driving distance of – a major body of water such as an ocean, lake or river.  We can reasonably surmise, then, that only slightly less of the people on Earth are eating seafood and/or freshwater fish regularly.  That is certainly the case here in Alaska, which has a longer coastline than the contiguous U.S. and Hawai’i combined. 

With that in mind, I’m offering a recipe for fish today.  This one is from one of my favorite local restaurants, The Double Musky.  Not only is this eclectic and fun restaurant just a scenic drive away from where I live, it also offers Cajun and Creole cuisine from the heart of my father’s family home: southeastern Louisiana.  Here then, from the Double Musky cookbook by owners Bob and Deanna Persons, Cajun Scampi:

½ cup garlic butter (made by combining butter with granulated garlic, as you would to make garlic bread)

½ cup white wine

¼ cup sherry

2 tsps hot pepper sauce

2 tsps lemon juice

2 tbsps granulated garlic

4 cloves garlic, crushed

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ cup white onions, diced

½ cup green onions whites & greens, sliced

2 tbsps sliced black olives

½ cup tomatoes, diced

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 cups cooked white rice

Salt & pepper to taste

Melt the garlic butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add all other sauce ingredients in the order above (excluding shrimp and rice).  Cook until the white onions clarify.

Add the shrimp and turn the heat to high.  Cover and cook for about two minutes or until the shrimp are opaque.

Serve over hot, fluffy rice.  Makes about 4 servings.  Thanks Bob and Deanna. Bon appetite ~

Header: Dining room at the Double Musky via That Food Guy (read his review here)

Dimanche: Swimming

Model Dovima in the pool from Conde Nast Images via Mid-Century

Vendredi: A Teacup Full of the Future

In typical Friday fashion, here are a few more shapes you could find in those soggy tea leaves at the bottom of your cup, and what they might be pointing to.

Hammer ~ strength in the face of opposition and/or the petitioner may be showing insensitivity to someone in their life

Hammock ~ rest; a place of repose and solitude is finally available

Harp ~ peace; the petitioner may be the focus of affection that they are not aware off

Hat ~ a new job or business venture will be offered

Heart (the classic Valentine shape) ~ love or, if the heart is surrounded by dots, wealth

Horn (animal) ~ domination either by or against the petitioner, depending on what surrounds this shape

Horn (musical) ~ good news

Horseshoe ~ the petitioner may come into something of value – not necessarily money – through the death of a relative, a will or something similar

Hourglass ~ a warning to live in and appreciate the present; time is short

House ~ security

Igloo ~ isolation, either purposeful or through the actions of others

Jar or pot ~ secrets kept; things stashed away that might be better off used

Jewel ~ a need for other people’s attention and/or a great amount of admiration from others

Jug or vase ~ generosity; service such as volunteering

Kettle, tea or coffee pot ~ security at home; happiness among family

Key ~ insight; the petitioner has a good handle on what is going on around them and should “follow their gut”

Kite ~ broad speculation, either on the part of the petitioner or their family/friends

And as always, Vendredi heureux ~

Header: The Harmonica Player by Gladys N. Smith via American Gallery

Jeudi: Root Work

In 1978 James Haskins, a prolific writer, published a book called Voodoo & Hoodoo.  The subtitle is “Their Tradition and Craft as Revealed by Actual Practitioners” and that is exactly what the book is about: memories of voodoo religion and hoodoo practices told to the author by elderly people who knew a thing or two about the “old ways”.  The book covers just about everything imaginable on the subject and is written in a delightful, conversational style that sucks the reader in as thoroughly as a well-paced novel.

Haskins devotes only a couple of pages to the issue of witches and, in particular, “hag riding”.  Even in brief, the discussion is a fascinating take on the ancient archetype of the “wicked witch” which seems to be a curious combination of various cultural beliefs and actual physiological experience.

As Haskins notes, the folklore of hag riding most probably comes from a West African beliefs about the habits of witches.  According to this folklore, witches are said to visit sleeping people, climb up on their chests and suck their life out, either via blood or breath or both.  Another spin is that the hag literally rides the sleeping person’s astral body out to do her mischief, returning them to bed only as the sun rises.  This version has the same effect as the other; a wasting death through exhaustion.

Similar beliefs exist in European and Middle Eastern folklore as well and those who swear to have experienced the phenomena may in fact be responding to a form of night terror known as sleep paralysis.  In this scenario, a person’s brain jolts to consciousness out of sleep a few seconds before their body’s neurological function has time to do the same.  They report feelings of being pinned down, stifled or crushed and being unable to draw in a decent breath.  It is not hard to imagine something, or someone, sitting on your chest or holding you down in such a situation.

Because hag riding was particularly feared among practitioners of hoodoo, several forms of protection were developed to keep witches out of homes and away from those sleeping peacefully therein.  Haskins reports on remedies for hag riding from the first two decades of the 20^th century.   Almost all of these have counterparts in European folklore as well.

Salt should be sprinkled around the home, and particularly in the fireplace.

An individual should carry black pepper or a knife.  Putting matches in one’s hair was another way to ward off hags.

Planting mustard seed near or under the front porch was said to keep both witches and ghosts away.  Mustard or flax seed – sometimes along with a pan of cold water – placed next to the bed was said to work too.

Hags would not touch a sleeping person with a sifter under their pillow.  An alternative kitchen tool for this purpose was a pair of scissors.     

Hanging a horseshoe over the front door was thought to encourage luck and keep both hags and ha’nts (ghosts) away.  The installation of a new roof, window or door was a sure trick against both troubles as was a fresh coat of blue paint.  Specific colors, known as “haint blue” are still favored for painting porches today.

Most of us would not admit to being troubled by hags or ha’nts “now’a days”.  All the same, the old wisdom is usually the best.  Then too, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…

Header: Shutters painted haint blue from an excellent article on the subject here at Curious Expeditions

Mercredi: The Art of Beauty

I am officially old.  I just had one of those “milestone” birthdays and now I finally have a good excuse for my behavior: I’m old.  That said, it was nice when the (young) lady at the pharmacy told me yesterday that I have “pretty skin”.  It reminded me that I do.  Part of it is genetic but part of it is keeping to a simple, effective regimen, preferably one started early in life.  So, because I am now old, here’s my advice for pretty skin.

Wash your face twice a day and moisturize after every washing.  I don’t care what the makeup companies say; sleeping with that stuff on your face is not good for your skin.

SPF 30 every day.  Until the sun disappears from the sky, there is nothing you can use topically that is better for your skin.

Two cups of green tea daily will keep free radicals from aging your skin, even later in life.  The good news here is that, like quitting smoking, you get almost instant benefits no matter whether you start drinking green tea when you are 2 or 102.

Also, don’t smoke.  If you do (and I did) quit now.

A nice warm – not hot – bath once a week (preferably on your day off and in the evening) with a calming essential oil like lavender or clary sage added to the water (15 to 20 drops) will help you relax and de-stress.  If you can enjoy a bath more frequently, so much the better.

Yes, you do need 8 hours of sleep a night.  Your tween or teen daughter needs 10.

A cup of nettle tisane every two weeks will gently flush your system of skin-ruining gunk.  If you can’t find nettle (health food stores usually carry it), try chamomile tea every other day, or nightly to help you sleep.

Exercise.  Reward yourself with something (like maybe that bath) once a week or so if you stick to your schedule.  Remember, beauty is a lot deeper than your skin.  A healthy heart and lungs make your face glow.

If you drink alcohol, take three consecutive days off the juice per week.  This cleansing ritual will help your body banish the negative side effects of a few too many now and then.  The exception here is one glass of red wine with your largest meal every day to help maintain a healthy cholesterol level, if that is an issue for you.

These are the things my Gran assured me would see me through to old age and so far she’s been right.  Remember though, if you have any health issues, ask your doctor before you start drinking herbal teas or training for a marathon.  Better safe than sorry.  A votre santé ~

Header:  Two Ancient Egyptian ladies who clearly drank their green tea and got enough sleep; I think I went to high school with the one on the left

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Figs are a delightful and ancient fruit that have resonance in most civilizations and magickal practices.  The fruit offered to Adam by Eve is said by some to have been not an apple, but a fig; Cleopatra was rumored to lure her lovers with ripe figs.  Mentioned in texts from around the world, figs are thought to be protective, lucky and to encourage virility and fertility.  In hoodoo they are also said to draw people to the root worker.  Old wives used fig bark teas and fig sap for both life saving and beauty.

In the ancient Middle East, carvings made from fig wood were carried by women who wished to become pregnant.  More phallic designs were similarly worn or carried by men who hoped they would increase their strength and potency.  Eating fresh figs was said to encourage amorous feelings, and prolong the act of love.

Scott Cunningham mentions more modern uses for figs and fig trees.  Feed a fig to a man or woman you desire and they will be in your thrall, at least until they lose their taste for figs.  Having the fig’s relative, the popular house plant known as ficas benjamina, growing in your home is said to bring luck to those who live there.  Placing one of the ficas’ branches in front of your front door when you leave on a journey is thought to ensure your safe, happy return.

In hoodoo root work, a mojo for luck, protection and personal charm is made with three roots from one fig tree.  The roots should be small, and dug up from the north, south and east sides of the tree.  A root from the west side of the tree will cancel the mojo’s power by “dragging it down” like the setting of the sun.  Knot the three roots together three times.  Carry them with you and “feed” the mojo frequently with Florida Water.  Do not ever allow another person to see or touch this mojo, or you will have to make a new one all over again.

Old wives would send young people troubled by pimples out to cut green fig leaves from a live tree.  The white sap that oozed from the leaf stem was immediately applied to the pimple to speed healing.  Fig tree bark tea was also recommended as a restorative for the complexion, and as a cure for snake bite.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Anthony and Cleopatra by Lawrence Alma-Tadema