Imbolc Bannock Bread

The Scots made an unleavened oat cake cooked in a skillet called a bannock. For each holy day (holiday) they had a different recipe. Here is one for Imbolc - the festival of light.

1 1/2 C Flour

2 C Rolled oats

1/2 C Sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C raisins

1 egg

1/2 C butter, melted

1/3 C buttermilk

Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt and raisins together. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl whip eggs, butter and buttermilk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until a batter is formed. Scrape onto a well floured surface and knead lightly. Shape into a ball, then place on a greased baking sheet. Mark a Bridget's cross in the center using a sharp knife. Bake @ 425 for 15 minutes.

Druid Wands

The Ash is one of the sacred Druidic trees. The Ash tree is associated with positive enchantment and application of will to destiny. Ash is used in spell craft for sea power, ocean rituals, karmic laws, magical potency, healing, protection from drowning, love, rain making, women's mysteries, prophetic dreams, general protection, Prosperity, and health. Special guardian spirits reside in the Ash; This makes it excellent for absorbing sickness. In Greek legend, the nymphs of ash trees were called the Meliai. Rhea gave birth to the Meliai and the ash-tree sister nymphs tended the infant Zeus in her cave.

Ash is often used for making both mundane and magical tools. Tools with handles of Ash are more productive than tools made with other types of wood. Witches besoms are often made from Ash for the handle, Birch twigs for the brush and Willow for bindings.

Ash wands are good for healing, general and solar magic. Druid wands were often made of ash because of all of the magical properties and its straight grain. The spirally carved Druidic wand was made of Ash for this healing purpose. Such wands have been found in archaelogical sites in Wales which evidences indeed the powers of the Ash were reverenced and employed by the Druids.

Pagan Wiccan Wheel of the Year Calendar Dates 2009

Pagan and Wiccan Holy Days of the Year.

February 1st - Imbolc. Moonrise @ 9:53am

March 20th - Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox @ 5:44am

May 1st - Beltane. Moonrise @ 12:12pm

June 20th - Summer Solstice @ 11:43am

August 1st - Lughnasah . Moonrise @ 4:32pm

September 22nd - Fall Equinox or Autmnal Equinox @ 3:23pm

October 31st - Samhain. Moonrise @ 4:32pm

December 21st - Winter Solstice @ 10:46am

New Moon Calendar Dates 2009

2009 Esbats. New Moon Calendar Dates. Time is Greenwich Meantime.

January 26th - 12:55am. Note: Annual Solar Eclipse occurs at 12:57am and it the Chinese New Year.

February 24th - 6:35pm. Note: It's also Mardigras

March 26th - 10:07am

April 24th - 9:23am

May 24th - 6:11am

June 22nd - 1:35pm

July 21st - 8:35pm Note: Total Solar Eclispe 8:37pm and the moon is Perigee 2:00pm

Aug 20th - 4:01pm

Sept 18th - 12:44pm

Oct 17th - 11:33pm

Nov 16th - 12:14pm

Dec 16th - 5:03

The Celtic Tree Calendar

Tree: Birch

Month:December 24th - January 20th

Tree: Rowan

Month: January 21st - February 17th

Tree: Ash

Month: February 18th - March 17th

Tree: Alder

Month: March 18th - April 14th

Tree: Willow

Month: April 15th - May 12th

Tree: Hawthorn

May 13th - June 9th

Tree: Oak

Month: June 10th - July 17th

Tree: Holly

Month: July 18th - August 4th

Tree: Hazel

Month: August 5th - September 1st

Tree: Apple

Month: September 2nd - September 29th

Tree: Ivy

Month: September 30th - October 27th

Tree: Broom

Month: October 28th - November 24th

Tree: Elder

November 25th - December 21st

Wolf Moon

Have you ever thought about the Wolf Moon?

January 10th is the full moon this month. As the full moon is always in the sign opposite the of the sun, the full moon is in Cancer, (while the sun is in Capricorn). So it's a great Sabbat to create ritual around hearth, home, family, and anything sensual. Cancer is also ruled by the breast, so a health ritual for anyone suffering from breast cancer would be appropriate.

It is also known as the Wolf Moon. Wolves, Jackals and Dogs have been associated with death, reincarnation, and funerary customs and often guarded the gates to the underworld. Dormarth the wolf was the Celtic guardian of Death's Door. In Ireland, two dogs guarded the gate of Death, the Moonland Emania. Since so many died in the dead of winter when survival depended on your hearth fire and your food stored from the harvest, naming this full moon the Wolf Moon makes sense.

So, honor the wolf. Howl at the moon. And give thanks for your family, home and all that you have. You have survived the winter, the days are getting longer and spring is on it's way.

Full Moon Calendar Dates 2009

Full Moon Dates 2009

Year Month Day Time Day of week
2009 Jan 11 03:28 Sun
2009 Feb 9 14:51 Mon
2009 Mar 11 02:40 Wed
2009 Apr 9 14:58 Thu
2009 May 9 04:03 Sat
2009 Jun 7 18:13 Sun
2009 Jul 7 09:23 Tue
2009 Aug 6 00:57 Thu
2009 Sep 4 16:05 Fri
2009 Oct 4 06:11 Sun
2009 Nov 2 19:15 Mon
2009 Dec 2 07:33 Wed
2009 Dec 31 19:15 Thu

Dedication in the new year

While we celebrate the new year as Nov 1 according to the Celtic Year, I still observe the Roman New Year as so much psychic energy is created by the masses who recognize this as the time of new beginnings.

I think the Romans chose January 1st because it follows so soon after the Winter Solstice and instinctively people knew the winter was coming to an end. The shortest day of the year passes as the Mother Goddess gives birth to her Sun (son) when it's first rays touched the altar stone at Stonehenge. It felt as though there was hope to get through the rest of the winter and a time to start over.

While the Sun is just a babe, the winter belongs to the Crone or Cailleach. Hers is the power of death, the dark, secrets, seeds, and all that is wild and unborn. Nothing is beyond her reach. The three moons that occur in this season (Jan-Mar) take us from Winter into Spring, but it's the Esbats, the dark moons, that are for dedicating yourself to your magical universe. Use these new moons to carry out a dedication ritual, stretching it into all three months. Recognize what you have been and are choosing to be. What will you dedicate yourself to this year? To what will you give birth this spring?

The most powerful among us take responsibility for what we create and do so with intent. Be aware of what you create for it effects us all.