You know when you walk into a Walmart, they always have that wall of pictures up? The ones of missing adults and children with the poor attempts of age progression? This boy went missing when he was 3, can you recognize him now? This girl ran away at 13, she should be 18 now. Where is she?
Most of us walk by these walls without a second thought. Sometimes, we will get caught by a picture, but usually that's because it is unusually clear compared to the almost 8-bit graininess of the others. You hear a lot of that kind of thing in the news these days, like the missing McCann family here in Alberta. Now, you never know anyone that you hear about in the news. You've never met them, you've never talked to them. That makes it easy not to care.
Since the weekend of November 14, this man, Martin Laing, has been missing from near my hometown. Normally, I don't even read my hometown news. My mother told me about this. Why, you ask? What's one more missing person? This man is my mother's cousins son. My mom confirmed it yesterday. In some strange way, he and I are related. Even if it is very far removed. My mom has a huge family, so I'm not sure if I've ever even met him. That doesn't really matter though. What matters is someone from my (very extended) family has been missing for a week now. And it doesn't matter if he IS from the very extended portion of my family. He is still family.
I also know that out of all of the few people who look at my blog everyday, no one has probably even heard anything about this! But I ask everyone to please keep him, and his (immediate) family, in your thoughts.
Goddess willing, they'll find him.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Consecration of Tools
As I write, it's only about 30 days until Yule. We have never really done a ritual together for a Sabbat. Sean only took a real interest in Wicca in the last couple of years, and never felt comfortable doing a ritual. I, on the other hand, have practiced as a solitary for so many years that it almost seems awkward to perform a ritual with other people! We are both going to get over these things eventually however. This year, we are doing a full ritual. We feel that with Brianna here, we should start giving her a foundation in our faith early. We want her to be able to say she does have a faith. If she chooses to change it later, that's just fine. For the time being, we want to be able to have her participate with us as far as she can for her age.
For me, the first step to any ritual is the consecration of tools. If I have a new tool, I consecrate it. Otherwise, I cleanse my well loved (used!) tools. I usually reconsecrate my tools once a year, who knows what they've picked up in that time! You can find a lot of great guides and rituals for consecrating online. Most of them that I've found, however, talk about placing your tools outside under the moon. I have an issue with this, or rather, several issues.
First, It's a beautiful idea, but not really practical. As a semi-urban Witch, I just don't feel comfortable leaving my well used and loved tools that I've imbibed with all this energy outside where anyone can hop into my yard and pick them up.
Second, for a few years we lived in basements or apartments. How are you going to do it then? In an apartment you don't normally have access to enough room outdoors to be able to do this. In a basement suite, sure you can use the back yard. It's co-use, after all. What's this?? Oops! Your house-mate's dogs peed on all of your tools! And no, this didn't actually happen to me! I didn't want it to. That is the reason I didn't use the back yard.
Third, what if you live in a cold climate and do your consecrations in the winter? Like me? We have at least half a foot of snow on the ground right now. I don't know about you, but I'm not going out in that and leaving my tools out there. I'm not going out there long enough to do a ritual out there right now! It's -26 C!
So, what options do we have? There are a couple of great online rituals for consecration. I do like this one at about.com, although I prefer one that is more short and sweet. I do like to do it on a full moon, although I can't necessarily be IN the moonlight!
Tool Consecration
Items needed:
A bowl of sea salt or earth
A bowl of consecrated water
Incense to burn
A white candle
Item(s) to be consecrated
There is no need to cast a circle for this, although you can do so if you like or you can do this at the end of other rituals in an already cast circle.
Light the incense and the candle. Hold in your hands the item to be consecrated. Say, "God and Goddess, powers that be, please be present while I consecrate this (item)".
Sprinkle the item with salt three times, saying "Spirits of Earth, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Pass the item through the incense smoke three times, saying "Spirits of Air, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Sprinkle the item with the water three times, saying "Spirits of Water, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Pass the item through the candle fire three times, saying "Spirits of Fire, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Hold the item up towards the sky, saying, "Goddess and God, please bless this (item) for my use. I Consecrate and charge it in your name. Let my will be done, so mote it be."
Your item is now consecrated. I know this is a fairly short consecration ritual, mostly because I have a one year old! I make what time I can for my Craft, although it falls short of what I wish it could be. I'm also going to include my way of consecrating water! It's a little bit different, I'll warn you. Remember that I live in Canada while you're reading it!
Consecrated Water
Items needed:
Boiling water
Large Jar (a canning jar will do)
Sea salt or coarse salt, you can make it smaller in your mortar and pestle if you think it's too large.
SNOW!
Bring water to a boil. I use my electric kettle. Pour the boiling water in the jar to sterilize it. Empty the water out of the jar. Go outside with the jar and scoop untouched snow into it. Pack the snow down as much as your hands can handle until the jar is full. Say, "Goddess and God, please bless this snow I gather. Charge it with your power."
Go inside and sprinkle the salt on top of the snow in the jar, saying, "Bless this snow which will become our consecrated water. Charge it to my use. Let my will be done, so mote it be."
Leave the jar on your windowsill (or near a window/natural light/etc) for 7 days. During that time the snow will melt, you may have to wipe your counter off every now and then! At the end of the seven days, your consecrated water will be ready to use! You can also substitute rain water or spring water for the snow. This usually makes enough for me for all year, so I usually only use snow. Occasionally I do use spring water when in a pinch, though.
This is what works best for me. As you probably know, we all need something a little different. What ever works best for you is what you need! And since our Yule ritual is coming up, we will need to go over it again and again to find something that works for all three of us. It's isn't your ritual unless you feel it! Speaking of rituals, check out this wonderful blog post from Jen at Live Wicca about how Wiccans are often viewing rituals these days.
Best of luck in your consecrating endeavors!
S.
For me, the first step to any ritual is the consecration of tools. If I have a new tool, I consecrate it. Otherwise, I cleanse my well loved (used!) tools. I usually reconsecrate my tools once a year, who knows what they've picked up in that time! You can find a lot of great guides and rituals for consecrating online. Most of them that I've found, however, talk about placing your tools outside under the moon. I have an issue with this, or rather, several issues.
First, It's a beautiful idea, but not really practical. As a semi-urban Witch, I just don't feel comfortable leaving my well used and loved tools that I've imbibed with all this energy outside where anyone can hop into my yard and pick them up.
Second, for a few years we lived in basements or apartments. How are you going to do it then? In an apartment you don't normally have access to enough room outdoors to be able to do this. In a basement suite, sure you can use the back yard. It's co-use, after all. What's this?? Oops! Your house-mate's dogs peed on all of your tools! And no, this didn't actually happen to me! I didn't want it to. That is the reason I didn't use the back yard.
Third, what if you live in a cold climate and do your consecrations in the winter? Like me? We have at least half a foot of snow on the ground right now. I don't know about you, but I'm not going out in that and leaving my tools out there. I'm not going out there long enough to do a ritual out there right now! It's -26 C!
So, what options do we have? There are a couple of great online rituals for consecration. I do like this one at about.com, although I prefer one that is more short and sweet. I do like to do it on a full moon, although I can't necessarily be IN the moonlight!
Tool Consecration
Items needed:
A bowl of sea salt or earth
A bowl of consecrated water
Incense to burn
A white candle
Item(s) to be consecrated
There is no need to cast a circle for this, although you can do so if you like or you can do this at the end of other rituals in an already cast circle.
Light the incense and the candle. Hold in your hands the item to be consecrated. Say, "God and Goddess, powers that be, please be present while I consecrate this (item)".
Sprinkle the item with salt three times, saying "Spirits of Earth, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Pass the item through the incense smoke three times, saying "Spirits of Air, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Sprinkle the item with the water three times, saying "Spirits of Water, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Pass the item through the candle fire three times, saying "Spirits of Fire, bless this (item). Consecrate it to my use."
Hold the item up towards the sky, saying, "Goddess and God, please bless this (item) for my use. I Consecrate and charge it in your name. Let my will be done, so mote it be."
Your item is now consecrated. I know this is a fairly short consecration ritual, mostly because I have a one year old! I make what time I can for my Craft, although it falls short of what I wish it could be. I'm also going to include my way of consecrating water! It's a little bit different, I'll warn you. Remember that I live in Canada while you're reading it!
Consecrated Water
Items needed:
Boiling water
Large Jar (a canning jar will do)
Sea salt or coarse salt, you can make it smaller in your mortar and pestle if you think it's too large.
SNOW!
Bring water to a boil. I use my electric kettle. Pour the boiling water in the jar to sterilize it. Empty the water out of the jar. Go outside with the jar and scoop untouched snow into it. Pack the snow down as much as your hands can handle until the jar is full. Say, "Goddess and God, please bless this snow I gather. Charge it with your power."
Go inside and sprinkle the salt on top of the snow in the jar, saying, "Bless this snow which will become our consecrated water. Charge it to my use. Let my will be done, so mote it be."
Leave the jar on your windowsill (or near a window/natural light/etc) for 7 days. During that time the snow will melt, you may have to wipe your counter off every now and then! At the end of the seven days, your consecrated water will be ready to use! You can also substitute rain water or spring water for the snow. This usually makes enough for me for all year, so I usually only use snow. Occasionally I do use spring water when in a pinch, though.
This is what works best for me. As you probably know, we all need something a little different. What ever works best for you is what you need! And since our Yule ritual is coming up, we will need to go over it again and again to find something that works for all three of us. It's isn't your ritual unless you feel it! Speaking of rituals, check out this wonderful blog post from Jen at Live Wicca about how Wiccans are often viewing rituals these days.
Best of luck in your consecrating endeavors!
S.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Cheeseburger Casserole
Today is a recipe day! Gods willing the next time I make this my husband doesn't eat it all again. I was sort of looking forward to leftovers.
This is one of the most amazing casseroles I've ever made. It literally tastes like a McDonald's Cheeseburger. I cannot describe the awesomeness. After Sean finished his first helping, he said, and I quote, "So, we're having this every day now, right?!". I found this on the Taste of Home website, here is the link. I used a little less cheese and more mustard. This time, I have pictures of the whole process!
So here it is, the fabulous, amazing, cheeseburger casserole.
First, brown 1 lb ground beef and 1/4 cup onion, diced.
Next, add 1/4 of garlic dill pickle, dice, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/2 cup water and 1 to 1.5 Tbsp mustard. I personally have a small mustard addiction, so I used 1.5 Tbsp. Once you stir it up, it should look like the picture on the right.
Pour all into a 9x9 Casserole dish. This recipe is supposed to make 6 servings. To that, I say HA! You haven't seen my husband eat. This is 4 servings.
Next, you'll need an 8 oz tube of crescent rolls, enough cheese to fit in a layer in the casserole, about a Tbsp of milk, and sesame seeds. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of cheese, I didn't really think it needed that much. If you were grating cheese, this is about 3/4 cup. Layer the cheese over top of the beef mixture.
Then, you add the crescent roll as the crust. What I usually do is just mash the whole thing into a ball and roll it out with my rolling pin, but you can do what works best for you. Pinching the seams never really works for me, unfortunately. You also may be able to see that I did not roll it out to fit all the way up to the edges. I did this so there would be some steam escape, instead of slicing the top of my just-rolled dough. You can make slices for steam escape if you like, this is just my preference. Next, brush milk on the top, and add the sesame seeds. Then bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
And THIS is the finished product.
The bubbly cheesy goodness spilling out. This was so amazing. This is my favorite picture right now. Doesn't it even sort of look like a cheeseburger?!
Here is the ingredient list:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 - 1.5 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cups Cheddar cheese, sliced or grated (more if you want)
1 can 8 oz can Crescent Roll
1 Tbsp Milk
1 - 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
I hope your endeavors to make this turn out as awesome as ours did! This is definitely a make again meal for us.
Happy Cooking!
S.
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