The Witches Year | Exploring the Wheel of The Year | Embracing Magick Podcast #9

Explore the Wheel of the Year with Embracing Magick Podcast as they discuss Samhain, seasonal rituals, and ancestral connections.

Key Takeaways

The Wheel of the Year is fundamental in witchcraft for marking seasonal and spiritual cycles.
Samhain is a key Sabbat focused on honoring ancestors and reflecting on life and death.
Traditional practices evolve over time, such as switching from turnip to pumpkin carving.
Rituals like the dumb supper help practitioners connect deeply with their ancestors.
Seasonal produce and natural elements play a significant role in celebrating the Sabbats.

What the video covers

Introduction to the Wheel of the Year and its significance in witchcraft.
Detailed discussion on Samhain, its traditions, and symbolism including honoring ancestors and the thinning veil.
Explanation of traditional practices such as carving turnips and pumpkins and their evolution.
Personal experiences shared by hosts about rituals, altars, and seasonal celebrations.
Description of the dumb supper ritual and its purpose in connecting with ancestors.
Insights into the sensory elements of Samhain including seasonal produce and scents like cinnamon and clove.
Discussion on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth as represented in the Wheel of the Year.
Connection to nature and the importance of woodland walks and forest bathing in spiritual practice.
Mentions of other Sabbats and seasonal changes, including Yule and Beltane.
Hosts share personal spiritual experiences and the emotional impact of these celebrations.

Chapters

What is the Wheel of the Year?

The Wheel of the Year is a cycle of seasonal festivals celebrated in witchcraft and pagan traditions, marking the changing seasons and spiritual themes of life, death, and rebirth.

What is Samhain and why is it significant?

Samhain, celebrated around October 31st, is considered the witch's New Year. It honors ancestors, marks the thinning of the veil between worlds, and reflects on the life and rebirth cycle.

What is a dumb supper?

A dumb supper is a silent ritual meal where food is prepared and served for deceased loved ones to honor and connect with ancestors, often practiced during Samhain.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Welcome back to another episode of Embracing Magic with me, Steph, and my lovely co-hosts Tony and Lizzy. Today, we're going to be talking all about the witch's year or the Wheel of the Year. We've mentioned quite a few of the seasonal celebrations in previous episodes, so I thought it would be a good idea, or we thought it would be a good idea, to go through each one and tell you what they're about. Quite significant for our journeys. So yeah, we're going to go for it and start with Samhain.

Speaker A

seasonal celebrations in previous episodes so I thought it would be a good idea or we thought it would be a good idea to go through each one and tell you what they're about um quite significant um for our Journeys um so yeah we're

Speaker A

[Music] Witches, that was quite cute actually. You know, witch's New Year, it begins with S, which is, I guess, Western culture would most know as Halloween. Around the 31st of October, when the veil is thinnest, and this Sabbath is all about honoring our ancestors and communing with the spirits that have passed over and reflecting on the life cycle, rebirth cycle. But yeah, it's definitely most witches' favorite Sabbath, I think.

Speaker A

Halloween um around the 31st of October um when the veil is thinnest and this um Sabbath is all about uh honoring our ancestors and communing with the spirits that have passed over and reflecting on the life cycle rebirth

Speaker A

And I think that the Wheel of the Year in general is one of the first things, first practices that I kind of really started with in witchcraft. You know, I started with an altar space, and I'd go out into the woods. I love walking in woodland; it's so lovely too. I know, it's just so regenerating. Yeah, like it just makes you feel great. That's why forest bathing is the thing, isn't it? Yeah, amazing.

Speaker A

know I I I started with an alter space and I'd go out into the woods um I love walking in Woodland it's so lovely too I know it's just so reg generating yeah like it just you know just makes you

Speaker A

But yeah, so I'd go out around Samhain, and I'd go and get like acorns and conkers and fur cones and pines sometimes, and kind of display those bits and pieces on my altar to kind of represent Samhain. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

and pieces on my altar to kind of represent s yeah yeah and I think what's really lovely about s is it has a really clear taste palette as well so you know um the seasonal produce around that time

Speaker A

And I think what's really lovely about Samhain is it has a really clear taste palette as well. So, you know, the seasonal produce around that time will be pumpkins and spices like cinnamon and clove, and maybe like oranges and kind of like burnt orange scents.

Speaker A

September so probably still some but you know definitely kind of like spices and Ginger from pumpkins yeah I think maybe started with did I not start with pumpkins I can't remember bit remiss if I didn't start with them yeah squashes

Speaker A

And what else? Like, is blackberry season still going by then? Blackberry season kind of starts late summer, so like maybe September, so probably still some. But you know, definitely kind of like spices and ginger from pumpkins. Yeah, I think maybe started with—did I not start with pumpkins? I can't remember. Bit remiss if I didn't start with them. Yeah, squashes, gourds in general.

Speaker A

that were carved it was but they realized it was super hard because they are super hard to carve at least with a pumpkin it's kind of soft and Hollow in the middle but yeah originally they used to put them out to to scare away the

Speaker A

Yes, we do like a gourd. We like a gourd. What was that? There was an interesting fact that came up—I can't remember when it came up—but about traditionally it was actually turnips that were carved.

Speaker A

then use the produce in lots of different ways whether that's to use the innards to make like a soup or you know um I roast the seeds as well I love pumpkin seeds actually just getting this really funny memory of when my husband

Speaker A

It was, but they realized it was super hard because they are super hard to carve. At least with a pumpkin, it's kind of soft and hollow in the middle. But yeah, originally they used to put them out to scare away the spirits.

Speaker A

he just smiled and he was like oh man I just spent ages preparing that for you um but yeah I mean the the kind of like the the scents as well like those smells of cinnamon and you know warming

Speaker A

They actually look really spooky. They do, they look really spooky. I might have to try and do one this year. But yeah, I think they realized that carving a turnip is really difficult, and pumpkins are perfect because you can then use the produce in lots of different ways, whether that's to use the innards to make like a soup or, you know, I roast the seeds as well.

Speaker A

those like like you say all the gourds deliciousness all those gorgeous GS G um but yeah so that I I think it's quite interesting because sin is kind of probably the most wellknown one in terms of you know what

Speaker A

I love pumpkin seeds actually. Just getting this really funny memory of when my husband carefully picked out all of these pumpkin seeds and roasted them and smoked them, and then brought them, presented them to me at work, and I just like accidentally whacked the whole pot, went everywhere, and he literally just smiled and he was like, "Oh man, I just spent ages preparing that for you."

Speaker A

light coming back so actually it's not really kind of winter anymore so in the in the in the sort of like cycle of Life Death and rebirth U is actually about you know the light coming back so the beginning of the return of the light

Speaker A

But yeah, I mean, the kind of like the scents as well, like those smells of cinnamon and, you know, warming kind of like cloves and red wine and like glühwein and stuff like that. It's just the best time, I think, for food for me anyway. And I love pumpkin soup and, yeah, it's like parsnip soup, pumpkin soup, all those like, like you say, all the gourds, deliciousness, all those gorgeous GS G.

Speaker A

started doing the rituals um in the coven um and that's when I really connected with it all the way really you were doing no I I I was but it was very sporic it was a bit more sporadic and

Speaker A

But yeah, so that, I think it's quite interesting because Samhain is kind of probably the most well-known one in terms of, you know, how it's celebrated and what it's about.

Speaker A

had that lovely um dumb supper the best oh yeah actually had a very um amazing experience during the meditation that you did do you want to explain what a dumb supper is so a dumb supper is essentially um I say essentially a lot

Speaker A

And I think that there's some confusion around the Wheel of the Year, and as we move into Yule, because Yule actually represents the longest night and then the beginning of the light coming back. So actually, it's not really kind of winter anymore.

Speaker A

I think you would eat food that they perhaps loved or or made themselves um and you'd serve them up like you like they were at the table Yeah and generally they're done in silence but because of the nature of um us being a

Speaker A

So in the sort of like cycle of life, death, and rebirth, Yule is actually about, you know, the light coming back, so the beginning of the return of the light and celebrating renewal and setting intentions for the coming year. That's really what Yule is about.

Speaker A

this beautiful meditation um uh with connecting to the the ancestor that you wanted to um connect with um during that session um and I actually had a vision with my grandma and it just felt like she was right in front of me I also had

Speaker A

Can we just go back to Samhain quickly because I just want to say that my experience with the Wheel of the Year started when you were doing the rituals in the coven, and that's when I really connected with it all the way.

Speaker A

we know that I am the wimp of the group um but I actually felt so comforted like all of my ancestors are standing behind me being like we're here and we're protecting you that's how it felt so yeah I just wanted to say that about s i

Speaker A

Really? You were doing—no, I was, but it was very sporadic. It was a bit more sporadic, and you know, I didn't quite catch some of them. But obviously, having to be there for all of them, I properly celebrated it all year round.

Speaker A

someone's remember once when I was born apparently I looked like her when I was born and everybody was like ah just come back what's happening so I feel quite a connection to her and I similar to Steph I remember really feeling that she was

Speaker A

And when you did the ritual for Samhain, when we had that lovely dumb supper, the best. Oh yeah, actually had a very amazing experience during the meditation that you did. Do you want to explain what a dumb supper is?

Speaker A

like have you know lay space for them and honor them it's really special thing what we were saying about you know a lot of our graveyards are neglected and you know in other countries um they celebrate um death bit better than us

Speaker A

So a dumb supper is essentially—I say essentially a lot on this podcast, it's quite funny—having a meal that you would prepare food for your loved one that's passed over, and you would set out a place for them at the table.

Speaker A

is just so important to me in my practice but it I feel like whatever kind of witch you are everyone loves s there's something really special about it I it's kind of celebrated in a similar way that Christmas is you know

Speaker A

So I think you would eat food that they perhaps loved or made themselves, and you'd serve them up like they were at the table. Yeah, and generally they're done in silence, but because of the nature of us being a coven and it being online, we kind of scaled it back to more like snacks and a drink, and we kind of made it much more informal and chatty and stuff.

Speaker A

honestly before we did the the Dum s honestly I can't remember ever really reflecting back through the ancestors and paying homage to them at all it's almost like like we were talking about you know people people die and we sort

Speaker A

Yeah, but you did do this beautiful meditation with connecting to the ancestor that you wanted to connect with during that session.

Speaker A

it document their Journeys either and I hate that I just think I so want to look at back at all of my ancestors and kind of know what their thoughts and feelings were I think that's what's so beautiful

Speaker A

And I actually had a vision with my grandma, and it just felt like she was right in front of me. I also had this other experience where I felt that there were just all my ancestors standing behind me, and I actually felt pressure on my shoulders, people just standing behind me.

Speaker A

I feel like that's what's so amazing about technology these days as well is that everything is so documented I mean obviously there's kind of like a dark side to it as well but you know when I think about all of my nieces and nephews

Speaker A

And it didn't feel scary. I thought that it would feel kind of scary because, as we know, I am the wimp of the group. But I actually felt so comforted, like all of my ancestors are standing behind me being like, "We're here and we're protecting you." That's how it felt.

Speaker A

think with you we kind of recognize that a lot of the celebratory parts of it are have been co-opted by Christianity you know people used to decorate trees outside rather than cutting them and bringing them inside and and you know

Speaker A

So yeah, I just wanted to say that about Samhain. I too just want to echo because that dumb supper was so amazing. I loved it, and I picked my great-great-grandmother to be at the table with me.

Speaker A

strudles and you know all of that deliciousness and hot wine and hot uh hot cider as well oh yeah spiced apples are really kind of like kind of Ule taste I think um but yeah in I'm um spent a big portion um of time living in

Speaker A

Your great-great-grandmother's got an amazing story, has she? Amazing story. Yeah, she—I find someone remembers once when I was born, apparently I looked like her when I was born, and everybody was like, "Ah, just come back, what's happening?"

Speaker A

where people make their own lanterns and there some of them are kind of like the the children's ones are kind of like stars on a stick and they got like a light inside them and then some of them

Speaker A

So I feel quite a connection to her. And similar to Steph, I remember really feeling that she was present, and it was so powerful. It was amazing.

Speaker A

what they do is they walk all the way through the city and they end up on the beach and they throw all of these um um they're kind of like eco-friendly lanterns onto a big bonfire wow and you

Speaker A

And I just wanted to say that I felt that that dumb supper was just so incredible and actually, like we were talking about before about honoring the dead, so powerful and so beautiful to like have, you know, lay space for them and honor them. It's a really special thing.

Speaker A

a really really beautiful I don't know similar to step like I only really started celebrating the wheel of the year with the coven and I found psychologically Thinking of U as light returning a massive shift in my head

Speaker A

What we were saying about, you know, a lot of our graveyards are neglected, and you know, in other countries, they celebrate death a bit better than us.

Speaker A

light is coming back see that for me is the next sabot we'll go into that in a minute but like thinking about what you might put on your altar I'm thinking like cinnamon sticks maybe apples Pine yes pine pine anything

Speaker A

Yeah, definitely have a better relationship with it. It's not like Samhain is the end; it's just the next phase of a journey. Exactly, you know, and just honor. I mean, like, you know how I feel about ancestral work, like ancestral veneration is just so important to me in my practice.

Speaker A

my memory is terrible yeah but we we did a u log celebration and what we did is we attached everyone's um what was it did we we attached what people were releasing yeah you asked everyone what they'd like to

Speaker A

But I feel like whatever kind of witch you are, everyone loves Samhain. There's something really special about it. It's kind of celebrated in a similar way that Christmas is. You know, it's playful, it's fun, it's spooky. It...

Speaker A

in the same place and you know everyone might attach their own little intention to it not intention but like what they were releasing to it um and i' I'd gone and I'd um got a piece of wood I

Speaker A

decorated it with Holly i' done the icing sugar on the top and it was on a stand um and then there was like a candle on either end I'd got my handy man that was like helping with the we've

Speaker A

got someone building in our house and I was like would you mind putting a hole couple of holes in this log for me and he was like what's that for and I was like oh some ban thing I'm doing I want

Speaker A

to put some candles in and he yeah he sorted it out amazing and then yeah I wrote down I got everyone in advance to write down what they were releasing and letting go of you know so they could

Speaker A

come into the the new year with this new sense of purpose and not carrying any of the stuff into the new into the new year wrote it down into each individual piece of paper and I think I wrapped them with

Speaker A

red around the whole thing and yeah um yeah we got everyone to to say their thing out loud and we all said I hear you sister you know we really listen to what they were saying and then the

Speaker A

U bog jeez the U log was then put onto the fire and um and actually what you're supposed to do with a u log is you once it's all sort of like settled and everything is you take some of the Ash

Speaker A

and you hold on to the Y log Ash until the following year and it's good luck and I have I've held on to it for the whole C yes maybe I should maybe I'll tell everyone as you know it goes into

Speaker A

the thing I've kept it and you know cuz that's part of the tradition which I love Traditions yeah so you's such a lovely time I love the the sociable side of it because obviously we're about to move into a less sociable time of year

Speaker A

and I feel like Yu is all about Gathering and celebrating and you know drinking together and eating together and sharing gifts and feasting Maybe not maybe not Material gifts but definitely like sharing um yes some feasts you know

Speaker A

we had our U Yeah we actually came together didn't we for a your Feast yeah it was it was awesome it was really really cool um yeah it just feels like a very you know when everyone gets dressed up and

Speaker A

wraps up really warm and I love the process of going and getting a real tree as well yeah um I know that there's some you know downsides to cutting trees down and stuff like that but we always go to

Speaker A

a family run business in in um catsfield I think it is in East Sussex and um it's just really pretty like a a little little log cabin and then they have like handmade Christmas decorations and stuff like that and we take our dog with us we

Speaker A

go and get our tree and the I love having a whole day to decorate a tree and like put mold wine on and listen to nice music and just kind of like spend time with each other yeah yeah it's a

Speaker A

really nice ites feel like you're honoring your friends and family and loved ones isn't it it's a real celebration cration yeah I was find that the social calendar in December is really really busy um I was going to say

Speaker A

should try and do another y Feast I know you know what I was actually I've got some ideas about that I'm not going to say watch is this but but I have yeah I meant to tell you the other day that I

Speaker A

have some ideas about this year um but any any recipes that you like for for that time of year trying to think I'm not much of a cook I do like baking though I do like um I did like a um oh do you know what I

Speaker A

did I did do it I followed lovely um a lovely recipe for Pine biscuits oh yeah delish I mean I love I actually really like um Pine or Mint or anything kind of like uh scense clearing in biscuit so I

Speaker A

think it's really really nice the loveliest flavor yeah so I recommend Pine biscuits really good we have to be careful with the pine but it's delish um scrum and I always make my Elderberry syrup in December as as well so I

Speaker A

normally collect my berries and then I freeze them after like you know doing the water trick to work out which ones are okay and which ones aren't um I freeze them and then I make my Elderberry syrup and what I do is I I

Speaker A

make it at a time you know around the time that we've having our Christmas tree day because it fills the whole house with this amazing smell of like cinnamon and berries and oh it's Lush it's really really nice and you could

Speaker A

use simmer pots can't you yeah simmer pots that's a great one big chunks of orange and lemon and delish really nice I love a cozy it is so cozy isn't it yeah it's really cozy and I love uh being inside

Speaker A

and watching films all wrapped up with a blanket and I love a good a good December book as well yes I like having a nice spooky someone did a series I think it's called the ha Haunting season there's two books now they released them

Speaker A

around that sort of time and they're like a series of short spooky Tails oh love that and I love a spooky book around um Christmas time yeah I love that just to give that kind of like dark Victorian Christmas Edge to like

Speaker A

you um but then you know this is for me because I think this similar for you like the wheel of year transformed the way that I experience imul which is our next Sabbath and that would normally be a time when people feel quite depressed

Speaker A

because you know they have less money and you know they you know it's cold and you know spent spent all your money so you can't socialize as much the weather's terrible you know it's just a bit of a miserable time there a bit of a

Speaker A

a let down after such a nice sociable season yeah but you know I think it's about embracing The Awakening of the earth and honoring the the God your favorite deity and um you know and kindling the fires of inspiration within us so we're

Speaker A

still kind of in a state of like dreaming basically hibernation yeah and I think was nice about um imul is I Tred to really instill in the COV members you know that this is not a Time for Action don't like don't go soaring

Speaker A

into socializing into making plans allow your body time to rest because this is the time of the year when we're supposed to rest and you know just allow yourself to kind of just be just be in your house

Speaker A

you don't need to clean you could just lie read books watch films and just kind of like light fires and have C nice nice candle glow you've got really short days so one of the things that really transformed in

Speaker A

bulk for me was lighting a candle during the day which feels like such a luxury isn't it yes like you so I'd go to work and I'd light a candle you know and I'd have like that kind of soft lighting and

Speaker A

nice music and you know maybe I'd Infuse some essential oils and just make it really cozy like people that live in um Copenhagen do cozy so well um they understand that lighting plays a really important part of it and I think like

Speaker A

soft lighting is is just and I think again that's something that when we were talking about imul that was so important of letting yourself rest but really really allowing yourself to rest really imparting that and there's so many

Speaker A

amazing inul celebrations that connect to briged like there's so many sweet Traditions like leave a bowl of milk out the night before and she blesses the milk which is meant to like help with the the the lamb season that's coming or

Speaker A

leave a piece of clothing out and she blesses the clothing so when you wear it you know your intentions of what you want to fulfill throughout the year and then there's another one which I love of course you can make briged dolls and um

Speaker A

make briged crosses all those amazing things for inul but one of the things There's A really lovely tradition in Kill DA they leave the front door and the back door open and I think they knock so there's a real tradition I

Speaker A

can't quite remember all of it but you knock open the door and the idea is you letting briged in the house and she's blessing and then she goes out the back door also 1 of January cinnamon blowing yes so you stand outside of your front

Speaker A

door and you face inward with your door open and you blow cinnamon with intention into your house and it's blowing abundance into your house I did that this year and I loved it um and also with with um Bridget it's

Speaker A

the the image of a woman in white with the sort of the candle like she's got kind of a wreath on her head with like candles I love that image so much to recreate that at she's blessing the

Speaker A

she's she's blessing the Earth and and so the snow drop just appearing and the GS flower coming in and all those symbolizes of light just yeah and also the folks the folk story that I always tell about the battle between the kak

Speaker A

and bridgid you know the kak who represents winter and you know um making the land kind of like Barren and you know everything being asleep and then you've got this battle between um brid sorry kak and Bridget and Bridget's

Speaker A

bringing the snow drops and she's bringing the crocuses and the Tulips and the daffodils and you know they're they're fighting and that's why we get all of that kind of like turbulent weather and then suddenly the KC gives

Speaker A

in and goes back to her mountains in the North and the uh and then bridgid you know continues the life cycle you know and the regrowth and like you said the the beginning of lamming season yeah I mean I think embracing

Speaker A

imul has kind of definitely made that time of year more magical um just noticing winter for what it is is rather than battling against it yeah exactly um yeah beautiful it's beautiful it is beautiful and it's really transformed

Speaker A

the way I feel at that time of year you know I I've started to really enjoy the rest especially because I work in really fast-paced chaotic job it's very intense and it's quite an emotional burden at times I work in the I work in music but

Speaker A

I work in the charity sector and it's it's you know all about raising donations and lobbying the government and actually knowing that I've got that that time to rest in my personal time is so valuable um and so needed just slowing

Speaker A

down um which bring and it's okay to do that there's a thing in all of us isn't there they're like that push and pull but it's okay in that moment to just yeah honor it and slow down definitely I can't really think of

Speaker A

any like Foods Associated but I have I do bring in flowers and stuff to my altar you know I will bring in um you know um like baby uh daffodils or something like that you know if if they've come at that time there a lot of

Speaker A

apples for briged oh because of w Wasing yeah Wasing yeah um I don't know how to describe that it's kind of like apple season it's a celebration of the the harvesting of apples that's it it's really popular cuz I live on the

Speaker A

Southeast coast like a lot of those Pagan and folk Traditions have kept going for a long time and they do the was sailing in pavy um I haven't been able to go one yet cuz they keep getting rained off oh I know the the like the

Speaker A

ground is too wet and muddy oh muddy um I like apple pie no I do like apple pie apple pie good one of my favorite love one of my favorite pies yeah um and then moving into sort of a spring equinox or a

Speaker A

star so excuse me that's about celebrating the equilibrium of light and dark you know recognizing that everything needs balance it's when the time of Darkness that we have and the time of light that we have in the day

Speaker A

are completely equal um so so hence the equilibrium it's about fertility and New Beginnings so that is when we get the um the lamming the Lambs being born which is such a if you live in the country that is such a beautiful thing to see or

Speaker A

if you're driving past fields and you see all the cute baby lambs and I think that's when we really start to set to see the plants like a you know they're sprouting and coming to life and you know the the land is the actual soil is

Speaker A

starting to move there's like a hum of activity underneath the surface yeah beautiful any comments over there no just uh the aara um ritual that we did in the cover that's the one the first one we did was with the egg wasn't it yeah oh

Speaker A

okay tell us that story then Steph go on I think I've already told it haven't I oh yeah I think you probably have um essentially we did a our first ritual in the coven was all about um blessing an egg which

Speaker A

we were supposed to plant outside and I didn't plant my egg all year round and then I forgot about it and it was actually still on on my side um that was actually one of the things my other

Speaker A

half picked up and was like what is this okay don't worry mine on the floor so that that really that wasn't any better but the idea was is that we painted like the symbol for a stara onto the egg and

Speaker A

then we were supposed to offer it to the land as like nutrients and it yeah we end up offering it to the toilet I did a really simple one I read one in a I can't remember which book it

Speaker A

was in or maybe it was a PO cut but I basically just did a really simple one this year because again rushing around so I just boiled an egg I went outside and I ate the egg and then I just buried

Speaker A

the shell in the garden because it's full of nutrients full of nutrients so I was like that's a really beautiful easy tasty tasty and delicious way of you know honoring the land honoring a stara did we do seed blessing this year

Speaker A

yeah we did do seed blessing and we did Moon Gardens oh yeah you helped me yes totally forgot about that yeah we collaborated on that one which was really nice um yeah because it's it's kind of interesting you know a lot of

Speaker A

people say that they they're not very good at growing and I think that that's because we don't have enough time to do it we don't have enough time to give the nurturing to ourselves let alone plants and so I wanted to try and help get

Speaker A

everyone into the mindset of you know really um picking out seeds for something that they wanted to grow and like putting their intention into them as if they're their their own dreams basically that they're going to plant and nurture um and it's been really nice

Speaker A

seeing how people are growing them you know um but also obviously it's linked to uh Easter as well you know um you know the kind of like the origins of Easter are about fertility and about growth and you know ideas being born and

Speaker A

you know projects starting and it's a great time to start planning your ideas and sort of like starting the action yeah getting your getting so having sort of rested in inlk and just getting yourself ready now the thinking and the

Speaker A

planning is now just beginning to take seed that's the sort of feeling I get from a star like we go now and the start of wild garlic season my favorite I love water garlic too it's just absolutely delicious and pesto

Speaker A

salads I'm just all about the pesto I really need to Branch out and try different things but I just make pesto all the time it is is amazing in pesto so good so garlicky and yummy and then you get this at the same time don't you

Speaker A

you get the few flow leak yeah same kind of family they all appear because we got a lot of that where we live we got so much which isn't actually a native plant to um the area UK so you can eat as much

Speaker A

as you want probably invasive yeah like three cornered leak is also invasive you can take as much as you want it's coming to an end now which is a bit sad delicious but um yeah and I think also

Speaker A

it's where was I going but you know you're starting to see all this growth around you and you know being able to kind of like bring that into the house as well and have like your plants flourishing and you know starting to

Speaker A

really you know we're we're we're actually we've just passed belain right now while we're recording this episode and you know moving into the state when everything's in full bloom is just magic it's amazing you just suddenly see everything booming like my garden is

Speaker A

just wild at the moment with just activity like the local Forest our local Woodland they're like Fox gloves that have just shot up the the their ferns are enormous you see them teeny ween curly things and then they just go and it's just amazing oh I

Speaker A

did kind of Miss there around um around like Yul and inul just probably more inul actually just icicles and stuff like I absolutely love the frost I love like seeing Frost everywhere I think it's magic especially like on spiderwebs

Speaker A

and yeah it's really pretty but um yeah we so we've just passed belain now haven't we we've just done a what did we do for belain this year that oh that was your idea wasn't it so so that's kind of like Peak Springtime it's

Speaker A

celebrating love and passion and Union and uh sex yeah good old sex and you know new like kind of like uh masculine and feminine energy so yeah we did a charm bag we decided to um decide whatever Our intention was so

Speaker A

I think I was having some trouble with sleep at the time so I decided to make charm bag for sleep so we had these kind of drawring bags and I put like a amethyst moon in and I put some lavender

Speaker A

and some chamomile and um probably some valarian I can't really remember now and then I put in a speten thorn I don't know if I pronounced that right which is like a Icelandic or Nordic seel for it's more complicated that it's not like just

Speaker A

sleep it's actually there's a lot more to it but for this specific thing it meant sleep for me um and everyone sort of had had their different intentions and they some people wanted more self-love some people wanted confidence

Speaker A

some people wanted creativity and protection and yeah yeah yeah and I actually um attached a obsidian to mine and then hung it on my bed bed post amazing yeah so that was quite a fun thing to do I carry mine if mine was

Speaker A

protection so I carry mine in my handbag if I'm feeling if I'm feeling a bit anxious or I've got something to do I'm like that's coming with me yeah so it's my protection B mine was actually more of like an honoring charm bag it was

Speaker A

kind of like a um honoring of my relationship I remember you saying yeah and because obviously b is all about love and and so I created mine with like rose quartz and Rose oh that's beautiful and uh I can't remember what else I put

Speaker A

in there so hard to think it isn't it and remember everything that you put in but um and then whilst Tony was talking at the end I had a red ribbon that I was weaving while um Tony was talking

Speaker A

and um doing the final part of the the ritual um so yeah it was beautiful that's nice what sort of flavors kind of go with belain cuz I think of is asparagus is quite a belain thing isn't it asparagus

Speaker A

it it is yeah that's when it comes in isn't it that's the season that's try I well because I think of for me I think of um I guess I think of fire that's something that really the fires

Speaker A

beginning the big bomb fires daning on the fire I think of the sun I guess yeah um cakes oh delicious root platters and yeah that makes sense yeah cuz probably everything's in sort of like full bloom isn't it

Speaker A

so strawberries probably as well hence we've had some today you know cuz we are in belan season now yeah um yeah I absolutely love going into places that have like seasonal fruit and veg and just going in and being like Yay it's

Speaker A

the season for strawberries or it's the season for gourds or it's a season for yeah I mean I think in Switzerland they have what's it what is it sprouting what is their asparagus called oh I don't know not purple asparagus they have it

Speaker A

when it's like really young it tastes amazing they're such funny plants as well because they just literally they're very phallic looking kind like just like stick out of the ground go beep yeah hello are you happy to see me

Speaker A

um and then we got 18 plus uh podcast then we move into Midsummer so we move into or I was also going to say before we move on is um uh mapole oh yeah of course yeah dancing around the Maple they're

Speaker A

kind of like weaving it as they dance and yeah and also um moris dancers I bloody love a Morris dancer well also we went to um that celebration in Hastings didn't we Jack and the green it was a bit of a wash out

Speaker A

un fortunately Jack was not stoked to be um yeah so in in Hastings Jack and the green is kind of like there's a big procession and everyone dresses up and like foliage and flowers and have green faces had a green nose yeah you did get

Speaker A

a green nose I didn't want that man to puten on know where that sponge and face makeup's come from but it's come out of like a fanny pack or something um but you know everyone really really dresses up usually and there's a big procession

Speaker A

around town and then there's lots of Morris dancers brilliant there was like goth Morris dancers yeah and it's kind of like the celebration of the green man but it's also become in modern not in modern but like Victorian times it's

Speaker A

become interwoven with the end of sending young boys and and girls up the chimney to do the chimney sweeping because they were dying you know so they they they had this act come in to prevent children from being chimney

Speaker A

sweepers so often there's like chimney sweepers stuff at Jack in the green um but yeah unfortunately this year it um it it rained really hardcore which was a shame but um we still had a really nice day and we still kind of

Speaker A

honored it in our own way you know we had some really lovely food together we had pesto yeah we did we had some thir we had some wine together yeah and yeah we had lots of sharing and and stuff

Speaker A

listen to some nice music we did go it just wasn't as uh nice as we thought it would be but it is normally amazing and it's it's such a huge Hastings tradition so um yeah I've been for the last sort

Speaker A

of four years I think and last year was a big anniversary can't remember what year it was but it was yeah it was great I love it um so yeah then we move into to Midsummer or Lea which will be coming

Speaker A

up next for us that's all about abundance and fertility and celebrating the Zenith of the sun um and you know it's the longest day of the year longest day the year A lot of people do um you know um flower crowns flower crown

Speaker A

crafting and you know frolicking Fields more sex um you know and it's it's about like your projects coming to full fruition as well so it's it's really where your creativity is supposed to flourish flourish yeah um and it's about isn't it

Speaker A

again well we had a we had a Lea celebration do we we just sat outside and just just drank a lot red lipped I created a an Ulta space out in the garden for us oh that's lovely I

Speaker A

want to do that yeah we're going to do that okay good and we I had loads of um I can't remember what plants they were but I had petals from like yellow plants um and I had crystals and candles

Speaker A

and it was quite beautiful it was it was just like a really lovely way to like celebrate honor the day like this is the day we stayed up until the sun the sun went down it was just it was beautiful yeah

Speaker A

that sounds lovely yeah and um but like you say yeah you know I do I do want you really want to do Stone Henge that is in my yeah it's just I don't think it's the same these days as it used to be you

Speaker A

know you can't get anywhere close to the stones that's it I thought they opened it up for the for the I don't know if they if they did last year I think that they've really brought the bar boundary

Speaker A

like quite far out almost when you drive past the car you're as close as if you were outside it's really expensive to go on a visit to to stain henge as well yeah and then you you you pay this money

Speaker A

to go and then you're literally like standing so far away from it you may as well just stayed in your car stay in your car drive down the a303 yeah very slowly like everyone does to look so funny that pit driving so slow we were

Speaker A

driving to GL you know I was like why is was so slow it's because people are slowing down to look at the stones yeah y amazing what kind of what kind of like um alar items and like food and stuff

Speaker A

would you associate with Midsummer say like bright colored like sunflowers and yeah see sunflowers for me later in the season I think they kind of like lunar and mayborne but I wonder if it is like um oh God I can't remember what they're

Speaker A

called uh there's a really beautiful there's a beautiful huge like rhendy type yeah yeah yeah there's St John's wart that's what I had put on there that's right oh it I we have a plant a plant in the garden and they have

Speaker A

beautiful yellow flowers yes oh wow that's what it was St John's W yeah I was going to say I was trying to think of real summer budding plants but I was thinking like Roda dendrum type roses as well roses

Speaker A

yeah absolutely yeah and full bloom beautiful I'm trying to think about food as well so I guess I guess um I remember looking at some foraging things and it is the and I can't remember all the names but it's all the flowers that you

Speaker A

can eat like um like Hawthorn flowers is elderberry not Elderberry elder flower obviously flow oh well it's yeah I mean they Elder flowers yeah they've literally started coming out oh my God elderflower is such a delicious taste isn't it it's my it's probably one of my

Speaker A

favorites actually kind of floral but also kind of I saw someone did almost citrusy someone did a tempura elderflower that came up on my feet I was like pardon they literally had it in the batter oh wow it and it was elder

Speaker A

flower like tempura H interesting that was genius very interesting yeah I'd say making like flower-based wines around that time I make flower based CLA claudi like lilac as well cuz with lilac they normally come out for like a week a

Speaker A

year and um I think I think the Lilac tastes amazing um but yeah I like I like floral um uh cordials and and also made Hawthorne ketchup last year really hot as well I made ELD flow champagne oh bet

Speaker A

you did that's right that was really good was that could you remember what it was yeah I haven't ever tried other flower champagne or wine before but bet delicious a good one um trying to think of what else

Speaker A

it's gone it's gone it's gone it might come back to us later usually happens should done some research should have had a look at my books um but yeah I I would definitely say kind of like zesty flavors like

Speaker A

oranges and lemons you know associate them with the like The Heat Of Summer um you know like lemon cake lemonade lemon lemonade yeah um oh man cakes are good probably like um could eat a cake now Berry Tarts and things like that as

Speaker A

well yeah um and jams makam pins love bloody pins love a pims that's so British isn't it hey we love a pims darling yeah that was quite big it so also barbecues as well like my family are big on barbecues my mom and my

Speaker A

stepdad are amazing at them um and my mom would always like barbecue slices of pineapple and then make like a like a brown sugar rum sauce to go on top of them wow oh boy was so good that sounds

Speaker A

well nice yeah coming to a barbecue around your yeah I'm coming I haven't eaten meat in 10 years but when I was younger they used to barbecue like a big bit of lamb with like you know herbs in

Speaker A

or they'd you know like do yeah I not not into that anymore now it's more kind of like the veggie sausages and the ve veggie patties which it's not very fun being a vegetarian and going to a barbecue anymore you kind of do get like

Speaker A

skewers and oh sweet corn though yes barbecue sweet corn is delicious Peppers yeah well I don't eat peppers that's a bit of a shame um they don't agree with me sadly but but sweet corn yeah corn on the cob specifically is just so

Speaker A

delicious and you can have it like topped in so many different things um but yeah barbecue I like I love cooking outside I think it's so fun it's very collaborative and it just feels very like Central to a big group and yeah

Speaker A

it's just really just having an outside fire as well outside fire beautiful and being outside all night you know with the fire on and talk that was the thing I think about us staying up it was it was being out it was warm you Gorge

Speaker A

beautiful yeah magical having all the lights on well that time um you know cuz it's the longest day of the year you have to wait a long time for the the sparkly lights but it's also nice when you can get a glimpse of the night sky

Speaker A

as well and see all the stuff stars and it was beautiful beautiful yeah and then we kind of move into Luna saw which is about the first harvest of the year so I think that's what I um correlate with sunflowers

Speaker A

because that's when the fields are kind of like in full bloom so you normally have your pumpkin patches you have your sunflowers you have your corn on the cob and stuff like that so it traditionally it would be when the first harvest was

Speaker A

it's when you give thanks for abundance and you um consider kind of like the cycle of sacrifice and reflect on your personal growth from the year um you know normally that you know back in the day they would have had like Barn dances

Speaker A

and you know like the last of the crops isn't it the last of the no that comes that's not cuz this is the first harvest oh that's this is the that's right the first harest so you might have like um

Speaker A

oh what's it called like a like a I mean obviously I wouldn't have this but people would have like roast a pig outside oh right yeah yeah yeah you know on a spit or whatever and you know lots of outside celebrations with hayy

Speaker A

Bales and I think I celebrated I made Rosemary bread yeah I was going to say baking bread is quite a big one I think honey bread as well is a big one um but yeah oh man I love sunflowers

Speaker A

they're so nice so also we should probably touch on the fact that um a lot of people refer to lunasad as llas and uh Tony's going to explain why um it's a Christian name for the co-opted celebration and it really bums me out

Speaker A

when I see all these witchy accounts going saying lus and I think really genuinely they're saying lamus because it's less hard to spell and pronounce than Lunas are yeah and and I think that that's literally it I think that they

Speaker A

they've just kind of like diverted towards the name that's easier to use but it's not a witchcraft name it is a Christian name so yeah like really I hate it I really hate it and it is hard work to spell Luna

Speaker A

sign it is hard you know you do have to learn how to say it but it's in my practice it's the the right name for the Sabbath so yeah I mean if you obviously if you're a Christian Christian witch

Speaker A

yeah or W I think wians use Lamas quite a lot as well um but yeah it's it the thing is I don't have I'm worried that people think that I just don't like wicens and that's not true it's just not

Speaker A

my practice you know you know and I and I want I think I want to empower people to like feel happy you know embracing the thing that they connect with yeah you know and if that's wicker that's cool that's cool and there's a lot of

Speaker A

overlap and there's a lot of beautiful things in that religion it's just m my practice isn't a religion it's spiritualism yeah um yeah so I just I I feel like I need to caveat yeah we don't hate wi absolutely do not and there are

Speaker A

loads of wi in the know and I don't want them to you know someone was uh feeling sad about the pentacle and stuff like that and I was like no look I'm I'm a really opinionated outspoken person and

Speaker A

you know you need to celebrate the things that you connect with and just just don't worry about what anyone else thinks well that's going back is it just looping to like being authentic and not people pleasing it's saying it's being true to yourself

Speaker A

that's what you're doing yeah and we're in crumble season sorry S I add that in there crumbl crumble season also cherries are big for lar you know Cher I love cherries have you ever had Cherry crumble or you know cherry pie yeah

Speaker A

Cherry like basically like a bake well kind of tart really yeah but I think hot like having hot one yeah with cherry oh so delicious so I think my favorite my favorite crumbles I ever had were cherry and or pumpkin I made a SP spice pumpin

Speaker A

crumble oh my God it was delicious oh I've never had that so good it was kind of like a cobbler really you know when you like use toasted um pine nuts in the crumble mix it's great I very hungry I

Speaker A

know we've been like snacking and I like I'm still hungry eat all day what what sort of like uh what celebration did we do for lunaa last year in the coven um I don't know I really desperately want to

Speaker A

do like a like a corn dolly or something but I feel like we um did a crafting session um uh we made flower crowns pre before the celebration and then we wore them we wore them yes you're absolutely right um

Speaker A

but I can't remember what we did in the ritual now don't remember our brains oh man what did we do I can't remember what we do was that what oh we made a solar oil yes thank you bra solar oil so so the

Speaker A

idea with the solar oil was to harness the power of the Sun and bring it into this oil that would hopefully uh and also um use the scents that remind us of the Sun so I think I used like lemon

Speaker A

viina and yes like citrusy I think I had lemongrass in M yeah I love lemongrass but the idea was it would take us through these colder months with the the feeling of the sun you know um in the oil you know that we

Speaker A

could use it to kind of remind us of the warmth and really yeah really enjoyed doing that it was nice and there was something lovely about wearing like lighter colors as well and also we flower crowns and like really just

Speaker A

embracing the the celebration of lunar you know as a group it was really nice it was beautiful I think I've read somewhere as well someone said it might have been in the coven that they just get a piece of bread crumble the bread

Speaker A

and then they scatter it around their Garden there's like a little tradition in a circle or something they do it in a circle for lunar yeah cute cute very cute indeed my brain is going to be um but then we we end on our last uh

Speaker A

Sabbath which is mayborn yes so mayon's quite nice for the spooky girls because it's the beginning of Autumn and the you know another Harvest to is celebrate the Autumn Equinox give thanks for the Harvest embrace the balance of light and dark so yes this is

Speaker A

the same as um inul inul yeah light and dark no sorry aara asara so asara and mayel on are like the Opposites you know equilibrium of light and dark um and yeah you know it's it's sort of the

Speaker A

beginning of sort of pumpkin patch attending picking attending I'm attending this pumpkin season I made so um I say mabon is that not right is it it's Mayon mabon Mayon Mayon well whatever I made so much blackbery jam

Speaker A

cuz I went berry picking down near where we live there's ooodles of blackberries I made just jar after jar after jar after jar that's too much picking that was naughty but delicious unless you're going to give it out as gifts I guess I

Speaker A

did give it to some people that's nice and I kept three for me a that's good but it that was just that felt I felt so um cuz I love that time of year as well I love like it's getting cold and the

Speaker A

Sun is like a kind of burnt orange feeling and you get like Elder berries berries and crab apples That season I remember one year I made um crab apple cider vinegar yum um which was good it is and obviously all the elderberries

Speaker A

rose hips come out rose hips are out um so you can make and you can make rose hip face soil can't you yeah rose hips are really good for your skin so I think they've got quite a high vitamin C

Speaker A

content um that's why you can use them in syrups and um uh tinctures uh for winter um with the Elder Beres um yeah it's a beautiful time of year cuz it's still kind of a bit warm um and it's just yeah all the

Speaker A

nice things that you can forage there's um slow berries as well that you can forage at that time of year yeah um which is great to make slow Berry gin I love slow slow Berry Jin slow Jin slow

Speaker A

Jin thank you I was like why am I saying Berry it's delicious I prefer it to normal Jin actually it's quite rich but yeah so yummy it's yummy you know I think I was just thinking we're sort of

Speaker A

going we didn't mention it we can mention that going into mushroom a mushroom season mushroom season mushrooms melium melium they going just beginning then aren't you into mushroom I mean we're actually we're at the start of mushroom season right now on belain

Speaker A

you know I think that that's nice mayor and sour is sort of the end of it there are a few winter ones I think blits and yes Shelli no shant shant something chant you're not Chantell like cream is

Speaker A

it whoops one thing that I just remembered that we didn't mention is actually um the the veil is really thin on sa but it's also thin on belan yes yeah that is a another one for the spooky girls yeah so good for divination

Speaker A

and connecting to Spirits yeah totally I often forget that because I'm like oh it's a start of spring this is not my time I shut down until s returns I it when it gets to belain and everyone like

Speaker A

everyone's like six months till Halloween yes I was trying to remember what we did to celebrate mayor last year yeah our brains are melting um I was trying to think what we did no it's gone can't remember we have

Speaker A

to uh let us know yeah I can't remember what let us know what we did did we do what did we do what did we do know but it's nice because it's like the weather's still warm but you're getting

Speaker A

all the benefits of kind of like the Autumn you know the Autumn period you know you can still go outside and Frolic but you're frolicking in a light jacket yeah exactly what would you say we've gone through all of the um uh seasonal

Speaker A

celebrations now apart from sa what is another one that you love and connect with inul inul inul it's gonna be inul I mean I do love you I do really like it but I also feel like Yu is the

Speaker A

point in which I stop enjoying it because because the celebrations are kind of coming to an end you know I actually find that period the the 2 second you know onwards kind of like a bit chaotic and not that enjoyable I

Speaker A

don't even really enjoy really Christmas day or anything like that but I like the lead up to Christmas I like the start of December leading up to Y because of all that social the social Gatherings the love that you share with your friends um

Speaker A

you know the lovely food and the the you know the just the Goodwill to all men God bless us everyone um uh I do love you but I yeah I think really I am I'm in love with imul now yeah it is so it

Speaker A

makes that time of year so much more special and magical I it's totally enchanting yeah totally that's the word I would definitely describe within bulk Le I was going to say I think I love Letha yeah you're kind of sun babies and

Speaker A

I'm not but it's because it's my season right yeah um cancerian yeah so we're just coming into the cancer it's my season as well because I'm I'm a Leo so I'm an August baby I don't know why was

Speaker A

born in August why did you H I am like that's not my not my vibe at all but yeah but you love you Sun worship really don't you yeah I do I think that's why I say you know obvious obviously you know

Speaker A

I connect with Luna witchcraft but also that's why I also say I call it wild witchcraft because I connect with um you know that all the wild plants and and and uh you know there's something magical about the sun I will have you I

Speaker A

will give you that Lizzy thank you um so so yeah I mean previously I was a total Sunbaby um and I lived for summer but actually now I'm shifting um I'm shifting into appreciating winter and the colder once a little bit more I love

Speaker A

it yeah Ian I'm built for cold weather but I remember you saying that um that you started to appreciate um spring and a little bit more yeah I mean I I remember also coming out of the summer period I mean yeah spring spring is

Speaker A

great I mean I I love seeing the natural environment come back to life that's beautiful it it makes it enjoyable to be outside again but also I remember at the end of summer last year seeing the lavender and full bloom which I love uh

Speaker A

like fresh lavender and the be that's exactly what I was going to say and the bumblebees and feeling quite sad that it was all going to come to an end yeah you know because um you know there there is something

Speaker A

also deeply enchanting about walking around your local area and it being in full bloom and you know just you know kind of like walking down the street going hello lavender hello sticky weed you know like I love that though personalities of

Speaker A

these plants like coming out when you can walk when you can actually go on a walk and you know what everything is most things I love it I think it's amazing I got sad when someone mowed down all the yeah someone chopped down

Speaker A

an um an eler tree tree why I don't know that's also just bad luck that's a Wiest tree who did whoever did that good Lu someone actually Trimm back the Elder near me as well and now they've made it

Speaker A

so that the Elder flow is too high to to harvest as well which I think it's really sad really rude boo very rude I think it's probably the council I took a picture for Steph like no that tree is

Speaker A

gone well the whole tree had gone the whole tree had completely gone CH have they been infected maybe were they fell something cuz it's difficult because you know I like to go this's really ancient Woodland near me called guestling wood

Speaker A

which is full of like old o oak trees and actually part of it they've they've felled um large parts of it and they put a really good explainer there saying looks like we've chopped down loads of trees but actually what it's doing is

Speaker A

it's helping the ecosystem come back to life because when there's too much too many trees no sunlight gets to the ground underneath and it affects the other species of plants from growing and it prevents you know you know the

Speaker A

wildlife you know the the little animals and bugs and everything from exactly same here the sor that the the area we're in that all the woods have been and it does look you think oh they've all chopped it

Speaker A

all down reminds me of Fern Gully have you watched that where they chop all the trees down such a good film great film my name is buy sorry logic is ertic something in the attic I remember we're all slowly losing the I'm losing my mind

Speaker A

I'm sorry but anyway um I've I enjoyed going through the wheel of the year I think it's uh I think it's a very it's an important one to to talk about and it's it's um had a big difference on on

Speaker A

my practice going through the wheel of the year with our rituals in the coven me too I um I love it I love it I think also it's one thing experiencing it on your own and and and sort of being a bit

Speaker A

sloppy with actually celebrating it to then being accountable for like celebrating it as a group of people like I had to do all the research to do the history on it and then you know then for us to have this sort of like uh you know

Speaker A

bit of work together so that's made it totally different that is actually one thing that I like about the coven for me is that it makes me accountable to making sure I make time um and um crafting out um those

Speaker A

hours um and making sure that you know I'm there and prepared and I'm I'm ready and yeah like you said I was sloppy with the wheel of the year before um we started doing the the rituals in the

Speaker A

cover so and now it makes me feel so much more connected with um the seasons especially when you come whoops sorry Stevie especially when you like complete a whole year you know so you you know you start in S I did it

Speaker A

again and then you come back to sa and you're like wow we've literally as a group of women celebrated every single Sabbath together and that is feels really special yeah yeah beautiful so thank thank you ladies for joining me

Speaker A

once again for another episode of embracing magic all about the wheel of the year The Witch's Year I hope you have enjoyed it too at home please do let us know um what is your favorite sa to celebrate um what things you do or

Speaker A

rituals or baking we'd love to hear from you um and if you feel like you'd like to join us in the coven and celebrate the wheel of the year with us or um are Moon ceremonies or learn more about

Speaker A

witchcraft in general then there is a link in the bio um yeah thank you again and we'll see you again soon for another episode of embracing Magic

Topics:Wheel of the YearSamhainwitchcraftancestral honoringseasonal celebrationsdumb supperpumpkin carvingspiritual ritualsforest bathingEmbracing Magick Podcast

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