Pantheacon 2012

I am so Lucky this year! All of the Events I went to on Sunday at Pcon were Incredible! I got there early to get to Siwas Dance Magick Class and that was the perfect way to start the day. Then on up to the Caya room to meet with some friends and prepare for the Queen of Hearts Ritual and make some lunch. It is always nice to have some "chill space" and I am very grateful to my coven for providing a room to chill out and relax between events. (and the food didnt hurt either!) Hanging out and talking to people is one of my favorite things to do here! After lunch the Amazon Priestesses Tribe headed to the room where the Queen of Hearts ritual was to be held. We prepped ourselves and the space, and invited all women inside. The ritual was so much fun to be part of. I really enjoy dancing in Sacred Space, it really is unbelievable and one of the joys of my life. I did the dance of the Maiden, free and Liberated, w/o the worries or responsibilities of the later stages of life. (its nice to go back to that place once in a while!) Molly told the story, her words like a song and the pounding of a drum. I saw some good friends there and I came out feeling blessed. Thats some good ritual happenins'! After some more chill space, I headed to the La Bifana class held by Sabina Magliocco and I thought I knew La Bifana, but there is SO much more behind the rich tradition of this Witch, how she relates to Hekate, Strenia, and so many more goddesses. The traditions of La Bifana, how her story was christianised, but that she is much older than the bible. Sabina does her research well & she don't mess around. I had to head out a little early but I was glad to catch her presentation. After that I headed to the Vendor room with the money I had saved just for this one day. I don't stay the whole weekend or chances are my savings would be no more. So I have a special amount set for the day. Its like when you go to Vegas and bring only a certain amount of cash, you also make sure you hide your Atm cards at home. So for my large purchase of the year I got my wonderful Hekate Statue from Morning Glory Zell. She told me of the inspiration of the statue, how it came to be, the symbols: key, knife, and torches she told me of the animals, dog and snake, she explained the herbs that she crafted around the base. You can tell a lot of love and thought are in this masterpiece. I am delighted to put this on my altar. I also picked up some stick incense from the Sacred Well, they are one of the very few places that carry Fred Solls resin incense and I got my favorite Pinion and some Frank with rose and jasmine. The next space I put my face was at the Oracles of the Living Tarot, which is always amazing. I think this year it was much more polished and we (thankfully) the audience had more room! All of the cards were amazing, and the order in which they appeared, very telling! I enjoyed it very much, and it is an event I like to be at every year. Last but not least was the Rite of the Bear Mother, and Holy Hel it was Powerful Magic! So I am part of Caya coven and I am proud to say this was amazing. The singing, the dancing, the chanting, the energy, the magic. It all Fucking rocked. Period. Go Sisters and Brothers! At the end of the ritual the man sitting next to me handed me a Macaw feather and he said; "here, for your altar"and I was a little flabbergasted, and thought to myself, "does he know I'm working with Oshun this year??" But I thanked him profusely and scurried off to the Caya common room

to grab my things and head home.

I got home, and I fell asleep, woke up early and very rested. I had a wonderful day and continue to have a fabulous week. Many thanks to all the amazing presenters and folks who make this a go every year !

Elder/Echinacea to help fight con crud.

• My own recipe for P-con, but they are so tasty they might not make it that long.
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Elder-Echinacea cookies.

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• 1 cup buckwheat flour (or 2 cups for gluten free, add Xanthan gum)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of each: Almond, Vanilla, Peppermint extracts.
• 3/4 cup coconut oil or butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup dark honey
• handful of each:
• sunflower seeds
• slivered almonds
• dessicated coconut
• cranberries
• sesame seeds
• and the rest of the Elderberry/Echinacea from the syrup,
• or 1/4 cup elderberry and 2 tablspoons of echinacea powder soaked in brandy and then strained.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl (except sugar) . cream together sugar with coconut oil and slowly add honey and then the egg. Slowly add the rest of the ingredients. mixing and mashing. Take a spoon and fork and put them on a cookie sheet. (you can also roll them in cinnamon sugar for more sweetness) Bake for 10 minutes.

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Sunol Water Temple

Today I found myself drawn to the outdoors, I wanted to be as far away as I could be. So I started driving. I forget what my original destination was, but I'm sure not getting there had a lot to do with me getting lost. So I pulled out my handy new cel phone, and typed in "Temple" . Up popped the Water Temple. Something I had only seen from afar when I was a teenager cutting class to go skinny dipping in the Niles Creek. (Ah yes! that's where I was going today, Niles !) anyway, I ask my phone for directions and I'm on my way. I arrive and find I am the only person there. As soon as I get out of the car, There is Buzzard about 20 feet over my head. All I can do is look at the beautiful and large bird scoping me out.

First off, there is water in the middle of the temple, so you can't really walk in that part, and from what I could tell it is really deep, like a *huge* well. It is clear, but really dark and a bit ominous when you look into it. If you look up from the Inside you will see a beautiful painting of 6 women on the ceiling. At first I just absorbed all the goodness, the fresh air, the birds chirping and the water flowing. Soon I was weeping, my tears falling into this giant and deep well. I thought of how important water is, how Sacred it is to the Planet and to every living thing on it. It is sad that water has been poisoned and polluted so much. Once I could not cry anymore and I began singing. The sound echoing inside the Temple is breathtaking. I could envision women standing all around at each pillar singing into the well, creating and renewing all of the pleasures in life. I stopped and listened to the water flowing, in meditation. It is very calming to find yourself in this kind of space, surrounded by wildlife and the sound of water when you are trying to be still.

The Temple itself was designed by Willis Polk for the water district, but it was modeled after the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy. So I can't help but associate this Water Temple with Vesta; I can see that bringing fresh clean water into the homes of most of the bay area can relate to Goddess Vesta and even a hot pot of soup needs some clean water in it. I also see a few more Goddesses in this place, since it is not the Original Temple of Vesta, but it is A Beautiful Water Temple.

Elder Echinacea Syrup

Sweet n' Simple Elder Echinacea Syrup

Buckwheat Honey

Brandy (or other alcohol you like) (1/2 cup or so)

¼ cup elderberry dried or fresh (in this recipe I used dry)

2 tablespoons echinacea powder

1 tablespoon ginger juice

1 nice n' juicy lemon

In a small pot put the mixture of elderberry, echinacea, and brandy on low heat. Simmer, Take a heaping large tablespoon of honey and add to the mixture in the pot, add the juice of half a lemon and ginger stir well. Add more brandy or the rest of the lemon if you need more liqiud. (the other half of the lemon can be saved and added at any time.) Simmer, then when you feel it is ready you have 1 of 2 choices: you can strain the bulk of the mix through a small weave metal strainer and save the ruffage for truffles or incense (yes!) a potato masher can also help to reserve the liquid, or you can toss it all in a food processor for a slightly chunky syrup and get all the good stuff in there. I tablespoon 2 x a day should do it! You can even add it to tea or a glass of water if you like.

What, Why?

Buckwheat honey is a dark and strong flavored honey. It is high in anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins, enzymes and phenols. This honey is thick and less sweet than your typical wildflower honey. The kind I like to use in this recipe will not pour at room temperature. When mixed with the other ingredients in this recipe it should make the syrup sweet, but not overly so.

Black Elderberry also known as Sambucus Nigra is a great antiviral, anti-inflammitory, immune system fortifying, diaphoretic (expect to in part, sweat it out), diuretic (and in urination), Mild laxative, and bacteria supressor. It can really shorten the duration of a flu and can help with tonsilitis as well.

Echinacea will help to stimulate your white blood cells and lymphocytes to “eat and destroy” invading organisms in your body. Echinacea will kill yeast and bacteria, and is helpful in the treatment of viruses.

Lemon juice can help balance the bodies Ph. Diets high in processed foods and other acidic foods can create an unbalanced Ph in the body. This highly acidic Ph can keep the body from removing toxins and leaving it open to disease and even slow down metabolism. Also lemon is high in vitamin C.

Ginger is very calming on the stomach and it is also very warming. This is great when you get the chills from the flu and it also helps you to “sweat it out” combined with the honey it is highly antiseptic.

Oh and the Brandy? Thats because my grandma always recommended a shot of Macieira (a Portuguese brandy) for a cold.

This is my syrup recipe, but it can be easily adapted to your own needs with a little creativity and thought. I will put up some recipes to make incense and truffles with the ruffage, but you can throw it into batter and make cookies or whatever sweet thing you want.

Hawthorn~

I've been working with a new Plant lately. It is one that I have not had the chance to really get to know before. In herbalism it is used internally to strengthen the Heart and so it is used to help individuals who have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. This is the wonderful Hawthorn Berry. It can be made into teas, tinctures and put into capsules for consumption. I also use it in my own magical practice. Since Hawthorn has beautiful red berries and thorns it has the protective qualities of a Fire herb. Also, to note, it increases circulation concerning the heart-blood, this is very much fire. Hawthorn is very protective of home and health. One of my favorite things to do for protection of home and body is to make a strong tea of Hawthorn Berries, drink a small cup of the tea with honey for health, and put the rest in a spray bottle with a bit of Vinegar (white or apple, its up to you!) Then I mist the doors and windows of the house so that no negative energies enter.

Hawthorn is associated with many deities and has much lore behind it that goes back thousands of years. One Goddess is Cardea, a Goddess of Door-hinges (responsible for the opening and closing of doors), Her plant is the Hawthorn to which she hung over the doorways/windows of children in the home for protection. Arbutus is added for the healing of children, which is added to a red cloth hung over the window, also containing Hawthorn.

Hawthorns' Month is May, this is when it first begins to blossom (historically, global climate shifts have changed this a bit) so it has long been associated with Beltane and fertility rituals. It is said that if you bathe your hands in the floral essence of Hawthorn Blossoms in the month of May, you will learn to be a good (or even better) craftsmen.

The burning Bush from the Bible, was a variety of Hawthorn. Again this goes back to fire, in fact fire with a divine message. The Hawthorn has spirit within it, what does it say to you?