Mystic Board

Identifying Samhain as a Celtic Death God is one of the most tenacious errors associated with Halloween. Almost all stories about the origin of Halloween correctly state that Halloween had its origins among the ancient Celts and is based on their "Feast of Samhain." But many conservative Christian a...

The Samhain celebrations have survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the harvest and the dead. In Ireland and Scotland, the Féile na Marbh, the 'festival of the dead' took place on Samhain. The night of Samhain, in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna, is one of the ...

The Ulster Cycle is peppered with references to Samhain. Many of the adventures and campaigns undertaken by the characters therein begin at the Samhain Night feast. One such tale is Echtra Nerai ('The Adventure of Nera') concerning one Nera from Connacht who undergoes a test of bravery put forth by ...

The Gaulish calendar appears to have divided the year into two halves, the 'dark' half, beginning with the month Samonios (the October/November lunation), and the 'light half', beginning with the month Giamonios (the April/May lunation). The entire year may have been considered as beginning with the...

Mirror of My Smile Spell October 5th, 2007 Color of the day: White Incense of the day: Geranium Fridays contain the magic of love, beauty, and relationships, and nothing shows more beauty and brings more joy than a smiling face.  Finding beauty in our own image is often very difficult. Spend so...

Pumpkin Cookies Makes about 60 1 cup oil 3 cups sugar 2 eggs -- beaten 3 teaspoons vanilla 5 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons nutmeg 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 1 29-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin 2 cups semi...

Harvest Knot work October 6th, 2007 Color of the day: Black Incense of the day: Almond Throughout the month of October, farmers worked hard to bring in the grain harvest during the good weather (and before the end of the year at Samhain). In Ireland, as part of the harvest celebration, small ornamen...

Leo: Just because you don't agree with a certain someone doesn't mean that you can't get along with them famously. If you opted out of being friends with people who think about life differently, you'd have a very boring social life. The yin and yang of this relationship creates an exciting intellect...

Travel in Safety Spell October 8th, 2007 Color of the day: Lavender Incense of the day: Chrysanthemum At the time Columbus traveled, there were many spells used by sailors and their families to ensure a safe voyage. Today, we travel every day by car or by public transportation, and there are a varie...

Space Weather News for Oct. 8, 2007 spaceweather.com METEOR WATCH: The annual Draconid meteor shower peaks on Oct. 9th at 0430 UT--in other words, tonight at 9:30 pm PDT or 12:30 am EDT. Don't expect a big display. The source of the shower, comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, is far away and unlikely to pro...

Pet Protection Spell October 9th, 2007 Color of the day: White Incense of the day: Chrysanthemum It is common to go out of town or on vacation and leave the family pet at home. We see to their food, water, and shelter needs, but often we forget to add any magical protection to keep them safe. Long a...

Space Weather News for Oct. 10, 2007 spaceweather.com CELESTIAL TRIANGLE: Set your alarm. For the next five mornings, just before dawn banishes the night, you can see a compact celestial triangle rising in the eastern sky. The corners are dazzling Venus, Saturn and the bright star Regulus. This is w...

Witch's Brew Witch's Brew (makes 16 servings) dry ice 2 .32-ounce (9 g) sugar-free grape or black cherry drink mix cold water 1 46-ounce (1.4 l) can unsweetened pineapple juice, chilled 1 quart (1 liter) sugar-free lime-flavored carbonated beverage or sugar-free ginger ale, chilled Place a punch bow...

Spicy Pumpkin Pound Cake 2 1/2 cups cake flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 4 eggs, at room temperature, separated 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 cup unsalted butter,...

Samhain (Oiche Shamhna) is the most important sabbat of the year. Pronounced as "Sow-in by the Irish, as SAV-en by the Scottish and as SOW-een by the Welsh. It is exactly opposite Beltaine on the Wheel of the year. It is reckoned when the sun has reached 15 degrees Scorpio. Samhain lies exactly betw...