Tag: sabbat

Mabon Bath Salts

Posted on by Th3D0ct0r
Look! I’m actually FANCY!

Mabon is a Sabbat that celebrates the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and the second harvest. This year, it falls on September 22. Mabon, similarly to Lughnasadh, is a time of Thanksgiving and gratitude. What better way to get into the spirit of giving thanks than by thanking yourself for surviving the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that has been 2020 and taking a ritual bath!

Honestly, I just like using bath salts whenever I can. They’re easy to make and it’s so relaxing to use them. This one is a two-parter, so you’ll need two containers to make it work.

You’ll need dried chamomile, sage, and rosemary; sea salt, baking soda, and sandalwood essential oil. How much you want to use is up to you. Standard ratios are as follows: 1:1:1:1 on the dried plants to water (1 T each, 1 cup water) and 1/2c sea salt, 1 T baking soda, and about 5-6 drops sandalwood.

You’re going to put your herbs and water in a pot and simmer them for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, let them cool.

In the meantime, mix your sea salt and baking soda together, then add your essential oil and mix thoroughly. Put into a shatter-proof container (or live dangerously, like I do, and use a mason jar). I use a 4oz mason jar for these and pack the salt mixture into them. when you use it for your bath, you’ll use approximately half of the jar.

Once the decoction has cooled, strain it using either a cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. You should be able to fill a 4oz jar with the liquid. When you go to draw your bath, pour in your salt first and dissolve it in the water, then add 2oz of your decoction and blend it into the water as well. Climb into your tub and relax and focus on the many things you have to be thankful for.

You can make it more of a ritual, if you would like–light candles, cast a magic circle, whatever you’d like to do. I tend to keep my baths simple. Spend as much time as you require soaking in the energy of Mabon and the Equinox.

Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again. Blessed be.

Upcoming Video: Mabon Celebration

Posted on by Th3D0ct0r

One of the upcoming Sabbats–Mabon–is a social celebration of 2nd Harvest. With the way the U.S. is currently, social celebrations are a bit of a taboo. What I am offering is this: If you live in LA County, Orange County, or Riverside/San Bernardino County and you would like to participate in a socially distance gift exchange, please sound off!

The items I bring you may or may not be videos from my channel–you’ll have to guess! But, I would like to film the deliveries (not required for participation). All I ask is that you hand-make something to trade. The deliveries will be made Sunday, September 20, 2020. Please comment here or message me directly (or pop into the Discord channel and tag me) if you’d like to be a part of this Mabon Celebration!

P.S.: You do not have to celebrate Mabon. I don’t, personally. But, some of the goodies I have planned are too good NOT to share!

Projects for Lughnasadh

Posted on by Th3D0ct0r
I’m wearing catears. That have snakes on them. I love them.

I’m back with another Lughnasadh video! We’re making “First Harvest” Potpourri (dry) and Habanero Jelly!

Cameraman Ken (aka The Husbeast) lost his sense of smell through (chronic sinusitis). So, he enjoys foods that have spice, but more importantly, flavor. I have hot sauces sitting on my table that would make mere mortals cry (they do me!), but they are very flavorful and add just enough heat to enhance whatever it is we’re putting them in.

It is important to note that the jelly is not Keto-friendly. It is made with 4.5 cups of sugar. This is not something you can just swap out to Swerve or Truvia or Monkfruit. That isn’t to say that you can’t make low-carb jams and jellies. This recipe, specifically, cannot be modified because of the type of pectin it uses. Admittedly, I don’t know much about pectin because when I make preserves, I don’t use it. My fruit preserves are made with sugar and the natural sugars of the fruits. In the future, I may try to make a Keto-friendly preserves recipe, but today is not that day. Please, don’t use a sugar substitute for this: It will not set up.

Also, yes, I maced myself again cooking the habaneros. You’d think I’d learn by now. That’s why I’m an entertainer and not an actual chef! You get to laugh at my dumbass!

On to the First Harvest Potpourri! I forgot I was making it, which is why my apples ended up desiccated. You need to pre-heat your oven to 200F and if you’re going to use both racks, check them after about 45 minutes and switch the baking sheets around. They shouldn’t be burnt (like mine); they should be dried nicely. Should take about 90 minutes. Check on them. The oranges may take a bit longer. You want the fruit to be dry enough that it won’t rot while sitting out.

…which is funny because…

Potpourri literally means “a pot of rotten.”

For this, I used two red apples and two medium oranges, 4 fresh cinnamon sticks, a small package of star anise, and a bunch of whole cloves. I sliced the apples using a mandolin and had Cameraman Ken slice the oranges. You want these to be thinly sliced–1/8th inch is about where I was with them. Spread them in a single layer on however many baking sheets you need. You’ll want to cover the sheets with parchment paper. Probably should have mentioned that first. Anyway! You don’t have to do anything to the fruits, just check to make sure they’re not burnt.

I put my apples into a baggie and crunched them to pieces to make them fit better into containers. Cameraman Ken cut up the oranges for me and broke my cinnamon sticks. I added the star anise and the cloves and shook up the bag. I had enough potpourri to make two 4oz jars for the guys upstairs (gave them a jar of jelly, too), plus two small bowls of potpourri. One is on my altar, the other is on my desk in the bedroom. It’s strong when close to it, but it’s a nice, subtle scent when you enter the apartment.

The potpourri will be good for about a month. Before you toss it, however, put it into a pot of water on your stovetop and simmer it til the scent is gone. Just make sure you keep enough water in it so it doesn’t burn onto your pot. If you have a small crockpot, you could also put it in the crock, on low, and let it simmer. It’s a wonderful way to get the last little bit of scent from your potpourri! AND! It should be good til right around the next Sabbat: Mabon (the Autumnal Equinox), which is September 22.

Have a happy, safe, and blessed Lughnasadh!

Blessed be.

Blessed Lughnasadh!

Posted on by Th3D0ct0r
Sometimes I dress up and look pretty.

Merry meet and blessings be! Lughnasadh (LOO-nuh-suh) is upon us! The cross-quarter sabbat is a celebration of the First Harvest of the year. Today’s video features a seasonal dish, Blackberry Cobbler! I used an erithrytol sweetener for this recipe to comply with the low-carb diet I’ve been torturing myself with, but you could use regular sugar, if you desired. This is also gluten free and it is super amazing and tasty!

I chose blackberries because this is the last month they are available in SoCal. Now, Lughnasadh would normally feature the First Harvest–but, Lughnasadh is also sundown July 31 to sundown August 1, so trying to get two videos prepared for you before that date makes it a bit difficult to harvest first harvest items. 🙂

Also, a traditional Lughnasadh food is bread. I have a recipe for a Keto Flaxmeal bread that I’m itching to try, but I haven’t had the energy to expend in putting it together. Perhaps that will be a video for next week.

Although I do not, personally, celebrate Lughnasadh, I am more than happy to share with you ways you can bring the First Harvest season into your home. Just leave a comment on the video or on this blog post, or check out my Discord channel and ask there.

Blessed be.