Candlelight Spells: The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting, and Healing - Gerina Dunwich 2000
Candlemas: The Feast of Lights
Sabbat Feasts
THE FOUR MAJOR SABBATS
Candlemas—February 2
Beltane—May 1
Lammas—August 1
Samhain—October 31
THE FOUR LESSER SABBATS
Vernal Equinox
Summer Solstice
Autumnal Equinox
Winter Solstice/Yule
Candlemas: The Feast of Lights
February 2nd
Candlemas, also known as Imbolc, is a fire festival celebrating the Goddess of Fertility.
The “sweeping out of the old” is symbolized by the sweeping of the magick circle with a besom, or witches’ broom. This is done by the priestess of the coven who wears a brilliant crown of 13 candles on top of her head.
A traditional feast follows the Candlemas ceremony. Food and drink served include: potlatch stew, leeks, gypsy tea, fertility bread, poppy seed cake, and sage wine.
POTLATCH STEW
3 lbs. of beef stew meat (or beef kabob)
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
5 potatoes
4 medium carrots
3 medium onions
3 medium turnips
4 celery stalks
6—8 cups beef broth
½ cup barley
7 chickweed leaves
¼ cup young tops of stinging or great nettle salt and pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
Remove fat from beef and cut meat into small square pieces. Heat oil in large skillet. Add the meat and brown over medium heat. Remove from skillet and put meat into a large stew pot. Wash, peel and dice the potatoes, carrots, onions, turnips and celery stalks. Add the vegetables to the stew pot. Next, add the beef broth, barley, chickweed, nettle, salt, pepper and thyme. Stir together well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot and let it simmer 2—2½ hours, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender.
SYBIL LEEKS
3 bunches of thinly sliced leeks
3 cups chopped celery
3 onions, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup cooked wild rice
¼ cup finely chopped chives
salt and pepper
Carefully wash the white part of the leeks, discarding the coarse green stalks. Split the leeks lengthwise and rinse out the sand between the layers. Put the leeks, celery, onions and mushrooms in a large saucepan with one cup of broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover; reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15—20 minutes. Stir in the cooked wild rice, chopped chives and some salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
GYPSY TEA
2 oranges
3 lemons
13 cloves
1 tablespoon ground allspice
½ cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons black tea
2 quarts boiling water
1¼ cup sugar
Squeeze juice from oranges and lemons; set juice aside. Remove rinds and put in a large container. Add cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick and tea. Pour boiling water over the tea mixture and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Strain and then return liquid to container. Stir in the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar. (Gypsy tea may be served either hot or over crushed ice.)
FERTILITY BREAD
(recipe for two 9 × 5-inch loaves)
½ cup lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups goat’s milk
½ cup dark molasses
1 tablespoon dried yarrow
6 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup sunflower seeds
2 cups regular rolled oats
4½ cups flour
Pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and sugar over it. Let it stand for three minutes and then stir well. Set in a warm place for 20—30 minutes, until the mixture doubles in size. Combine the milk, molasses, yarrow, two tablespoons of butter and the salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pan. Pour the milk mixture into a deep bowl and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
Add yeast, sunflower seeds and oats to the milk mixture and stir together. Add three cups of the flour, one cup at a time, and continue stirring until the dough can be gathered into a medium-soft ball. Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead, pushing the dough down with the heels of your hands, pressing it forward and folding it back on itself. As you knead, sprinkle by the tablespoonful up to two cups more flour over the ball. Continue kneading for about 15 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Reshape it into a ball. With a pastry brush, spread two tablespoons of softened butter evenly inside a deep mixing bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it around to butter the entire surface of the dough.
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and place it in a draft-free area for about 1½ hours or until the dough doubles in size. Brush the remaining two tablespoons of softened butter over the bottoms and sides of two 9 × 5-inch loaf pans. Punch the dough down with a single blow of your fist and divide it in half. Shape each half into a loaf. Place in the pans and brush the top of each loaf with melted butter. Once again cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the loaves for 40—45 minutes or until they are light brown. Turn out on wire racks and cool before serving.
POPPY SEED CAKE
1 cup cooking oil
1 cup honey
3 eggs
3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup poppy seeds
3½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ cups buttermilk
½ teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40—45 minutes or until done.
SAGE WINE
1 cup fresh sage
½ cup claret or Burgundy wine
Put the fresh sage and the wine into an electric blender and run it on high speed for a few minutes until the sage leaves are pulverized. Return the wine to its original bottle and chill well before drinking.