The Witchy Blog Award & I Wish You a Blessed Samhain!

Before I reveal to you my Samhain surprise, I wish you all a blessed and a happy Samhain!

Photo Credit: BlackShinsei.LiveJournal.com

Like I have mentioned in one of my previous articles (21/10/12), Ayslyn and I have prepared a surprise for our readers. And the surprise is:

Ayslyn and I decided, we shall create a blog award for all Wicca-, Witchcraft- and Paganism-orientated blogs out there, “The Witchy Blog Award”. We both received a lot of blog awards, and that prompted us to create our own, Magical blog award. We both hope you will like it. 😉

The Rules:
♦  Post the award logo on your blog post.
♦  Thank the blogger who passed the award on to you.
♦  Answer the seven questions below.
♦  Nominate five Wiccan/Pagan bloggers. (If you don’t know five other Wiccan bloggers, nominate as many as you can.)
♦  Give a short description of the blog/blogger, and why you nominated them.
♦  Stop by Ayslyn’s Corner and the Book of Shadows to add your name on the list of bloggers awarded.
♦  You may change the questions, as long as they are still Wiccan- and Pagan-related.

Seven Questions:
I. How did you “discover” Wicca/Witchcraft? I was first introduced to Witchcraft as a child through a popular TV series, Charmed. I then discovered that there is a true earth-based religion out there — Wicca —, which immediately seemed somehow “fitting” to me, and I decided I shall follow it.
II. Do you grow herbs? Yes, I do. I love gardening, and growing herbs really is my passion. My three favourite herbs are: rosemary, lavender and melissa (lemon balm).
III. Are you “in the broom closet”? If not, share your “going out” experience. I am still “in the broom closet”, and I am not planning to come out soon in the future.
IV. What tradition do you follow? I follow an Eclectic tradition. I am not following any particular Deities at the moment, as I am still waiting to get “a signal” from one.
V. Do you consider yourself a Witch, a Wiccan or a Pagan (or maybe something else)? I consider myself a Witch.
VI. How much of Witchcraft/Wicca are you able to incorporate into your everyday life? Unfortunately, not much. Being “in the broom closet” doesn’t really enable you to be as “Witchy” as you would like to be in your everyday life.
VII. Do you have a Familiar? If you do, tell us how did you meet your Familiar, and how he or she takes a part of your practice (if at all :-)). I sadly don’t have a Familiar. I really want to have a grey cat, and I will have one someday. 🙂

The five blogs I give “The Witchy Blog Award” to, are:
♦  The Life and Times of a Forever Witch — Sammi Witch provides her readers with high-quality content about Wicca, and from time to time shares photos of her latest travel with her readers (which I also love to do). She is the author of the Andromache Jones book series.
♦  KristenCoffin — On her blog, Byrony shares a lot of her experience and everyday events regarding Wicca. She also gives us some advice and details about her practice.
♦  Stay for a Spell — Neferet is a follower of Aset, and a Tameran Wiccan. She has the most amazing connection with her Deity I have ever encountered. Be sure to visit her blog! ♦  The Witch of Howling Creek — Tenaé is an amazing writer, the editor of Pagan Living magazine, and she releases The Witches’ Compendium series for every Sabbat. Do read the Samhain edition; it’s full of ideas for decoration, delicious recipes, and more.
♦  The Gratitude Journal of Ms. Lilypads — Ms. Lilypads is relatively new to the blogosphere, but her blog is one definitely worth to read. She often shares her personal experience and dreams.

And now, back to Samhain. 🙂 Today it is the last day of October, and when my mind goes to the coming November, I always remember the delicious marrons they sell on the streets, the barren trees (although some of them have plenty of leaves still on), the morning frost, and sometimes even the early snow. The November’s ambient is the one I admire. This is the time when autumn slowly, but persistently, changes into winter. The days are shorter, and we sit inside, before a fireplace drinking a hot cup of home herbal tea. 🙂

This is the end of this special Samhain article. Have a blessed Sabbat of Death and remember the ones who have passed before us. I wish you a great Holiday. Below, there is a recipe for you, my dearest readers. I converted the units, so there are both, metrical and imperial, available for you. Happy baking!

Simple Sabbat Cakes

Ingredients:
♦  170 g (¾ cup) of butter
♦  400 g (2 cups) of brown sugar
♦  2 eggs
♦  15 ml (1 tablespoon) of lemon juice
♦  2 teaspoons of grated lemon rind
♦  220 g (2¼ cups) of flour
♦  160 g (5.5 oz) of ground walnuts (optional)

Preparation:
Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. Gradually, add the brown sugar and mix well. Add eggs, lemon juice and lemon rind. Mix until well-blended. Then, add flour and walnuts. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. When chilled, shape the dough into 2 cm (¾ in) balls and place them about 7 cm (2¾ in) apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 190 °C (375 °F) for 8 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

This is how Simple Sabbat Cakes look like. They are absolutely scrumptious!