Absolutely Nobody:

Catalpa blossoms falling and floating while a chipmunk poses on the stream bank this morning. Woodpecker hammering a tree somewhere nearby.

If you don’t mind me asking, is your blog safe and welcoming for trans people? I would love to follow more Gaelpol blogs but I’ve had trouble knowing whether some blogs are safe for me as a nonbinary person. I love the content you seem to make but couldn’t find a sign you were or weren’t pro-lgbtq and etc. so I just wanted to double check. Btw, hope you had a good Lúnasa last month ❤️

My blog is welcoming to all who wish to immerse themselves in Gaelic Polytheist beliefs. Maybe I shall make a post about myself and this blog in the near future.

On another note, 2021 Lughnasadh was extraordinary; I hope yours was as well!

Quick weather spell

Throw powdered cinnamon out of the window for sunshine and to make rain stop

Keiths Tower, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Etching by Albrecht Dürer, Nemesis’ wing

Displays of physical affection in The Lord of the Rings (2001—2003)

I AM A WIND IN THE SEA I am a sea-wave upon the land I am the sound of the sea I am a stag of seven combats I am a hawk on a cliff I am a tear-drop of the sun I am the fairest of flowers I am a boar for valour I am a salmon in a pool I am a lake in a plain I am the excellence of arts I am a spear that wages battle with plunder I am a god who forms subjects for a ruler Who explains the stones of the mountains? Who invokes the ages of the moon? Where lies the setting of the sun? Who bears cattle from the house of Tethra? Who are the cattle of Tethra who laugh? What man, what god, forms weapons? Indeed, then; I invoked a satirist... a satirist of wind. The Book of the Takings of Ireland tells the story of six races that came to the island: the Cessarians, the Partholónians, the Nemedians, the Fir Bolg, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and lastly the Milesians, who were the ancestors of the modern Gaels. According to the legend, the bard Amergin Glúingel, one of the seven sons of Mil, recited this poem as he set his foot upon the land of Ireland for the first time.

The Song of Amergin is the most famous example of old Irish rosc poetry, and its vivid, cryptic imagery has captured imaginations for centuries, inspiring theories, stories, and songs of its own.

(Translation adapted from the Celtic Heroic Age by Koch & Carey)

Orange Chocolate Babka

4 to 5 cups all-purpose or bread flour

1 pkg or 2¼ tsp. instant yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

¼ cup honey or sugar

½ cup safflower, canola, grapeseed or other neutral oil

2 eggs

zest of one orange

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:

¾ cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup powdered sugar

⅓ cup cocoa powder

Syrup:

⅓ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (or the juice of one orange plus enough water to make ⅓ cup)

6 Tbsp. sugar

Whisk one cup of the flour with the yeast and stir in the hot water until combined. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let rise about 45 minutes or until puffy and bubbly.

Directly into the bowl, add the salt, honey (or sugar), oil, eggs, zest and vanilla. Stir with a spatula or spoon until well mixed, then add the remaining four cups of flour. Stir with a spoon until dough forms a sticky mass. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and knead for just a few minutes, until dough becomes smooth. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with dish towel or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, one to two hours or longer depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Make the filling: Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth — you can do this in the microwave at 30 second intervals or in a saucepan. Stir in powdered sugar and cocoa until smooth.

Punch down dough and divide into two equal parts. Using a rolling pin, roll one half into a rectangle about 10- to 11-inches in width by 14- to 16-inches in length. Spread half of filling over top leaving ½-inch border all the way around. Starting from the short end, roll into a tight coil. To help keep coil bound, I wrap it in parchment paper and transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

If you are not refrigerating rolled dough overnight, transfer loaves to freezer to chill for 15 minutes — this was a Smitten Kitchen tip, which makes cutting and shaping the rolls easier. Meanwhile, coat two 9-by-4-inch loaf pans and one small vessel — I use a mini loaf pan — with butter.

Place logs onto a large cutting board and remove parchment paper. Line each loaf pan with the parchment paper, folding as needed to make it fit the pan. Trim last inch (or less) off each log. Cut the logs in half lengthwise and lay them next to each other cut sides up. Lift one half over the other and twist each around the other — see photos for guidance. Transfer the twist as best as you can into the prepared loaf pan. Repeat with remaining two halves. Nestle trimmed ends into small vessel. Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rise 1 to 1½ hours at room temperature or until dough has risen and is filling the pan.

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove plastic wrap, place loaf pans on a sheet pan and bake on the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Check the mini pan around 20 minutes — it will be done before the others. If the loaves are browning too quickly, cover them with foil.

While babkas are baking, make syrup: Place orange juice/water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove babkas from oven, brush some of the syrup over the small pan, then pour half of the remaining syrup evenly over each of the loaves. Let loaves cool completely in loaf pan if you are able to refrain, otherwise 15 minutes or so should do it.

♡Sea Glass in Magick ♡

While I had gone to the beach with my best friend, a fellow witch who actually introduced me to the craft, I was looking along the sand to see if I discovered any items I could use for future spells. This is how I stumbled upon my first piece of sea glass and felt drawn to bring it home. However, I had never seen magick been done with sea glass and was unsure of how I could use it. So after some research, I discovered some uses for it. 

The Elements

When you think about it, sea glass embodies many of the elements. Not only is glass forged by earth and fire, but sea glass is also then worn down by the powerful waves of the sea which can be further worn down depending if the water is salt water. Sea glass can be a good addition to the collection of an elemental witch, or simply to be used in a spell which requires the elements. 

Energy

Sea glass holds the strong energy of the ocean within it, being rounded by the waves and experiencing the ocean’s power allows it to be an object of power. With this being noted, sea glass can be considered to be an object worth being used in enchantments and other spells. It is charged with the power of the ocean after all. If you feel that it has lost its charge, bring it back to the ocean to give it back that strong charge it once had. 

Please be careful when recharging sea glass in the ocean though, for it can be easily lost if carelessly dealt with. A good idea would be to collect some of the ocean water in a jar and keep it at home to be able to put your sea glass within this jar whenever it needs charging. 

Greek God/Goddesses

Amphitrite: Sea goddess and consort of Poseidon; Queen of the sea

Cymopoleia: A daughter of Poseidon and goddess of giant storm waves

Galene: Goddess of calm seas

Poseidon: Olympian god of the sea, king of the sea gods. 

Sea glass can be associated with other sea deities of different pantheons as well. 

Scrying

Many use sea glass for scrying whether it be looking into the glass itself. Sea glass is associated with the element of water allows for it to be good for intuition and psychic ventures.

Runes

Sea glass is good to be used for a rune set, you can use a sharpie, paint, etc. to mark the runes on them. These runes would be especially good for a sea witch or an elemental witch due to sea glass being associated with the elements of water, earth, and fire. 

♡