Autumn Poetry

Autumn Poetry

This lovely piece by Viv was originally published in our old newsletter, Spokes of the Wheel (Mabon 2015 – volume 2 issue 3). Feature photo by Mark Hayes.

The sunlight is golden treacle
Honey
Nectar
I can see it just over the rooftops
Over treetops
Just there

And I wait here in the cold, with my blankets
Woolly jumpers and artificial sweeteners
As morning plods on
As the sun rises
And by 10:30 it has hit our yard
And the oak trees sing

The air warms, and everything breathes again
Remembers that summer isn’t that long gone
As winter draws nearer, the days will be filled
With a thousand tiny deaths,
One hundred compromises.
But right now the autumn sun is dappled on my skin
There are still tomatoes on the vine
And honey
Nectar
Golden treacle.

– Vivienne
Occult Church of the Covenant Noetica

Other Utensils, Other Gods: Jelly-Vision

Haw Jelly

Hawthorn bushes are fit to bursting at this time of year! Dean found this cracking Haw Jelly recipe here.

You will need:

• Hawthorn berries (haws)*
• Sugar
• Juice of one lemon
• Water

1. Remove all stalks and leaves. If you roll a handful (stalks and all) between your hands, the haws should come away easily.
2. Wash and drain haws. Place in a large saucepan with enough water to cover.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for one hour, mashing every twenty minutes or so with a potato masher.
4. Strain the mixture through some muslin overnight. Do not squeeze the bag, just let it drain naturally.
5. In the morning, for every 700ml of liquid you have, measure out 500g sugar.
6. Stir the sugar and the juice of one lemon into the mixture. Bring to the boil.
7. Rapid boil for 10 minutes until the jelly has reached its setting point.
8. Skim foam off the top of the mixture, and pour into warm, sterilised jars.

*700 grams of haws = 1 jar of Haw Jelly

The Pagan-est Day Ever!

Pagan Pride Day and Spiral Dance Concert

By Alex and Josie

On the 18^th of March The PCV hosted our first Pagan Pride Day, in Edinburgh Gardens. It was an amazing day filled with amazing people and a great sense of community. The event started at 12pm. People started arriving and what was initially a small amount of people grew: we ended up with around 50 people attending.

At 2pm the talks about the various paths started. Our first speaker was Shaz. She spoke about ADF Druidry and Silver Birch Grove. Josephine talked about Alexandrian witchcraft, and we then had Dean who spoke about Asatru (Norse paganism), followed by KC guy who spoke about OBOD Druidry. Next, Fio Talked about the Reclaiming path, then Luca Talked about Wildwood, and Dorian Talked about Chaos magic.

After the talks on the different paths we moved on to our ritual for the autumn Equinox which was run by Josie and Ryan in a Alexandrian inspired style. The quarters were called by Fran (Air), Sarah (Fire), Alex (Water) and Mark (Earth). It was a beautiful ritual that included a meeting dance and lovely music.

After the ritual we moved on to our second session of talk which were about the different meetings and gatherings around Victoria we started off with Ryan talking about the CBD pub moots, then Sarah talking about the Monthly Hills Pagan Coffee Meets. Next was Mark who talked about the Central Vic meetups, and we then had Dean who talked about the Heathen meetups, which include a ritual. This was followed by Nickole talking about Earthsong Witchcamps. We then had Dorian who talked about the newly started Frankston/Cranbourne Meetups, and Shaz then talked about Druid Coffee. The Queer Pagan Men’s meetups where then talked about by Buck, Michel then talked about the  Mount Franklin Pagan Gathering, and finally we finished off with Seline talking about Into Me I See.

It was an absolutely amazing day filled with friendship and community spirit. As a fairly new member of the Pagan community I found it to be a great way to learn more about what is available in Victoria and also to meet more like minded people. I would also love to thank the amazing PCV for running the day especially Sarah for being MC and making sure everything ran smoothly. I would also love to thank all the speakers and those who ran the ritual and finally thankyou to everyone who attended as without you it wouldn’t have happened.

— Alex

“I just saw a Reclaiming witch, a Druid and an Anarchist eating grapes together. And they were LAUGHING.”
– overheard at the Pagan Pride Day picnic

After a busy and marvelously social day at Pagan Pride Day, we headed on down to Bar 303 in Northcote to see Spiral Dance and KC Guy live in concert, presented by the PCV.

This concert was the perfect way to finish off a day of the Pagan community coming together. KC Guy’s voice is truly enchanting, and just what we needed to chill out and lose ourselves. Spiral Dance has a decades-long track record of bringing Pagans together with their beautiful and very danceable music, and dance we did!

The hot, sticky night didn’t stop any of us from busting out our best daggy Pagan dance moves to tunes like The Quickening, Faerie Tale and our favourite, Black Annis.

By the end of the night our throats were raw, our clothes were heavy with sweat and every last one of us were wearing enormous watermelon-slice grins as we exploded out into the cool night air of High Street.

A million, squillion thankyous to KC Guy and Spiral Dance for travelling from South Australia to perform for us and provide the perfect ending to a perfect day. Thanks also to Bar 303 for having us, to everyone who helped out on the door, and to Mark Hayes for his beautiful photos of the night.

— Josie

You can download a copy of the Pagan Pride Day Flyer here: PPD 2017

Photo Reuse Policy: You are welcome to use these photos for *personal use* on social media, etc, but please credit/tag the Mark Hayes Photography Facebook Page when you do.

LLuca discusses the Wildwood Tradition at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Buck discusses Queer Pagan Men Australia at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Kacey gives a presentation about OBOD at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Ryan is inducted into the Ancient and Mystical Order of the Vegemite Scroll at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Dean gives a talk on Heathenry at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Nickole talks about Earthsong Witchcamps at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Seline gives a presentation at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Dorian discusses Chaos Magick at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Ryan talks about the CBD Pagan Pub Moots at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

At the 2017 Spiral Dance and KC Guy Concert. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

Michel gives a presentation about the history of the Mount Franklin Pagan Gathering at our first Pagan Pride Day, in 2017. Photo: Mark Hayes Photography

 

 

 

Other Utensils, Other Gods: Blessed Bee

Honey Cake

Ingredients:

1 and 1/3 cups of honey
3 cups of flour
2 eggs
125 grams of butter

Melt honey and butter together and add to flour.

Mix well then break in both eggs. The cake should be at dropping consistency.

Put mixture into a prepared square loaf tin and cook in a medium oven for about an hour.

Contributed by Alex.

Source:
MacArthur, M. (1994). Earth Magic: a seasonal guide to the old religion. London: Capall Bann.