May Sanctity of Shadows Newsletter

Sanctity of Shadows Newsletter
May 1, 2009

May 1st marks the beginning of the brightest time of the year, but here at
SoS I am still trying to keep a balance by providing information on the dark
side of the Craft, and related issues. My hope is that the next issue will be
longer, this initial one cut a bit short due to my current housing situation (my
condo was flooded, so I've been living in hotels for a week now).

Recipe Corner
It is traditional to make honey cakes for May 1st, but in response to
complaints of them commonly being too dry, I was able to locate this lovely
recipe. The source is Jewish in origin, but the pomegranate makes a nice
addition with its connection to Demeter, and of course the honey is connected to
Demeter, the Virgin Mary, and Aphrodite.

Honeyed Cigars with Date-Pomegranate Filling
(pareve)

Pastry:
* About 12 sheets of frozen phyllo, plus several extra to allow for tearing
* 1/2 cup light, fragrant honey
* 1/2 cup avocado, sunflower, walnut or other mild oil
* 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:
* 1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) Medjool or other soft, moist dates, pitted and
coarsely chopped
* 3 Tbsp. avocado, sunflower, walnut or other mild oil
* 1 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
* 1 Tbsp. hot water
* 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1 pinch of salt
* 1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped, plus extra for
sprinkling
* Additional honey to brush on after baking

1. Thaw phyllo sheets slowly in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the
unopened package from the refrigerator two hours before you begin the recipe to
allow sheets to come to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment. In
a small saucepan, warm 1/4 cup honey. Slowly add 1/4 cup oil, stirring until
well incorporated. Stir in cinnamon. Remove pan from heat.
3. Prepare the filling. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, blend
dates, oil, pomegranate molasses, hot water, cinnamon, and salt to a smooth
paste. Add walnuts, and pulse until just combined. Transfer to a bowl.
4. Remove phyllo sheets from the package and carefully unroll them on a damp
kitchen towel. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, cut the stack of sheets
in half from short end to short end, forming rectangles approximately 6"x17"
(exact size will depend on brand of phyllo used). Immediately cover the cut
phyllo sheets with a large piece of plastic wrap and another damp towel to
prevent them from drying out.
5. Work with one sheet at a time, keeping the rest covered with the plastic
wrap and a towel. Remove one sheet from the stack and brush it lightly and
quickly with the honey-oil mixture. Carefully fold the sheet in half, bringing
the short ends together and pressing down gently. Brush the new surface, now
exposed, with the honey-oil. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the filling, roll it
into a little sausage, and place it along the short bottom edge of the phyllo,
leaving a one-inch border at the sides. Fold the bottom edge toward the center
so that it just covers the filling, then fold the sides in, so the filling won't
ooze out. Brush the new phyllo surface that is exposed with more honey-oil, and
continue to roll, jelly-roll fashion, brushing each new, dry phyllo surface with
more honey-oil as you go.
6. Brush the finished cigar lightly over all surfaces with the honey-oil and
place seam-side down on the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with chopped
walnuts. Keep the cookie sheet lightly covered with plastic wrap as you work.
Continue making cigars with more phyllo and filling, stirring the honey-oil
mixture when necessary if it separates. (You can refrigerate the unbaked cigars
at this point, well wrapped, up to one day before baking.)
7. Bake the cigars for about 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. While
still hot, brush them very generously with honey. Let cool. Serve as is or cut
each cigar on the diagonal into thirds.

Recipe by Jayne Cohen


Deities

For each issue I'd like to include deities relevant to the months, and
holidays that take place during them. As it is to be expected for May, most of
them are related to fertility and growth/wildness. Of course, May is also the
month of Mother's Day, and in the Netherlands they celebrate Remembrance of the
Dead on May 4th. Labor Day takes place on May 1st in many countries worldwide.
Under the Ancien Regime of France (14th-18th centuries), it was common to plant
a tree in honor of someone on May 1st.

Belenos-Celtic god of solar energy (protection, healing, fertility,
regeneration)
Maia-Roman goddess of fertility
Roman Catholic-St. Joseph the Worker
Mary-goddess of motherhood and virgin independence
Flora-Roman goddess of flowers
Pan-Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting
Cernunnos-Celtic god of horned male animals, fertility
Demeter-Greek goddess of grain, nourishing youth
Dionysus/Bacchus-Greek god of wine, ritual madness and ecstasy
Pusan-Vedic god of plant life and agriculture
Indra-Vedic god of thunder and rain
Tlaloc-Aztec god of rain, fertility
Zeus/Jupiter-Greek/Roman god of rain, lightning, thunder


Gardening

Now is the time when many Northern Hemisphere gardeners begin to go out into
their yards, and start planting. Everyone has their own plant preferences and
methods for the getting the best out of their garden, but consider adapting one
of these rituals for your own use, and see how your garden responds.

Beltane, although Celtic in origin and based on solar energy, is also about
planting and generating life. In the areas of the world where it was first
celebrated, Scotland and Ireland, it was a time for lighting need fires, for
dancing around the maypole as part of fertility rites, and for ensuring the soil
was enriched for the plants to be grown within it. Integrating Shadow themes
into this holiday, isn't as hard as it may sound however, and here are some
methods from around the world...

Address the dead to bless the seeds and ask for a good harvest, invoking
ancestors on the night before sowing, planting near the cemetery, spreading
ashes on the field-Congo

Prayer for a good harvest later in the year, place a ghost reed in the soil and
pour millet into the ground. No fighting is permitted the day of the
ritual.-Saisiyat

At the end of the day, plant a yam tuber near a tree stump. A bamboo water
vessel and a bamboo with one end split into two are placed next to where the
tuber is planted. The bamboo is oriented toward Ursa Major, and a second vessel
is used to pour water into the bamboo one. The water that remains in the
secondary vessel is then poured over the men and women present. A prayer is
spoken to the crop in question (in their case, rice).
-Palokhi Karen

Costumed dancers plant crop in a sacred field, and perform a dance dedicated to
the harvest deity, then go on to plant seedlings in the same field.-Shinto

Poles brought to the place of planting, each one representing a god connected to
cultivation. Heads or other bones of ancestors brought to the site, painted red,
and adorned with feathers. Stone statues put in the fields for the long term in
order to watch over the crops. Sacred meal eaten afterward, and no strangers
allowed to approach the crop during its growing period.-Maori

Prayers, incantations, and rituals honoring Inanna and Dumuzi, for abundance and
potency. Most of these would involve apples or dates, both seen as metaphors for
Dumuzi himself, sometimes as a farmer. Suitable to sing from portions of the
Sumerian Sacred Marriage ritual.-Mesopotamian

Folklore

Many of us turn to folklore and archetypes when we express ourselves, either
verbally, in written form or in ritual and spells. But what are the mechanics of
folklore, and from where do we get our tools with which to build? This month
we're looking to Propp's Thirty-One Functions of a Folktale. His is the most
comprehensive list on the topic of why folktales exist, and what they have in
common on a global scale.

Preparatory Section:
l. One of the members of a family absents himself from home.
2. An interdiction (ban) is addressed to the hero.
3. The interdiction is violated. (The villain usually enters the story here.)
4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance.
5. The villain receives information about his victim. (The villain gets an
answer.)
6. The villain attempts to deceive his victim by using persuasion, magic, or
deception.
7. The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps his enemy.
(Hero sleeps.)

Villainy / Lack (Plot set in motion):

8. The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family.
8a. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something.
9. Misfortune or lack is made known: the hero is approached with a request or
command; he is allowed to go or he is dispatched.
10. The seeker (hero) agrees to or decides upon counteractions.
11. The hero leaves home.
12. The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc. which prepares the way for
his receiving either a magical agent or helper. (The donor usually enters the
story here.)
13. The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor.
14. The hero acquires the use of a magical agent.
15. The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object
of search.

Path A: Struggle and Victory over Villain; End of Lack and Return:

16. The hero and villain join in direct combat.
17. The hero is branded.
18. The villain is defeated.
19. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
20. The hero returns.
21. The hero is pursued.
22. The hero is rescued from pursuit.

Path B: Unrecognized Arrival, Task, Recognition, Punishment, Wedding:

23. The hero, unrecognized, arrived home or in another country.
24. A false hero presents unfounded claims.
25. A difficult task is proposed to the hero. (Trial by drink, fire, riddle,
test of strength.)
26. The task is resolved or accomplished.
27. The hero is recognized, often by a mark or an object.
28. The false hero or villain is exposed and / or punished.
29. The hero is given a new appearance.
30. The villain is pursued.
31. The hero is married and ascends the throne.

Dramatis personae: (seven roles which any character may assume in the story)

1. the Villain, who struggles with the hero;
2. the Donor, who prepares and/or provides hero with magical agent;
3. the Helper, who assists, rescues, solves and/or transfigures the hero;
4. the Princess, a sought-for person (and/or her father) who exists as goal and
often recognizes and marries hero and/or punishes villain;
5. the Dispatcher, who sends the hero off;
6. the Hero, who departs on a search (seeker-hero), reacts to the donor and weds
at end;
7. the False Hero, who claims to be the hero, often seeking and reacting like a
real hero.


Divination

May is a perfect month for using flowers in divination. If you want a simple
way to get a "yes" or "no" answer, draw a circle or form one on the ground with
flower petals, then divide that down the middle with the same method. Stepping
about four feet away, toss whole flowers or the remaining stems toward the
circle, and see which side of the divide your pieces land in while you think of
your question. The same thing could be done with seeds, especially from the
pomegranate.
For a slightly more complex method, form your circle, and use various species
of flowers for positive and negative responses. The color of the flower and
where it lands dictates the nature of your answer.
Alternatively, walk in a garden, keeping on the path with your eyes closed.
Stop when it feels like you should, and use a Victorian Flower Meanings table to
explain the flowers that are directly in front of you. The first flower
indicates the near future, and so on.
Another easy method of divining is to split open your favorite seeded fruit,
and read the seeds. The number is important, as are the sizes, and these should
be taken into consideration as you make your query. The color can be key as
well, a paler inside of the fruit indicating sickness or other low points to
come. The darker it becomes toward the middle of the fruit, and the faster the
transition, the sooner prosperous health and well-being will take place.





Causes

In keeping with our planting and growth theme, the causes in our list this
time are focused on plants, their uses, and other related topics.

http://www.therainforestsite.com Click each day to save valuable rainforest
land. No purchase necessary, corporate sponsors foot the bill, but they do have
great merchandise if you do choose to shop.

http://www.freerice.com/index.php Feed the hungry by playing word games. It's
also great for expanding your vocabulary.

http://www.plantlife.org.uk/ Wild plant conservation charity.

http://www.cabk.org.uk/ Promote and further the craft of beekeeping.


Ritual

As a solar holiday, Beltane may seem outside the boundaries of shadow ritual
and magick, but keep in mind that fire plays a major part in this holiday as
well. This ritual takes that into account, and calls on the forces deep within
the earth to honor them.

Tools:
cauldron or other small pot (suitable for fire)
lighter or matches
soil
flower petals
incense (flowery or fiery)

Sprinkle a mixture of soil and flower petals into the cauldron until you have
a layer that is about two inches thick, enough to support the weight of the
incense whether in stick form or as a cone. Ignite the incense, and close your
eyes. Concentrate, and imagine the flowers becoming revitalized by the soil or
taken up in the hands of your chosen deity.