High Tech Paganism

According to Renowned film director Emir Kusturica modern man has lost his spiritituality. He states that "High-tech pagans have invaded the world today. This paganism doesn't do any good to a human-being. A person today lives under permanent technological control… However, the main difference of modern people is that they lost spiritual orientation. Uniqueness of a human being as God's image in leveled down in the world today,"

Now I find myself trying to figure out where he gets off refering to such people as pagans? Obviously this man doesn't have the first clues as to what a Pagan is, or have I just simply missed the point. If you think I have, do please enlighten me through comments. Thank you :)

If you want to know more click here

Ostara Food

Every year, when it comes to our pagan festival celebrations, it can get more difficult to come up with foody ideas for your family and friends. You want to try and avoid doing the same thing year in and year out and you also want the food to be appropriate for that particual celebration. Ostara is no exception and like many of us you probably have your favourite dishes but really feel the need to do something just a little different this year. I've had this problem myself and thought it would be nice to look around the internet to see what ideas others have had and thought I'd share my findings here.

NB: If you do have a dish you enjoy and want to share them with me, then do please add them through a comment. And thank you in advance for any you do share.


Enjoy!

Pagan Hare

23rd February 2015 - I have updated this entry and discovered that my original links back to the pages I found the recipes at no longer work. My apologies in advance to the original creators of these tasty dishes.

Pagan )O(


Here is a list of some traditional food:


Spring lamb, cream and milk, bake bread with a decorated egg inside, spring salad, hot cross buns, all leafy green vegatables, seeds: pine nuts, seasame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc., eggs: egg salad, hard-boiled egss, honey cakes, first fruits of the season, fish, cakes, biscuits, cheeses. honey and ham, flower dishes and sprouts (many flowers are edible).


Now for some recipes:


Violet Salad 




1Tbsp raspberry vinegar

1Tbsp minced Sharllot
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp virgin olive oil
1/2 Ib mixed greens washed
1/4 cup vioelt blossoms
1/4 cup wild strawberries (optional)


Combine vinegar, sharllot, mustard and some pepper in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
Whisk in stock then oil. Toss greens with dressings, top with violets and stawberries and serve immediately

Dandelion Honey 

1 liter water

3 slices lemon - 1-2 cm thick

1/4 vanilla bean, cut in half

1 kg sugar

Pick the dandelions in full sunshine. Pull off all dandelion petals nd put them in a pot with water, lemon slices and vanilla bean. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Let the mixture sit by the side of the stove for 5 to 6 hours.

Strain to separate the petals from the juice. Return the juice to the pot and bring to a simmer. Slowly add the sugar and simmer until desired thickness (takes about 4 hours)

Serve on toast, muffins or danish. Yield: about 1 liter

N.B: Please note that both recipes are American so do check on measurements first!!!

1 liter dandelion petals

Honey Cakes 


little fried cakes, dipped in honey and nutmeg.

Ingredients:


1/2 cup Riesling wine

1 egg
2/3 cup flour
1 cup honey
2 tbs sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Dash of salt

Method:

Beat the egg together with the wine. In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Stir until blended through. Let them sit for 30 minutes.

In another small bowl, mix the honey and nutmeg. In a skillet, heat up about a 1/2 inch of oil. Drop a tablespoon of batter into the oil and fry until golden brown. Drain off the oil, and dip into the honey mixture.

Ostara Stuffed Eggs 

Here is an easy way to add some eggs to your Ostara feast

Ingredients:

8 hard boiled eggs

2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 cup vinegar

1/8 cup sugar

fresh thyme or basil

Method:

Remove the shells from the eggs and slice them lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and save them in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Whip together until nice and smooth. Use a pastry bag or a small spoon to add a big dollop of yolk mixture back onto the egg whites.

Sprinkle with herbs and serve.

First They Came for the Swingers

A story in last week’s issue of the Texas Observer is drawing attention across the blogosphere to a militaristic Christian organization called Repent Amarillo who are dedicated to eliminating anything they deem anti-Christian through the use of intercessory prayer (aka “spiritual warfare”) and witnessing “soldier groups”. Their first successful mission was harassing a private married-couples-only swingers club out of existence.

Repent Amarillo became an almost-constant presence, shouting through bullhorns, blasting Christian music, haranguing club members, following swingers in vehicles and sticking video cameras into people’s faces. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been called out twice. Police records show that nearby businesses have called frequently with noise complaints. Repent even showed up on occasion when the Route 66 building was rented out for non-swinger events. “They have been here every time we open our doors, regardless of what kind of functions we have, whether I’m down here doing maintenance, cleaning, whatever,” Mac says. “They don’t have a life. Well, I guess we are their lives. We’re their blood. At three or four in the morning, we’ll open the door, and there they are. They come waddling out of their vehicles with their cameras.”

 

To Read More CLICK HERE

 

Note from Reki: I was going to place a link to this vile group, but decided against it. I'm not adding such filth to this page!

But here's a news report about them...

Solitary Ostara Ritual

Preparations


For decorations use dyed eggs and pink and green streamers. Include a soil-filled cauldron, sword (or athame) a small shovel (trowel), a small pot a few of your favorite seeds and all your altar tools.


Ritual


Cast the circle.

After casting the circle, say:


“Here I am on this day, Ostara, Lady day, Rite of Eoster, The Vernal Equinox
and the first day of the planting season. I am here to understand life,
death, and rebirth, and to give reverence to those who have endured each.”

Bow your head to think about how Ostara fits into the three groups above and


how it fits into the wheel of the year. Say:


“I stand at the gate between the living and the dead on this night where
both light and dark are equal. I am here to witness the union of the Goddess
Mother Earth, the Waning Lady of the Moon, Of My God, Green Man, the Waxing
Lord of the Sun. Conception…a necessary transition on the wheel of the
year.”


Unite the blade of the Athame with the depth of the cauldron. Symbolizing
the Great Rite. Leave the Athame Standing. Hold the God candle and let the
flame become on with the Goddess candle’s flame. Replace these on the altar


and set them closer than they were before. Say:


“Elder Gods wish to bestow upon us the gift of knowledge. Thus they shall
speak.”


Use the small shovel to transfer soil from the cauldron to the small pot. As
you are planting the seeds, you should be thinking about your goals as
though they were the seeds. You can now conclude the ritual. Say:


“May these newly planted seeds material spiritual, and symbolic bring me
plentiful fruits and bounties.”


Close the circle and serve eggs and apple juice in your simple feast. Leave the cauldron and athame at the altar until Beltane to remind you of the seeds sewn on this day.










http://secretsofawitch.wordpress.com/2006/03/19/solitary-ostara-ritual/

Ostara Law

Ostara

Spring or The Vernal Equinox

Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)

March 21

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:


Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:


Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:


Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:


Jasper


Special Activities:


Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.

Copyright © 1997-99 Akasha, Herne and The Celtic Connection wicca.com. All rights reserved.


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http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/ostara.htm