Buđenje unutarnje snage za Lughnasadh

Potaknuta jučerašnjim tarot čitanjem, odlučila sam napisati ovaj post jer mi se jedna karta naprosto nametnula kao ključna. U pitanju je karta Čuvara Šume (eng. Woodward) iz seta Wildwood Tarot. Ona je jedanaesta karta Velike arkane i kao takva se poistovjećuje s kartom Snage iz mnogo učestalijeg, reklo bi se čak i "klasičnog" Rider-Waite tarota (iako Snaga ovisno o izdanju može biti 8. ili 11. karta Velike arkane).

Paralele su jasno vidljive jer je ikonografska osnova karte Snage žena koja kontrolira lava, ali ne fizičkom snagom već svojom mentalnom staloženošću. Njezin muški pandan u Wilwood tarotu jednako mirno gospodari nad svojim teritorijem i životinjama koje ga okružuju (što je očigledno prema risu koji mu leži pod nogama i glavi planinskog lava koju nosi kao simbol svog lovačkog uspjeha, junaštva i snage).

Jučer sam zapravo radila čitanje baš za Lughnasadh da vidim što mi ovaj blagdan donosi, odnosno što me čeka u narednih nekoliko mjeseci. Čuvar šume me dočekao kao posljednja i zaključna karta koju sam izvukla i tako na mene ostavio prilično snažan dojam. Da bi stvari bile još zanimljivije, autori Wildwood tarota su napravili Kolo godine po kojemu su poredali sve karte Velike arkane tako da su po svom značenju usklađene s godišnjim ciklusom. Pogodite na kojoj se točci Kola godine nalazi Čuvar šume? Upravo na blagdanu Lughnasadh/Lammas.

Jedna od poveznice karte s ovim blagdanom je brdo koje se nalazi u pozadini. Ono je poznato kao Silbury Hill i nalazi se južno od mjesta Avebury u Engleskoj. Ono je za sad najveće brdo (tj. humak) napravljeno ljudskom rukom u povijesti čovječanstva. Arheolozi su ustanovili da je nasipanje počelo oko 2 660. g. pr. n. e. i to upravo početkom kolovoza, odnosno nakon prve žetve. Neka tumačenja brda ističu da je bio simbol ovog perioda kraja prve žetve jer ga se od obližnjeg Aveburya moglo vidjeti na horizontu tek nakon što bi se požnjelo svo visoko žito koje je zaklanjalo pogled.

Svakako, poruka koju sam dobila u čitanju se direktno tiče unutarnje snage i ravnoteže koje su potrebne u ovom periodu. Zato bih podijelila svoja razmišljanja o ovome s vama u nadi da ću vas potaknuti na daljnja osvajanja u narednim mjesecima.

Prvo mi dozvolite da pojasnim izgled karte. Centralna muška figura predstavlja arhetip čuvara; snažnog muškarca sa svim obilježjima muževnosti (brada, brkovi, ratna odjeća, oružje i k tome krvavo) koji gospodari nad teritorijem oko sebe. Međutim, u prizoru je neobično što ovaj čovjek zapravo nije u stavu pozora, ili pak napada, već stoji kao da se odmara - podigao je jednu nogu na uzvišenje i pije vino iz prilično fine čaše koju autori seta opisuju kao kalež "davanja, intoksikacije i suosjećanja". Iako će Mabon tek doći u rujnu, vino i na ovoj karti igra bitnu ulogu kao simbol dijeljenja i slavlja sakupljenog uroda za Lammas. Ali najbitniji je zapravo njegov opušteni, gotovo kraljevski stav zbog kojeg jednostavno zrači unutarnjom snagom.

Originalna simbolika karte Snage nas upozorava da ćemo mnogo više toga postići strpljenjem i ako smo uravnoteženi i ispunjeni ljubavlju nego ako se prepustimo osjećajima bijesa i mržnje.

Svi naiđemo na prepreke u životu. U Kolu godine, nadolazeći zimski mjeseci su prepreka, a u drevnim vremenima je samo upornost, uravnoteženost i umjerenost (npr. u konzumiranju hrane tijekom tih mjeseci), pomno planiranje zaliha i strpljivo, marljivo skupljanje uroda u kasno ljeto i ranu jesen moglo održati ljude na životu tijekom tih hladnih mjeseci. Unutarnja snaga je i ustrajnost su ono što nas tjera da idemo dalje i da ne posustanemo pred svakom preprekom. Ovdje bih citirala autore Wildwoot tarota koji opisuju ovu kartu sljedećim riječima:

"The Woodward, an ancient guardian of the Wildwood, symbolizes the inner power that comes from facing fear and understanding the nature of darkness. The inner strength that comes from this awareness gives the individual the emotional body language and the humility that says: 'I am not a victim. Treat me with respect. Do not mistake my passivity for wakness'." 

(Prijevod: Čuvar šume, drevni zaštitnik Divlje šume simbolizira unutarnju moć koja proizlazi iz suočavanja sa strahom i razumijevanja naravi tame. Unutarnja snage koja proizlazi iz ove osviještenosti daje pojedincu emocionalni govor tijela i poniznost da kaže: 'Ja nisam žrtva. Postupajte prema meni s poštovanjem. Nemojte zamijeniti moju pasivnost za slabost'.)

Obično se dogodi da ljudi žive u uvjerenju da su snažni, da mogu sve (ili pak da ne mogu ništa i da su užasno slabi), ali stvari postanu jasne tek kad smo suočeni s kriznim trenutkom. Tek tad zapravo upoznajemo svoje mogućnosti i svoju pravu snagu. Ali surova snaga nam ne može biti jedini fokus. Moram ponovno citirati autore Wildwood tarota koji zaista pjesnički opisuju ovu kartu:

"The strength of the Woodward is both a balance and a dichotomy between te energy of the hunter or the guardian, and the grounded inspiration found within the ecstasy of drumming and war dancing. These energies honor the qualities that provide protection and inspiration." 

(Prijevod:  Snage Čuvara šume je ujedno ravnoteža između dihotomije energije lovca, ili čuvara te uzemljene inspiracije koju se može naći u ekstazi bubnjanja i ratnom plesu. Ove energije odlikuju kvalitete koje pružaju zaštitu i inspiraciju.)

Bilo da je riječ o kriznoj situaciji, o neminovnoj istini, privatnom/poslovnom problemu, Čuvar šume poručuje da je sve moguće preživjeti uz dovoljno ustrajnosti i unutarnje snage.

Da se vratim na Kolo godine, zamislite poljoprivrednika koji cijelu godinu sije, pa njeguje svoje žito. To je ustrajnost. I onda dođe prva žetva pa nakon tog silnog rada u prethodnim mjesecima još mora izvući snage niotkud kako bi sakupio sve plodove svog rada. Nema izbora; on to mora napraviti usprkos tome što je na izmaku snaga, što mu nestaje strpljenja i što posustaje pod užeglim ljetnim suncem. O tome ovisi hoće li on i njegova obitelj preživjeti zimu. Za ovo posljednje je potrebna unutarnja snaga.

Od Lughnasadha počinje vrijeme ubiranja plodova našeg rada. Ponekad se ti plodovi manifestiraju kao nagrade za uložen trud i ispravne odluke, a ponekad kao posljedice krivih oduka. No, moramo znati prihvatiti oboje i učiti iz iskustva.

S ovim vam svima želim sretan i blagoslovljen Lughnasadh! Neka vam prva žetva bude uspješna.
Vaša Witch's Cat

Awakening Our Inner Strength at Lughnasadh

Provoked by my yesterday's tarot reading, I decided to write this post since one card simply imposed itself on my as the key card. The card in question is the Woodward card from the Wildwood Tarot set. It is the eleventh card of the Major Arcana and, as such, is connected to the Strength card of the much more common, one one even say "classical" Rider-Waite Tarot (although Strength can be the eighth or eleventh card of the Major Arcana depending on the edition).

Parallels between these cards are clearly visible since the iconographic basis of the Strength card is a woman controlling a lion, but with her mental composure rather than through sheer physical strength. Her male equivalent in the Wildwood Tarot equally calmly reigns over his territory and the animals around him (which is made obvious by the lynx lying at his feet and the mountain lion head he wears as a symbol of his hunting success, prowess and strength).

Yesterday, I actually did a reading especially for Lughnasadh to see what this Sabbat brings me, or rather what awaits me in the following months. I picked out the Woodward as the final and definitive card of the reading, which had quite a strong impact on me. To make things even more interesting, the authors of the Wildwood Tarot made a Wheel of the Year on which they placed all of the Major Arcana cards so that their meaning correspond to a particular part of the yearly cycle. And guess which point of the Wheel of the Year the Woodward is on? Precisely on Lughnasadh/Lammas.

One of the connections between this card and the Sabbat is the hill you can see in the background. It's known as Silbury Hill and is located just south of Avebury, England. It is the largest man-made mound found to this day. Archaeologists have found that its creation began at about 2 660 BCE, most likely at the beginning of August (i.e. after the first harvest). Some interpretations of the mound claim that it was a symbol of this time of the end of the first harvest since the hill was visible on the horizon from Avebury only after all the wheat from the surrounding fields had been harvested (as the wheat was too tall and obstructed the view).

Be that as it may, the message I got from this reading has to do with inner strength and balance which are necessary during this time of year. So, I would like to share my musings with you in hopes that I will encourage you into further conquests during the following months.

First, allow me to explain the make-up of the card. The central male figure represents the archetypal guardian; a strong man with all the markers of masculinity (a beard, mustache, war clothes, a weapon that is still bloody to make it even more pronounced) who governs over the surrounding territory. However, what is unusual in this depiction is that the man has not taken a stance of attention, or perhaps offense. Rather, he stands as if he is resting - he has lifted one leg on a sort of tump and is drinking wine from quite a fine cup which the authors of the set describe as the chalice of "giving, intoxication and compassion". Although Mabon is yet to come in September, wine plays an important role in this card as a symbol of sharing and celebration of the collected harvest at Lammas. However, what is most important in this card is the man's relaxed, even kingly posture due to which he simply radiates his inner strength.

The original symbolism of the Strength card warns us that we will achieve much more with patience, if we are balanced and filled with love than if we succumb to feelings of anger and hate.

We all come across obstacles in life. In the Wheel of the Year, the following winter months are that obstacle which could, in ancient times, only be crossed with persistence, balance, moderation (e.g. in the consumption of food during these months), careful planning of supplies and patient, diligent collecting of the fruits of one's labor in late summer and early autumn. This enabled people to sustain life during the winter months. Inner strength and persistence are what make us go on and not lose hope when we encounter every obstacle. I find the following description of this card from the authors of the Wildwood Tarot quite fitting at this moment:

"The Woodward, an ancient guardian of the Wildwood, symbolizes the inner power that comes from facing fear and understanding the nature of darkness. The inner strength that comes from this awareness gives the individual the emotional body language and the humility that says: 'I am not a victim. Treat me with respect. Do not mistake my passivity for wakness'." 

What usually happens is that people live in the belief that they are strong and that they can do anything, or perhaps that they cannot do anything and are too weak. But things become clear only when we are faced with a moment of crisis. Only then do we truly get to know our capabilities and true strength. However, crude strength cannot be our only focus. I must once again quote the authors of the Wildwood Tarot who really very poetically describe this card:

"The strength of the Woodward is both a balance and a dichotomy between te energy of the hunter or the guardian, and the grounded inspiration found within the ecstasy of drumming and war dancing. These energies honor the qualities that provide protection and inspiration." 

Whether we are dealing with a situation of crisis, facing the unavoidable truth, a private or professional problem, the Woodward tells us that we can survive it all with enough persistence and inner strength.

To return to the Wheel of the Year, imagine a farmer who works hard the whole year round planting and taking care of his wheat fields. And then comes the first harvest when he is expected to collect all of this wheat. He is exhausted from all the previous months of hard work and now he has to draw strength out of nowhere to finish the job. He has no choice; he has to do this despite the fact that he is at the end of his tether, that he is lacking patience and is wavering under the scorching summer sun. This harvest is what he and his family depend on for survival. To continue, he needs his inner strength.

Lughnasadh marks the beginning of the harvest when we collect the fruits of our labor. Sometimes these fruits manifest in the shape of rewards for all our effort and right decisions, but sometimes as the consequences of our wrong decision. However, we must know how to accept both and learn from experience.

With this, I wish you all a happy and blessed Lughnasadh! May your first harvest be plentiful!

Yours,

Witch's Cat

Voćni muffini

Lughnasadh kao dan u sred ljeta i početak prve žetve je idealan za slavlje uz obilje plodova. Iako je ovo tradicionalno vrijeme žetve žita, nadam se da će se većina složiti sa mnom kad kažem da nam se u sred ljeta radije jede osvježavajuće voće, a malo manje teške domaće kruhove. Stoga vam dajem recept za sočne, osvježavajuće voćne muffin i želim vam svima sretan Lughnasadh!

Potrebno je:

Napomena: koristila sam za mjerenje čašu od 250 ml.

Za tijesto:

• 1/2 čaše kristal šećera
• 1 vanilin šećer
• 2 jaja
• 1/2 čaše jogurta (ja sam koristila grčki jogurt)
• 1/2 omekšalog maslaca
• prstohvat soli
• 1 čaša glatkog brašna
• 1 prašak za pecivo
• 2 breskve
• nekoliko marelica
• 1 zrela banana

Za nadjev:

• 1/3 čaše glatkog brašna
• 1/4 čaše kristal šećera
• 1/4 omekšalog maslaca
• prstohvat soli
• 1 čajna žličica cimeta

Priprema:

1. Zagrijte pećnicu na 175°C i pripremite lim/kalup za muffine (obložite ga košaricama za muffine).
2. Pripremite hrskavi nadjev tako da izmiješate šećer, maslac, sol, cimet i brašno viljuškom dok ne dobijete grudastu smjesu. Odložite je sa strane.
3. Isjeckajte voće.
4. U velikoj zdjeli izmiješajte brašno, prašak za pecivo i sol. U brašno dodajte sjeckanu bananu i pola količine sjeckanih breskvi i marelica. Polovicu ostavite sa strane za stavljanje na vrh muffina (korak 8). Lagano žlicom izmiješajte voće tako da bude dobro prekriveno brašnom.
5. U drugoj zdjeli električnim mikserom izmiješajte šećer i maslac. Dodajte jedno po jedno jaje i miješajte. Potom dodajte jogurt i vanilin šećer i dobro izmiješajte.
6. Ubacite smjesu s jogurtom u smjesu brašna i voća te sve izmiješajte žlicom dok se ne stvori kompaktna, kremasta smjesa.
7. Žlicom punite košarice za muffine (samo 2/3 košarica s obzirom da će se muffini dignuti u pečenju). 
8. Na vrh svakog muffina nabacajte nekoliko komadića sjeckane breskve/marelice i povrh toga žličicom pospite hrskavi nadjev.
9. Pecite 20-25 minuta.

Fruit Muffins

As a midpoint of summer and the beginning of the first harvest, Lughnasadh is ideal for celebrating the abundance of fruits. Although this is traditionally the wheat harvest, I hope most of you will agree with me when I say that we would much rather each refreshing fruits in the middle of summer than heavy, homemade bread. So I wish you all a very happy Lughnasadh with this refreshing fruit muffin recipe!

You Will Need:

Note: I used a 250 ml cup for taking measures.

For the Dough;

• 1/2 cup plain white sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup yogurt (I prefer Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 stick softened butter (ca. 120 g)
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup plain white flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 peaches
• a few apricots
• 1 ripe banana

For the Crumble Topping:

• 1/3 cup plain white flour
• 1/4 plain white sugar
• 1/4 stick softened butter
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

How To Prepare:

1. Heat your oven to 175°C and prepare your muffin tin (place the muffin cups in the tin).
2. Make the crumble topping by combining the sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and flour and mixing it with a fork until you get a very crumbly, chunky mixture. Leave it aside for now.
3. Cut up the fruit.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the entire banana and about a half of the rest of the fruit (it will be thrown on top of the muffins in step 8).With a spoon, gently mix the fruit so that it's all covered in flour.
5. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs one by one and mix. Finally and the yogurt and vanilla sugar and combine well.
6. Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and combine using a spoon until you get a compact, creamy dough.
7. Using a spoon, fill the muffin cups 2/3 (two thirds) of the way up (since they will rise in the oven).
8. Place a few pieces of the remaining diced fruit on top of each muffin and sprinkle the crumble topping on top of the fruit.
9. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Lemon and Strawberry Slices

Refreshing cakes are just the kind of sweets we need in the middle of summer and the combination of lemons and strawberries in this cake not only give it a certain tartness but they also represent the wonderful, vibrant colors of the sun which governs over the sky this time of year. 

With this post, I would also like to wish you all a happy and blessed Litha, albeit with delay. I hope you celebrated this sabbat as you wanted to and that this recipe will be useful to you sooner or later and enrich your celebration.

You Will Need:

For the crumbly base:

• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup (brown) sugar*
• 2 cups (whole-wheat) flour*
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (ca. 3 large lemons)
• 2 tsp lemon zest (ca. 2 lemons)
• 1 cup roughly chopped strawberries
• 3/4 cup (brown) sugar*
• 2-3 tbsp agave syrup
• 4 eggs
• 1 (to 1 1/2) cup (whole-wheat) flour*
• 1 packet baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Note: You can substitute the ingredients that have a star (*) next to them if you want the cake to be lighter in color. The lighter version is, in my opinion, aesthetically much more pleasing, although this version is slightly healthier. So you can use plain wheat flour instead of whole-wheat and normal granulated sugar instead of brown sugar. With the light version of the cake, the base will be very light (almost white) and the strawberries and lemon will color the filling a pinkish color. But it's all up to you.

How To Prepare:

The base:

1. Heat the oven to 175°C.
2. Cover a deeper baking pan with baking paper approximately 22 x 38 cm in size.
3. Mix the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add the flour and salt and mix until you get a crumbly mixture.
4. Pat the mixture into the baking pan so you evenly cover the whole surface. And make sure it's well-packed (i.e. firm, with no holes, etc.) otherwise the base will be too crumbly and won't hold.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.

The filling:

1. Grate and squeeze the lemons and chop up the strawberries.
2. Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberries  and sugar together. Add the eggs and mix. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.
3. Pour the mixture onto the base while it's still hot.
4. Return in the over for another 25 minutes.
5. Leave it to cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Ploške od limuna i jagoda

Osvježavajući kolači su upravo ono što nam treba u sred ljeta, a kombinacija limuna i jagoda ne samo da daju blagu kiselost ovom kolaču nego i predstavljaju prekrasne, žarke boje sunca koje dominira nad nebom u ovo doba godine.

S ovim postom vam ujedno želim i sretnu i blagoslovljenu Lithu, makar sa zakašnjenjem. Nadam se da ste proslavili ovaj sabat kako ste htjeli i da će vam ovaj recept kad-tad poslužiti za obogatiti slavlje.

Potrebno je:

Za hrskavu podlogu:

• 3/4 čaše omekšalog maslaca
• 1/2 čaše (smeđeg) šećera*
• 2 čaše (integralnog) brašna*
• 1/4 čajne žličice soli

Za biskvit:

• 1 čaša limunovog soka (ca. 3 velika limuna)
• 2 čajne žličice limunove kore (ca. 2 limuna)
• 1 čaša nasjeckanih jagoda
• 3/4 čaše (smeđeg) šećera*
• 2-3 žlice agavinog sirupa
• 4 jaja
• 1 (do 1 1/2) čaša (integralnog) brašna*
• 1 prašak za pecivo
• 1/4 čajne žličice soli

• šećer u prahu za posipanje

Napomena: sastojke sa zvjezdicom kraj sebe (*) možete zamijeniti ako želite da vam kolač bude svjetliji. Svijetla varijanta je po mom mišljenju estetski mnogo ljepša, ali je ova nešto zdravija. Dakle integralno brašno možete zamijeniti običnim glatkim brašnom, a smeđi šećerom običnim kristal šećerom. Kod svijetle varijante ćete dobiti svijetu hrskavu podlogu (gotovo bijelu), a jagode i limun će vam obojati biskvit u rozo. Odluka je na vama.

Priprema:

Podloge:

1. Zagrijte pećnicu na 175°C.
2. Papirom za pečenje prekrijte jedan dublji pleh za pečenje otprilike veličine 22 x 38 cm.
3. Izmiješajte maslac i šećer električnim mikserom. Dodajte brašno i sol te miješajte dok se ne napravi prhka smjesa.
4. Utapšajte tijesto u lim za pečenje tako da ravnomjerno prekriva površinu i da je dobro nabijen.
5. Pecite 15 minuta.

Biskvita:

1. Naribajte i iscijedite limune te isjeckajte jagode.
2. Izmiješajte sok od limuna, limunova koru, jagode i šećer. Dodajte jaja i miješajte. Dodajte brašno, prašak za pecivo i sol te miješajte da se sve sjedini.
3. Prelijte još vruću podlogu voćnom smjesom.
4. Pecite sve skupa još 25 minuta.
5. Pustite da se ohladi i pospite šećerom u prahu.

Ružice od jabuka

Cvijeće je jedno od primarnih simbola Beltanea kao sabata usred proljeća. Oltar i krug se obično krase cvijećem, pa zašto ne i kuhinju malo ukrasiti njime?

Potrebno je:

• 2 pakiranja (cca. 550 g) svježeg lisnatog tijesta (odmrznutog, po mogućnosti već u obliku tankog lista)
• 6 Idared jabuka (slatko-kisele)
• 1 limun
• 4 jušne žlice šećera
• 1 jušna žlica cimeta
• 1 jaje
• malo brašna

Priprema:

1. Zagrijte pećnicu na 200°C.
2. Odstranite srž jabuka (dakle peteljku i sjemenke) nožem, ili posebnom spravicom koja služi ovome. 
3. Izrežite jabuke na pola po dužini (odakle je bila peteljka pa do dna) i režite polovice na tanke ploške. 
4. Zavrijte vodu i, kad je uzavrila, iscijedite u nju limun i ubacite jabuke. Poklopite i ostavite da se jabuke namakaju nekoliko minuta.
5. Izvadite jabuke kad primijetite da su omekšale i ostavite ih da se cijede na papirnatim ubrusima.
6. Pobrašnite radnu podlogu i izvadite na nju lisnato tijesto (ako već nije tanko razvaljano, razvaljajte ga). Izrežite tijesto (po širini) na trake širine cca. 4 cm.
7. Razmutite jaje i izmiješajte u jednoj posudici šećer i cimet.
8. Svaku traku premažite jajem i pospite šećerom i cimetom.
9. Slažite jabuke na trake tijesta tako da gornje polovice ploški (s korom) vire van tijesta i da se rubovi ploški poklapaju.
10. Ruže formirajte na sljedeći način:
1. Preklopite donju polovicu svake trake preko jabuka (i dalje ca. polovica jabuke treba viriti van tijesta).
2. Motajte tijesto u smotuljak s jednog kraja na drugi.
3. "Uštipnite" kraj lisnate trake i bilo koji drugi komad lisnatog tijesta kako bi se spojili.
11. Posložite ružice na lim za pečenje (kojeg ste prethodno prekrili papirom za pečenje), ili u kalup za muffine (kojeg ste prethodno nauljili i pobrašnili).
12. Pospite ružice mješavinom šećera i cimeta.
13. Ostavite ružice u frižideru 15 minuta da se sve slegne.
14. Pecite na 200°C 15-20 minuta.

Apple Roses

Flowers are one of the primary symbols of Beltane as a Sabbat that marks the midpoint of spring. The altar and sacred circle are usually decorated with flowers, so why not decorate your kitchen with them too?

You Will Need:

• 2 packs (ca. 550 g) fresh puff pastry dough (unfrozen and preferably already in the form of thin sheets)
• 6 Idared apples (so tart apples basically)
• 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 egg
• some flour

How To Prepare:

1. Heat the oven to 200°C.
2. Remove the apple cores (so the stem and the seeds) using a knife, or a special tool called an apple corer.
3. Cut the apples lengthwise (so from the stem downwards) and then cut these halves into thin slices.
4. Boil a pot of water and, once it has come to a boil, squeeze in the lemon and throw in the apples. Cover the pot and let the apples soak for a few minutes.
5. Take out the apples when you notice they have become soft and flexible (they shouldn't be mushy). Leave them out to dry on some paper towels.
6. Flour your working surface and place your puff pastry dough on it (if you didn't buy it in the form of thin sheets, then roll our the dough yourself). Cut the dough crosswise into strips about 4 cm wide.
7. Whisk the egg slightly and, in a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar.
8. Daub each strip of dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
9. Place the apple slices on the strips so that the upper halves of the slices (the ones with the skin still on) stick out from the dough and so that the apple slices slightly overlap.
10. Make the roses in these three simple steps:
1. Fold the lower halves of the dough strips over the apples (about a half of the apple slices should still be sticking out from the dough).
2. Roll the pastry dough into a...well...roll.
3. Pinch the ending of the pastry dough with any other part of the dough to connect them.
11.  Place the roses on a baking pan (which your previously covered with baking paper) or in a muffin tin (which you previously greased up and floured slightly).
12. Sprinkle the roses with cinnamon and sugar.
13. Leave them in the refrigerator to settle about 15 minutes.
14. Bake at 200°C approximately 15-20 minutes.

Škartoci od jabuka

Ovi maleni zalogaji (koje sam od milja nazvala "škartoci" tj. papirnate vrećice kako se kaže u Dalmaciji) od jabuka su kombinacija mnoštva simbola plodnosti i tradicionalnih Beltaneskih namirnica - jabuka, svježeg sira, badema, brusnica i meda. Pomalo ih je zeznuto raditi, ali je konačni proizvod estetski jako dojmljiv i za lizati prste!

Potrebno je:

• 1 pakiranje integralnih kora za savijače (najbolje su po mome iz Lidla)
• 3 slatko-kisele jabuke
• 500 g svježeg sira
• 2 žlice meda
• 1 pak vanilinog šećera
• cimet (po želji)
• ca. 50 g maslaca (za mazanje kora)
• šaka sušenih brusnica
• 2 šake badema
• konopac za vezivanje kora

Priprema:

1. Zagrijte pećnicu na 200°C.
2. Ogulite i naribajte jabuke.
3. Iscijedite tekućinu iz jabuka tako da ih stavite u cjediljku i žlicom pritišćete dok većina tekućine ne izađe.
4. Bademe stavite na lim za pečenje i zapecite 5 minuta. Sitno ih isjeckajte/istucite maljem za meso na krupnije komade (ako ih tučete maljem, predlažem da ih prvo zamotate u prozirnu foliju). Dodajte komadiće badema u jabuke.
5. Izmiješajte jabuke, bademe, svježi sir, vanilin šećer, med, cimet i brusnice.
6. Svaki list kore izrežite na 6 približno jednakih pravokutnika. Od pakiranja od 9 listova (koliko ih obično bude) biste dakle trebali dobiti 54 pravokutnika (odnosno, u konačnici biste trebali od ovoliko kora dobiti 27 škartoca od jabuka).
7. Otopite maslac.
8. Od kora pravite vrećice tj. škartoce na sljedeći način:
1. Jedan pravokutnik postavite na radnu površinu i premažite otopljenim maslacem.
2. Drugi pravokutnik dijagonalno položite preko prvog (trebali biste dobiti 2 prekrižena pravokutnika).
3. I drugi pravokutnik samo po sredini namažite s malo otopljenog masla.
9. U sredinu kore stavite jednu čajnu žličicu punjenja.
10. Skupite rubove kora u vrhu i zavežite konopcem.
11. Ponovite korake 8-10 dok vam ne nestane kora.
12. Prekrijte lim za pečenje papirom za pečenje i posložite škartoce/vrećice od jabuka na njega.
13. Pecite na 200°C cca. 10-15 minuta.

Napomene: Kad skupljate kore oko punjenja, pokušajte skupiti iz jednog puta. Što više dirate kore, to će više pucati. Ukratko, kore su vrlo osjetljive pa imajte ovo na umu tijekom cijele pripreme i pečenja. Zbog ovog recept i je tako zeznut.

Apple Pouches

These bite-sized treats (which I decided to call pouches) are made of a combination of fertility symbols and traditional Beltane foods - apples, cottage cheese, almonds, dried cranberries and honey. It is slightly tricky to make them, but the final product is aesthetically impressive and finger-lickingly good!

You Will Need:

• 1 pack of integral strudel dough (400 g, you get it in the form of thin sheets, I had 9 sheets in the package)
• 3 tart apples (e.g. Idared)
• 500 g cottage cheese
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• cinnamon (to taste)
• ca. 50 g butter (for daubing the dough)
• handful dried cranberries
• 2 handfuls almonds
• thin rope for tying the pouches

How To Prepare:

1. Heat up the oven to 200°C.
2. Peal and grate the apples.
3. Press out the excess liquid from the apples by putting them in a strainer/colander and pressing on them with a spoon until most of the liquid is gone.
4. Put the almonds in a baking pan and bake for 5 minutes. Chop them up into smaller pieces/beat them with a meat cleaver (if you decide to do the latter, then wrap them up in cling film beforehand). Add the almonds to the apples.
5. Mix the apples, almonds, cottage cheese, vanilla sugar, honey, cinnamon and cranberries.
6. Cut up each piece of the strudel dough into 6 approximately same-sized rectangles. So a package containing 9 strudel sheets (which is the usual amount) should yield about 54 rectangles (that is to say, you should finally be left with 27 pouches from this number of rectangles).
7. Melt the butter.
8. Make the pouches from the strudel sheets as follows:
1. Place one rectangle on your working area and daub with butter.
2. Place a second rectangle diagonally over the first one (you should now have 2 crossed rectangles).
3. Daub the the middle of the second rectangle with butter.
9. Place one teaspoon of the apple-cheese filling in the middle of the rectangles.
10. Gather the edges of the pastry sheets above the filling and tie off with a piece of rope.
11. Repeat steps 8-10 until you run out of strudel sheets.
12. Place baking paper on your baking pan and transfer the apple pouches onto it.
13. Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes at 200°C.

Notes: When gathering the sheets above the filling, try to do this in one go. The more you fiddle with the strudel sheets, the likelier it is that they will break. Basically, they are very fragile so keep this in mind when handling them throughout the entire baking process. This is what makes this recipe tricky.

Scottish Bannock (Mediterranean Version)

The Beltane Bannock is a traditional Scottish recipe. It can be described as a flat, round break made entirely of oats which can be baked (on embers, typically on top of a hot stone), or fried (if you're making several smaller loaves). It is usually made with animal fat (pig fat) and not butter which is typically used nowadays. However, you will find many modifications to the recipes such as the bread being baked in your normal oven and using butter instead of fat. The bannock is usually eaten with a blend of eggs and milk, although I can personally attest that it goes nicely with cheese and light salami. According to folklore, eating a piece of bannock on Beltane morning guarantees abundance for crops and livestock...so what are you waiting for?! :D Get baking!

You Will Need:

• 3 cups oats
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (+ extra to flour your working surface)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp pig fat
• 1 cup hot water
• dried chives (to taste)
• sesame seeds for sprinkling

Notes: the traditional bannock is, of course, not made with chives and is not covered in sesame seeds. But this is why I noted in the recipe that it is adapted to suite Mediterranean cuisine. So, if you don't want to use chives or sesame seeds, you don't have to. Although I recommend you leave the other ingredients and ratios as is. You can substitute butter with pig fat entirely if you wish, and you can substitute the oat flour with any other kind of flour but then the whole point of the bannock kind of gets lost since it's supposed to be made entirely of oats.

How To Prepare:

1. Mix oats, oat flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter and drizzle over the dry mixture. Add water gradually and mix until you get a compact dough. If it's still too wet, feel free to add more oat flour/oats.
3. Flour your working surface, knead the dough and form it into a ball. You can make one larger loaf, or you can separate the dough into several parts and make several smaller loaves.
4. Heat your oven to 200°C and cover your baking pan with baking paper.
5. Roll out the dough into a circle. Make sure that it isn't thicker than 1 cm.
6. Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 175°C and bake for another 10 minutes.

Notes: I recommend that you don't check on your bread before the first 20 minutes are up because it is brittle until it cools down. You will know that it's done when it generally takes on a golden-brown color (at least a slightly darker tone compared to the originally pale color of the dough) and when the bottom edges start to turn slightly more brown.

Škotski bannock (prilagođen Mediteranu)

Beltanski bannock je tradicionalni škotski recept. Riječ je zapravo o plitkom, okruglom zobenom kruhu koji se može peći (uglavnom na žaru položenog na vrući kamen), ali i pržiti (ako se rade manji kruščići). Obično ga se radi sa životinjskom mašću (svinjskom), a ne maslom iako danas postoje mnoge varijacije na temu pa se kruh najčešće peče u pećnici, a masnoću daje maslo. Često ga se jede s mlijekom i jajima, ali sam se osobno uvjerila da jako lijepo ide i uz sirne namaze i lagane salame. Predaje kažu da komad ovog kruha pojeden na jutro Beltanea garantira blagostanje stoke i bogati urod...stoga navalite! :D

Potrebno je:

• 3 čaše zobenih pahuljica
• 1 1/2 čaša zobenog brašna (+ viška za pobrašniti radnu površinu)
• 2 čajne žličice soli
• 2 čajne žličice sode bikarbone
• 1 jušna žlica masla
• 2 jušne žlice svinjske masti
• 1 čaša vruće vode
• sušenog vlasca (po želji)
• sjemenke sezama za posipanje

Napomene: tradicionalni bannock se, naravno, ne radi s vlascem i ne posipa sezamom. Ali zato sam istaknula da je recept prilagođen Mediteranskoj kuhinji. Dakle, ali ne želite stavljati vlasca i sezam, ne morate. Ostale sastojke i omjere predlažem da zadržite. Maslo možete u potpunosti zamijeniti svinjskom mašću i zobeno brašno možete zamijeniti nekim drugim, ali se tada gubi poanta bannocka koji bi trebao biti u potpunosti od zobi.

Priprema:

1. Izmiješajte zobene pahuljice, zobeno brašno, sol i sodu bikarbonu. 
2. Otopite maslo i prelijte suhu smjesu njime. Dodajite pomalo vodu i miješajte dok ne dobijete kompaktno tijesto. Ako je smjesa i dalje previše vlažna, slobodno dodajte još brašna/zobenih pahuljica. 
3. Pobrašntie podlogu i oblikujte tijesto u kompaktnu kuglu. Možete napraviti jedan kruh, ili tijesto odvojiti na više manjih dijelova pa napraviti više manjih štruca.
4. Zagrijte pećnicu na 200°C i prekrijte lim za pečenje papirom za pečenje.
5. Kruh izvaljajte tako da dobijete krug debljine maksimalno 1 cm. 
6. Pecite na 200°C oko 20 minuta. Smanjite temperaturu na 175°C i ostavite peći još 10 minuta.

Napomene: predlažem da ne provjeravate kruh tijekom pečenje prije nego što je 20 minuta isteklo jer je lako lomljiv dok se ne ohladi. Znat ćete da je gotov kad je općenito porumenio u odnosu na originalnu blijedu boju smjese i kad na rubovima s donje strane vidite da počinje nešto više rumeniti.

Heljdini cvjetići

Cvijeće je glavni simbol proljeća i kao takvo se zaslužuje slaviti u ovo vrijeme. Stoga sam mu odlučila odati počast i u kuhinji gdje sam u formi cvijeta napravila kekse od heljdinog brašna s bademima i sušenom brusnicom.

Potrebno:

• 100 g suhih brusnica
• 1 naranča (iscijeđena)
• ca. 550 g heljdinog brašna
• 1 čajna žlica sode bikarbone
• 1/2 vrećice praška za pecivo
• 80 g smeđeg šećera
• cimet (po želji)
• prstohvat soli
• 100 g badema u listićima
• 150 ml suncokretovog ulja
• ca. 250 ml vrhnja
• dodatno heljdinog brašna za valjanje tijesta
• marmelade (po želji)

Napomene: od navedene količine sam dobila oko 80-90 keksiju. Marmeladu sam koristila za spajanje keksiju čime se naravno umanjila njihova količina (barem brojčano). Ovo možete, ali ne morate napraviti, samo su nekima keksi draži s "punjenjem" od marmelade. Ako ih odlučite spajati marmeladom, preporučam marmeladu/džem od šumskog voća jer izvrsno ide uz sušene brusnice.

Priprema:

1. Namočite brusnice u soku od naranče i ostavite da omekšaju oko 5 minuta.
2. Prosijte heljdino brašno. Ono što ne uspije proći kroz mrežicu bacite. Dodajte sodu bikarbonu i prašak za pecivo.
3. Dodajte u brašno šećer, cimet i sol.
4. Usitnite bademove listiće. Predlažem da ih (dok su u kesici) istučete maljem za meso. Potom ih dodajte u suhu smjesu.
5. U brašno dodajte ulje i vrhnje i umijesite tijesto.
6. Kad je tijesto postalo kompaktno, dodajte brusnice i sok od naranče te nastavite mijesiti da se sve poveže.
7. Ostavite tijesto u hladnjaku 15-30 minuta kako bi ga bilo lakše kasnije razvaljati i formirati kekse.
8. Stavite grijati pećnicu na 175°C.
9. Pobrašnite podlogu te valjakom razvaljajte tijesto na debljinu ca. 3 mm i režite kalupima za kekse. Ja sam koristila kalupe u obliku cvijeća, iako zaista možete bilo koje kalupe uzeti.
10. Prekrijte lim za pečenje papirom za pečenje.
11. Pecite kekse na 175°C oko 8-10 minuta.
12. Po želji, kad su se keksi ohladili, ih spajajte maremladom (jedan keks namažite, drugi kekse zalijepite na njega - marmelada ovdje služi kao "ljepilo").
13. Uživajte!

Buckwheat Flowers

Flowers are the main symbol of spring and, as such, deserve to be celebrated at this time. So I decided to pay them an homage in the kitchen by baking flower-shaped cookies made of buckwheat flour with almond flakes and dried cranberries.

You Will Need:

• 100 g dried cranberries
• 1 orange (squeezed)
• ca. 550 g buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 packet (1 tsp) baking powder
• 80 g brown sugar
• cinnamon (to taste)
• a pinch of salt
• 100 g almond flakes
• 150 ml vegetable oil
• ca. 250 ml cooking cream
• additional buckwheat flour for rolling out the dough
• marmalade (optional)

Notes: The above amount yielded about 80-90 cookies. I used the marmalade to "glue" the cookies together (the marmalade serves as an adhesive of sorts), which of course reduced the number of cookies (at least numerically). You can, but don't necessarily have to do this. Some people just find these cookies tastier when they're "filled" with marmalade. If you do decide to do this, I would recommend you use a forest-fruit marmalade/jam because it really nicely complements the dried cranberries.

How To Prepare:

1. Soak the cranberries in orange juice. Let them sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Sift the buckwheat flour. Throw away what is not able to pass through the sieve. Add the baking powder and baking soda to the flour.
3. Add sugar, cinnamon and salt to the flour mixture and mix well.
4. Chop up the almond flakes. I recommend that you actually lightly beat them with a beat cleaver while they are in a plastic bag. Add them to the dry mixture.
5. Add oil and cooking cream to the mixture and knead.
6. When the dough has become compact, add the cranberries and orange juice and continue kneading until everything blends together.
7. Leave the dough to sit in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out and to form the cookies.
8. Heat up the oven to 175°C.
9. Dust your working area with flour. Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thickness and cut with cookie cutters. I used flower-shaped ones, although any shape will do.
10. Cover the baking tray with baking paper.
11. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes at 175°C.
12. If you prefer, once the cookies have cooled down, "glue" them with marmalade/jam (spread marmalade on one cookie and press another cookie onto that one - the marmalade serves as an adhesive here).
13. Enjoy!

Honey Cake

The beginning of spring is perfect for light cakes such as this one, which are full of flavor, but at the same time easy on the stomach. Orange juice and orange zest remind us that spring brings refreshment into our lives, while the main ingredient of this cake - honey - reminds us that this is the time of year when all living beings start stirring once more, and among them bees that start producing honey as the flowers start blooming.

You Will Need:

For the usual dose:	For the double dose:
2 1/2 cups flour	5 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder	6 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda	1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt	1 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar	1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon	4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted honey	1 cup melted honey
1/3 cup sunflower oil	2/3 cup sunflower oil
4 eggs	6 eggs
1 tsp orange zest	2 tsp orange zest
1 cup orange juice	2 cups orange juice

Notes: you can mix plain flour with hard flour if you like and you can also use more sugar if you prefer your cakes to be sweeter (I always put a lot less sugar than is usually state in a recipe and this cake was no exception).

How To Prepare:

1. Heat your oven to 175°C.
2. Oil and four your baking pan(s). It's really all the same what kind of pan you decide to use, just keep in mind that the cake(s) will rise quite a bit. If you decide to go with the usual dose, the one regular, circular cake mold about 22 cm in diameter will do.But if you are making a double dose, you can expect a lot more. You can even use unusual cake molds! For example, I used one mold in the shape of a four-leaf clover and one that is usually used for baking Yule log cakes.
3. Mix all dry ingredients using a wooden spoon.
4. Gradually add the wet ingredients and mix using an electric mixer.
5. Pour the dense mixture into the mold(s) and bake for ca. 30 minutes at 175°C.

If you like, you can take the cake out 5 minutes earlier, glaze it with honey and put it back in the oven so the honey creates a nice crust. Otherwise, you can just lightly sprinkle it with powdered sugar once its cooled down, or put a chocolate glaze over it. Whichever you prefer! Although, you can always leave it as a nice, plain biscuit cake. In this case (if you decide not to go with any kind of glaze), I recommend you mix together a bit of milk and rum and daub the cake with this mixture so it stays moist even longer.

Bon appétit and a blessed Ostara to you all! :D

Yours,

Witch's Cat

Kolač od meda

Za početak proljeća savršeno odgovaraju lagani kolači poput ovog koji su prepuni okusa, ali istovremeno lagani po teksturi. Narančin sok i kora nas podsjećaju da s proljećem dolazi i osvježenje, a osnovni sastojak kolača - med - nas podsjeća da je ovo razdoblje kada se sva živa bića bude iz zimskog sna, a s njima i pčele koje sa cvatom cvijeća počinju proizvoditi med.

Potrebno je:

Za običnu dozu:	Za duplu dozu:
2 1/2 čaše brašna	5 čaša brašna
1 paket praška za pecivo	2 paketa paška za pecivo
1/2 čajne žličice sode bikarbone	1 čajna žličica sode bikarbone
1/2 čajne žličice soli	1 čajna žličica soli
1/2 čaše smeđeg šećera	1 čaša smeđeg šećera
2 čajne žličice cimeta	4 čajne šličice cimeta
1/2 čaše meda (otopljenog)	1 čaša meda (otopljenog)
1/3 čaše ulja	2/3 čaše ulja
4 jaja	6 jaja
1 čajna žličica ribane narančine kore	2 čajne žličice ribane narančine kore
1 čaša narančinog soka	2 čaše narančinog soka

Napomene: možete pomiješati malo glatkog i oštrog brašna, a šećer možete i povećati ako volite da vam kolači budu slađi (ja uvijek smanjim količinu šećera u receptu pa sam to napravila i ovaj put).

Priprema:

1. Zagrijte pećnicu na 175°C.
2. Nauljite i pobrašnite kalupe za pečenje. Zaista je svejedno u kakvom ćete kalupu peći kolač, samo budite svjesni da će se jako puno dignuti u pečenju. Ako radite uobičajenu dozu, onda bi vam mogao biti dovoljan obični okrugli kalup za torte promjera cca. 22 cm. Ako pak radite duplu dozu, možete očekivati i više. Možete koristiti i neobične kalupte! Ja sam, primjerice, koristila jedan kalup u obliku četverolisne djeteline, a drugi je bio forma za srneći  hrbat.
3. Izmiješajte sve suhe sastojke kuhačom.
4. Dodajite pomalo sve mokre sastojke i miješajte električnom miješalicom.
5. Ulijte gustu smjesu u kalup(e) i pecite na 175°C oko 30 minuta.

Kolač po želji možete preliti "glazurom" od meda 5 minuta prije kraja pečenja i vratiti ga u pećnicu kako bi dobio finu koru. U protivnome možete kolač posuti šećerom u prahu, čokoladnom glazurom, ili ga pak ostaviti kao obični biskvit. Kako god preferirate! No, ako se odlučite ne koristiti ikakvu glazuru, svakako predlažem da, kad se kolač ohladi, izmiješate malo mlijeka i ruma te poškropite/premažete kolač ovom smjesom kako bi što duže zadržao vlagu i sočnost.

Prijatno i blagoslovljena vam Ostara! :D

Vaša Witch's Cat

Inspirirajte me! / Inspire Me!

Dragi moji čitatelji, 

život me u posljednje vrijeme odveo u jednom smjeru koji mi nije omogućio previše vremena za pisanje i posvećivanje blogu. Usprkos tome, ne želim ga zapostaviti, ali mi za ovo treba malo vaše pomoći. U vrevi života nemam previše vremena za razmišljanje o temama za nove postove (a iskreno, zaista više ne znam o čemu nisam pisala i o čemu bih mogla dalje pisati) pa vas pozivam na u komentaru napišete o čemu biste vi voljeli čitati, ili da postavite neko pitanje na koje bih vam mogla odgovoriti.

Molim vas samo da vaša pitanja i teme ostanu relativno jednostavne, ili barem da ih izdvojite u neke manje cjeline ako su opsežnije. Odnosno, voljela bi moći obraditi određenu temu u jednom postu (a ne u ciklusu postova).

Nadam se da ćete se odazvati ovom pozivu i pomoći mi ponovno pronaći inspiraciju! :)

Blagoslovi,

vaša Witch's Cat.

____________________________________________________

Dear readers,

life has lead me in a different direction lately; one that doesn't allow me to devote much time to writing and this blog. Despite this, I don't want to neglect my blog and in order to avoid this, I will need your help. In the tumult of life, I don't have much time for pondering on topics for new posts (and honestly, I really don't know what I haven't written about or what I could writer about next) so I would like to invite you to write a comment on this post consisting of a topic you would like to read about, or a question that I could provide an answer to.

Please keep your questions and topics relatively simple, or at least segment them into smaller topics if they are more extensive. That is to say, I would like to be able to cover a specific topic in one post (not in a whole series of posts).

I hope that you will respond to this post and, in doing so, help me find inspiration once again! :)
Blessings,

Witch's Cat

Sljemenska gibanica

Sljemenska gibanica je kolač koji izvorno nema nikakve veze s paganizmom, ali se njezini sastojci savršeno uklapaju u imbolsku kuhinju. Svježi sir i vrhnje (koji su inače osnovni sastojci za gibanice) koji daju sočnost ovom kolaču i koji prevladavaju okusom mogu se povezati s prirodnim pojavama u ovo vrijeme, odnosno s laktacijom ovaca. Zbog ovoga su mlijeko i mliječni proizvodi inače vrlo omiljeni sastojci u imbolskoj kuhinji. Ostali dominantni sastojci u kolaču poput badema, ili jabuka su jednostavno prelijepog okusa i pridodaju originalnom, osvježavajućem okusu kolača.

Potrebno je:

• 50 dag badema (mogu i lješnjaci)
• 50 dag svježeg kravljeg sira
• 6 dcl vrhnja za kuhanje
• 1 pakiranje integralnog tijesta za savijače (9 kora tj. 40 dag)
• 1 kg jabuka
• 30 dag šećera
• 2 jaja
• suncokretovo ulje

Priprema:

1. Zapeći bademe 5 minuta na 200°C da porumene i samliti ih.
2. Zagrijati 1.5 dcl vrhnja i dodati 10 dag šećera. Miješati dok se ne otopi i dodati mljevene lješnjake te miješati dok se ne dobije kompaktna smjesa. Pustiti da se ohladi. Ostatak vrhnja ostaviti sa strane za zalijevanje pojedinih slojeva kolača.
3. U posudu pomiješati svježi sir, jaja i 10 dag šećera te izraditi mikserom.
4. Oguliti kore s jabuka, naribati ih i izmiješati s 10 dag šećera.
5. Nauljiti lim za pečenje (moj je veličine otprilike 35 x 25 cm i oko 7 cm dubine).
6. Slagati u lim za pečenje sljedećim redoslijedom: 3 kore - vrhnje (1 dcl) - smjesa lješnjaka - 2 kore - vrhnje (1 dcl) - smjesa sira - 2 kore - vrhnje (1 dcl) - smjesa jabuka - 2 kore

Napomena: kod nanošenja smjese lješnjaka, sira i jabuka, pokušajte ih što ravnomjernije rasporediti po korama kako bi presjek kolača bio što ljepši i kako bi se svaki "kat" moglo osjetiti u svakom zagrizu.

7. Pomiješati preostali 1.5 dcl vrhnja s jednom žlicom ulja i još malo šećera. Preliti kolač.
8. Peći kolač na 180°C 45-50 minuta.

Sljeme Pastry (Gibanica)

This pastry, named after the highest peak of the mountain Medvednica (Croatia) really has no connection to Paganism, though its ingredients perfectly fit into the Imbolc kitchen. Cottage cheese and cooking cream (which are generally the basic ingredients for the Croatian pastry called gibanica) which make the pastry all the more juicy and the flavor of which dominates can be connected to what's going on in nature at this time, namely the lactation of ewes. This is why milk and dairy products in general are favorite ingredients for the Imbolc kitchen. The other dominant ingredients in this pastry such as almonds and apples simply have a wonderful taste and add to the cake's original and refreshing taste.

You Will Need:

• 500 g almonds (hazelnuts can work too)
• 500 g cottage cheese
• 6 dl cooking cream
• 1 pack of integral strudel dough (400 g, you get it in the form of thin sheets, I had 9 sheets in the package)
• 1 kg apples
• 300 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• sunflower oil

How To Prepare:

1. Bake the almonds in the oven for 5 minutes at 200°C until they let out their nice aroma and only darken a little bet. Grind them.
2. Heat up 1.5 dl cooking cream and add 100 g sugar. Mix until the sugar is melted and add the ground almonds. Mix until everything is compact. Let it cool down. Leave the rest of the cooking cream aside for later (you will need it to pour over the different pastry layers).
3. In a bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, eggs and 100 g sugar using an electric mixer.
4. Peel the apples, grate them and mix with 100 g sugar.
5. Oil your baking pan (mine is about 35 x 25 cm and about 7 cm deep).
6. Arrange the layers of the pastry/gibanica in the following order: 3 strudel sheets - cooking cream (1 dl) - almond mixture - 2 strudel sheets - cooking cream (1 dl) - cheese mixture - 2 strudel sheets - cooking cream (1 dl) - apple mixture - 2 strudel sheets

Note: when spreading the almond, cheese and apple mixtures, try to spread them as evenly as possible so that the pastry looks nice when cut and so every layer can be tasted in every bite.

7. Mix the remaining 1.5 dl cooking cream with 1 tbsp sunflower oil and a bit of sugar. Pour over the pastry.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 180°C.

Zima kao period (pro)čišćenja

Za nekoliko dana (1./2. veljače tradicionalno, a 4. veljače astronomski) obilježit ćemo Imbolc - sredinu zime. Prije nekoliko dana sam napravila izlet u prirodu i time se počastila danom odmora usred vrlo aktivnog perioda svog života. Izlet mi je samo potvrdio opće stanje u kojem mi se čini da se ne nalazim samo ja, već i mnoštvo ljudi oko mene. To je stanje zimskog sna, ili bolje rečeno zimske pasivnosti.

Promatrajući prirodu, to se stanje vrlo lako primijeti u suhom tlu, golim hranama drveća, magli koja se pruža iznad rijeka i u našem vidljivom dahu u zraku. Zima je sama po sebi pasivan period kada i ljudi i životinje osjećaju potrebu za snom i kada prevladava svojevrsna letargija. Ali to je sasvim prirodno. Ali Imbolc nas podsjeća da se moramo pomalo početi buditi, motivirati se da izađemo iz kreveta (bio on stvaran, ili metaforički) i pokrenuti.

Usred te hladne prirode u kojoj smo se nalazili gdje smo vidjeli svugdje samo gole, otpale grane, ispucano tlo, maglu, mirisali vlagu i mahovinu i čuli samo tišinu, pojavio se jedan mali crvendać - ta prekrasna, preslatka mala ptica koja nam je nagovijestila proljeće. Zaista, jedan od simbola Imbolca jest crvendać koji u ovo vrijeme kada se počinje topiti snijeg (makar ga u mom podneblju baš i nema) prestaje jesti bobice i počinje tragati za kukcima skrivenima u tlu. Unio nam je tračak boje u zimsko sivilo. U ovom smislu se crvendać ubraja u mnoštvo nagovjestitelja proljeća.

Zanimljivo je da sam išla u prirodu s ciljem otpuštanja određenih emocija, odnosno odbacivanja suvišnog i prizivanja novog. Međutim, tada sam bila u potpunosti smetnula s uma da je i to jedna od praksi za Imbolc. Odnosno, ključna riječ za Imbolc je pročišćenje. Potrebno je pročistiti sebe, svoju okolinu, pa ponekad i fizički je očistiti kako bismo se lišili bespotrebnog tereta u životu i bili spremni za aktivni dio godine koji slijedi. Često ne idemo za tim koliko se toga može nagomilati u nama i oko nas; koliko nas sve to guši i sputava u životu. Ponekad su uzrok ovoga ljudi koji sišu našu energiju, koji nas umaraju. Ponekad su to problemi koji su jednostavno tu, našom zaslugom ili ne. Ponekad su to emocije koje nas sprječavaju u daljnjem duhovnom i mentalnom rastu. Imbolc (odnosno period oko njega), pa i sam imbolski ritual služi upravo za odbacivanje svega onoga što nas uništava i guši.

Sve ovo se radi s ciljem pročišćenja i spremanja za idući period koji će početi s Ostarom u ožujku. Iz poljoprivrednog aspekta, već se za Imbolc siju neke sjemenke (zbog čega ih se redovito blagoslivlja u sklopu rituala), makar s Ostarom, s pravim početkom proljeća, kreće sjetva u punom smislu riječi. Iz duhovnog/emocionalnog aspekta, za Imbolc se treba pripremiti teren za "sijanje" novih ideja. To podrazumijeva čišćenje ovog terena, "rahljenje emocionalne zemlje" i njegovanje sjemenki (ideja, određenih karakteristike, individualne osobnosti, emocija, samopouzdanja itd.). Nije dovoljno samo posaditi sjemenku da ona počne rasti. Prije toga su potrebne brojne pripreme koje uključuju pružanje ljubavi toj sjemenki i njegovanje tla u koje će ju se posijati. Vjerujem da možete dalje sami primijeniti ovu metaforu. Svakako, jedan od običaja za Imbolc je pretproljetno čišćenje (koje se najčešće obavlja dan prije Imbolca, tj. 31. siječnja ove godine), kako doma, tako i osobnog identiteta.

Čišćenje samo po sebi otvara prostor za novine, a time i za blagostanje i plodnost. Voljela bih vas potaknuti da za ovaj Imbolc počastite sebe i olakšate sebi životne terete. Napravite jedno "dubinsko čišćenje" - očistite vaš automobil i dom temeljito, operite podove, usišite tepihe, protresite ih i prozračite vani, nemojte zaboraviti usisati i obrisati prašinu u onim skrivenim kutovima koje inače preskaćete. Pregledajte ormare, ladice, police, frižider, vidite treba li se što baciti (hrana kojoj je istekao rok trajanja, poderana odjeća, iznošene cipele, gomile papire, starih časopisa, suvišnih predmeta koji nikada ne koristite itd.). Nemojte se ustručavati. Svi imamo tendenciju ostavljati stvari sa strane jer "tko zna kad će mi zatrebati". Ako ne zadržavamo nešto jer će nam zaista trebati, onda to radimo iz neke druge, nutarnje potrebe. Svatko za sebe jedino može odrediti koji je to prikriveni motiv.

Kada ja krenem čistiti po kući, zaista to radim temeljito - pročešljam svaku policu, svaki kutak prostorije i mahnito bacam sve što mi ne treba. Evo nekoliko načela kojih se obično držim prilikom čišćenja:

• Napravim četiri hrpe: "prodati", "baciti", "reciklirati", i "pokloniti/donirati" (nekoj specifičnoj osobi, u neku udrugu, knjižnicu, dom, i sl.). Ako predmet ne spada u nijednu od ovih kategorija, to znači da ga mogu zadržati i da mi je potreban/da ga se zaista ne želim riješiti.
• Ne treba se apsolutno sve baciti. Ponekad ćete htjeti zadržati neku sitnicu jer za vas ima jaku sentimentalnu vrijednost, ali se ne treba pretjerivati. U redu je zadržati nekoliko fotografija, ili jedan-dva predmeta, ali pedeset nikako. Sentimentalnost je jedno, a zaostajanje u prošlosti drugo. Iz istog razloga je dobro bacati stvari ih neuspjelih veza.
• Bacam (uvjetno rečeno; može ih se pokloniti/prodati itd.) stvari koje nisam koristila duže od godinu dana i za koje ne vidim kada bi ih/kako u sljedećih pola godine mogla koristiti. 
• Rješavam se stvari koje bude loše uspomene, koje mi zaista nisu drage.
• U smeće sa stvarima kojima je "istekao rok" - pokvarenu hranu/piće, poderane, razbijene, istrošene predmete koje se ne isplati/ne može popraviti, ili prenamijeniti na neki praktičan način.
• Bacam nedovršene stvari. Ako ih niste završili u dugom roku i ako ih ne planirate dovršavati, ne trebate se zavaravati (pogotovo ako se nađete u situaciji da govorite: "Joj, zaboravio/la sam na ovo!").
• Kod čišćenja ormara, bacati ono što se više ne može nositi (jer je preveliko/premalo/iznošeno/pokidano/nemoguće oprati/jer loše stoji itd.). Ako se neke hlače može suziti, nosim ih isti/idući dan na prekrajanje, a ako im nema spasa onda odmah "bacam". Nije potrebno zadržavati stvari koje su nam premale, koje smo prerasli i koje bismo mogli opet u nekoj budućnosti htjeti nositi. Takve stvari nas zadržavaju u prošlosti u kojoj smo bili mršaviji, bili u drugoj životnoj fazi itd. Nepotrebno je vraćati se unatrag. Potrebno je gledati budućnost. Nemojte zaboraviti baciti i iznošeno, staro donje rublje i čarape kojima nedostaje par!
• Ako im ne vidim svrhu, bacam! Stvari koje sam nekoć dobila/kupila i nikad nisam koristila (ili sam jednom koristila/obukla i s kojima nisam bila zadovoljna) i kojima više jednostavno ne vidim svrhu uvijek bacam. To mogu biti uređaji, knjige, komadi odjeće/obuće, ukrasi itd.
• Temeljito pregledati papire! Bacam sve stare papire, novine, časopise, nagomilane račune, uplatnice itd. Ovo je užasno zamoran posao jer je potrebno puno toga temeljito pročešljati. Papiri, stare teke, časopisi i slično bez mnogo razmišljanja idu u kantu za reciklažu. Međutim, račune i slične bitnije dokumente je potrebno bolje pregledati. Osobno bacam sve račune za predmete koje više ne mogu vratiti, za predmete kojima je istekla garancija i za one s kojima sam zadovoljna i koje ne planiram reklamirati. Nakon toga bacam sve račune/uplatnice i sl. koji su stariji od godinu dana. Kada sam sve to sortirala na dvije hrpe ("baciti" i "zadržati"), uredno slažem u fascikle, registratore, ili na neki drugi sistem sve one papire koje moram zadržati i razvijam sistem za organizaciju (uglavnom to bude po nekim životnim područjima/obvezama poput "banka", "škola", "posao", "režije" itd. i unutar ovih kategorija organiziram papire prema starosti).
• Ukrasi, ili nepotreban kič? Uvijek bacam stare ukrase i druge nepraktične predmete koji mi nisu nikakva uspomena i koje sam zadržala "eto, da bih ih zadržala". To su predmeti koji samo skupljaju prašinu, gomilaju se na policama i zagušuju dom.
• Ne smije se zaboraviti na kupatilo i police s lijekovima! Temeljito uvijek pregledam police u kupatilu i bacam sve lijekove kojima je prošao rok trajanja (što može biti vrlo opasno!).
• Nagomilana kozmetika je uvijek problem. Pregledam i kozmetiku pa bacam onu koja se više ne može koristiti (jer je ustajala, skamenila se, razvodnila, jer joj je prošao rok trajanja itd.). U kozmetiku ubrajam ne samo šminku poput ruževa za usta, sjenila i slično, već i sve kreme i druge preparate za kožu.
• Dobro je pregledati i torbu te džepove u jaknama (ili torbe kao što je slučaj kod većine žena). Ispraznite ih, po potrebi čak i usišite i bacajte sve što se nakupilo u njima, a što vam ne treba. Začudili biste se što se sve može naći unutra; od novca do komadića papira, starih maramica, zaboravljene kozmetike...
• Valja voditi računa o računalu! Smeće se može nakupiti i u virtualnom svijetu. Redovno čišćenje računala je uvijek najbolja opcija (kao što je to i u stvarnom životu), ali je teorija jedno, a praksa drugo. Kad čistim računalo, koristim tri programa: CCleaner, AVG antivirus i Defraggler. Istražite malo te programe pa ćete sami moći najbolje odrediti što će vam koristiti. Također je dobro u ovom periodu izbrisati s računala sve duple dokumente i one koji vam zaista nisu potrebni više i napraviti backup na nekom eksternom tvrdom disku, ili online (primjerice koristeći Google Drive, ili slične aplikacije).
• Ne smije se zaboraviti na one velike stvari poput čišćenja zavjesa (ovo je dobro napraviti jednom-dvaput godišnje jer dom odmah miriše i izgleda prozračnije), pranje prozora (što je užasno zamoran postao, ali jednako potreban kao i čišćenje zavjesa), čišćenja automobila (možete jednom godišnje izdvojiti novaca za dubinsko čišćenje, usisavanje itd.), pranja jastučnica (da, mislim i na one s jastuka na dvosjedu!) itd.

Sitne izmjene koje također volim napraviti u ovom periodu naprosto jer se mi se dom onda čini čišćim su sljedeće: promijeniti kuhinjsku spužvu, promijeniti posteljinu na svim krevetima, promijeniti četkicu za zube, uredno složiti plastične vrećice (držimo ih sve u jednoj ladici jer nam uvijek dobro dođu), promijeniti filter u usisivaču, baciti sve kemijske olovke/flomastere koji više ne rade (da, trebate jednu po jednu isprobati da biste provjerili), očistiti tipkovnicu od računala (prašina i masnoća se skupljaju između tipki) i popis se može nastaviti u nedogled.

Naravno, ne smijemo na kraju zaboraviti na sebe. Nema ništa ljepše i više opuštajuće od tople kupke/tuša nakon napornog dana čišćenja, zdravog i ukusnog jela i mirnog sna.

Svakako, popis koji sam navela poviše je, realno gledajući, predugačak. Dobro je ovo sve napraviti, ali je naravno i nemoguće u jednom danu. Period pretproljetnog čišćenja može trajati dosta dugo ovisno o tome koliko je toga potrebno očistiti i koliko smo toga spremni očistiti baš u tom trenutku. Zato ovaj proces možete započeti 31. siječnja, a pomalo provoditi sve do Ostare.

Međutim, čišćenje vanjštine je najlakši dio posla. Mnogo duže traje duhovno i emocionalno čišćenje s kojim se može započeti na imbolskom ritualu. Neki će možda već znati čega se žele osloboditi u ovom periodu, a neki će iskoristiti priliku za dobivanje spoznaja o ovome. No, i kada spoznamo čega se točno želimo riješiti, ponekad nije dovoljno znati tu golu činjenicu već i dublje istražiti njezine korijene. Ako je riječ o emocijama, o obrascima ponašanja, ili lošim navikama, odbacivanjem te jedne "činjenice" (emocije/obrasca/navike) ćemo samo ukloniti simptom, ali ne i njegov uzrok. Tada započinje pravi individualni rast i duhovni napredak. 

Voljela bih vas potaknuti ovim postom da radite na sebi, na napretku vlastitog života i osobnosti te objasniti na koje načine se paganski sabati mogu praktično ukomponirati u svakodnevni život. U nadi da ćete primijeniti neke moje savjete, ili ih pak preispitati i kroz to naći neki drugi put koji vama odgovara, pozdravljam vas i šaljem imbolske blagoslove!

Vaša Witch's Cat

Winter as a Time of Clean(s)ing

In a few days (on February 1/2 traditionally, or astronomically on February 4) we will be celebrating Imbolc - the midpoint of winter. A few days ago, I went on an outing and treated myself to a day of relaxation during this very active period of my life. The outing itself just confirmed the general state which seemed to me that not only I, but many people around me were also in. The state I am talking about is that of hibernation, or better put winter passivity.

Watching nature, it is very easy to notice this same state in the dry ground, naked tree branches, the fog stretching out over the rivers and in our visible breath in the air. Winter is in itself a passive period what both humans and animals feel the need to sleep and when a kind of lethargy prevails. But that's completely natural. Although, Imbolc reminds us that we have to slowly awaken, motivate ourselves to get out of bed (be it actual or metaphorical) and get moving.

In the midst of this cold natural world in which we found ourselves where we could see only naked, fallen branches, cracked earth, fog, where the smell of dampness and moss dominated and only silence could be heard, there came to us a small robin - that wonderful, cute little bird that was our first hint of spring. And truly, once of the symbols of Imbolc is the red-breasted robin who, at this time of year when the snow starts to melt (even though there isn't much snow where I live), stops living on berries and starts searching for insects hidden in the soil. He brought to us a ray of flash of color in the middle of the gray winter landscape. In this sense, the robin is one of the many indicators of spring.

It's interesting that I went on this outing with the aim of releasing certain emotions, or rather discarding the redundant and welcoming the new. However, at the time, I had completely forgotten that this is also one of the traditions of Imbolc. That is to say, the lite motif of Imbolc is cleansing. It is necessary to cleanse oneself, one's surroundings and even physically clean up in order to get rid of the unnecessary burdens in life and get ready for the active part of the year that is to come. We often don't take account of how many things accumulate in us and around us; how much all of this suffocates us and fetters us in life. The causes of this can be various. Sometimes it's people who suck out our energy; who tire us out. Sometimes it's problems that are simply there, thanks to us or not. Sometimes it's emotions which prevent us from further spiritual and mental growth. Imbolc (or rather the period around it) and the Imbolc ritual itself are there precisely for this reprobation of everything that is wasting and suffocating us.

All of this is done with the aim of cleansing and getting ready for the oncoming period which begins with Ostara in March. From the agricultural viewpoint, some seeds are already planted at Imbolc (which is why seed blessings are often a part of the Imbolc ritual), albeit the actual sowing season begins at Ostara. For a spiritual/emotional aspect, it is a good idea to prepare the terrain for the "sowing" of new ideas. This means cleaning the terrain, "loosening the emotional earth" and nurturing our seeds (ideas, certain characteristics, individual personalities, emotions, self-confidence etc.). It's not enough to simply plant a seed for it to grow. Many preparations need to be done before hand, such as offering love to the seed and nourishing the earth in which it will be planted. I believe you can further extend this metaphor yourselves. Anyway, one of the traditions of Imbolc is (pre-) spring cleaning of both the home and the individual identity. However, this is usually done on the eve of Imbolc, which falls on January 31 this year.

Cleaning automatically makes room for novelty and therefore also prosperity and fertility. I would like to prompt you to treat yourselves and relieve yourselves of some burdens life brings for this Sabbat. Do some "deep cleaning" - clean your car and home thoroughly, mop your floors, vacuum your rugs, shake and air them out, don't forget to vacuum and dust those hidden corners that you tend to skip usually. Check your closets, shelves, drawers, your fridge and see if there's anything that needs to be thrown away (food that's past its expiration date, ripped clothes, worn out shoes, heaps of papers and old magazines, useless objects that you never use and so on). Don't hesitate. We all have the tendency to leave things aside on the basis of "you never know when this could be useful". If you don't keep something because you will really need it, then you are doing this out of some other, intrinsic need. Nobody other than you yourself can determine what this ulterior motive is.

When I start cleaning around the house, I really am thorough - I go over every shelf, every corner in every room and crazily start throwing away everything I don't need. Here are some principles I usually stick to when cleaning:

• I form four heaps: "to sell", "to throw out", "for recycling" and "gifts/donations" (to a specific person, or a charity, library, home and so on). If the object at hand doesn't fall into any of these categories, then it means that I can keep it and that I either really need it or that I really don't want to get rid of it.
• You don't need to throw away absolutely everything. You may want to keep a little trifle because it may be of strong sentimental value to you, but you also shouldn't overdo this. It's OK to keep a few photographs, or one or two trinkets, but not fifty. Sentimentality is one thing, but arrestment in the past is another. It's a good idea to throw away things for past relationships for the same reason.
• I throw away things (so to speak; you can give them away/sell them etc.) that I haven't used in over a year and can't see myself using in the next six months.
• I get rid of things that bring back bad memories and which I really don't care for.
• Throw away things that have "expired" - rotten food/drinks gone bad, torn, broken, worn out things which are not worth fixing/cannot be fixed or reused in a different practical way.
• Throw away unfinished things. If you started this particular project a long time ago and still haven't finished it and if you don't plan on doing so, you don't need to kid yourself (especially if you find yourself saying: "Wow, I forgot about this!").
• When cleaning out your closet, throw away everything you can't wear anymore (because it's too big/too small/worn out/torn/uncleanable/looks bad on you etc.). If a pair of pants can be taken in a bit, take them to the seamstress to get fixed the same day, or the next at the latest. If they really can't be saved, then I just "throw them" away immediately. There's no need to keep things that are too small for us, that we have outgrown and that we may want to wear again in some distant future. These things keep us stuck in our past in which we were thinner, going through a phase and so on. There's not need to go back. It's better to look towards the future. Also, don't forget to throw away worn out, old underwear and odd socks.
• If I don't see a use for it, I throw it out! I always get rid of things that I once got as a present/bought and never used (or used/wore once and weren't satisfied with) and for which I simply don't see a use anymore. They can be appliances, books, clothes/shoes, decorations etc.
• Thoroughly go through papers! I always throw out old pieces of paper, newspapers, magazines, stacked up receipts, deposit slips and the like. This is an incredibly tiring task because you need to go through so many papers in detail. Papers, old notebooks, magazines and similar things end up in the recycling bin without too many questions being asked. However, receipts and similar more important documents need more detailed examination. I personally throw away receipts for things that I cannot return any longer, for things that are no longer under warranty and for those that I am satisfied with and don't plan on returning. After this, I throw about all the receipts/deposit slips etc. that are more than a year old. Once I have sorted these papers into two piles ("to throw out" and "to keep"), I neatly put away those which I need to keep in files, registrators or using some other filing system. I also develop an organizing system for these papers. Usually, I categorize them by the domain/obligation they are connected to, such as "bank", "school", "business", "bills" etc. and further file them by date.
• Decorations, or useless kitsch? I like to throw away old decorations and other impractical objects that don't remind me of anything in particular and which I keep "just for the sake of keeping". These objects just end up collecting dust on your shelves and suffocate your home.
• Don't forget your bathroom and medicine cabinets! I always have a detailed look at the cabinets and shelves in my bathroom and throw away all medicine that is past its expiration date (they really do present a health threat!).
• Piled up cosmetics are always a problem. This is why I go through my cosmetics and throw away anything that cannot be used any more (because it's just gotten old, too hard, too watered down, past its expiration date etc.). By the way, when I say "cosmetics", I'm not only referring to lipstick, eye shadows etc., but also to creams and any other skin-related products you might have.
• Check your jacket pockets and bag (or bags as the case may be for most women). Completely empty them out, vacuum them if necessary and throw away everything that has piled up in them and that you don't need anymore. You would be surprised at what you can find there; from money, to stray bits of paper, old tissues, forgotten cosmetics and so on.
• Take care of your computer! Junk can pile up in the virtual world as well. Regularly cleaning your computer is always the best option (the same applies to real life), but theory is one thing and practice entirely another. When I clean my computer, I use the following programs: CCleaner, AVG antivirus and Defraggler. Research what these programs do; you'll be able to figure out which ones you will find useful. It's also a good idea to delete any duplicate documents or those that you really don't need anymore and make a backup on an external hard drive, or online (for example, using Google Drive or a similar application).
• You can't forget about the big things such as cleaning your curtains (this is best done once or twice a year because your  home instantly smells and looks more airy), cleaning your windows (which is extremely tiring but equally necessary as cleaning curtains), cleaning your car (you can put aside some extra money for deep cleaning and vacuuming your car once a year), cleaning your pillow cases (yes, I'm talking about the ones on your couch!) and so on.

The small changes that I also like to make in this period simply because they make my home feel more clean are the following: changing the sponge, changing all the bed sheets, throwing away my old tooth brush, neatly folding plastic bags (we keep them all in a drawer because they always come in handy), changing the vacuum filter, throwing away all pens that don't work anymore (yes, this means you have to check them one by one), cleaning the keyboard (dust and grease get between the keys) and the list can go on indefinitely.

Of course, we cannot forget about ourselves at the end of the day. There's nothing better than a relaxing shower/bath after a strenuous day of cleaning, followed by a healthy, tasty meal and a restful night's sleep.

Surely, the above list is realistically much too long. It's good to do all of these things, but it's of course impossible to do it all in one day. The period of (pre-) spring cleaning can last a long time depending on how much needs to be cleaned any how much we ourselves are ready to clean at that particular time. This is why the process can begin on January 31 and can slowly be carried out until Ostara.

However, cleaning the external is the easiest part. Spiritual and emotional cleaning, which can be begun at the Imbolc ritual, takes much longer. Some of us may already know what they want to get rid of, while others may decide to seize the opportunity to gain insight into this. But, even when we become aware of what exactly we want to get rid of, it's sometimes not enough to just know the bare fact. Sometimes we have to go deeper and look into its roots. If we are dealing with emotions, patterns of behavior or bad habits, we may only get rid of the symptom by discarding this one "fact" (emotion/pattern/habit), but perhaps not its cause as well. This is when real individual growth and spiritual development begin.

With this post, I would like to prompt you to work on yourselves, to improve the quality of your lives and personalities and to explain in what ways the Pagan Sabbats can be practically incorporated into everyday life. In hopes that you will apply some of my suggestions, or perhaps question them and in doing so find a different path that will better suit you, I wish you all the best and send you my Imbolc blessings!

Yours truly,

Witch's Cat