Adventures in Meadmaking 2014

So I had planned to go out today. I was going to meet a friend for coffee this morning and then go grocery shopping. The weather had other plans, however, and since I'm not too keen on wrecking my car or myself, turns out that I am home-bound today. I love my home, so this isn't an issue. So after perusing on the interwebs and managing to raid my freezer and pantry to come up with something yummy to make my husband for dinner (who is working today in this horrible weather and forgot his lunch), I thought, Self, what can we do today that would be productive but enjoyable?

Well, Self, I answered, there is that gallon of strawberry mead that needs bottling... So I lugged my gallon carboy and enameled soup pot upstairs, pulled out my corker, empty + clean bottles, corks, and siphoning pump and tube, and I bottled my strawberry mead.

I'm trying to remember when I started this batch, and I want to say it was in late May or June 2013, when the strawberries were really abundant around here. I really need to start writing this shit down. Anyhow, if my memory serves, there's about 3 lbs of strawberries along with 3 lbs of local red bamboo honey in this mead. The color is absolutely beautiful. It was very red when I first put it on to ferment, and now it is a deep amber color. I would post a picture, but the camera on my phone is not working after the latest software update, and I need to charge my actual camera because the battery is low. Sorry to disappoint. You can smell and taste the strawberry. I'm very happy about that. The mead is still young, though, and needs to age for a bit longer. What I mean when I say that is that it has the sharpness of a young wine. As it ages that particular flavor mellows and it smooths out. I think it's going to be very good come summertime.

Anyway, I made this mead in honor of Freya, and the yeast fermented so violently (likely from the high amount of sugar between the fruit and the honey) initially that it blew the cork and the airlock clear across the room. Twice. There was fermented strawberry mash everywhere. I'm still finding it in little patches in places on the basement floor under the stairs (which is where I keep my fermenting mead batches as well as the finished bottled stuff).

And so comes the difficult question of what to brew next? Here's some possibilities:

Blood Orange Mead
Lemon Ginger Mead
Chai Mead
Blueberry Lavender Mead (that's a springtime/summertime batch, methinks)

Thoughts? Votes? Comment below!

B is for Baron Samedi (PBP 2014)

So we're taking a large step sideways this week from the topics of runes and the Northern Traditions and dipping our toes into a very different tradition: Vodou. Let me preface this entry by stating the obvious: I am not a trained practitioner of Vodou and do not claim any kind of expert knowledge on this topic whatsoever. My interest in Vodou stems from my deep love of and personal connection with the city of New Orleans, and much of what I have learned about American Vodou comes from my visits to that city and learning about their culture. If any of the following information is incorrect, please accept my humblest apology and feel free to correct me in the comments section below.

Baron Samedi (also Baron Saturday, Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi, or Bawon Sanmdi) is one of the Loa of Haitian Vodou. The word 'Samedi' means 'Saturday' in French. He is a Loa of the dead, along with His other aspects: Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix, and Baron Kriminel. He is one of the Guédé family of Loa. In Haitian Vodou, the Guédé (also spelled Gede or Ghede) are the family of Loa that embody the powers of death and fertility. Fete Ghede is on November 2, the Festival of the Dead. All boons granted by the Ghede must be repaid by this date, or is it said that They will take Their vengeance on you.

The Baron is connected to and is sort of a darker aspect of Papa Ghede, who is the father of the Guédé. Papa Ghede is said to be the corpse of the first man who ever died. He is recognized as a short, dark man with a high hat on his head who enjoys smoking cheap cigars and eating apples. He is a psychopomp who waits at the crossroads to take souls into the afterlife. If a child is dying, Papa Ghede is prayed to, because it is believed that He will not take a life before its time, and that He will protect children from death. Like the Baron, Papa Ghede has a very crass sense of humor. He also possesses a divine ability to read others' minds, and the ability to know everything that happens in the worlds of the living and the dead (Source: Wikipedia entry on the Guede)

Back to the Baron. His wife is the Loa Maman Brigitte (yes, She is connected with St. Brigit, who is the protector of crosses and gravestones). He has particular links to magic, ancestor worship and death. The Baron is notorious for his rowdy behavior, swearing continuously and making dirty jokes. He is usually depicted with a top hat, black tuxedo jacket, and dark glasses. Sometimes He will also have cotton plugs in His nostrils, resembling a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in the Haitian style. The Baron is often portrayed as having a skull-like face.

(Veve of Baron Samedi. A veve acts as a "beacon" for the Loa and will serve as a Loa's representation during Vodou rituals.)

In addition to His role as master of the dead, Baron Samedi is also a life-giver. It is said that He can cure any mortal of any disease or wound (if he thinks it is worthwhile to do so). His powers are especially great when it comes to voodoo curses and black magic. Even if someone has been hexed, they will not die if the Baron refuses to dig their grave. He also ensures that all corpses rot in the ground to stop any soul from being brought back as a brainless zombie. His preferred colors are black, white, and purple, and He is said to particularly enjoy offerings of cigarettes, cigars, rum, and black coffee. (Source: Wikipedia entry on Baron Samedi)

Here are some pictures of an altar to the Baron I took while at Voodoo Authentica in New Orleans in October 2013. You can click on them to see more detail/blow them up. By the way, if you ever have the chance to go to NOLA, definitely check out their shop. We found both the energy and the staff to be lovely. My husband and I brought dolls of the Baron and Maman Brigitte back to Pittsburgh with us. They were proudly on display for our Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead hootenanny this year (which was appropriately on November 2).

And, just for fun, here's some pictures from the The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum and of the reputed tomb of Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetery #1:

B is for Berkano (PBP 2014)

Berkano (pronounced bear-kawn-no; meaning: Birch goddess) is the second rune of the third aett of the Elder Futhark. We are still within the first aett within 'Taking Up The Runes' so again, I am jumping forward.

A number of years ago, I helped co-lead a Beltane ritual for my CUUPS group, and as part of the ritual, the participants were gifted with a rune to take home and meditate on. Berkano was the rune that they were given. I purchased green glass pebbles at a craft shop (you know the ones that come in a big bag and are available in a zillion colors that you can use decoratively to fill lamps or vases) and used gold metallic permanent marker to draw the runes on the pebbles. One of the wonderful things about runes is that they are so simple to make, and you can make them out of so many different things...in a pinch, tearing up some paper and marking them with a pencil or pen will do the trick. I may do a blog entry about rune-making later in the alphabet. But I digress...

Berkano represents birth, growth, rebirth, renewal, fertility, pregnancy and motherhood, the womb, healing, and sanctuary. Its shape is reminiscent of the pregnant belly and breasts of a woman's body. I have always associated this rune specifically with the goddess Frigga, the All-Mother, wife of Odin, because Her tree is the birch. Others feel that it could represent many of the goddesses within the Northern Tradition, including Idunna, Freya, Nerthus, and even Ostara/Eostre. Edred Thorrson calls Berkano a rune of the Earth Mother, saying it reveals the mystery of the perpetual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth from the womb of the Goddess who rules over rites of passage.

Berkano can be used to make a protective amulet for a pregnant woman by taking a charm such as a stone, clay, or a piece of wood (a piece of birch wood would be especially appropriate), engraving it with the rune, and charging it in the name of Frigga.

A is for Algiz (PBP 2014)

Our group has not yet gotten to Algiz, so I'm jumping ahead a bit for the sake of the alphabet; however, I have worked with this rune before. Algiz ("all-yeese"; Elk, protection) represents protection (of both self and others), a shield, defense, warding, a guardian. Algiz is the rune of the Valkyries. It can also represent the higher self, connection with the Gods, divinity, and awakening.

I often refer to Algiz as, "The chicken foot of protection."

The website Rune Secrets says this about Algiz:

"The spiritual force, hamingja, generated by Algiz envelops the invoker with so much energy that he or she becomes sacred, set apart and protected by Divine power. The image of the Valkyrie in mythology is fully representative of the way in which the energies of Algiz work to protect you. Meditating on the image of a Valkyrie in her teacher, swan and warrior forms is a powerful method of invoking Algiz energy."

Hamingja (old Norse: "luck") is the personification of the good fortune or luck of an individual or a family. For more information about hamingja, check out The Parts of the Self at Norse Mythology.

A is for Ansuz (PBP 2014)

Greeting and salutations, my darlings.

So for the past two years I have tried (admittedly it's been somewhat half-hearted) to do the Pagan Blog Project. And I usually end up falling off somewhere shortly after it gets started because I get behind due to the insanity of my life and never manage to catch up. Hopefully 2014 will be different, because I do really want to do it.

One of the things that happened in 2013 is that I became a leadership team member of my local CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group that I have been attending for many years now. I have a lot of love for that group, and I had a lot of concerns about where I saw it headed and a willingness to invest my time and energy in helping promote its growth in a positive direction, and I guess those things combined together resulted in me being asked to serve as a LT member. BTW, we have a Facebook page, so please "Like" us, and if you're in the Pittsburgh area, come and check us out! We have some awesome things planned for 2014!

On a whole other note, I have been exploring and learning about the Northern Traditions for probably about 5 years now, after ol' One Eye made it abundantly clear to me that I belonged with Him and His and that it was not optional. I've now worked with His son for awhile and will continue to do so, because, well...Thor is awesome, and He's extremely easy to talk to and interact with, at least in my experience. His father, on the other hand, kind of gives me 'fraidy pants, probably because when He communicates with me, either directly or indirectly, I can sense that the Big Ol' Changes are a'coming, and being very much an earthy Taurus...Idunlikethat. Anyhow, to make a long story short, one of the things the Allfather communicated to me in 2013 was that I really needed to get off my ass and start seriously studying the runes, specifically learning galdr. This, however, posed a problem: it wasn't really something I wanted to do alone, as I've done a lot (to be read: most) of my learning over the years. Fortunately, there were a couple other fabulous pagan lady friends of mine who had close encounters with some of the Northern Folks (one with Odin, and one with Hel) who were also interested in studying the runes, so we joined forces and started a group. We are using Diana Paxson's book Taking Up The Runes, but also utilizing other resources as well.

Which brings us to this blog (sorry it took awhile, when I decide to talk sometimes that happens): I am going to explore the runes through my blog posts for PBP 2014, as it will hopefully serve me in actually doing PBP 2014 in its entirety, and help my study of, connection with, and personal understanding of the runes.

So, without further ado...A is for Ansuz

Ansuz (pronounced AHN-sooz, meaning: A God, or Mouth) is the fourth rune of the first aett (set of 8) of the Elder Futhark. Ansuz represents communication, wisdom, knowledge, consciousness, intelligence, reason, and air/breath. I think Ansuz is also about creating order, about analyzing and making sense of things, of putting our observations and feelings into words and the understanding of that stuff. For me personally it also speaks of listening, as this is a huge part of communication, particularly listening to myself. My feeling of this rune is very much Odin. Reading about Ansuz, one of the things I saw was that it represents "passing the breath along the ancestral line," which really resonates with me also. Communication with people I have lost in my life is a very important part of my spirituality. I lost my dad very young, as well as both of my maternal grandparents whom I was very close with later (particularly my grandfather), and I do communicate with them, though that communication is so VERY different than the other ways people communicate. Ansuz represents the vital breath of life that fuels all things and is the beginning of sound and language, and that is Odin's gift to us.

From the Voluspa, stanza 19:

Breath they had not, nor blood, nor senses
Nor language possessed, nor life-hue:
Odin gave them breath, Hoenir senses,
Blood and life-hue Lothur gave.