Decorating for Yule

Yes, yes.. to some I know this post is late. Winter Solstice and Yule were on December 21st, so why so late? Well, there's a simple answer to that. Not only did we have friends in from out of town and gatherings at our house, but in our home, Yule isn't celebrated just one day a year. The kickoff, of course is on Winter Solstice. But in an effort to extend the good cheer and drastically reduce the stress, we tend to celebrate Yule until the end of January. We exchange our main gifts on Solstice, but are sure to spread out little gifts throughout the month, to keep our budget sane and keep the giving spirit active. What could perk up a crappy day better than a thoughtful, well timed gift? So when I decorate for Yule, I usually do so with the intention of keeping those decorations up and lit for well over a month. So my decorations always must be as practical as possible, and something that wouldn't seem tacky or out of place past the traditional holiday. We typical use a lot of greenery and natural seasonal objects to decorate for this reason. 

The first thing one usually does is put up their Yule or holiday tree, if they have one. I'm a bit of a tree hugger, so I'm majorly against having a live tree, unless it's potted and intended to be planted in the spring. I know that I'm of the majority in this subject, even among Pagans. If you do choose to use a live tree, please dispose of it responsibly, preferably in a compost. Needless to say, I choose to use an artificial tree. Instead of the usual ornaments and decorations that include Santa and such, I prefer to use more natural objects. For example, I decorate with birds, spider balls, bundles of sticks, acorns, etc. I also like recycling objects to use as ornaments, like old spoons bent to hang on a branch. There's also some random ornaments on my tree as well, most of which we had collected over the years and old ceramic ones made and painted by my mom. Hubby isn't fond of the idea of a star on top of the tree, so instead of a star, I use a big bow.

After the Yule tree is set up, I typically begin collecting things for my Yule altar. I love having a sacred space in the heart of our home. This year, I went outside to our backyard to one of our evergreen trees and took clippings from some of the lower branches. I always make sure to first ask permission and then thank the tree for letting me take the trimmings. It's never a bad idea to practice a healthy respect for nature, especially the Earth's lungs, even if your practice isn't nature based. I also took a couple thin, bare branches to craft my pentagram wreath and create an arrangement with some of the evergreen trimmings. 

Whenever setting up a sacred space, I like to have all the elements represented. You can represent Earth with rocks, crystals, salt, trimmings, etc. Fire is usually represented with candles and Air is usually represented with incense. Representing water is rather self explanatory, but if you have cats like mine who like to knock everything over to get to a water source (even if their water dish is filled to the brim), it might be a good idea to only bring the water to the altar when you use it. It's entirely up to you how you set up your altar. Some paths have outlines for appropriate placements of each item. You can use an outline if you like, but I usually just do whatever feels right and uncluttered. It's MY sacred space, after all.

The last major thing I like to do is have a nice pentagram wreath on my front door to greet guests. It's not as loud as having a giant sign in the yard that says "LOOK! A PAGAN LIVES HERE!", but it's enough to represent the home they are coming into. 

All the rest is just details. I put up a cute snowman on the door to greet guests during our gatherings after the door was closed. I took him down after the gatherings, mostly because tape refuses to stick to smooth wood for longer than a 24 hour period, it seems. 

The best part is to see it all lit up. After the Solstice celebration came to an end, I got to light all my candles and incense, turn off the lights and simply enjoy the quiet and the company. 

So how did you decorate this year? I'd love to hear from ya! Come check out the Gypsy Constellation Facebook page and share some pics from your holiday celebrations. You can find it HERE.

Thanks for stopping by, hope to see ya soon!

How To Quickly Cleanse Your Crystals

I've been using a personal crystal for a while now, with great results. It's just a clear quartz that I wear around my neck everyday. But lately, I've been considering upping the ante.

For the past couple of years, I've been struggling with an anxiety disorder. It began with a couple experiences that lead me to a panic attack, and after that they just kept coming, without warning or obvious trigger. The first couple of months I was in a total free fall. I had absolutely no control over when or where the symptoms would take place. I became more like a hermit during those times because, as anyone who suffers panic attacks knows, having one in public is beyond mortifying. And as much as people say they understand, you know that they really don't unless they have them as bad as you do. Over the past year, I've learned to recognize the symptoms and more obvious triggers. I still have unexpected potential melt downs from time to time, but I've learned to center myself and breathe through it. Which is a great deal of progress from where I was a year ago.

I was looking for an extra push the in the right direction. I refuse to concede to taking medication unless I can't control it anymore. So I began doing a little research about crystals and their properties. I figured replacing my personal crystal with one that naturally promotes calm and relaxation, while also grounding me, might be a good start. After carefully leafing through the many options out there, I finally settled on the amethyst. It promotes everything I was looking for, and the bonus is that it's a pretty darn attractive stone. 

So yesterday, my husband, who has always been my anchor and grounding force through all of this, took me to an amazing little pagan shop a couple towns over. As an early Yule gift, he treated me to the most gorgeous amethyst, along with a couple other stones to use in my rituals and works.I also picked up some sage for my solstice smudging and frankincense for my solstice altar (I'll be posting about this later!).

After we got home from our travels, I was in quite the hurry to cleanse my crystal so I could begin using it. As I was doing the ritual, I had forgotten that last night was the full moon before Yule! I love cleansing on a full moon, it always seems so much more powerful. And you can't argue with results. This morning when I charged my crystal with my energy and intentions, I could FEEL it reacting. It heated up slightly and pulsated in my hands. So exciting! When I put it on for the first time, the effects were immediate. I felt like I had just taken a huge sigh of relief. And I've been in possibly the best moods I've had for ages! I'm incredibly excited to see what's in store for me now with this bad boy in my arsenal. 

My cleansing ritual is based off of another ritual posted on an amazing blog and I would really like to credit her, but I can't. The big bimbo inside of me went and closed down the browser without bookmarking the site first. But she really deserves the credit, because it was her post that took all of the intimidation I had been feeling during the cleansing rituals. I'm on a mission to find this blog again, and when I do, I will be posting it here, where it belongs! 

Like I said above, my ritual is based off of hers, I just changed the wording to fit my own style and needs. As I say with almost everything, you must always make it your own! If you want something to work for you personally, then it needs to come from you. There are no rules, there is only you. So feel free to use my ritual as a guideline and make your ritual your own. Or, if you feel comfortable with mine, feel free to use it. Whatever feels right for you.

Let's get started, shall we?

Quick & Easy Crystal Cleansing Ritual

 First, as always, you'll need to gather your supplies. The supplies you'll need are:

*a glass bowl

*a candle

*incense

*sea salt

*purified water

*your crystals

*essential oils (optional)

Once you have your supplies gathered, you'll need to set up a special space, or an altar. It's up to you what you include on your altar. Some people choose to embellish by adding things (statues, trinkets of good luck, etc.), while others choose to keep it simple. I chose the latter, especially since I was in such a hurry to get the ritual started so the crystals could have as much moonlight as possible. Another thing you'll have to consider when selecting your space is the weather. In the warmer months, I like to do the ritual outdoors, since the crystals should remain outdoors under the moon all night. Since it's pretty frigid outside here, I chose to do the ritual indoors and then move the crystals to a makeshift altar on my enclosed back porch area. Not only do the crystals get to be essentially outside, but since I was using essential oils, I wanted to keep it absolutely out of reach from the prying paws of my pets and the neighborhood society of cats.

 Before we begin the ritual instructions, let me first explain how the 4 elements are represented on your altar. The salt represents earth, the candle represents fire, the incense represents air, and the water represents... well, water. You will be calling upon all of the elements to help cleanse your crystal in this ritual.

When you are ready to begin, start by grounding and centering yourself, clearing all negativity. Light the candle and incense and fill the bowl about halfway full with the purified water. Now you'll need to gather the crystals you wish to cleanse. I chose to cleanse my clear quartz, my personal amethyst, a rough amethyst, and a black tourmaline.

 

 Gorgeous, aren't they?

Take your crystal and pass it through the fire repeatedly while saying, "Essence of fire, cleanse and clear this crystal of all negativity and make it ready for use in my spiritual work."

Pass the crystal through the smoke of the incense and repeat the incantation for the element of air.

Gently drop the crystal into the water and repeat the incantation for the element of water.

Pour just enough salt to barely cover the crystal and repeat the incantation for the element of earth. If you're cleansing more than one crystal, only add the salt once and add more if necessary once all crystals are in the bowl.

If you're using essential oils, you can add them now. Remember to only use oils that promote your purpose for the crystals. I used lavender for calming, which was my intention for my crystals.

Now the crystals can be taken outside to soak up that awesome moonlight. I took mine out to my makeshift altar, along with the candle and the incense. I like to leave them burning until the incense is spent and I snuff the candle as I'm heading to bed for the night. I cracked the back door open for ventilation as the incense burned, but was sure to lock it back up before leaving it unattended. No need for curious paws to be dipped in my crystal bath!

Leave the bowl outside overnight. Once you are fully awake in the morning, bring your bowl inside and rinse the crystals and dry them. Get ready to charge your crystals by first grounding yourself and releasing negativity.

Take the crystal and place it in your palm, covering it with your other palm. Close your eyes and begin channeling your energy and intentions into the stone. There's no wrong way to do this. Visualize images, project emotions, speak aloud, sing.. whatever moves you. You should feel your stone responding to your energy. You might feel a slight heat, a light pulsing or a tingling sensation. Don't worry! When you're finished, put the stone aside and move on to the next, if applicable. Take your time and breathe in between. While charging my personal amethyst, I found myself in a deep meditation and it took me a moment to settle back into reality. There's no need to rush at this stage.

After you've charged your stone, you're done! You can begin wearing and using your crystals. If you're storing them for the first time, do a quick web search for proper storage information. There's a wealth of information out there if you look for it. 

That was easy, right?

If you're planning on trying this ritual, or have tried it, I'd love to hear from you! 

And remember, I'm always here to answer any and every question to the best of my ability. Just leave me a comment and I'll be sure to respond ASAP!

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you found this post helpful!

Have a blessed day!

Homemade Gifts-- Coffee Sugar Scrub

I've been wracking my brain for the past couple weeks on gift ideas that are inexpensive to make, preferably with the items I already have in my cupboards. Not to mention something unique that someone would be pleased to receive. My 2 cousins are the ones who prompted this epic brainstorm. Every year around the holidays, I find myself in ultra panic mode as I try to find a suitable gift that also fits my typically tight budget. This year, it was as if the skies had opened up and the universe smiled on me. I was at the local craft store and I happened to stumble across a giant coffee mug. Like... huge. The kind of coffee mug you could probably fit an entire pot of coffee into. Score! Both of my cousins adore coffee, especially Dunkin Donuts coffee. So the coffee themed gift basket (well, giant cup) began to take shape. I stopped off at DD to get 3 pounds of coffee- one for each mug and, of course, one for me. I can't help it Dunkin makes amazeballs coffee.

I had my coffee, which was the base of my gift mug. Now what? I needed some more coffee themed gifts to put inside this caffeinated treasure chest. I decided to make a batch of my famous cappuccino cookies (I'll post the recipe when I make them closer to the holidays), but I still needed at least one more main item. I started doing a little rifling online. I ignored the obvious food choices (I already have my cookies, why press my luck?), and instead began to search for something more in the beauty realm. I had been trying my hand at some natural body scrubs and foot soaks, so I decided to start there. Lo and behold, I discovered my holy grail! I found an amazing recipe for an all natural coffee sugar scrub! The original recipe called for olive oil, but I figured there might be a chance that it could end up being too... goopy. So I substituted coconut oil. Since most coconut oils remain mostly solid in a cool place, the goopy problem wouldn't be much of a problem anymore. This was incredibly easy and fun to make. If you know anyone who loves coffee, but also likes being pampered, this is the perfect gift. Did I mention it was INCREDIBLY easy to make? And you probably won't even need to buy anything to make this. If you're not a fan of coconut oil, or don't have any on hand, just switch back to the original recipe and use olive oil instead. Easy peasy, right?


Coffee Sugar Scrub

1 cup sugar
1 cup ground coffee
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil (you may need a little more, depending on how solid your oil is)


First, you'll want to get some containers to put your finished product in. I didn't have any mason jars at the ready, so I soaked the labels off of 2 that I had set aside. The ones I used are 16 oz. jars. The recipe above will make enough for one 16 oz. jar. If you'd like to fill 2 of these babies like I did, you'll need to repeat the recipe for the second jar. On the bright side, that part takes little to no time to complete, so it's not a bother. Once I got the labels and glue soaked off, I gave them a good scrub to make sure any excess glue bits and grime were gone.

Next, go ahead and assemble your ingredients and prepare your work space. I like to put down a square of parchment paper whenever mixing anything. Mostly because I loathe the clean up process, and once you're all done, you can roll up the parchment and throw it away, along with all the stray bits that have fallen on it.

Measure out your dry ingredients.

Next, add your oil.

Mix it all up! Since my oil was more on the solid side, using the spatula was a silly venture. I ended up using my hands to mix it. Once mixed, it should be moist enough to stick together when pressed in your hand. If it's too dry, add a little more oil. You don't want it too wet, but you certainly don't want it dry either.

Once you've achieved the desired consistency, put it into your jars, pressing it down as you go. Pack it in tightly, and one full batch will fit comfortably inside a 16 oz. jar. Now that you've got it packed and ready to go, all you have left now is to personalize and package!

Dress it up however you like, but be sure to make it personal. You want your essence to be apparent, since you are the one who crafted this work of art. Once you've put on your finishing touches, it's ready to gift! You can put it in a gift basket, like me, or give it by itself. An amazing gift that could literally cost you NOTHING. Is there anything better?

If you're planning on trying this out, or have tried it, I'd love to hear from you! Comments are ALWAYS appreciated! I hope you enjoy it, and have a blessed day!

Winter Comfort Foods-- Hungarian Goulash

It's only the beginning of December and already the days are windy and beyond brisk, and the nights are frigid and require the fleeciest of pajamas.  Personally, I hate winter. Hate it. It's cold, I have to wear layers and retire the flip flops. I enjoy the snow for roughly 30 minutes, which is usually just enough time to marvel at the beauty of the first snow (10 minutes- tops) and go for a ride down a snow covered hill on a plank with blades (after 20 minutes, I've gotten all the "Wee!" out of my system). The rest of the winter, I find the weather to be depressing. I'm one of those people who eats their feelings and cooks to resolve boredom and a bad attitude. You'll find me in the kitchen far more often during the winter months than any other time in the year. When I do enter one of my "let's cook and not be depressed" moods, it's usually something hearty on the menu, which was exactly the case tonight.

Who doesn't love a good beef stew? Meat, potatoes, veggies, savory sauce.. I'm not sure there's a way to go wrong here. That's essentially what goulash is.. a Hungarian version of beef stew. I try to bust out some traditional Hungarian recipes as much as I possibly can. I feel much more connected to my ancestors and heritage whenever I do. So I rifled through my recipes and found this gem. It's basically my take on a goulash recipe I came across ages ago. I made some tweaks to fit my own style, needs and cupboard contents-- I encourage you to do the same!


HUNGARIAN GOULASH

1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 lbs. stew meat, chopped into bite sized pieces
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups chopped baby carrots
2 cans diced tomatoes, partially drained
2 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
3 tbsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 cups of water (or more, depending on how thick or thin you'd like the broth)
assorted spices to taste (cumin, parsley, thyme, seasoned salt, paprika, pepper)

 First, you'll need to peel and chop your onion. The onion is used as a thickener for your broth, so if you enjoy onions, feel free to add more to your liking. I don't fancy a lot of onions, so I kept mine to the minimum. Grab yourself a large pot (preferably one with a cover), and toss your chopped onions in, along with your olive oil. I usually don't measure the oil, I just do a couple turns around the pot, enough to coat the onions. Begin cooking them on low heat. Add a couple teaspoons of water to the pot to help ensure they don't brown. Keep watch, because you may need to add water a couple times throughout this part of the process. We're going to cook these low and slow, for about 15 minutes, until they become glassy.

While those are cooking low and slow, you might as well begin prepping the other ingredients. Measure out your paprika and pepper, and chop your garlic cloves.

Next, go ahead and chop your stew meat into bite sized pieces. Mine came in medium sized chunks, so I cut most of the pieces in half.

 You should have just enough time to prep your veggies before your onions are done. Once the potatoes are chopped, I like to store them in water until I'm ready to use them, to keep them from drying out and getting that yucky brown look about them. We won't need these til later, but why not have them chopped and ready so you can get some other things done during the simmering periods?

Once the onions have reached perfection, remove the pot from the heat. Toss in the paprika and pepper you measured earlier, along with the garlic. Have some water on standby to add to the pot once you've added the spices, to prevent them from burning. Let's be honest, it doesn't look pretty- but it's the start of something amazing!

Next, add in your meat and mix. It's going to look a bit like a bloody mess, but fear not! Return the pot to a high heat, and cook til the meat is browned. Once it's browned, turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the meat is nearly cooked through.

After your 15 minutes are up, add your water. Remember, the amount of water you use depends on how much broth you require. If you like a saucier stew, add more water. If you like a heartier stew with less broth, add 6 cups. Now's the time to begin adding some spices to taste. At this point, I add cumin, thyme, more paprika, more pepper, and seasoned salt. I never measure at this point, I just keep adding little by little until I've achieved the flavor I'm looking for. Since you want the spices to cook into the meat, don't be stingy! Once you're all done adding your spice, cover the pot and simmer on a low heat until the meat is tender. This should take about an hour, maybe more, depending on your preference.

After the meat is tender to your liking, go ahead and add the veggies and diced tomatoes. Only drain the tomatoes slightly, as you'll want some of that juice to add to your broth. Stir it up, adding more water if needed to cover the veggies. Cover and continue to simmer on low heat (the stew should be bubbling at this point, so there's definitely no need to up the ante) for about 15 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Fork test those babies, and if the fork goes easily through, they're done! Taste the broth and add any additional spices as needed. I added parsley right at the end, along with a refresher of all the spices I used earlier, just to make sure the potatoes had enough seasoning. Nothing is more disappointing than a bland potato, am I right? Remove from heat and allow to set a few minutes before serving. Be sure to serve this with a tasty bread for dipping because that meat is going to be falling apart and simply begging to be slopped up with a fresh slice of bread. Here's the final product (after serving 3 large portions). Doesn't it look amazeballs?

Mmm... food porn...

Rave reviews from both my husband and my bestie, which, as any cook/wife knows, is the BEST praise anyone can ask for.

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe, would love to know how it turned out and if you made changes to make the recipe your own! Comments are ALWAYS appreciated. Have a blessed day!