Category: feburary celebration

Posted on by

Simmer Pots; and the Magic behind them

I absolutely love simmer pots! I honestly can not praise them enough! Not only do they leave your house smelling amazing, are usually pretty inexpensive to do, but did you know they are jam packed full of magical energy and properties?

I recently learned most people including witches and pagans don’t know this about them!

Whether you consider yourself a Kitchen Witch, are vaguely interested in Kitchen Magic or just want to bring some good vibes and good smells into your home, simmer pots are an easy, accessible and fun ritual for any time of year!

Simmer pots are easy to create and customise to your liking, so you can make your kitchen a sacred space whenever you want!

In this blog post I will dive into the magic of simmer pots, how to use them, what they can do for you in a magical sense, and go over how to do a refreshing spring simmer pot!

First what is an actual simmer pot?

Simmer pots are basically potpourri in a pot! You choose your ingredients, put them in a pot with water, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and let it do its thing. They couldn’t be any easier, just be sure you don’t let your pot boil dry! If you want to keep the pot going simply add more water when it gets low. And obviously never leave it going when you are not home.

Simmer pots also lack the harsh toxins that are packed into conventional air freshener sprays and many scented candles. Just fresh ingredients from your kitchen! No fake fragrances or toxic chemicals needed.

One more benefit, they can likely be crafted with things you already have in your kitchen making them a convenient and inexpensive solution.

What makes a simmer pot magical?

Aside from making your house smell divine, one of the ways simmer pots are magical is they incorporate all of the natural elements – making it a fun way to bring a connection with nature and the environment to your space.

You do this simply by creating it.

EARTH
The first step to creating a simmer pot is to choose the herbs, spices, plants and other foods that will go into your concoction

WATER
Once you’ve put all of your botanical ingredients in the pot, you will fill the pot 2/3 with water.

FIRE/HEAT
The fire element is added when you turn on your stove top burner and start heating up your simmer pot. You’ll want to bring it to gentle simmer

AIR
The steam from your simmer pot will circulate the scent and magic of your simmer pot throughout your space. And sending the energy of your spell, intention, manifestation, or ritual into the air, your sacred space and the multiverse.

This is my favorite part and why I find them so magical. The amount of magical energy being released into your space out into the multiverse and than inhaled back into your soul through your lungs is astounding and intoxicating.

Simmer pots also leverage the magical and mysterious properties of herbs and other plants making it great way to practice kitchen witchcraft even if cooking or baking isn’t really your thing.

The magic behind the ingredients

Different simmer pot rituals can be created with different herbs, spices, and foods. Tune into abundance, peace, health, peace – you name it! – depending on what you add to your pot.

We mustn’t forget that the herbs, spices, and whole foods housed in our kitchens all carry their own energies and magickal properties.

So let’s use those items to assist us in manifesting our goals. You’ll easily be able to create a simmer pot that aligns with your intentions and smells delicious!

Below are different ingredients and their associations. Remember you can add anything to these in any combination you want to fit your own personal needs and intentions!

Lavender – Purification, intuition, good luck, calm, peace, balance

Cinnamon – Love, passion, purification, money, success, strength

Clove – Protection, love, clarity, stress relief, truth

Star Anise – Protection, Banish evil, clarity

Oranges – Love, luck, money, happiness

Lemon – Longevity, purification, love, happiness, friendship

Vanilla Bean – Love, passion, strength, intelligence

Rose – Love, invigoration, stimulation

Verbena/Vervain – Good fortune, healing

Cardamom – Clarity, courage, direction

Pepper – Courage, warding off jealousy

Capers – Romance, fertility

Nutmeg – Health

Mint – Virtue, protection

Ginger – Protection from evil

Bay Laurel – Victory, success

Calendula – Healing, warmth, sunshine

Sage – Wisdom

Lemon Grass – Clarity

Lilac – Youth

Marjoram – Peace, harmony, happiness

Oregano – Joy

So, what can simmer pots be used for?

Now, that you know what they are, what can go in and how they are magical what can you use them for?

SO MUCH! You have endless possibilities. You can use them to manifest, set intentions, cleanse, purify, protection, to connect to the deity Cerridwen, and more!

Below is a list of some ideas for you!

SUCCESS & CONFIDENCE

PROTECTION & CLARITY

ABUNDANCE & WEALTH

PROSPERITY & LUCK

CLEANSING & HEALING

How do you make one?

When I do a simmer pot with a specific intention in mind I follow these simple steps to incorporate my magick and mind into the process.

Step 1: Gather The Herbs
First, I select the herbs and aromatics I want to use. I try to select herbs that match the overall vibe of the intentions I’m setting for the season. Or for that specific ritual, spell, or manifestation.

Step 2: Set your intentions very clear in your mind and don’t lose sight of them for the entire process.

Visualize your desired outcome or goal for the magickal work you are doing. Are you aiming to create happiness in the home, or more money in your wallet? Whatever it may be focus on what you want the outcome to look like. Continue with the visualization and stirring until it feels right to finish. You’ll know when!
You may recite your goal, a chant, or ritual words while you stir as well. Something pertaining to your desired outcome.

Step 3: Next, I fill my pot with water ( Fill the pot two thirds full of water. You can just use water from your kitchen sink.) and add all the herbs and aromatics into the pot except for the bay leaves. ( If using them and I almost always am for these)

Step 4:Then I bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
Then turn down the temperature until it is simmering gently – similar to making soup.

*Once the water starts to get low, you can always add more water, allowing the the pot to simmer longer.

Step 5: set your intentions again

Once the water is simmering, I take each bay leaf and write my intentions on them. It could be the same intention written on several leaves or unique intentions written on each one. Then I take each intention in my hands, close my eyes, and take a few deep breaths. I try to connect with it and really feel what the intention will be like when it manifests. If you’re good at visualizing, you could spend a few minutes visualizing the intention. 

After I’ve spent a few minutes with the intention, I place the bay leaf in the simmer pot. Then I repeat for the rest of my intention. Once all the bay leaf intentions have been added to the pot, I stir the pot a few times clockwise and imagine the simmer pot dispersing the energy of the herbs throughout my home

*stir the pot clockwise. Unless you are doing a banishing or releasing spell, in that case stir the pot counter clockwise.

step 6: And that’s about it! I just let the simmer pot do its thing for the day, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t run out of water. At the end of the day, I dispose of the herbs in my little compost bin (I pick out the citrus first). Usually, it’s suggested that herbs used in rituals be returned to the earth when you’re finished, so you could bury them outside. But if that’s just not an option, I think it’s ok to just thank the herbs and dispose of them in the garbage!

Spring Refresh simmer pot

With Imbolc just behind us and spring looming ahead here is a simmer pot recipe for a magical spring refresh!

Posted on by

Setsubun- Celebrate the coming Spring in Shintoism

Setsubun is a Japanese festival day held between the second to the fourth days of February. Although it is not a public holiday, the day is still well known for Japanese people to perform rituals right before Spring begins in the Japanese lunar calendar.

It is also known as the Bean-Throwing Festival as the most famous ritual associated with Setsubun is mamemaki (“bean scattering”).

Setsubun (節分) is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means ‘seasonal division’, referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as Setsubun; though previously referring to a wider range of possible dates, Setsubun is now typically held on February 3 with the day after – the first day of spring in the old calendar – known as Risshun (立春). Both Setsubun and Risshun are celebrated yearly as part of the Spring Festival (Haru matsuri (春祭)) in Japan. In its association with the Lunar New Year, Setsubun, though not the official New Year, was thought of as similar in its ritual and cultural associations of ‘cleansing’ the previous year as the beginning of the new season of spring

When is it?

Setsubun is usually celebrated in Japan on February 3rd, marking the day before spring with various traditions meant to drive away evil spirits and bad luck and cleanse the home and family for the coming year. Shrines and temples around Japan hold special festivals for the public to come together and participate as a community

What is the meaning behind this festival?

Setsubun (節分, lit. “seasonal division”) is a festival held on February 2, 3 or 4, one day before the start of spring according to the Japanese lunar calendar. It is not a national holiday. For many centuries, people have been performing rituals with the purpose of chasing away evil spirits at the start of spring.

Setsubun was accompanied by a number of rituals and traditions held at various levels to drive away the previous year’s bad fortunes and evil spirits for the year to come.

The new year was felt to be a time when the spirit world became close to the physical world, thus the need to perform mamemaki to drive away any wandering spirits that might happen too close to one’s home. Other customs during this time included religious dances, festivals, and bringing tools inside the house that might normally be left outside, to prevent the spirits from harming them. Rice cakes were also balanced on lintels and windowsills.

Because Setsubun is considered to be a day set apart from the rest of the year, a tradition of role reversal in appearance and dress was also practiced; such customs included girls wearing the hairstyles of older women and vice versa, wearing disguises, and cross-dressing. This custom is still practiced among geisha and their clients when entertaining on Setsubun.

Traveling entertainers (旅芸人, tabi geinin), who were normally shunned during the year because they were considered vagrants, were welcomed on Setsubun to perform morality plays. Their vagrancy worked to their advantage in these cases, as they were considered to take evil spirits with them.

The History

For many centuries, people have been performing rituals with the purpose of chasing away evil spirits at the start of spring. Although originally practiced as part of an individual household’s traditions for preparing for the first season of the new year, Setsubun is now mostly observed at various Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and geisha communities.

Setsubun has its origins in tsuina, a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the 8th century. It was quite different than how we see it today. According to the Japanese history book Shoku Nihongi, tsuina was first held in Japan in 706, and it was an event to ward off evil spirits held at the court on the last day of the year according to the lunar-solar calendar. At that time, tsuina was an event to drive away evil spirits that brought misfortune and disease by decorating each gate of the palace with clay figures of cows and children and using peach branches and walking sticks.

The custom of Setsubun as we know it today began in the Muromachi period (1336–1573). Every household of the aristocracy and samurai class threw beans from their houses into the open air. The [[Ainōshō]] a dictionary compiled during the Muromachi period, states that the practice of bean-throwing during Setsubun originated from a legend in the 10th century, during the reign of Emperor Uda, that a monk on Mt. Kurama escaped misfortune by blinding oni with roasted beans. The Japanese word for bean, 豆, is pronounced mame, which can be written as ‘devil’s eye’ (魔目), and some believe that the pronunciation is similar to that of mametsu (魔滅), meaning ‘to destroy the devil’, which is why people began throwing beans during Setsubun.

Around the 13th century, it became a custom to drive away evil spirits by the strong smell of burning dried sardine heads, the smoke of burning wood and the noise of drums. While these customs are not popular anymore, a few people still decorate their house entrances with fish heads and holy tree leaves in order to deter evil spirits from entering.

How to celebrate today

In modern days, the most commonly performed setsubun ritual is the throwing of roasted beans around one’s house and at temples and shrines across the country.

In the ritual roasted soybeans, known as fukumame (“fortune beans”) are either thrown out of the front door, or at a member of the family wearing a demon or ogre mask while shouting “Devils out! Fortune in!”, before slamming the door shut. The beans are thought to purify the home by driving out the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. 

Afterwards you should pick up and eat the number of beans, which corresponds to your age.

The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one’s life (kazoedoshi), plus one more for bringing good luck for the year.

The custom of mamemaki first appeared in the Muromachi period,and is usually performed by either a man of the household born in the corresponding zodiac year for the new year (toshiotoko (年男)), or else the male head of the household.

Another widespread custom is the eating of Eho-maki sushi rolls. One is supposed to eat the roll without talking, while facing the lucky direction of the year.

Some festivals you can be apart of around Japan

As all traditional festivals, setsubun is celebrated in many variations throughout the country.

One place you can go to take part in Setsubun is Heian Jingū (Heian Shrine).

Heian Jingū’s Setsubun-sai starts with priests holding a sacred Shinto ritual at the inner sanctuary, leaving offerings to the gods on the altar, reading aloud prayers, and performing purifications. Than people representing warriors, onmyōji diviners, and the demon-quelling oni called Hōsōshi participate in the Daina no Gi, an exorcism once performed at the Imperial Palace in the Heian period. Men wearing fearsome ogre masks burst into the shrine and “terrorize” the assembled people from the courtyard, making their way to the main hall veranda where the oni leader does a victorious dance. However, shrine parishioners appear to banish the oni with lucky beans in a tradition called mamemaki (bean throwing), chasing them back out the shrine gates shouting “oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi” (“bad luck out, good luck in”). The people who came to see the ritual then gather around the main hall in the hopes of catching some of the packets of lucky beans thrown out into the crowd by priests, parishioners, and geiko and maiko, before the day wraps up with an ōhitaki shinji fire ritual.

Sources/ images:

https://images.app.goo.gl/ADpnzASWqibawXud9

https://images.app.goo.gl/HekdeU6tzbAGewtQ8

https://images.app.goo.gl/CHfwczjxbbsoH67t9

https://images.app.goo.gl/CHfwczjxbbsoH67t9

https://images.app.goo.gl/QiubEDRz3ty4GFDk8