Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed

This is a natural pose I swear.

🌙✨Occult Kitchen

as every herb has magical associations for witchcraft, so do flowers! here are some suggested flower crown combinations for spells, though you are welcome to come up with you own! 

instructions on how to assemble a flower crown are here.  combine with ribbons, knot magic, and other herbs to enhance your intent!

🌸 BEAUTY - catnip, heather, orange blossoms and maidenhair

💐 COURAGE - basil, borage, desert rose, sweetpea.

🌼 DIVINATION - dandelion, goldenrod, bay leaves, and pansy.

🌻 FERTILITY - daffodil, fig leaves, sunflower, and wheat.

🌺 FRIENDSHIP - sweetpea, white and yellow roses, and passion flower. 

🌷 HEALING - cypress, ivy, cinquefoil, fern, geranium, violets.

🌹 LOVE - bleeding hearts, lavender, jasmine, rose, and primrose.

🌸 MEMORY - rosemary, periwinkle, forget-me-not, sweetpea. 

💐 PROTECTION - carnation, chrysanthemum, cypress, honeysuckle, grass.

🌼 PURIFICATION - thyme, vervain, lavender, heather and iris.

🌻 SPIRITUALITY - heather, asphodel, clover, and passion flower. 

🌺 WEALTH - clover, almond flowers, chamomile, and wheat.

🌷 WISDOM - cinquefoil, sunflower, lotus, and sage. 

This daughter of one of the Kouretes (stories vary on which one) cared for and raised the infant Zeus. With her sister Ida, they lived in the Dictaean cave on Mount Ida. There the Kouretes danced and made glorious sounds to hide the cries of Zeus, while these Nymphs fed him honey and goat’s milk. When Zeus became the king of the Theoi, he lifted them up and placed them in the stars.

Some of the stories say that She and Ida were Meliai (Honey-nymphs).

But she is not the only God of that name, or perhaps they are one and the same. For Adrasteia means ‘the Inescapable.’

In Cos we know there existed a priesthood of Adrasteia and Nemesis, which cost a small fortune to attain in the 2nd c. BCE. There was some connection between this cultus and that of Aphrodite, but the details are lost in history. In Kyzikos there was a sanctuary of Andrasteia. There, it seems, among other places, Andrasteia was conflated with Nemesis.

The name also was given to a city, after the name of Adrastos the king, and the land which surrounded it. Others say the polis was named for the nymph. There was also a land near Troy (Ilion). There was also a plain of Adrasteia. Strabo tells us that Adrasteia the town did not worship the Goddess of the same name. Her cult was strongest in Priapus, Cyzicus and the Troad; in regions where Cybele was worshipped, according to Farnell. When Athens adopted Cybele, Adrasteia joined the Attic cultus.

When Aura offended Artemis, it was Adrasteia who set forth with vengeance in her heart. She let fly in a griffin-drawn chariot and unleashed her whip against Aura. She then bound Aura on a wheel and tormented her.

She is a goddess who brings low the arrogant, and brings victory to those who deserve so. Many of her characteristics are also those of Nemesis. If one chooses to call on her, be prepared to have your own ego challenged.

Sources:

Theoi.com

Beck, C.H. Chiron, Munchen, 2000. Farnell, Lewis Richard. The Cults of the Greek States, Cambridge, 2010. Hornum, Michael B. Nemesis, the Roman State and the Games, Brill, 1993. Leaf, Walter. Strabo on the Troad: Book XIII, cap. 1. CUP, 1923. Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, Vol. 2, trans. H.C. Hamilton and William Falconer, Bohn, 1856.

Images:

Ptollanubis. “Nemesis,” marble, found in Egypt, 2nd c. CE, now in the Louvre. Via wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_Nemesis_Louvre_Ma4873_n2.jpg

Today 03/20/2019 is Ostara for many people(Mabon for the other Hemisphere). This means me and several other witches are celebrating the Spring Equinox and most do this by baking! I combined two recipes and made my own adjustments based on my knowledge of how strong lavender can be.  Most of the time Lavender Bread has a Lemon Zest Icing, but I didn’t have the proper items to make that so… a Honey Glaze! It makes a lot of sense since Lavender is a plant you can plant for Bees! Let’s Get Started!

Bread

¾      cup milk

1      tablespoons of dried lavender

6      tablespoons butter, softened

1      cup white sugar

2      eggs

2      cups all-purpose flour

1      1/2 teaspoons baking powder

¼      teaspoon salt

2      drops of Vanilla

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Combine the milk and lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to a simmer, then remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.

Beat in the egg until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Slowly Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar, butter egg mixture slowly. After adding a little of the dry add in a bit of the milk. Do this until all of it is gone from both(dry and milk/lavender). Blend evenly.

Pour into the prepared oiled/floured pan. Spread it out evenly in the pan

Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a wooden pick inserted into the crown of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool in the Fridge or on a cooling rack if you have the time :)

Glaze

1/3      cup honey

¼      cup light-brown sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1      teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Bring honey, brown sugar, and butter to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Add vanilla, and remove from heat. Let cool for 1 minute.