Blessings Darlings!
As y'all already know, I make a lot of things from scratch, or almost-scratch. Like - my husband LOVES having Kahlua in his coffee in the evening. He does this three or so times a week. Kahlua is a pricy bitch, so I make my own.
And when we moved I lost my usual recipe.
No problem, go online and find another (the original was pulled from being online, because it was shared from a book without the author's permission, and the author or publisher said "Oh, HELL no!")
Since I've made stuff several times, it wasn't hard finding a recipe that I could tell had about the right proportions of coffee to sugar. But in looking over the recipe, I could tell that the person who POSTED it (to Wikihow, which my protection software identified as a 'malicious' site) clearly had never made it.
The first clue was that s/he said it would make about a quart of Kahlua-substitute. Well, yes, the recipe called for 4 cups of liquid. But the 4 1/2 cups of solids added, which dissolved into the liquids, DO TAKE UP SPACE. Not one cup of space per cup of sugar/instant coffee, but enough space that the recipe made 6 cups, not 'about a quart'.
The second clue was that, since the mix was 50% higher in volume that was presented, the proof (alcohol content) of the finished product was going to be WAY too low given the relative volume of alcohol the recipe called form.
To get around these problems, I used nice high-proof Everclear instead of most of the rum that was called for, and used brown sugar instead of white sugar to replace some of the flavor the rum would have brought to the recipe. I could wing it, because I have experience and mad math skillz.
This isn't only a problem in online recipes, BTW.
And, for you Pagans/witches/wiccans out there - it's not only a problem in cooking.
But more on THAT in a future post!
Frondly, Fern
Showing posts with label potions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potions. Show all posts
Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, March 8, 2012
WORKING with Plants
Blessings Darlings!
Herb books are GREAT for medicinal properties assigned to herbs. They may give some other associations they have - planets, Gods, chakras, sepherot (and sometimes the books occassionally agree on what those associations are!).
But .... if you want to bond with the Spirit of the Herb/Spice/Resin .... that's a different thing. That takes some extra effort.
Yes, start with the book/internet knowledge. Especially find out if it's safe to take internally, because that's one technique we're going to discuss! Study. Memorize. Learn everything you can about the plant. Grow it if you can, or find it growing wild. If it's safe to take internally, eat or drink some of the plant. See what physical effects the plant has on your body. NOTE - IF THIS IS A KNOWN PSYCHOACTIVE PLANT, DO NOT NOT NOT DO THIS, ESPECIALLY AT THIS STAGE. DO THIS, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH OREGANO OR HOT PEPPERS, NOT WITH DATURA.
Oh, and you might ingest the plant in an orderly fashion, if possible. Leaves, seeds, bark, root all might have very different properties. Again - book knowledge first. The only part of, say, Poke weed that won't be toxic will be young shoots.
Make an offering to the spirit of the plant. Yes, it's best if you can leave it at the plant, and bonus points for finding it growing wild, but if it doesn't grow in your area that's okay. Explain your intention to the Spirit of the Plant, and that you're giving the offering as a token of your respect.
From here, move on to building up a good visualization of the plant. This would take me a week, but you might well be better at visualization than I am! I start with pictures on Google, then work on making them 'come alive'. You could make a sigil of the plant name, if you are inclined that way. I'm not a sigil person .... yet. Maybe I'll get there this life.
Finally, head into trance, hold that visualization or sigil, introduce yourself to the plant, and get to know it. What offerings does it like? What wisdom can it share with you? What plants/animals/spirits does it play nice with .... and which does it NOT play nice with?
Record this UPG (unverified Personal Gnossis) you get from the plant in your BOSL. Remember to give the plant an occassional offering, and an occassional visit - after working with it more you're likely to have more, not less, questions for it!
Frondly, Fern
Herb books are GREAT for medicinal properties assigned to herbs. They may give some other associations they have - planets, Gods, chakras, sepherot (and sometimes the books occassionally agree on what those associations are!).
But .... if you want to bond with the Spirit of the Herb/Spice/Resin .... that's a different thing. That takes some extra effort.
Yes, start with the book/internet knowledge. Especially find out if it's safe to take internally, because that's one technique we're going to discuss! Study. Memorize. Learn everything you can about the plant. Grow it if you can, or find it growing wild. If it's safe to take internally, eat or drink some of the plant. See what physical effects the plant has on your body. NOTE - IF THIS IS A KNOWN PSYCHOACTIVE PLANT, DO NOT NOT NOT DO THIS, ESPECIALLY AT THIS STAGE. DO THIS, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH OREGANO OR HOT PEPPERS, NOT WITH DATURA.
Oh, and you might ingest the plant in an orderly fashion, if possible. Leaves, seeds, bark, root all might have very different properties. Again - book knowledge first. The only part of, say, Poke weed that won't be toxic will be young shoots.
Make an offering to the spirit of the plant. Yes, it's best if you can leave it at the plant, and bonus points for finding it growing wild, but if it doesn't grow in your area that's okay. Explain your intention to the Spirit of the Plant, and that you're giving the offering as a token of your respect.
From here, move on to building up a good visualization of the plant. This would take me a week, but you might well be better at visualization than I am! I start with pictures on Google, then work on making them 'come alive'. You could make a sigil of the plant name, if you are inclined that way. I'm not a sigil person .... yet. Maybe I'll get there this life.
Finally, head into trance, hold that visualization or sigil, introduce yourself to the plant, and get to know it. What offerings does it like? What wisdom can it share with you? What plants/animals/spirits does it play nice with .... and which does it NOT play nice with?
Record this UPG (unverified Personal Gnossis) you get from the plant in your BOSL. Remember to give the plant an occassional offering, and an occassional visit - after working with it more you're likely to have more, not less, questions for it!
Frondly, Fern
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
