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After sipping your tea, let the leaves guide you to your lover’s lair. The answer to where you should make love lies at the bottom of the cup.

As you study the leaves, keep in mind that the tea cup handle is south, and going clockwise around the circle, left is west, the top is north, and the east is to the right of the handle when the handle is toward you.

Even though the daylight hours are slowly waning, the days still seem long as we drift toward autumn. The Gaelic festival of Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas in England, marks the first of the major grain harvests and is a celebration of summer and abundance. The name Lammas comes from the Anglo-Saxon term hlafmass, meaning “loaf-mass,” an event involving the first loaves of bread made from fresh-cut grain.
      Gathering bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) on August 1st was a traditional part of the festivities in Ireland. Also known as whortleberries and heath berries, bilberry is easily mistaken for its close cousin blueberry (V. angustifolium). Bilberries are usually darker blue, almost purple when ripe, and smaller than blueberries.
      The places where bilberries, blackberries (Rubus spp.), and other types of berries grow are generally regarded as liminal thresholds where chance meetings with faeries can occur. According to legend, suddenly hearing music while picking berries often leads to an encounter with the fae.
      As a prelude to lighting the Lughnasadh bonfire in Ireland, it was customary to pick bilberries. At the well-known faery hill of Knockfierna (Cnoc Fírinne) in the center of County Limerick, bilberries and flowers were picked on the gentle, craggy slopes and placed on the circular cairn (pile of stones) at the summit of the hill. According to legend, the hill was the home of Donn Fírinne and the cairn, his burial site. Donn Fírinne was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and a faery king of Limerick (although some sources note him only as a prince).
      You can carry on the Lughnasadh tradition by including bilberries or blueberries in your celebration. Scatter a few berries or place a handful of them with a basket of flowers on your altar. Don’t be surprised if a faery or two join you. Since Lughnasadh is a celebration of the grain harvest and Lammas Loaf (a braided or twisted bread) is usually included in ritual, enjoy it with some bilberry jam.
      Associated with luck and manifestation, include bilberries or blueberries in spells for prosperity and success as well as love and healing. These berries are also an aid for dream work.
      Although not associated with Lughnasadh, a special treat in Scotland was made by mixing bilberry jam with whisky. Often growing amongst the heather, wine was made with bilberries and the flowers of bell heather (Erica cinerea).

When will the next Grand Sabbat be?

At the end of any given Grand Sabbat, that's what we throw the bones to determine.

Monumental world-renewing rituals such as the Grand Sabbat, the tribal gathering of the Midwest Tribe of Witches, are mostly not held every year. ('Ware overexposure.) What happens every year invariably ends up being taken for granted, routinized; in the end—gods forbid—it can even become a burden.

So we throw the bones to introduce an element of randomness, and thus meet regularly, at irregular intervals, just as we have for the last 35 years.

(The white deer knucklebones that we cast live between times in an urn here at Temple of the Moon, where they are always available for consultation. Ask me about it some time.)

I always go into the casting with a plan in place. Sometimes the bones speak ambiguously; sometimes they have no opinion. Sometimes (to be quite honest) I just plain don't understand what they say.

Not this year, though. This year, the bones spoke quite clearly.

Two years off, they said.

So here we go. See you in 2027.

Soldier's Graffito: Hadrian's Wall

Better ten years up an elephant's ass

Here’s a recipe to create exactly the right mood for romance. The verse at the end references the Garden of Eden before the fall. Gather the following:

1 ounce dried hibiscus flowers

What do you need to transform in your life now? This list of herbs and associations can be your guide; one of the smartest ways to approach this methodology is to brew right before bedtime. You will awaken to a freshly infused herb. Some of the most popular herbs and fruits used to create infusions are as follows:

Oftentimes, your kitchen is the heart of the home. Something about cooking and sharing food brings people together. An herbal wreath hanging on the kitchen door can be a source of love and luck. You’ll need the following for your creation:

• Freshly cut herbs of your choice
• A wire wreath frame, available from most craft stores
• Either string or florist's wire, ribbon, and perhaps a hot glue gun

This is truly one of the simplest craft projects you can ever make. Simply utilize the wreath frame as a base, and use string or the florist's wire to anchor the fresh herbs into place. Finish it off with a colorful ribbon or other magical decorative touches you may want to add.