Author: A Solitary Pagan

(Lens culinaris) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Peace Lore: In 1085 B.C.E., Egyptians traded lentils for the prized cedars of Lebanon. During Graeco-Roman times, the Egyptians offered lentils to Harpocrates. This wonderful food was also eaten by the Sumerians. The Roman naturalist Pliny prescribed lentil soup for creating an even temper. Magical uses: Lentil soup is a warm, nourishing stapl...

The summer solstice is an ancient time of magic. Great fires were lit on hilltops in honour of the zenith of the sun’s strength. Fresh fruits (which are increasingly available as autumn nears) are fine midsummer foods, as are any dishes that use fruit as a major ingredient. In keeping with the heat of this holiday, flaming foods are also appropriate.

The Ritual of Eating is a simple practice. We put food into our mouths, then chew and swallow it.  Because of food’s importance, it has been linked with politics, social structures, legal systems, health maintenance, magic and, oh yes, religion. Our lives still contain vestiges of these earlier practices. Prayer (or “saying grace”) before meals is perhaps the most common. It is popular not only in...

Planet: Various Element: Various Energies: Various Magical uses: Generally, all sprouts are fine for promoting psychic awareness. Here’s a list of some specific sprouts and their energies: Alfalfa (Venus, earth): Money, psychic awareness Bean (Mercury, air): Protection Mung (Mercury, air): Spirituality Soy (Moon, earth): Spirituality, psychic awareness, protection Sunflower (Sun, fire): Protection

Planet: Venus Seaweed salad in bowl, Japanese cuisine Element: Water Energies: Physical energy Lore: After they’d arrived in what is now known as Mexico, the Spaniards observed the Aztecs eating what was described as “green foam” or “green mud.” The custom disappeared as the lakes surrounding what is now Mexico City were drained, and the food remained a mystery for hundreds of years. It seems that...

(Alliurn spp.) Planet: Mars Element: Fire Energies: Protection, physical strength Lore: Leeks are steeped in myth and folklore. In twelfth-century Persia they were worn over the left ear to prevent intoxication. Gerarde, who lived in sixteenth-century England, thought they produced nightmares. In his time, a leek was hidden inside a black cloth and placed under the pillow of an ill person to effec...

Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Protection Lore: Legend has it that Brussel sprouts were created from wild forms of cabbage growing in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar relied on cabbage to prevent or to cure the hangovers that usually resulted from his fabulous, excessive feasts. He was naturally disturbed that no fresh cabbage was available during the winter. According to this myth, he ordered his h...

Humans have eaten bread for at least 8,000 years. We have made it round, oblong, square, and triangular; flat as a pancake or fat as a loaf. Bread has been twisted into a symbol of the winter solstice, spiced, sweetened, garlicked, and filled with fresh vegetables. Though it has been made of every grain, it was the raised wheaten form that first inspired human and divine palates. Bread has long be...

The blender and food processor of earlier times, the mortar and pestle are still used by some cooks to crush or to grind herbs and nuts. Prehistoric mortars have been found among the archaeological remains of many peoples dating back to neolithic times. Mortars identical to those used by preconquest Mexican peoples are still used in contemporary Mexico. Many Indian tribes of southern California fa...

Mabon marks the second harvest. The bounty of nature is dwindling. Earth begins to pull her fertility from the land. Humans and wild animals alike scramble to gather as much food as possible in preparation for the hard winter ahead. Grains are appropriate for Mabon—particularly corn. Corn chowder, boiled ears of corn, and creamed corn fit Mabon symbolism well. Beans, squash, and all other fall veg...

Ostara, the spring solstice, marks the astronomical start of spring. This was a time of joyous celebration, for the killing months of winter were over. Plants sprang from the ground in ways that seemed miraculous to our ancestors. Because the burgeoning growth hasn’t yet fruited, sprouts are very appropriate. Seeds of any kind (including pine nuts, sesame, poppy, sunflower, and pumpkin) and green,...

(Spinacea oleracea) Planet: Jupiter Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: In the United States, spinach is remembered as the favorite food of a popular cartoon character, upon whom it magically bestowed great physical strength. This green, leafy vegetable seems to have been introduced from Persia (present-day Iran) to Europe in the fifteenth century; it was soon used on fasting days. Magical uses: ...