Assignment Four: The 13 Principles of Wicca Belief

Assignment 4: What is the 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief and when did they get Adopted? Who is the Council of American Witches? Are they still around? The length of this report dos not matter, what matters is that you find the information to write a report.

To Turn in your Assignment e-mail it to thecupwa@yahoo.com and in the subject line put in Assignment 4

A Pagan Pledge

* I am a Pagan and I dedicate Myself to channeling the Spiritual Energy of my Inner Self to help and to heal myself and others.

* I know that I am a part of the Whole of Nature. May I grow in understanding of the Unity of all Nature. May I always walk in Balance.

* May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as well as its Unity and may I always be tolerant of those whose race, appearance, sex, sexual preference, culture, and other ways differ from my own.

* May I use the Force(psychic power) wisely and never useit for aggression nor for malevolent purposes. May I never direct it to curtail the free will of another.

* May I always be mindfulthat I create my own reality and that I have the power within me to create positivity in my life.

* May I always act in honorable ways: being honest with myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have given it, fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments I have taken on to the best of my ability.

* May I always remember that whatever is sent out always returns magnified to the sender. May the Forces of Karma move swiftly to remind me of these spiritual commitments when I have begin to falter from them, and may I use this Karmic feedback to help myself grow and be more attuned to my Inner Pagan Spirit.

* May I always remain strong and committed to my Spiritual ideals in the face of adversity and negativity. May the Force of my Inner Spirit ground out all malevolence directed my way and transform it into positivity. May my Inner Light shine so strongly that malevolent forces can not even approach my sphere of existence.

* May I always grow in Inner Wisdom & Understanding. MayI see every problem that I face as an opportunity to develop myself spiritually in solving it.

* May I always act out of Love to all other beings on this Planet -- to other humans, to plants, to animals, to minerals, to elementals, to spirits, and to other entities.

* May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.

* May I always channel Love and Light from my being. May my Inner Spirit, rather than my ego self, guide all my thoughts, feelings, and actions.

SO MOTE IT BE!

Cooking for Lughnassadh: Seed Cake for Gimli

This sweet bread cake was made from the LOTR description. We thought it would be a nice touch to the 1st harvest feast.

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour (or gluten free all purpose mix)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 cup milk (or almond, soy or rice milk flavored with vanilla)

Add in seeds of the season, don't use too many as it becomes clumpy and will not bake right.
2 teaspoon poppy seeds
2 tablespoon flax seed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Butter an 8 inch round cake pan
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix all above together.
5. Add seeds seeds and pour milk until batter is smooth and thick. 
6. Pour into pan.
7. Bake for 45 minutes
8. Cool in pan for 10 minutes
9. Transfer to cooling rack and let finish cooling.

Willow's Notes: The cake is thick and sweet, even though it is cooked all the way through it still looks like it is not. The dough will not pour into the pan, in order for it to poor in we suggest adding another egg and waiting for the one stick of butter to reach room temp, really soft. And we also suggest adding a full 1 cup of milk to the mix. You might want to make it 2 teaspoons of baking powder. Try it the original recipe way first then try next time our way. Experiment to find your happy medium. Other then this it really is yummy :)

Cooking for Lughnassadh: Willows Harvest Soup

For an all out of the garden soup we suggest this one from Willow.

To get her recipe just go to The Sacred Oak blog by clicking here.

Cooking for Lughnassadh: Chocolate Chip Scones

2/3 cup Heavy whipping cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup coco powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
For tops
1 large egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat oven 375 degrees and place rack in the center

1. In a small bowl whisk cream, egg and vanilla
2. In a large bowl whisk flour, coco, sugar, baking powder, salt.
3. Using two knives or pastry cutter cut in butter into the flour mix until crumbly.
4. Stir in chaco chips add cream and egg. Dough will be sticky.
5. Transfer onto a floured surface and kneed a few times.
6. Shape into 2 8 inch circles and cut into 6 wedges. (cut each circle in hale then each side 3 triangles)
7. Transfer onto a lined cookie tray brush with egg and cream wash bake for 20 minutes, do not over bake! they will be soft. 

We found this recipe in an old recipe box with no clue as to who originally wrote it. Please enjoy :)

Cooking for Lughnassadh

We will be doing a number of traditional dishes for you to see. We will update as often as possible. We decided to start with the up coming Sabbath. We will start with the most traditional recipes and work our way to those that need special requirements. Many of these recipes are found in books and online and we will post where we found them. Along with the recipes we do we will add our notes for easy preparations.

The First one is a Scotts Shortbread.
From the website Wicca 101 Red Deer and Elenya Make sure to check out there other recipes.


3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix butter and sugar until well blended. Work in the flour and salt. If the dough is too dry, add 1 to 2 Tablespoons (30 ml). more butter. Roll 1/2 inch thick on a slightly floured board. Cut into rectangles approx. 3/4 inch by 2 inch. Prick each rectangle twice with the tines of a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes 30 cookies.

We used our Fall leaves cookie cutters and baked as directed checking at 18 minutes. We discovered we needed to add an extra 5 minutes. 

Below is a bigger batch recipe.

Scottish Short bread
1lb unsalted butter
5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar

Preheat ove to 350 degres
Cream butter and sugar with hand mixer.
add flour a little at a time then switch to a wooden spoon and mix in more flour. Keep adding the flour and switch to using your hands to finish mixing the dough.
Press into jelly roll pan using a fork poke holes all the way to the bottom and that the pricks are close together make sure to do prick holes all over.
Bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 300 and continue to bake for 40 minutes.
Wait 2 minuted before cutting into finger length bars. Let cool completely in the pan.
Bag up into cellophane bags and give as a gift or eat at your next Witchy Tea Party.

July Full Moon

Mead Moon, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Summer Moon, Hungry Ghost Moon, Ripe Corn Moon, Crane Moon, Moon of the Middle Summer, Moon of Claiming, Rose Moon,

Plan a ritual to decide what you will do once your goals have been met.

Links Of Interest:
Farmers Almanac: http://www.almanac.com/content/full-buck-moon-julys-moon-guide
Ritual for the Mead Moon: http://www.ytown.com/oak/meadmoon.html
Moon rituals: http://healing.about.com/lr/moon_rituals/25000/2/

Gemstones Boost the Mead Moon’s Energy
Gems to enhance this moon’s energy include ones like Amazonite, Aquamarine, Bloodstone, Diamond, Malachite, Opal, Peridot and Ruby. These gems help enhance the energy of all the chakras. Remember that Mead is the nectar of the Gods, so having all our chakras in balance at this time helps us appreciate the Mead in our own lives!

Great Spirit
The moon at this time brings us feelings of being whole and connected. What greater spiritual connection can we have than that to Great Spirit, or God? This is the energy or spirit that governs all. We can really pay homage and respect to Great Spirit at this time because this is the time of year when we are typically at our energetic best. We can learn to recognize Great Spirit within ourselves by meditating on connecting with this being. Once you feel a connection with this energy, you will begin to become clear about all the wonderful things you are grateful for in your life. Great Spirit encourages us to first recognize blessings in our own lives and then "pay them forward", thus continuing the cycle of positive energy.

Essential Oils
Oils can be used most easily in a diffuser. Some can be added in small quantities to baths and others can be used in soap and candle making. Do some research before you try them in other ways, aside from diffusers, as some are corrosive and cause skin irritations. The following oils will help you connect with your unconscious mind and set the intention of success, celebration and health:

· Basil
· Cedar
· Cardamom
· Clove
· Eucalyptus
· Geranium
· Ginger
· Lemon
· Myrrh
· Neroli
· Patchouli
· Pine
· Sweet Pea