A Pagan Feast: Foods for the Sabbats

I. General

Food was of importance to early pagans as
it is now to us. But early pagans lived
mainly in agrarian
societies, which centered around the
production and cultivation of food. In this
environment, most of
the resources of the community were
dedicated year-round to the production of
food. This was not
for mere economic reasons, but directly
impacted on the health and actual survival
of the
community. Remembering this, it is not
hard to understand why most festivals
centered around the
results of this effort -- the food itself.
Festivals were welcome breaks from the
daily and yearly
burden of work, and food of course played
a large part in festivals. The food that we
find
associated with the various festivals have
symbolic meanings generally associated
with the natural
events during the season. Each Sabbat has
traditions and foods that are connected to
it. This
presentation will give an overview of the
Sabbats with their typical foods, and offer
simple recipes
for some of those foods. 

II. Esbats, or Full Moon and Working
Rituals

Any full moon or common working ritual
will be accompanied by '"cakes and ale" to
round out the
ceremony and earth the power.
(Interesting side note: in Ireland [and I
assume the rest of the UK]
the 'ground' prong on electrical plugs is
called the 'earth'--significant, no?) The 'ale'
part can be
represented by anything from juice to
wine to mead to actual ales and beers. A
seasonal note: Did
you know that beer can be made from
pumpkins?

Small Beer #1
3 cups bran hops
3 gallons water
1 tablespoon malt extract
1 gallon unsulphured molasses
2 teaspoons beer yeast
Boil the bran hops in water for 3 hours,
then strain. Stir molasses and malt extract
into the
hot liquid. Cool to lukewarm. Suspend the
yeast in warm water, adding it to the
molasses
mixture when properly cooled. Cover with
a heavy cloth for 1 full day, then strain
again
while pouring into a cask or bung. Leave
the fermenting container open slightly
until
fermentation has all but ceased (about 1
week). Bottle and store. Keeps for about 2
months

'Cakes' can be anything of a starchy
nature, typically cookies or breads or
crackers. For full moon
rituals, crescent cookies would be a good
choice. These should be a white cookie,
easily formed
into a crescent shape using a cookie cutter,
or for pliable doughs, shaped by hand. You
can find
moon crescent cookie cutters in most
kitchen supply stores for under a dollar.
The dough might
contain an aromatic spice such as
cardamom, or have a sprinkling of
cinnamon on top, or be quite
plain. 

Full Moon Cookies

1/4 c shortening 1 tsp vanilla extract or
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c butter and 1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 c sugar 2 c flour
1 oz milk 1/2 tsp baking powder


Cream the first three ingredients. Add the
remaining ingredients and blend with a
wooden
spoon. Roll 1/8 inch thick on a floured
board and cut out moon shapes, or any
rounded
shape. A small glass will do. Mark a
crescent if using a round shape. Bake 8-9
minutes on an
ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees.
Remove from cookie sheet promptly and
cool. (from
The Pagan Family)

III. Sabbats

A. Samhain (sowen): 

Samhain is the end of the Celtic year and
the beginning of the new year. It begins at
sundown on
October 31 and is the time when the veil
between the world of spirits and the
departed, and our
world, is thinnest. It is sometimes called
the Night of the Dead. Of course the most
well-known
symbol of Samhain, or Halloween, here in
the New World, is the pumpkin. The
pumpkin is a New
World vegetable which was not known to
early pagans, though they did have
squashes. In Celtic
tradition, a turnip or gourd was carved for
Samhain. The use of the pumpkin here
was encouraged
and popularized with the influx of Irish
immigrants in the mid-1800s as a
convenient substitute for
turnips, one reason being that it was much
easier to hollow out and carve. But as
pumpkins and
gourds are in the same family, the
symbolism of the pumpkin is quite valid.
Tasty foods using
pumpkin include pumpkin breads and
pies, and pumpkin butter. You can even
make pumpkin fudge
and ice cream, and pumpkin beer has
already been mentioned. 

Easy Pumpkin Bread

2/3 c oil 1 1/2 tsp salt
2 2/3 c sugar 2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs 2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 c pumpkin 3/8 tsp ground cloves
2/3 c milk 3/4 tsp ground ginger
3 1/3 c flour 2/3 c raisins
2 tsp baking soda 2/3 c chopped nuts



Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9x5 in
loaf pans. Cream sugar and oil til fluffy.
Stir in
eggs, pumpkin, and milk. Blend flour, soda,
salt, baking powder, and spices, then blend
into
pumpkin mixture. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Pour into pans. Bake about 70 minutes or
til
wooden toothpick comes out clean. (from,
don't laugh... the Betty Crocker cookbook!)

Another well-known symbol, the cauldron,
became a popular tool among European
witches
because, unlike many pagan ritual tools,
the cauldron was an everyday object
needed for household
chores such as cooking and cleaning, and
could not be held up in the ecclesiastical
courts as
evidence of witchcraft. In some pagan
traditions the cauldron replaces the cup or
chalice as the
ritual tool representing the water element.
It is less well known that potatoes,
harvested from August to October, were
also a part of the feast
in Ireland where they were made into a
Samhain dish known as colcannon.
Colcannon is a mashed
potato, cabbage, and onion dish still served
in Ireland on All Saint's Day. It was an old
Irish
tradition to hide in it a ring for a bride, a
button for a bachelor, an thimble for a
spinster, and a coin
for wealth, or any other item which local
custom decreed in keeping with idea of the
New Year as a
time for divination.

Colcannon
4 cups mashed potatoes
2 1/2 cups cabbage, cooked and chopped
fine
1/2 cup butter (avoid corn oil margarines
as they will not add the needed body and
flavor)
1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream
3/4 cup onion, chopped very find and
sautéd
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Sauté onions (traditionalists sauté in lard
or grease, but butter is acceptable.). Boil
the
potatoes and mash them (do not use
artificial potato flakes). In a large pan
place all of the
ingredients except the cabbage and cook
over low heat while blending them
together. Turn
the heat to medium and add the chopped
cabbage. The mixture will take on a pale
green
cast. Keep stirring occasionally until the
mixture is warm enough to eat. Lastly
drop in a
thimble, button, ring, and coin. Stir well
and serve.

Samhain is a time of the last harvest when
stored vegetables and fruit are in
abundance. The apple is
a most symbolic pagan fruit because of the
star formed when it is cut horizontally,
and now is the
time when the apple harvest is in. So all
foods having apples as ingredients are
traditional, for
instance candy apples, apple pies, etc. Hazel
nuts are another symbolic food at
Samhain, as are
cookies that are orange colored and/or
pumpkin shaped.

B. Yule

Yule is the Winter Solstice and as such has
been the time of holiday celebrations for
many cultures
and religions throughout history. It is the
time of the dying of the Holly King and
the rise of the Oak
King, a solar festival representing the
turning of the sun back towards the south
and the return of life,
light, and warmth to the earth. Therefore,
any food that is round, golden, or hot like
the sun, is
appropriate. Many of the customs
associated with Christmas were co-opted
from the Pagan
practices by the church, and so they and
the foods commonly associated with
Christmas may also
be valid for celebrating Yule. All sorts of
cookies are appropriate, as is anything
sweet, the idea
being to ensure sweetness for the new
year. The old ones didn't have sugar, but
used honey as a
sweetener. (Culinary note: when using
honey, some baking soda is needed to work
with the acidity
of the honey. This causes the rising action.
Cooking is a scientific thing too!) Eggnog,
mulled wine,
and cranberry juice are traditional. Mulled
wine is simple to make: add cloves and
cinnamon sticks
to the wine and heat over a low flame
until warmed. The spices may be added
and soaked
overnight in the refrigerator before
heating to add more flavor. Oranges or
lemons stuck with cloves
may be added as well. Plum pudding is
another traditional dish.
Roasting chestnuts at Christmas comes
from a pagan Germanic custom which
traveled to England,
where it is still popular today. In England,
chestnuts roasting on Yule hearth fires
were used to divine
information about the New Year.
Depending on which region of England
you lived in, you would
know a fixed set of rules about
interpreting how your chestnuts popped
and danced. While these
rules could vary greatly, in general it can
be said that lots of movement and noise
was fortuitous,
while nuts that were still or quiet were
not.

Imbolc or Brighid's Day (Candlemas)
(February 2)

Imbolc is the beginning of spring,
especially in Celtic Ireland, and it is
celebrated as the banishing of
winter and the return of light. Lights are
left burning all night. Brighid is an
ancient Celtic goddess, a
smith, a poet, and a healer. She is also the
home guardian. So, for this holiday, a bread
in the shape
of a Brighid's cross is traditional. In
keeping with the beginning of spring
theme, dairy products,
sprouts, and fruitcakes are other foods for
this festival. The traditional foods of Imbolc
came to us
from the Celts, the French, and the Swedes.
Many of them are round in shape, or
contain the
traditional foods of the spring Sabbats such
as honey and milk. No doubt this was
another form of
sympathetic magic to wish back warmer
weather. Pancakes or waffles, usually
round and made
with rich cream, are still a Swedish
tradition for Imbolc, especially on farms in
the Lapland where
sheep, goats, and deer (the latter two
sacred to their gods) form the basis of the
economy.

D. Ostara -- the Vernal Equinox

The vernal equinox is another of the solar
holidays, the time when light equals
darkness, that is, the
day is equal in length to the night. It is
another beginning of spring festival,
celebrated in those places
where spring comes later. The Christian
holiday Easter is timed to coincide with
the equinox, and
many Easter customs are Pagan in origin.
Spring is the rebirth and renewal, the
beginning of life and
regeneration, and so foods that are
symbolic of these things, such as eggs, are
traditional. The egg is
an especially symbolic food and has long
been regarded as a symbol of life. Besides,
the yolk
represents the sun. And it is interesting to
note that hens begin laying once again
when their eyes are
stimulated by more than twelve hours of
daylight; thus the connection between eggs
and the shift of
balance from darkness to light at the
vernal equinox. Dyeing eggs is a perfectly
respectable pagan
practice too. Here are some recipes for
natural dyes:
For a soft orange, boil a single onion skin
with a few eggs. For a deep rust color, use
a
handful of onion skins.
For a bright yellow, use one-half teaspoon
of turmeric in a small amount of water.
For pink, try beet juice and vinegar or the
juice of pickled beets.
For a robin's egg blue, boil eggs with
vinegar and several of the outer leaves of
red cabbage,
allow the whole mixture to cool overnight.
However, be careful as this dye scratches
off
easily. (all above from The Wheel of the
Year)

Solar foods that are round, golden, and
made with eggs, would be fine to celebrate
Ostara. One
such food would be a quiche, of any
variety. A reminder for those who feel
that the ingredients in
quiche are a cholesterol nightmare: I have
successfully made quiches using liquid egg
substitutes and
low fat milk and cheeses, and the results
are every bit as satisfactory as with the
regular ingredients. 

Spinach (or Broccoli) Quiche
1 9-in pie crust, unbaked 3 eggs, beaten
8 oz pkg of Swiss cheese slices 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour dash pepper
1 c milk dash nutmeg
1 small onion, sliced and sauted lightly 
10 oz pkg frozen spinach (chopped) or
broccoli, cooked and drained

Cut cheese in strips. Toss with flour. In pie
crust, alternate layers of onion, spinach (or
broccoli)
and cheese, ending with cheese layer. Mix
milk, eggs, and spices. Pour into crust. Bake
at
350 degrees for one hour or until
toothpick comes out clean.

The modern belief that eggs are delivered
by a rabbit known as the Easter Bunny,
comes from the
legend of the Goddess Eostre. So much did
a lowly rabbit wish to please this Goddess,
that she laid
the sacred eggs in her honor, gaily
decorated them, and then humbly
presented them to her. So
pleased was the goddess that she wished all
humankind to share in her joy. In
honoring her wishes,
the rabbit went through all the world and
distributed these little decorated gifts of
life. Other foods
for springtime are pumpkin, sunflower,
and sesame seeds. Sprouts also carry out
the springtime
theme.
E. Beltaine -- May Day

Beltaine is sometimes translated as 'bright
fire' and so it is. It is one of the festivals
celebrated with a
bonfire, over which it is customary to
jump. Traditional foods include May wine,
grain foods, and
violets (which are edible and are a good
source of Vitamin C.) To prepare a May
bowl, put a few
blossoming sprigs of sweet woodruff in a
large, clear bowl with a bottle or two of
white wine, a cup
or two of strawberry wine (or a wineglass
or so of strawberry liqueur if you have no
strawberry
wine), sugar to taste, and halved
strawberries to float in the bowl. This
drink is said to induce the
subtle shift in consciousness necessary for
Pagan ritual. Other foods would be dairy
foods, or a
marigold custard. This is because goats and
rabbits were sacred to the Beltaine Sabbat
both
because of the goat's horns which
symbolized the Horned God, and for their
reputed randiness. The
goat also provided the milk, cheese, and
butter, so dairy products figure heavily in
the Beltaine feast.

Marigold Custard
2 c of milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 c unsprayed marigold petals
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp rose water
1-2 in piece of vanilla bean
whipped cream
Using a clean mortar and pestle, pound
marigold petals. Or, crush with a spoon.
Mix the salt,
sugar, and spices together. Scald the milk
with the marigolds and the vanilla bean.
Remove
the vanilla bean and add the slightly
beaten yolks and dry ingredients. Cook on
low heat.
When the mixture coats a spoon, add rose
water, and cool. Top with whipped cream,
garnish
with fresh marigold petals. (from
Cunningham's Wicca) 

F. Midsummer -- the Summer Solstice

Midsummer is the longest day of the year,
when the sun reaches its zenith in the
northern skies. It is
another holiday celebrated with bonfires.
Some foods for this festival include fresh
fruits and
barbecued anything, (barbecues represent
the bonfires....) but especially chicken or
pork, sweet
wines, and herb teas. Midsummer is also
the time for making mead, since honey is
now plentiful.
Mead is considered to have magical and
life-restoring properties. 

Basic Mead
1 gallon water
2 oranges, sliced
1/2 package champagne yeast
5 pounds dark honey
1 lemon, sliced
Place the honey, water, and fruit in a
2-gallon pot over medium head. Bring the
mead to a
rolling boil, skimming of any scum which
rises to the top over the next hour. Cool to
lukewarm, strain out the fruit, and add
the yeast (dissolved in 1/4 cup water).
Allow this
mixture to set, covered with a towel for 7
days, until the fermentation has slowed
considerably. Strain again, pouring off only
the clearer top fluids into bottles to age.
These
bottles should be lightly corked for about
2 months, then tightly sealed for 6 months
before
using.

G. Lammas or Lughnasagh (loo nah' sah)
(August 1)

Lammas is the first harvest of the grain
and so it is the feast of bread. Rye, barley,
and oats are
harvested in northern areas, while rice,
corn, and millet are harvested in the
south. In temperate
areas, wheat is now brought in. The baking
of bread is then a fine way to mark the
festival. The
bread can be baked in the shape of a man
to commemorate the God, or in a sun
shape.

Whole Grain Lammas Bread
In a large mixing bowl, combine two cups
of milk warm to the touch, two packages of
dry
baking yeast, one teaspoon salt, one half
cup of honey and one fourth cup of dark
brown
sugar. Cover the bowl and set it aside in a
warm place until it has doubled (about
half an
hour). Add to this mixture three
tablespoons of softened butter and two
cups of unbleached
white flour, and stir til bubbly. Then mix
in one cup of rye flour and two cups of
stone-ground
whole wheat flour. With floured hands
turn this dough out onto a floured board
and
gradually knead in more unbleached
white flour, until the dough is smooth and
elastic and no
longer sticks to your fingers (8 - 10
minutes). Place this dough in a greased
bowl, turning it
so that all surfaces are greased, then cover
with a clean cloth and keep it in a warm
place to
rise til it is doubled in bulk, about one
hour. Then punch it down and divide in
half. Shape
into two round slightly flattened balls and
place on greased cookie sheets Cover these
and
return to a warm place until they double
again. (When this final rising is over you
may do a
blessing and incise a pentagram shape on
the loaves if you wish.) Beat a whole egg
with a
tablespoon of water and brush over the
loaves. Bake at 300 degrees for about an
hour, or til
they sound hollow when tapped on the
bottom. (from The Wheel of the Year)

Other fruits, such as berries, acorns, or any
locally ripe produce are also symbolic foods
to have at
this time. I like to make jam at this time,
and white peaches are usually just coming
into harvest at
Lammas. I've made jam for Lammas for the
last three years now. 

White Peach Jam (4 half pints)

3 pounds ripe white peaches, peeled, pitted,
and thinly sliced
(you can use regular if no white ones are
available)
2 1/2 c sugar
1/4 fresh lemon juice

In a large, heavy, nonreactive skillet,
combine the peaches, sugar, and lemon
juice. Use a
potato masher to mash the mixture well.
Let stand for two hours, stirring
occasionally. Bring
the fruit mixture to a boil over
moderately high heat, stirring often. Lower
the heat to
moderate and continue to boil the jam,
stirring often to prevent scorching, until
thickened,
20 to 30 minutes. About halfway through
the cooking time, use a large metal spoon
to skim
off any white foam that has accumulated
on the surface. When thickened, ladle the
hot jam
through a wide-mouthed funnel into four
sterilized half-pint jars and process. Or you
may
refrigerate the jars instead, the jam will
keep for up to two weeks.

Of course, because Lammas was a
celebration of the first grain harvest, grain
ales made at this time
of year were dedicated to the God in his
aspect as Harvest Lord. Whiskey, an
alcoholic beverage
distilled from barley, was once sacred to
this Sabbat in Scotland. Other Lammas ales
were
dedicated to the Moon Goddess and put
aside for honoring her at Esbats. 

H. Mabon (may-bone) -- the autumnal
equinox.

Typical foods for Mabon and the later
harvest include gourds, grapes, squash,
corn, and beans. It is
also the time to gather and store seeds for
the next year's planting. Pagans can
celebrate Mabon as
a Thanksgiving festival in addition to the
one in November, which has no pagan
significance. The
Mabon festival is a rich one, full of the
bounty of the earth. Many people take the
berries and fruits
harvested at Mabon and make them into
jams and jellies for the ritual bread. A
simpler bread
topping which is still in keeping with the
season is apple butter. The first crop of
apples is ripe at
Mabon, and apple butter can be purchased
in groceries or orchard stores throughout
September.

IV. Everyday Food

Don't forget that you can use your daily
meals to work magick as well. Many
culinary herbs have
magickal uses. You can cook your foods
using these herbs and charge the herb
with your intention.
However, be very careful what you use, as
some herbs used for magickal purposes are
not meant
to be eaten, and indeed can be quite
poisonous.

References:

Campanelli, Pauline. The Wheel of the
Year, 1989, Llewellyn
Cunningham, Scott. Wicca, 1988, Llewellyn
McCoy, Edain. The Sabbats, 1994, Llewellyn
Serith, Ceisiwr. The Pagan Family: Handing
the Old Ways Down, 1994, Llewellyn
Telesco, Patricia. A Witch's Brew, 1995,
Llewellyn