pishogue, piseog, pishrogue
// n. charm, spell, superstitious practice (e.g., puttin eggs in
haycocks, clothes on bushes, counting magpies, throwing salt over the
shoulder, etc.); anything connected with sorcery; a tall tale,
something untrue < Ir. piseog, pisreog; piseogaí n. one who practises
piseogs. ‘She was full of piseogs, like hanging a St. Brigid’s cross
near where she was doing the churning to ward off anyone stealing the
butter’, ‘He told me not to carry anything into the house over my left
shoulder in case of bad luck, but that’s only an old piseog!’;
Griffin, The Collegians, 104: “Mr. Enright’s dairyman, Bill Noonan
made a pishog, and took away our butter’ (a footnote explains: “A
mystic rite, by which one person is enabled to make a supernatural
transfer of his neighbour’s butter into his own churns. The failure
and diminution of butter at different times, from the poverty of the
cream, appears so unaccountable that the country people can only
attribute it to witchcraft”), Joyce, U., 319.25-26: “‘A pishogue, if
you know what that is’”.

Deodar Cedar Cones

Magical Uses for Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)

Deodar Cedar, meaning wood of the gods, is an evergreen conifer native to areas around India. Hindus worship it as a divine tree. The cones, which are shaped like a rose, make a wonderful curio for many applications.

Cedars are masculine in nature, they are of the element fire, and are of the sun. They can be used for purification, prosperity, healing, protection, love, and to increase psychic powers.

The wood is the part of the tree used in the production of oil. It’s wood is a natural insect repellent, an anti-fungal agent, and is astringent.

Wortcunning is the knowledge of the properties of herbs and plants.

Ingredients

• Beeswax
• Honey
• Aloe Vera Gel
• Witch Hazel
• Cocoa Butter
• Sweet Almond Oil
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin C
• Calendula Oil
• Cinnamon Oil
• Lavender Oil
• Tea Tree Oil
• St. John’s Wort Extract
• Echinacea Extract
• Goldenrod Extract

Blend together the extracts, oils, and vitamins. Next add the aloe, honey, cocoa butter, and witch hazel to the mixture. Melt some beeswax and then add the mixture to the beeswax once it is liquefied. Continue stirring until everything is melted. Pour into desired container. Let cool. (As an alternative, you can blend all the ingredients into a lotion leaving out the beeswax, cocoa butter, and sweet almond oil.)

I don’t have measurements for you, and I didn’t do the recipe as described. I used Calendula Gel and a herbal capsule of echinacea and goldenrod because that is what I had on hand. I will try to explain what I did to help you with the measurements. If you have never made an ointment using beeswax you might want to stick with the alternative unless you are feeling experimental.

I opened one capsule of echinacea and goldenrod and added powdered vitamin C, just enough to lighten the color by a shade. I added one dropper full of St. John’s Wort, 3 drops each of cinnamon, lavender, and tea tree oil, then I added just enough vitamin E oil to mix everything easily. Next I added a squirt of witch hazel, 3 squeezes of aloe, and 3 squeezes of honey. After that was blended, I added a couple of dollops of cocoa butter. I worked this around with a spoon but it doesn’t really blend completely. Then I melted the beeswax and added to it about the same amount of sweet almond oil. Lastly I added the mixture and stirred until everything comes together as a liquid. I poured this into a container similar to a lip balm tube (Although you could also use a small jar.) and let it cool completely. I still had about a half cup left that I poured into a glass jar. When I need a refill I can reheat the mixture in a water bath and pour into the tube. Vitamin E is a natural preservative so it should last a while. I am storing mine in a dark closet. It is good for all manners of minor skin irritations like insect bites, cuts, scratches, etc.

Disclaimer: This is presented for informational purposes only. If you are an idiot or are incompetent to take responsibility for your own actions do not use this information. This information is not to be used in lieu of standard medical treatment or in self-diagnosis. I am in no way responsible for how you use this information; if you injurer, poison, burn, or kill yourself that is your own problem.

Handfasting of Jennifer & Tom

I am pleased to announce that on June 24th during the afternoon twilight, Tom and I became handfasted under an ancient oak tree in a local forest grove. I created an appropriate rite of handfasting using various sources such as Handfasting & Wedding Rituals by Raven Kaldera and the website of Gaol Naofa. A good friend became Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriages for the occasion and she also baked our wonderful cake and took the majority of our pictures. Her husband stood as witness and took the rest of the pictures for us. Our ceremony was immediately followed by a small BBQ in our backyard.

Back when I had begun planning our handfasting, a theme presented itself to me quite by accident. I picked up that theme and ran with it as it seemed very appropriate considering the date we chose for our handfasting (which was our 5 year anniversary). That theme was a Midsummer-Night’s Dream.

Through this house give glimmering light,
By the dead and drowsy fire;
Every elf and every faery sprite
Hop as light as bird from brier;
And this ditty, after me
Sing and dance it trippingly.

First, rehearse your song by rote,
To each word a warbling note,
Hand in hand, with faery grace,
Will we sing and bless this place.

Now until the break of day
Through this house each faery stray,
To the best bride-bed will we,
Which by us shall blessed be.

I am in the process of going through all of my old blog posts for the last almost eight years and separating the wheat from the chaff. Most has been deleted; quizzes, silliness, news and weather reports are mostly gone. I’ve also mostly removed any articles or bits of articles from outside sources and have been updating my own writings to be edited nicely.