An overview of ‘dirty’ and ‘clean’ crops 

Good morning, friends!  

As promised, today we’ll be taking a brief foray into the Dirty Dozen and the clean fifteen. You may have seen our previous post regarding kitchen sustainability where we discussed being aware as a consumer and changing the framework of your diet. This takes a bit of a deeper dive into one particular aspect of that. 

This is one of those controversial topics that I love. GMO vs non-GMO, organic vs nonorganic, food deserts and food accessibility. Through sheer population, food demand, and economic structure the United States has resorted to and evolved some pretty intense farming techniques and farming alternatives to try and keep up.  

Now I’m not here to bash the system as a whole. We did what we thought we had to at certain hard times in history to make things work and we thought that what we were doing would make food in general more accessible to all. Over time, however we have found that some of those developments may have had unexpected long term consequences. 

Whilst I hate info-dumping and lengthy definitions, some things bear defining. so let’s go over a brief glossary of some of those terms: 

GMO: Genetically modified organism. In food, this refers to the use of recombinant DNA technology or biotechnology to alter foods. This may be to increase yields, or fruit bearing years. It can also make certain crops more resistant to pests or specific chemicals. In animals it can make them resistant to certain illnesses, or be hormonal to help with milk production or egg production. 

Organic: specifically in regards to food, the US requires that all ‘certified organic foods’ are grown without artificial chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, or GMO’s. Now, this can be a bit misleading because not all organics are created equal; and we’ll get to that in later posts if you haven’t yet taken Michael Polan’s Masterclass. But at it’s root means that the food or crop was grown or raised the way it organically would on its own. 

Food desert: a geographic area where fresh food is harder to come by due to drought, geology, or the requirement for import- thereby driving local food costs higher due to demand.  

As science has developed and we now have the data to show the long term effects of some of these modifications, there is a growing demand for Organic or ‘clean’ food. This doesn’t mean washing your strawberries (though you should be doing that still). It refers to the production method of your food from start to finish. This is for a number of reasons: 

1. Several studies are beginning to suggest that organic food has more nutritional value. This is not concrete yet as there are a variety of factors that affect nutritional content at the time of testing, but a lot of the evidence points in that direction.  

2. Organically grown crops do have more antioxidants and vitamins in them. This is visibly documentable. Specifically  vitamin C, zinc, and iron. In fact, antioxidant levels can be up to 69% higher in these foods. Organic plants do not rely on chemical pesticide sprays to protect themselves. Instead, they produce more of their own protective compounds, namely antioxidants. This may partly explain the higher levels of antioxidants in these plants.  (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-organic-food#more-nutrients). 

3. Organic crops reduce your exposure to artificial chemicals and pesticides. GMO’s and pesticides have been linked to an increase in childhood allergies, autoimmune issues, cancers, and birth defects.  

In a perfect world, crops would just be able to grow the way they were meant to and everybody would be able to access fresh clean food. But the world isn’t perfect, and not everybody (myself included) can always afford to buy everything organic. It’s pricey. This leads us to the dirty dozen. The dirty dozen is a list put out by the EWG or Environmental Working Group every year to name the top 12 crops with the highest residual pesticide content. 

If you want to start towards a “cleaner” diet, and being more cognizant of what you’re ingesting; but you can’t afford to buy everything organic, I get it. The dirty dozen is a good place to start. If you’re only going to buy a few things organic because that’s what’s in your budget- start there. It’s important to note that this list changes every year because how companies grow crops changes, so make sure you make an annual check in. 

The current dirty dozen is: 

Now, for everything, there is an opposite. The EWG also has what they consider the “Clean 15” this is the annual list of produce crops that are considered to be the lowest risk with the lowest alteration/pesticide rate and therefore safer to buy conventionally. 

If you ever want to check back or look into the EWG farther you can find the link to their organization here.

Keep your eyes open as we move further into food sustainability. I hope this was beneficial and informative. As always, chime in with questions, thoughts, or additions.  

All the best, 

Mikaela  

An Open conversation on Religion…

Good morning!

This is the kind of thing that I usually hesitate to post, because I do not want to make anybody uncomfortable by getting too political or too religious ever. We are fostering an open and welcoming place- so I typically try to steer clear of overly divisive topics. 

But I was flipping through old journals whilst looking for inspiration and the right words as I was writing my wedding vows and I came upon something I wrote awhile ago very early on in my own spiritual journey and I had to remind myself that the topic is only divisive if you make it divisive, and that part of the way to create an open and welcoming space where people CAN discuss things, and learn from each other, and decide WHAT they believe for themselves is by talking CALMLY to people who believe differently.  

That specifically, the reflection in question was full of questions I was asking myself and that I wished I could ask somebody else. It has always amused me, talking to the parents of friends or other people’s families who don’t allow their kids to learn about other religions because they are afraid their children will be “taken in” or “converted” and it never made sense to me growing up. How are our young people supposed to know what they believe in if they don’t know what they don’t believe in, or what other people believe. I always wanted to say “you must really not trust how you have raised and taught your children, or in their decision-making abilities if you think that learning about the rest of the world is going to change them that quickly. What are you afraid of them finding?” It always sounded to me like people were trying to teach their kids what to think instead of how to think. Which is a very different thing.  

However, I digress. As I was rereading this old reflection it reminded me that what Taylor and I are trying to do requires courage. You must be open, and self-exposing, welcoming, and willing to discuss difficult topics yourself first before you can ever hope to inspire somebody else to be willing to do the same. That this is the place for those intimidating conversations to happen. We want to normalize the inner thoughts and the questions that we all have.  

So, in what I truly hope is the first of many conversations, I have posted below my thoughts from a younger Mikaela who was just beginning to find herself after a rough period of growth and self-awareness. It’s okay if you don’t agree. I hope you ask questions. I hope these sparks thoughts and reflections of your own. I hope we can talk and teach and learn from each other. I hope if we do disagree- we can do so with grace. So, from a much younger me: 

It’s been a long time since I originally wrote that in 2017 and there were a number of upheavals and hate crimes happening in the world at the time. But I think the bulk of this thought process still holds true for me. 

No matter your beliefs, or your stance on the matter, I hope we can discuss it with kindness, curiosity, and a genuine desire to understand and love others.  

All the best, Always.  

Mikaela 

Salutations! In light of the upcoming holiday, I thought we’d do a bit of a dive into the history and practice of the Lammas Feast Day. 

Lammas AKA Lughnasadh is the first of three harvest festivals of the Pagan wheel of the year. Typically, Sundown July 31^st– Sundown August 1^st. Although technically you would need to consult an Almanac yearly to see what day of the year the stars would be in the right position if we were following the original way of tracking the Wheel of the Year. 

Lammas has been known by many names. In Ireland its known as Lugnasad or Lughnasadh. In Scotland it has been called Lunasda, The Welsh refer to it as Gwyl Awst. It was the English that called it Lammas, evolving from the Old Anglo-Saxon word Hlafmaesse, or Loaf Mass. 

Lughnasadh or ‘Lugnasad’ gets its name from the Celtic Deity Lugh (pronounced Loo). 

Lugh in modern times is frequently referred to as a solar god or harvest deity; though originally seems to have been understood as a god of human skill & craftsmen, kings, and a patron of heroes. Lugh was king of the Tuatha De Dannan, a race of divine beings whose name translates to “People of the Goddess Danu”. (Marquis 2015) 

Danu was the Celtic Mother Goddess. In the old Sagas, Lugh together with Danu displaced the Fir Bolg and the Fomoiri who were the cruel previous rulers of Tuatha. 

There are 2 popular theories around the origin of Lughnasadh as a holiday: 

1. Lugh’s wedding feast.  

2. And more commonly a funeral festival Lugh started in honor of Tailtiu; wife of the last king of Fir Bolg. Whilst we cannot prove that exactly, we can prove there was an annual festival August 1^st called the Fair of Tailteann equidistant between Navan and Kells near a reputed gravesite of Tailtiu in what is now County Meath, Ireland. 

Marriages were common or Trial Marriages and partnerships were commonly declared at this time (feeding into the story of Lugh’s wedding Feast). This would last for a year and a day until the next festival at which time the marriage could be dissolved if it didn’t work out (similar to a handfasting- which typically followed if things worked out). 

Originally Hlafmaesse was a celebration of pagan deities, but as the Germanic Peoples converted to Christianity and began settling in what is now Britain, Hlafmaesse was absorbed into the rites of the Church and celebrated as the Feast of First Fruits. This was celebrated by baking a loaf of hallowed bread, cutting it into fours and burying or crumbling each quarter into the corners of the barn intending to invite blessing and sanctify the harvest in the upcoming year.  

As Anglo-Saxons began to more heavily influence local culture, some of the older Lughnasadh traditions became replaced or hybridized, making it very hard to distinguish the exact origins of many practices. In many places across the United Kingdom, we can document where Lughnasadh traditions and Lammas traditions have been meshed together.  

In modern times, many people struggle to find ways to celebrate Lughnasadh and feel connected to the holiday with how removed most of us are from our Agriculture. As well as struggling to find distinctive ways to celebrate it separately from the other Harvest festivals. It is the first of three annual harvest festivals, ending with Samhain- or the closing of the growing season. But where Lughnasadh shines is in the bearing of the first fruits. The first crops of the year are coming to maturity, and we can enjoy them, but the true celebration is in knowing that the Harvest and bounty is still in front of you and is just beginning.  

Whilst most of us are no longer actively tilling the land, planting and harvesting- we still depend on the Mother Earth every bit as much as our ancestors did. Common Modern themes to celebrate and honor the holiday include: Harvest, Gratitude, and Reflection. Potlucks, Picnics and feasts are common practices. Offerings are also traditional, either to the Mother Earth, Lugh, ancestors, or the dead in general. Regardless of the nuances in regional celebration practices, the overall message is the same: Giving Thanks!  

Bear in Mind, that Pagans are a diverse group, and you will find Nuances in celebrations between Celtic Reconstructionism, Wiccans, Asatru (also referred to as Heathens or modern Norse Pagan), Modern Druidism, traditional Witchcraft, & Neopagan. 

Celebrating at Home: 

1. If you do Garden, or grow your own crops or herbs, Celebrating Lughnasadh is commonly celebrated by pulling your first harvest of the year, picking berries, gathering herbs or other wild crops.  

2. Many rural communities also celebrate with Bonfires.  

3. Another way to honor the beginning of the harvest season is to cook with what it offers. After all, it is one of the Great Feast Days- this is why potlucks or gatherings are a common and great way to celebrate.  

4. Lughnasadh is also a great time to get out into the great outdoors and search for new magical tools while the ground is open and easy to view. Unique branches and sticks that can be turned into staffs and conduits. Rocks and sticks that draw your attention and call your name are also always good to hunt for. Remember to never harvest or take things from compromised or protected land, and respect the spaces you are in.  

5. Play Games! Lughnasadh was traditionally a time for competitive sports and games to show off skill and prowess. Host your own Tailtaenn fair. Invite friends over for a game of football, a foot race or any other manner of sports. Remember to keep it lighthearted and fun. Add in an element of silliness and award prizes for winners of competitions. Ribbons, goofy hats, pies, pastries, or decorated brooms all make great winnings. 

Lugnashadh and Magick:  

Many different types of Magick were performed around Lughnasadh, but it is an especially good time for protection magic. Below is a more modern interpretation of a traditional Irish Practicing Herbal Spell for protecting livestock (which can these days also be translated into protecting anything that is of value or considered an asset to you). 

All you need is a selection of fresh herbs of your choosing (best to stay in season if possible). Make a list of the ‘assests’ or valuables that you want to protect and then choose a corresponding herb for each one. You can do this by either following your intuition and gut feeling or, if you choose, you can always consult an herbal guide for different symbolism in plants if you need help. I find it best with things like this to pick whatever resonates best with you.  

Set yourself up someplace quiet, with a small bowl of water. 

Pick up an herb and focus your intentions on the topic you have ascribed to that herb. Repeat the following: 

Now hold the herb in the bowl of water and focus on strength and protection and say:  

You will need to repeat this with each herb/intention. Then take the pile of wet herbs outside to a place in nature that feels good to you (you will need to bring an apple). Place the Pile of Herbs on the ground and on top set the apple, stem facing up as a final offering. Pour the water from bowl over the top and give thanks for the welfare and protection of your assets.  

Here in the next few days, I’ll be uploading one of the recipes I will be using for our own Lammas feast. Have fun, be safe, and be well. 

Happy Harvest, 

Mikaela 

Join RavenWerks guild Leaders Mikaela and Taylor talking about their favorite parts of Dungeons and Dragons and what they would or wouldn’t change about their early campaigns based on their experience as players.

[Taylor] Hey! If you’re just tuning  into our channel, I’m Taylor… 

[Mikaela] Mikaela.

[Taylor] This little nugget back here is Mini. 

[Mikaela] Um… and we just wanted to to turn  around and chime in. We know it’s been a while  since we launched our… um… intro videos and  it was like kind of a second way to try to connect  with you guys on our platform. For those of you  who don’t know, most of our business and our work  is on our website and our blog. You can find the  link in the description box below. Um… But we  wanted to turn around and take today- you know so  far we have focused more on our sustainability and  spirituality and being environmentally friendly  and that kind of stuff – but a big purpose behind  RavenWerks that we have kind of discussed in the  past is making those alternative hobbies and those  other interests you want to pursue in life and  learn about, more approachable, and removing  alot of the the stigmas from around them. And  one of our favorite topics in that area is…  um… Dungeons and Dragons. There are kind of  a lot of- i feel like- misconseptions about  what playing Dungeons and Dragons is. You know,  for the longest time, it was labeled as the nerd  geek pastime. And especially- it’s begining to  become more mainstream and more accepted but it’s  still… there’s a lot of fear and trepidation  around -you know- starting to try and play or  find people that have those common interests.  And especially starting playing as an adult,  without that backstory. And especially as a  female. So… um… we kind of just wanted to take  some time to reflect on our previous experiences  and have a bit of a conversation there. Sooo…

[Taylor] Sooo… we just have a couple questions  today to start with and we’ll cover more in the  future BUT to start, I guess… uh…  FIRST QUESTION… What is your fart… *DIES LAUGHING* Word salad… it happens… What is your favorite part of DnD as a  whole? *still struggling not to laugh* 

[Mikaela] As a whole (repeated). Ummm… For me -I think- favorite part  of DnD as a whole is the community.  Not just the playing and of itself  and um the other people that you connect with.  For instance, if you watch critical role or if  you are on some of the Facebook groups and that.  But like whoever you’re actually playing with,  it’s a good social interaction especially  if you’re an introvert because it’s usually  like a small group of people. You can relax, have  fun, get in character and kind of out of yourself  and have that adventure but have it with other  people…um… in really most of the time in a non  overwhelming setting. So for somebody like me  that’s… when I played my first campaign there  was like 6 of us that played. It was once  a week. That was our Sunday event. That was  basically the majority of our day and I came home  feeling relaxed, like I had had a healthy social  interaction but I also wasn’t drained from it.

[Taylor] Uh. I would actually agree. So I feel  like my favorite part from DnD as a whole is  very much the social aspect because it’s…  it’s a different outlet of social. Like there’s  one thing if I like to get dressed up and go out  and party or if I go to the movies with friends or  I interact with people at work or whatever. But…  ummm… DnD is a little bit more of like a- I  don’t want to say, uh, intimate setting- but  it’s like it’s your friends and it’s a different  outlet because you get to be artistic with them.  It’s… some of my friends are more long distance  too so I get to interact with them and video chat  and that and I don’t have another outlet for it  because they aren’t going to drive, you know,  6 hours once a week to hang out with me.

[Mikaela] Also I feel like it challenges  you to get to know you friends in a different way.

[Taylor] Yeah. You do definitely start to realize  things about them… because you get to be silly  about things and play with different scenarios  you wouldn’t come across in real life. So feel  like… yeah… social aspect for me for sure. 

[Mikaela] Ummm… so then what was your biggest  challenge in wanting to start playing and what  would you say to someone wanting to learn  to play that’s never touched it before? 

[Taylor] So I actually feel like for me it was  finding a group of people to start with. It was  kind of intimidating because I… I actually  wanted to play for years. I kept bringing  it up. Uh… You even bought me like little  miniatures and like a book and I still didn’t  start playing for a while. I think I had a set  of dice set aside for like 4 or 5 years because  it seems daunting when you look at it. There’s  a lot of different, like, processes for combat  and things like that…that once you know are  super easy but it takes having somebody maybe  walk you through it for a couple of sessions  for you to feel comfortable. And it’s also hard,  or it least it felt intimidating to me to find a  group to play with to initially start it because  I feel like you either think that everybody’s  already got an established group and you can’t  come into it and you can’t come into an  established campaign OR you think that if  you bring it up with your friends you are just  going to get weird looks. Maybe I just didn’t  have the right friends though. I don’t know.

[Mikaela] No. I- Honestly for me I would say  it was a two pronged thing. Number 1, yes.  Finding the right group of friends. Cuz I had  a very small social circle. Um. And at least for  me, my friends were the right kind of nerds. They  were all as geeky wierd as I was if not wierder.  Um. But some of their nerd wasn’t necessarily the  same kind of nerd.

[Taylor] Yeah. 

[Mikaela] Ummm… It was a little bit easier  for me to find a group because I actually  got invited. Thomas and I actually got invited to  play by his brother and his brother’s girlfriend.  So that was a good experience but I think for me,  I think having the right group of people is part  of it because it plays a part in your comfort  level of putting yourself outside of yourself.  Which for me was the hardest part because it’s  real easy to have your character and your timeline  and this awesome story adventure in your head and  it is sometimes a lot more uncomfortable to then  role play that in front of people because it  does feel goofy when you are first learning. 

[ Taylor] Yeah!

[Mikaela] You’re sitting at a table  making strange voices, whole equally asking does  this work? How does this work? Can I do this? If  you are playing with a more experienced player.  So for me the scariest thing was putting myself  outside myself in public. Um… but what  I think made all the difference was having  a big enough group to fun but a small enough group  to have it not be overwhelming and have them be  people that had played before that could teach me  what to do and had the patience for it. As far as  what I would say to somebody wanting to start, I  would just say don’t do what I did and hold back  for as long as I did because the second I into  it- not so much the mechanics, that takes time,  learning what dice to use with what thing and what  you have an action and a talking or a movement…  that part is going to take time- but I was gonna  say throw three sheets to the wind, get out of  your own head, and get into it. Because the more  you put into it as far as your character goes,  the more you are going to get out of it.

[Taylor] Well, and I would also say, um,  I just…. I want to say real quick that  we are coming at this right now for like  a player perspective… not so much like  a DM perspective. And I… I mean I am  writing my own campaign right now. I do have  ideas. I do want to be a DM but just haven’t- 

[Mikaela] Haven’t had the oportunity yet.

[Taylor] Yeah. I haven’t had the oportunity  yet. So like, we will touch on that  later as I get more experience there but,  um… As a player I agree 100%. Like I just  feel like I wish I could back and tell myself  a little bit just like put my big girl panties on  and…. or even just go to like a gaming bar and  just talk to some people because I almost  guarantee there are people… there’s a  hund-… I mean there’s tons of people out there  that would want to play, would welcome you in,  even if they are mid campaign.

[Mikaela] They are excited when  people ask questions.

[Taylor] Yeah. Yeah.  The people in the DnD community, for the most  part -Like there are some real hard asses out  there- But like, for the most part as very,  very accepting and they want to teach you,  they want to bring more people into it even if  it’s mid campaign or even if they do like a one  shot. They will find ways to work around that.

[Mikaela] You can be a guest character. 

[Taylor] Yeah. Yeah. So just go out.  Just do it. Just do it. Just do it. Okay so…um. Next question here.  Looking back at your first campaign,  what would you have changed about the experience?

[Mikaela] It kind of ties in with that last  one. I would, i would honestly say, get into  it farther, faster. As far as, as far as like,  I spent a lot of time out of character  asking, like, can I do this? Most of the time,  if you go and try and do something in character  that doesn’t work, your DM (Dungeon Master) is  going to tell you. So it would be really  hard to have that mental shift between  character and then breaking character to talk to  somebody. So I guess if I could change anything,  I would, I would approach it a little bit  more comfortably and open minded from the  get go and I would be hopefully less afraid to ask  questions because part of it- nobody likes to feel  you know dumb of stupid or like they are  not picking it up and I felt like I was  afraid to ask certain questions because  I felt like I had already asked it and  so I should have understood it at that point.

[Taylor] Sometimes it takes hearing it a couple  different ways for it to click. [Mikaela] Or watching somebody  else do it before you are like  “OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH… That’s how that works.” 

[Taylor] Mmmmhmmmm…

[Mikaela] But… But there really is,  like she said, so much acceptance in that  community that like, they really don’t care  if you ask a question repeatedly cuz they want  you to enjoy it. They want you to come back. They  want you to part of their group. Ummm… I really  honestly think that’s my biggest one. That like,  I was so afraid of being social with it for so  long, that like, I hesitated to go every single  week. And then when I was there I had fun.

[Taylor] Yeah. Okay. So for me, this is a… *sigh*… I think  there is three things. And I think I am going  to contradict myself, some of the things I have  said before, just a little bit. And I will explain  why. So, the first thing that I would say is,  ummm… really get into character.Like, do not be  afraid to get into character. I feel like my first  campaign, IIIIIII- and I, this is something I want  to work on a couple of others because I am now on  like 3rd campaign kind of situation- ummm… none  of my characters, I have really played with like  voices and things like that and I really wish I  had. It doesn’t have to be an accent, it could  just be like the way you change your tone… 

[Mikaela & Taylor] Your vocabulary…

[Taylor] I feel like I have really gotten  into character in the way my actions play out in  things like that but I really want to play more  with like ACTUALLY PORTRAYING IT. So like  when you here me speak as my character vs  when you hear me speak META, you can tell, because  again it’s a way to play with the different- it’s  just like… yeah. That would be the first thing.

[Mikaela] There are some words that one  character wouldn’t use or terminology  because they aren’t relevent to them. 

[Taylor] Exactly. The second thing  I really wish that I had done is….  I know I said just do go out and just, like, do  it. But like, also do be careful of who you do it  with. (Are we talking about DnD or safe sex???)

[Mikaela & Taylor] For a first campaign. 

[Taylor] Like, later it’s whatever, but my  first campaign I just have to bring up, we  all knew each other except for the DM. We had  a DM… Mini please stop (she was scratching  and shaking the whole couch). So we had a DM who  basically ghosted us maybe siiiii…. oh, maybe  a year into the campaign. He was long distance  (DMing online), we onlyu really knew him over  the video chat. And it was just such a bummer  because I felt that we, as newer players,  were just finally just starting to get really into  it and that, I just complete… I don’t know… 

[Mikaela] It kills momentum.

[Taylor] It was just such a let  down. We had to find a new DM, Start a whole new  campaign. And it’s one thing, sometimes campaigns  fall apart (especially really long ongoing  ones) but I guess, just, that was my first  campaign and that was such a bummer so I guess  at least know somebody in your first campaign or  know that they are serious about it. And that  was going to be my next thing (#3), is that,  maybe make sure you find people who are just as  invested as you. Like if you’ve got people who are  really just not into it, and they are not paying  attention and they are not really, don’t care at  all. Like they are there JUST for the talking, it  kind of puts a damper on you playing and learning  because if you are really invested and nobody  else is and you are the only one that really  wants to get into character and do things…

[Mikaela] That almost adds to the discomfort. 

[Taylor] It makes it harder for you to learn,  it makes it harder for you to get into it. It’s  just… so yeah… I feel like those are the  biggest things with my first campaign that I  really was just (nonverbal emphasis with  hands lol), I struggled to get into it,  the first one. So yeah. I think that’s it.

[Taylor & Mikaela] *A whole lot of yeahs* 

[Mikaela] Last Question. Describe  your perfect DnD setting or ambience. 

[Taylor] For me… I really like to get into it.  Like if you have got mood music for it, depending  on the situation. Like I have different play lists  set up for my campaign. I am very ready for this.  My current campaign is, that I am in is One Piece  based and we actually started as a bigger group-  which can also be challenging, So don’t go  too big. Like 9 people in combat is a lot-  ummm but we all kind of fallen into kind of a role  like what we bring. Like I tend to bring salty  snacks and somebody brings alcohol, and somebody  like candy and everybody is swapping stuff around.  So I really personally like having that. And  it’s not something we set up at all. It’s just  kind of roles we’ve… it just happened. It’s  just really nice because we’re all able to like  bring something to it. We like to like dim the  lights a little bit (I do in my campaigns at  least) sometimes. It depends on the mood.  It depends on the campaign and who you are  with too. So like part of that depends on  the situation. I also prefer if everybody  is around a table. It’s hard to do it in like a  living room setting or something like that just  because there’s no central area and I like to see  people and talk to them when I am in character.  I would say that that’s my biggest thing. I  tend to prefer mine a little bit more relaxed  um, vs, like really, rigid.

[Mikaela] Yeah. As far as like, rigidity goes,  I will say I prefer a little more relaxed beccause especially if it’s your first campaign. Not only  do you have to have some give and take with  your DM, and when people have like a… like  if your working with a DM that has absolutly no  flexability in what they will allow and are very  by the book- and for some people that’s great- I’m  not one of those people. So I like the flexability  aspect of it. As far as ambience goes, we always-  my friends are all kind of like I said, extra-  so we allways went extra. It was our Sunday thing  and the ambience of the room adds- if you are in a  well lit, blank walled room with a table…  yeah you can play if you’ve got your character  sheets and a good group of people that are  really invested. You could totally do it.  But especially if you’re nervous and are coming  into it, having the right ambience almost makes  it easier for somebody that’s shy to get out of  that box and get themselves into that character.  So like what Macey would do, we had our long  table, and the five of us would be around it  and she either when she was creating her own  world, drew her own maps or we had the minis,  and she built landscapes and we had all of our  character pieces and she would move them around  to give us distance examples. She at one point had  a little fog thing set up on the table. Someday… 

[Taylor] That’s sick.

[Mikaela] Someday… those  tables… Someday I will have one. I will build  one, I will whatever. That it’s inset and that you  can move your people and you can make the mist  set up and have the light and everything. But  in the meantime, she had music and she changed it  for whatever. She would sometimes have the actual  playlist set up because she actually knew what  timeline we were going to be on. But obviously  then your characters threw a wrench into that so  then if we ended up in a fight she switched it to  like if it was dungeon fight music or bar fight  music music or whatever. And we did, we rotated  who cooked because it was usually like a whole day  think which I thought was awesome. I would usually  bring like one or 2 snacks or baked goods. If we  were doing it at whoevers house was hosting it,  they provided dinner, whether that was ordering  food in or like- we all like to try different  recipes. So sometimes what we would do – and  this was super cool but super goofy I guess- was,  each person, when it was their week to cook, would  prepare a meal or food that would have been custom  and normal for their character and we shared it.

[Taylor] I like that. I like that idea. 

[Mikaela] We had drinks and they weren’t always  alcoholic but there were. And that way you didn’t  have to get up and feel rushed or leave or  if you were uncomfortable and needed a break  or a bathroom break, you had something to break  those moments. And it just made the whole thing  relaxed. She would sometimes, depending on where  we were, have a candle lit with a certain scent  that… it was like it added to the…

[Taylor] Scent therapy is a thing. 

[Mikaela] The whole thing was just very emersive.

[Taylor] Yeah. So I have to say that… ummm…  so we are actually… the One Piece campaign is  actually building one of those tables and I am  super stoked. I LURV the idea of the food for your  character thing. So, previous campaign, we would  rotate houses and who hosted and whoever hosted  was in charge of food but I never thought about  doing a character thing. That is a whole different  level. I really like that. I will say, the One  Piece campaign, we all, maybe some of us did get  a little more into this than others. I spent like  a year making a costume. But depending on my mood  and like how rushed I am to get to the campaign,  I still wear that. Like, pieces and parts. Not  all of it but sometimes pieces and parts. Because  for me it does help a little bit to fall into that  character. And there’s something else to consider  there too. When you write your backstory, you’ve  got this idea of who your character is. Don’t be  so attached to it that your character doesn’t  grow. Like my characters have become something  else sometimes. Sorry. That just popped into  my head. BUT… ummm yeah… I feel like…  PROPS… props are so huge. Not just for a  DM but for a character, because, like I said,  I haven’t DM’d yet, but I know when my DM has a  prop- like they’ve brought a picture of one of the  NPC’s or like they’ve built something and have it  in the middle of the table or they’ve done their  own map- like that visual for me is amazing. But  as a character, I have to tell you how excited the  other people at the table are if I thought ahead  of something my character would have. For example,  in my One Piece session, there’s something  called vivre cards in that world that I like  pre prepped and I been like, as I get to develope  relationships with other players characters, been  like, rolling for stealth to hide them in their  belongings, slipping it into their belongings in  real life, not explaining what they are, and then  in like a session or 2 they will find them and  be like, what the hell is this? And it’s, like an  extra layer of excitment. Or like if something is  happening and I whip something out (like my own  photo’s of my summons or transformations etc),  like everybody else’s excitent. So you aren’t-  the DM’s not only doing ambience, you are just  as responsible for adding that extra little bit  ambience or UMPF to all those other character too. 

[Mikaela] Yeah. So like if you know up partially  in costume, it give them a visual for you as  well other than… hey there’s a girl with cool  colored hair sitting in the chair accross from me. 

[Taylor] Exactly. So that’s what I was talking  about too with like finding a group that’s as  invested as you because if you that they want to  do that and they are into that kind of stuff too,  it’s going to be so much more fun for you.

[Mikaela] And it’s a good reflection of DM’s  time too. It’s really depressing to watch somebody  that’s spent all this time building a diorama or a  map on top off writing the actual campaign and the  frame work of your story and then you have a group  of people that just sit around the table and they  are like mike character is going to doooooo this.  And that’s just kind of, there is no give and  take, there’s no…. I don’t do the whole,  I am going to do this anymore… I just in  character say it and my party can either respond  or… sometimes if it is out of line or it doesn’t  work, then my DM will out of character by like….  so I love you but you can’t do that.

[Taylor] Well I will also say too though that  it takes a little bit to work up to that because  the first sessions… we’re probably, maybe,  I don’t know, like 30 sessions into this One  Piece campaign right now and we’re just finally  getting to the point where I feel like, like for  example, my character…. I knew my character,  but you have to KNOW your character. Like it  takes a little bit to get to the point where  you are ready enough to be like IN character that  much because you are learning the character as  much as they are. So like. don’t beat yourself  up if the first 2 or 3 sessions or more, like I  said it took a little while, we have a really  big group so it took a while to get everybody  really in character. But don’t beat yourself  up if right off the bat, you’re not like…  I don’t know what I am saying.

[Mikaela] Give yourself some grace.  It does take time.

[Taylor] It does. 

[Mikaela] And I will be interested in future  conversations- because you brought up a couple  of things make me want to start talking about  them now but obviously in the interest of time  we wont do that. But in future talks, to be able  to talk about character building and yourself  vs your character. Because that’s like a whole  different dichotomy thing. SO… if you guys found  this interesting and you really liked it, give  us a shout, let us know if you have specific DnD  questions or things you would like us to cover.  Obviously our video blog portion is not just  limited to DnD, But we figured this was a great  place to start because especially for women there  aren’t, I feel I don’t meet as many women playing  DnD. Most of my campaigns have been full of guys.  So like if you have questions, if you want to  reach out, if you are looking to connect with  people. Or if you certain things you would like  us to go over or cover in the future… Let us  know. Otherwise you can find the link to our blog  down below and just keep tuned. Keep coming back! 

[Taylor] Down below. *whispered* Also…

[Mikaela] You had to with the fingers. 

[Taylor] I had to, I had  to. Also, I just want to say  you will be seeing more videos on some of the  other topics but we are also going to have a  blog post kind of related to this on our website  here, later this week as well. So just keep an  eye openand we will be covering more topics  and we look forward to talking to you soon. 

[Mikaela] Yeah.

[Taylor] Bye!

Hey BUD-dies!

As Mikaela and I start to dig deeper into the topics of sustainability, food, and gardening something to consider is that while growing your own plants (edible or otherwise) is very fulfilling for your soul (and stomach) … it can be draining on the wallet. That is unless you know how to do so in a more (drumroll please) sustainable way.

One way to keep more green in your wallet but still grow the number of plants in your inventory is to explore different ways of propagation. To the casual and new to plant parenthood, this can seem like an intimidating word being flung around. I am here to tell you that it is easy-peasy.

In the case of plants, propagation literally just means reproduction by natural processes. Plants already want to reproduce so you are just helping things along and the biggest hurdle is knowing how your particular plant likes to get jiggy with it. So let’s go over a couple ways to propagate AND some basic categories of plants that are easily propagated by the different methods.

So let’s start with the biggest, most obvious way to propagate…

SEEDS

When a boy plant part (stigma) likes a girl plant part (pollen from an anther) and gets some help from a buddy (an insect, bat, bird, puff of wind, etc) they can make a seed. This is not a biology class so I am not going to dig further into this BUT I do want to bring up how this information may save you some money and what to beware of. So, to start I want to say there are multiple places you can get seeds and some pros and cons to each.

• Garden stores are a great place to get seeds and they are relatively cheap. You know they are fresher seeds and have a great chance of germinating (sprouting). The packaging is great because it will give you instructions and care as well. The negative is that you are still spending money AND usually they only have basic flowers and crops because they are catering to a majority.
• Online is a mixed bag… you have an insane variety, but you are going to spend more and it is tough in some cases to verify what you are getting (new seeds, old seeds, is it even the correct plant?). I have had some really great successes doing this though.
• Farmers markets have a couple options. Some vendors will actually sell seeds, but you can also just look for interesting fruits to eat and save/plant the seeds. Things to consider though are that you once again can’t really verify what a seed is or if it is any good until you are planting AND this applies to even ones coming out of a fruit. This is because members of the same species can cross pollinate. For example, pumpkin and winter squash are technically the same species so they can cross pollinate. They would still taste fine but their little seed babies would/could grow something weird. Let me tell you- I have STORIES about peppers because I was growing like 40 varieties at one point and they DEFINITLY cross pollinated.
• Save seeds from your food at home. This is staple and one of my favorite methods because you are not spending extra money and you can do so infinitely to continue your garden. The con here is that you are only going to get seeds from what you already have on hand so you are limited to what you are already growing or what you find at the grocery store (an let’s be honest the everyday gardener may not have the resources to grow some of those fancy, exotic, tropical fruits).

As for who and what can be propagated this way…. Anything with seeds! Fruits, bushes, flowers, veggies. Some are harder to actually harvest seeds from and you are better off just buying them unless you are really serious. I do not bother when it comes to herbs or flowers (though a lot will reseed themselves). Fruits (drupes, peppers, tomatoes, etc), melons, and guards are great ones to start with.

So, before I leave this to talk about our next method, I just want to say that even in cases where you are spending money for seeds, it is still cheaper than buying a mature plant. From personal experience, always plant lots of seeds as well because even the most quality ones you get, only a certain percentage will germinate. I also want to point out that even weird crosses are fun.

CLONING

Mwahahahaha…. This is where you get to be the most holistic evil scientist ever…

Cloning sounds complicated and cool when talking to friends and family. In reality though, you are selectively picking parts of plants (sometimes from public settings) like a 5-year-old, ignoring your moms voice in the back of your mind saying, “don’t pick the flowers”, and then hording them in little containers everywhere around the house until they become new plants. Or that might just be me.

We have lots of options for how to clone! Taking cuttings, layering stems, dividing rhizomes or offsets, bud cuttings, and root cuttings to name a few. The hardest part is knowing what method words for your plant. If you know the type of plant you are propagating, it is easy enough to google propagation methods. If you took a piece of a plant out of your neighbor’s front yard under cover of darkness (who me?), you might not have an exact name for the plant but there are some indicators, and you will quickly get a feel for it.

I want to point out that the best time to try any of these methods are going to be during the growing season just like with planting seeds. You will get the best result this way BUT especially with indoor plants, you will still get varied success the rest of the year.

Like I said, there are a lot of options, and it would be a lot to cover all of them in any depth (plus there are different options and ways to tweak each general method) but let me give you an idea of what some of these options are.

Cuttings

This is one of my favorite methods and the first type of cloning I ever attempted. The root of the process is you are taking a cutting or trimming of a plant and roots will grow from it to form its own plant. I find that this is usually my go to with herbaceous, tropical plants. Vining plants in particular; I will find a node (bump where roots would come out, cut right before it, remove the lower leaves, dip the end in a rooting hormone (tons of garden places sell liquid or powdered hormone for this reason so they are encouraging my habits), and plant your new baby into a sterile seed sowing mix. You want to keep these guys in bright indirect light and a moist/humid environment (a cover works great) since they do not have roots to suck up water or nutrients easily yet. Some of my plants root so easily that I just stick them in a vase with water (no hormone or dirt or anything) and wait for roots to appear before I plant them. Pothos, fuschia, and impatiens are great examples of these.

Similar to that, some tropical plants that have long stems on their leaves can be propagated in the same way. Great example of this are African violets and Monstera’s (I do this with mines suckers or tiny offshoot leaves I do not want to take his energy).

If you know your plant species, I recommend a quick google search to see how difficult they are to do cuttings, how deep to plant, where to cut etc until you have a feel for it because there are some differences.

Layering

Once again, not complicated, but layering can be done 2 different ways. Compound layering can be done with anything flexible that you would do a cutting on (like a Pothos vine). You basically can plant (or layer soil over) portions of the vine where there are nodes and encourage root growth from those places and once roots have started, they can be cut apart and planted. You can also do Air layering where you purposefully damage parts of the outer layer of stems and then wrap damp moss/soil around that place, enclosing it with Aluminum foil until roots appear and the plant can be separated. Once again, this method may have slightly different requirements or processes depending on the type of plants, but this is the gist of it.

This is a little involved than taking cuttings BUT it isn’t hard by any means and has less chance of a cutting withering away since it is still getting nutrients from the parent plant. I have had good success using this process with roses in particular with the aid of some rooting hormones. My great uncle raised and bred new crosses of roses and did shows. I loved them and wanted a couple varieties, so this was one method we used to get clones with the most success. Just make sure that once you have roots and you cut your new baby off, you seal the new wood on your old parent plant (Elmers glue works great!) so you do not get pests or diseases in there!

Division

Division is exactly what it sounds like… dividing what is already there. We are only going to talk about 2 types of division.

The first is rhizomes. Some plants (like strawberries) can spread by branches along the ground growing roots into the soil. This can be on the surface but in the case of many plants it can also happen under the soil, and you will see -SURPRISE! – a new plant come up in the parents’ vicinity. You can easily dig up the rhizomes, divide the sections using your fingers (keep the pieces with roots AND leaves_ and replant the babies elsewhere.

Secondly, I will bring up offsets. Some plants like Aloe will have fully re-plantable pups grow around the base of a mother plant. These can be separated and repotted elsewhere. Other plants will need to be cut with a sharp knife to remove them but wait until they have already grown roots or else you may need to go through additional steps to help the babies root.

So you may have noticed I still had more types of propagation listed that I have not touched on. I am not going to get into them today but instead wanted to focus on those that are the easiest to start with and work with a wide variety of plants.

I hope this article knocked your stalks off!

Taylor

I’m so excited for today’s post because I get to merge two of my favorite subjects: Kitchens and Sustainability. Quite frankly this post is long overdue. But I’m not going to lie- between the move, starting a new and wonderful job adventure that is putting us farther on the path to success, and wedding planning I have simply not had enough hours in the day to give this topic the amount of space that I think it deserves. I think sustainability and being environmentally minded is one of those topics that everybody should be discussing and the kitchen is frequently a stressful area for families between day to day chaos and the rising cost of groceries; but it’s also ironically one of those places that is easiest to trim things from- metaphorically speaking, if you know what to do.  

So come, my little ducklings, and let me share my knowledge- because Mother knows best! (Insert catchy Disney song here). I am a believer that the little things are what give you big returns, so let’s talk littles in the kitchen! Some of these I think will surprise you with how innocuous of a change they are; but it’s the trivial things we do mindlessly that make the biggest difference. 

1. Scraps!

This is my number one “Big” little. Taylor touched a bit on this in her ComPosting (ha! see what I did there?) If you missed that post- check, it out {here} there’s a ton of valuable info in it. But I want to elaborate a tidbit on it. whilst many of your kitchen scraps CAN get composted, there are a select few things that have BETTER uses than compost. Uses that go right back into your kitchen to save you money while being environmentally friendly. These scraps include carrots, celery, onions, parsley, and any form of bones- beef, poultry, even shrimp casings and clam shells. These, I store in a small tub in my fridge for the veggies and the freezer for the meat bones/ scraps. When I have enough, I throw it all into a large stock pot with water and boil it into the best stock you’ll ever have, then it can be used for anything you’d use stock for. I also do this anytime we have a turkey (at the holidays) or a rotisserie chicken, you just boil the whole carcass with the veggie waste from your stuffing and go. If you’re short on space, you can even cook it down really far until it’s concentrated and then freeze it. If you want a super basic stock recipe that anybody can do, click HERE. 

2. Grow your own veggies from scraps.

This can take a bit more space and planning obviously. BUT it can hugely cut down on your carbon footprint and in theory, can make a large impact over time in “single crop farm” system; which has been proven to be very detrimental to the environment and the nitrogen cycle. some of the easiest to learn to regrow are lettuce, onions, peppers of all varieties, and cucumbers. We’ll be going more over that in future posts- so keep your eyes peeled. It will also save you money on your grocery bill after the initial investment. 

3. Mindfulness with your kitchen utensils.

This one is a bit more abstract- but hear me out. Kitchen upgrades, small wares, the age of plastic, and a serious case of FOMO combined with the human need to have the “latest and greatest” of whatever is on the market has led to a “disposable culture” that is altogether blatantly wasteful with little to no regard for the consequences. I have even seen people forget Tupperware’s in their fridge and not feel like cleaning out the goo inside, so they’ll throw away an entire, perfectly fine Tupperware. “It’s just one.” you say. but when you have 55,000 people (and I’m being incredibly conservative here) do that- that’s a lot of plastic. So, when I talk about Mindfulness in your kitchen utensils, I’m meaning think about the longevity of the tools you’re using. I’d rather have one or two things that cost me more money but will last forever than have to replace 30 of something else because it doesn’t last as long even if it’s cheaper. Now this doesn’t mean go out and swap everything in your kitchen- that’s just as wasteful. and it doesn’t mean live beyond your means- that’s a slippery slope. But it does mean be mindful of what you’re choosing as things wear out and you need to replace them; start to be more intentional and more informed as a consumer. here are some of my favorite “eco-friendly” kitchen tools (some might surprise you). 

• Wooden spoons and spatulas vs plastic: I own 1 plastic spatula, because there are some specific things (like candy making) that you can’t use wood for. but otherwise, I prefer wooden. BUT here’s the caveat: Bamboo is porous and can absorb flavors and odors and wears down faster- though it is fast to regrow, and therefore marketed as a ‘sustainable’ material; but not all sustainable things are created equal. Personally- I prefer Teak. Teak is a hardwood that is non-absorptive, won’t get little wooden fuzzies on them, and will last you FOREVER. next time you go to replace your tools- take a look. 
• Stainless steel over plastic: this is just due to breakage. They will last longer, you don’t even have to consider BPA and contaminates, the material is recyclable at the end of its life, and easier to keep clean. 
• Knives: This one is hard, because knives can be pricey. But if you invest in the right set of knives- they will serve you for the rest of your life. cheap ones are prone to breakage and chipping and the need for repairs. as an example, when my grandfather was a meat cutter, he bought himself a VERY nice set of carving knives and French knives. They got prodigious use for probably 30 years before he retired and then continued using them for personal use for another 30 years; and whilst I do have my knives from culinary school- I’ll be honest, they’re in storage for when my grandpa’s knives eventually die. My grandfather passed away in 2017, I inherited his knives and they’re still kicking.  
• Cutting boards: Again- Plastic or Mylar may be ‘sturdy’ but they have a higher carbon footprint and eventually will land in a landfill. HARDWOOD cutting boards- again, I prefer teak. These require a bit more upkeep; but they look nicer, they last longer and they’re better for the environment.  
• Analog vs digital: Sounds wacky. What do I mean by digital vs analog? When it comes to your smaller electric/mechanical kitchen appliances (blenders, crock pots, rice cookers, pressure cookers, toasters, toaster ovens, air fryers etc.). Being eco-friendly doesn’t mean not using them. They’re useful things, especially for those of use that are short on time; it means being smart about how we use them and what we purchase. Prior to the advent of everything “instant” a lot of these products existed but in more mechanical or “analog” forms. Here’s the biggest clincher with digital appliances and screens: They wear down faster. Which means you have to replace them faster because ‘repairs’ are not always practical or possible. things with “push buttons” and smart cookers etc.- if the digital wiring components malfunction or wear down, fixing them is almost impossible or so expensive that cost wise you may as well buy a new one. but the older mechanical ones can usually be easily repaired, or parts replaced. It’s almost like dealing with a mechanic for a car: the mechanical bits are easy to fix, if it’s a problem with your wiring harness- you’re both going to be swearing. I still use a push lever toaster; I prefer crock pots to quick cookers 90% of the time. My toaster oven is electric but it’s not digital (don’t confuse the two) same with my blender. Just think twice before you go buy your latest and greatest. 
• Nonstick pans: Not all non-stick is equal. If you’re a kitchen nerd, then I am sure you know that sometimes you buy non-stick only to discover it was a cheap coating and it peels within months and you’re angry and annoyed. If you want non-stick, invest in some Hex-Clad pans and learn to take care of them. Alternately- copper is great and will last forever and they heat evenly and quickly because copper is a great conductor. For everything else I use cast-iron, which WILL last you forever.  

4. Change the framework of your diet.

This is where I lose some people. Please take a deep breath and open your mind for a few moments. If you are reading this, I am hoping it’s because you are either passionate about sustainability or interested in the subject as well as passionate about food. If you’ve tuned into the blog previously then you’ll know that those are two of my favorite topics. You’ll also have heard me cite Michael Polan’s Masterclass on food. The modern food chain has become incredibly automated, overproduced, and over processed. in addition to that; food ethics plays a huge role in the food chain as well. I will be doing future posts more in depth on the food chain, and ethics in the near future starting with the ‘dirty dozen’ so I’ll be brief here- but in summary: changing the framework of your diet does not mean going ON a diet. It means changing the core structure of your diet and being a mindful consumer.  

Many Americans in particular eat far too much meat and a heavily processed diet. whilst there is a growing wave of plant-based movement, the overwhelming majority is still a meat and potatoes culture. This is where I tell you to take deep breaths. I’m not telling you to go vegetarian. I’m certainly not telling you that you have to go vegan. I am an omnivore- genetically and morally. BUT everything in moderation. And most people do not eat a moderate amount of meat, they eat A LOT of meat. Again, I cannot urge you enough to take Michael Polan’s master class on food and I am excited to expand on some of those topics coming up but in the meantime- the bones of the rules are: reduce your animal protein intake, increase your plant intake, be aware of who is growing your food and how, and if you can’t pronounce it- don’t eat it (this means the processed foods, the box dinners etc.). 

I promise, I will help you break this down in the coming months- it sounds complicated and like a lot but it’s not.  

5. What foods are you buying?

Are they sustainable? Are their ingredients sustainably sourced? This one is fairly straightforward, and it does overlap a bit with changing the STRUCUTRE of your diet. However, this is where we’re really looking at not only who grew it but also what was used to grow it as far as fertilizers, pesticides, what the animals were fed with, what the carbon footprint is, what the farming practices are. This is where you get up close and personal with the underbelly of the food industry. Things will surprise you (both negatively AND positively.)  

I hope this gives you some generic building block knowledge and sparks some new questions and thoughts for you. I’m so excited to continue this topic with you in the future as these are things that we plan to integrate into the fundamentals of our brick-and-mortar location and our company culture as we grow.  

All the best,  

Mikaela 

Welcome back to RavenWerks Astrology 101!

As promised previously, we now have a bit more foundation established on what astrology is and at least identifying the major sections of the natal chart so now we are moving onto… drum roll… the 12 houses. If you haven’t seen our previous Astrology 101 posts as part of this series, you can check them out in our blog under the spirituality section OR click on the links at the bottom of this post.

So now I am going to have you direct your focus to the inner wheel of your natal chart. I will reshow the full visual I made below. If you remember from our last installment, there are 2 “wheels” to your natal chart.

1. The Zodiac wheel is the outer wheel and moves based on the sun’s apparent yearly rotation about our Earth, along the ecliptic. You will see this rotating on the chart.
2. The wheel of Houses is the inner wheel and based on the Earth’s 24-hour rotation about its own axis. This is stationary on the natal chart.

Where the 2 wheels meet or sit (and where planets are) are calculated by the time and location of your birth. If you remember from our last post, you can describe zodiac signs as being in a house AND you can describe celestial bodies as being in a house OR a zodiac. You can say Pisces is in the 12^th house or that Mars is in Pisces or that Mars is in the 12^th house and all three statements could be equally true all at the same time.

So here is where I could get into why mainstream horoscopes based on sun signs are a load of bull that makes a bunch of assumptions BUT that will lead to a very deep, dark rabbit hole so instead let’s focus on the symbolism of the houses.

So, a couple quick things before we break down each house individually. The 12 houses represent different parts of your life or fields of experience. It isn’t an element or an energy like a zodiac or a planet. It is where the energies can/will manifest. Next you will notice that they somewhat follow the path of a human’s development. Lastly, it is worth noting that the 1^st, 4^th, 7^th, and 9^th houses are called the “angular houses” because their cusps are on the 4 special angles mentioned in the last post (ascendant, I.C., descendant, and M.C.) and these houses will affect you more strongly.

What Are the Houses?

1^st House- Self

The first house is a big one! It is all aspects of your personality and how you interact with the world around you. This includes your self-identity, self-image, how we initiate, our personality (duh), self-awareness, and even some of our physical traits. Because the cusp is on the ascendant, the way the whole chart interacts with the outside world is determined strongly by this house. Without going too deep into every single zodiac sign’s relationship with this house, just know that depending on what zodiac sits on the ascendant/in this house, it is said that you can note certain personality and physical traits.

For Example: I am a Leo ascendant. Astrology often associates this with being good natured, ardent, generous, passionate, kind-hearted, high-strung, broad shouldered, large-boned, tall (I am not), thin waist, upright carriage, and having a prominent upper body. Now some of this is more accurate than other bits but you also have to remember that it is all connected and can be altered or influenced by the ruling planets that reside in this house (in my case Jupiter).  

2^nd House-Possessions and Personal Values

The second house has to do with what you value. This can mean money and possessions but also self-worth, self-esteem, and your personal values. The house and home are ruled by the 4^th house so things like your car, clothes and moveable property are not included. Instead, it is more about how you come across wealth/material possessions, your potential for accumulating them, how that is spent, and your attitude towards them. And to clarify, this is your own money.

3^rd House- Communication

This house has to do with all forms of communication and our immediate environment; siblings, neighbors, short journey’s, transportation, thinking patterns, early education (before college when we are developing our communication skills), messages, deliveries, gossip, phone calls, visits, reading, and writing.

4^th House- Home

On the surface level this house is associated with the home, family, land, personal foundations, and your roots. On a deeper level, its cusp is on the I.C. which is representative of all things below the surface of the earth. Because of this it has also been associated with the deeper center of our existence, the end of life and graves. Because it is the root of ourselves, it rules where you go when you die and also your origin. This house has an interesting connection to the concepts of karma, karmic baggage and reincarnation.

5^th House- Creativity

This house is about being yourself and enjoying it. It is about passion and matters of the heart (not to confused with marriage which is considered a separate thing/ a cooperative partnership because these weren’t always for love). This house can be associated with creativity, children, pleasure, personal interests, love affairs, sports, hobbies, speculation, risk taking, teaching, drama, creative self-expression, love given, gambling, romance, and sexual relationships.

6^th House- Service and Health

This house relates to your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing as well as your life’s purpose. Some places it will list this house as having to do with work as well but I find ‘service’ to be more accurate. Work to me means something close to a career which is ruled by the 10^th house. Instead, this house is associated with your physical ability to work, quality of any job or task you perform, volunteer work etc.

7^th House- Marriage and Partnership

It was mentioned earlier that the 5^th house has more to do with love and passion. The 7^th house is the house of marriage, but it is most likely more accurate to call it the house of partnerships (specifically 1 on-1 partnerships) in more modern society. These relationships or partnerships could be marriage, business, contracts, or any cooperative relationship honestly. It also deals with the reverse of those such as divorce, separation, lawsuits, enemies, noncooperation etc. These tend to be different than relationships in the 5^th house because they are more permanent or binding,

8th House- Death and Regeneration and Sexuality and….

This is a fun house to talk about (and my favorite) just because it seems to be all over the place in regard to symbolism and is also very misunderstood. This house rules death, regeneration, taxes, inheritances, wills and legacies, sex (think mattress mambo rather than male/female), occult, joint resources, another’s money and possessions (rather than your own), bankruptcy, losses, personal sacrifice, alimony, and clairvoyance. THAT IS A LOOOOOOOT. You may notice a common thread with everything I just listed is that they have a lot of negative connotations. But really this house is about transformation, going through something negative and then becoming stronger through that struggle.

9^th House- Mental Exploration

I have seen this house listed as the house of philosophy. I think mental exploration encompasses more of its meaning though. It IS associated with philosophy, but it is also associated with religion, law, higher education, ethics, morals, travel, foreign interests, spiritual pursuits, dreams, visions, higher mind, ideas, understanding, wisdom, books, publishing, ceremonies, rituals, and pretty much any other thing you can thing of that has to do with thought. It is less about learning something (like memorizing it) and more about understanding things. It is us trying to find meaning of things and is much more about the abstract whereas the 3^rd house was more about concrete knowledge.

10^th House- Career and Public Life

This house symbolizes success and the gain of intangible “stuff”. It is associated with honor, status, community power, prestige, reputation, professional careers, recognition, personal achievements, social responsibilities, sense of duty, authority figures, and even politics.

11^th House- Hopes, Wishes, and Friends

The 11^th house has to do with the social structures we live in such as community, large groups, friends, social groups, associations, memberships, and humanitarian interests. It also has to do with hopes, goals, ambitions, wishes, liberty, and self-realization.

12^th House- Self-Undoing and Problems

Here is another house that has a bad reputation. There is a mental and physical aspect to this house but at its root, it is associated with problems, separation, our subconscious, and the hidden. If we look at this from the mental angle first it can be associated with the unconscious mind, subconscious memory, habit patterns from the past, mental illness, karmic debts, self-deception, escapism, spiritual realization, limitations, frustration, and self-undoing. A little more tangible, it is also associated with what separates us from normal life such as institutions (hospital, prison etc), confinement, secrets, hidden enemies, and self-sacrifice. I have also seen it associated with sorrow, tribulation, widowhood, grief, funerals, exile, seclusion, bribery, subversion, murder, suicide, kidnapping, and endings. Not going to lie- when typing this all out I can honestly say that I see why this might now be the most loved house.

So that is the (not so) long and short of it. Those are what the houses are associated with. I am not getting into interpreting the chart yet as we still need some more context before we can get there. Basically, what I just gave you is a list of WHAT the planets on your chart can affect. Next, we will start talking about HOW they can be affected. Rather than moving onto the outer wheel of Zodiacs we will talk about the different celestial bodies.

Until next time!

Taylor

CHECK OUT THE FULL ASTROLOGY 101 SERIES:

• What is Astrology? Where Does One Start?
• Astrology Symbol Reference Page
• Astrology 101: What Is In Your Natal Chart?
• Astrology 101: Natal Chart Organization and Terminology
• Astrology 101: The 12 houses & Their Symbolism
• Astrology 101: The Energy of Planets and Other Celestial Bodies

Hey fellow crafters! 

I am switching gears a little bit today. I want to do a video on loom knitting basics but before we get to that I want to go over why loom knitting is so awesome, some of the tools you might want, and what you can make.  

I am not going to lie… when I was first knitting, I saw loom knitting as cheating or the easy way out. But I also have a policy of: 

“Don’t knock it till you try it!” 

So, I waddled my happy ass down to an art store and purchased my first kit. I can proudly say I am now hooked (pun intended).  

Why? 

Loom knitting quicker, easier to learn for beginners and easier on one’s hands for the elderly, disabled, or arthritic. If you have trouble keeping count of your stitches, I also find that loom knitting is easier to keep track of.  

What can you stitch on a loom?  

Beanies? Check.  

Scarves? Check.  

Bags? Check.  

Blankets? Check.  

Socks? Check.  

Sweaters? Check.  

The point is that anything you can get a knitting pattern for, you can also do on a loom. You can do a knit or purl stitch. The only thing to consider is that you will need to doctor a knitting pattern a bit as loom knitting is always knitting the right side (RS) and regular knitting, every other line is the wrong side (WS) so you need to convert those lines to be the opposite/ backwards.  

What do you need for your project?   

1. Yarn- this seems obvious. 
2. Either your hands or a pen- your hands also seem obvious BUT if you want to speed things up and maybe save your self a hand cramp, I saw a trick online that I love. Take the tip and inside of/out of a pen so you just have a tube (I suppose you could also use something like a straw), thread your yarn through it and literally act like you are drawing with the yarn around the pegs. If you have loom knitted, you know what I am talking about. If not… I will show you when I get to the video.  
3. A pick- you use this to throw stitches over the pegs and create the stitches. The kits come with a pick that looks like a handle with a little metal hook on the end to grab the yarn. If you bought your loom second hand though it may be missing AND I have noticed that those get broken AND they also tend to give me hand cramps over time. Knot as bad as regular knitting but like 3 hours in I can feel it.  I would recommend splurging on one at a craft store that has a bigger and/or cushier handle. I also saw someone use the cricut tool to help clean up cuts that looks like a hook and confess that I will be trying that soon. It looks comfy since it has a longer handle.  
4. A loom- Now THIS is what I was trying to get to because there are different types of looms.  

What types of looms are there and what are they for? 

So I should say first that each of them can be used for multiple things. For example, I have used the smallest circular loom to make tiny hats, stockings, mittens, ‘sponges’, and a placemat. Just because it is circular does not mean you have to knit in the round; you can do a flat piece.  And using the long rectangular looms you can make a flat piece, a circular piece like a hat or get a double layered effect.  

There are 4 main types on these looms:  

Circular Loom– These can and are mostly used to do flat panels, sponges, stockings, mittens, placemats, coasters, hats, bags and even sweaters. Most kits come with 4 standard sizes. The smallest size is mostly for preme baby hats, dish scrubbies, mittens, and little stockings. The next size up would be more like regular baby sized hats or a scarf. The next size up from that would be for adult hats, smaller bags, scarves and the like. The large one is technically a bit large for beanies, but I like it for slouchy beanies. It is also a great size for sweater parts and bags. 

Rectangular Loom– These can also be used to do beanies but it’s better to leave that to the circle and focusing on something else. These are great for sweaters, scarves, double knitting, and some blankets. I also find them easier to store in my drawers when organizing so I think they are a powerhouse.  

Sock Loom– You make socks with this.  Duh.

Infinity or Afghan Loom– This is really just a large rectangular loom but it was big enough they folded it into an infinity sign so that you can knit a larger item; like an Afghan.  

I plan in the near future to do a video showing how to get started and to make a beanie in the round vs making something flat like a pot holder. I am mid way through a move but I have several projects lined up so that we can work along. Anything I will be teaching could be applied to any of the 4 types of looms so why don’t you locate a couple supplies are work along with me next month?

Thank for stopping by,

Taylor

Hey homesteaders, hobby DIY’ers and backyard environmentalists! I am super excited for this post, as upcycling is something I am very passionate about.  I am going to try to reign myself in BUT knowing me, this is still going to be a bit lengthy. Mikaela talked about why upcycling is so important from a sustainability standpoint in UPCYCLING… THERE ARE NO DOWNSIDES but I can honestly say that a big reason that I upcycle is just because I find it fun and like the aesthetic. Because of this, I have been flexing my upcycling imagination for a while. Today I am not going to teach you how to make anything but instead, give you some ideas and inspiration. I want to touch on 10 things in your home that can be upcycled (some more obvious than others) and give you a couple ideas of what you can do with them to get your creative juices flowing. Before I start my list though, here are a few things to consider when looking for items to keep and repurpose.

• Do not focus on what things are currently. Look at color, shape, texture, and material. Think about what is inside it.
• Is it SAFE? If tampering with it can be harmful to you or the environment… stear clear.
• What is the current state of the object? Are you going to need to clean or disinfect it before working with it? Is it ready to work with now?
• Do you really want to repurpose it or is it better being sold or donated?
• Are you willing to put the required time into the project if it going to be more involved?

The reason that I bring these things up is because the point on upcycling, DIY, and repurposing is to breath new life into things (and for me a plop of dopamine)… Not to become a hoarder. Sometimes it really is better to dispose of an item correctly or let it move onto a new home.

Now that I have that out of the way… Here are 10 things I love to give new lives.

(1) Jars and Bottles

So with jars and bottles the posabilities are literally endless and this goes for glass AND plastic so lets list a few of my favorites. This is probably one of the most obvious and well covered categories online so it is also the one I really wont get into much. I still want to include it though because you are CONSTANTLY getting more; from your jams, sodas, wines, pickles… The list goes on. So here are just a few ideas and like I said before- there are HUNDREDS more all over the internet.

• Just use them as they are to store something new- duh
• Mason jars are easily turned into rustic candles or classed up by using wine bottles
• Glass bottles and jars can be painted or etched
• Turn them into light fixtures
• Wine bottles are easily cut into vases or used as is
• Turn them into greenhouses and terreriums
• Shatter glass for stained glass and tiling projects or smooth down the edges for safety in patterns to be used in…. whatever you want. Jewelery maybe?
• If you have access to a kiln, glass bottles can be flattened down into platters
• plastic soda bottles can be “shredded” into a twine or heated and used for anything you could also use shrinky dinks or shrinking plastic

(2) Anything Fabric

So this also seems like an obvious one BUT this is such broad category and I just want to put a couple things in your head for you to consider. 1. Fabric is a much more than just clothes and 2. it can be used for a lot more than just sewing projects.

Think about keeping all or part of the fabric from these items:

• Clothes- duh
• Linens
• Window Curtains
• Shower Curtains
• Rugs/Carpets
• Bags
• Pillows & Furniture
• Food sacks (think flour sacks)

Here are a couple things I ask myself when looking at anything fabric:

• What is the fabric? I prefer to keep cottons, linens, and even gauzy, lace, and tulle materials that will not unravel too much when I cut them. Conversly, I avoid loose knitts and crochet materials that will not be repurposed easily or unravel quickly when cut from their original home.
• Is it a natural material? This is because sometimes I consider dying items a different color and that sticks better to raw natural materials.
• Do I like the pattern or maybe just want to save a logo or patch to be sewn on something else? Seems obvious when I ask that.
• Do I need to wash this before I reuse it or store it for later? Again… think flour sacks. I probably want to wash the four off really good before using it for anything.
• How threadbare is something? Is the material so worn it is see through? Maybe it is time to go. Is there a hole in the elbow of your cardigan? Maybe it just needs elbow patches or you want to use the cardigan material as a couple of quilt squares.
• Do I want to keep it for the texture?
• Do I love the buttons? Save those too!

Just like it can come from a wide range of places in your home, it can also be used in almost anything:

• Reused in literally any sewing project you can think of; quilting, patches, combining things into different clothing, doll making…
• Modpodged onto items for decor (make sure to use the correct type of mod podge for your project)
• Turned into Jewelery; cut into shapes, turned into beads, etc.
• I like to put my tiny scrap fabric that isn’t enough for sewing projects aside, chop it smaller, and use as stuffing in other projects
• Turned into wax clothe for food storage
• Boho hair ornaments
• Use it for texure in a multi media art project; textured paintings, textures on your clay sculpture, embelishments in your papercrafts
• Use long thin strips instead of chunky yard in a knitting project

(3) Dishes

Can anyone say whimsy? This miiiight be a bit too close to jars and bottles but typically you are looking at porcelain, ceramic, bone china, and stoneware. It’s a little different. You can paint them or decorate them (mod podge fabric on there?) but I usually find that they already have great colors and designs.

I usually look at 3 things with dishes:

1. What is the SHAPE
2. What is the MATERIAL
3. What is the PATTERN/COLOR

I consider them in that order as well. The shape and material are my biggest factors in what I might turn something into. I only really consider the color or pattern afterwards in these cases as I can always change that with a variety of marterials (paint, resin, cement, moss…).

• Treat anything bowl shaped as just a bowl shape. Bowls, pots, pans, cups, mugs, teacups, serving dishes, teapots… They are now planters, water features, turned upside down as light fixtures, hooked together as a rain chain.
• An extension of shape is the size. Those stockpots could be great planters or mounted sideways on a wall to use as a cuby but might be a bit big to turn into a candle (no judgement though- I kind of want a giant candle now)
• Flater dishes like plates and trays can be used as wall decor as is, turned into tiered trays or deconstructed and turned into something like a clock (anything can be a clock).

(4) Food & Plant Scraps

This is going in a VERY different direction from the other categories. I was reading this to Mikaela and she asked “what the hell kind of art are you going to do with leftover pie?” This isn’t what I mean. I mean your fruits, veggies, tubers, and plant cuttings. Think about these options before you throw away your blueberries that are a little past the point of yummy. Food and plant waste can really be split into a couple different categories.

1. Waste- There is less of this than you think
2. Compostables- What you mix back into your garden to be more sustainable
3. Scrap to feed your animals- If you have any
4. Art- Mwahahaha

The first three in that list are a whole different rabbit hole and I will be doing a different post on this in the next couple weeks. Lets focus on the art aspect.

• Many fruits, vegetables, and leaves can be used for natural dying of paper, yarn, fabric, and even hard boiled eggs
• Use leaves for solar printing to get lovely, natural patterns on fabrics
• Boil unused, aromatic scraps like citrus peels or rosemary and thyme on the stove to spread the scent around your house before you compost it
• Dried leaves, flowers, and herbs are lovely in candles, resin art, or sewn into sachets for scent

Maybe don’t try the above with your blueberry pie.

(5) Candles

Candles are fun because I sometimes turn them into other candles and sometimes just have fun making artistic messes. When a candle is dead you are usually left with 3 things.

1. The little nub of a wick and/or possibly a little metal base of a wick. You can scrap this.
2. The waste wax
3. The vessel the candle was in- maybe. There are plenty of candles that are free standing.

So you have some options here. Here is the process I usually go through. Let me know if you have other thoughts though.

1. First I like to boil the vessel the candle was in to:
   • Melt the last of the wax so I can pour it into or onto whatever I choose AND
   • Remove any labels etc
2. If the wax is unscented I can totally reuse this in another candle
3. If the wax had any scent I dislike making them into another candles BECAUSE often you have to combine scraps from several candles and mixing scents can get overwhelming.

If I am not reusing the vessel for a candle I use them like any other jar. A have them around the house being used to store small art and office supplies and one with pocket change. They also make great planters if you know how to drill drainage in glass without shattering it or for plants you aren’t afraid of overwatering. My favorite part to play with though is the wax. Here are just a couple things I have done with it in the past.

• While it is warm but not completely melted it can be manipulated into sculptures. I have a lot of tolerance for the heat of warm wax in my hands but you can burn yourself doing this so BE CAREFUL. I will also note that the first time I did this I was 10 years old and using an insanely hot desk lamp to melt the wax instead of finishing my homework at a decent hour. I ruined the lamp and got in trouble but the little wax penguin was worth it.
• I have used it on canvas. Have you seen where people melt old crayons on canvas? Same concept… but scented!
• I have used it as an accent for DIY Halloween decor. Sometimes I leave it exposed OR you can do something like drip it down a doll face and then paint over the whole thing to make it look like the doll is melting.
• Are you into sending letters? Use it as a wax seal and the scent is a nice added touch. Make sure it isn’t too oily though and you have a good quality envelope or you will end up with a stained envelope/letter from the oil used to scent your candle.

(6) Books

This is a painful one for me to talk about. I am a huge bookworm. I think I made a kid cry when I was in college because they set one of my books face down/open and cracked the spine of it. I KNOW I made a roommate avoid me for fear of retribution because I found them dog earing and writing in one of my books. Damaging a book actually makes my heart clench up like I am about to have a panick attack. That being said… sometimes it is better to lay them to rest. You ever have that book that even though you were careful, it has just been read so many times that it’s starting to disolve in your hands? I have had a few like that. I am not saying that if you have a leather bound, first edition, signed [insert amazing book here] and that it is falling apart you should treat it like an art project. Those you get restored by a professional or learn how to store and preserve as best you can. Your families’ journal, or bible, or book of shadows (different strokes for different blokes and all that) that the pages are falling out of and some pages have water damage…. also not recomending this as your next DIY project. But maybe that very loved copy of Harry Potter that you can always replace or read on Kindle and the back cover has fallen off? That is your next target. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH AN OLD BOOK!!!

• Open it and soak it in a borax/water bath for a time so it grows crystals and use it as a fantasy prop
• Turn it into a clock
• Hollow it out into a secret bookshelf box
• The pages can be cut into shapes, used as scrapbook paper or used as a base to paint for a dark academia aesthetic. The more aged and yellow the pages are the better.
• If the book is a hard cover, the covers can be cut, the edges covered with ribon and hung on the wall as decor or used as a canvas for a painting.
• solidify them with a resin or something similar, stack them, and create furniture.
• Use illustrations are paper ephemera in junk scrapbooks or in other projects

(7) Old Childrens Toys

This is a fun one to play with. Completly throw the idea of what something is out the door and only think about shapes. Kids are kind of yucky. They get sticky substances on toys, leave them in weird places like behind the toilet, and break things. I can almost guarantee that the toy is going to look NOTHING like it did when I am done upcycling it.

What I like to look for in old kids toys are the following:

• Figurines of any size or shape. Smaller ones can be painted over and turned into jewelery, wall hooks, cabinet handles or jar toppers. Larger ones can be repainted to look like chic decor. Some of my Christmas and bathroom decor are large figurines that were honestly ugly and I painted over them to look like a “stuffed” Christmas penguin and a metalic gold octopus for my bathroom (like the ones you see go for like $40 online).
• Nerf and Squirt guns. I like to add a little adult charm to these and turn them into weapons for costumes. Added bonus is when I am cosplaying for Haloween or cons, my gun can actuall shoot my friends.
• Stuffed Animals. It feels a bit like murder but the outside fuzzy bits get incorporated into sewing projects and the inside gets repurposed into pillows and projects like the giant stuffed dragon I am currently making.
• Dolls can get repainted as creepy Halloween Decor. That Barbie that got decapitated by a 4 year old who thought she was playing hair dresser? That is now a creepy shrunken head in a jar.

(8) Pet Supplies

This one you have to be a bit more forgiving with. It is easy to say that you are going to reuse your clothes or kids kids toys but when I talk about upcycling an animals food dish, some people start to inch away. I have been a little adventurous though and just want to share a couple ideas. If you are adventurous, you can try the following:

• Food Dishes can become planters
• Large balls for horses or dogs can be covered in cement and other materials for garden decor
• The top “jug” from the automatically filling water disheds can be turned into terreriums or small aquatic tanks
• Dog toys can become props for costumes. This is a favorite of mine as I have turned things like a Bass made as a dog troy was painted and turned into a magicarp.

The point is, just because they were used for or meant to be used for an animal, do not write them off imediately.

(9) Jewelery

You ever buy a shirt that comes with a necklace that you will never use or have jewelery that sits around for several years until you donate or trash it? I am talking about all your costume jewelery. I know I have a certain aesthetic and That I only wear earings consistantly so why keep a bunch of jewelery I wont wear? Instead I tend to deconstruct pieces and turn them into earings so they will get use OR use them in art projects.

I tend to look at them in pieces and take them apart into:

• Beads
• Larger pieces like pendants
• Chains

From there I incorporate them into:

• Other jewelery
• Pendulums
• Suncatchers
• Embelishments on DIY clothing
• Additions to resin art
• Whatever you are using your beads and bits for…

(10) Furniture

Upcycling furniture is another really popular place to start and has a lot of posibilities. What I want you to think about though is what you can do with old furniture when you imagine past reupholstering.

• Cushions and pillows can be dismanteled into fabric and stuffing for other projects
• Entertainment units can be turned into play kitchenettes for your kid
• Cabinet and dresser drawers can be planters or raised gardens
• Headboards can be a trellis
• Anything made out of wood can be sanded and stained or painted and turned into a different piece of furniture

Again… the point is to thing of everything as PARTS. It isn’t a wooden chair. It is wood pieces cut into the size of 2 arms, 4 legs, a seat and a back. The back piece might have a cool carving and you want to use it as wall art. The legs and seat can be sanded, restained and turned into stool. The arms might be turned into candle sticks.

Some of the projects mentions will are things I have done, seen, or will be showing on our site. They are all doable at home and usually on a budget. I am not an engineer, a uni trained artist or anything else fancy. All you need is imagination and patience. Hopefully this post inspires you to make something new from what could have been trash around your home.

Happy Upcycling,

Taylor

Stories and storytelling are such an integral part of humanity and how it has evolved that it can by and large be credited for the shaping of modern humanity. For millennia, humanity has used stories to explain the unexplainable, pass down heritage, teach children lessons, to entertain, and even to explain why things are the way they are. As cultures grew and melded and travel and emigration became more common, stories were retold, and they changed a little with each retelling. We merged our stories with new discoveries in science and changes in religion. They evolved a little at a time to stay relevant with their current cultures. Some of them fading from memory, but many others lifting into legendary status (no matter if modern science or the newly discovered world could empirically prove they did not exist or weren’t what we thought). Story telling is how we connect with our past in the present.  

Our ancestors have been telling versions of these same stories for time immemorial. You know the ones I mean. Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, the Lochness Monster, the Tortoise and the Hare, The little mermaid. From fairytales to fables and even religious representations, hundreds of these stories permeate cultures around the world. No matter how old we get, these stories hold a place near and dear to our hearts. As children they enchant us and as adults sometimes, they are the glue that holds our childhood together when we need something nostalgic and magical to believe in, even when we know better. 

The history of such stories fascinates me. Especially when you look in relation to how those stories shaped religions and cultures and vice versa. Today, I’d like to take a look at the history of the Easter Bunny with you.  

Everybody raised in a Christian home knows that The Easter Bunny is responsible for Easter Egg hunts, sweet treats, and pretty baskets filled with goodies on Easter morning. For some kids this happens overnight- much like Santa Claus; and they wake up Easter morning to a house that has been visited by the crafty bunny in question. In my house, The Easter bunny came while we were at Sunday Mass (I honestly think my parents “reasoning” behind this was that there was no way one bunny to get to everybody overnight and he needed the overtime). 

From ancient times all the way up to today, where stores are filled with fake grass, packages of peeps, stuffed bunnies, the ubiquitous Jelly-Belly, and Chocolate Bunnies of all sizes. I even saw peep flavored Pepsi in a store this year. The holiday is so large that the White House even hosts an Easter Egg Roll every year. Families have been building traditions around this elusive rabbit for generations. One year my parents even wrote a letter from the Easter Bunny saying that there would be “No Chocolate Bunnies that year because everybody always eats the Ears off first”. My dad and I had a tradition where every year he’d try to find me a slightly bigger chocolate bunny, because that’s all I ever really wanted. We had a lot of fun each year sharing that bunny between us until we had to stop for obvious reasons as the rabbits in question had gotten titanically large (Our record was a 4-foot-tall chocolate rabbit that stood as tall as I did at the time). But why a bunny? Why Eggs? Rabbits do not lay eggs. Who started the tradition and where did it come from?  

In more modern history, The Easter Bunny made the jump to the United States in the 1700’s from German Immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and told stories to their children of the Osterhase (https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols). At this point in time Easter was already a well-established Christian holiday and observed even more strictly by the Catholic See and the Orthodox Church.  

But where did they get a rabbit from? The Hare was considered a sacred animal by many cultures and religions dating all the way back to the Neolithic Age. There’s Even documentation from Julius Caesar in 51 B.C.E. about how in Britain, hares were not eaten because even then they had religious significance. Though visually rabbits may not come across as overly sexual, being primarily cute and fluffy, the expression “breed like rabbits” exists for a reason. In Greece, Hares were sacred to Aphrodite and her son Eros was often depicted holding a Hare as a symbol of love and sexuality. Other ancient cultures who used the Hare or rabbit as a symbol of fertility, love, and sexuality include the Celts & the Chinese. The Egyptians in the form of the goddess Wenet. The Aztec god Tepoztēcatl, God of both fertility and drunkenness. Even the Norse goddess Freyja (Eostre: The Mystery Goddess Who Gave Easter its Name | History Cooperative). Take a jump to Christianity, where the Virgin Mary was frequently depicted with a white rabbit, representing her overcoming sexual temptation and the birth that was a “new spring” for men.  

But despite the rabbit’s long history as a symbol for birth, love, and all things sexual, it’s a far cry from that to the fairytale of a candy depositing, dapper rabbit, and the universal symbol for Christianity’s biggest holiday. 

Like many fairytales- the Brother’s Grimm play a part. although ironically, they did not write the tale. In 1835 Jacob Grimm theorized that the Easter Bunny was a direct holdover from Pagans converting to Christianity. In fact, in 731 C.E. the monk Bede, who is often referred to as the father of English history, wrote that the month of April was referred to as Eosturmonath after the goddess Eostre. The German’s may have called this same goddess Ostara (as in the holiday of the same name symbolizing the start of spring). In ‘De Temporum Ratione’ Bede even went as far as to say that a pagan Spring festival in the name of the goddess had been assimilated into the Christian holiday symbolizing the resurrection of Christ (which is of course in turn a celebration of the new beginnings as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice).  

It was Jacob Grimm however, who argued the connection between the Anglo-Saxon celebration of Eostre in Eosturmonath and the Old High German counterpart of Ostara in Ostermonat. (The Anglo-Saxon’s were a Germanic people). This is also in keeping with the fact that the German Emigrants to the U.S. later celebrated the ‘Osterhase.’ 

While most European languages refer to the Christian holiday with names that come from the Jewish holiday of Passover, such as Pâques in French or Påsk in Swedish, German, and English languages retain this older, non-biblical word: Easter. (The Ancient Origins of the Easter Bunny | History| Smithsonian Magazine) More recent archeological evidence has supported proof of Esotre’s worship in England and Germany, with the Hare being one of her primary symbols along with eggs. 

It is fascinating just thinking about all the ways that stories and beliefs shape our culture and our surroundings. Even though Eostre hasn’t been prominently celebrated in almost two thousand years and most Christians may not have knowledge of the evolution of certain symbols & celebratory practices- in a way the story itself lives on. That even though Pagans and Christians have very different beliefs, their stories are still interwoven in the fabric of the universe. That the number of overlapping symbols and beliefs in the world shared among cultures thousands of miles apart, feeds into the idea of a bigger greater shared ‘human story.’ This is usually where I have this small moment of existential reflection about ripples, and the echoes of the lives of people long dead. But the idea that in a way you are telling the same stories as your many times over great grandmother when you observe those traditions or share them with your children; and that someday many centuries from now you will still be alive among your descendants in some tiny way because of the stories you tell today, will always be a magical one to me.

Happy Rabbit Day,

Mikaela