Author: A Solitary Pagan

Planet: Venus Element: Earth Lore: Wheat has long played a part in the human diet. After rice, it’s the second-most commonly used grain for human food, and was first cultivated during the Neolithic age. The Egyptians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Hittites, Greeks, and Romans all worshipped harvest deities associated with wheat. Wheat is particularly a symbol of the Mother Goddess. She taught the secret...

(Pucium miliacaeum) Planet: Jupiter Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: In ancient China, grains of millet were used as a unit of measure: ten millet grains placed end to end constituted one inch, one hundred grains was the measurement of one foot, and so on. Magical uses: If you find it difficult to enjoy this grain, visualize millet as compact, concentrated money energy before eating. An old Ge...

This ancient Celtic festival lives on in the United States and in other countries as Halloween, a degraded version of both the earlier Pagan holiday as well as the later Christian variant—All Hallow’s Eve. The word “eve” in the Christian name reminds us that this festival begins the night before its calendar date. Samhain marks the close of the year. Skies may still be blue, but the wind is chilly...

Pantries were once common to every home. Today, most of us fill cupboards with staples and canned foods. The pantry is ruled by the element of earth and the moon; because it is a container that houses food, it’s intimately linked with the Mother Goddess. For our purposes, your kitchen cabinets constitute a pantry. The magical cook should keep a stock of basic culinary ingredients: salt; sugar(if y...

Lughnasadh is the first harvest—the promise of spring’s planting realized. Sometimes known as the Feast of Bread, Lughnasadh is a time for kneading, baking, slicing, and eating this basic food. Lughnasadh originally marked the first-harvest festivals of earlier European peoples, for whom it didn’t fall on a specific date. Prepare a few whole-grain loaves on this day if you make your own bread. For...

(Lycopersicon spp.) Element: Water Energies: Health, money, love, protection Lore: Known as zictomatl by the Aztecs,the tomato is an ancient food. When it was introduced into Europe in the sixteenth century, the tomato was regarded with suspicion. It is botanically related to nightshade, which is obvious from studying the plant’s leaves, flowers, and even fruit. Everyone assumed that its fruits we...

(Olea europaea) Planet: Sun Element: Air Energies: Spirituality, health, peace, sex Lore: The olive was sacred to Aten in ancient Egypt. Olive oil, which was in great demand in the ancient world, actually led to the downfall of Greece. Farmers began growing olives almost exclusively while ignoring food crops. This began Greece’s dependence on imported foods. When import lines were cut, Greece and ...

(Cucumus sativus) Planet: Moon Element: Water Energies: Peace, healing Lore: Fresh cucumbers were once placed under swooning women’s noses (remember swooning?). The odor was supposed to rouse them from their faint. In Africa, the Nuer sometimes consecrate a small wild cucumber and sacrifice it in place of a treasured ox during important ceremonies. Magical uses: Add cucumbers to peace-inducing die...

(Beta vulgaris) Planet: Saturn Element: Earth Energies: Love, beauty Lore: Beets have been eaten for centuries by persons wishing to lengthen their life spans. Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love, was said to have used beets to maintain and increase her beauty. The redness of this food dictates its use during harvest and for winter religious festivals such as Lughnasadh (August 1) and Sam...

 (Fagopyrum esculentum) Planet: Jupiter Element: Earth Energies: Money Lore: Buckwheat pancakes are common enough in the United States, but few seem to know the magical history behind buckwheat itself. In Japan, this grain is used to make soba—buckwheat noodles. These are eaten on the Japanese New Year for “money luck,” i.e., the ability to amass large amounts of money in the coming year. Buckwhea...

Many cultures celebrate the New Year, but not always on the same date. Japanese and Chinese New Year festivals, for example, fall on different days each year (according to our calendar). The pre-Christian cultures of Europe didn’t always celebrate New Year’s on January 1. It has been observed on the evening of November 1 and at Yule. The actual date matters little, for the rituals performed at the...

Planet: Mercury Element: Fire Energies: Sex, peace, psychic awareness, weight loss Lore: Roman women ate celery to increase their sexual appetites. Magical uses: This plant’s aphrodisiac powers have long been celebrated. Celery soup was one of Madame de Pompadour’s favourite dishes for this purpose. Curiously, heated celery seems to emit a type of pheromone, the chemical sex-attractant naturally s...