Luck of the Irish St Patricks Day

St. Patricks Day:

A day that St.Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland. Well, the snakes were the Pagans. And they weren't just chased out. They were executed; Men, women and children. So, I've started a tradition with my coven and other friends.

On St. Patricks Day, all Pagans should wear something with a snake on it. A t-shirt, necklace, ring, etc.... This is our way of saying that the "snakes" are still here and that we are here to stay.

The Snake is a symbol of wisdom and free will. Which is why the church wants to get rid of all Pagans. We believe in free will and responsibility for our own actions. So, I am reaching out to all my pagan friends to join me in this new tradition and to pass it on to all other pagans you know. If we can get at least 1,000 people wearing a snake this year, it would be a definite great start.

Please Pass this on. Thank You and Blessed Be. And May the Goddess Kiss Your Brow and Bring Light into Your Darkness.

Respectfully
SeekingWolf

Lucky Irish Candle Magic

Do you need the luck of the Irish on your side? If so -- then give this a try!

On St. Patrick's Day place one GREEN candle in it's candleholder. Around it place THREE MALACHITE or AVENTURINE stones in the shape of a TRIANGLE:

  S
  C
S   S

Burn the candle until it goes out on it's own. Place the MELTED WAX, the THREE STONES and a 4-LEAF CLOVER CHARM into a GREEN, ORANGE or YELLOW SACHET (or cloth with matching thread to tie it shut). Carry the SACHET until prosperity/luck finds its way to you.


Shamrock Omen Ritual March 30th, 2006

Color  Turquoise
Incense  Carnation
The four-leafed clover, or shamrock (in Gaelic, seamrag), has long been considered a potent good-luck charm. It was also associated with good omens and blessings. Like other propitious plants, it was most powerful when found without searching or seeking. If you come across a four-leafed, or even
better, five-leafed, clover you may ritually gather it and keep it as a powerful talisman for luck. To show the spirit of the plant that you are grateful for its power, repeat the following charm

Thou shamrock of good omens,
Thou shamrock of promise,
A bounty and blessing thou art
At all times.
The seven joys are on thee,
Peerless one of the sunbeams.
Joy of health.
Joy of friends.
Joy of cattle.
Joy of sheep.
Joy of sons,
And daughters fair.
Joy of peace,
And joy of the gods!

By Sharynne NicMhacha

Saint Patrick's Day Quiz

Get in the Irish spirit with your child this Saint Patrick’s Day, and learn a little about the green jewel of the Atlantic, with this short round of trivia:

1.What is the connection between the snake and St. Patrick?
2.“Erin Go Bragh” is a phrase heard often on St. Patrick’s Day. What does it mean?
3.Why is corned beef associated with St. Patrick’s Day?
4.What are leprechauns, and what do they have to do with St. Patrick’s Day?
5.Irish lore says that anyone who kisses the blarney stone, located near this town, with be blessed with the “gift of gab.” What is the town?

Answers
1.Legend has it that St. Patrick stood atop a hillside in Ireland and banished all the snakes from the country. Ireland actually never had any snakes; the story is a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology and the triumph of Christianity.
2.“Erin Go Bragh” means “Ireland Forever.”
3.Irish immigrants living on the lower East Side of New York substituted cheaper corned beef, which they learned about from their Jewish neighbors, for their traditional meal of Irish bacon.
4.Leprechauns, meaning “small-bodied fellows” have their origins in the Celtic belief in fairies. They were known for their trickery used to protect their treasure, the fabled pot of gold. Walt Disney released a film entitled “Darby O’Gill & the Little People,” and leprechauns became both a symbol of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day.
5.The town is Cork.

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St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

It became an official feast day in the early 17th century. Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. In the 1798 rebellion, in hopes of making a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention. The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

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Sweet and spicy guinness bread

This sweet and spicy quick bread would make a great St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, or a heartening snack served with a cup of coffee or Irish tea. The magic ingredient is Guinness stout, a dark Irish beer that adds wonderful moistness and flavor.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup organic brown sugar
1 12-ounce Guinness or other Irish stout beer, minus a sip (fun for the cook!)
1/2 cup raisins
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, then spoon into a greased loaf pan.
2. Bake 50 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.
Makes one loaf.
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Layered Mint Chocolate Fudge.

a great st patricks day dessert yummy who could resist if you like mint !!.........easy fudge recipe enjoy!! courtesy taste of home

2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips shopping list
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, divided shopping list
2- tsps. vanilla extract shopping list
6 -oz. white confectioners' coating* or 1 cup (6 oz.) premium white chocolate chips shopping list
1 -tbsp. peppermint extract shopping list
Green or red food coloring (optional shopping list

Line 8- or 9-inch square pan with wax paper.
Melt chocolate chips with 1 cup sweetened condensed milk in heavy
saucepan over low heat; add vanilla.
Spread half the mixture into prepared pan;
chill 10 minutes or until firm.
Hold remaining
chocolate mixture at room temperature.
Melt white confectioners' coating with remaining sweetened condensed milk in heavy saucepan over low heat (mixture will be thick).
Add peppermint extract and food coloring, if desired.
Spread on chilled chocolate layer; chill an additional 10 minutes or until firm.
Spread reserved chocolate mixture on mint layer.
Chill 2 hours or until firm.
Remove from pan by lifting edges of wax paper; peel off paper.
Cut into squares.
Yield: About 1 3/4 pounds.

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Bread Offerings to the faeries

In Scotland's Highlands this day marks the first day of Spring, as well
as the feast of St. Patrick. In honor of this day may make a soda bread
and leave a piece in your garden for the fairies.

To do so, preheat oven
to 375° degrees and combine the following ingredients in a bowl
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
1 egg
¼ cup melted butter
2/3 cup buttermilk
pinch of Nutmeg

Stir till moist, then mound the dough into a floured round cake pan.
Make a cross in the center top with a knife to keep fairies from ruining
the bread, and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with
jam, butter and strong tea. Fairies prefer theirs with milk.

Holiday Lore Much folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day.

Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more
of a secular holiday today. One traditional icon of the day is the
shamrock. This stems from an Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the
three- leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity of Christian dogma. His
followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day;
though why we wear green on this day is less clear. St. Patrick's Day
came to America in 1737, the date of the first public celebration of the
holiday in Boston.

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Irish Jig Dessert

2 tablespoons whiskey
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon confectioner' s sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coconut macaroons

Crush the macaroons and set aside.
Be sure the whipping cream is thoroughly chilled, as well as the bowl and beater attachments.
Mix all ingredients except the macaroons.
Beat until stiff peaks form.
Fold in 3/4 cup crushed macaroons.
Spoon into 6-8 dessert glasses.
Sprinkle with additional macaroons.
Serve immediately.
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CHOCOLATE IRISH TIPSY CAKE
The Daily Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 (3-4-ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup Irish whiskey or bourbon, divided
1/2 cup cooking oil
4 jumbo or extra large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
whipped cream for garnish

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, 1/2 cup Irish whiskey, and oil, add eggs and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.

Spoon into a greased and floured 10-inch bundt or
tube pan. Bake in a preheated moderate oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean.

When cake is almost done, prepare syrup. Combine
sugar, butter, water, and lemon juice in a small heavy saucepan.

Bring to a boil slowly, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/4 cup Irish whiskey or bourbon. Turn cake out onto two large sheets of aluminum foil placed together to form the shape of a cross. Let cake cool for 10 minutes, top side up for tube cake and upside down for bundt cake. Using a skewer or long bamboo pick, make holes all over top and sides of hot cake. Drizzle syrup very slowly over cake, being careful that too much does not run into any cracks on top of cake.
Bring foil up around cake and wrap securely.

Cake may be served when completely cool, or store in an airtight container overnight. Cake may be wrapped securely in foil and stored in the refrigerator for several weeks or in a freezer for up to six months.

Serve with whipped cream.