Light from Darkness - A New Moon Solstice

It's that time of year again.  :)

"To yield is to be preserved whole.

To be bent is to become straight.

To be empty is to be full.

To be worn out is to be renewed.

To have little is to possess."

 - Lao Tzu

...and when you go into the Darkness, you can find Light.  Today, the Winter Solstice, is the shortest day of the year lightwise, and the longest night.  Take this opportunity to go within, to be quiet, to be present with what is, even in the dark corners.  To rest.

Our ancestors who didn't have electricity would have spent this time being less active out of necessity - spending more time around the fire, more time sleeping, more time in quiet and stillness.  But they knew the wheel of the year turned and that this severe Yin Darkness marked the Yang Birth of the Sun.  Because when you go to an extreme of Yin, you get Yang, and an extreme of Yang, you get Yin.  That is the paradox of living within dichotomy.  For however dark it is, the light is always within that darkness, waiting...

And this is a special Solstice, for it is also the New Moon.  So we have the increasing energies of the Moon waxing, becoming Full.  Even the Yin Moon is moving toward being Yang, Full.  Use this time and potential energies wisely, what will you birth?

Speaking of birth, today is also my Birthday; I'm going into my forties which is a trip in itself, but a whole other blog post.  :)  I was born at high noon on the day of the longest night.  When I think about this and how it influences me... I see it as my being able to be with the Dark, residing there, but also being able to shine out with what is Light within that Darkness.  I can see how my life has followed this path.  I've never shied away from difficulty or unpleasantries, wanting to see what they too had to offer.  And in so doing, I have found that Darkness holds the brightest Light.

In this vein, my collagework has reflected this regard for both the Light and the Dark; the fullness of experience.  Collage has helped me through dark times and I have been doing workshops sharing this ability of collage to facilitate transition, presence, transformation...
If you are local, I will be offering more workshops at Mountain Mystic in Front Royal, VA.
See this group on Facebook for more details and updates:

Renew and Release:  Collage as part of the Healing Process

Here is my latest collage work, finished this morning:

Eternal AutoPsychoNautica

Under morning light coming in the window:

Yin

 Outdoors under daylight:

Yang

This collage showcasing the merging of the macrocosm with the mircocosm, with its scenes of the Universe, electron microscope pictures of plants, seemingly alien underwater creatures, the meandering waterway, the reptilian eye, the spider weaving, and other various compatriots, including the man stirring his way down the river with a boat full of cut flowers for sale,...   serves to represent the exploration within and the brightness to be found there; a brightness the world so needs right now.

Consciousness is Life knowing itself, ALL interconnected, 

ALL integral aspects the the whole gloriousness that is HERE NOW.

Eternal AutoPsychoNautica

~~~

Herbals Truffles - a.k.a. Little Balls of Utter Bliss!

These de-stressing herbal treats move Liver Qi, help digestion,
are high in antioxidants, and are adaptogenic.

Have one as needed, share them with guests, make them as gifts...they taste out of this world.

These are made with Rosebud, Tulsi, Ashwaganda, Tangerine Peel, Cardamom, and Ginger.

So, I am bad about actually using or writing down recipes when I create food and herbal remedies.  With these herbal truffles, I usually just mix ingredients until I feel satisfied with the combination and texture.  This time I did this with my apprentices and made it a point to create a recipe with measured amounts.   That said, please feel free to deviate.

You can start simply with alternating a different nut, or using nut butter, or altering the herbs used.  Just making these seemingly simple changes though can change the consistency and you want them to stick together.  So if needed, add more coconut oil, maybe a little honey if you need its stickiness, or maybe use another fat that will be firm at cold temperatures such as cocoa butter.  If you need it more wet, you could even add some avocado or coconut milk.  Experiment.  If need be start with this exact recipe until you feel comfortable with it, then deviate...

These have no added sugar; dates and raisins were used for sweetness.  These balls have some bitterness, but those of us who enjoy straight tea, black coffee, hoppy beer, or dark chocolate won't mind.  You could try other fruits...I do find dates to be the sweetest and raisins to be nice and gummy adding a good texture.

If you try an experimental batch that you can't seem to get right to roll into balls, add a bit of whole grain flour and a few eggs and bake it.  It's hard to go wrong with these ingredients.

Keep refrigerated.



Here's what to use and how to make the balls pictured above:
Grind all your Herbs and Cacao into powder (or buy them already powdered) before mixing them;
I use a coffee grinder that is not used for coffee. (until I can get one of these that is ....someday) 
Bear in mind that powdered herbs do not last anywhere near as long as whole or cut & sifted ones.
I try not to buy my herbs powdered for this reason, unless I will use them right away, and also because I don't care for the sludge in the bottom of my decoctions.

Mix all dry ingredients together (all ground)
1/2 c. Mei Gui Hua, Rosebuds
1/2 c. Chen Pi, Tangerine peel (you can make your own and can use other organic citrus if you wish)
1/4 c. Ashwaganda
1/2 c. Tulsi
1 Tb. Cardamom
1 ts. Ginger
1 c. raw Cacao
pinch sea salt

Blend "wet" ingredients
6 Dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 c. Raisins
2 Tb. Coconut oil, melted
1/2 tspn. Vanilla
2 c. Walnuts
optional:  about 5 drops of a flower essence, these included Bee Balm.

Then stir or blend both together; it will be dry but should form a sticky ball with pressure once mixed.  You can add a little water for moisture if you need to, but these did not have any added.

On the side mix 1/4 c. ea. Hemp seeds and ground Cacao
After pressing into to ball, roll the ball into this coating.




These balls are more herb than food; for a ball more food than herb, see this recipe.

~~~

SpiraLife

 from my collage archives - 2008

Close-ups:

~~~

Henna for Hair

Widow's Peak

Okay, so some funny pictures and a quick post to share with you how I dye my hair.  I used to dye it with artificial dyes 'cause I like to change up the color frequently (and over the years have had just about every color - 'cept white, gray, and green), but for over a year now have been using only henna because I was having a skin reaction (as my body was dealing with the tail end of getting over Lyme) that was exacerbated by chemicals.  Plus hair dye was one of the last vestiges of toxic chemical exposure in my life that I could take out.

Henna only comes in one color and that is reddish or orange.  I don't mind as my hair has a bit of that naturally anyway and it suits me (being a mutt who is mostly Scot-Irish).  I dye my hair because I am not ready to be gray.  I went gray overnight in some areas after experiencing a major trauma years ago.

Be sure to wear clothing you can get dirty as Henna will stain your clothing.

So, I use just plain ol' powdered henna, no additives.  I mix it with lemon juice until I get a consistency that is easy to spread but not so thin that it will drip and run.  I never measure, but it seems to be somewhat equal amounts.  You can play with it to get the thickness you desire.  I let this mixture sit for 12 hours (so I mix it up the day before I will use it).  I use a glass bowl and then cover it with saran wrap, pressing it down so there is no air exposure to dry it out.

I use gloves when applying it as it will stain your skin.  Then I cover my hair with plastic wrap and leave it like this for 3 hours.  This helps to keep it from drying out and holds heat in.  When this mixture dries out it is harder to get out of your hair (though not impossible as it is very water soluble).  You will notice that as it heats up on your head, it will get a bit thinner and can start running, if this happens just wipe it and take note to make your mixture thicker next time.

The smell of green plant and earth...so much better than toxic chemicals.

After 3 hours, just rinse it out and then shampoo and condition as usual.

Messy (no more so than artificial dyes) but non-toxic and good for your hair and scalp.  The face mask is one from this fine company.

Persimmon Bliss Cake

Okay, so I have to share with you this cake I made recently because it was one of the best eva!

~ Persimmon Cake with Quince Jam and Elderberry Syrup ~

 

This was my hubbie's Birthday cake; here he is about to devour it.

Depending on where you are, you may still be able to harvest some Persimmons.  We harvested ours mid-November just as they were leaving their astringency for sweetness. 

More like a bread pudding... rich and decadent with a perfect blend of smooth but substantial texture and complex, delightful taste.

Unfortunately, I did not follow a recipe or even measure all the ingredients, but fortunately! I am now going to compile a recipe from memory...it goes something like this:

Play around with it and make it yours.

Using a Foley Mill, or another method, separate the Persimmon pulp from the skin and seeds.  Use as much water as needed to do this and blend it all together (pulp and water).  
You'll want about 4 c. of this blend for the cake.

Mix this blend with 3/4 c. honey, two sticks butter, 2 eggs.

Then add 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, 1 tspn. baking soda, 1/2 tspn. salt, and 1/4 tspn. baking powder.

Blend and pour into (2) 8-9" greased round pans or similar, bake 350 degrees for an hour and a half
(or until toothpick comes out clean), watch for too much browning, 
this long length of time worked for me.

Once separated, blend the pulp with water until it's the consistency of "slop."  :)

 I topped this cake with Quince jam and Elderberry syrup we just made, but you could top it with any type of jam or syrup.  The sweetness of the jam with the tartness of the Elderberry was perfect.  Lemon curd and maple syrup with some Ginger come to mind as a great combo to try.

A tithing:  Racoon offerings

These seeds got fed to the racoons because we are already loaded down with loads of squash seeds to prep and eat, but you can also roast and eat these.  Let removing the pulp be your Zen meditation for the day.