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Bartholomew’s Butter

(a personal interpretation)

On Saint Bartholomew’s feast day in parts of Czechia (Pilsen for sure, see below) a magical, healing butter was churned.

When I was a children’s librarian, I made butter in a jar many times with the kiddos. All you need is heavy cream and a jar (I used plastic jars with the kiddos). This is an excellent activity to do with the whole family.

All you have to do is pour the cream into a jar and shake it for 15 minutes or so. Everyone can be given their own jar, or take turns and do it as a group. Maybe not surprisingly, I found that the kids liked to have their own jar and the adults liked to take turns.

Very quickly as you shake the jar the liquid turns to whipped cream. As you continue shaking a liquid will form with a solid yellow ball of butter in the the middle!

While I shook my jar I listened to some hymns to Saint Bartholomew (links below) and said a few prayers to him.

Once I strained the butter I had about a a 1/2 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of butter.

I reserved my buttermilk for another use (pancakes or biscuits if nothing else).

The butter ball was placed in a bowl of ice-cold water and squeezed and kneaded to force out any remaining buttermilk.

Since we are in the middle of Mezi matičkama (the period between the annunciation and nativity of Mother Mary), I invoked the Blessed Virgin Mary at this point, switching my music to Ave Maria, and added 1/4 tsp of annunciation salt (salt I consecrated in a personal ritual on the Annunciation of Mary) and some finely chopped wood sorrel I gathered that morning, as herbs gathered at this time are thought to be at the zenith of their power.

In Catholic folk magic and tradition, wood sorrel is most strongly associated with the Holy Trinity. My variety of wood sorrel features heart-shaped leaves, a detail that has been incorporated into Catholic meditations to symbolize God's love. The leaves folding at night and reopening in the morning have also been interpreted as a reminder of being enveloped in His love.

In folk magic, wood sorrel is a herb associated with luck, happiness, healing, protection, and prosperity, often used in amulets, and spells to promote good fortune and mental well-being.

I said a few Hail Marys upon completion and asked Děduška (our house guardian) for his blessings as well. I’ve put the butter up in a jar for now, but the next time I go up to mom’s we are going to experiment with her antique butter molds and see if we can make it pretty. I will for sure have to use the four leaf clover one for its visual similarities to the wood sorrel. I will post pictures if it turns out.

Though I did not use it, I found this recipe from Národopisné muzeum Plzeňska Facebook page (translated with google) to make Saint Bartholomew’s butter:

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Mezi Matičkama Foraging

My destination was the creek, but I did a little scouting beforehand. I ran across this armadillo, that I had seen black vultures scavenging from earlier this week, on my way to check the persimmon tree. I found a feather nearby that probably belongs to one of the vultures. It was quite long. I’m hoping when it dries that it will be in good shape.

Japanese poinsettia/Euphorbia heterophylla (toxic) was growing all along the fence line near the persimmon tree. The persimmons have picked up color since the last time I checked them, but nowhere near ripe.

I picked up a few more white walnuts (not pictured) as I headed south toward the creek. I came across a bit of wild lettuce that had gone spectacularly to seed since I had foraged from it earlier in the year. The brown blobs in the fence line are the chickens in the next picture. They belong to the neighbor who has given us eggs off and on all year.

I put this deer leg that I want to preserve for the hoof, up in a branch the other day to keep it from at least the majority of scavengers until I figure out how to preserve it. When I stumbled across it this afternoon it was quite Blair Witchy.

The creek where I do my outdoor rituals was my actual destination:

While I’ve foraged a lot of shiso this year, I was saving this patch at the creek for a special occasion, and I decided that Mezi Matičkama worked.

On the way back from the creek, I stumbled across what I think are muscadines all over the ground. There are vines overhead in the canopy and I think I could make out grapes hanging from them.

All in all not an incredibly productive walk in terms of produce, but it was a lovely, rainy late summer day. We don’t often get down to the 70°s F in Arkansas in August.

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Mariánská studánka/New Mariazell

Pilgrimage site, Rychnov na Moravě, Czechia

My fourth stop on my virtual Moravian Marian pilgrimage during Mezi Matičkama.

Ancient pilgrimage site dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with a source of drinking water with supposedly miraculous power

This pilgrimage site was established near a spring whose water miraculously healed the seriously ill blacksmith Jakub Franz from Lubník in 1735. As an expression of gratitude, he had a holy image and later a wooden statuette hung here, which was, however, transferred to the Rychnov parish church of St. Nicholas in 1749.

Sources:

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I really, really want to make at least a miniature one.

Muši Ráj — Butterfly Paradise

I’ve seen this variously translated from Czech as bird’s paradise, butterfly paradise and flycatcher—made from straw, paper, and sometimes dry fruits it was magical and said to represent the sun the stars and the world. It was traditionally hung over the table or cradle.

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A Blue Rose for Mary —End of Day 8

I’ve mentioned many of the Marian and even solar goddess symbolism going on in this piece, but there is also a whimsical nod to my favorite bit of cult tv:

“In Twin Peaks, the "blue rose" is a term used by FBI investigators to refer to cases with paranormal or supernatural elements, especially those that are bizarre and defy easy explanation. It signifies investigations that venture into the realm of the unexplained and the otherworldly. The term is a reference to the fact that blue roses don't occur naturally and are a symbol of the unattainable or the uncanny.”

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As part of my devotional work (outside of stitching) on the Blue Rose for Mary, I’m doing a virtual pilgrimage to Marian sites in Moravia, where my great-grandparents were from.

I started yesterday with the pilgrimage site of Our Lady of the Rock and am continuing today at a small boží muka (wayside shrine) in southern Moravia near Mikulčice. Locals restored it after a tornado devastated the area.

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Virtual Moravian Mary Pilgrimage

As part of my Marian devotions (during the Between Mothers time period) revolving around my first devotional embroidery dedicated to a Saint, I am also doing a virtual Moravian Marian pilgrimage.

I maybe should plan my route! I bet there were stops between yesterday’s and today’s. 😜

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Svátek Panny Marie Kořenné/Feast of Our Lady of the Root

And the blessing of herbs in Czechia

HERBS PROTECTED PEOPLE AND HOMES

Since ancient times, people have collected medicinal herbs, to which they attributed magical effects. The church tried to Christianize the old custom, and therefore introduced the blessing of herbs. With this act, their beneficial effects were transferred to the Virgin Mary, who was called "Kořenna" in this context. Various herbs were brought to the church, mainly medicinal ones, to which special power was attributed. People then tucked the blessed herbs behind a holy picture at home to protect the house from fire and lightning, added them to the feed of livestock, carried them with them as an amulet or tucked them into a sown field for a good harvest. And of course, they also dried them so that they could be used as a cure for illness.

A BLESSED TIME AMONG THE "MOTHERS OF GOD"

The feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary marked the approaching end of summer. It was the last summer holiday, which was called "poletí", the time after summer. Another Marian holiday was approaching, which is celebrated on September 8 and commemorates the birth of the Virgin Mary. On this day, the blessing of grain grains took place, which was associated with the upcoming sowing of winter crops. Girls would carry plates with wheat grains to the church, which would then be added to the new sowing. The period "between the mothers" was also important, i.e. between August 15 and September 8. Herbs picked and fruits harvested during this period had greater power and strength than at other times. Wormwood picked "between the mothers of God" was used to treat cattle, and nut kernels were given to geese on Christmas Eve to help them lay eggs better. Housewives called eggs laid between these holidays "mother's" and stored them for the winter, because they considered them more durable. The end of summer was fast approaching and everyone was getting ready for another long winter.

HOLIDAY

On August 15th we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. September 8th the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Translated from this article:

Photo and more info here:

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Panny Marie ve skále/Our Lady of the Rock

The pilgrimage site of Our Lady in the Rock is located in a beautiful, deep valley surrounded by forest slopes, in the northern part of the town of Spálov, in close proximity to the Odra River, which forms the old border between Moravia and Silesia.

In the rock cave, from which a spring of drinking water flows, there is a stone altar with a statue of the Virgin Mary.

There are many legends and tales related to the pilgrimage site. According to legend, during the Swedish Wars, a mortally wounded soldier was miraculously healed here by water flowing from the rock. This news soon spread. A miller from Spálov placed a statue of the Virgin Mary on the rock. After the church in Spálov was built, the statue was transferred to the altar. Several times, the statue mysteriously disappeared from the locked church and was always found in the rock in its original place.

In the 19th century, there was a spa at this site, because people believed in the healing effects of the local water. However, the spa was destroyed in a fire and has never been rebuilt. The original statue was replaced by a statue of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms.

Every September 8th (the Nativity of the Virgin Mary), a pilgrimage is held at this pilgrimage site.

This is about a three hour drive from my great-grandparents’ village.

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A Blue Rose for Mary —

Day 7

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The white walnut tree dropped a few more overnight. And that very nice man I live with (🤪) bought me some gloves yesterday so I don’t stain my hands this year!

I’m waiting for a decent basketful before I start hulling these.

@ofleafstructure

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Finished Filling in Midwinter/Koleda to Midsummer/Kupala

Though I’m working this piece from the Assumption of Mother Mary to her nativity as an act of devotion to her as the Queen of Heaven, it is also a nod to my other heavenly queen, Solntse/Saule/Sunna, the Northern European sun maiden.

For Mother Mary the symbolism is a blue rose surrounded by the heavens. For the sun maiden it is a solar wheel/calendar.

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Devotional embroidery is more than stitching.

Cleansing my tools in annunciation salt (salt consecrated in a personal ritual in the early spring on Lady Day/Zvěstováni Panny Marie).

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Czech Folk Necklace

An Instagram account (the lovely Anežka @kolu_roku) that I follow recently put up a video (link below) on how to make a clove and bead necklace that she wore with one of her folk costumes for a recent reenactment at Muzeum lidových staveb. I also saw one on the čáry a črty account that was strung differently.

With a couple extra directions from her as the video was in Czech (soak the cloves overnight), I made one! I’m so very pleased with how it turned out.

It is so similar to one that I found online from the first half of the nineteenth century when my family had yet to immigrate.

I didn’t want to spend any extra money so I recycled some antique beads from a broken necklace that belonged to my husband’s grandmother, and decided to do a central bead using a polished stone from a bracelet my husband gave me when we were dating that had also broken.

I found a necklace that was the same size that I wanted this one to be and arranged the beads and cloves how I wanted them prior to stringing it.

Here is how I started the necklace:

When I got half way done I measured it against the other necklace to make sure the length seemed right.

To finish it I used a clasp from an inexpensive old necklace that I never wear. It turned out so pretty and the cloves were so easy to work with.

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A post shared by Anežka 👱🏻‍♀️ (@kolo_roku)

I also found a rosary made with cloves and allspice!!

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A Blue Rose for Mary—End of Day Three

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Moilean Máire (Fatling of Mary)

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Yesterday’s progress on the blue rose.