#novemeber

[rainydaybaby]

My copies of Iron Flame, The Hurricane Wars, & A Soul of Ash & Blood all staring at me from my bookshelf while I pull out my kindle & read another Dramoine fic…

[foodandfolklore]

The Queen Bee ~ Honey and it's associations

Honey is a staple is Kitchen Magic and Witchcraft. Honey jars and sweetener spells have become very popular in recent times. You fill a jar with the tag locks of a person you are aiming the spell towards, and their attitude towards you sweetens. Helpful in times when you may be feuding with a neighbor or have a problem colleague who just refuses to cooperate. Makes them more likely to be agreeable to reasonable requests.

That's also what honey can do in the kitchen. Add it to foods so when consumed by people it'll improve relations, strengthen friendships, and invoke peace. Honey is also heavily associated with Love, Passion, Healing/Health, Happiness, Prosperity, Spirituality and Wisdom.

Ancient cultures all over the world believe honey or bees were connected to the Gods. In Greek mythology, Zeus drank honey as a baby while his mother hid him from Cronus. The muses put the ability to sing in honey. Egyptians believed Bees carried messages from the Sun God Ra, and we've found honey in Egyptian tombs. The Celtics from Europe also had a similar belief that the bees carried messages from Gods; going back and forth between our world and their world.

Greeks, Romans, Norse, and more all considered Honey and Mead (An ale made from honey) to be nectar of the gods. Some cultures believed if you could consume enough of both, it would equate to ambrosia. A food that would grant you God like immortality and eternal youth. Even the book of Exodus could not deny how amazing honey is. As God promised the Israelites to free them from slavery and deliver them to a land flowing with Milk and Honey. Then while in their wandering limbo, God rained down a white snow for food that tasted like honey. This idea of Honey being tied to divine existence and better being is so tightly woven into our cultures. When Canada was trying to get more people to move from Europe to settle, they advertised with the tagline: Canada; a land of Milk and Honey. Honey is also a common term of affection for people in relationships or close family members.

But the Story I'm about to read has little to do with honey directly. It's just probably one of the more well known fairytales that has bees and honey in them. A Brothers Grimm tale, of course. But it showcases a lot of classic aspects of the effects honey can have, such as sweetening the demeaner of those around you, attracting love, and living life happy. Interestingly, this is a case where a character described as a 'Dwarf' does not seem to have a thick beard and lives in mines. Instead, we have a story staring a legitimate Little Person, which I thought was pretty cool.

The Queen Bee

Two kings’ sons once upon a time went into the world to seek their fortunes; but they soon fell into a wasteful foolish way of living, so that they could not return home again. Then their brother, who was a little insignificant dwarf, went out to seek for his brothers: but when he had found them they only laughed at him, to think that he, who was so young and simple, should try to travel through the world, when they, who were so much wiser, had been unable to get on. However, they all set out on their journey together, and came at last to an ant-hill. The two elder brothers would have pulled it down, in order to see how the poor ants in their fright would run about and carry off their eggs. But the little dwarf said, ‘Let the poor things enjoy themselves, I will not suffer you to trouble them.’

So on they went, and came to a lake where many many ducks were swimming about. The two brothers wanted to catch two, and roast them. But the dwarf said, ‘Let the poor things enjoy themselves, you shall not kill them.’ Next they came to a bees’-nest in a hollow tree, and there was so much honey that it ran down the trunk; and the two brothers wanted to light a fire under the tree and kill the bees, so as to get their honey. But the dwarf held them back, and said, ‘Let the pretty insects enjoy themselves, I cannot let you burn them.’

At length the three brothers came to a castle: and as they passed by the stables they saw fine horses standing there, but all were of marble, and no man was to be seen. Then they went through all the rooms, till they came to a door on which were three locks: but in the middle of the door was a wicket, so that they could look into the next room. There they saw a little grey old man sitting at a table; and they called to him once or twice, but he did not hear: however, they called a third time, and then he rose and came out to them.

He said nothing, but took hold of them and led them to a beautiful table covered with all sorts of good things: and when they had eaten and drunk, he showed each of them to a bed-chamber.

The next morning he came to the eldest and took him to a marble table, where there were three tablets, containing an account of the means by which the castle might be disenchanted. The first tablet said: ‘In the wood, under the moss, lie the thousand pearls belonging to the king’s daughter; they must all be found: and if one be missing by set of sun, he who seeks them will be turned into marble.’

The eldest brother set out, and sought for the pearls the whole day: but the evening came, and he had not found the first hundred: so he was turned into stone as the tablet had foretold.

The next day the second brother undertook the task; but he succeeded no better than the first; for he could only find the second hundred of the pearls; and therefore he too was turned into stone.

At last came the little dwarf’s turn; and he looked in the moss; but it was so hard to find the pearls, and the job was so tiresome!—so he sat down upon a stone and cried. And as he sat there, the king of the ants (whose life he had saved) came to help him, with five thousand ants; and it was not long before they had found all the pearls and laid them in a heap.

The second tablet said: ‘The key of the princess’s bed-chamber must be fished up out of the lake.’ And as the dwarf came to the brink of it, he saw the two ducks whose lives he had saved swimming about; and they dived down and soon brought in the key from the bottom.

The third task was the hardest. It was to choose out the youngest and the best of the king’s three daughters. Now they were all beautiful, and all exactly alike: but he was told that the eldest had eaten a piece of sugar, the next some sweet syrup, and the youngest a spoonful of honey; so he was to guess which it was that had eaten the honey.

Then came the queen of the bees, who had been saved by the little dwarf from the fire, and she tried the lips of all three; but at last she sat upon the lips of the one that had eaten the honey: and so the dwarf knew which was the youngest. Thus the spell was broken, and all who had been turned into stones awoke, and took their proper forms. And the dwarf married the youngest and the best of the princesses, and was king after her father’s death; but his two brothers married the other two sisters.

[cozydaysathome]

[swforester]

Late Autumn

Elmwood Cemetery

Holyoke MA 11/7/23

[bestnootella]

Walk in the woods

[moodyinapinkbow]

Moodboard: Art Appreciation - November (2). 

❝The exquisite November morning had a softness in it like the air of an English summer.❞

[emilyjquin]

Have a blessed day ✨

[cuddlethebear]

Hamburg, November 23

[legioncosmos]

Life is beautiful when your friends are included in your happiness <3

[favouritehairfollicke]

Is it just me or do people get a lot more quieter in November? I swear I smiled less in November.

[nataliehearts]

ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!

[coldeyedd]

Escape for awhile

[foodandfolklore]

Are they related? Food vs Food

How often do you look at foods in the grocery store, back and forth between two items thinking 'This looks exactly the same. Are they exactly the same? How are they not the same?" and no, I'm not talking about the processed repackaged foods and you're looking at 40 different kinds of tomato sauce. I'm talking about the produce lane.

Sure in some cases it's obvious they're not EXACTLY the same. But they must be related. Right? Well, sometimes they are, some times they're not, and some of these may surprise you. I know they surprised me!

Cucumber Vs Zucchini

I think anyone looking at these two would assume they're related. They're both long with dark green skin and light green flesh. When eaten raw and unseasoned, they also have a similar taste. However, these are two completely different foods.

The zucchini is a type of gourd, being more closely related to a Pumpkin. The cucumber is a Melon and is more closely related to the Watermelon. ....alright fine, technically gourds are a type of melon, still making them related; but my point remains! Try eating a cucumber with some sweetener like sugar or honey and it'll taste like watermelon. Won't work with zucchini.

Both cucumbers and zucchini are related to Fidelity, Chastity and general sex and Lust magic. But cucumbers are also associated with youth, beauty, glamor, stress relief, and rejuvenation. There was an old superstition that cucumbers had to be planted by young men in order for the crop to be successful.

Parsley Vs Cilantro

At a glance, these two herbs can easily be mistaken for the same thing. But once eaten, the difference is very clear. Cilantro (Also called Coriander) has a strong, lemon pepper taste; while Parsley is mainly an aromatic with a Lighter earthy taste.

People who love Cilantro might be perplexed by the hate it gets. Sure it's a strong taste but it's not overpowering. Well it turns out Cilantro is related to Fennel. Which is also related to licorice. It turns out, if your DNA is set up one way, these foods taste great. But if your DNA is set up another way, these foods taste TERRIBLE. My partner describes Cilantro as tasting like soap. So we stick with Parsley.

Superstitious farmers used to refuse growing parsley. See, parsley only grows back every other year. So, because of how long it takes to grow, it was believed parsley had to travel to hell and back 7 to 9 times. This was to try and convince the devil to give it permission to grow. And if the devil did not give the parsley permission to grow, the people who planted it would die. Was dubbed The Devil's Oatmeal.

Cilantro is a great protection herb. Protect the home, protect the garden, protect your health, protect your secrets. Parsley is also good for protection, but also has more general uses. Cleansing, Attract love and prosperity, Wisdom, commune with spirits; parsley has a long history in Rome of using to honor the dead and wear to enhance thinking power.

Ginger Vs Turmeric

Both roots, often eaten together as a seasoning. They look very similar; they must be related. Well, you'd be right! They are both part of the Zingiberaceae family. Both have strong anti inflammatory properties and have been used in natural remedies.

They still have very different tastes, however. Ginger will have a fresh, somewhat spicy taste. Turmeric is a bit heavier and earthier. Turmeric is also recognizable for it's bright yellow orange pigment. It's known to stain and dye.

Because they are roots, both Ginger and Turmeric have good Grounding properties. They are also both good for healing, cleansing, purification, prosperity and protection. But then we start to split off. Ginger is great for raising one's personal power, success, new experiences, passion, and general energy. Turmeric is better for communication, family relations, courage, confidence, beauty, memory, and honesty.

Peach vs Nectarine

So what's the deal with these two? They look a lot a like. They smell a lot a like. They taste a lot a like. Are they the same fruit? Well no. But also yes. It's kind of interesting.

A peach is just a fuzzy nectarine. Their genetic composition is structured in a way they they are identical except for one difference that occurred naturally, stopping the fuzz from growing on peaches. Giving us nectarines. They are exactly the same in every other way. Which is hilarious because I remember growing up, I hated nectarines but loved peaches. I think the peaches were just grown local so they tasted better.

I want to be clear, this genetic deviation is a naturally occurring mutation. It was not a result of science or GMOs or any kind of known human interference.

Peaches are a very spiritual fruit. They are linked to wisdom, happiness, harmony, longevity, love and protection. Nectarines....would probably be an acceptable substitute.

[izzy-quinn]

Silly kid. #theodore #novemeber #2022 #stawp #teddy #silly #toddler @unistudios #universalstudios #theo #rollercoaster #minions @minions #hogwarts #november21st2022 #november25th2022 https://www.instagram.com/p/ClfdmjqO2TwVSo9_RRHyjCazfd-KqJCE_VGpHY0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[petrinakauai]

Happy Thanksgiving from chilly windy gray Kaua’i 🏝- it’s a good day to hunker down inside and cook some yummy 😋 food 🦃 to enjoy with ohana 💜🤙🏻 with the fireplace on #thanksgiving #thankful #thankfulthursday #grateful #kauai #kauailife #hawaii #hawaiilife #novemeber #islandlife #islandvibes #aloha #hawaiian #hawaiistagram #cozy #cozyhome #yummy #cooking #ohana #luckywelivehawaii #luckywelivekauai (at Waipouli Ahupua`a, Kapaa) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWpM6tvSfB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sagejulie7]

Streaming on twitch for my progress on my envar studio contestsubmission!  https://www.twitch.tv/sagejulie7