Hoping you are all safe and well. These times are unlike anything I could have imagined. I've been filling my time with morning journaling, meditating, taking walks, talking to family and friends and working on projects. This week's focus was mostly on finalizing my Taurus herbs, all under the influence of the planet Venus. All are feminine - of course - and most are the element water, with a few of the earth. 

 The first collage layer was made by ripping papers I painted and textured, and glueing them to the base. 

Next I chose 12 of the herbs associated with Taurus. I added the common name and Latin name, the gender, deity and element associated with each herb, and a painted image of the herb. The final step was the power or powers of each herb. 

This fall I'll be teaching my Enhancing Your Life with Herbs course, a six week session, for the Renaissance Institute at Notre Dame University of Maryland for the fourth time. I painted 200 herbs to  illustrate the course. I'm hoping to update it with these layered herbs for the zodiac session. 

St. Lucy's Day is currently most often associated with Sweden, one of the celebrations of light in the midst of winter's darkness. Little Christmas, or the Feats of Saint Lucy, is a favorite advent celebration. In the early morning, the Lucia Bride, usually the youngest daughter, is dressed in a long white gown with a myrtle or bilberry crown and lighted candles. She awakens the family, often bringing coffee and tea, and braided Lucia twists, flavored with saffron and cardamon. After the family is served, she visits the barns, taking food to the animals.

In addition to the home celebration, the young girls attend services at the church dressed in their lighted crowns. St. Lucy represents the promise of the light in the darkness and the sun's return. 

Saint Lucy is the patron saint of the blind and those with visual challenges. Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily in the 3rd century. She was born to wealthy Christian parents and at an early age she secretly vowed to remain a virgin and serve God by helping others. 

Her father died when she was young. When she came of age, her mother arranged her marriage to a pagan but Lucy rejected him. It was the time of the Diocletian persecutions and when her suitor denounced her as a Christian, she seemed destined to death by burning or life in the brothels. Her fate was to be martyred by a sword through her throat. 

In another story she escapes the marriage by tearing her eyes out in frightful desperation. She is often depicted carrying her eyes on a tray. 
Miraculously, her sight was restored and she was able to serve God and mankind as she has intended. She is celebrated for giving sight to the blind, food to the hungry, and light to the darkness. The name Lucy comes from the root word Lux, meaning light. 

Bread

I teaspoon saffron, soaked in 1 cup boiling water for 10 minutes. Let cool

2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 T softened butter
3 eggs
3 T sugar
1 teaspoon salt
I cup slivered almonds
1 cup dried bilberries (blueberries) or raisins
5 to 6 cups unbleached flour

1. Prepare saffron.
2. Dissolve yeast in water. 
3. Mix the butter with eggs, sugar and salt in a large bowl. 
4. Add milk to butter and eggs.
5. Add almonds and dried fruit
6. Stir in saffron mixture.
7. Add flour gradually and stir with wooden spoon until it is is smooth and forms a ball. 
8. Place on floured board or counter and knead until smooth - about 5 minutes.
9.Put into a greased bowl, turn it over and cover with a towel in a warm place until double, about an hour and a half. 
10. Punch down dough, divide into 3 sections. Braid and form into a circle shape. 
11. Place on cookie sheet and let rise until double - about 30 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
13. Bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
14. Remove from oven, cool and ice.

Icing

2 cups confectioner's sugar 
1 teaspoon almond extract
Combine and gradually add water until it is the consistency of icing. 
Drizzle on to bread. 
Decorate with slivered toasted almonds and/or dried fruit if desired. 
Top with candles

St. Nicholas was born in the 4th Century in Lycia, Asia Minor to very wealthy parents. Even as a child he was very religious. He was very young when he became a priest and he went on to become a bishop. Sadly, his parents died shortly after he was ordained. He inherited a great fortune, and he shared it generously with people in need. His giving was from the heart - he was not interested in credit or compensation. He often gave unanimously. He was dedicated to common people and emperors alike.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, laborers, merchants, pawn brokers, and particularly sailors and those who work near water. 

There are many stories describing his generosity. A nobleman who had lost his fortune was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters so planned to sell them into slavery. St. Nicholas galloped by their castle in the dark of night and threw a bag of gold in the window. He did this three nights in a row, providing each daughter with a dowry. Eventually, it was discovered that he had been the generous benefactor. His fame as a gift giver spread through out many lands and he has been credited with the concepts of Father Christmas and Santa Claus.

The three bags of gold represent the three golden balls found on the signage outside pawn broker's shops.

In another more gruesome story, he saved three babies, often pictured beside him. During a famine, an inn keeper had no meat to feed his customers so he cut up three children and tossed them into a brine filled pickling tub. Thankfully, St. Nicholas walked in just in time to bless the boys and bring them back to life!

During that same famine, he convinced sailors on a ship filled with grain to unload some of their cargo to feed those who were starving. They were initially reluctant since the grain had been weighed and they wanted to deliver the entire shipment. He assured them that the cargo would weigh exactly the same amount when it was delivered. It did.

As you celebrate St. Nicholas Day, give a gift from the heart. It doesn't need to be expensive. It could be a kind word, a quote that would make someone feel valued, a thank you. Or is could be a poem, or a recipe! Here's my gift to you!

Golden Bishop's Tea

4 cups black or green tea
4 cups apricot nectar
Serve hot with a honey if desired and a sprig of rosemary 
and a sprinkling of nutmeg

Optional: 1 Tablespoon apricot brandy per cup

As you celebrate St. Nicholas Day, think gold! Decorate with golden wheat and tansy! Serve apricot or orange nut bread with Golden Bishop's Tea. Create your own golden delights! 

Wheat and roses are both beautiful additions to the Feast of Saint Barbara for decorations and for your meal. Freshly baked bread with rose petal jelly is sublime!

Folk names for aconite - blue rocket devil's helmet, leopard's mane,
monkshood, mousebane, wolf's bane, woman's bane, 
​

A thirty-three year old gardener, Nathan Greenaway, died of multiple organ failures after touching monkshood. If that doesn't convince you to keep your distance, there is no hope.

Wolf's bane is a member of the Ranunculus family, as is the seemingly innocent buttercup. But beware. All members of this family, over 500 varieties, are poisonous. 

Aconite, from the Greek work akon, meaning dart or javelin, was used on the tips of arrows to kill wolves. Legend states that the arrows never missed their mark and death from the plant's poison was immediate. I can't help but wonder who gathered and prepared the arrows, as all parts of the plant are extremely poisonous even to the the touch. 

Monkshood remind me of delphiniums - same family - and both are grown in gardens as ornamental flowers. You won't find them in mine. The story of the gardener is more than enough to deter me.  The original headline was that he had merely brushed past the plant and the result was death, The reputation for the herb's toxicity is enough to convince me to keep my distance. 
​

Most beautiful of poisons,
border-plant,
wearing your small green cowl,
little friar, little murderer,
aconitine flows
from your roots
to your deep purple flowers,
small deceiver,
centerpiece
for a poisonous
feast.

A few leaves
in the salad,
a few seeds
in the soup,
a thick root
to flavor
the stock--
& it is all over.
Let the lover beware
who buys you
for love philters;
the dose is deceptive.
One pinch may lead to passion
but two will surely lead
to death.
Yet you twinkle
little blue bell
at the edge
of the garden,
wearing no warning
about your slim green neck.
Wolfbane, Friar’s cap,
Chariot of Venus--
how many may claim
to be poisonous
head to toe?
That honor--
Friar Death--
belongs to you.