Daily Archives: October 9, 2016
To Remove Misfortune
According to the Romanies, extricating yourself or someone you care for from a streak of bad luck and misfortune is not difficult.
Take three small jars and nine garlic cloves, and a number of thorns from a white rose. Stick the thorns into the garlic cloves and place three cloves in each jar.
Each jar should be buried within sight of a church porch while you say the Lord’s Prayer.
Note: Best done under the light of a full moon.
From The Good Spell Book
Hair Color Restoration
Gypsy Hair Tonic
A Romani Facial
A Gypsy Skin Freshener
For Beautiful Hair
If you have very dry hair, warm some olive oil and apply it to the hair, using cotton balls. Work slowly over the head, working the oil in and being careful to cover the ends of the hair with the oil. Then dip a towel in hot water, wring it out, and wrap it around your hair. When the towel has cooled, reheat it and wrap it around again. Do this for a total of an hour, then thoroughly shampoo the hair.
~Raymond Buckland
~Gypsy Love Magick
Gypsy Beauty Secrets
Gypsy women are some of the most beautiful women in the world. How do they get that way? Are they born beautiful? Many are, yes, but not all. And for those who are not, there are some closely kept beauty secrets.
To wash your face with dew every morning is believed to keep the complexion clear. Rain water also has been used, but these days of acid rain give one pause for thought.
Some Romani women will take a lock of their hair and bury it at the foot of a willow tree. This is said to promote luxuriant growth, making the hair glossy and attractive.
Many a Romani woman will never brush her hair in artificial light. She will either do it in the daylight or will sit outside and do it in the light of the moon.
~Raymond Buckland
~Gypsy Love Magick
The Gypsy Diet
Diet was a very important part, not only of health, but also of beauty for the Romanies. Much of the malaise and depression around today stems from a sluggish system. Walking and fresh air help to combat this, but the best way to keep your system clear is to stick to a careful, sensible diet. Eat fruit, plenty of vegetables, salads, stewed prunes occasionally, take butter milk or malted milk. Eat sparingly of rice, pastry, pasta and sweets.
It is a fact that the true Romany only begins to grow old at around the eightieth year. What secrets enable them to keep their youth?
One of them – and this will disappoint meat lovers – is that they do not eat a lot of meat which is not, as is often thought, an essential part of the daily diet. On some days Romanies would make do with nuts, herbs and vegetables and avoid meat altogether, it does the stomach good to have a rest from it.
Eat plenty of cheese – it is full of protein to build strong teeth and bones and to keep the muscles firm. And there is a miracle of nourishment in an egg yolk – vitamins A,D,E,B1,B6, riboflavin, iron and calcium. Milk is also a valuable source of protein, fat and carbohydrate and you get essential vitamins from butter and margarine- butter provides calcium as well. There are foods that, even for the determined slimmers, should always be included in the diet. It can be dangerous to cut out starch completely. Wholewheat bread, for instance, contains calcium, iron, vitamins B1, B6 and E, riboflavin and nicotinic acid. Oatmeal is also a valuable source of these.
Potatoes were always part of the Romany staple diet, usually eaten the healthy way, baked in their jackets in the ashes of a fire. If you are boiling potatoes, don’t peel them, but just scrub the skin. Many minerals that we especially need are directly under the potato`s skin and are completely lost when they are peeled and then boiled. Continue reading
Nettle Soup
Wear gloves when picking the nettle leaves! It is best to pick young tender leaves from an unpolluted area and away from roaming dogs. Also, avoid picking any herbs from the roadside because of exhaust fumes. Make sure you wash the leaves well.
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
- 8 ozs tender nettle leaves
- 5 and 3/4 cups water
- Salt and pepper
- Grated nutmeg
Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the oil, onion and potatoes. Cook gently over a low heat until soft but not browned (approx 5 minutes). Add the nettles, cover and cook for another 5 minutes Add water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked Place in a food processor or push through a sieve until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then reheat just before serving.
From: Journey Folki
Tomato and Lentil Quick Soup
- One tin of chopped tomatoes
- One tinful of water
- Two handfuls of lentils
Instructions:
- Add all the ingredients together in a pan and simmer.
- Add flavours – salt and pepper, a teaspoon of mixed herbs, fresh basil and or a spoon of pesto. Or a teaspoon of curry powder. And/or paprika. Or a bit of marmite.
- After about 15 mins simmering the lentils should be cooked.
One thing: when making lentil soup of any kind, it’s best to add salt after cooking the lentils, because otherwise they don’t seem to cook properly.
From: Journey Folki