Corn
National Popcorn Day is celebrated at the end of January, although its exact date is a matter of debate. Various sources report it as January 19; others claim it takes place on whatever day the “big game” falls on.
Why not use this day for some popcorn magick?
Then he thought if he had some milk, he would have popcorn and milk.
You can fill a glass full to the brim with milk, and fill another glass of the same size brim full of popcorn, and then you can put all the popcorn kernel by kernel into the milk, and the milk will not run over.
~from Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Magickal Associations of Corn:
- Gender: Feminine
- Planet: Venus, Pluto
- Element: Earth
- Season: Lammas and Mabon
- Deities: agriculture and solar deities
- Correspondences: Protection, Luck, Divination, Blessing, Offering, Fertility, Abundance
Popcorn Offerings
I’m not sure if you are aware of it, but nature spirits like popcorn. I have it on authority from Chickadee who has had complex relationship with a number of nature spirits, that they almost all like popcorn, particularly the sea gull spirits. This is a great way to introduce children to the idea of a relationship with the land…however, because of the (practical) negative implications of feeding wildlife, it is important to not leave food out too much or too often and to change the area where offerings are left, so that wildlife do not become accustomed to it.
Popcorn Chains
At Yule, when we decorate our tree, we include a popcorn garland. Part of our tradition when we make it is to use what we add to say a thank you and a blessing for someone we love (not for every single piece, but for our “family strand” of garland that that goes on the top of the tree).
Stringing magic popcorn into edible jewelry is an easy way to add a bit of extra love or joy or healing blessings for the kids, and it even makes a great sibling or parent gift. A few months ago, when my daughter did something especially naughty, got it in her head to make a “sorry necklace” for her brother. After eating caramel popcorn on a string, he was in a better mood to forgive her…
Popcorn Fortune Balls
This should be pretty obvious–think fortune cookie in a popcorn ball. Or, if you are packing a lunch for a trip or a day at school, put in an encouraging note or positive thought. Put a popcorn fortune ball on the end of a straw, and add some pipe-cleaner petals for a edible bouquet gift from the kids. All you need are some small strips of paper with a message written on them, and a popcorn ball recipe–stuff the message in the center of the ball as you shape it.
Venus Popcorn Spell
Sharing a bowl of popcorn with someone you love is one of life’s simple pleasures. Adding a sprinkle of practical magic may be akin to “gild-ing the lily,” but who doesn’t like to stir up a little love magic now and then? Rent a favorite romantic movie tonight. Pop some fresh popcorn, add butter if desired, and season with love herbs and passionate spices as suggested below. Say as you do so: “Venus, bless us with love and beauty.”
- Garlic salt, chili powder, and red pepper-to rekindle your love life.
- Parmesan cheese and dried basil-for Italian style romance
- Chili powder, garlic, and basil-fiery passion.
- A touch of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla powder-for comfort and warmth.
More Popcorn Day Activities
- Guess the Amount: Fill a container with popcorn kernels and have everyone guess. The winner gets a nifty prize.
- Popcorn Air Hockey: Can you “volley” the kernel back and forth 20 times without letting it fall? For this you will need: a flat surface (table), straw (to blow), coffee stirrers (as paddles) or hands (as paddles).
- Popcorn Relay Race: Holding popped corn in a spoon, run relay races to see which team can keep the popped corn in the spoon longest without spilling it.
- Popcorn Basketball: Can you flick a piece of popcorn into the basket? Muffin tins or small cups can be used for the basket.
- Make a Popcorn Word Search: Use these words: popcorn, pop, kernel, explode, heat, moisture, grain, snack, crunchy, butter, oil, salt, fiber, bag, hull.
- Write a Popcorn Haiku (5, 7, 5 syllable pattern poem): Like this!
Oil, kernels, heat, time
Many loud explosions heard
Pop, crunch, snack time. Yum!
- How many words can you make from this phrase?
“Fresh hot popcorn”, “Popcorn tastes good”, “I like popcorn”, “Hot buttered popcorn”
About Popcorn:
Popcorn has been around for 5,000 years. Archaeologists and researchers believe it to be the oldest of a group of five sweet corns. Popcorn originated in Mexico but quickly spread globally. Popcorn ears over 5,600 years old were found in New Mexico in 1948 and 1950, they are the oldest ears of popcorn known.
Popcorn was integral to early 16th century Aztec Indian ceremonies. Bernardino de Sahagun writes:
“And also a number of young women danced, having so vowed, a popcorn dance. As thick as tassels of maize were their popcorn garlands. And these they placed upon (the girls’) heads.”
In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when he invaded Mexico and came into contact with the Aztecs. Popcorn was an important food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.
An early Spanish account of a ceremony honoring the Aztec gods who watched over fishermen reads:
“They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water.”
Writing of Peruvian Indians in 1650, the Spaniard Cobo says, “They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection.”
In South America, kernels of popcorn found in burial grounds in the coastal deserts of North Chile were so well preserved they would still pop even though they were 1,000 years old.
Some Popcorn Trivia:
- Popcorn is a subspecies of corn called Zea mays everta, and like all corn, it is part of the grass family
- An 8 foot in diameter popcorn ball, weighing 3,415 lbs, created in 2006 in Lake Forest, IL is the largest popcorn ball on record
- A popcorn kernel needs 14% moisture content to pop
- The oldest popcorn popper was discovered in Peru dating back to 300 AD
- October is National Popcorn Popping Month!
- After bread, popcorn is one of the most popular foods that people feed waterfowl. Unfortunately, feeding waterfowl isn’t a good idea…
- Popcorn is the official state snack food of the state of Illinois
- Archaeological evidence of popcorn dates back to 4700 BC in Peru
- During the Great Depression, popcorn became exceedingly popular due to its relatively low price and was one of a few businesses that did well.
The Science of Popping Corn:
Popcorn works because each individual kernel (thanks to the hard shell) becomes its own pressure cooker, which then explodes, turning itself inside out. Inside the shell is a starchy substance and water. As the kernel heats up, the water turns into steam and the steam cooks the starch into a super hot jelly-like substance that explodes. After exploding, the water evaporates and the starch dries out, leaving the kernel flipped inside out, in the shape we know as popcorn.
Sources:
The Full Moon in September is all about emotions, healing, and balancing. This is a time of organizing and preparing for the coming months.
“This powerful Gateway is an opportunity to greatly accelerate your spiritual growth and to promote Balance in your life. Divine Masculine supports the Divine Feminine. As they come together in Sacred Marriage, you realize that one without the other is not balanced. So, do not act unless it is aligned with your Integrity; your Heart. Be inspired and then take a step toward your dream.”
– Ascension: Soulstice Rising
The Farmer’s Almanac tells us that this full moon’s name is the Full Corn Moon, attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested, however some calendars attribute the Corn Moon to the month of August. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon, which is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox.
In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe.
Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice, the chief garden and native staples, are now ready for gathering.
The September Moon is also known as Harvest Moon, Barley Moon. The harvesters would gain extra time in the fields by the light of the harvest moon.
Please take a seat and clear your mind of what fills it now and hear my words:
As you are sitting, close your eyes and feel the yellow of the sun..Reach up with your arms and let your fingertips touch that yellow..Now, lay back, with your arms extended and become a ray of the sun..As we all lay in a circle, we form the sun – we are all rays of this vivid starburst.
Look down to the Earth and see the fields ripe with the summer’s abundance..Find your self in the center of this abundance holding a large willow basket, eager to begin your autumn harvest.
Step first into an expanse of sweet corn..See the erect, regal, green stalks of corn..Observe a ripe ear on a particular stalk which extends to you..Under its scruffy whiskers kernels that sparkle like gold shine through. You are reminded of your own riches – both tangible and intangible..Reach out and pick this ear and put it into your basket.
Leave the corn field and enter an orchard; an apple orchard..See the beauty of these trees, these majestic symbols of the Goddess..Feel the fullness of her boughs – full of ruby red apples of knowledge..Reach up, way up, and pick two. Put one in your basket and eat the other. Taste and enjoy this fruit – for in this garden tasting an apple is not forbidden.
Now move toward an onion field which beckons you..Once green, now browning spikes point up to you, tempting you to dig below…Pull gently and the ground gives birth to aniridescent, opal bulb, full of body and character and strength..A vegetable with the power to make you feel the power of tears..Add this to your growing harvest.
Notice ahead thick bushes of ripened raspberries..Sharp brambles protecting their precious, succulent garnets..The sweet nectar of these berries remind you of your own sensuality – your own ability to feel, express, extend all that is soft and loving and warm to others..Take your time here and pick plenty of these supple jewels for your basket.
Step away now and look around you..Find a patch of fruit or vegetables that appeals to you..Enter it, admire its offerings, select a precious gem of your own to harvest..Choose a resource to sustain you in the rapidly upcoming time of cold and darkness…Capture some warmth and light and savor its presence.
With your arms now laden with this basket of bountiful treasures, it is time now to rest..Take your harvest to the grassy knoll in the sun just beyond and sit and bask in the glory of its healing heat..Rest in contentment knowing you have collected that which you need to give you strength and nourishment in the winter days to come.
Put yourself back in the sky now..Become the sun once again..Shine down upon yourself and your gatherings..Absorb the energy of the fruits of your labors, bless these seeds you planted in the Spring and nurtured to fruition through the summer..Be the sun..Shine down upon all that is good and good-giving..Give the light of hope to all you shine upon.
When everything you have touched with your rays is full of your brightness, open your eyes and rejoin our circle.
Sources:
- Journeying To The Goddess
- Magickal Winds
- Meditation by ~Angelica
The September full Moon is usually known as the Full Corn Moon because it traditionally corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also called the Barley Moon because this is the time to harvest and thresh ripened barley.
Often, the September Moon is also called the Harvest Moon, but this year the Harvest Moon occurs in October. The Harvest Moon is the Moon that falls nearest the autumnal equinox; this full Moon provides the most light at the time when it’s needed most—to complete the harvest!
Source: Almanac.com
I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!
