Fairy Garden Salad

Back in the Nether Realm, my mother would make Fairy Garden Salad for the first time each year for the May Day celebration. She would gather the greens, berries, nuts or seeds, and herbs from the Enchantra Forest where we lived.  The fairies always picked and delivered the flowers to provide the finishing touches. For May Day and for the rest of the celebrations in the summer, we had this wonderful fresh, healthy, and delicious salad. We always made extra to leave outside to repay the fairies for their contribution.  Fairies love this salad and since I am of the fey species, it is my favorite summer salad.

In this world, you do not need to search the forest for the ingredients. Most are available at your local supermarket. Make sure the flowers are edible; not all are.  I encourage you to plant a couple of pots of your own herbs and edible flowers. That way you can make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticide or insecticide.


Salad Ingredients
* About 6 cups of spring salad mix (medium size package)
* 3 cups berries (I used 1 cup each of blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)
* ½ cup nuts or seeds (my favorite is sunflower seeds)
* Edible flowers (I used violas for the salad in the picture. Nasturtiums, rose petals, and chive blossoms are all lovely)

Dressing Ingredients
* 1 part olive oil
* 1 part lemon juice
* Squirt of liquid honey
* Small bunch of chives, chopped
* A couple of mint leaves, muddled or finely chopped

Instructions
Invite your friends over, put on some happy music with a lot of percussion and shake your mystical booty. Put all salad ingredients in a bowl. Toss the ingredients and flip your hair or flip the ingredients and toss your hair.  Either way works.  Mix dressing ingredients together while dancing.  Feel free to use your dressing bottle as a maraca.  Dressing is best left to sit for a bit to mingle the flavors. So in the meantime mingle with your friends. 

Add dressing just before serving. This salad is lovely with a toasted croissant, a wedge of warmed brie cheese, and a glass of ice cold sangria.  Fun, friends and fresh salad, what could be a more fabulous feast?

Magical Herb Garden

You thought they didn't exist in this world did you?  Well good news my fantastical darlings, They do!  It takes some work but you can get a lush and lovely little garden to nourish your mystical bodies. The herbs here work a little differently.  We have the same ones humans do back home but the ones that are native to our world will not grow in this realm.  On top of that, the herbs here require a lot more care and harvesting.

I know what you're thinking.  Isn't it enough just to have them?  The answer is no.  In the earth realm we can't just summon an individual rain cloud that fits in your garden or bring plants to life with your touch.  You have to take water from the hose, well, sink, whatever and water them.  Also you have to take a small knife or a pair of scissors and cut the herbs where it's safe to cut them. Oh!  And don't forget to fertilize these herbs because they need that here.

Now what are good magical herbs to have here?  Here is a list and what they're for.  The red is for the name of the herb, green is for the uses in our world, and blue is for its uses in the earth realm.

Basil:   In our world, basil is used for clarity especially with important things.  So if you lose something, one bite from these leaves and you will remember where it is.  For magical uses in this realm, basil is used for love, exorcism, wealth, flying, protection and courage.  Pretty cool yes?  Practically speaking it helps prevents cancer, heal cuts and aids digestion.  Best to cook in sauces, salads and teas.
Chamomile: What is this little herb good for?  In our world we use it to keep us from getting lost in dreams and to keep nasty demons out of the house.  In the Earth Realm however, it is used for meditation, centering, peace, protection, healing and money.  For practical uses, it is good as a sleep aid, relieves fevers and stomach aches, and is a good strengthener for blond hair.  Best as a tea.
Chives:  In our world we use this as a "gauge" in how undead a person is.  Mostly in the Earth Realm, this is to keep diseases and evil spirits away.  For practical uses they are mildly anti-septic.  This is best in any kind of cooking from pastas, soups and salads.
Jasmine:  We mystics love to use this as a way to lure the object of our affection.  Humans however use this for love, sensuality, money, meditation and prophetic dreams.  Practically speaking it's good for headaches, lifting your mood and calms anxiety.  The best way to ingest it is through teas. 
Lavender:  The magical uses of lavender is many and varied.  In our realm, we mostly plant this in our gardens for luck but in the earth realm it has more powers.  This includes love, chastity (when used with rosemary), sleep, protection, purification, peace, longevity and happiness.  This is a herb that can be cooked or steeped in tea but I'll be frank.  It tastes like soap.  Better to just use it as a scent only. 

Lemon Balm: Lemon balm makes a very nice healing slave in our world.  In this world it is used for love, success, and healing.  It's not that different since both mystics and humans use it because it's good for the skin, kills viruses and calms your nerves.  Another plus is they attract bees and butterflies.  Best to drink like a tea.
Oregano:  Like lavender, oregano has many magical uses.  We use it for medicines, anxiety relief and (for shape shifters) the ease to deal with transforming.   Humans use it for happiness, tranquility, health, protection and letting things go that piss them off.  Unlike lavender, oregano is delicious and is good in just about everything.  You can make it up in sauces, soups and yes salads too. 
Parsley:  This lovely, bushy herb is used to keep zombies from decaying and going all crazy.  Magically speaking (for the earthlings), parsley is good for travelling and gaining wisdom.  For practical uses, parsley is good for your skin, blood and hair.  Once again, this is good for almost any dish you wish to have. 
Peppermint: This is like catnip for fairies.  We love the smell.  So if you are looking to attract a fairy, this is how to do it.  In this realm, it's used for healing, psychic abilities, meditation, and purification.  That is what peppermint does best.  For practical uses it helps you sleep, digest food and headaches.  If you are looking to make something with it, I recommend using it as a tea or dessert. 
Thyme: Like it's name, we in the Nether Realm use this for controlling time (freezing or speeding it up) and for alchemical purposes.  Thyme’s associations in the Earth Realm include: healing, love, psychic knowledge and purification.  All of which are needed.  Now the best way to cook with thyme is usually with potatoes, soups and a cheesy casserole. 

Those are just some starters.  If you would like others, I would also recommend rosemary, sage, catnip, rose hips and coriander.  Everything you need is here in these plants.  Does anyone have any other herbs to add?

 

The Magic of Orchids

Orchids.  They are a fascinating flower.  Beautiful, sensual, exotic and yes even magical.  These magnificent flowers can do a great deal of things.  It will balance the male/female energies, control your own energy but the best and most fun one is heightening sexual energies.   Oh yeah, I said it!  Orchids are a favorite amongst elves, fairies and other nature spirits when it comes to possessing the knowledge and spirituality of sex.  Sexuality is the source of our creative forces and it is important to tap into it once in a while. 

Here is a little something to spice up your sex life.  Not that any of you need it but it would be a fun little experiment. 
You will need:

 1 fresh orchid blossom
7 drops of vanilla essential oil
1/8 of a teaspoon of cardamom
1 drop of honey
1 sachet bag
1 red candle

What to do:

1. Light your red candle and through this whole exercise visualize your sexual partner. 
2. Take the orchid and put it in a small bowl.
3. Put the vanilla drops as close to the center of the blossom as you can.
4. Sprinkle the cardamom on top of the flower.
5. Put a drop of honey in the center of the blossom.
6. Cover the bowl and shake everything together
7. Pour the contents into the sachet bag.
8. Put the sachet bag into your underwear drawer and blow out the candle.

Now when you and your partner are ready for your "little alone time" light the red candle again.  When the erotic feeling takes you over, your partner will notice your glow almost immediately.  When this happens, you will know it's time.  Have fun lovers! 

Mermaid Beauty Bath

 

Forgive the lateness of my post but I had to travel back to the Nether Realm and get my favorite beauty potion.  It's called Mermaid Beauty Bath and it is a genius infusion that really works.  The best news is, I have the recipe.  If you all want an easy, magical and nourishing bath oil then you all have to try this. 

Ingredients

• A bottle of fresh spring water
• A handful of dead sea salt
• 3 strips of seaweed (found in most health food Stores)
• 1/2 a cup of rose petals (preferably pink)
• 1 sprig of lavender
• 1 cup of coconut oil
• 1 enchanted white pearl (optional)  

What you need to do:

1. Take the rose petals, lavender and seaweed and mix them using a mortar and pestle until well blended.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the spring water to a boil and then turn it right down to low.
3. Add coconut oil and remove saucepan from stove.
4. Put in your favorite bottle (Non-breakable and heat resistant is a must) 
5. Put your plant mixture in with the oil and water.
6. Stir or shake it until blended.
7. Add the sea salt.
8. Drop the pearl in and shake everything.
9. Wait an hour before use.

Tips from the Mermaids:
*Store in a cool dry place

*When you use this product in your bath make sure you have the atmosphere to match because it helps the process work quicker.  In otherwords, have some subtle sea-smelling candles burning, play some light string music and use a natural sponge. 

*The mermaids have a special mantra that they sing to themselves that helps them calm their minds and feel wonderful about themselves.  "Vie estas benlegla , vie trios, vie estas amora"  Loosely translated from the siren language, it means "You are beautiful, you are desire, you are love."