Think of the Christmas/Yule tree, a ritual that honors the evergreen tree’s tenacity of life during the coldest days of winter. A plastic, glowing Christmas tree may be a thing of beauty but how many of us treat it as a symbol of hope and renewal? Outside of churches and temples, social gatherings can be lacking in meaning. More and more, our festive habits opt towards gathering to drink booze, watch television, or go shopping. I expected no different from a coven of witches.
That August evening, everyone left their eye of newt and their cauldron at home and got together to bake bread, a ritual similar to the Christian holiday of Loaf Mass Day. Priestess Tiger Willow explained that the beginning of the harvest was time to take stock of what we’ve produced. It was also the end of planting so we were celebrating the seeds that would grow in the next season. As we collectively rolled and kneaded, Priestess Tiger Willow explained the symbolism of the various spices you might add to your bread. We each chose spices based on what we hoped to “plant” into our lives in the upcoming year.