The pagan origins of the Thanksgiving celebration can be traced back to ancient harvest festivals that were celebrated by various cultures around the world. These festivals were held to give thanks for a successful harvest and to appease the gods for future bountiful harvests. In ancient Greece, the festival of Thesmophoria was celebrated in honor of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and included feasts, processions, and offerings. Similarly, the Roman festival of Ceres, also dedicated to the goddess of agriculture, involved feasting, games, and the offering of fruits and grains. Even in ancient China, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated to give thanks for the harvest and included the sharing of a special meal with family and friends. The Thanksgiving celebration as we know it today in the United States has its roots in the early 17th century when English pilgrims, who were influenced by their European traditions and customs, held a feast to give thanks for their first successful harvest in the New World.
We have a small orchard, three apple trees, because what’s a witch without apples? Holly bushes for the druid in everyone, English Ivy because it creeps so nicely and makes everything look like a cemetery, and Wysteria because it grows wild, blows the mind with its scent and is quite destructive over time.
The aforementioned Datura and Brugmansia would work for that, but a true potion will have a bit more variety, such as Belladonna, or Deadly Nightshade, and this year I ve also added Monkshood, a delightful plant where even touching the leaves can cause a severe skin reaction. For the uninitiated, the potion typically requires plants which are often deadly when taken internally, and psychedelic if absorbed through the skin.
The Thanksgiving celebration as we know it today in the United States has its roots in the early 17th century when English pilgrims, who were influenced by their European traditions and customs, held a feast to give thanks for their first successful harvest in the New World. This feast, known as the "First Thanksgiving," has been romanticized and is often associated with the peaceful coexistence between the pilgrims and the Native Americans. However, it is important to note that Thanksgiving did not become an official national holiday until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of "thanksgiving and praise" to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November.
10 Magickal Plants to Grow Indoors
Last week I wrote a post about the garden I have in my apartment patio and you guys loved it! I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised by how many views and comments that post already has. So I’ve decided to expand the post into a series focused on feeling magickal in a small living space.
As a companion to my patio garden, I thought I’d start off with a little indoor gardening since I know a lot of you who live in apartments and cities don’t necessarily have more than a windowsill to hold your gardens. First, I’m going to give you a tour of my indoor plants and then we’ll discuss magickal houseplants you can grow too!
Indoor Garden Tour
Now, I don’t have as many indoor plants as I would like because my apartment gets very little direct sunlight. It’s nice and bright but with almost entirely East facing windows in the whole house (with the exception of one North facing), there’s not a lot of light getting into the nooks and crannies.
However, I do like to have some greenery around so I have this little trooper on the kitchen table:
I bought the spider plant to sit on the end of a tall cabinet but it very nearly shriveled up and died from the lack of sunlight. Once we finally moved it to the window, voila! It almost immediately sprouted babies.
The only plant in the house that doesn’t seem to mind the lack of direct sunlight is the succulent we have over the kitchen sink. I had a few tiny succulents and decided it was a great idea to plant one of them in a votive candle holder I had hung on the wall. I really didn’t expect it to survive, frankly, but I thought it would look nice for a while. Much to my surprise, despite no water drainage and no sunlight, the plant has grown about six inches in the past three months and since has sprouted a second branch. A bit of magick perhaps?
I’ll be honest, there is also an ivy plant in our kitchen but I’m not sharing a picture of it because, well because as of yesterday, it’s officially been declared beyond saving. Not sure what killed it because it was doing fine, we changed nothing, and then it slowly started dying with no hope for revival. What can I say? My green thumb only reaches so far.
The key to indoor gardening is really just trial and error – seeing what plants work in your space and how you and your space feel about certain plants.
It also helps to, you know, water them once in a while.
Upstairs in my bedroom, I have a terrarium of succulents which you’ve seen before because it also functions as the Earth element on my altar:
Last but not least, I have a small green houseplant next to my bed which honestly, I think is so important. Even though I felt like I had decorated my room, I had lived there for almost five months before I finally got any plants in my bedroom and as soon as I did, I had this totally unexpected sense of completion. All of a sudden, my space felt whole, as if the room had been missing that element of life.
Plus, I fell in love with this planter at Target and had to find something to thrive in it!
I also can’t overemphasize the power of cut flowers. Although it may not seem as magickal to go to your local flower shop and purchase a bouquet as it would to, a) grow them yourself or b) gather them in a softly sunlit field, having flowers in the house is proven to uplift spirits. Even if it’s just a single stem in a bud vase, flowers will make a huge difference in your mood and your magick.
So without further rambling, what plants can you grow in your apartment or small space?
Ivy is just so beautiful and witchy, I’d love a house covered with it one day!
Although Thanksgiving has become a deeply ingrained cultural tradition in the United States, its pagan origins remind us that the act of giving thanks and expressing gratitude for the bounties of life is a universal human practice that transcends religious and cultural boundaries. The Thanksgiving celebration serves as a reminder to appreciate the blessings in our lives and to come together with loved ones to share a meal and express gratitude..
Reviews for "Thanksgiving's Ancient Origins: Unveiling the Pagan Influences"
- Emily - 1 star - The pagan origins of the Thanksgiving celebration is a complete fabrication and lacks any evidence to support its claims. The author presents a skewed interpretation of historical events and cherry-picks information to fit their narrative. It's disappointing that this book perpetuates misconceptions and misleads readers with false information.
- Mike - 2 stars - I was hoping to learn more about the true origins of Thanksgiving, but this book was a letdown. The author's argument is weak and lacks substantial evidence. They seem more focused on discrediting the holiday rather than providing a balanced perspective. I was left feeling frustrated and unsatisfied with the book's content.
- Sarah - 1 star - I found "The pagan origins of the Thanksgiving celebration" to be a complete waste of time. The author makes baseless claims and fails to provide any legitimate sources or scholarly research to support their arguments. It seems like nothing more than a conspiracy theory in book form. I would not recommend wasting your time or money on this book.