www.enchantedmoon.org/sabbats.htm

Litha is also known as midsummer and the Summer Solstice. This is the time of the year when summer is in full swing. This holiday is celebrated by greeting the dawn. If you are not the party type and would rather sleep and get up to greet the dawn you may. However, many Pagans like to celebrate with an "all nighter" and will go to bed after they have greeted the dawn. This is also the holiday of the battle of the Oak and Holly Kings. If you wish you amy re-enact the battle as a game of two teams.

Foods for this holiday include a theme of golds and reds. You can create a bread bowl in the shape of the sun. You can make anything with carrots, oranges, bananas, red bell peppers, lemons and summer squash. Litha is a Sabbat that is celebrated outside in the form of a picnic or Bar-B-Que. Some drinks that are enjoyed during this holiday are cyder, honey mead, apple juice, and for the adults...fruit juice and vodka!

The Witch's Brew
Please Follow This Link to View The Video on YOU TUBE

This is a great "ale" recipe for the cakes and ale portion of rituals and Sabbats. This particular one is for Samhain but you can tailor it to any Pagan Holiday really. It is very easy to make but it is time consuming. The ingredients need to simmer for about 2 hours. I personally would recommend straining the mixture if you plan on serving it away from home. Ms. Flora has a bunch of other Pagan cooking ideas on You Tube, I encourage you to check them out so you can be the bell of the ball at any Pagan gathering!!

Beltane is a festival of fertility in the physical, mental, and spiritual. Many individuals get handfasted on May 1st to help bless their marriages and encourage fertility to ensure children. Beltane is a holiday that represents the God shedding his youth to join the Goddess who sheds her maiden robes to become mother. Together they join and and their marriage is celebrated.

Many pagans throw a festival on Beltane as it is the second most important Sabbat of the year. Some activities that occur are decorating the May Pole, picking a May King and Queen to preside over the festivities, creating a daisy chain and giving prizes to the longest chain,handfastings, music, food and drink. Another important aspect of Beltane includes the Solar God Bel, and it was traditional that bonfires were lit and the cattle and livestock were driven between them to ensure their fertility. People would jump these bonfires for their own fertility as well.

A common food that is served on Beltane is Cucumber Soup. Also roast pork is a good meat for this festival served traditionally with home-made applesauce. A common drink on Beltane is mead.

Mars, the Roman God of War, was one of the most worshiped and revered gods throughout ancient Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno and according to legend, fathered Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, with the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia. Because of this mythological lineage, the Roman people felt as though they were also the children of Mars and he was regarded as their protector. Mars held a special place in the Roman Pantheon not only for his patronly influence, but because of the importance of military achievement in the republic and the Roman Empire, conquering Northern Africa and much of Europe and the Middle East.

The month March (Martius) is named after him. As the god of war, many of his festivals were held in the spring, the beginning of the campaign season. He was a god of spring, growth in nature, and fertility, and the protector of cattle. On March 1, the Feriae Marti was celebrated. The Armilustrium was held on October 19, the end of the campaigning season, the weapons of the soldiers were ritually purified and stored for winter.

This exact story and image can be found at the following link:
http://www.meridiangraphics.net/mars.htm

This is a festival celebrating the Saxon Goddess Eostar or Ostara. Her symbols are the egg and the hare representing fertility. This Sabbat of fertility is not only for the body and the land but also for the mind.

Harvesting Nettles: If you are harvesting your own nettles, they get the name "stinging" because the leaves and stem of the plant, which can reach 2-4 feet high, are covered in little hairs that sting the skin. You need to wear gloves when harvesting the leaves, and digging the roots.Do not harvest nettle leaves after the plant has flowered, they become grainy and can upset the urinary tract. Nettle Plant Growing Conditions: Nettle plants thrive in moist soil, they like to have their roots wet. They are perennial and return in abundance year , spreading by their root system and sending up new shoots every spring.
Nettle Tonic: A tonic made from the leaves is also used in many herbal hair products to promote a healthy shine and stop dandruff. Once used to prevent scurvy, nettle leaf is high in vitamins A, C, D, K iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. This is a very beneficial herb.

Nettle Soup:
1 lb of nettle leaves
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 oz of butter
1/4 pint of vegetable stock (broth)
1 pint whole milk

Wash and chop the nettle leaves and fry the garlic in the butter. Add the stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Blend or push through a sieve. Add the milk and heat slowly. Do not allow to boil. Serve with a whirl of cream and some very fresh bread.