cleansing – Setjataset

Greek Folk Magick: Greek Easter

2026-04-04 Posted in Articles, Blog, Ceremonial magick, Events, Fellowship of Isis, Goddess, Hekate, Hellenic, Lyceum of Heka, magic, pagan, Publications, Recipes - Food Craft, Spirit of Place, Vibrational Medicine, Wicca, WitchcraftLeave a comment

Greek Easter is one of the most significant holy celebrations within the Orthodox faith. The interesting thing is that it’s infused with much folk magic due to its roots being a blend of ancient spring rituals which are superimposed with christian beliefs.

The focus of this time due to the spring season of the northern hemisphere is about fertility, purification and protection. Certain practices are enacted to ensure luck, protection and fertility of the land and its people.

In my home growing up there were many traditional celebrations mixed with folk magick which I still engage with (even though I do not follow the orthodox faith) due to finding it magically powerful and the energy quite potent (even with the season here in the southern hemisphere being autumn).

Greek Easter 2026 Dates

Palm Sunday (Vaion): April 5, 2026
Good Friday (Megali Paraskevi): April 10, 2026 (Day of mourning, epitaph processions)
Holy Saturday (Megalo Savvato): April 11, 2026 (Midnight Resurrection service)
Easter Sunday (Pascha): April 12, 2026 (Feasting and celebration)
Easter Monday: April 13, 2026

Below I have broken down the significant days and how I connect to the energetic current and work with them in a modern magical context:

THURSDAY

I like to magically engage with this energy by dying eggs the traditional way and using the influence of my mother’s herbalist nature by making herbal and floral stamped eggs in elemental colours. These are typically made on the Thursday before the Easter weekend. Then on Easter Sunday they are cracked for luck. I also offer the first dyed egg to my ancestors and keep it on their shrine to banish evil energies and promote protection. Red symbolises rebirth and is the primary colour used yet I sometimes make eggs in the colours of the elements such as green, blue, yellow and orange.

You can make your own coloured eggs with the following directions:

To dye eggs with herbs, flowers or leaves – stick a lightly damp herb (dill, parsley, coriander), leaf (rose) or flowers (marigold, daisies) onto a raw egg.
Wrap and secure it with small piece of pantyhose and tie off the ends, ensuring the pantyhose is tight and the botanical is flat against the shell of the egg.
Simmer the eggs with at least 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar with some dye* until they are hard boiled (10-12 mins) ensuring they don’t crack. You can let them sit in the coloured water and let them cool for a more deeper colour.
Remove from the dye water and dry off the eggs. Remove the pantyhose and herb, revealing the design.
Polish with a little bit of olive oil to create a nice sheen.

*You can use natural dyes such as onion skins or turmeric for yellow, saffron for orange and red cabbage for blue or alternatively you can purchase various coloured dyes from Greek continental deli’s/stores or the international section in supermarkets.

FRIDAY

I like to connect to this magical current yet make it my own by energetically cleansing my home by creating my own holy water which is infused with florals (very reminiscent of the holy water the priest uses to bless the congregation). I also offer flowers and herbs from my garden to my ancestors and decorate their shrine whilst singing hymns to them or reciting their names.

You can make your own floral water using the following directions:

Place a heat resistant bowl inside a large soup style pot.
Take fresh rose/calendula petals or elderflower/lavender/chamomile/rose geranium/orange blossom flowers that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides and place around bowl (I suggest using one botanical per batch.)
Pour just enough distilled water on the petals or flowers to cover them.
Place pot lid on upside down (handle pointing towards bowl).
Simmer on low for 20-30 mins.
Steam will condense on the lid and drip the pure floral water into the bowl.
Store what is in the bowl in a sterilised glass bottle or jar and keep refrigerated.

SATURDAY

On Saturday morning I break a clay pot outside my home which symbolises smashing evil and breaking with past negativity.

Pots can be personalised by making hand made pots (such as a simple pinch pot which involves pushing your thumb into a ball of clay after flatting the bottom and pinching the walls to thin them out whilst rotating the ball to create a small bowl) with air dry clay and once dry – painting them with magical symbols using water based paint. If you want a shortcut you can simply purchase a handmade ceramic or terracotta bowl from a thrift store and repurpose it.

On Saturday night to protect my home and bless it, I create equal armed crosses on the main thresholds (top of the door frame) of the house with the smoke from my own holy flame candles (similar to the way the holy flame that is brought from the church to the home). This is traditionally done on Saturday at midnight with lampades (adorned candles).

The way I make holy flame candles is I make candles from beeswax which I roll from sheets of beeswax and anoint with magical symbols (like an equal armed cross for protection) using a dab of olive oil. Alternatively I sometimes pour candles into molds using beeswax or containers using soy wax which is infused with essential oils such as orange blossom or lemon. Once these candles are set and dried I adorn them with embellishments such as some herbal sprigs tied in the middle with a simple cord of twine or string (red/black or a neutral colour).

SUNDAY

Greeks are all about feasting and I like to replicate some of the traditional foods made and give them my own magical twist. My favourite being a knotted bread called a Tsoureki (which is basically a sweet brioche type bread). I like to recite a spell as I knot the dough which infuses it with an enchantment of cleansing, protection and blessings.

I also take my dyed eggs and with another person tap our eggs together which is a ritual of renewal and luck – the person whose egg remains un-cracked is said to have good luck for the year.

Lastly dancing is also something which can bring in transformative and regenerative energies as traditional easter dances are spiral in nature and represent the spring mysteries of desert and return, as well as a snake shedding its skin. So I encourage you to stamp your feet and move your body to bring in renewed energy and stamp out the old.

So I encourage you to feel free to adapt any of the above to your personal practice and harness the energy of this time of the year, which in its essence is connected to Ancient Greek spring rites and folk magick.

In her name

Setjataset

Greek Folk Magick: Food Craft Grimoire

2026-02-09 Posted in Articles, Blog, Ceremonial magick, Events, Fellowship of Isis, Goddess, Hekate, Hellenic, Lyceum of Heka, magic, pagan, Publications, Recipes - Food Craft, Spirit of Place, Vibrational Medicine, Wicca, WitchcraftLeave a comment

My mother who practiced magick was heavily influenced by the hearth where many of her lessons took place. Both when she was dispensing the knowledge as well as partaking of them herself. It is where I was taught how to make many traditional Greek village recipes – for daily consumption, festivals, special occasions and as offerings to the ancestors. I would watch my mother for hours toiling over recipes where she would make me repeat and recite specific instructions, enabling me to memorise the little intricacies of her creations which made them unique.

In my family, many Greek recipes have been passed down throughout the years. Many were passed down orally, as their secrets were preserved in their minds – not on paper. However due to me wanting to keep them from vanishing, due to the passages of time, I started keeping a recipe book which I consider a food crafting grimoire aka my book of recipes. To this collection of recipes, I have also added my own creations which I have made in honour of my Gods, Spirits and Ancestors for various festivals, moon and seasonal cycles as well as specific magical workings.

For me, I personally feel a recipe book is a type of magical grimoire. Recipes like magic take preparation and certain steps are involved in executing them to fruition. Recipes like spells can be forgotten if they aren’t passed on or shared with others and due to not wanting to lose them, I ensure I write down detailed notes on said recipes within my food craft grimoire and on occasion share them with others.

Creating a food crafting grimoire is as easy as keeping a notebook and pen in the kitchen, where you can note down successful recipes you have connected with. Personally I keep both a handwritten note book with my recipes as well as a display book where I add my typed out recipes which I have printed out. I find it useful to make adjustments to recipe instructions by way of making handwritten notes when the need arises. I’m always fine tuning recipes, therefore keeping a good crafting grimoire is a a good way to keep track of what works and what doesn’t. Also these grimoires have been created with sections indexed for easily sourcing specific recipes, as well as both being decorated to reflect my own personal style. Today it’s also quite simple to create a virtual food craft grimoire using tools from blogs to software programs which can be viewed on electronic devices and then printed, filed or transformed into hard copy bound copies, which I have also done.

I like to magically add a little energetic charge to my food crafting grimoire by reciting a magical blessing for it. I created this blessing using the elements and the things I use in the kitchen, which also resonate with these elements. This blessing can be used on a Full, New or Waxing moon or on a harvest focused sabbath.

You can also evoke a God or ancestor such as Hestia who rules over the hearth, Circe who was well skilled in the transformational culinary arts or Hekate whom you can make regular offerings to on her Deipnon and Noumenia in the form of the recipes you have made. Alternatively you can substitute one of your patron God/dess before the magickal working below on their shrine or altar.

Food Crafting Grimoire Blessing by Setjataset

Preparation

Your magickal space should be created and placed on a dedicated shrine or working altar and should include:

Note Book embellished with your own decorations to reflect your style
Rock Salt
Olive Oil
Rose or Orange Water
Bundle of Herbs

Magical Working

Take some salt and sprinkle it over your book in a circle and say:

“Protect this grimoire and ground it in the energies of sustenance, healing and prosperity”

Take some olive oil with your index finger and draw circle over your book and say:

“Energise this grimoire and may it fan the flames of creativity within my heart and hearth”

Take some rose or orange water and with your index finger and draw circle over your book and say:

“Purify this grimoire and may it bless the recipes and those who work with its words of wisdom”

Take a bundle of your favourite herbs and draw a circle over your book and say:

“Inspire this grimoire to create the desire to manifest my ideas into reality”

Place your hands up to the sky and then make a sweeping motion down onto your book and lean down and blow a breath over it and say:

“I imbue this grimoire with the blessings of my ancestors and deity – may it always bring health, happiness and wholeness to those who peruse and partake from its pages”

After the Blessing

Place the grimoire in your kitchen with a writing instrument to add or make notes whenever your are preparing recipes for offerings or festival, seasonal, moon or magickal celebrations.

In her name

Setjataset

Greek Folk Magick: The Epiphany (6th of January)

2026-01-062026-01-06 Posted in Articles, Blog, Ceremonial magick, Events, Fellowship of Isis, Goddess, Hekate, Hellenic, Lyceum of Heka, magic, pagan, Publications, Recipes - Food Craft, Spirit of Place, Vibrational Medicine, Wicca, WitchcraftLeave a comment

Tuesday the 7th of January is The Epiphany. The Epiphany is also known as the blessing of the waters and is a day to celebrate the manifestation of God in the Greek Orthodox faith.

My family blended their regional folk magical practices with the religious holiday in a combination which honoured the day and also evoked the time of the year which is all about new beginnings.

It is a time specifically meant for cleansing, protection, blessing and divination.

I continue to honour some of the Greek folk customs to this day whilst also incorporating and acknowledging one of my main patron Gods – Hekate.

Some Greek folk traditions you can do on the Epiphany to bring in cleansing, protection, blessings and divining the future can be:

Go for a swim in the Ocean/Sea.

Bathe in salt water to cleanse yourself. You can also simply cleanse yourself with a bowl of salt water ensuring to wet the top of your head.
Cleanse with Holy Waters.

You can Asperge (sprinkle) yourself, your magical/spiritual items and personal space/home/transportation with holy water (water which has been blessed on this day) or alternatively you can use floral waters such as Orange Blossom Water or Rose Water. You can use a small bunch of fresh or dried herbs (bay laurel, lavender, rosemary etc) either on their own or together, tied with red cotton string.
Chalk your Door.

Write an inscription on your door frame to bring in good fortune and banish negative energies – traditionally above your home’s main entrance with the following: 20 + C + M + B + 26 (for the year 2026 and the letters stand for the names of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar).
Alternatively you can use the initials of a liminal God/dess like Hekate and use one of her titles such as Enodia (Crossroads/Of The Ways): 20 + H + E + 26.
Create a Talismanic Bag.

Make a charm bag and use items which invoke the magick you want to bring into your life such as success (coins), health (specific herbs like mint and rosemary), spirituality (God/dess pendants such as Hekate or symbolic charms like a star or spiral), purification (frankincense/myrrh resin or salt). This bag can be creating by placing items in a square piece of material and tied with cotton string or you can use any type of small bag which can be closed such as an organza tie up jewellery or even a zip up makeup/pencil case.
Sweep your troubles out the Door.

Use a broom in a circular motion and sweep your home moving towards the door and finish by leaning the boom upside down (broom handle touching the ground).
Burn any Herbs/Greens collected during Winter/Summer Solstice.

Burn any decorations (which is safe to do so) in a bonfire, fireplace or cauldron which symbolises death and rebirth.
Cake Blessing.

Similar to the New Year’s Eve/Day Cake make a Epiphany Cake which is a sweet cake or fruit cake which has a hidden nut, pea or bean inside it and the person who gets a slice of the cake with the hidden item is the Queen/King of the Day and is blessed with luck.
Divination.

Use various types of divination such as using water dripped with candle wax and scrying what the shapes mean to you.
Bring in Light.

Light candles to bring in the light and bless your life. Beeswax candles are the best but you can use coloured candles in the colours of red, gold, green and purple.
Incense and Chant

Incense your home to cleanse and purify whilst chanting. Use blends featuring frankincense, myrrh, benzoin and camphor and a simple chant such as “Omens Ill and Devil’s Bane, Decrease Then Cease as The Dark Moon Wanes.”(1) or chanting the Epithets of your God/dess (Hekate’s Epithets is a good one to focus on if she is a Goddess you Honour).

If you don’t honour Hekate you can substitute one of your patron God/dess with the above suggestions as long as your devotion and intention is pure.

So work your magick on this Epiphany. Connect with this blessed time and cleanse and protect yourself, your space and your loved ones.

In Her name

Setjataset

(1) Crone’s Book of Magical Words by Valerie Worth

Greek Folk Magick: New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day

2025-12-28 Posted in Articles, Blog, Ceremonial magick, Events, Fellowship of Isis, Goddess, Hekate, Hellenic, Lyceum of Heka, magic, pagan, Publications, Recipes - Food Craft, Spirit of Place, Vibrational Medicine, Wicca, WitchcraftLeave a comment

Wednesday the 31st of December is the last day of the Gregorian calendar year.

In my family we always had our Greek folk traditions and celebrations to honour this time as New Years was one of the main holidays we observed. It was a time for working on bringing in blessings, success, vitality and wellness for the coming year.

I continue to honour some of the Greek folk customs to this day whilst also incorporating and acknowledging my ancestors and one of my main patron Gods – Hekate.

Some Greek folk traditions you can do on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to bring in good luck, prosperity, health and blessings can be:

Hang up a fresh pomegranate over your front door before New Year’s Eve and then pull it down and smash it on your door step on New Year’s Day.

You can then up-cycle the pomegranate by drying it and then burning it as an incense or using it as a tea by steaping it. Hekate is the perfect Goddess to offer it to, as she is not only fond of pomegranate but also a liminal Goddess which this is a time of.
Play cards on New Year’s Eve to bring in luck.

You can also give yourself a tarot reading by pulling a card for each month of the year to see what will unfold for you.
Light sparklers or watch fireworks to welcome in the New Year with light and banish negative spirits.

You can light a candle or an olive oil lamp to Hekate as a liminal Goddess to welcome in the New Year. You can also light candles and oil lamps to your ancestors.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve throw all your change at the front door and then the next day the first person to wake up and gather it – has collected that luck.

You can donate the coins to a charity in Hekate’s name.
Hang up an onion inside the house on New Year’s Day.

You can hang it up above your Hekate shrine/altar as a devotional offering. Also you can try planting the onion and see if it takes in a garden bed or pot, or alternatively you can use the onion in cooking.
Enter your home on New Year’s Eve holding a citrine and a bowl of purified water.

Good things and prosperity will flow like water after you sprinkle water in the four corners of your home. Stability and health will come in after you place the citrine in the left corner of your home.
Enter your home on New Years’ Day on the right foot by literally walking into your home with your right foot first.

You can asperge around your home clockwise three times with bay leaves and khernips as a cleansing beforehand after you have called upon Hekate for assistance or alternatively smoke cleanse around your home by burning some dried bay laurel leaves.
Bake a cake with a coin (wrapped in bakers parchment) within it and share it with your loved ones. The person who gets a piece with the coin is going to have a lucky year. The traditional cake is called a vasilopita but you can also make an basic almond flour sponge cake.

You can offer a piece to Hekate as a food offering as well as a piece of cake to your ancestors. Dispose of by composting.
Sing traditional carols.

You can also sing hymns or prayers to your ancestors and Hekate. Reward those who sing with candy/lollies or money to sweeten the year.
Exchange gifts brought by Agios Vassilis (Greek Santa Claus).

You can also make offerings to your ancestors and Hekate.
Decorate a small wooden boat with twinkling lights. This is a symbolic vessel for family members who aren’t able to be with us during the holiday season.

You can also light a candle on your ancestor shrine along with some livani incense. You can inscribe a white candle with your loved ones name and burn it on Hekate’s shrine.
Share a meal with loved ones with traditional sweet cakes (kourabiedes and melamokarona).

You can also leave food offerings on your doorsteps for Hekate or the spirits of the house.

Go for a swim in the sea or lake to cleanse yourself.

You can also use Khernips made from salt and purified water and ritually cleanse yourself with the aid of Hekate.
Charge Gouri (lucky charms) to be worn for good luck during the year.

These are typically ornaments or jewellery who have symbols of evil eyes, coins or pomegranates on them. These items can also be gifted to family and friends.
Turn on Taps to allow the flow of good luck.

Do this after midnight and place a bowl or bucket underneath the tap and collect the water for your plants, herbs or trees.
Gather with loved ones and share a meal.

Share food and drink with a pot luck or have a meal at a favourite cafe, pub, dinner or restaurant.
Feed the Fountain by collecting silent water and making new year wishes.

Collect fresh water in silence from a local spring, river, lake or well and make an offering of honey or butter as thanks which connects you to nature and allows you to make wishes for the coming year.
Hang Basil and Open Windows.

Do this on New Year’s Day as basil is a protective ward and fresh air drives out negativity from the home.
Make an offering of three pieces of sweets and a glass of water on your magical/God-dess/icon shrine or ancestor shrine.

Traditionally the sweet is baklava or vasilopita and recognises generosity, faith and the mundane.
Light a candle, lantern or lamp to bring in the light.

Bringing in the light is a traditional way to bring in positive energy and banish negative energy.
Eat roast chicken to ward off evil and bring in good fortune with the blessings of Apollo.

Traditionally a black rooster was roasted on the first day of the year and consumed to banish evil and bring in good. The rooster heralded the sun which was celebrated as overcoming darkness.
Prepare a Proventa to share with others.

A Proventa is a dessert plate which shows beautifully arranged sweets and reflects a hosts generosity to others.

If you don’t honour Hekate you can substitute one of your patron God/dess with the above suggestions as long as your devotion and intention is pure.

So work your magick this New Year’s, honour the liminal time and cleanse the old and bless the new to enable you to embrace the beginning of a new calendar year.

In Her name

Setjataset

Greek Folk Magick: Food Craft Grimoire

2023-03-06 Posted in Articles, Blog, Ceremonial magick, Events, Fellowship of Isis, Goddess, Hekate, Hellenic, Lyceum of Heka, magic, pagan, Publications, Recipes - Food Craft, Spirit of Place, Vibrational Medicine, Wicca, Witchcraft1 Comment

Food Crafting Grimoire Blessing by Setjataset

Preparation

Your magickal space should be created and placed on a dedicated shrine or working altar and should include:

Note Book embellished with your own decorations to reflect your style
Rock Salt
Olive Oil
Rose or Orange Water
Bundle of Herbs