Melanie Crowombin is our website’s food and drink columnist as well as our resident sexologist. She has been a featured singer on all of the Crow Women albums. Although she now lives in Richmond, California, Melanie flies back to the nest when the time comes to record or perform with the Crow Women. She loves her milk goats.
Melanie’s blog posts:
Be a Sex Positive Pagan
Listening to Gaia Consort singing joyfully about sex as a positive act in The Rede, “An it harm none do what you will”, it occurs to me that this is sometimes easier said than done. In a sex negative culture with little EXPERT training in the ways of healthy seduction...
Bring the Rain
As a child I loved playing in the monsoon rains of my childhood home of Colorado, splashing in the puddles and helping the earth worms back to their dark earthy homes after they were washed out onto the street. As an adult I have also run out into the spring...
Gardening Spirit of Spring
As the light starts to noticeably return I start to think of spring and what I want to grow in this year’s garden. To get further into the mood as I pull out my seed catalogs and ooh and ahh over the beautiful pictures of vegetables, fruits and flowers, I...
Sexual Styles for Magical Connections
I recently wrote a blog post on sexual communication and thought I would follow it with something else near and dear to my heart: sexual style. It is a deeper form of understanding yourself and your lover to know what kind of energy you are craving and how you best...
Pagan Sexual Communication in Song!
I recently watched the film The Wicker Man from 1973, the extended version which includes the scene with the song Gently Johnny. I was struck with how sweetly the song conveyed a sex-positive attitude about seduction and sexual communication, as does much of the movie. As pagans we celebrate sexuality...
Imbolc – Time (and Dessert) of Great Potential
Happy Imbolc season! Greetings from the Crow Women’s own kitchen witch, here with another recipe from our cookbook for your Sabbat enjoyment. As we approach Imbolc, I am inspired by a song I just discovered called Imbolc – Time of Great Potential by Cernunnos Rising. In particular, these lyrics strike...
The Magic of “Shrubs”
As we approach the last harvest I am furiously preserving food in order to have yummy and healthy treats over the winter – pestos, salsas, and also SHRUBS! A shrub is an ancient way to preserve fresh fruit in vinegar and sweetener, dating back to the Babylonians, which is then...
Summer’s End Salsa
Lammas has passed and Fall Equinox is right around the corner. We pagan folk are deep into the season of the harvest Sabbats. I am embracing the hot sweaty days and the refreshing foods that go with it. The pepper plants in my garden are producing various varieties of spiciness...
Harvesting Honey for Mead and Magic
For the last several years I have been attempting to become a beekeeper, which to me means encouraging bees to stick around and live healthy productive lives within the little house I have provided for them, so that I might share in their bounty. As a witch from a Dianic...
Spring Equinox with Goats
This spring holds a little extra magic for me as several of my goats had the cutest, tiniest, sweetest kids you ever did see. The wonders of nature were on display as the moms quickly went into labor and had 2 little babes on the ground within 10 minutes and...
Brighid’s Bean Soup
Imbolc marks the beginning of spring and is the time we honor the multi-talented Brighid, Celtic Goddess of midwifery, smithery, poetry and healing arts. Lambs and goat kids are being born and little signs of spring are starting to show. Though it may still feel like winter there is promise...
Yule Apple Gallette
Yuletime is when I get really excited about apples. Though they are harvested in the fall they can keep much longer since they store well in cool cellars without refrigeration throughout the winter. So Yule apples have always been a traditional holiday food and beverage at this time of year...
Samhain Ancestors Chili
In autumn I begin harvesting my dried scarlet runner bean pods to have dry beans throughout the winter. Scarlet runner beans are an heirloom and many heirloom bean varieties are being rediscovered for their flavor and beauty. These beans have many uses throughout the seasons. Their scarlet flowers are a...
Lughnassad plum mead
As Lughnassad approaches, I am excited to harvest my favorite fruit for mead making: wild plums. The fruit heavily loads down the branches of a tree behind my house as I wait in anticipation until they have ripened to sweet perfection. Which is perfect timing for giving thanks at the...
Summer Solstice salad
The days are growing longer and hotter as we arrive at the longest day of the year. The natural world is busy and bright with bees collecting the succulent nectar of flowers. The Crow Women have a number of songs to honor the Summer Solstice including Suncycle on Crow Magic...
Sexy Beltane Potion
Beltane is one of my favorite holidays. By May 1st springtime has really arrived, the flowers are bursting forth and joyful sexy energy is upon us. The symbolism of the Maypole being placed in the earth and sheathed by ribbons, while being a fun and joyful ritual in its own...
Spring Equinox Quiche
It is spring in California and though we are still getting colder nights and days of rain, the days are getting longer and the chickens are responding by laying eggs again. Unlike in factory farms where lights keep the hens laying year round, my chickens take a break around winter...