Apple Pie Releasing Spell

Today, you’ll be making apple pie. This recipe is for releasing that which holds you back, including bad habits and causative issues. For this recipe, you will need a top and bottom crust. You can make this with the recipe for it below, but you can also buy one. Our spellwork today will be done with the filling, so the crust is up to you. The recipe for the filling comes from my grandmother, so the original source is unknown. The crust comes from the Doubleday Cookbook which, if it’s still in print, I cannot recommend more.

CRUST RECIPE: (makes a top and bottom)

2 Cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
⅔ Cups chilled vegetable shortening, butter, or lard
4-6 T ice water

STEPS

Cut in shortening with flour and salt in a shallow mixing bowl until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water over the surface, 1 T at a time. Mix in lightly and quickly with a fork. Add just enough water for the pastry to hold together, then quickly shape it into a ball. Be sure to warm the dough as little as possible, as this will make the pastry flakier when it’s baked. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When you are ready to stuff your pie, remove the dough from the fridge. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll ⅔ of the pastry into a circle about 3” larger than the pan you intend to use. You can transfer this into the pan by lightly folding the pastry into quarters and laying it in the pan, so long as you are careful to not press and cause your crust to stick to itself. Trim the pastry so that it hangs approximately 1” over the edge of the pan, and use the scraps to patch any holes you may find. Pour your filling inside. Place the last ⅓ of your dough on top as you see fit. You may simply roll it out and place it in a sheet on top, but I personally prefer to lattice it.

FILLING RECIPE

5 large apples, whole
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 C sugar
½ C flour
2 T butter

STEPS

1) Preheat the oven to 400F.

2) Begin to peel the apples. Picture these apples as being yourself. What you are now peeling away is your bad habits and negative attitudes. These are only on the outside. When you look at yourself, they may be all that you see, but you must remember that there’s a whole world of substance within. As you peel away the skin of the apple, chant:

“I release my body
From this shell
I deny the lies
That negativity tells.”

Peel all five apples at once, putting the skins in a bowl. Chant the entire time, as it becomes a
natural mantra. Save the bowl. From all things, lessons can be learned, and overcoming
obstacles can make you a better person overall. You can use this bowl of skins to make vinegar,
potpourri, or a whole number of other things. But that’s for another time.

3) When the apples are peeled, cut them into quarters. This will make the core easier to remove.
The core is also undesirable for eating, so it must be taken out. As you open “yourself” up, try to
think of the core reasons for your bad habits and negativity. These can be hard to face, as they
may be buried deep within. They can be traumas, bad memories, negative relationships,
destructive mindsets, or any manner of things. Take your time, and truly analyze what it is that
you’re seeing:

“I open myself
To all that I fear
I remember the things
That dig deep like a spear.”

Cut all the apples before you continue to the next step. It is essential that you see all the
underlying circumstances before you can move on.

4) You now see the “cores” of your issues. These have to be removed in order for you to proceed,
or they’re going to sour any other kind of progress you make. Carefully cut them out, making
sure to remove as little of the substance of the apple as possible. You can take away your trauma
and negativity, just like the outer manifestations of them, without cutting into who you are and
taking away essential parts of yourself. So again, be careful, take your time, and while you
remove the cores, repeat:

“I’ve found my faults
What holds me back
I remove the things
That keep me off track.”

As with peeling and cutting them, chant while you core all of the apples.

5) Chop the apples, and envision any trapped negativity escaping as you break your being down into
small, analyzable pieces. As you break yourself apart, remember that you have always been
many small pieces that make a whole. Look at every part of yourself separately, yet together.
You are a complex puzzle, and every part of you, including the negative aspects, all work
together to make you who you are. As you chop, chant:

“I am in pieces
And I am whole
I leave the things
That take their toll.”

6) Place the apple pieces in a bowl. Pour the vinegar over them, and envision it washing away the last remnants of negativity. Mix until you are rinsed of your old ways.

7) Now add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Much like the conflict and struggles in your life, they’re quite nasty on their own. But added to you, and a positive attitude, they shape the way that you are and can work to create something wonderful.

8) Next is the sugar. This is the positive attitude we just mentioned. It takes the sourness and difficulty of change, the spice and distastefulness of struggle, and sweetens them into the learning experiences that they are.

9) Sprinkle the flour over the top of your mixture. This brings everything together to form a more ideal, sweeter, spicier you.

10) Place the crust in the pie plate, and pour in the filling.

11) Cut the butter into thin slices and place them on top. On its own, butter is nasty and unhealthy in large portions. But as it melts into the healthier apples, it becomes a delicious little addition to the mix. This is indulgence. Remember to spoil yourself every once in a while. Always in mediation, of course, but there nevertheless.

12) Finish your pie with the top crust. Decorate it as you see fit, but be patient and artistic with it. You can decorate your life however you want, present it to yourself and others in whatever light you choose. Choose a beautiful presentation, even if it’s a little annoying at first, because you’ll love the end product.

13) Bake for 50 minutes. The heat will send the scents of your new, cleaner, more positive self into the heavens. This, your new self, is your offering to the universe. The baking process completes the release of all that holds you back, and as you breathe in the scent of the fruits of your labors, feel relaxed and at peace.

Remember to make something with the cores and peels of the apples. Always remember that there are lessons to be taught by everything that happens in life, be they sweet growth, like the pie, or bitter change, like a vinegar you can make from the less desirable parts. As you eat the pie, take your time to enjoy, absorb, and digest your new self. This may take time, but will be far more satisfying.

Beautifully written by Jasmine Scarlatos