Tuesday, February 7
The planet of order’s backward period (lasting until June 25) is a time to cultivate discipline, patience and self-restraint. Making up for unmet obligations comes from hard work instead of guilt and shame. Balance in relationships is restored when individuals take responsibility for themselves instead of casting blame on others. Finding peace within is the first key to harmonious partnerships.
Dry Fruits and Vegetables, Cut Hair to Retard Growth, Mow to Retard Growth, Dig Post Holes, Pick Apples and Pears, Quit Smoking, Perform Demolition, Wash Wooden Floors, Paint, Start Diet to Lose Weight, Ask for Loan, Entertain Friends, Host a Party
Calendar of the Moon 
7 Luis/Gamelion
Hearth Blessing
Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: On this day the altar is built in the kitchen, spread before the hearth with a red cloth and a single red candle on which is carved the Rune of Fire.
Offerings: Ashes smeared on the forehead. Kitchen cleaning and duty.
Daily Meal: Cooked all together as a group.
Invocation to the Hearth Goddess
Hertha of the warm hearthstone
Hestia of the naked flame
Vesta of the rising smoke
Lady who warms us
As you warmed our ancestors,
Lady whose touch cooks our food,
Lady around whom we gather
On the coldest nights,
Fire that draws us in,
Fire tamed, fire who is our friend,
Never let us forget your care
Lest you become wild and strike back.
Stay here in your hearth
And protect our home from your anger.
Speak truth to us
And let us bear your truth on our tongues.
Never leave us for long
Lest we forget to whom we owe
The next winter’s comfort
And salvation.
Chant: Ken Ken Ken
(As everyone chants, each steps forward and draws the rune of Fire, Ken, on the hearth with their finger. Then the hearth is ceremonially relit with the candle and dinner-making commences.)
Calendar of the Sun 
Ancestor Day
Color: Black and grey
Element: Earth
Altar: Spread a black cloth, and lay it with photographs, paintings, and other depictions of our ancestors. Add also symbols of their old tools, and statues of ancestral deities, a bowl of seeds for the future garden, pots of soil, a pitcher of water, and many candles of black and white and grey.
Offerings: Things they would have liked to eat, drink, smoke, or smell. Tend a cemetery and clean up the graves.
Daily Meal: Food from an earlier era, using authentic recipes.
Invocation to the Ancestors
Our ancestors got up at dawn,
Slaved in the dirt,
Sweated in the sun,
Chilled in the cold,
Numbed in the snow,
Scattering each seed with a prayer:
Pray that there be enough,
That no one starve this winter.
Pray that no bird nor beast
Steal the food I have struggled for.
And most of all,
Pray that each seed I save
Of this harvest
Shall next year
Bring forth a hundred more.
We live today
Because they worked
Because they sowed
Because they harvested
Because they prayed.
Chant:
Those who came before
We are your children
Those who came before
We honor your names
(Each person takes seeds from the bowl and plants them in the pots of soil, speaking the name of one of their ancestors as they do so, as in: “In honor of _______.” The pots are watered, and the candles put out one by one.)
Here’s a humdinger of epic proportions. Take a look at the following dizzying list of aspects – the Sun unites with Mercury in Aquarius (1:04AM PST),
Saturn stations at 30 degrees of Libra (6:04AM PST) and very slowly begins to move retrograde, the Moon parallels Jupiter (9:36AM PST), Mars opposes Vesta (10:47AM PST), Venus makes an off-kilter, 150-degree tie to Saturn (12:01PM PST), the Full Moon occurs at 1:55PM PST (activating 19 degrees of Aquarius and Leo), Venus ends its cycle through the zodiac by entering Aries (10:02PM PST), and Juno trines Uranus in fire signs (10:54PM PST). That list represents 8 major heavenly happenings that are all interweaving their myriad qualities into one vast singularity in the psychic atmosphere. Keep in mind that the Sun-Mercury conjunction is actually an Earth-Sun-Mercury line-up in the solar system in which celestial seed-ideas are seeking entrance into receptive human minds. The Saturn shift into reverse motion will last until June 25, and this key planet doing backstrokes in Libra places an emphasis on what is more practical, sensible, logical and reliable in the material realm. In addition, you want to make a thorough re-evaluation of career aims, professional work and business plans – not to mention improve the quality of primary partnerships. Meanwhile, the Full Moon reminds you to send out healing thoughts and prayers to humanity on the edge of a pessimistic fall into the abyss. Your job is to rally the flying squadrons of enlightenment via individual and group meditations. While the Mars-Vesta opposition and Venus-Saturn 150-degree skirmish are clearly unsettling vibrations that can interfere with your best efforts to spread goodwill, the illuminating presence of the Full Moon – along with Venus starting a new cycle in the zodiac and Juno teaching Uranus a few things about style and beauty – can give you the positive boost necessary to have an award-winning day. May the Force be with you!
Magickal Intentions: Courage, Physical Strength, Revenge, Military Honors, Surgery and the Breaking of Negative Spells, Matrimony, War, Enemies, Prison, Vitality and Assertiveness
Incense: Dragon’s Blood, Patchouli
Planet: Mars
Sign: Aries and Scorpio
Angel: Samuel
Colors: Red and Orange
Herbs/Plants:Red Rose, Cock’s Comb, Pine, Daisy, Thyme and Pepper
Stones: Carnelian, Bloodstone, Ruby, Garnet and Pink Tourmaline
Oil: (Mars) Basil, Coriander, Ginger
Mars rules Tuesday. The energies of this day best harmonize with efforts of masculine vibration, such as conflict, physical endurance and strength, lust, hunting, sports, and all types of competition. Use them, too, for rituals involving surgical procedures or political ventures.
Supernatural Seven
The number seven has long been regarded as an important symbol. It signifies cosmic order, it is the sum total of the number of Earth (four) and heaven (three). There are seven days of the week, seven colors of the rainbow, and, in ancient belief, seven planets. It is also said to denote occult wisdom and psychic ability: any seventh child is born lucky; a seventh son, specifically, is blessed with the gifts of second sight and healing at birth; and the seventh child of a seventh child is a born witch.
“Curing Cramps”
If you suffer from cramps in your calves, enlist the aid of a plant ruled by Aquarius, the sign that governs the lower legs, as well as February 7. Adding a few drops of peppermint essential oil to base oil and then gently rubbing t in should soothe muscular spasms and tension.
“The universe is an endless source of strength I can draw on as I undertake new challenges.”
“Take the breath of the new dawn and make it part of you. It will give you strength.”
Hopi Saying
Listen for the Bells
According to myth Celtic Shamans used sacred branches hung with silver bells to open doors between the material and spirit worlds. Close your eyes and imagine hearing the music of the silver bells Approaching the sound you see a gateway formed by two blossoming trees. Passing through, you fin yourself in another world. Ahead of you the guardian of the gateway is tending a cauldron over a fire. The guardian fills a chalice with liquid from the cauldron and hands it to you. The spicy drink replenishes your strength. The guardian tells you to return whenever you need to, reminding you to listen for the silver bells. You pass back through the gateway and open your eyes. You feel full of life and energy.
Witches Of The Craft® 
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