Day: April 28, 2012

Dragons and Apples Spell (Seed Moon)

Dragons and Apples Spells

(Seed Moon)

Dragons always indicate magick is afoot. Draco the dragon is a circumpolar constellation that wraps itself around the northern hemisphere. Draco’s face and head look different depending upon the time of year. It is an ancient constellation that once had more stars and is associated with Ladon from Greek Mythology, the monstrous dragon with a hundred heads. Ladon guarded the Golden Apples of Hesperides in the Goddess Hera’s garden. Hercules in his eleventh task slew Ladon and stole the apples. Hera was heartbroken over the loss of Ladon and put the dragon in the skies, coiled around the North Pole. The purpose of this spell is to call upon the stellar dragon energy to bring more sweet love into your life.

You will need a white candle, a dragon figurine or a picture of a dragon, your athame, and an apple.

At midnight, draw a magick circle and call in the elements. Also invite the helpful dragon powers into your circle. Set up your altar in the north sector of your circle. Light the candle, dedicating it to your lover or would be beloved. Place the dragon figurine or picture by the candle so that it is illuminated by the candlelight. Focus your awareness on the dragon in front of you, and say:

Magick dragon of midnight light
Bring more sweet love into my life.
As I will, so shall it be!

Use Your athame to cute the apple in half from side to side instead of from end to end. This reveals the star or five-pointed pentacle in the apple core. Before eating each half of the apple, repeat:

Magick apple of midnight light
Bring more sweet love into my life.
As I will, so shall it be!

When you are done, allow the candle to safely burn down. Thank the dragon powers, bid farewell to the elements, and pull up the circle. Put the dragon figurine on your altar or somewhere close to your bed to draw more sweet love into your life.

Ten-Minute Makeover (Seed Moon)

Ten-Minute Makeover

(Seed Moon)

This spell only take ten minutes to do, but its effects can be felt all the time. The idea is to bring out the best in you.

For this spell, you will need a full-length mirror and your journal.

Dream as you normally would, then stand in front of the mirror. Start to make an objective evaluation of how you appear in the mirror. If you saw yourself for the first time walking down the street, what would you think? Your hair? Your face? Your smile? Your body? Your clothes? How do they all look, both separately and as a whole? The more objective you are in your evaluation, the better the makeover will work for you.

Spend about five minutes looking yourself over before opening to a blank page in your journal and writing down some of your observations of what you saw in the mirror. Now on a separate page write down what qualities you would like to see in the mirror and some of the ways you can make them happen.

The idea is to take ten minutes in the evening in order to work on the “new you.” Take time to look in the mirror, write down any observations you have, and reaffirm your focus and determination. Put up pictures and sayings that give you encouragement and help you feel good about yourself. Each might as you go to sleep, repeat this affirmation:

Every day and every night
I am becoming who I want to be.

Poppy Seed Divination (Seed Moon)

Poppy Seed Divination

(Seed Moon)

Use this divination to answer a pressing question.

You will need a charcoal block, an incense burner, and nine poppy seeds. Because fire played such an intricate part in their daily lives, the people of ancient cultures commonly used smoke as a method of divination. One of the Norns, the Norse Goddess Verdandi, weaves the fabric that becomes each of our lives. This spell asks for the help of the Goddess in divining the smoke that rises up from smoldering poppy seeds.

Use your athame to draw a circle of light. Call in the elements. Carefully light the charcoal block, and invite the Goddess into your circle.

Great Goddess Verdandi

Weaver of all patterns

Help me to see

What is and will be,

So be it! Blessed be!

Ask the question you want answered, then blow on the charcoal. When it burns hot, place the poppy seeds on the lit charcoal and watch the smoke as it rises. Traditionally, if the smoke rose lightly and straight upward, it meant something good was going to happen, and if it hung around it was a portent of something bad. For yourself, try clearing your mind of all images before looking into the smoke. As you look into the smoke, let the image of the Goddess move into your consciousness. The smoke is a reflection of the fabric she is weaving. Look and see the patterns of your own life as it unfolds from the future into the present.

Thank the Goddess and pull up the circle when you are done.

Lessons In Tarot – Choosing Your First Tarot Deck

Choosing Your First Tarot Deck

Here are some points to consider if you are choosing your first deck:

  1. Choose a deck that makes you feel comfortable and secure, but also inspired. Since you will be spending a lot of time with your cards, you don’t want to pick a deck that strikes you as odd, unpleasant or boring. Later, you may seek out unusual decks for the challenges and insights they offer, but it’s better to start with one that attracts you. If a certain deck calls out to you, go with that one! 
  2. There is no official tarot deck. Decks come in many different forms, but the “standard” deck has 78 cards with 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards divided into 4 suits. Most decks are built on this model. You should probably stick with a standard deck to start so that you are familiar with the most common format. 
  3. Many decks are oriented around a theme. This is especially true of modern decks. Typically, the images, the names of the suits and the court card figures reflect this theme. If you choose a deck with a theme, be sure it is one that suits you and that has lasting appeal. 
  4. The Rider-Waite is probably the most common deck in the United States, and many tarot decks are based on it as well. Cards in these decks often have the same subject matter as the Rider-Waite, but are drawn with a different style and artwork. The Universal Waite is essentially a copy of the Rider-Waite, but with softer colors and less contrast. The Albano-Waite has bright, unusual coloration. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of some cards from the two decks. 
  5. In some tarot decks, the pip cards, or numbered suit cards, all have unique picture scenes. In other decks, these cards simply show the suit symbol repeated the appropriate number of times (similar to regular playing cards). Some people like these symbolic decks, but for learning and memorization, it is often easier to have the pictures. 
  6. Some newer tarot decks have been created in the spirit of light-hearted fun. Two examples are the Halloween Tarot and the Silicon Valley Tarot. These decks are amusing, but not the best choices for deeper, more thoughtful tarot work.

 Rider-Waite Tarot Deck

The Rider-Waite Tarot deck is probably the most popular tarot deck in use today in the United States. It was first published in 1910 by Rider & Company, a London publisher. Arthur Edward Waite designed the deck in collaboration with Pamela Colman Smith, an American artist. Waite was a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, an occult society of the time. Waite considered symbolism of prime importance, so the cards of the Rider-Waite deck were created to communicate esoteric principles through symbols. Waite describes his interpretations in his book The Key to the Tarot, sometimes published with pictures as The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.

Waite made several changes from the tarot deck traditions of the time when he designed his deck. He switched the Strength and Justice cards so that Strength became card 8 and Justice card 11. He and Smith also created full pictorial scenes for the minor arcana numbered suit cards. Before this time, these cards usually showed only the suit symbols as in the Tarot of Marseilles.

The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the model for many modern tarot decks and also has several variants. It is available in 4 sizes (miniature, pocket, regular and giant) and four language styles (spanish, french, german, and five-language). The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck will be the one used in these lessons.

This Day In History, April 28th

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

April 28

357   Constantius II visits Rome for the first time.
1282   Villagers in Palermo lead a revolt against French rule in Sicily.
1635   Virginia Governor John Harvey is accused of treason and removed from office.
1760   French forces besieging Quebec defeat the British in the second battle on the Plains of Abraham.
1788   Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the constitution.
1789   The crew of the HMS Bounty mutinies against Captain William Bligh.
1818   President James Monroe proclaims naval disarmament on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
1856   Yokut Indians repel an attack on their land by 100 would-be Indian fighters in California.
1902   Revolution breaks out in the Dominican Republic.
1910   The first night air flight is performed by Claude Grahame-White in England.
1916   British declare martial law throughout Ireland.
1919   Les Irvin makes the first jump with an Army Air Corps parachute.
1920   Azerbaijan joins the Soviet Union.
1930   The first organized night baseball game is played in Independence, Kansas.
1932   A yellow fever vaccine for humans is announced.
1945   Benito Mussolini is killed by Italian partisans.
1946   The Allies indict Tojo on 55 counts of war crimes
1947   Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl and five others set out in a balsa wood craft known as Kon Tiki to prove that Peruvian Indians could have settled in Polynesia.
1953   French troops evacuate northern Laos.
1965   The U.S. Army and Marines invade the Dominican Republic.
1967   Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Army and is stripped of boxing title.
1969   Charles de Gaulle resigns as president of France.
Born on April 28
1442   Edward IV, king of England (1461-1470, 1471-1483), first king of the House of York.
1758   James Monroe, fifth President of the United States (1817-1825).
1878   Lionel Barrymore, American stage, screen and radio actor.
1892   John Jacob Niles, American folk singer and folklorist.
1898   William Soutar, Scottish poet.
1902   Johan Borgen, Norwegian novelist.
1912   Odette Hallowes, British secret agent.
1926   Harper Lee, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (To Kill a Mockingbird).
1930   James Baker III, Cabinet secretary for Presidents Reagan and Bush.
1936   Kenneth White, poet and essayist.
1937   Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq.
1937   Jean Redpath, Scottish folk singer.

Historynet.com

Your Daily Correspondences for Saturday, April 28

Your Daily Correspondences for Saturday, April 28

Magickal Intentions: Spirit Communications, Meditation, Psychic Attack or Defense, Locating Lost Things and Missing Persons, Building, Life, Doctrine, Protection, Knowledge, Authority, Limitations, Boundries, Time and Death
Incense: Black Poppy Seed and Myrrh
Planet: Saturn
Sign: Capricorn and Aquarius
Angel: Cassiel
Colors: Black, Grey and Indigo
Herbs/Plants: Myrrh, Moss, Hemlock, Wolfsbane, Coltsfoot, Nightshade and Fir
Stones: Jet, Smokey Quartz, Amethyst, Black Onyx, Snowflake Obsidian, Lava, Pumice
Oil: (Saturn) Cypress, Mimosa, Myrrh, Patchouli

Saturn lends its energies to the last day of the week. Because Saturn is the planet of karma, this day is an excellent time for spellwork involving reincarnation, karmic lessons, the Mysteries, wisdom, and long-term projects. It is also a good time to being efforts that deal with the elderly, death, or the eradication of pests and disease.

Calendar of the Moon for Saturday, April 28

Calendar of the Moon

Willow Tree Month

Colors: Yellow, silver, and pale willow-green
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow, silver, and pale willow-green place three white candles, wreaths of willow-branches, a large clay bowl of water, flowers if they are available, and a silver moon.
Offerings: Contemplate an emotion, and how you use it, and how it uses you.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, preferably cold food. Fruits. Only spring water to drink.

Saille Invocation

Call: Now is the time of the Willow Goddess.
Response: Now is the time of the Green Man’s courting.
Call: Now is the time when leaves are full.
Response: Now is the time when gold gives way to silver.
Call: Now is the time when Sun gives way to Moon.
Response: Now is the time when Lord gives way to Lady.
Call: Now is the time of the search and the quest.
Response: Now is the time of magic dew on the fields.
Call: Now is the time of the phallus rising.
Response: He seeks the doorway that is wet with spring rains.
Call: He seeks the moon in the river.
Response: He seeks the fishes in the winnowing basket.
Call: He seeks the fruit of Persephone.
Response: He seeks the mountain of the Muses.
Call: We crown his head with flowers….
Response: That he may reach the sky.
Call: We crown his head with ribbons….
Response: That he may touch the earth.
Call: We bring forth the pole from earth to sky.
Response: We lay the line from earth to sky.
Call: We blow like the wind from earth to sky.
Response: We fall like the rain from sky to earth.
Call: We descend like the sunlight from sky to earth.
Response: We climb like the trees from sky to earth.
Call: We are the children of earth and sky.
Response: We are beloved of sky and earth.

Chant:
We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for April 28th

Calendar of the Sun
28 Eostremonath

Floralia: Flora’s Day
Walpurgisnacht Day VI

Color: Pink
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a cloth of pink set a pitcher of water, pots of earth, flower seeds, incense of flowers, a bowl of beans, and many fresh flowers should be strewn around the room. The candles of Walpurgisnacht should remain and be lit, and a sixth added to them, for Odhinn’s journey continues even as we celebrate Floralia.
Offerings: Give flowers to people. Allow a rabbit and a goat to run free in the house.
Daily Meal: Vegan. Beans. Salad with edible flowers in it. Flower jams.

Floralia Invocation

Hail Flora, Lady of Beauty!
We must have not only our bread,
And our work, and our discipline,
But we must also have beauty in our lives,
That we may never become mere worms,
Measuring out our dull grey lives,
Never thinking to look around
And see the great beauty
That the Gods have made for us.
Let us look upon their gifts
And see in that loveliness
A measure of their love for us.
Hail Flora, who lights up our eyes!

Chant:
Oh, She will bring the buds in the spring,
And laugh among the flowers.
In summer’s heat Her kisses are sweet,
She sings in leafy bowers.
She cuts the cane and gathers the grain
When fruits of fall surround Her,
Her bones grow old in winter’s cold,
She wraps Her cloak around her.

(All come forward and plant flower seeds in the pots of earth, which are afterwards carried outside and transferred to the garden. As they plant, they say, “I plant beauty in my life,” and say what sort of beauty they hope to see. The pots are watered, and the rest of the water is poured out as a libation for Flora. The rest of the day is spent adding beauty to the House.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

The Current Moon Phase for April 28: Waxing/ 45-90 degrees

Moon Phases: Crescent Moon

(waxing/45-90 degrees)

by Jan Spiller

During this Moon phase, there is a slight “slowing down” of enthusiasm due to a desire emerging to produce tangible results from the energy being expended. The issue of values enters into the equation and an urge to tie together the data available so that you can utilize current opportunities. There is still plenty of forward motion and this is a great time to continue initiating and progressing forward. This Moon Phase favors gaining more information and the input of others to further your plans.

Your Daily Cosmic Calendar for April 28th

Let your green thumb guide you to gardening adventures today and tomorrow – thanks to the Moon’s presence in nurturing and nourishing Cancer. In addition, the Sun makes a union with Ceres in earthy Taurus (6:56AM PDT) – a major boost for overall productivity and energizing your connection with Mother Nature. Focus some of your attention on improving your diet and adding nutritious goodies to your daily meals and snacks. Consider juicing your veggies and fruits to improve vitamin and mineral absorption. Don’t be surprised if a wave of nostalgia strikes when the Moon makes a supportive, 60-degree link to the Sun (12:33PM PDT) and as the Moon opposes Pluto (5:33PM PDT). The lunar link to the Sun is far more favorable than the polarity to Pluto for fulfilling important tasks and work assignments. Utilize a Mercury-Uranus parallel (5:54PM PDT) – similar to a union in the zodiac – to open the gateway to higher thinking. Merge intellectual prowess with intuitive awareness to form a super-heroic, dynamic duo. Rummage through the attic or basement to gather old photos, albums and scrapbooks that contain sentimental value.