Month: January 2013

Calendar of the Moon for Monday, January 7th

Calendar of the Moon

Beth/Poseideion II

Birch Tree Moon

Color: White
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of white set the budded birch branches, a single white candle, the rune Berkana carved onto a piece of birch wood, and a bowl of clear water.
Offerings: White cakes with the Berkana rune carved upon them.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian with dairy and eggs.

Beth Invocation

Call: Now is the beginning of the year.
Response: Now is the time of stillness and cold.
Call: Now all is still and waiting upon the earth.
Response: Now the earth sleeps beneath her many blankets.
Call: Now is the time of patience.
Response: Now is the time of our longest wait.
Call: We are at peace with the Earth and with each other.
Response: We are at peace with the Earth and ready to begin.
Call: This is the month of indrawn breath.
Response: This is the time of all beginnings.
Call: May the year grow strong before us!
Response: May we grow strong before the year!
Call: For as the birch tree steps forth into the burned fields,
Response: So do we step forth into the aftermath of our own burning.
Call: For as the soft branches of the birch beat away the old year,
Response: So do we lower our heads for the strokes of the future.
Call: For as the pheasant hunts the snow for food,
Response: So do we seek through the ruins of the past.
Call: For as Frigga spins the clouds into thread,
Response: So do we circle like the spinning whorl,
Call: So do we take up the fiber of what has been,
Response: So do we bring forth the new year from our very hands.
Call: From our open hands,
Response: From our open hearts,
Call: From our open bodies,
Response: From our open souls.

Chant: Silver tree, in your branches
White of snow, stars are dancing
Tree of clouds, like thread of silver
Time runs through our hands.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Monday, January 7th

Calendar of the Sun

7 Wolfmonath

Justicia I: Themis’s Day

Color: Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a blue cloth place three candles, a goblet of white wine, and any book related to the study of social rules.
Offerings: Go out into the community and do service.
Daily Meal: All food must be ethically and sustainably grown.

Invocation to Themis

(To be said Call And Response)

Lady of the All-Seeing Eyes,
Advisor to Kings and God-Kings,
Themis Eubolos, Good Counselor,
You who are always on the winning side,
Guardian of Propriety and Civic Duty,
Lady of the Public Assembly,
Keeper of Order,
Builder of Correct Ceremony,
Teacher of the Discipline of Graciousness,
You who know the value of Procedure,
Mother of Rules,
Mother of Justice,
Mother of Peace,
From you sprang the Hours,
From you sprang the Graces,
From you sprang the foundation of our Order.
You who took pity on humanity
And showed them how to save themselves
With the bones of their Mother,
Creating life from stone,
Show us, too, the proper way of things,
That we might always honor your name.
Hail Themis!

(Pour out the libation and all exit. Immediately upon leaving the service, go out into the community and do some visible service in Themis’s name.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Current Moon Phase for January 7th: Last Quarter

Last Quarter Moon

(waning/30% illumination)

The time of reaping is at hand. There is a feeling of completion infused into the atmosphere during the Last Quarter Moon. The opportunity opens to recognize how far you’ve come in various parts of your life. This is not a good time for new beginnings, but rather a reflective period suited to evaluating how you have been using your time and what has been accomplished. Issues of authority may arise. This Moon phase supports taking responsibility for actively tying up the loose ends of projects that are already underway.

The Witches Spell for January 7th – Mary Caliendo’s Potato Chip Hex

Mary Caliendo’s Potato Chip Hex

This is so easy, you can perform it right at the office. Don’t let its simplicity fool you though. It’s powerful enough to get rid of even the nastiest boss or co-worker.

 

You will need:

2 bags potato chips (get them from the vending machine in your building if possible)

3 packets black pepper

1 sticky note

Black pen

Stapler

 

The Spell:

Open both bags to let the air out. Write your enemy’s name on the sticky note in black ink, place it in one of the bags, and add the pepper. Sit on one bag to crush the chips. (Move around a little to make sure all the chips are in small little crumbs). Retrieve the bag, fold the top three times, and staple several times to secure. Place the bag in your purse, and toss it in a public garbage receptacle after work.

Now, eat the other bag of chips. You certainly wouldn’t want to appear to be doing anything suspicious at work, now would you?

Reference:

Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions
By Dorothy Morrison
WillowTree Press

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Life As The Witch – Things That Can Weaken or Ruin Our Spellcasting

 Things that Weaken or Ruin Spellcasting

There are some circumstances that can weaken or even destroy the spell you have worked so hard to cast, so you want to be aware of and avoid the following:

*Drug or alcohol use: You should never cast a spell with anything other than a clear head. For one thing, it is insulting to the Gods to come into sacred space under the influence of mind-altering substances. For another, it interferes with focus. (Yes, there are some folks who believe in the use of drugs deepens spiritual practice, they are entitled to their opinions, and I would never argue with them, but it has been my experience that nothing destroys magickal concentration and focus faster than coming into a circle high or drunk.)

*Extreme emotional states: As I said above, you need to have a clear head in order to do your best spell casting. Coming in to your sacred space filled with anger or fear or any other very strong emotion will not only stand in the way of clarity and focus, but you may cast a spell you later wished you hadn’t. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do spell work when things are bad–sometimes this is when we need magick the most. But try to achieve as calm a state as possible before starting the work. Do some meditation, take a long bath or walk, repeat some calming affirmations. At the very least, take slow, deep breaths and concentrate on the light and love of the Gods until your head is in a better place.

*Mixed feelings about the spell work: If you’re not sure whether the spell you are casting is the right thing to do or not, that doubt may undermine the will you need to feed the spell. Never cast a spell unless you are certain of your path in that instance. This is also true of the times when you are uncertain of your goal. That confusion will sap your spell of strength, so it is better to wait until you have a solid goal in mind, and the will to back it up.

*Negative intent:  This is not to say that you can’t cast a spell that would have a negative impace on someone else, for better or for worse, free will allows for this. However, you should be in mind that not only do the powers of the Universe often not allow these types of spells to work, it is not unusual for them to rebound on the one what casts them–either immediately or sometime down the line.

*Lack of focus: This is the main reason for not coming into circle under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or heavy emotions, they will simply make it too difficult to maintain the focus needed to create a powerful spell and send it out into the world. But other thing can get in the way of focus, too. If you can’t find a quiet, private place to cast your spell (the kids are running around screaming, the dog is barking, the neighbors ae arguing at the top of their lungs) you are better off waiting for a different time. It is almost impossible to get good results when you cast a spell in the midst of chaos.

Reference:

Excerpt from:

“Writing and Casting Spells
  For the Best Results”
  By Deborah Blake
Llewellyn’s Magical 2013 Magical Almanac

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The Witches Correspondences for Monday, January 7th

The Witches Correspondences for Monday, January 7th

Magickal Intentions: Psychic Sensitivity, Women’s Mysteries, Tides, Waters, Emotional Issues, Agriculture, Animals, Female Fertility, Messages, Theft, Reconciliations, Voyages, Dreams and Merchandise
Incense: African Violet, Honeysuckle, Myrtle, Willow, Wormwood
Planet: Moon
Sign: Cancer
Angel: Gabriel
Colors: Silver, White and Gray
Herbs/Plants: Night Flowers, Willow Root, Orris Root, Birch, Motherwort, Vervain, White Rose and White Iris
Stones: Carnelian, Moonstone, Aquamarine, Pearl, Clear Quartz, Fluorite, Geodes
Oil: (Moon) Jasmine, Lemon, Sandalwood

Monday belongs to the Moon. Monday’s energy best aligns itself with efforts that deal with women, home and hearth, the family, the garden, travel, and medicine. It also boosts rituals involving psychic development and prophetic dreaming.

The Witches Almanac for *Monday, January 7th

The Witches Almanac for *Monday, January 7th

*Monday (Moon): Peace, sleep, healing, compassion, friends, psychic awareness, purification and fertility.

 

Moon Sign: *Scorpio
*Scorpio: Increases awareness of psychic power. Precipitates psychic crises and ends connections thoroughly. People tend to brood and become secretive.

*Waning Moon

*The Waning Moon is a time for study, meditation, and little magickal work (except magick designed to banish harmful energies).

Moon Phase: Fourth Quarter

Incense: Rosemary

Color: Gray

 

 

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Good Glorious Monday Morning, dear family & friends!

 

Facts You Might Not Know About This Monday, January 7th

January 7 : The Day of Unusual Interests Ancient Egyptian : dedicated to the ‘Goddess Sekhmet’, ‘guardian of the dead’, one of the ‘Seven Kine Deities’.

‘St. Distaff’s Day’ : rurally and traditionally known as a day dedicating to spinning wool after the holiday in England.

Celtic feast day of ‘Brannoc’ : Believed to be from Brittany, and according to legend came to Cornwall across the seas in a stone coffin (or a ship laden with such ballast). Alleged to have seen a vision, of white piglets feeding on a white sow, which later led him to work to build a church (where he is also believed to be buried) at Braunton, Devon, England.

 

References:

Mystical World Wide Web

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Calendar of the Sun for January 6th

Calendar of the Sun

6 Wolfmonath
Day of Kore Underground

Colors: Dark brown and white
Element: Earth
Altar: Set with a brown cloth, a white candle, a bowl of earth saved from the Day of Kore’s Descent, a cup of well water fed by an underground stream, a dead twig, and the figure of a serpent.
Offerings: Dried flowers. Shed skins of snakes. Seeds that will be planted in spring. A promise to bring joy into a dark place, even at the peril of your own life or happiness.
Daily Meal: Dark, coarse bread. Root vegetables. Poppy seeds. Millet. Nuts and seeds.

Invocation to Kore Underground

Cold lies the Earth
And all things upon it,
And our spirits are chilled
With the sight of Earth asleep.
The Maiden of Spring lies
Deep underground with her bridegroom,
Lying with the Lord of Death,
Lying with the ghosts of our ancestors,
Lying with all that is forgotten,
And we are called merely to endure
Cold and darkness
As She willingly goes below the Earth
To bring comfort and light
To the realm of cold and darkness.
Let us never forget
That even in the time of winter
We can, as She does,
Give of ourselves
To bring light to the darkest places,
To endure them with faith in the cycle of life
And never to fail in our hope
Of the coming of the Spring.

Chant:
Kore Kore Kore Proserpina
(Let one chosen for the work of the daily ritual carry the bowl of earth from person to person about the hall, and let each one take a bit of the earth and rub it on their faces, and let it remain until the evening ablutions. Then let the water be poured as a libation to Kore into the remainder of the earth, and be carried outside and poured onto the Earth itself. Gather new earth, which will be saved until the day of Kore’s return.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Current Moon Phase for January 6th: Last Quarter

Last Quarter

(waning/90-45 degrees)

January  6, 2013 — The time of reaping is at hand. There is a feeling of completion infused into the atmosphere during the Last Quarter Moon. The opportunity opens to recognize how far you’ve come in various parts of your life. This is not a good time for new beginnings, but rather a reflective period suited to evaluating how you have been using your time and what has been accomplished. Issues of authority may arise. This Moon phase supports taking responsibility for actively tying up the loose ends of projects that are already underway.

Daily Cosmic Calendar for Sunday, January 6th

The inner universe is eager to reveal its secrets as the Moon in Scorpio combines forces with a Moon-Neptune trine in water signs (12:16AM PST) and a somewhat frictional, 45-degree link between the Sun and Neptune (1:20AM PST). Think more about your higher destiny as a soul-infused personality on Spaceship Earth than on fulfilling personal needs.  A Mercury-Pluto union at 10 degrees of Capricorn (8:45AM PST) and flowing Moon-Chiron trine (8:56AM PST) amplify the instinct to go within for guidance. Hit the psychology and metaphysical books with a flourish. Healing vibrations are back on the march. Learn more about advances on the cutting edge of alternative medicine.  Research projects and in-depth studies are in the spotlight later on as the Moon makes its monthly union with Saturn (3:11PM PST) while Mercury forms a supportive, 60-degree tie with Saturn (3:45PM PST).  Your abilities as a problem-solver and strategist are enhanced this evening — courtesy of an inspirational, 72-degree rapport between the Sun and knowledge-illuminator Pallas (9:29PM PST).