8 May

Heston Furry Dance

One of the most famous of all traditional British festivals is Floral or Flora Day or more correctly as the “Furry”-from from the Cornish “fer” (Latin feria), a fair, rejoicing holyday. The date of the festival coincides with the feast of the Apparition tion of St. Michael the archangel, Helston’s patron saint. The legend recounts that the first furry was danced to celebrate Michael’s deliverance from a boulder hurled at him during an altercation with Satan. However, it is quite possible that some of the fair’s activities are linked to far older celebrations that honored the Celtic Horned God in the guise of Robin Hood.

From the street dancing that takes place on this day, it is clear that the festival has become inextricably intermingled with May Day. The procession begins at noon with the furry dance. One hundred and fifty couples participate in the dance, which winds through the streets of the town, gardens, and even homes that have left their doors open for the dancers. In the past, it was believed that the dancers would bring good luck and good fortune to the household as they passed through.

Friday & The Perfect Corresponding Spell

For many, Friday is the last work day of the week. It’s considered the fifth day of the work week and, also, the “cut loose” day. By Friday night, people are out having a party. That makes Friday the perfect day for lust, banish, fast-grant, and find spells . This day is so powerful (energy wise). That’s why whatever you do on this day will, usually, have a strong effect. If you want things out of your life, the darkness and power, associated with this day, bring the energy you need for that. If you need strong, immediate results, this is your day, as well.

Eros’s “Passion for Life” Spell

Gather a white feather (symbol for Eros and his mighty wings), a rosy pink candle, and a coordinating candle holder.

Carve a simple figure of a bow and arrow on the side of the candle. Place the feather off to the side, away from the heat of the candle flame. Picture the winged god Eros in your mind, and meditate on this image for a moment. Now, ask Eros in your own words to inspire you with passion and enthusiasm. Then repeat the following spell three times:

Eros, winged Greek god of passion and delight

Aid me in my quest for inspiration tonight

Passion is more than sexual, it conveys ambition too

Help me face my challenges and succeed in all that I do.

Allow the candle to burn out in a safe place. Close the spell by saying:

For the good of all, with harm to none

By flame and feather, this spell is done.

Book of Witchery – Spells, Charms & Correspondences For Every Day of the Week

Ellen Dugan

Today Is . . .

The Furry Dance – There are several explanations for the derivation of the word Furry, for instance, that it derives from Flora, the Roman Goddess (see Apr 28) or from the word for fire? But most likely it comes from the Latin word for fair (feria). It is the name given to the Beltane-like festival celebrated in Helston Cornwall, and featuring decorating with greenery, dancing and singing. It is one of the oldest communal Spring festivals in Great Britain, celebrated for centuries.

In Cornwall, England, the annual Furry Dance is performed in the streets of Helston on this day in honor of the old Celtic Horned God in the guise of Robin Hood. The festival, which features street dancing and a daylong procession throughout the town for good fortune, is one of the oldest surviving Springtime ceremonies in the world.

Theosophists commemorate the death of Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky on this day, which they call White Lotus Day.

The festival on May 8th, has a formal structure. On May 1st, there is a preliminary event, with music in the morning and night, and spontaneous dancing by children.There is an Early Morning Dance at 7 am (getting up early is always a feature of May Day rituals) and like most of these early morning rituals is celebrated by the young people, who all wear lilies-of-the-valley (also the flower of May Day in France). Other young people are out in the woods gathering green branches. There is a procession with young men dressed as St Michael, St George, Robin Hood and his men, who sing an ancient song, welcoming the Summer. At ten o’clock children, dressed in white and wearing lilies of the valley, dance. At noon, there is another dance led by the Mayor in his official regalia, and followed by men and women in couples, the men in top hats and morning coats, the women in summer dresses. They dance through the main streets and in and out of all the gardens, shops and houses. There is another dance at 5 pm, which visitors can join, so that the whole town is dancing. In earlier times, there was also a ball at night.

Like other May Day festivities, there’s also an association with water. The young people took anyone caught working on this holiday to the river where they were ordered to either pay a fine or leap across it (which because of its width meant getting wet). They could also demand a toll of any stranger entering town. Hole, Christina, A Dictionary of British Folk Customs. Paladin 1978

Birthday of the Buddha – On the 8th day of the fourth lunar month, the Chinese celebrate the birthday of the Buddha by distributing beans. Blackburn, Bonnie and Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press 1999

Courtesy of GrannyMoonsMorningFeast

FRIDAY CORRESPONDENCES

Venus/Water/East/West/South/Dawn/Female/Libra/Taurus

Magickal Intentions: Love, Romance, Marriage, Sexual Matters, Physical Beauty, Friendship and Partnerships, Strangers, Heart

Color: aqua, blue, light blue, brown, green, pale green, magenta, peach, pink, rose, white, all pastels

Number: 5, 6

Metal: copper

Charm: green or white garments, scepter

Stone: alexandrite, amethyst, coral, diamond, emerald, jade, jet, black moonstone, peridot, smoky quartz, tiger’s-eye, pink tourmaline

Animal: camel, dove, elephant, goat, horse, pigeon, sparrow

Plant: apple, birch, cherry, clematis, clove, coriander, heather, hemlock, hibiscus, ivy, lotus, moss, myrtle, oats, pepperwort, peppermint, pinecone, quince, raspberry, rose, pink rose, red rose, rose hips, saffron, sage, savin, stephanotis, strawberry, thyme, vanilla, verbena, violet, water lily, yarrow, and all flowers

Incense: ambergris, camphor, mace, musk, myrrh, rose, saffron, sage, sandalwood, sweetgrass, vanilla, violet, all floral scents

Goddess: Aphrodite, Asherah, Baalith, Brigid, Erzulie, Freya (Passionate Queen), Frigg, Gefion, Harbor (Beautiful One), Hestia, Inanna, Ishtar (Lady of Passion and Desire), Lakshmi, Lilith, Mokosh, Nehalennia, Nerthus, Ostara, Pombagira, Sarasvati, Shakti, Shekinah, Sirtur, Al Uzza, Venus (Queen of Pleasure), Vesta

God: Allah, Bacchus, Bes, Cupid, the Dagda, Dionysus, El, Eros (God of Love), Freyr, Frit Ailek, Shukra

Evocation: Agrat Bat Mahalat, Anael, Hagiel, Mokosba, Rasbid, Sachiel, Uriel, Vela

Courtesy of Moonlight Musings

Must Do’s For Friday

Fridays are days of loving enchantments and passionate emotions.

See how many ways you could add a little loving enchantment into your life and the lives of your loved ones. If you wish to explore the topic of love and romance witchery even further, then check out my book How to Enchant a Man: Spells to Bewitch, Bedazzle &Beguile. If cat magick has tickled your fancy, then for further study read my book The Enchanted Cat: Feline Fascinations, Spells &Magick.

In the meantime, try sharing red berries with your partner some enchanted evening. Work that meditation, and see what other mysteries Freya has to teach you. Wear a Venus planetary color and call on the Goddess for a little inner sparkle. Burn some floral incense, light up some rosy candles, and set a romantic mood. Try wearing a little copper jewelry, and see how it affects you and your Friday magick. Get those potpourri and philter recipes going, and see what you can conjure up.

Advancing your magickal skills takes drive, ambition, and passion. Work with Eros to discover just how much enthusiasm, inspiration, and drive he can bring into your days, for the imagination is a place where dreams flourish and ideas come to fruition.

Call on these fertile and romantic powers, and create your own unique spells and charms. Just think of all the magickal information that you can now add to your repertoire of witchery. Lastly, remember this: when you combine imagination and a loving heart with magick, you’ll succeed every time.

Book of Witchery – Spells, Charms & Correspondences For Every Day of the Week

Ellen Dugan

Friday

Friday: Is associated with Venus and the colors of – Green, Pink and White

Friday is the best time to deal with such matters as: Affection, Alliances, Architects, Artistic Ability, Artists, Balance, Beauticians, Beauty, Change , Chiropractors, Cosmetics, Courage, Courtship, Dancers, Dating, Decorating, Designers, Engineers, Entertainers, Fashion, Fertility , Friendship , Gardening, Gifts, Grace , Harmony, Herbal Magick, Household Improvements, Income, Luck, Luxury, Marriage, Material Things, Music, Painting, Partners, Peace, Physical Healing, Planning Parties, Poetry, Prosperity, Relationships, Romantic Love, Shopping, Social Activity, Soul-mates, Success

Practical Magick for the Penny Pinching Witch

Carol Moyer

In the darkness there is light

In the silence there is sound

In the pain there is comfort

In fear there is safety

In the distance there is closeness

In the tear there is joy

In the loss we are found

In hate we find love

In the sisterhood we have the Goddess

For all comes from her and all goes to her

Stand strong and all will be well

As it is above so be it below

—–A Witch’s Prayerbook

JoAnne Spiese