Seasons of the Witch – Legends and Lore, Ancient Holidays And Some Not So Ancient!

 

Today Is …

 

Greek New Year – On this date in ancient Athens, an annual Grape Vine Festival was held in honor of the Greek deities Ariadne and Dionysus. In Crete, Ariadne was worshipped as a Goddess of the Moon, and Dionysus as the son of Semele (who was also a Goddess of the Moon).From early on (OCY suggests 462), this was the first date of both the calendar year and the religious year in Greece. It is still considered the start of the year in the Greek Orthodox calendar.

Since this is the beginning of the autumn sowing season, Greek farmers take seeds to church to be blessed (much like farmers in France on February 3rd). In Greece, people also make first-of-the-year wreaths with fruits and herbs which symbolize abundance. On the island of Kos, people use pomegranates, grapes, quinces, garlic bulbs and plane-tree leaves; on Rhodes, they work with walnuts, onions, garlic, grapes, tufts of cotton and bags full of grain. Just before dawn on September 1st, the children take the old wreaths down to the sea and throw them in; the new ones are dipped in the ocean water for good luck. Only after the new wreaths are hung up can the sowing begin.

Another new year tradition involves collecting 40 pebbles from the beach and water from the tops of 40 waves in a jar which is taken home and kept as a protection charm.

This is an ominous day as well as a beginning, for this is the day the Angel of Death writes down the names of all those who will die in the coming year, expressing the quality of judgement also found in the Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashana, which falls on the new moon of September. This suggests the two holidays derive from the same source as the first of September would have been the new moon (first day) of the lunar month.

Blackburn, Bonnie & Leofranc Holford-Strevens, The Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press 1999 Rufus, Anneli, The World Holiday Book: Celebrations for Every Day of the Year, Harper San Francisco 1994

Grape Vine Festival ~ On this date in ancient Athens, an annual Grape Vine Festival was held in honor of the Greek deities Ariadne and Dionysus. In Crete, Ariadne was worshipped as a Goddess of the Moon, and Dionysus as the son of Semele (who was also a Goddess of the Moon).

Feast Day of Our Lady of the Badgers. Find a cave and explore it, or honor the fierceness and tenacity of the badger. Where might you act more like one today?

Feast of Bishamon-Ten (Japan)

Aug 29 -Sep 11 – Return of Isis – Egyptian festival marking the return to Egypt of Goddess Isis (as the star of Sept/Sirius) and God Osiris (as the rising Nile River).

Aug 30 -Sep 10 -Ganesha Chaturthi – Hindu festival honoring God Ganesha (son of Goddess Parvati and God Shiva) as the challenger, creator and remover of obstacles.

GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast Archives Remember the ancient ways and keep them sacred! )0( Live each Season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. ~Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

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Courtesy of GrannyMoonsMorningFeast

WEDNESDAY CORRESPONDENCES

Mercury/Neptune/Air/North/West/Southwest/Female/Male/Gemini/Virgo

 

Magickal Intentions: Communication, Divination, Writing, Knowledge, Business Transactions, Debt, Fear, Loss, Travel, Money Matters

Color: black, light blue, brown, gray, green, magenta, orange, peach, purple, red, silver, turquoise, violet, white, yellow; orange is the primary color

Number: 3, 5

Metal: mercury

Charm: distaff, rod, runes, staff, iridescent garments

Stone: moss agate, amethyst, bloodstone, emerald, hematite, lapis lazuli, lodestone, pearl, ruby, sapphire, sodalite, all blue stones

Animal: bear, dog, fox, magpie, swan, weasel

Plant: almond, bayberry, chamomile, cherry, cinnamon, cinquefoil, clove, coltsfoot, ginger, hazel, hazelnut, jasmine, lavender, millet, oak, peppermint, periwinkle, rosemary, sage, St. John’s wort, sweet pea, tamarind, lemon verbena, violet

Incense: cassia, cedar, cinnamon, clove, frankincense, jasmine, lavender, mastic, mint, rosemary, sage, sandalwood, storax, dried and powdered citrus peel, and all incense made from aromatic bark, wood, and seeds

Goddess: Carmenta, Hecate (Queen of Crossroads), Hel, Ishtar, Ma’at, the Morrigan, Nike

God: Anubis, Bragi, Elath-Iahu. Enki, Garuda, Hermes, Maximon (Black Magician), Mercury, Nebo (Wise God of Wednesday), Odin, Shango, Ullr, Vishnu, Wayland, Woden

Evocation: Agrat Bat Mahalat, Michael, Miel, Raphael, Seraphiel, Tiriel

Courtesy of Moonlight Musings

The Witches Almanac for Wednesday, September 2nd

Wednesday (Mercury): The conscious mind, study, travel, divination and wisdom.

St. Mama’s Day

 

Waning Moon

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

Moon Phase: Third Quarter

Moon Sign: Aries

Aries: Good for starting things, but lacks staying power. Things occur rapidly, but quickly pass. People tend to be argumentative and assertive.

Moon enters Taurus 5:02 am

Taurus: Things begun now last the longest, tend to increase in value, and become hard to alter. Brings out appreciation for beauty and sensory experience.

Incense: Honeysuckle

Color: White

Wednesday Witchery

 

Be bold and daring today! Expand your knowledge of the Craft by working with the planetary energies of Mercury on this multifaceted day of the week. Consider the Greco-Roman gods Mercury and Hermes and all of the many lessons they have for you. Embrace change and movement, and work on your communication techniques. Conjure up a little good luck for yourself with that Mercury dime spell. Call on Athena to inspire you to try magickal arts and crafts and to be more creative in your own spellwork and witchery.

Meditate on Odin and see what you can discover about him. I wonder what sort of fabulous and fascinating magickal wisdom you will uncover? Odin is a shaman, after all; he may appear in many guises and faces. I guarantee that he will make you laugh at yourself before he is through with you, but you will learn. It’s up to you what you do with that knowledge. Will you let it shapeshift into wisdom?

Wednesday is the wild and wily day of the week, so try to go with the flow; don’t fight the quirky energies of the day. Most importantly, follow your heart, and always keep a good sense of humor, because of Wednesdays you will really need it.

Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

Wednesday

 

Ruler: Wodin, Mercury

Colors: Orange, light blue, and gray

Power Hours: Sunrise and the 8th, 16th, and 24th hours following

Keywords: Success, creativity, communication

The word Wednesday is reminiscent of the Norse wind god Wodin, which is referenced in the popular rhyme verse “Wednesday’s child is full of woe.” This does not mean that those born on this day are full of sorrow or trouble. To be full of Wo (Wodin) means to be full of wind, to be spirited. Woden was such a powerful pagan god that the German church fathers changed the name of his day to Mittwoch, meaning midweek, in an attempt to exorcise his influence.

In the Spanish word for Wednesday, miercoles, we clearly see its connection to Mercury. Under the guidance of Mercury; Wednesday is a day of swift activity, communication, correspondence, and phone calls. This is a good day for journalists, writers, poets, bargaining, hiring employees, and visiting friends.

On Wednesdays, the hour of sunrise and every eight hours after that are also ruled by Mercury, making these times of the day doubly blessed. These are the strongest four hours for ritual work. Check your local newspaper, astrological calendar, or almanac to determine when sunrise occurs.

Source: Gypsy Magic

Lunabar Moon Almanack for Wednesday, 02 September, 2015

 

Waning, Gibbous Moon Age: 19 ¼ days.

Ascending Node is at 2° Libra.

Moon in 9th degree of the Sign Taurus, the Bull; also in 11th deg. of the Constellation Aries, the Ram.

Souths: 4:13 morn. Moonset: 11:03 morn. Moonrise: 10:15 eve.

Aspects of the Moon in Taurus: Yin, Feminine, Lunar, Negative, Nocturnal, Earthy, Fixed, Semi-fruitful, Horary Southern, Vernal, Boreal, Commanding, Feral, Bestial, Animal, Four-footed, Dry, Cold

Waning Moon Magick: From three-and-a-half to ten-and-a-half days after the full moon. From the Full Moon to the New is a time for study, meditation, and magic designed to banish harmful energies and habits, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity. This is a time for banishing and rejecting things in our lives that we no longer wish to carry around with us.

Time: From full moon to dark moon (approx.14 days)

Goddess Aspect: Crone

Associated Goddesses: Cailleach, Banshee, Hecate, Kali, Morrigan

Magickal Attributes: BANISHING Releasing the old, removing unwanted negative energies, wisdom, psychic ability, scrying, reversing circumstances. Workings on this day are for banishing magick, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity, physical and psychic cleansings.

Spells and rituals involving the Earth Element should be performed when the Moon is in an Earth sign: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.

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Moon Moon, Mother Moon

Lunar Lore

“Moon-Drop,” in Latin, virus lunare, a vaporous drop supposed to be shed by the moon on certain herbs and other objects, when influenced by incantations. – Brewer, “Dictionary of Phrase & Fable”.

“Make friendship with the stars.”

Now the day is spent, And stars are kindling in the firmament, To us how silent, though like ours, perchance, Busy, and full of life and circumstance. – “The Lady’s Almanack” for 1852, London

When the Moon is in Libra or Scorpio, dress your Garden, and prune small Trees and Shrubs. ~Leonard Meager, “The English Gardner”, 1699.

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Courtesy of GrannyMoonsMorningFeast

 

(another beautiful poem by our adopted Poet, T. J. WhiteWolf)

Sphere

I am ever grateful to that which has given life

Too the one that started it all

Too thee I give thanks

for such beautifulness

In all of the variety

Which can be called the spice of life

Maybe not by all

Round and round

Which the wheel keeps spinning

And so it goes

It has no beginning

Nor has an Ending

Forever meeting

Round and round

We go

Spinning in a circle

In a spherical motion

Just going with the flow

There is a rainbow

And a perfect halo

With wings being optional

Ever sweet music always plays

Too charge the soul

And stir emotions of expression

Ever causing movement

Always moving completing a cycle

In many different forms

Making such bedazzling sparks

Such a pretty light show

I love the glow

And no I can never stop

Being amazed and in awe

Of such wonders

Always leaves me feeling lost in all

Caught in this space

Which is everything

Knowing nothing could ever compete

Or duplicate nor replace

And so I always have a hold

Fitting in the fold

Living in this beautiful sphere

That we call home

 

T.J. WhiteWolf

To view more of T.J. wonderful work, please visit his site. TJWHITEWOLF’S POETRY

Good morning, my sweets! I hope everyone is doing great today. One quick word (I promise, lol!) about yesterday. We were abruptly cut short in our postings yesterday. It surprised us, I swear I paid the bill. No seriously, everyone knows we use a Co-Op for our internet service. This is an effort on our part to save money. HA, we were promised one thing and ended up getting another but that is not the point. They were hacked yesterday. Fortunately, all that happened to us is that we lost our internet service. We have a firewall on our router plus two anti-viruses. I remember talking to the main man at the Co-Op about their protection. When I told him what we had, he thought we had went a little overboard. I wonder if he thinks that now, hmm.

Anyway, that is what happened to us. Hopefully, they have their protection up and running. I guess they do since we have internet! Stopping to think about it, most of these people out here don’t realize how dangerous it is to have a provider that doesn’t take security seriously. I only hope the attack didn’t go any further than the Co-Op’s office. I know there are some mean viruses out there right now. So be careful on what you click and make sure if you are buying online, buy on a secure site.

Ok, that’s the internet safety lesson for the day, lol! I am off to work….

Have a very blessed Wednesday,

Love ya,

Lady a

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2015 September 1

Distant Neutrinos Detected Below Antarctic Ice
Image Credit: IceCube Collaboration, U. Wisconsin, NSF

Explanation: From where do these neutrinos come? The IceCube Neutrino Observatory near the South Pole of the Earth has begun to detect nearly invisible particles of very high energy. Although these rarely-interacting neutrinos pass through much of the Earth just before being detected, where they started remains a mystery. Pictured here is IceCube’s Antarctic lab accompanied by a cartoon depicting long strands of detectors frozen into the crystal clear ice below. Candidate origins for these cosmic neutrinos include the violent surroundings of supermassive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies, and tremendous stellar explosions culminating in supernovas and gamma ray bursts far across the universe. As IceCube detects increasingly more high energy neutrinos, correlations with known objects may resolve this cosmic conundrum — or we may never know.

The Words of Confucius

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.

Your Daily Tile
 September 1, 2015

Bamboo 3
Symbol: Toad
The Toad tile indicates some troubling moments along your life’s path, but these aches will heal. It also suggests your ambition may be greater than your reach

Your Daily Animal Spirit for Today
 September 1, 2015

Heron

Is your life in a state of balance? If not, long-legged Heron has flown in today to help you. Because Heron is a water bird, he is most often associated with emotions. He stands motionless, almost in a trance, his body mirrored in the water below. Take a few moments today to be like Heron—be quiet, go within, and discover the answer to your questions.