Day: December 2, 2015
Magickal Goody of the Day for Dec. 2nd – Get Ready for Yule by making Your Own Yule Log
Magickal Goody of the Day
Get Ready for Yule by making Your Own Yule Log
As the Wheel of the Year turns once more, the days get shorter, the skies become gray, and it seems as though the sun is dying. In this time of darkness, we pause on the Solstice (usually around December 21st, although not always on the same date) and realize that something wonderful is happening.
On Yule, the sun stops its decline into the south. For a few days, it seems as though it’s rising in exactly the same place… and then the amazing, the wonderful, the miraculous happens.
The light begins to return.
The sun begins its journey back to the north, and once again we are reminded that we have something worth celebrating. In families of all different spiritual paths, the return of the light is celebrated, with Menorahs, Kwanzaa candles, bonfires, and brightly lit Christmas trees. On Yule, many Pagan and Wiccan families celebrate the return of the sun by adding light into their homes. One of our family’s favorite traditions – and one that children can do easily – is to make a Yule log for a family-sized celebration.
A holiday celebration that began in Norway, on the night of the winter solstice it was common to hoist a giant log onto the hearth to celebrate the return of the sun each year. The Norsemen believed that the sun was a giant wheel of fire which rolled away from the earth, and then began rolling back again on the winter solstice.
As Christianity spread through Europe, the tradition became part of Christmas Eve festivities. The father or master of the house would sprinkle the log with libations of mead, oil or salt.
Once the log was burned in the hearth, the ashes were scattered about the house to protect the family within from hostile spirits.
Because each type of wood is associated with various magickal and spiritual properties, logs from different types of trees might be burned to get a variety of effects. Aspen is the wood of choice for spiritual understanding, while the mighty oak is symbolic of strength and wisdom. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth.
In our house, we usually make our Yule log out of pine, but you can make yours of any type of wood you choose. You can select one based on its magickal properties, or you can just use whatever’s handy. To make a basic Yule log, you will need the following:
- A log about 14 – 18” long
- Pinecones
- Dried berries, such as cranberries
- Cuttings of mistletoe, holly, pine needles, and ivy
- Feathers and cinnamon sticks
- Some festive ribbon – use paper or cloth ribbon, not the synthetic or wire-lined type
- A hot glue gun
All of these – except for the ribbon and the hot glue gun — are things you and your children can gather outside. You might wish to start collecting them earlier in the year, and saving them. Encourage your children to only pick up items they find on the ground, and not to take any cuttings from live plants.
Begin by wrapping the log loosely with the ribbon. Leave enough space that you can insert your branches, cuttings and feathers under the ribbon. In our house, we place five feathers on our Yule log – one for each member of the family. Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pinecones, cinnamon sticks and berries. Add as much or as little as you like. Remember to keep the hot glue gun away from small children.
Once you’ve decorated your Yule log, the question arises of what to do with it. For starters, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. A Yule log looks lovely on a table surrounded by candles and holiday greenery.
Another way to use your Yule log is to burn it as our ancestors did so many centuries ago. In our family, before we burn our log we each write down a wish on a piece of paper, and then insert it into the ribbons. It’s our wish for the upcoming year, and we keep it to ourselves in hopes that it will come true.
If you have a fireplace, you can certainly burn your Yule log in it, but we prefer to do ours outside. We have a fire pit in the back yard, and on the night of the winter solstice, we gather out there with blankets, mittens, and mugs full of warm drinks as we burn our log. While we watch the flames consume it, we discuss how thankful we are for the good things that have come our way this year, and how we hope for abundance, good health, and happiness in the next.
Source:
Article is found on and owned by About.com
Incense of the Day for December 2nd is Apparition Incense
Incense of the Day
APPARITION INCENSE
3 Parts Wood Aloe
2 Parts Coriander
1 Part Camphor
1 Part Mugwort
1 Part Flax
1 Part Anise
1 Part Cardamom
1 Part Chicory
1 Part Hemp
Burn to cause apparitions to appear, if you REALLY want this to happen.
Gemstone of the Day for December 2nd is Thomsonite
Gemstone of the Day
Thomsonite
Thomsonite is named after the Scottish chemist, T. Thomson (1773-1852 CE).
Hardness: 5 – 5.5
Specific Gravity: 2.2 – 2.4
Chemistry: 2(Ca, Na2)Al4Si4O16.5H2O Hydrated sodium calcium aluminum silicate
Class: Silicates
Crystallography: Orthorhombic
Cleavage: perfect
Fracture: uneven
Streak: white
Luster: vitreous
Healing: Thomsonite is utilized to lower the heat of fevers. It is also used to treat cysts and oral fungus and to stimulate the thymus. Thomsonite is used to induce mental clarity.
Magical Workings: Thomsonite produces an incentive to realize one’s dreams without restraint. Thomsonite offers protection against treachery and laziness.
Thomsonite is associated with the astrological sign of Gemini and vibrates to the number of 3.
Chakra Applications: Thomsonite promotes a strong connection between the physical and ethereal bodies.
Foot Notes: Thomsonite is the name of a series of tecto-silicate minerals of the zeolite group. Prior to 1997 CE, thomsonite was recognized as a mineral species, but a reclassification in 1997 by the International Mineralogical Association changed it to a series name. Thomsonite occurs with other zeolites in the amygdaloidal cavities of basaltic volcanic rocks, and occasionally in granitic pegmatites. It is one of the rarest zeolites.
Source:
Author: Crick
Author: Crick
Website: The Whispering Woods
Herb of the Day for December 2nd is Club Moss
Herb of the Day
Club Moss
Running Pine, Foxtail, Stag’s Horn Moss, Wolf Claw
The spores were once used for gastric and urinary disorders, as an antispasmodic sedative and to coat pills.
Blackfoot Indians knew of the spores’ blood-stanching, wound-healing and moisture-absorbing properties and inhaled them for nosebleeds and dusted them on cuts. They are still used on wounds and eczema.
The whole plant is used as a cathartic, the spores are used as a diuretic in edema, a drastic (a forceful agent of cure) in diarrhea and dysentery, a nervine for rabies and spasms, a mild laxative in cases of gout and scurvy, and a corroborant (strengthening agent) for rheumatism.
Club Moss can be an active narcotic poison when overused. For this reason it is probably better to use only the spores, which are non-toxic.
Magickal uses: Druids respected the plant to such a degree that it was gathered only under strict ritual guidelines. One of the Ovates would dress in white, bathe both feet in free-running water and offer a sacrifice of bread and spirits, and then with white robe wrapped around the right hand, using a brass hook, would dig up the plant by the roots. When properly gathered, the herb becomes a charm of power and protection. Wear it, add it to incense, and use it to commune with the Gods and Goddesses. Also used in protection and power spells. This herb is feminine and ruled by the Moon. It is associated with the element of Water.
Properties: diuretic, drastic, stomachic, aperient, nervine, and suppression of urine
Growth: Club moss are found in North America, northern Europe, Asia, and the southern hemisphere. The plants are several inches in height and resemble moss. They creep by means of prostrate stems, which branch upward at intervals, with crowded, linear, simple leaves. Large two valved spore cases product the medicinally active spores.
Source:
Author: Crick
Author: Crick
Website: The Whispering Woods
Deity of the Day for December 2 is The Goddess Styx
Deity of the Day
Styx
In Greek mythology, Styx is a deity and a river that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (the domain often called Hades, which also is the name of its ruler). The rivers Styx, Phlegethon, Acheron, Lethe, and Cocytus all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh, which sometimes, also is called the Styx. According to Herodotus the river Styx originates near Feneos. Styx also is a goddess with prehistoric roots in Greek mythology as a daughter of Tethys, after whom the river is named and because of whom it had miraculous powers.
The deities were bound by the Styx and swore oaths upon Styx. According to classical myths the reason related for this is that during the Titan war, Styx, the goddess of the river Styx, sided with Zeus. After the war, Zeus promised every oath be sworn upon her. Zeus swore to give Semele whatever she wanted and was then obliged to follow through when he realized to his horror that her request would lead to her death. Helios similarly promised his son Phaëton whatever he desired, also resulting in the boy’s death. Myths related to such early deities did not survive long enough to be included in historic records, but tantalizing references exist among those that have been discovered.
According to some versions, Styx had miraculous powers and could make someone invulnerable. According to one tradition, Achilles was dipped in the waters of the river by his mother during his childhood, acquiring invulnerability, with exception of his heel, by which his mother held him. This is the source of the expression Achilles’ heel, a metaphor for a vulnerable spot.
Styx was primarily a feature in the afterworld of classical Greek mythology, similar to the Christian area of Hell in texts such as The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. The ferryman Charon often is described in contemporary literature as having transported the souls of the newly dead across this river into the underworld, although in the original Greek and Roman sources, as well as in Dante, it was the river Acheron that Charon plied. Dante put Phlegyas as ferryman over the Styx and made it the fifth circle of Hell, where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being drowned in the muddy waters for eternity, with the wrathful fighting each other. In ancient times some believed that placing a coin (Charon’s obol) in the mouth of the deceased would pay the toll for the ferry to cross the Acheron River, which would lead one to the entrance of the underworld. If someone could not pay the fee it was said that they would never be able to cross the river. This ritual was performed by the relatives.
The variant spelling Stix was sometimes used in translations of Classical Greek before the twentieth century. By metonymy, the adjective stygian came to refer to anything dark, dismal, and murky.
Styx was the name of the daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, the goddess of the River Styx. In classical myths, she was wife to Pallas and bore him Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia (and sometimes Eos). In those myths, Styx supported Zeus in the Titanomachy, where she was said to be the first to rush to his aid and for this reason her name was given the honor of being a binding oath for the deities. Knowledge of whether this was the original reason for the tradition did not survive into historical records following the religious transition that led to the pantheon of the classical era.
I Am A Witch….
Astronomy Picture of the Day – At the Heart of Orion
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 December 2
At the Heart of Orion
Image Credit & Copyright: László Francsics
Explanation: Near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait, at the heart of the Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium. Tightly gathered within a region about 1.5 light-years in radius, they dominate the core of the dense Orion Nebula Star Cluster. Ultraviolet ionizing radiation from the Trapezium stars, mostly from the brightest star Theta-1 Orionis C powers the complex star forming region’s entire visible glow. About three million years old, the Orion Nebula Cluster was even more compact in its younger years and a dynamical study indicates that runaway stellar collisions at an earlier age may have formed a black hole with more than 100 times the mass of the Sun. The presence of a black hole within the cluster could explain the observed high velocities of the Trapezium stars. The Orion Nebula’s distance of some 1,500 light-years would make it the closest known black hole to planet Earth.
EarthSky News for Dec. 2nd: Last quarter moon and Jupiter December 3
Last quarter moon and Jupiter December 3
Tomorrow morning – December 3, 2015 – you can see the moon and the king planet Jupiter quite close together on the great dome of sky. Watch for these two worlds no matter where you live on Earth. They’re up in the wee hours, higher in the sky before dawn. Just look for the brilliant starlike object close to the moon in the predawn sky on December 3, and sure enough, that’ll be the giant planet Jupiter.
The moon on December 3 will be at or near its last quarter phase. The last quarter moon will come to pass on December 3 at 7:40 Universal Time. Although the last quarter moon happens at the same instant worldwide, the clock reads differently according to time zone. At U.S. time zones, the last quarter moon falls on December 3 at 2:40 a.m. EST, 1:40 a.m. CST, 12:40 a.m. MST – and on December 2 at 11:40 p.m. PST. What does it all mean? It only means that – depending on where you live worldwide – the moon might or might not be above the horizon at the instant that it reaches the crest of its last quarter phase.
Meanwhile, all of us will see an approximate last quarter moon, in the shape of half a pie, on the morning of December 3.
By the way, the moon and Jupiter will be even closer together on the sky’s dome on the morning on December 4.
Jupiter is very bright, but another planet up before dawn outshines it. In fact, two celestial bodies – the moon and Venus – outshine Jupiter in the morning sky before sunrise.
But there’s not much chance of mistaking Venus for Jupiter, or vice versa, on the mornings of December 3 and 4.
On these dates, Jupiter shines closer to the moon on the sky’s dome than Venus does.
Later on in the first week of December, 2015, the waning crescent moon will swing by the red planet Mars and then Venus.
What’s more, people in central and eastern Africa can watch the moon occult – cover over – Mars in the December 6 predawn/dawn sky; and people in northwestern North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Northwest Territories) can witness the moon occulting Venus in their December 7 predawn/dawn sky.
Bottom line: In the predawn hours on December 3, 2015, the moon will be at or near its last quarter phase and shining close to the planet Jupiter on the sky’s dome.
Author:
Bruce McClure
Bruce McClure is the chief writer for the popular EarthSky Tonight pages. Since joining EarthSky in 2004, he has written thousands of astronomy articles, enjoyed here by millions. He also writes, gives planetarium shows and hosts a wide assortment of public astronomy programs in and around his home in upstate New York. If you ask an astronomy question on our site, it’s likely to be Bruce that answers it. His love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, and he has sailed the North Atlantic, earning his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. Bruce is also a sundial aficionado. He says his number one passion – besides his wife Alice – is stargazing.
Holiday Feng Shui
Holiday Feng Shui
Use the ancient art of organization to spruce up your gatherings
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The Wisdom of Buddha
The Wisdom of Buddha
Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.
Crack the Cookie
Your Daily Influences for December 2
Your Daily Influences
December 2, 2015
The Empress Reversed
This card represents infertility, instability and the loss of material possessions.
Jera
Jera denotes positive, recurring cycles, fertility and a time to harvest rewards from your hard work.
The Menat
You will find focusing on this aspect difficult, because truths will be obscured by dreaminess and illusion. You will not accomplish much here in the next several weeks, and therefore should focuses your attention elsewhere
Your Daily Influences represent events and challenges the current day will present for you. They may represent opportunities you should be ready to seize. Or they may forewarn you of problems you may be able to avoid or lessen. Generally it is best to use them as tips to help you manage your day and nothing more.
Your Ancient Symbol Card for December 2nd is The Beacon
Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today
The Beacon
The Beacon symbolizes both guidance to safe harbors and a warning of dangerous waters. The Beacon is represented by a lighthouse atop jagged rocks with its powerful light cutting a path that leads to an adjacent entrance to a calm harbor on a stormy night. The Beacon suggest that if you look for it, there is a general path for you to follow to reach a place of peace and harmony. However, The Beacon itself sets upon rough ground, so you must still step carefully as you follow it to quiet waters.
As a daily card, The Beacon provides guidance away from conflict. It implies that the path to resolving differences is marked and visible to any who look for it. The Beacon also warns that while there is a way to quell strife, you still must move carefully towards a solution.
Your Daily Witches Rune for December 2nd is The Ear of Corn
Your Witches Rune
The Ear of Corn
Meaning: This rune represents abundance, success and happiness. This is considered a lucky rune and if leading, it is very positive about your query, whether the query is about finance, business, friendship, partnership or spirituality. In conjunction with the Rings, it indicates a happy and prosperous marriage. With the Sun, it means success in your career, and with Waves, success abroad.
Your Crowley Thoth Tarot Card for December 2nd is The Emperor
Your Crowley Thoth Tarot Card for Today
The Emperor
The Emperor is blessed with the skills to successfully lead others. He can turn chaos into order and provide structure to that which is unbound. He is quick of mind and confident in his power and right to rule, and does so in a just manner. Although stern by nature, he truly is the ultimate father figure. He will provide as needed, teach those with unanswered questions, protect the vulnerable, set and maintain boundaries. His perfect world runs on schedule and is free of any disturbances. What the Emperor must be wary of is setting boundaries and rules where none are needed. If he isn’t careful not to over use his powers he may well become a tyrant.
Your Daily I Ching Hexagram for December 2nd is 43: Determination
Hexagram of the Day
43: Determination
December 2nd, 2015
Personal resolution points to a breakthrough, but decisive action is required. As long as you diligently hold your ground and ward off negative tendencies and influences, the good will prevail.
The persistence of negativity, which is that which opposes the good, is a constant in human affairs. Just when it is thought to have been eradicated, up it will pop again, sprouting through some crack in the pavement of civilized society. Evil need not take dramatic or extravagant forms, such as those exhibited in Nazi Germany. Garden-variety lies and deceit are much more common and persistent, but should be rooted out just as diligently. One must be determined to not accidentally feed negativity — either in one’s social or professional life, or in one’s own soul. In either case, definite rules must be followed for the struggle to succeed.
The first rule: do not compromise with evil. Destructive or exploitative actions must be identified openly for what they are, and discredited. The second: one cannot successfully resist negativity on its own terms. New, positive alternatives that lead away from the source of the problem are generally more successful, and appropriate than trying to counter negativity with raw power. The third rule: the means used to counter negativity must be consistent with the end to be achieved. One cannot stop the spreading of lies by spreading more of them.
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Casting the Stones, Your Past, Present & Future Reading for Wed, December 2
Casting the Stones, Your Past, Present & Future Reading for Today
The Past
Kenaz
Kenaz foretells the coming of clarity and knowledge. It is time for you to grow by exchanging knowledge with others. Opportunities are upon you.
The Present
Naudhiz
Naudhiz may foretell needs unmet and friction in relationships. You may be in a time where you should be very careful in whatever endeavor you take on. Also it may be that you are about to learn some of life’s hard lessons and come out the other side of this period a stronger being.
The Future
Perthro
Mysteries will become known to you. You should be able to see your life’s path clearly at this time. Pethro is often thought of as “Gambler’s Rune.” You are in a lucky period right now. Chance is your ally. Take advantage of it.
Your Daily Rune for December 2 is Isa
Your Rune For Today
Isa
The Ice Rune, represents stagnation and a passionless existence. Your life’s course may seem blurry at the moment, but if you persevere you will move onto better days
Additional information about Today’s Rune, Isa. . .
isa : ice
Phonetic equivalent: i (ee as in ‘eel’)
- DIVINATORY MEANINGS:
- inactivity, blockage, stagnation, potential, patience, reflection, withdrawal, rest
- MAGICAL USES:
- to stop a process; to represent primal form
- ASSOCIATED MYTHS & DEITIES:
- Auðumla, Nifelheim
- ANALYSIS:
- In modern symbology, fire is generally masculine and ice (or earth) is feminine, but it is unknown whether the Norse shared this association. Certainly, ice was a constant factor in their day to day lives. It threatened their crops and their ships almost throughout the year, but it also served as a symbol of creation, from which all life will eventually spring. It says something about the Norse mind that they could recognize the need to have such a seemingly destructive joining of elements in order to create and maintain life. Fire may be warm and pleasant, but it must be balanced by the freezing of winter just as birth must be balanced by death. Even the little death of sleep has been proven to be vital for our mental and physical well-being.
- Isa encompasses all of these ideas, but primarily represents a period of rest before activity, and itself forms the material from which life can be created. It is matter, inert by itself, but transformed into the stuff of stars when wedded with energy. It is the immovable form acted upon the irresistible force. In many ways, the Norse predicted Einstein with their version of the creation of the universe, recognizing that everything in their world contained both fire and ice (energy and matter), and that the relationship between the two defined the processes of life itself.
Monthly Tarot Card Forecast: December 2015
Monthly Tarot Card Forecast: December 2015
Don’t sweat the small stuff
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