Day: January 28, 2016

This Week’s Stargazing for Jan. 28th – Feb. 3

Magical Cat
This Week’s Stargazing for Jan. 28th – Feb. 3

January 28: IC 1396
A cluster known as IC 1396 has given birth to thousands of stars and is still forming more. It stands a third of the way up the northwestern sky at nightfall. It’s visible through binoculars high above Deneb, the bright star at the tail of the swan.

January 29: Moon and Spica
The gibbous Moon passes over a bright star at dawn tomorrow. Spica, the leading light of Virgo, shines just a few degrees below the Moon, so you can’t miss it.

January 30: Moon and Companions
Two bright lights flank the Moon at dawn tomorrow. The star Spica stands to the right of the Moon, while the planet Mars looks like a bright orange star to the lower left of the Moon.

January 31: Moon and Mars
Look for Mars quite close to the lower right of the Moon at first light tomorrow. The little planet looks like a bright orange star. Earth and Mars are moving closer together, so Mars will grow much brighter over the next few months.

February 1: The Whole Gang
All five planets that are easily visible to the unaided eye are in view at dawn. Venus, the “morning star,” is in the southeast tomorrow, with Mercury close to its lower left. Mars and Saturn are in the south (with the Moon between them), with Jupiter in the west-southwest.

February 2: Moon and Saturn
The Moon has a couple of bright companions before dawn tomorrow. The planet Saturn looks like a golden star just below the Moon, and the true star Antares is to their lower right, shining bright orange.

February 3: Hydra
Hydra, the water snake, slithers across the south tonight. It’s so big that it takes more than seven hours for the whole snake to rise. The stars that mark its head rise around sunset, while its tail clears the southeastern horizon after midnight.

StarDate

Moon In Libra

Wiccan Blessings

Moon In Libra

The Moon sets the emotional tone as it transits through the Zodiac signs. It changes signs every 2 1/2 days. You can work with this rhythm to “go with the flow” of the Moon. You can use it to know the general feeling tone to expect.

When the Moon is in airy Libra, the mood is very social. We want to pair up and bounce ideas off each other in one-on-one situations. It’s easier to extend ourselves to see the other person’s point of view.

That makes it favorable for easy breezy togetherness.

The Moon in Libra is a good time for entertaining, too. Relaxed, leisurely gatherings are favored. Being together becomes sublime in settings that are aesthetically pleasing.

Peace and Tranquility:
Under this Moon, we especially enjoy being pampered. And we’re more apt to dote on a friend or mate. The mood is that of mutual devotion, so we seek to draw out the best in others. We enjoy conversation, and even arguing to prove a point. An idea may come that brings balance to a situation, or has the potential to. These are power days for speeches, and offering your big idea.

It’s also the right mood to make amends or compromise.

Activities favored under the Moon in Libra: mediating, negotiating a fair deal, restoring balance with a friend or family member, taking it easy, beautifying your home space, meditating, decorating, de-cluttering, throwing a dinner party, attending a lecture, visiting a museum, writing or editing, experimenting with fashion, indulging in luxury.
 

Author

Molly Hall, Astrology Expert
Article published on & owned by About.com

 

The Witches Almanac for Thursday, January 28th

In between the worlds
The Witches Almanac for Thursday, January 28th

Thursday (Jupiter): Expansion, money, prosperity, and generosity.

St. Charlemagne’s Day

Waning Moon
The Waning Moon (from the Full Moon to the New) is a time for study, meditation, and little magical work (except magic designed to banish harmful energies).

Moon phase: Third Quarter

Moon Sign: Virgo
Virgo: Favors accomplishment of details and commands from higher up. Focuses on health, hygiene, and daily schedules.

Moon enters Libra 9: 59 am
Libra: Favors cooperation, social activities, beautification of surroundings, balance and partnership.

Incense: Mulberry

Color: Crimson

Thursday’s Name Sake, The God Thor, Norse God of Thunder

Thor's Hammer

Thursday’s Name Sake, The God Thor, Norse God of Thunder

 

In Germanic mythology and religion, Thor is the god of thunder. He is typically portrayed as red-headed and bearded, and carrying Mjolnir, a magical hammer. Depictions of Mjolnir became popular adornment for warriors during the age of the Vikings, and it is still seen today among adherents of some forms of Norse Paganism.

A son of Odin, Thor was married to a fertility goddess named Sif, although he also had a mistress, Jarnsaxa.

Thor was known for protecting both gods and mortals from the powers of evil. As keeper of thunder and lightning, he was also considered integral to the agricultural cycle. If there was a drought, it wouldn’t hurt to offer a libation to Thor in hopes that the rains would come.

During a thunderstorm, Thor rode through the heavens on his great chariot, pulled by two magical goats. Whenever he swung Mjolnir, lightning flashed across the sky. Mjolnir itself was such a powerful item (as dwarf-made items often are in Norse legend) that Thor needed a special belt and iron gloves to handle the hammer. After it was thrown, the hammer always returned home to Thor.

In the Prose Edda, the death of Thor at Ragnarok is described.

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote of Thor:

I am the God Thor,
I am the War God,
I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
my fastness and fortress,
reign I forever!

Here amid icebergs
rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Miölner the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
cannot withstand it!

Thor’s influence has carried over into modern times. A day of the week is named for him (Thor’s day) and there are a number of references to him in pop culture.

He appears as a Marvel comic book character, and pops up alongside Loki and Odin in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series, as well as Gaiman’s excellent novel, American Gods. Most recently, Thor has been featured in Joanne Harris’ Runemarks, a book for juvenile readers set 500 years after Ragnarok.

Author

Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article published on & owned by About.com

 

The More You Know – Thursday

Wiccan Dreams

The More You Know – Thursday

Thursday is a day of royal blues and greens, associated with the planet Jupiter and metals like tin. When it comes to deities, look at leader type gods like Thor, Zeus, and Jupiter. Gemstone correspondences for Thursday include turquoise, amethyst and lapis lazuli, and plant associations can be found in honeysuckle, cinquefoil, and even oak trees.

This is a day for honor, fealty and family loyalty, as well as harvesting, success, and prosperity.

Take advantage of Thursday’s different aspects and do spellwork that brings abundance to you, declares your allegiance, and embraces prosperity.
 

Author

Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article published on & owned by About.com

Thursday’s Witchery

magic happens
Thursday’s Witchery

Today is the day for prosperity work of all kinds. It can also be used for healing work, whether that is a physical healing of an illness or an emotional healing. Also remember that you have to follow up your healing work and prosperity magick and physical action.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have met new witches who complain to me that their prosperity spell or “I need a better job” spell did not work as they expected. They’ll ramble on and on about how much time and money they spent working their magick….but, alas, they had no glorious manifestation of wealth or fabulous job that suddenly dropped out of the sky and landed in their laps.

Then, when I gently ask them, “Did you enchant your resume or application when you filled it out? Did you do a little confidence-boosting spellwork when you went to apply for the job or went to the interview?” typically they give me a blank, confused stare.

Nine times out of ten, their response is, “You mean I have to go out and actually look for the job too?” Um, yes, my dear, you certainly do. Magick follows the path of least resistance, which means it’s going to manifest along the simplest, quickest route. Get out there and hit the pavement. See what you can find. Times are tough and competition for good jobs is fierce, so you need whatever edge you can get. For folks like us, we’re going to get the edge by using our magick and our spellcraft.

Thursdays have such a rich source of magick for us to draw upon that, honestly, the sky is the limit. This is the day associated with the gods of the sky and heavens, after all. Get to know these deities and add their wisdom and magick into your days

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

Thursday

wiccan woman

Thursday

Jupiter’s (Thor’s) day

⦁ Middle English – thursday or thuresday
⦁ Old Norse– thorsdagr – Thor’s day
⦁ Old English– thunresdæg – Thunder’s day
⦁ Latin – dies Jovis – “Day of Jupiter”
⦁ Ancient Greek – hemera Dios – “day of Zeus”

The name is derived from Old English and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr) meaning “Thor’s Day”. Thunor, Donar (German, Donnerstag) and Thor are derived from the name of the Germanic god of thunder, Thunraz, equivalent to Jupiter in the interpretation romance.

In most Romance languages, the day is named after the Roman god Jupiter, who was the god of sky and thunder. In Latin, the day was known as Iovis Dies, “Jupiter’s Day”. In Latin, the genitive or possessive case of Jupiter was Iovis/Jovis and thus in most Romance languages it became the word for Thursday: Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi, Sardinian jòvia, Catalan dijous, and Romanian joi.

This is also reflected in the p-Celtic Welsh dydd Iau.

The astrological and astronomical sign of the planet Jupiter is sometimes used to represent Thursday.

Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god: Torsdag in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Hósdagur/Tórsdagur in Faroese, Donnerstag in German or Donderdag in Dutch. Finnish and Northern Sami, both non-Germanic (Uralic) languages, uses the borrowing “Torstai” and “Duorastat”. In the extinct Polabian Slavic language, it was perundan, Perun being the Slavic equivalent of Thor.

There are a number of modern names imitating the naming of Thursday after an equivalent of “Jupiter” in local tradition. In most of the languages of India, the word for Thursday is Guruvar- var meaning day and guru being the style for Bṛhaspati, guru to the gods and regent of the planet Jupiter. In Thai, the word is Wan Pharuehatsabodi—referring to the Hindu deity Bṛhaspati, also associated with Jupiter. En was an old Illyrian deity and in his honor in the Albanian language Thursday is called “Enjte”. In the Nahuatl language, Thursday is Tezcatlipotōnal meaning “day of Tezcatlipoca”.

Thursday’s Conjuring

blessed be
Thursday’s Conjuring

Thursday – is associated with Jupiter

Candle colors – Green, Purple, Orange, or Blue

Spellcrafting for the Day: Business, Gambling, Power, Material Wealth, Luck, Road Opening

 
—Starr Casas, Old Style Conjure Wisdoms, Workings and Remedies

May The Goddess Shine Her Love, Comfort & Blessings Down On You & Yours This Thursday Morn’!

Blessed Be

~* ~ A Witch’s Tale ~* ~

What is it like To cast a spell?
To chant a charm?
To ring a bell?
To cast a circle?
To praise the moon?
To love the Earth?
To read the rune?
To love the Goddess?
To live her way?
To ebb and flow
Every day?
The trees, the grass,
The clouds and hills;
All these things
Witchcraft fills.
Every laugh,
Every cry,
Need you ask
The reason why?
The power can be found

Elizabeth Gardiepy, By The Light Of The Crystal Moon:

A Book of Pagan Poetry and Short Stories