Day: February 5, 2016

The Witches Magick for Friday, February 5th – An Image Love Charm

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An Image Love Charm

This and similar image spells are most popular today, as they have been for ages.

Carve, sew, or otherwise construct an image of yourself at your finest, physically speaking. Pour into it all your good points, as well as your bad. Embody the image with your spirit, your life-force, your total being. When you look at its face (however crude or unfinished it may seem to be) see your own face.

When finished, put in a safe place. Next, of the same material, fashion an image of your ideal love. This shouldn’t be a specific person, of course, but a composite of everything you are looking for in a man or woman. Though you are only fashioning its outline or rough features, implant in it physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and other qualities; habits and goals in life; any particulars that appeal or are important to you.

When both images are finished, take a pink or red thread or cord and tie them loosely together. Place them in a spot where they will not be disturbed for several weeks, but not in a box or other constricting place. Someone will come to you, and after that, it will be up to the two of you.

Spells of this nature draw many people to you, and one or two of these might become good friends. A more personal relationship might develop out of one of these, which may eventually lead to love.

If it does but the relationship ends, unbind the images, carefully dismantle the one of the perfect love, and begin anew.

The same is true if you find no lover, but for this wait at least three months.

A spell of this type doesn’t force the person you meet to fall in love with you; it simply expands your circle of friends. Any person you meet will be under no magical pressure or force to love you; that you will have to do on your own.
 

Scott Cunningham, Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic

Love Spells, Charms, and Rituals

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Love Spells, Charms, and Rituals

Now, next to beauty, love has to be the most commonly invoked magic of all time. People are always to trying to get the cutting edge in the hand of the one that they love. I think that love spells are very powerful and should not be used flippantly and I make sure that the person I’m casting it on behalf of us very committed to the idea of taking care of the one they love before its cast. Messing with the hearts of people is not to be taken lightly and make sure you’re ready for the consequences of casting this spell, performing this ritual, or utilizing this charm. The Universe will certainly answer unkindly if you screw it up.
 

Michele Gilbert, Wicca: The Ultimate Beginners Guide For Witches: How To Become a Solitary Practitioner (Wiccan, Spells and Rituals, Wicca Spells, Paganism,Candles, Witchcraft, Symbols)

Helpfun Hints: Hidden in Plain Sight – Altar Alternatives

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Helpfun Hints: Hidden in Plain Sight – Altar Alternatives

Most witches like to have an altar, but not every witch lives someplace where he or she is comfortable having all their magickal stuff right out in plain view. So here is a list of the usual items we witchy types tend to have on our altars, and a few possible, less obviously Pagan substitutes:

GOD/GODDESS STATUES = GOLD/SILVER CANDLES OR PLAQUE OF THE TREE OF LIFE

ATHAME = FANCY LETTER-OPENER OR WOODEN BRANCH

CHALICE = ANY NICE CUP OR GOBLET, OR SMALL BOWL

SALT & WATER = STONE AND SEASHELL

QUARTER CANDLES = ROCK (EARTH), FEATHER (AIR), SHELL (WATER), AND TEALIGHT (FIRE)

You can always put out flowers as an offering and a few colored stones (for the quarters), and no one will be the wiser. After all, you know what they’re for-and so do the gods-and that’s all that really matters.
 

Deborah Blake. Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft

The Witch’s Altar

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The Witch’s Altar

They say that home is where the heart is–if so, then a Witch’s home is her altar. That is where your most precious tools live; athame, god and goddess candles, incense, crystals….whatever you use to connect with the gods in your most private rituals.

Your altar is where you go when you are most troubled and in need of help. It is where you go in your moments of joy to give thanks.

You stand at your altar to summon what you want and banish what you don’t, to ask for help and to ask for answers.

What better definition of home could you have?

So tend your altar carefully. Find items that you will treasure, and set them lovingly in their places. You don’t need a lot. One candle or six (god and goddess and the four quarters)-it’s your choice. That one perfect leaf, feather, or rock. As long as it means something to you, youar altar is where it belongs.

And your altar is where you belong, too. It is the one place where you can truly be you, with nothing hidden or held back. Laugh, cry, howl, or simply be silent… it’s all good.

So go to your altar often even if only for a minute or two at a time, and check in with yourself, the gods and the universe. Ground back to the earth and to your truest self. And don’t forget to dust on occasion, either.

Deborah Blake. Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft

A Little Humor for Your Day – Top 13 Reasons to become a Witch

Top 13 Reasons to become a Witch

13. I live for persecution!
12. I’m a night person at heart.
11. We respect our elders…and alders, and willows and oaks.
10. I just love explaining that a pentagram is NOT evil.
9. We do more after midnight than most people do all day!
8. Being burned at the stake is a great way to roast marshmallows.
7. We can talk to Elvis (and he IS dead).
6. You live, you learn, you die, you forget. Then you comeback…
5. Double the deities, double the fun!
4. We get more holidays.
3. Brooms get great mileage.
2. We were here first!
1. BELTANE!!!

 

Source:
Wiccan Magick

Astronomy Picture of the Day – Massive Stars in NGC 6357

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.

2016 February 5

Massive Stars in NGC 6357
Image Credit & Copyright: CHART32 Team, Processing – Johannes Schedler

 

Explanation: Massive stars lie within NGC 6357, an expansive emission nebula complex some 6,500 light-years away toward the tail of the constellation Scorpius. In fact, positioned near center in this ground-based close-up of NGC 6357, star cluster Pismis 24 includes some of the most massive stars known in the galaxy, stars with nearly 100 times the mass of the Sun. The nebula’s bright central region also contains dusty pillars of molecular gas, likely hiding massive protostars from the prying eyes of optical instruments. Intricate shapes in the nebula are carved as interstellar winds and energetic radiation from the young and newly forming massive stars clear out the natal gas and dust and power the nebular glow. Enhancing the nebula’s cavernous appearance, narrowband image data was included in this composite color image in a Hubble palette scheme. Emission from sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms is shown in red green and blue hues. The alluring telescopic view spans about 50 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 6357.

Astronomical events in February 2016

Astronomical events in February 2016

Dates of major moon phases, conjunctions and oppositions of planets, meteor showers and other important dates occurring in February 2016, from astronomer Fred Espenak.

All times in UTC, the time standard commonly used by nations across the world. Translate to your timezone here.

FEBRUARY, 2016
DATE….TIME…EVENT
Feb 01 03:28 LAST QUARTER MOON
Feb 01 08:48 Mars 2.7°S of moon
Feb 03 19:05 Saturn 3.5°S of moon
Feb 06 07:32 Venus 4.3°S of moon
Feb 06 16:47 Mercury 3.8°S of moon
Feb 07 01 Mercury at greatest elongation: 25.6°W
Feb 08 14:39 NEW MOON
Feb 10 20:46 Moon at descending node
Feb 11 02:42 Moon at perigee: 364358 km
Feb 13 03 Mercury 4.0° of Venus
Feb 15 07:46 FIRST QUARTER MOON
Feb 16 07:41 Aldebaran 0.3°S of moon
Feb 21 17 Mercury at aphelion
Feb 22 12:48 Regulus 2.5°N of moon
Feb 22 18:20 FULL MOON
Feb 24 03:58 Jupiter 1.7°N of moon
Feb 24 06:10 Moon at ascending node
Feb 26 19:05 Spica 5.1°S of moon
Feb 27 03:28 Moon at apogee: 405383 km
Feb 28 15 Neptune in conjunction with sun
Feb 29 18:16 Mars 3.6°S of moon

 

Author

Fred Espenak

Fred Espenak

Fred Espenak is a scientist emeritus at Goddard Space Flight Center. For decades, he has been NASA’s expert on eclipses, and some of you may know him as Mr. Eclipse. Fred maintains NASA’s official eclipse web site (eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov) as well as his personal web site on eclipse photography (mreclipse.com). Now retired and living in rural Arizona, Fred spends most clear nights losing sleep and photographing the stars (astropixels.com). His latest website is devoted to helping you enjoy eclipses (www.eclipsewise.com). He is an EarthSky partner, and – as we move toward the Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017 – you’ll find many articles about solar eclipses by him on this website.

Article published on EarthSky

Earth Sky News for February 5th: Moon, Venus, Mercury on February 6

Moon, Venus, Mercury on February 6

Before dawn on February 6, 2016 … think photo opportunity! The crescent moon and the planets Venus and Mercury convene in the morning sky, just as darkness wanes toward dawn on this Saturday morning. Look in the sunrise direction shortly before sunrise, when the sky is still dark enough to see the stars.

If there’s any cloud or haze on your eastern horizon – or if you’ve got an exceptionally bright city sky – binoculars will come in handy!

Depending on your time zone, Mercury reaches its greatest western (morning) elongation from the sun on February 6 or 7. That means that Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, swings to the outer edge of its orbit as seen from Earth.

And it means we can see Mercury pretty well – or very well – in the sky before dawn.

Around the time of greatest elongation, Mercury is as far from the sun as it will be, for this apparition. Right now, this planet – sometimes called the most elusive planet since it always stays near the sun in our sky – is rising at or near its maximum period of time before sunrise.

At mid-northern latitudes right now, Mercury rises approximately 80 minutes before the sun. At temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, Mercury rises nearly two hours before the sun. Click here for recommendations for a sky almanac that can give you the precise rising times for the moon and planets in your sky.

After this, Mercury will start rising closer and closer to the time of sunrise and finally disappear in the sunrise glare, sometime after mid-February. From the Southern Hemisphere, though, you might actually be able to view Mercury in the morning sky until the month’s end.

The five visible planets will adorn the February morning sky until Mercury disappears from view.

And, although the moon will be moving out of the morning sky in a day or two, you can continue to use the dazzling planet Venus to locate nearby Mercury.

The upcoming week is a grand time to spot Mercury near Venus before sunrise, and thus to see all five naked-eye planets in the February morning sky.

Bottom line: The moon has been sweeping past the five planets in the morning sky. On Saturday morning – February 6, 2016 – the moon will be near both Mercury and Venus.

 

Author

Bruce McClure

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.

Article is published on EarthSky