Day: May 11, 2016

Magickal Goody of the Day for May 11 – Hand-dipped Candles

Magickal Goody of the Day

Hand-Dipped Candles

Supplies:

2-4 pounds of Paraffin Wax (the kind used in canning) or beeswax (which is usually expensive).

Candle wick (available at most hobby and craft stores)

oils and herbs (for scent and magickal goals)

candle dye (also expensive) or crayons (for color)

wax paper

a wooden spoon

a double broiler

1. Begin by melting the wax in a double broiler. If you don’t have one, you can use a large pot filled half full of water and a large coffee tin with the wax in it, sitting inside the pot. Heat the water to boiling first and cut up your wax so it will melt quickly. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down and place the tin of wax inside of it. Keep the water hot enough to keep the wax melted but not so hot that the paraffin catches fire (which it has been known to do over high heat).

2. While the wax to melting, stir with a wooden spoon (never use metal) & make sure it all is completely melted.

3. Also, while the wax is melting, mix the herbs (if more than one) in a small bowl.

4. After the wax is completely melted and been checked, break the crayons up and put them into the wax. Keep stirring until all of the crayons have melted and the color is even and smooth, with no streaks. Keep in mind that the candle will be a shade or so lighter when dry. The more crayons – the deeper and richer the color, so experiment.

5. Next, add the herbs to the wax. Empower with your energy and magickal intention while mixing the wax. Stir with the wooden spoon until it is thoroughly mixed. Next add 10-20 drops of essential oil (please, no synthetics when making candles for magickal or ritual use) to the wax until it smells strongly of the fragrance intended. Now your wax is ready.

6. Start with a long piece of wick – twice the size of your desired candle length plus 3 inches (you will be making 2 candles at once). Bend the wick in the middle and hold it by the bend. Dip the wick into the wax and then lift back out. Getting started is the hardest because the wick will float on top of the wax until it has enough wax on it to weigh it down. Allow it to get completely cold between dippings when you first start.

7. After your candle has started to take shape you can speed up the process a little. I keep a pan of cool water nearby and dip the candles in the water after each dipping in the wax. While this speeds up the process a little, candle making is a slow process but very well worth the time and energy you put into it.

8. Keep dipping the candles and allowing them to cool & then dip again. When you have achieved the proper size, hang them to dry until the wax has set but the candles aren’t too hard. Then roll them on the wax paper to smooth out the shape. Once the candle shape is too your liking, dip 1 or 2 more times to make sure your candle is smooth. Trim off any excess wax to make a bottom with a sharp knife. Cut the wick and hang your candles to dry. You are done!

Deity of the Day for May 11 is Artemis

Deity of the Day

Artemis

The Greek Goddess

Areas of Influence: Artemis the Greek Goddess of the hunt, nature and birth.

The descriptions of this Goddess include. Goddess of the night, Lady of the Beast, Woodland Goddess and Pheobe which translates as the bright one.

Several of this Goddesses roles may appear incompatible in nature. An example of this is that she is associated both with death, brought swiftly through her arrows and healing. She is also both Goddess of the hunt and the protector of wild animals. These contradictions are in reality just a reflection of the cycles of life, death and rebirth.

Artemis is also a bird Goddess as she is linked to  several wild birds including guinea fowl, buzzards and an unidentified sea bird.

She was also known as a moon Goddess. Where she represents the new moon. As such Artemis is an important archetypal figure for young independent and unmarried woman in the form of the maiden goddess.

Birth and Genealogy: Born to Leto and Zeus, she is also the twin sister to Apollo, whom according to myth, she helped her mother to deliver. This is why she was traditionally called upon by woman to ease the pains of childbirth.

Strengths: Independence, courage, confidence and physical strength.

When this Goddess is only three years old she asks her father, Zeus for her own bow and arrow.

Her independence and free spirited nature is not appreciated however by all the Goddesses.  Aphrodite  has no control over her as she is not interested in love. The Queen of the Gods,  Hera  is also forced into confronting her when Artemis sides with the Trojans during the war.

Weaknesses: Vengeful, impulsive and aloof.

Like many of the Greek Goddesses she does not like to be beaten. When Agamemnon kills a stag and boasts that she could not have done it better, she is swift in seeking her revenge, holding back the winds and preventing his fleet from sailing.

Roman Equivalent   Diana

Artemis’s Symbolism

Symbolism: Her bow and arrow that were a present from Zeus.

She is often drawn wearing a short functional tunic. One of the oldest representations of her  also depicts her as a winged Goddess holding a stag and a leopard or lion.

Other works of art illustrate her riding a chariot drawn by four stags.

Sacred Animals: Deer, bears and hunting dogs.

Sacred Birds: Guinea fowl and Buzzards were associated with this bird Goddess.

Sacred Plants: Cypress, almond, fir, walnut and willow trees. Amaranth, daisy, wormwood. Like her brother she was also associated with laurels.

Artemis’s Archetypes

The Child of Nature :

This stereotype feels most at home outside bonding and communicating with the forces of nature. The Child of Nature is often emotionally very sensitive and prefers solace and the company of animals to being with people. They are often independent and physically fit.

The shadow aspect abuses animals and destroys the environment around them.

Artemis embodies this role as she is the Goddess of wild animals. As the huntress she becomes the shadow attribute of this stereotype, killing the animals and attacking anyone who tries to take away her dignity.

The Virgin :

This Archetype represents the desire to remain sexually pure and uncorrupted, maintaining your energy for other projects. It can also symbolize a deep desire to create brand new ideas and methods of working.

The shadow virgin, resists her sexuality due to fear and revolution of sex and the loss of innocence it symbolizes.

This Goddess is a prime example of this chaste Archetype as she asked her father, Zeus to grant her eternal virginity. All her companions were also virgins and she was extremely protective of her purity. When a hunter saw the Goddess and her nymphs bathing, one myth says she turned him into a stag and set his dogs upon him.

 

How To Work With These Archetypes

The Child of Nature:

To have this particular Archetype you need more than a love of nature. Your health and well-being is affected if you are unable to spend time outside working with animals, plants and other nature spirits. Your idea of hell is likely to be working in a busy office in the center of town.

People who possess the shadow aspect are cruel to animals and have no interest in preserving the natural world.

The Virgin:

The Virgin is one of your main Archetypes, if you are continually preserving your vital energies, for spiritual pursuits. The Virgin may also represent a desire to explore virgin territory; inventing refreshing, new ideas and ways of doing things.

On the shadow side, fear and disgust caused by bad past experiences could be preventing you from exploring your sexuality.

 

Source:

Goddess-guide.com

Astronomy Picture of the Day – Light Pillars over Alaska

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 May 11

Light Pillars over Alaska 

Image Credit & Copyright: Allisha LibbyExplanation: What’s happening behind those houses? Pictured here are not auroras but nearby light pillars, a nearby phenomenon that can appear as a distant one. In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar. The featured image was taken in Fort Wainwright near Fairbanksin central Alaska.

Earth Sky News for May 11th: Bright star Vega on May evenings

Bright star Vega on May evenings

Tonight, look for the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll find this beautiful bluish star easily, simply by looking northeastward at mid-evening in May.

Try it! Just look northeast in mid-evening in May. You’ll see this bright bluish star shining above that horizon. From far south in the Southern Hemisphere, you can’t see this star until late at night in May because Vega is located so far north on the sky’s dome. Vega will reach its high point for the night around 3 to 4 hours after midnight, at which time people in the Southern Hemisphere can see this star in the northern sky. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, the star shines high overhead at this early morning hour.

Because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Vega is sometimes called the Harp Star.

Vega is a lovely star to come to know. When I was first learning the night sky, nearly 40 years ago, I spent hours, days, weeks, months poring over charts and books. So I sometimes came to know the names and whereabouts of certain stars before seeing them in the night sky. One soft May evening, I happened to glance toward the northeast. I was thrilled at the sight of Vega – gleaming, sapphire-blue – and surprisingly bright for being so low in the sky.

Like all stars, Vega rises some four minutes earlier each day as Earth moves around the sun. So Vega will ornament our evening sky throughout the summer and fall.

Although Vega is considered a late spring or summer star, it’s actually so far north on the sky’s dome that you can find it at some time during the night, nearly every night of the year at mid-northern latitudes.

Bottom line: It’s easy to identify the star Vega in the constellation Lyra at this time of year. Just look northeast in the evening for a bright, bluish star above the northeastern horizon.

Author

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded the website EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website and blogs frequently about astrophysics, the night sky and other topics related to Earth, space and the human world. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.

 

Article published on EarthSky

 

Your Daily Influences for May 11, 2016

Your Daily Influences
May 11, 2016 

 

The Hierophant
A lover of tradition and ceremony, The Hierophant needs social approval and appreciates the positive aspects of conformity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenaz
Kenaz reversed represents a lack of needed knowledge and possible isolation. Information you may need is being withheld from you, or you may not be open to receiving it. Although others may seem distant, if you seek their friendship you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

 

 

Necklace of Charms
This aspect is obscured by to much information. There is much confusion about. It will take some time to sort these things out.

 

 

 

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.