Day: July 14, 2016

Magickal Goody of the Day for July 14th – Calendula/ Marigold Healing Salve

Magickal Goody of the Day

witch potion 001

Calendula/ Marigold Healing Salve

Used externally for burns and irradiated skin, bruises, soreness, and skin ulcers. I love to use it for cracked, dry skin, eczema, diaper rash, and garden hands. It can help reduce bleeding and is wonderful for sore nipples and varicose veins! In other words, this salve is good for almost everything! And is a must-have in my healing cupboard.

3 cups dried calendula/ marigold petals
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, grape seed oil, or almond oil
2 ounces grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles
Optional: frankincense essential oil, 5 drops; tea tree oil, 5 drops
Cheesecloth
Heavy pot
Spoon
Measuring cup
Rubber band

Heat flowers in oil to a simmer (about 20 minutes).

Let the oil flower mixture set over night (the longer it sets, the stronger the salve).
Next, using cheese cloth over a clean cup or jar, strain the oil flower mixture (you will now have a lovely golden infusion).

In a double boiler, heat oil infusion and grated beeswax until melted and pour into clean jars and let cool, then seal (store in a cool dark place).

Magical uses: Being an herb of the sun, calendula can be used to remove negative energy. Oil can be used to consecrate tools, and the petals can be used as part of incense for divination.

The plant can be used in any ritual to honor the sun, as part of a sacred bath, incense, or strewing herb as well as to produce a yellow dye for and altar cloths for use in sun-honoring rituals. For protection, hang garlands of calendula over entry doors to prevent evil from entering.

Farmhouse Witchcraft
Penny Parker

Crystal of the Day for July 14th is Zircon

Crystal of the Day

Zircon


                                            (Colorless, yellow, brown, red, blue, green, orange, violet and pink)

Zircon is named from its containing the element, zirconium; which was named from the Persian, “zar” (gold) and “gun” (like) which translates “like gold”.

Hardness: 6.5-7.5              
Specific Gravity: 3.9 – 4.7            
Chemistry: ZrSiO4 Zirconium Silicate
Class: Silicates                 
Crystallography: Tetragonal             
Cleavage: imperfect in 2 directions
Fracture: conchoidal, very brittle               
Streak: white                  
Luster: adamantine, vitreous, greasy         


Healing: Zircon is used in treating issues related to the central nervous system and the sciatic nerve. It is also used in the mending of bones and muscles. Zircon has also been used as a antidote for poison.

Workings: The Zircon is known as the “Stone of Virtue” for it brings one’s virtues back into balance. Zircon is said to aid sleep, bring prosperity, and to promote honour and wisdom in its owner.  It is a great stone to carry when engaged with a project and/or goal. Zircon is associated with the astrological signs of Virgo, Leo and Sagittarius. It vibrates to the number 4.

Chakra applications: Zicon is used to energize the Base , Solar Plexus and Throat chakras.

Foot Notes: Zircons are commonly slightly radioactive due to trace amounts of uranium and make prime, geochron age indicators. They are earth’s oldest-known mineral. The typical simple crystal of zircon is a tetragonal prism terminated with four sided pyramids at each end. The prism may be lacking and the crystal can look octahedral.
Zircon is one of the heaviest gemstones, which means that it will look smaller than other varieties of the same weight.
Natural Zircon with good color and transparency is uncommon; most Zircon crystals are opaque and brownish. Most Zircon gemstones, especially the blue and white forms, are enhanced by heat treatment.
Reference
Author: Crick

Herb of the Day for July 14th is Sassafras

Herb of the Day

Sassafras

 Ague tree

(Sassafras officinale) 

Bark, root


Columbus is said to have sensed the nearness of land from the strong scent of sassafras. There is an old story that tells of the scent of sassafras carried out to sea by the wind; it helped Columbus to convince his mutinous crew that land was near.                                                         

Medicinal Uses:A hot infusion of dried root bark has been used to treat rheumatism, arthritis, gout, and as a wash for skin irritations, eczema, acne, and ulcers. Tea of the bark of the root was used by old timers as a spring tonic, to cleanse the blood. Good to flavor other herbs that have a disagreeable taste. Will relieve gas, ague, and colic. Taken warm, it is remedy for spasms. Good wash for inflamed eyes. Oil of sassafras is good for the toothache. Used as a wash, good for varicose ulcers. The bark of the roots contains a volatile oil that has anodyne and antiseptic properties.  The powdered leaves are used in Louisiana to thicken soup.

Sassafras should be avoided by women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

Magickal uses: Sassafras is added to prosperity incenses. Carry it in the purse or wallet for this reason. It is also added to spells and sachets for healing.

Properties: Aromatic, stimulant, alterative, diaphoretic, diuretic, antiseptic. Contains a volatile oil, resin, wax, camphor, fatty matter, albumen, starch, gum, lignin, tannic acid, salts, and a decomposition product of tannic acid known as sassafrid.

Growth: Sassafras officinale is a small tree with green twigs and large simple or lobed leaves. It grows to 40 ft tall and10 in. in diameter with a narrow crown. The bark is thick, gray to brown, deeply furrowed. The twigs are thin, usually greenish, smooth, glabrous. The buds are rounded, greenish, covered with four scales. The leaves are variable, entire or with 2 or 3 lobes, elliptical in outline, 3-5 in long and 1.6-4 in. wide, shiny green above and paler below. The flowers are small, yellowish green, clustered at end of leafless twigs in early spring. The fruits are elliptical blue-black berries about 0.4 in. long in a red cup on a long red stalk, ripening in Fall. Sassafras is native to about the eastern half of the U. S. It is found scattered in upland and bottomland forests, often forming thickets in abandoned fields and other disturbed areas.

Take no more than a week at a time.

Infusion: steep 1 tsp. bark of root in 1 cup of water. Take 1 cup per day.

Tincture: A dose is 15 to 30 drops.

I personally place a large root in a large pot of water and boil until the water has become dark red. I then sweeten it to taste.  (Crick)
Reference
Author: Crick

Deity of the Day for July 14th is Pele, Hawaiian Goddess

Deity of the Day

Pele

Hawaiian Goddess

In the Hawaiian religion, Pele (pronounced /ˈpeɪleɪ/ pay-lay or [ˈpɛlɛ] pel-lə), the Fire Goddess, is the goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. Often referred to as “Madame Pele” or “Tūtū Pele” as a sign of respect, she is a well-known deity within Hawaiian mythology, and is notable for her contemporary presence and cultural influence as an enduring figure from ancient Hawaii. Epithets of the goddess include Pele-honua-mea (“Pele of the sacred land”) and Ka wahine ʻai honua (“The earth-eating woman”).

Legends

There are several traditional legends associated with Pele in Hawaiian mythology. In addition to being recognized as the goddess of volcanoes, Pele is also known for her power, passion, jealousy, and capriciousness. She has numerous siblings, including Kāne Milohai, Kamohoaliʻi, Nāmaka and numerous sisters named Hiʻiaka, the most famous being Hiʻiakaikapoliopele (Hiʻiaka in the bosom of Pele). They are usually considered to be the offspring of Haumea. Pele’s siblings include deities of various types of wind, rain, fire, ocean wave forms, and cloud forms. Her home is believed to be the fire pit called Halemaʻumaʻu crater, at the summit caldera of Kīlauea, one of the Earth’s most active volcanoes; but her domain encompasses all volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi.

Pele shares features similar to other malignant deities inhabiting volcanoes, as in the case of the devil  as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano.

Expulsion version

In one version of the story, Pele is the daughter of Kanehoalani and Haumea in the mystical land of Kuaihelani, a floating free land like Fata Morgana. Kuaihelani was in the region of Kahiki (Kukulu o Kahiki). She stays so close to her mother’s fireplace with the fire-keeper Lono-makua. Her older sister Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi, a sea goddess, fears that Pele’s ambition would smother the home-land and drives Pele away. Kamohoali’i drives Pele south in a canoe called Honua-i-a-kea with her younger sister Hiʻiaka and with her brothers Kamohoaliʻi, Kanemilohai, Kaneapua, and arrives at the islets above Hawaii. There Kane-milo-hai is left on Mokupapapa, just a reef, to build it up in fitness for human residence. On Nihoa, 800 feet above the ocean she leaves Kane-apua after her visit to Lehua and crowning a wreath of kau-no’a. Pele feels sorry for her younger brother and picks him up again. Pele used the divining rod, Pa‘oa to pick a new home. A group of chants tells of a pursuit by Namakaokaha’i and Pele is torn apart. Her bones, KaiwioPele form a hill on Kahikinui, while her spirit escaped to the island of Hawaiʻi.:157 (Pele & Hi’iaka A myth from Hawaii by Nathaniel B. Emerson)

Flood version

In another version, Pele comes from a land said to be “close to the clouds,” with parents Kane-hoa-lani and Ka-hina-liʻi, and brothers Ka-moho-aliʻi and Kahuila-o-ka-lani. From her husband Wahieloa (also called Wahialoa) she has a daughter Laka and a son Menehune. Pele-kumu-honua entices her husband and Pele travels in search of him. The sea pours from her head over the land of Kanaloa (perhaps the island now known as Kahoʻolawe) and her brothers say:

O the sea, the great sea!
Forth bursts the sea:
Behold, it bursts on Kanaloa!

The sea floods the land, then recedes; this flooding is called Kai a Kahhinalii (“The sea of Ka-hina-liʻi”), as Pele’s connection to the sea was passed down from her mother Kahinalii.:158

Pele and Poliʻahu

Pele was considered to be a rival of the Hawaiian goddess of snow, Poliʻahu, and her sisters Lilinoe (a goddess of fine rain), Waiau (goddess of Lake Waiau), and Kahoupokane (a kapa maker whose kapa making activities create thunder, rain, and lightning). All except Kahoupokane reside on Mauna Kea. The kapa maker lives on Hualalai.

One myth tells that Poliʻahu had come from Mauna Kea with her friends to attend sled races down the grassy hills south of Hamakua. Pele came disguised as a beautiful stranger and was greeted by Poliʻahu. However, Pele became jealously enraged at the goddess of Mauna Kea. She opened the subterranean caverns of Mauna Kea and threw fire from them towards Poliʻahu, with the snow goddess fleeing towards the summit. Poliʻahu was finally able to grab her now-burning snow mantle and throw it over the mountain. Earthquakes shook the island as the snow mantle unfolded until it reached the fire fountains, chilling and hardening the lava. The rivers of lava were driven back to Mauna Loa and Kīlauea. Later battles also led to the defeat of Pele and confirmed the supremacy of the snow goddesses in the northern portion of the island and of Pele in the southern portion.

Historical times[edit]

Pele belief continued after the old religion was officially abolished in 1819. In the summer of 1823 English missionary William Ellis toured the island to determine locations for mission stations.:236 After a long journey to the volcano Kīlauea with little food, Ellis eagerly ate the wild berries he found growing there.:128 The berries of the ʻōhelo (Vaccinium reticulatum) plant were considered sacred to Pele. Traditionally prayers and offerings to Pele were always made before eating the berries. The volcano crater was an active lava lake, which the natives feared was a sign that Pele was not pleased with the violation.:143 Although wood carvings and thatched temples were easily destroyed, the volcano was a natural monument to the goddess.

In December 1824 the High Chiefess Kapiʻolani descended into the Halemaʻumaʻu crater after reciting a Christian prayer instead of the traditional one to Pele. She was not killed as predicted, and this story was often told by missionaries to show the superiority of their faith.[10] Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) wrote a poem about the incident in 1892.

When businessman George Lycurgus ran a hotel at the rim of Kīlauea, called the Volcano House, he would often “pray” to Pele for the sake of the tourists. Park officials took a dim view of his habit of tossing items such as gin bottles (after drinking their contents) into the crater.

Plantation owner William Hyde Rice published a version of the story in his collection of legends.In 2003 the Volcano Art Center had a special competition for Pele paintings to replace one done in the early 20th century by D. Howard Hitchcock displayed in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitors center. Some criticized what looked like a blond caucasian as the Hawaiian goddess. Over 140 paintings were submitted, and finalists were displayed at sites within the park. The winner of the contest was Pahoa, Hawaii artist Arthur Johnsen. This version shows the goddess in shades of red, with a digging stick in her left hand (theʻōʻō, for which the currently erupting vent was named), and an embryonic form of Hiʻiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele in her right hand. The painting is now on display at the Kīlauea Visitor Center on the edge of the Kīlauea crater.

 

Reference

Wikipedia

A Little Humor for Your Day – Signs That You Drink Too Much Coffee

Signs That You Drink Too Much Coffee

 

  • You answer the door before people knock.
  • Juan Valdez named his donkey after you.
  • You ski uphill.
  • You grind your coffee beans in your mouth.
  • You haven’t blinked since the last lunar eclipse.
  • You lick your coffeepot clean.
  • You’re the employee of the month at the local coffeehouse and you don’t even work there.
  • Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
  • You chew on other people’s fingernails.
  • Your T-shirt says, “Decaffeinated coffee is the devil’s blend.”
  • You can type sixty words per minute… with your feet.
  • You can jump-start your car without cables.
  • No-Doze is a downer.
  • You don’t need a hammer to pound nails.
  • Your only source of nutrition comes from “Sweet & Low.”
  • You don’t sweat, you percolate.
  • You buy half-and-half by the barrel.
  • You’ve worn out the handle on your favorite mug.
  • You go to AA meetings just for the free coffee.
  • You walk twenty miles on your treadmill before you realize it’s not plugged in.
  • You forget to unwrap candy bars before eating them.
  • Charles Manson thinks you need to calm down.
  • You’ve built a miniature city out of little plastic stirrers.
  • People get dizzy just watching you.
  • You’ve worn the finish off your coffee table.
  • The Taster’s Choice couple wants to adopt you.
  • Starbucks owns the mortgage on your house.
  • Your taste buds are so numb you could drink your lava lamp.
  • Instant coffee takes too long.
  • When someone says “How are you?”, you say, “Good to the last drop.”
  • You want to be cremated just so you can spend the rest of eternity in a coffee can.
  • Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil.
  • You’re offended when people use the word “brew” to mean beer.
  • You have a picture of your coffee mug on your coffee mug.
  • You can thread a sewing machine, while it’s running.
  • You can outlast the Energizer bunny.
  • You short out motion detectors.
  • You don’t even wait for the water to boil anymore.
  • Your nervous twitch registers on the Richter scale.
  • You think being called a “drip” is a compliment.
  • You don’t tan, you roast.
  • You can’t even remember your second cup.
  • You help your dog chase its tail.

Astronomy Picture of the Day – Spiral Galaxy and Friends

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 July 14

NGC 1309: Spiral Galaxy and Friends
Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing – Jeff SignorelliExplanation: A gorgeous spiral galaxy some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309 lies on the banks of the constellation of the River (Eridanus). NGC 1309 spans about 30,000 light-years, making it about one third the size of our largerMilky Way galaxy. Bluish clusters of young stars and dust lanes are seen to trace out NGC 1309’s spiral arms as they wind around an older yellowish star population at its core. Not just another pretty face-on spiral galaxy, observations of NGC 1309’s recent supernova and Cepheid variable stars contribute to the calibration of the expansion of the Universe. Still, after you get over this beautiful galaxy’s grand design, check out the array of more distant background galaxies also recorded in this sharp, reprocessed, Hubble Space Telescope view.

Earth Sky News for July 14th: Moon, Mars, Saturn on July 14-16

Moon, Mars, Saturn on July 14-16

By

Tonight – July 14, 2016 – and for the next couple of evenings, you can’t miss the waxing gibbous moon as darkness falls. Use the moon to guide you to two planets – Mars and Saturn – plus the bright star Antares over the next few nights.

Mars is brighter than Saturn, and Saturn is brighter than Antares.

The Red Planet is fainter now than it was a month ago, but it’s still a sight to behold.

Because Mars and Saturn are planets, they shine by reflecting the light of the sun. Antares, being a star, shines by its own light.

There’s a third planet in the July, 2016 sky. Look westward after darkness falls to view the largest world in our solar system, Jupiter.

Dazzling Jupiter – brighter now than Mars, and much brighter than Saturn – will set in the west by around mid-evening. Be sure to view this world at nightfall. Meanwhile, the moon, Mars and Saturn (plus the star Antares) will stay out until well after midnight.

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are called superior planets because they orbit the sun outside of Earth’s orbit. Mars is the fourth planet outward from the sun, whereas Jupiter is the fifth, and Saturn the sixth.

Planets that orbit the sun inside of Earth’s orbit – Mercury and Venus – are called inferior planets. Both of these worlds – especially Mercury – are difficult to see right now because they follow the sun beneath the horizon so shortly after sunset. We’ll talk more about the upcoming conjunction of Mercury and Venus on July 16.

Bottom line: Use the moon to find Mars, Saturn and Antares as darkness falls on July 14, 2016.

 

Author

BRUCE MCCLURE

Bruce McClure has served as lead writer for EarthSky’s popular Tonight pages since 2004. He’s a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also writes and hosts public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.

Article originally published on EarthSky

Your Daily Planet Tracker for July 14: Mercury in Leo Jul 13, 2016 to Jul 30, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

PLANET TRACKER

Mercury in Leo

Jul 13, 2016 to Jul 30, 2016

 

Mercury is always within 28 degrees of the Sun as seen from the Earth. This means that in any chart Mercury is either in the same sign as the Sun or the one next to it. This visual phenomenon reflects the close relationship between Mercury’s role as the communication planet and the heart of identity, the Sun.

Mercury’s entry into the sign Leo puts a greater than usual emphasis on the need to speak from one’s heart as Leo is the home sign of the Sun. Ideally, this suggests that we are now in a period when direct communication is highly likely. Fiery Leo is less interested in analysis and filtered communication than in direct, pure, self-expression. Expect, then, that enthusiasm may carry the conversational day over objective reason and logic.

Mercury in Leo also touches on language as a form of entertainment. Leo loves the show, and now has the Messenger planet ready to do its bidding. We can expect more colorful speech with its focus on impact exceeding its interest in facts. Enjoy the images the mind will conjure now, but try not to be taken in by your own (or anyone else’s) hype. It’s amazing how seriously we can take ourselves, even when the goal is play. A little extra time to filter through the noise, and a little bit of detachment from the ego, can make this period one that is both joyful and productive.

Those born with Mercury in Leo include expressive rockers Bono, Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia, David Crosby and Ringo Starr. More than just a touch of the bizarre is found in Merc in Leos Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol and Roman Polanski.

Actors Ben Affleck, Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn, Antonio Banderas and Anjelica Huston belong to this group, as do comics Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams and Peter Sellers. Mercury in Leo sports greats include Jimmy Connors, Mike Tyson and Magic Johnson, as well as ex-basketball star Bill Bradley and his fellow politicos Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Ironically, Clinton nemesis Kenneth Starr also has Mercury in Leo.

Other grand personalities who belong to this group are Jacqueline Onassis, Fidel Castro, Kathie Lee Gifford, financier Michael Milken, Virgin billionaire Richard Branson, newscaster Connie Chung and writers Alex Haley and Ray Bradbury.

 

Part of the Daily Insight Group

Your Charm for Thursday, July 14th is The Menat

Your Charm for Today

 

Today’s Meaning:
A few prayers to your deity of choice would serve you well when dealing with this aspect. Your questions or requests stand a better chance of being answered in the next few days if you do so.

General Description:
This elaborately ornamental charm, worn by Egyptian women, was supposed to bestow upon them all the blessings of their powerful Hathor, goddess of the sunrise, whose worship was universal in Egypt. Health, strength, happiness – all these were the gifts of this their goddess of love. She was regarded as a loving, protecting mother, both of the living and of the dead; was the deity who filled both heaven and earth with her beneficence, and the dispenser of all the blessings of life.

Your Daily Witches Rune for July 14th is The Star

f5680-star

f5680-starToday’s Witches Rune

The Star

Meaning: In many cultures, the Star is a symbol of hope, dreams and destiny, and in the Witches Runes this symbol has a similar connotation. When the Star rune appears, it’s green light for you to go after what you want.

Note that the Star does not say you’ll get everything you want without any work. No. This symbol is a not about easy success, but about having faith in what you are doing – and doing it. In fact, the goals suggested by the Star are usually the highest and most significant ones – the ones that are hardest to get. It does not matter what the dream is, but its significance in your life. This symbol also represents ideals, and they can be both individual and collective ones.

In a more down-to-earth way, the Star is related to revolutions, changes, risks, speculation and all things motivated by faith and ideals. It can represent a sudden spark on inspiration, a windfall, a sudden rise to fame or a promotion. Though the sudden changes brought by the Star are usually positive, they are also fast: you can get back to point zero as quickly as you rose. So don’t be afraid to jump forward when the opportunity arises.

The Star urges you to take the risk, to have hope and to trust. After the staleness of Crossroads, the Universe finally begins to move again. If you believe in Higher Powers, this symbol shows that They are guiding you in this moment. The Star is a very positive rune, but in a more negative context it can represent revolution for revolution’s sake and the constant idealization of people and situations. It can also stand for excessive individualism when going after a dream.

In relationship readings, this rune represents hope and an idealistic kind of love. Usually the people involved in the relationship have high expectations about the other. They easily put their partner on a pedestal, only to feel frustrated when reality strikes. The Star can also represent unrequited love, or the love for someone who is unattainable. On the other hand, this rune tells you to not give up love entirely – keep looking, because someone is coming.

 

Additional Information About Today’s Witches Rune courtesy of Your Spiritual Journey Australia

 

Your Ancient Symbol Card for July 14th is The Priestess

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Priestess



The Priestess is the Gatekeeper of the subconscious, the unknown. She travels in worlds which most of us only glimpse in our dreams. Her realm is that of unseen truths, untapped potentials, and hidden dangers. Purely Yin in nature, The Calling of The Priestess is to go beyond the obvious and visible to tap those powers which are veiled from normal vision. While she is passive by nature, she has the power to uncover unknown potential and is very aware of the infinite potential all humans harbor within them. She is also very patient. She can wait for events to blossom in their own time.

As a daily card, The Priestess suggest the answers you seek can only be found by looking beyond the obvious. This is a span in which you may do better by applying the power of your subconscious to your everyday actions. Your intuition should be very strong. Be patient, allow events to unfold and you will find propitious moments of opportunity.