The Balance of the Signs & the Elements for Tuesday, Aug. 16th

 

 

 

 

 

The Balance of the Signs & the Elements for Tuesday, Aug. 16th

 

LEO STRONG
Self-confident, generous, warm-hearted, powerful leader, dramatic. Can be overly proud, vain, extravagant, arrogant.
VIRGO STRONG
Meticulous, discriminating, pure, practical, health conscious, hard working. Can be hyper-critical, petty and perfectionistic.
SAGITTARIUS STRONG
Inspiring, broad vision, enthusiastic, goal seeking, truthful, adventurous. Can be reckless, unrestrained, tactless.
AQUARIUS STRONG
Humanitarian, innovative, group conscious, progressive, serving others. Can be rebellious, eccentric, aloof, emotionally superficial, overly extroverted.

BALANCE OF ELEMENTS

FIRE STRONG
Fire is enthusiastic, dynamic, and spontaneous, but lacks reflection. We are more courageous and adventurous now, with a tendency to act before thinking. There is little concern about what happened in the past. We are competitive and possibly impatient or bored easily.
WATER WEAK
There may be some insensitivity or lack of empathy now. We may be out of touch with what we’re feeling or with our emotional needs. We may be tougher than usual now, and more inclined to follow mental or practical considerations than we are to listen to our intuition.

BALANCE OF MODES

CARDINAL WEAK
This is not a time that we tend to naturally initiate actions. We may be stronger at following up than starting anew. Survival mechanisms may be weaker now.
MUTABLE STRONG
We are flexible, adaptable, willing, open to change, and possibly flighty or nervous.

Astrology of Today – August 16, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

Astrology of Today – August 16, 2016

  • The Moon is in Capricorn until 7:52 AM.
  • The Moon is void until 7:52 AM (since yesterday at 10:44 PM).
  • The Moon is in Aquarius from 7:52 AM forward (until Thursday, August 18th, at 12:34 PM).
  • The Moon is waxing and in its Waxing Gibbous phase.
  • A First Quarter Moon occurred on the 10th, and a Full Moon will occur on the 18th.
  • Mars is direct and in its post-retrograde shadow until August 22nd.

Break Free at Full Moon

Break Free at Full Moon

If you have been feeling like you want to break free of the status quo, this could be your week to act on those feelings. With Thursday’s Aquarius Full Moon and some other helpful energy in the air, it could be easier to take some new and bolder steps. In this article, I provide suggested actions that could shift you out of neutral and into forward.

For most people, this has not been an easy or simple year. It’s been common to have unexpected delays and confusing moments. So much is going on and many more in-the-background factors influenced progress.

Dream Time Processing

During your dream time and inner work process, you have been processing a vast canvas of energy. Most likely, you are aware of some themes as they reflect issues that have come up for resolution. You have become conscious of those.

Know, however, that one reason you could sometimes feel heavy is that you are also processing interconnected issues – so far outside your awareness that they are not apparent. Some of these relate to past lives, others relate to discordant planetary energies you incarnated to help heal. This additional level is being mentioned here so that you have perspective about why you sometimes feel things so deeply.

Remember: you are a quantum multidimensional being with many lifetimes before this one and a soul destiny involving Earth’s ascension.

Divine Changemaker Role

No one day will be all good or all bad. That’s linear thinking. Energy can shift like a lightning bolt, at any moment, for it is always in motion. Your role as a divine changemaker is to learn how to ride the energy waves, utilizing both positive cycles and challenging cycles for your spiritual growth. Whatever the energy is, your response to it becomes your path.

For this week through the weekend, some nice surprises could be unfolding. Examples: creative juices could be amplified, making connection with others could be easier, and risk taking could be less scary.

Steps to More Empowerment

Benefit from this week’s energy with these simple actions.

FIRST, stay grounded and invite inner wisdom about how to break free of your status quo. Be open to the larger view spirit has. This means being willing to see beyond what you already know about yourself. Spirit may show you suggested changes in areas you don’t suspect.

SECOND, give yourself more personal quiet time than you typically experience. Ideally this is a combination of solo self-reflection and some group meditative experience that can be very powerful during this Aquarius Full Moon cycle.

THIRD, inquire within and ask: “What is the one thing that as I take action to address it now, can be the key catalyst I’ve needed for a more fulfilling life?”

Your biggest breakthroughs can come when you feel the most challenged, yet you apply unwavering dedication and perseverance. The key is being willing to take each step as it is presented, letting go of having to know what the next step will be. With each step know that spirit is always with you.

18th August 2016: Full Moon in 26th degree of Aquarius

18th August 2016: Full Moon in 26th degree of Aquarius

Living Life On Purpose

Occurring a day before the next eclipse season begins (19th August – 23rd September), this Full Moon is an ‘almost-but-not-quite’ lunar eclipse, giving it greater influence and a stronger ‘edge’ against which to hone our awareness. Eclipse seasons are powerful things, to be honoured with our full attention, deepest respect and steadfast commitment to respond to their gifts and graces, challenges and obstacles. They kick-start otherwise lagging change, up-turn certainties and awaken issues and themes which shape the following six months. If we pay attention during these times we may well discover the deepest truths of our lives and receive the most influential and personal guidance. Think of them as a cosmic crash course in what our life is really about, minus all the fluff and bluster we add to it on a daily basis! For this reason, a Full Moon occurring just prior to the beginning of an eclipse season is of particular note, for it comes as a wake-up call that something of great import is in the air. If this Full Moon closely aspects a natal planet we may well experience it as carrying much of the power and potential of an eclipse even though it doesn’t quite ‘make the grade’ in that respect. In any event, this Full Moon raises issues which will impact the coming eclipse season and offers guidance to bear in mind throughout the coming weeks.

In Aquarius, it illuminates mental habits and unconscious tendencies which keep us stuck in rigid patterns of thought, belief and behaviour. If we’ve been wondering why we can’t seem to get it together and do what’s needed to make that long overdue change, it reveals how we keep ourselves in chains, blinkered to truths just outside our awareness and mired in self-sabotage. It may be a rude awakening, especially if the stark lunar light reveals it is we who have painted ourselves into a corner, not external circumstances conspiring against us. Whilst such insights are a bitter pill to swallow, this is just the first stage: a nudge from the universe to embrace our past selves, not chastise them. Self-blame will get us nowhere, so whatever comes to light around the time of this Full Moon must be met by a gentle and loving heart, not a hardened and critical one.

This Moon may come with loneliness, a sense of being misunderstood. If we can resist taking things too personally it will go a long way to not letting these feelings rule the day and create mountains out of molehills! There’s a fair bit of tension around and many will be feeling it, so cutting each other (and ourselves) some serious slack is good advice! If possible, avoid heated topics of debate and focus on things that unite rather than divide, otherwise it may be all too easy to slip into overzealous championing of our own perspective without any due consideration of someone else’s view. Conflict seeded now may grow at an alarming rate, producing painful fruit in September when we have two eclipses and the next exact conjunction between Uranus and Eris. However, this Full Moon potentises all efforts made to calm troubled waters, expand our perspective and foster connections that nourish rather than polarise, enabling meaningful interactions with others despite any difficult circumstances.

Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, shapes this Moon. Offering the opportunity to break free from old ties and reinvent ourselves, it reminds us nothing is set in stone as long as we seek always to release that which binds us in the very moment it does so. Not a week, a month, or years down the line, but immediately – freeing past pain, old beliefs and habits, behaviours that sabotage us and conditions that keep us stuck. Sometimes we have to dig deep, working long and hard to let go, but throughout the coming eclipse season we have a precious opportunity to release, moment by moment, whatever holds us back.  Practice not allowing anything to stick in your energy field. Visualise it as flowing water, rushing wind. See its constant motion. By identifying with the trials of life, buying into their drama instead of claiming our freedom, we create substance where movement should be, calcifying thoughts and feelings unnecessarily. Recognising and reversing this process is key to profound and lasting change.

The mind is both our liberator and our jailer now. If we allow it to oppress us with demands for ever greater ‘proof’ of this or that, evermore detail to justify what we know instinctively to be true, we will tie ourselves in mental knots that drain our energy and produce no useful outcomes. But if we can expand our mind to embrace possibilities previously discounted, to consider life from new angles, we could experience liberation like never before. The veils between the egoic and higher minds are paper thin now and we can break through so easily, with just the slightest effort, if we choose. However we feel at this juncture, we can rest assured there are new perspectives just waiting to be seen, something we simply haven’t perceived about our situation which can revolutionise the path ahead.

We may, however, be too distracted to take ourselves in hand. An accumulation of stress and anxiety, despair or depression – even the tedious boredom of a life lived in black and white – can all keep us from recognising the power of the present moment and the alchemical force unleashed when we live it fully and without regret. We may have invested too much energy in anticipation of an ideal future when everything magically falls into place, not realising the magic is us, living on purpose, with clear intent and for the greater good right now. This Moon has little time for fears and failings, excuses and justifications. It simply wants us to get a grip and move ahead by arriving fully in the present, with our power intact and our resolve firm and clear.

If we find ourselves resistant at this Moon, wrestling with external pressures that threaten to change our course, discernment is vital. We cannot and do not live apart from the world and must attend always to the constant feedback loop which occurs between us and our environment both near and far. Sometimes we must stand firm in the face of external pressures. At other times those very pressures are the touch of the divine reminding us we may be losing our way, drifting off track or blind to something we cannot afford to ignore. If resistance energises and clarifies intent, it is probably keeping us on track. If it drains us and destroys our peace, distracting from positive action which could blow the cobwebs away, we may well be resisting the very thing that will set us free.

Beware the seduction of certainty in the face of current confusion. It can only ever be a thin veneer atop an infinitely complex existence beyond anyone’s power to fully understand. Knowing it’s okay not to know, being at peace with paradox, embracing with an open heart all insights gleaned, even that we’ve been wrong all along: these are important elements of our preparation for the weeks ahead. Avoid the tendency to act out rather than turn within. Many people are feeling over-stimulated mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It would be easy to take our stress out on the people around us now, but every moment in which we soften around the tension, turn toward another not away from them, seek common ground not battleground, is a blessing bestowed upon the world around us.

This isn’t an ‘easy’ Moon, but it is a liberating one for sure, with gifts galore for all who commit to seeing life through fresh eyes, not allowing the tyranny of a ‘tried and tested’ past to jeopardise a creative and fulfilling future. If, however, we give in to lethargy that says ‘nothing ever really changes, life’s just too much trouble and anything else is wishful thinking’ then the coming eclipse season may have to jolt us rudely awake, compelling us to live life on purpose ‘or else’! The changes approaching now require bold commitment and creative courage which seeks new solutions to old problems and dares to challenge the very foundation of our life. The choice is leap now or be pushed later. But either way we have to shift at some point!! This Moon says best get it on with it, for it’s simply no longer an option to continue standing still.

Sarah Varcas

The Witches Current Moon Phase for August 16th is Waxing Gibbous

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August 16
Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 96%

The Moon today is in a Waxing Gibbous phase. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts round 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon will rise in the east in mid-afternoon and will be high in the eastern sky at sunset. The moon is then visible though most of the night sky setting a few hour before sunrise. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has it’s roots in the Latin word “gibbous” meaning humpbacked.

Phase Details for – Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 96%
Moon Age: 12.78 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 386,650.37 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,454,814.41 km

Source

MoonGiant.com

 

Calendar of the Moon for Tuesday, August 16th

Calendar of the Moon
16 Coll/Metageitnion

Day of the Apple Tree

Color: Apple-green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon an apple-green cloth set a vase of apple branches, a bowl of apples, a single green candle, a pot of soil, seeds, a bowl of water, a jug of cider, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Feed people outside the home.
Daily Meal: Vegan, with apples, applesauce, and cider.

Invocation to the Green Man of the Apple Tree

Hail, Green Man of the Autumn!
Apple tree of immortality
Whose branches hide the white hind,
Whose fruit nourishes all,
Whose juice gives gladness
To those who work your Earth,
Whose seeds show the pentad
Of the eternal Goddess,
Tool of Eris which shows
How the mighty may fall
Beneath your spreading branches,
Equal to the lowest in their folly
And fate; this is your gift,
Love-fruit, merry one,
Brightest star in the harvest
With the universal star at your core.
Teach us that this joy
Belongs to everyone,
As does your gift of health,
So may we all be hale!
We hail you, sacred apple tree,
Green Man of the Autumn,
On this your day of greatest nourishment.

Song: Here’s To Thee, Old Apple Tree

(Each comes forward and plants a seed in the pot of soil, saying, “Hail Green Man of the Earth!” Water is poured onto the pot, and then the rest is poured out as a libation. Pass the cider and apples around for everyone to share, and pour out the last as another libation. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Tuesday, August 16th

Calendar of the Sun

Carista – Day of Peace in the Family

Color: Lavender
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a lavender cloth set a tray of cakes shaped like clasping hands, and many cups full of hot tea.
Offerings: Promise to attempt to be more considerate of those you live with.
Daily Meal: Any food, but it must be served from one great plate for every table, and it should not be in separate portions.

Carista Invocation

May there be Peace in this house.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)
Peace can be a hard mistress.
The daily round of the ordinary,
The simple turn of day and night and day
The presence of the same souls
Can come to be like a shadow on the sun,
And yet Peace still demands
That we find a way to move past
That ordinariness
And all the thousand thorns and briars
And bring Peace into the house.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)
Take the hand of your sister, your brother,
The one who shares your roof, your table,
The ground you walk on,
Whose feet know the boards as well as your own,
And swear to find a way
To bring peace into the space between you.
(Response: “May there be peace in this house!”)

Chant:
My brother, my heart, my sister, my soul;
My family, my life, come in from the cold;
My sister, my heart, my brother, my soul;
My family, my life, that makes this life whole.

(Instead of a ritual, this period of time should be used to mediate and address problems between members of the community, with emphasis on peacemaking and compromise and useful solutions. At the end of the meeting, all share cakes and tea.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

In case you are wondering…..

pent

In case you are wondering why things are a little different. It is because the road leading into the office is currently flooded out. That means I am here and everybody else is on the other side of the pond(more like river right now). With it being just me here, I have things I have to get up and get done. If the others were here, they would do those chores, but since they aren’t, it is up to me. They said the flood waters should go down in about 2 or 3 days. It is rather scary to look out and see water everywhere. Doing this keeps my mind off of what is going on around me right now. They have brought in a boat and we putter back and forth. This Summer has been on hell of an experience to say the least.

 

I thought I would let you know why things are just a tadbit different for now. In a day or two, we will get back to normal, I hope. I am off for now….

Love ya,

Lady A

The Sky This Week for August 16 to August 21

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The Sky This Week for August 16 to August 21

The Perseids may slowly fade, but there’s still plenty to see out there this week, including an important Sirius sighting.

By Richard Talcott

 

Tuesday, August 16

• Mercury reaches greatest elongation today, when it stands 27° east of the Sun. For observers at mid-northern latitudes, however, the innermost planet hangs low in the west after sunset. From 40° north latitude, it stands 5° high 30 minutes after the Sun goes down. You can find the magnitude 0.2 world through binoculars some 4° (about half a binocular field) below Jupiter. Be sure to keep an eye on Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter during the next two weeks as the triangle they form grows tighter.

Wednesday, August 17

• Full Moon officially arrives at 5:27 a.m. EDT tomorrow morning, but it looks completely illuminated throughout the night. It appears low in the east as the Sun sets and reaches its peak in the south around 1 a.m. local daylight time. Luna resides among the dim background stars of northeastern Capricornus. As a curiosity only, the Full Moon crosses the northern edge of Earth’s penumbral shadow. Just 2 percent of our satellite dips into this subtle shadow, however, and observers won’t be able to detect any dimming.

Thursday, August 18

• Although Saturn reached its peak in early June, it remains conspicuous on August evenings. You can find the planet in the south-southwest around 9 p.m. local daylight time, when it forms the vertex of a pretty triangle that includes Mars and Antares. Saturn shines at magnitude 0.4, intermediate in brightness between the Red Planet and the ruddy star. When viewed through a telescope, Saturn measures 17″ across while its dramatic ring system spans 39″ and tilts 26° to our line of sight.

Friday, August 19

• Distant Neptune reaches opposition and peak visibility two weeks from today, but the view now is essentially the same. The ice giant planet rises around 8:30 p.m. local daylight time and climbs nearly halfway to the zenith in the southern sky by 2 a.m. The magnitude 7.8 planet lies in Aquarius, 1° southwest of 4th-magnitude Lambda (l) Aquarii. You’ll need binoculars to spy Neptune and a telescope to see its blue-gray disk, which spans 2.4″.

Saturday, August 20

• Asteroid 2 Pallas reaches opposition and peak visibility today. The second-biggest object orbiting between Mars and Jupiter glows at magnitude 9.2, bright enough to show up through almost any telescope. You can find it on the border between Pegasus and Equuleus, 4° due west of 2nd-magnitude Enif (Epsilon [e] Pegasi), the star that marks the nose of Pegasus the Winged Horse. The lovely globular star cluster M15 lies 2.5° north and a touch east of Pallas. The three objects lie about halfway to the zenith in the southeastern sky after darkness falls.

Sunday, August 21

• Look toward the south-southwest during evening twilight and you can’t miss Mars. The Red Planet shines brightly at magnitude –0.4 and remains visible until it dips below the horizon around midnight local daylight time. Mars resides on the border between Scorpius and Ophiuchus, crossing from the former to the latter constellation today. When viewed through a telescope, Mars’ orange-red disk spans 11″ and shows several subtle dark markings.
• The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, at 9:19 p.m. EDT. It then lies 228,074 miles (367,050 kilometers) away from us.

 

Source

Astronomy Magazine

Your Daily Sun & Moon Info for Tuesday, August 16

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Your Daily Sun & Moon Info for Tuesday, August 16

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 126.35° SE
Sun Altitude: 55.78°
Sun Distance: 94.113 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2016 9:21 AM (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 6:12 AM↑ 72° East
Sunset Today: 7:44 PM↑ 287° West
Length of Daylight: 13 hours, 31 minutes

 

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 347.25° NNW
Moon Altitude: -69.13°
Moon Distance: 237176 mi
Next Full Moon: Aug 18, 20164:26 AM
Next New Moon: Sep 1, 20164:03 AM
Next Moonrise: Today6:33 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 96.4%

 

Source

timeanddate.com

A Very Happy & Blessed Tuesday To All Our Dear Brothers & Sisters of the Craft!

witchcraft
The Goddess Creed

I believe in Goddess the Mother All Mighty
Creatrix of the heavens and earth
And in all women
Who were conceived of Her love
Born of our sacred mothers
Suffered under patriarchy
Were crucified, died, and were buried
We descended into the underworld
The third day we arose again
We integrated with our new selves
And we now sit with Goddess our Mother
And we judge no one
I believe in the Holy Mother
The maiden, mother, crone
Forgiveness toward others
The celebration of the body
And everlasting renewal of life
So Mote It Be