For a lucky charm that will bring you prosperity, make a small poppet containing a winning lottery ticket, a single die, and a golden coin. Stuff it full with red, green, or gold paper. Sew it up and say:
Fortune, fortune, Gamelia be!
Forever fortune bring to me.
By this poppet, close I’ll stay.
Fortune bright find me today!
Carry the poppet with you when you need a burst of good financial luck.
Do this spell when the Moon is out and shining brightly.
You will need:
–poppet made out of green cloth, leave the head open chamomile for money
–rosemary for luck basil for success needle and thread
Directional elementals (earth, incense for air, fire, water)
Casting the Circle
As you walk around the circle three times, imagine a green, soothing mist trailing from your fingers, enveloping you and enclosing your magic circle.
“I conjure the magic circle I am safe within the Goddess’ womb A sacred place, a world apart Where enchantment births and magic starts With Air and Fire, Water and Earth I circle round the Mother’s girth This circle is sealed”
Drawing Down the Moon: Stand holding your athame, legs slightly apart, arms at your side.
Breathe deeply. Raise the athame to your lips, holding it with both hands, and then point it toward the moon. Feel the energy of the moon move through the athame, down your arms and into your whole being.
Invocation to the Goddess:
“Wondrous Lady of the Moon Mistress of all magic and protectress of all Wicca Life-giving mother I greet you at the waxing of the moon’s power I invite you to attend my Full Moon rite”
Invocation to the God:
“Radiant King of the Heavens Master of beasts wild and free Horned stag I greet you at the waxing of the moon’s power I invite you to attend my Full Moon rite”
Meditation and Chant to the Goddess: Sit with your spine straight, legs crossed, hands in your lap. Close your eyes and visualize the Goddess, however she appears to you. Feel her arms around you in
a protective embrace. When you have the vision firmly planted, begin chanting softly:
“Starry Goddess, Full of Light I honor you this Full Moon Night” Repeat, feeling your energy grow. This energy will be used during the following spellworking.
Spellworking: Cleanse and consecrate poppet for workings of magic. Stuff it with the herbs. Sew the opening closed.
“Goddess of Opportunity Bring good things in life to me I’ll be alert to all you send Goddess be my helpful friend” Repeat 3 times, envisioning the opportunities you wish to come to you.
Reverse Lunar Draw: Raise the athame to the moon, then bring it to your lips and back down to your side, releasing the energy you built during the Drawing. Thank the Goddess and God. Release the Circle. Walk back around the circle, pulling the mist back into your hands. Place the poppet in your closet, your car, your handbag or somewhere else close to you. You can re-work this spell at the next full moon if you feel it’s necessary. Good things will soon come.
Items You Will Need:
A poppet to represent the person you wish to bind
Patchouli leaves
Frankincense
Charcoal block
Black candle
Red ribbon
White cloth
Make a poppet to represent the person you wish to bind. Burn patchouli leaves and frankincense on a charcoal block. Light a black candle and pass the poppet through the incense smoke saying:
“Hecate, great Goddess of life and death,
I ask you to acknowledge that this
Creation of cloth be known as
Flesh and blood of (name).”
Wrap the poppet tightly in red ribbon, paying close attention to the area you wish to bind, i.e.: the genitals of a rapist, the mouth of a slanderer. As you wrap, say:
“Between the worlds in Hecate’s eyes
you (name) are bound powerless.
In the eyes of this world, you are harmless.”
Imagine a heavy net made from a white light. Imagine the net clinging to the poppet. Wrap it in a piece of white cloth and bury it close to the person’s house (or by the ocean and bid the sea to bless it).
Everyone has land boundaries, whether a house with lands or an apartment. These boundaries need to be respected and protected. By blessing them, you can strengthen your protection against intruders of all kinds; unwanted and unwelcome visitors, stalkers, burglars, noisy neighbors, intruding religious peddlers, and sales people!
If you can, or feel brave enough to walk the boundaries of your property great, if you live in an apartment and you feel your ritual may be noticed, walk through every room of your house.
OUTSIDE:
If you can walk the boundaries outside, take a bowl of white cornmeal. Hold it up to the Sun or Moon and ask the Gods/Goddess to bless it for you. Beginning to the left of your entrance move clockwise, lightly sprinkling the cornmeal as you go. Chant:
Blessings and honor to all who guard my boundaries
Blessings and thanks for your help and protection.
May my property and dwelling be safe under your care.
I offer you friendship and blessings.
When you come to the starting point, sprinkle some across the entrance path to your home, that will act as a double barrier.
It is helpful to build a shrine or home for your guardians by the door. It can be anything from a potted plant, a shrub, a collection of stones it encourages the guardians to stay in full view of your home. Just make sure you attend to their home, never let it get cluttered with leaves and such, for you could offend them by your forgetfulness.
INSIDE:
Bless the cornmeal just the same, and then from the doorway of your apartment, begin with each room to the left if possible, if not, trace each room beginning from the left of each door. Some just do the outer perimeters of the apartment (if yours is that big), Go to each room repeating the chant as above and when you come back to the main entrance, sprinkle some of the cornmeal on the threshold of the door. Inside the door, keep a potted plant or a gathering of rocks on a table or ledge so they will have a place to reside.
Everyone has a protector, individual and family collective. If you think you don’t get help from yours, perhaps you need to give them a little more attention and praise. Use statues, bowls of stones, or other focal objects as a habitation for the family protectors.
This ritual is best during the waxing moon. Gather the following objects on your altar. Choose incense that reminds you of herbs, forests, and green growing things. Put a green candle in a holder and lay your wand beside it.
Decorate the immediate area around your symbol with pine cones, small statues of deer or other forest animals, ivy, holly, or something similar. Clean the guardian symbol so it hasn’t any dust or dirt on it. If the symbol is small enough set it on the altar or next to it.
Light the incense and candle. Stand before your altar and say:
Guardian spirits, I invite you to join me here at this altar.
You are my friends, ,and I wish to thank you.
Take the incense and circle the guardian symbol three times, moving clockwise.
I thank you for the atmosphere you help to keep clean and pleasant in this home.
Move the candle clockwise around the symbol three times.
I thank you for the light you send to purify and dispel the darkness.
With the wand in your power hand, encircle the symbol three times clockwise.
I ask for your continued help and protection for me, my family, my pets, and my property. I ask that you drive away trouble-makers, thieves, and other, physical and non-physical, who are bent on evil disruptive purposes. I thank you for your friendship and love.
Stand with your arms raised and say:
Lovely Goddess, Lord of the Greenwood, I present to you the guardian of this house, the special spirit I have invited into my home. I honor this guardian in this symbol of its being. Bless this guardian. And to your blessings, I add my thanks for its protection and friendship.
If you have more than one guardian, change all the its to their and so on. Spend a few moments lovingly caressing the symbol, mentally expressing that the guardian is important to you. If you have provided food and drink, invite your guardian friends to party with you. Talk with them, being sensitive to feathery caresses and mental whispers. When you are finished, thank them for their presence at your ritual.
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 August 10
Colliding Galaxies in Stephan’s Quintet
Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA; Processing & Copyright: Jose Jimenez Priego
Explanation: Will either of these galaxies survive? In what might be dubbed as a semi-final round in a galactic elimination tournament, the two spirals of NGC 7318 are colliding. The featured picture was created from images taken by theHubble Space Telescope. When galaxies crash into each other, many things may happen including gravitational distortion, gas condensing to produce new episodes of star formation, and ultimately the two galaxies combining into one. Since these two galaxies are part of Stephan’s Quintet, a final round of battling galaxies will likely occur over the next few billion years with the eventual result of many scattered stars and one large galaxy. Quite possibly, the remaining galaxy will not be easily identified with any of its initial galactic components. Stephan’s Quintet was the first identified galaxy group, lies about 300 million light years away, and is visible through a moderately-sized telescope toward the constellation of the Winged Horse (Pegasus).
Tonight – August 10, 2016 – it’s time to watch the Perseid meteor shower. The moon is out of the way in the predawn hours, when the meteors are normally flying most abundantly! Which dates are best? We recommend watching all three mornings around the peak – the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. On the night of August 11-12, 2016 – evening of August 11 and morning of August 12 – you might be on the right part of Earth to experience a Perseid meteor outburst of perhaps 200 meteors per hour. The tips below can help you enjoy.
1. Should you watch only during the time of the possible outburst?
2. Watch between midnight and dawn.
4. Watch with friend or friends.
5. Try observing in the evening hours.
6. Sprawl out in a moon shadow
7. Notice the speed and colors of the meteors.
9. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere … watch!
10. On the eve of the Perseid shower, will you see Mars and Saturn?
Should you watch only during the time of the possible outburst? Short answer: no.
No one knows who on Earth (if anyone) might see the anticipated Perseid outburst. These predictions are based on models of meteor streams in space, and the models vary a bit from scientist to scientist. That’s why – although the outburst is generally expected to take place during the night of August 11-12 – no one can say with any certainty if or when the outburst will take place.
What to do? Get outside as much as possible – preferably in a dark location – over the next several nights. The predictions for the outburst aren’t that much for a shower that much above the Perseids’ typical rate. The Perseids typically produce about 100 meteors per hour at their peak. The predicted rate for the 2016 outburst is about 200 meteors per hour.
After all, some meteor shower outbursts have created displays of thousands of meteors per hour! So if you miss the outburst, but see a good show generally … hey, it was worth getting outside.
So try all 3 mornings around the peak – the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. You’ll see what you see!
2. Watch between midnight and dawn. Most meteor showers are best after midnight, and the Perseids are no exception. After midnight, the part of Earth you’re standing on has turned into the meteor stream. That means the radiant point for the shower will be above your horizon. The chart at the top of this point shows the radiant for the Perseids. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s up in the northeast around midnight or just a bit after. After the radiant rises, you’ll see more meteors.
3. Avoid city lights. A wide open area – a field or a lonely country road – is best if you’re serious about watching meteors.
4. Watch with friend or friends, and try facing in different directions so that if someone sees a meteor, that person can call out “meteor” to the rest.
5. Try observing in the evening hours. You won’t see as many meteors during the evening hours, and the moon wil be up during the evening hours. But you still might catch an earthgrazer, which is a slow-moving and long-lasting meteor that travels horizontally across the sky. If you see one, you’ll have a new appreciation for evening meteor watching.
6. Sprawl out in a moon shadow. Be aware that – in years when the moon is interfering with the shower – you can sprawl out in the moon’s shadow to get a better view. In 2016, for instance, the waning gibbous moon will interfere with this year’s meteor shower during the evening hours. When it’s above the horizon, the moon will cast looooong shadows. Find a moon shadow somewhere that still provides a wide expanse of sky, to vastly improve your view of the meteor shower. A plateau area with high-standing mountains to block out the moon works just fine. If you can’t do that, find a hedgerow of trees bordering a wide open field somewhere (though obtain permission, if it’s private land). Or simply sit in the shadow of a barn or other building. Ensconced within a moon shadow, and far from the glow of city lights, the night all of a sudden darkens while the meteors brighten.
7. Notice the speed and colors of the meteors. The Perseids are known to be colorful, and they are swift-moving, entering Earth’s atmosphere at about 35 miles per second (60 km per second).
8. Watch for meteor trains. A meteor train is a persistent glow in the air, left by some meteors after they have faded from view. Trains are caused by luminous ionized matter left in the wake of this incoming space debris. A good percentage of Perseids are known to leave persistent trains. They linger for a moment or two after the meteor has gone. Watch for them!
9. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere … watch! At temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower never gets very high in the sky. Therefore, the number of Perseid meteors seen from this part of the world isn’t as great as at more northerly latitudes. But if you’re game, look northward in the wee hours before dawn on August 11, 12 and 13, and you might still see a decent display of Perseids.
10. On the eve of the Perseid shower, will you see Mars and Saturn? As darkness falls, before the first Perseids even begin to light up the nighttime, Use the moon to locate the planets Mars and Saturn. See the sky chart below.
Bottom line: With no moon to ruin the show in the predawn hours, the year 2016 is a favorable one for watching the annual Perseid meteor shower. Here are some tips for watching the 2016 Perseid shower. We recommend watching all three mornings around the peak – the mornings (not the evenings) of August 11, 12 and 13.
Originally published on EarthSky
Witches Of The Craft® 
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