Month: March 2017

Celebrating Legends, Folklore & Spirituality for March 30th

30 March

Festiva[ of Janus and Concordia

Janus, the Roman God of Doorways and of The Turn of the Year, along with Concordia the Goddess of Peace and Civic Harmony, were honored at this time. Even in the ancient world, March was a time of change-turning from darkness to light-a time of equality, peace, and harmony. In Norse tradition, this day begins the runic half-month Ehwaz (the horse month), a time of partnerships between humans and Nature, as represented in the relationship between rider and horse.

Cleansing the Aura By Means of Incense

Cleansing the aura by means of incense

This is an easy and effective way of cleansing the aura, and it is used mainly after administering a treatment, after a quarrel, argument, or a long, busy day, and when there you feel that non-positive energies have adhered to your aura. The cleansing is done with the help of a partner, who holds the stick of incense. After you do this cleansing with the help of a partner often, you may be able to do it by yourself.

For the cleansing, you can use any stick of natural and high-quality incense. (There are incense sticks that are scented with low-quality artificial perfumes that are used for purifying the air in toilets, walk-in closets, and so on – it is not advisable to use them.) The types of incense that are most highly recommended are sage, which is very strong and effective for purification, frankincense, and jasmine. However, any stick of high-quality, pleasant-smelling incense will do.

Stand erect, feet slightly apart, and close your eyes. Make sure to take deep, slow, and comfortable abdominal breaths. Your partner holds the lit and smoking stick of incense and begins to walk around your body. There are many different ways of moving the incense around, but it should go in a right-to-left direction – clockwise. It is possible to start at the top, and move the incense stick clockwise around the head, at a distance of 20 to 60 centimeters from the body, and gradually descend, in a kind of spiral, to the feet, and then ascend again.

Another way is to start on the right side of the body and descend very slowly to the feet, and then go up the left side of the body, go down the right side again, and go up the left side once more. In this technique, intuition and emotion are very important, and if your partner feels that another slightly different method of moving the incense stick around is appropriate, it is worth trying. This technique is simple, quick, and extremely effective. After the cleansing, you frequently experience a feeling of relief and purification, a feeling of a burden being lifted off your shoulders, greater vitality, and a feeling of significant tranquillity.

Day-by-Day Wicca: A complete guide to Wicca from Beliefs and Rituals to Magic and Witchcraft
Tabatha Jennings

Custom Made Magick for Thursday

Custom Made Magick for Thursday

 

Well, let’s see … abundance, prosperity, and good health has been our focus for this day. Now how about a little more information and ideas for working practical magick with one of our fascinating featured deities of the day?

Juno was the Queen of Heaven. As the matriarch of the gods, she guarded over women in every aspect of their lives. Juno was thought to have renewed her virginity every year. Similar to other goddess stories, Juno was a triple goddess-a virgin who belonged to no one; a mother and woman in the prime of her life, sexual and mature; and also a crone, powerful, wise, and sometimes vengeful (as she made her husband’s many mistresses’ lives either fairly unhappy or short).

There are references to an early all-female triad of goddesses known as the Capitoline Triad. This triad consisted of Juventas, Juno, and Minerva. To the Greeks, they would have been known as Hebe, Hera, and Hecate. Ultimately the triad became Juno, Minerva, and the male Jupiter. Jupiter, another of Thursday’s gods, was Juno’s consort.

As mentioned earlier, Juno, in her aspect as Juno Moneta, was the patron and protector of the Roman mint. The coins produced at her temples were blessed by Juno and imbued with her powers of abundance and prosperity. In another of her aspects as Juno Augusta, Juno was the goddess of an abundant harvest.

In addition, another of Juno’s magickal correspondences is the semiprecious stone malachite. Malachite is a beautiful green-banded stone that was also called the “peacock stone” in Italy. The peacock was a sacred animal of Juno’s, and the magickal energies of malachite encourage health and prosperity.

Source

Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

Jupiter

Jupiter

Notes: Perform on a Thursday and/or during the waxing Moon, with the Full Moon being strongest.

Day: Thursday

Color: Blue, purple

Metal: Tin

Stones: Lapis lazuli, amethyst, turquoise, sapphire

Plants: Anise, betony, cinquefoil, jasmine, lavender oak, sage, yerba santa

Rules: Sagittarius, pisces

Oils: Anise, bergamot, cedar, fir honeysuckle, jamine, lavender, nutmeg, orris, strawberry

Rituals involving Honor, riches, health, friendship, the heart’s desires, luck, accomplishment, religion, trade and employment, treasure, legal matters.

 

Physical Chant:

Grant me honor and success,
Change my luck and make me bold
Give me riches and happiness
All you give my life can hold

The Witches Correspondences for Thursday, March 30

The Witches Correspondences for Thursday, March 30

 

Thursday (Thor’s day)

Planet: Jupiter

Colors: Purple, Deep Blue

Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Tin

Aroma: Melissa, Clove, Oakmoss, Jupiter Oil, Cinnamon, Musk, Nutmeg, and Sage

Herb: Cinquefoil Ruled by the planet Jupiter and dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas.

Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.

Thursday is the day of Jupiter, the largest of the planets and said to be the most powerful. Spellcasters would be wise to use this day for attempting wealth, success and prosperity spells.

Thursday is also associated (in Greek mythology) to Thor – Thor’s day – and some even say that Jupiter and Thor are one in the same. Both are strong and powerful, yet wise and just. Try a small prayer to Jupiter before commencing any ritual on Thursday as a sign of respect. This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving luck, happiness, health, legal matters, male fertility, treasure, wealth, honour, riches, clothing, money, desires, business, group pursuits, joy, laughter, and expansion.

The Aspect of Taurus

The Aspect of Taurus

Note: Perform during bright noon or the hour of Venus, and during the waxing Moon, with the Full Moon being strongest

Color: Pink and blue

Rulng Planet: Venus

Stone Emerald

Flower: Violet

Description: Patient, loyal, emotionally stable, stubborn, practical, dependable, organized, materialistic, posssessive, plodding, sweet, calm, determined, security-oriented

Thursday – Jupiter’s (Thor’s) day

Thursday

Jupiter’s (Thor’s) day

 

The name is derived from Old English Þūnresdæg and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr) meaning “Thor’s Day”. Thunor, Donar (German, Donnerstag) and Thor are derived from the name of the Germanic god of thunder, Thunraz, equivalent to Jupiter in the interpretatio romana.

In most Romance languages, the day is named after the Roman god Jupiter, who was the god of sky and thunder. In Latin, the day was known as Iovis Dies, “Jupiter’s Day”. In Latin, the genitive or possessive case of Jupiter was Iovis/Jovis and thus in most Romance languages it became the word for Thursday: Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi, Sardinian jòvia, Catalan dijous, and Romanian joi. This is also reflected in the p-Celtic Welsh dydd Iau.

The astrological and astronomical sign of the planet Jupiter is sometimes used to represent Thursday.

Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god: Torsdag in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Hósdagur/Tórsdagur in Faroese, Donnerstag in German or Donderdag in Dutch. Finnish and Northern Sami, both non-Germanic (Uralic) languages, uses the borrowing “Torstai” and “Duorastat”. In the extinct Polabian Slavic language, it was perundan, Perun being the Slavic equivalent of Thor.

There are a number of modern names imitating the naming of Thursday after an equivalent of “Jupiter” in local tradition. In most of the languages of India, the word for Thursday is Guruvar- var meaning day and guru being the style for Bṛhaspati, guru to the gods and regent of the planet Jupiter. In Thai, the word is Wan Pharuehatsabodi – referring to the Hindu deity Bṛhaspati, also associated with Jupiter. En was an old Illyrian deity and in his honor in the Albanian language Thursday is called “Enjte”. In the Nahuatl language, Thursday is Tezcatlipotōnal meaning “day of Tezcatlipoca”.

The Witches Guide to Thursday

The Witches Guide to Thursday

 

Today is the day for prosperity work of all kinds. It can also be used for healing work, whether that is a physical healing of an illness or an emotional healing. Also remember that you have to follow up your healing work and prosperity magick and physical action.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have met new witches who complain to me that their prosperity spell or “I need a better job” spell did not work as they expected. They’ll ramble on and on about how much time and money they spent working their magick….but, alas, they had no glorious manifestion of wealth or fabulous job that suddenly dropped out of the sky and landed in their laps.

Then, when I gently ask them, “Did you enchant your resume or application when you filled it out? Did you do a little confidence-boosting spellwork when you went to apply for the job or went to the interview?” typically they give me a blank, confused stare.

Nine times out of ten, their response is, “You mean I have to go out and actually look for the job too?” Um, yes, my dear, you certainly do. Magick follows the path of least resistance, which means it’s going to manifest along the simplest, quickest route. Get out there and hit the pavement. See what you can find. Times are tough and competition for good jobs is fierce, so you need whatever edge you can get. For folks like us, we’re going to get the edge by using our magick and our spellcraft.

Thursdays have such a rich source of magick for us to draw upon that, honestly, the sky is the limit. This is the day associated with the gods of the sky and heavens, after all. Get to know these deities and add their wisdom and magick into your days

 

Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

Astronomy Picture of the Day – Young Stars and Dusty Nebulae in Taurus

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.

2017 March 30

Young Stars and Dusty Nebulae in Taurus
Image Credit & Copyright: Lloyd L. Smith, Deep Sky West

 

Explanation: This complex of dusty nebulae lingers along the edge of the Taurus molecular cloud, a mere 450 light-years distant. Stars are forming on the cosmic scene. Composed from almost 40 hours of image data, the 2 degree wide telescopic field of view includes some youthful T-Tauri class stars embedded in the remnants of their natal clouds at the right. Millions of years old and still going through stellar adolescence, the stars are variable in brightness and in the late phases of their gravitational collapse. Their core temperatures will rise to sustain nuclear fusion as they grow into stable, low mass, main sequence stars, a stage of stellar evolution achieved by our middle-aged Sun about 4.5 billion years ago. Another youthful variable star, V1023 Tauri, can be spotted on the left. Within its yellowish dust cloud, it lies next to the striking blue reflection nebula Cederblad 30, also known as LBN 782. Just above the bright bluish reflection nebula is dusty dark nebula Barnard 7.

Your Earth Sky News for March 30th: What is Earthshine?

What is earthshine?

By
When you see the crescent moon after sunset this week, notice the pale glow on its unlit portion. This glow is called earthshine.

When you look at a crescent moon shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you can sometimes see not only the bright crescent of the moon, but also the rest of the moon as a dark disk. That pale glow on the unlit part of a crescent moon is light reflected from Earth. It’s called earthshine.

To understand earthshine, remember that the moon is globe, just as Earth is, and that the globe of the moon is always half-illuminated by sunlight. When we see a crescent moon in the west after sunset, or in the east before dawn, we’re seeing just a sliver of the moon’s lighted half.

Now think about seeing a full moon from Earth’s surface. Bright moonlight can illuminate an earthly landscape on nights when the moon is full.

Likewise, whenever we see a crescent moon, a nearly full Earth appears in the moon’s night sky. The full Earth illuminates the lunar landscape. And that is earthshine. It’s light from the nearly full Earth shining on the moon.

So next time you see a crescent moon, expand your thinking – to include the Earth under your feet.

See the glow on the unlit portion of the moon for what it really is – sunlight reflected from the nearly full Earth shining in the moon’s sky.

Bottom line: Earthshine – the dim glow on the darkened potion of a crescent moon – is light from Earth cast on the night side of the moon.

 

 

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