
The Witches Astronomy Journal for Tuesday, May 8th

Love Is The Law
Do what thou wilt is the Whole of the Law
The time of The Will
Bursts forth Now, in the Spring
Implacable bud!
Let your Love burst forth and blossom freely
Thunder of roses
Unfettered by harsh will
Love willed to be Free
To soar with on Her Wings into New Heavens
Over pure New Earths
Love is Will purified
Love is Her own Law!
Sun is born again in primitive Light
With Arian Force
In the Spring House of Mars
New Life Exploding
From cold Winter’s Icy dark Womb
Gives force to our Wills
Time of re-SOL-ution
We are born again
Juices of Spring wash us from Winter Womb
As Spring buds push out
We drop from Her belly
Like damp, new born colts
This is the time to re-SOL-ve our new lives
With Nature’s Forces
Supporting and healing
As Old Winter dies
—Author Unknown
Originally Published on Pagan Library

Calendar of the Sun for Tuesday, May 8th
8 Thrimilchimonath
Fulla’s Blot
Colors: White and blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of white and blue set twelve white candles, one sky-blue candle, a great jug of mead, and a sheaf of grain. Throughout the next eleven days, the altar stays the same, and one more candle is lit. On this day, light the blue candle and one white candle.
Offering: Inventory the food supplies. Do things correctly.
Daily Meal: Soup or stew. Bread with cheese, meat, or jam.
Invocation to Frigga’s Handmaidens
Call: Twelve maidens hold the halls of Asgard!
Response: Twelve virgins hold the pillars of heaven!
Call: Twelve mysteries hold the luck of Asgard!
Response: Twelve virtues hold the Law of heaven!
Call: Twelve words of power resound through Asgard!
Response: Twelve stars light up the dome of heaven!
Call: We call upon the power of Virtue!
Response: We call upon the mysteries of heaven!
Invocation to Fulla
Hail, Asgard’s princess,
Younger sister of the Queen!
Hail, maiden of plenty
Who fills the pots and larders,
Who gives us abundance in all things
That we may in turn give hospitality.
Hail, maiden of the fields
Who makes the grain rise fine and proud!
For abundance is more than mere riches,
It is the careful accounting of fairness
So that everyone gets enough for survival
Enough for happiness
And enough to pass on to others.
Chant:
Cloth of honor from the thread of truth
Weave your heart into all you offer
(A libation of mead is poured out for Fulla, and the jug replaced for the next day’s ritual. Invite outsiders in for dinner on this day, in honor of the virtue of hospitality.)
[Pagan Book of Hours]
Calendar of the Moon for Tuesday, May 8th
8 Huath/Thargelion
Thargelia Day II: Festival of the First Fruits
Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth lay five stones of different colors, an urn of white wine, and a basket of the first produce of the year.
Offerings: The first fruits from the garden, some of which should be shared with outsiders.
Daily Meal: Vegan. Barley. Figs. Dates.
Demeter’s Thargelia Invocation
The road to which our feet are set
Is in a harvest way,
For to the fair-robed Demeter
Our comrades bring today
The first fruits of their harvesting
She on the threshing place
Great store of barley grain outpoured
For guardian of Her Grace.
O great earth-bound Demeter
Whose daughter is the spring,
Whose hands bring forth the golden grain,
These gifts to you we bring:
Our hands, our hearts, our bellies
Once empty and now filled,
The greening of the garden,
The flour of the mill,
We thank you for our sustenance
The bounty of field and hill,
Your touch upon the barren land
Will make it more fertile still.
Chant:
Demeter Demeter Mother of the Grain
Fruit of the Harvest come with the rain
(The produce is brought forward to the altar and laid in baskets, one at a time, kneeling. Afterwards it is shared with others brought in from outside, for generosity begets abundance. The wine is poured out as a libation for Demeter.)
[Pagan Book of Hours]

Your Daily Earth & Moon Data for Tuesday, May 8th
The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 79.88° E
Sun Altitude: 15.41°
Sun Distance: 93.820 million mi
Next Solstice: Jun 21, 2018 5:07 am (Summer)
Sunrise Today: 5:52 am↑ 68° East
Sunset Today: 7:49 pm↑ 293° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 13 hours, 57 minutes
The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 176.28° S
Moon Altitude: 37.06°
Moon Distance: 248938 mi
Next New Moon: May 15, 20186:47 am
Next Full Moon: May 29, 20189:19 am
Next Moonset: Today12:55 pm
Current Moon PHase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 46.1%
Source
timeanddate.com

Astrology of Today – Tuesday, May 8, 2018
The Moon is in Aquarius until 11:10 PM, after which the Moon is in Pisces.
The Moon is void briefly, from 10:28 PM to 11:10 PM.
The Moon is waning and in its Last Quarter phase.
The Last Quarter Moon occurred yesterday and the New Moon will occur on May 15th.

Daily Overview of the Planets and Stars for Tuesday, May 8th
The Moon spends most of the day in the sign of Aquarius and moves into the sign of Pisces at 11:11 PM EDT.
While the Aquarius Moon is detached, objective, and reasonable, the Sun’s opposition to Jupiter today is immoderate and inclines us to go over the top. Recent excesses can come to light, demanding a change or shuffling of priorities. Conflicting urges regarding what we think we should do and what we want to do can be an issue now. There are two areas of life where we have a particular need to shine, grow, and improve, represented by the Sun in Taurus and Jupiter in Scorpio, but these may seem to be in direct conflict with one another, at least for now. Culminations or unexpected changes in a project or ambition might occur, and this can be a time for reaping the rewards. The urge to grow and expand is strong. If we’ve been overreaching, however, it may be time to adjust our expectations.
The Moon is void from 10:29 PM EDT, with the Moon’s last aspect before changing signs (a sextile to Uranus), until the Moon enters Pisces at 11:11 PM EDT.

The sky this week for May 8 to May 13
A dwarf planet, a brilliant beehive, and our solar system’s largest planet all star in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott
Tuesday, May 8
Brilliant Jupiter reaches opposition and peak visibility tonight. It rises in the eastern sky at sunset and climbs highest in the south around 1 a.m. local daylight time. Shining at magnitude –2.5, the giant planet is the night’s brightest celestial object with the exception of the waning crescent Moon (which doesn’t rise until 3 a.m.) and Venus (which sets by 10:30 p.m.). Jupiter resides among the background stars of Libra, some 3° due east of 3rd-magnitude Zubenelgenubi (Alpha [α] Librae). When viewed through a telescope, the gas giant’s disk spans 45″ and shows incredible detail in its cloud tops. You’ll also see the planet’s four bright moons. Io, Europa, and Callisto line up in that order east of Jupiter while Ganymede is the lone moon west of the planet.
Wednesday, May 9
You can use the Big Dipper as a guide to two of the spring sky’s brightest stars. If you follow the curve of the Dipper’s handle toward the eastern horizon, you’ll easily spot Arcturus. This magnitude 0.0 star, which belongs to Boötes the Herdsman, lies some 30° from the end of the Big Dipper’s handle. It is the fourth-brightest star in the whole sky and the second-brightest visible from mid-northern latitudes. And if you continue the curve another 30° past Arcturus, you’ll arrive at magnitude 1.0 Spica, the luminary of Virgo the Maiden. An easy way to remember the two is with the phrase: “Follow the arc to Arcturus, then drive a spike to Spica.”
Thursday, May 10
Dwarf planet 1 Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It currently shines at magnitude 8.5 and is an easy object to spot through binoculars or a telescope. Ceres resides in northeastern Cancer the Crab, which appears high in the west after twilight fades to darkness. This evening, Ceres lies 2.4° west-northwest of 4th-magnitude Kappa (κ) Leonis.
Friday, May 11
One of the spring sky’s finest deep-sky objects, the Beehive star cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer the Crab, lies high in the west once evening twilight fades away. The 3rd-magnitude cluster lies approximately 40 percent of the way from 1st-magnitude Pollux in Gemini to the similarly bright star Regulus in Leo. With naked eyes under a dark sky, you should be able to spot the Beehive as a faint cloud. But this star group explodes into dozens of stars through binoculars or a small telescope at low power.
Saturday, May 12
Although Comet PANSTARRS (C/2016 R2) glows faintly at 11th magnitude, this is a good evening to try to spot it against the backdrop of Auriga through an 8-inch or larger telescope. The comet resides exactly halfway between magnitude 0.1 Capella and magnitude 1.9 Beta (β) Aurigae. The comet should appear as a small fuzzball without much structure. Use fairly high power to get the best view.
Sunday, May 13
Brilliant Venus appears low in the west-northwest after sunset all week. Look for the blazing point of light starting a half-hour after sundown, when it stands 20° above the horizon. The planet shines at magnitude –3.9 and is by far the brightest object in the evening sky. As the sky darkens and the stars come out, you’ll see that Earth’s neighbor lies midway between Beta (β) and Zeta (ζ) Tauri, the horns of Taurus the Bull. If you point a telescope at Venus, the planet’s 12″-diameter disk appears 85 percent lit.
Source
The Astronomy Magazine

In the Sky This Month
Of the five planets easily visible to the unaided eye, only Mercury is missing from view this month. The other four are in good view, with one of them, Jupiter, putting in its best showing of the year. Venus climbs higher as the Evening Star, while Mars and Saturn remain in the early morning sky. Among the stars, Regulus and Spica climb to their full spring glory.
May 8: Evening Lights
As twilight fades this evening, two lights will pop into view long before the others. In the west, look for Venus, the “evening star.” At about the same height in the southeast, look for slightly fainter Jupiter, at its brightest for the year.
May 9: Coma Berenices
Coma Berenices is in the eastern sky at nightfall. Its stars are faint. But under a dark sky, they offer one of the prettiest sights in the heavens: streamers of stars that represent the hair of Berenice, a queen of ancient Egypt.
May 10: Coma Star Cluster
The star cluster Melotte 111, in Coma Berenices, is a good target for binoculars or a small telescope. The constellation is high in the east at nightfall, and good binoculars reveal a small swarm of stars.
May 11: Coma Galaxies
The constellation Coma Berenices is high in the east at nightfall. Both a cluster and a supercluster of galaxies are centered in the constellation. Telescopes reveal a smorgasbord of galaxies of varying type, size, and brightness.
May 12: Denebolas bright stars to set is Denebola, “the lion’s tail.”
May 13: Black-Eye Galaxy
Leo, the lion, dives head-first toward the western horizon during May and June evenings. Tonight it stands high in the south as darkness falls. The last of it
A beautiful spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices has a black eye. M64, the Black Eye galaxy, has a prominent dark band below its nucleus. The band is a lane of dust, which is the likely residue from a smaller galaxy that M64 gobbled up.
May 14: Hercules
One of the most famous characters in the night sky takes a prominent position at this time of year: Hercules, the strongman. His relatively faint constellation is in view by the time it gets dark, and soars high overhead during the night.
Source
StarDate

Daily Cosmic Calendar for Tuesday, May 8th
Today is no walk in the park.
Vesta halts in the heavens at 5 degrees of Capricorn (12:50am) and begins retrograde motion that lasts until August 1. While you look over the following list of main themes associated with this asteroid, keep in mind that challenges related to key partnerships may also be on center stage right now due to Juno squaring Vesta (7:49am).
Here are strong and important Vesta themes – safety and security, home and hearth, insurance coverage and rates, investment planning, sisterhood and fellowship gatherings, stoves and chimneys, first-aid, clandestine, occult or secret organizations (FBI, CIA, NSA), the Eternal Flame of ancient temples and memorials.
Helping to neutralize any tumult on the love horizon is an inspirational, 72-degree connection between Venus and Juno (9:20am). On the other hand, large-scale matters might be difficult to deal with since the two biggest celestial bodies in our solar system, the sun in Taurus and Jupiter retrograde in Scorpio, form their annual polarity (5:40pm).
Taking anyone for granted is a no-no. Being humble rather than brash wins rave reviews especially since Mercury contra-parallel to Neptune (5:58pm) contains a component that can lead to confusion and faulty reasoning. The moon in Aquarius making a constructive, 60-degree tie to Uranus in Aries (7:30pm) may temporarily boost your I.Q., but it also starts a 42-minute void-of-course lunar cycle that leads to the arrival of Pisces moon (8:12pm). Show off some fancy moves on the dance floor tonight.
[Note to readers: All times are now calculated for Pacific Daylight Time. Be sure to adjust all times according to your own local time so the alignments noted above will be exact for your location.]
Copyright 2018 Mark Lerner & Great Bear Enterprises, Ltd.
Astrology.com

The Witches Current Moon Phase for May 8th
Last Quarter
Illumination: 46%
The Moon today is in a Third Quarter phase. Sometimes called a Last Quarter Moon, this phase occurs roughly 3 weeks after the New Moon when the earth is three quarter of the way through it’s orbit around the earth. If you live in the northern hemisphere the Moons left side will be illuminated and the right side dark. For thoughts of you in the southern hemisphere it will be the opposite with the right side illuminated. On the day of the Third Quarter phase the Moon will rise around midnight on the eastern horizon and set in the west around noon the next day. In the days following the Third Quarter Phase the Moon’s illumination will decrees each day until the New Moon.
PHASE DETAILS FOR – TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018
Phase: Last Quarter
Illumination: 46%
Moon Age: 22.52 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 401,958.21 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,013,905.78 km
Source
MoonGiant

Moon in Aquarius
The Moon is traveling through Aquarius today. Go against the grain. Fight for a cause. Stand up for the underdog.
Attraction to all that is new and unusual, and an instinctive need for improvement, characterize the Moon in Aquarius. Reactions are more intellectual than emotional, and interactions are more impersonal than personal, under this influence. This is a time that promotes social gatherings, dealing with group ideals and goals for the future, brainstorming, new ideas, and progressive changes. We are open to new methods of doing things and we have our eye on the future. It can be hard to stick to schedules now, as personal freedom is most important to us.
The Moon in Aquarius generally favors the following activities: Unusual or radical undertakings, social pursuits, group projects, trying something new, joining a group.

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