The Witches Astronomy Digest for Tuesday, May 15th

 

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Tuesday, May 15th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 99.37° E
Sun Altitude: 43.92
Sun Distance: 93.972 million mi
Next Solstice: Jun 21, 2018 5:07 am (Summer)
Sunrise Today: 5:46 am↑ 65° East
Sunset Today: 7:55 pm↑ 295° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 9 minutes

 

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 102.38° ESE
Moon Altitude: 38.89°
Moon Distance: 228267 mi
Next Full Moon: May 29, 20189:19 am
Next New Moon: Jun 13, 20182:43 pm
Next Moonset: Today8:15 pm
Current Moon Phase: Near New Moon (Waxing Crescent)
Illumination: 0.2%

Source

timeanddate.com

Astrology of Today – Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The Moon is in Taurus until 4:43 PM forward, after which the Moon is in Gemini.
The Moon is void briefly today, from 4:29 PM to 4:43 PM.
The Moon is waning and in its Waning Crescent phase until 7:47 AM, after which the Moon is waxing and in its New phase.
The New Moon occurs this morning at 7:47 AM in the sign of Taurus.
Mars is in its pre-retrograde shadow (Mars will retrograde from June 26th to August 27th).
Uranus enters Taurus today (Uranus transits Taurus from May 15, 2018, to November 6, 2018, then March 6, 2019, to July 7, 2025, and then November 7, 2025, to April 25, 2026).

About Today’s New moon

By Deborah Byrd

As the moon orbits Earth, it changes phase in an orderly way. New moon comes on May 15 at 11:48 UTC.

A moon at the new phase comes most nearly – for any particular month – to passing between the Earth and sun. New moon is May 15, 2018 at 11:48 UTC; translate UTC to your time.

New moons come once each month, as the moon orbits Earth. On the day of new moon – unless we’re viewing a total solar eclipse – we don’t see the new moon. That’s because a new moon rises when the sun rises. It sets when the sun sets. It crosses the sky with the sun during the day. Its fully illuminated face, or day side, is turned entirely away from us.

It’s only as the moon moves in orbit, as its lighted hemisphere begins to come into view from Earth, that we can see it in our sky. Then we see the moon in the west after sunset as a slim waxing crescent – what some call a young moon.

This month’s new moon marks the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Read more: When does Ramadan begin in 2018?

Bottom line: As the moon orbits Earth, it changes phase in an orderly way. New moon comes on May 15 at 11:48 UTC.

Author

DEBORAH BYRD
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.

Originally published on EarthSky

Moon in Taurus

The Moon is traveling through comfy Taurus today. Eat something you love. Have a second serving.

We are motivated by the desire for serenity, security, peace, and comfort. The Moon is at her most sensual and constant in Taurus. Our basic impulses are to relax, resist change, and “stop to smell the roses”. Life slows down a little, and we get comfortable. We may also be inclined to stubbornness and materialism under this influence.

The Moon in Taurus generally favors the following activities: Substantial and material actions that yield solid results. Financial activities, and those involving personal possessions, applying for a loan, beginning a potentially long-term relationship, music, home decor.

Overview of the Planets and the Stars for May 15th

The New Moon occurs in the sign of Taurus this morning, clearing the slate for new beginnings with Taurean themes. While Taurus seeks predictability and often resists change, Mars and Uranus are changing signs and forming a square around the time of this New Moon, and this combination is dramatic, abrupt, and possibly disruptive. The New Moon also forms trine aspects to Mars and Pluto, suggesting the need for long-term change and recognition of its benefits. We can feel rushed into it, however! Or, we may feel life is moving ahead very quickly, and we need to catch up.

Uranus moves into the sign of Taurus today and will transit Taurus for the most part until 2025-6 (Uranus will return to and finish up its transit of Aries from November 6, 2018, to March 6, 2019). During this cycle, we approach money and personal possessions in new ways and discover ways to free ourselves from certain material constraints. Innovative ways to make ourselves comfortable emerge. We’re less inhibited about expressing sensuality, self-love, body love, and pampering. We’re challenging what we previously valued during this cycle. There can be abrupt changes with money, valuables, possessions, and income that lead to a reshuffling of priorities or values. Income might come from non-traditional sources or ventures. We’re bringing progressive ideas to the world of business. New ways of doing business, as well as making, viewing, and handling money are likely. Income and the energy we put into making money can be variable, as we seem to need to feel inspired to produce.

The Moon enters Gemini at 4:44 PM EDT, stimulating our desire to connect, communicate, and learn.

The Moon is void from 4:31 PM EDT, with the Moon’s last aspect before changing signs (a trine to Mars), until the Moon enters Gemini at 4:44 PM EDT.

 

The sky this week for May 15 to May 20

A slew of brilliant planets, a wafer-thin crescent Moon, and a high-riding Big Dipper all stand out in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Tuesday, May 15

Jupiter reached opposition and peak visibility just one week ago, and it remains a stunning sight all night. It appears low in the southeast during evening twilight and climbs highest in the south shortly after midnight local daylight time. Shining at magnitude –2.5, the giant planet is the night’s brightest celestial object once Venus sets around 10:30 p.m. Jupiter resides among the background stars of Libra the Scales, 2° east of Zubenelgenubi (Alpha [α] Librae). When viewed through a telescope, the gas giant’s disk spans 45″ and shows incredible detail in its cloud tops.

New Moon occurs at 7:48 a.m. EDT. At its New phase, the Moon crosses the sky with the Sun and so remains hidden in our star’s glare.

Saturn rises shortly after 11:30 p.m. local daylight time and climbs some 30° high in the south as morning twilight starts to paint the sky. The ringed planet shines at magnitude 0.3 against the backdrop of northern Sagittarius the Archer. When viewed through a telescope, Saturn shows an 18″-diameter disk surrounded by a stunning ring system that spans 41″ and tilts 26° to our line of sight.

Thursday, May 17

A wafer-thin crescent Moon appears 6° to the left of Venus this evening. Our satellite appears only 9 percent lit because it passed between the Sun and Earth just two days ago. You should notice an ashen light faintly illuminating the Moon’s dark side. This is earthshine — sunlight reflected by Earth that reaches the Moon and then reflects back to our waiting eyes. Use binoculars for the best view.

The Moon also reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, today. At 5:05 p.m. EDT, the Moon lies 226,040 miles (363,776 kilometers) away from us.

Friday, May 18

Dwarf planet 1 Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It currently resides in western Leo, which appears high in the west after twilight fades to darkness. The magnitude 8.5 dwarf planet is easy to spot through binoculars or a telescope, particularly when it slides past magnitude 4.5 Kappa (κ) Leonis this evening. Point your scope at Kappa and then look for a magnitude 6.8 star half the Full Moon’s diameter to the south-southwest. Ceres lies between these two and slightly closer to Kappa.

Saturday, May 19

The Big Dipper’s familiar shape lies nearly overhead on May evenings. The spring sky’s finest binocular double star marks the bend of the Dipper’s handle. Mizar shines at 2nd magnitude, some six times brighter than its 4th-magnitude companion, Alcor. Even though these two are not physically related, they make a fine sight through binoculars. (People with good eyesight often can split the pair without optical aid.) A small telescope reveals Mizar itself as double — and these components do orbit each other.

Sunday, May 20

Venus crossed the border from Taurus the Bull into Gemini the Twins yesterday, and tonight it slides less than 1° north of the 5th-magnitude open star cluster M35. Binoculars or a telescope at low power will provide the best view of this pretty conjunction, especially once the sky grows dark around 10 p.m. local daylight time. The brightness disparity between the two objects is quite impressive: Venus appears some 4,000 times brighter than the combined glow from all the cluster’s distant suns.

Source

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 15: More Hercules
One of the oldest groups of the stars in the entire Milky Way galaxy is M92. It’s in Hercules, which is in the east and northeast as night falls. M92’s stars probably are more than 13 billion years old, which is almost as old as the universe.

May 16: Bootes
The bright yellow star Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes, stands high in the east at nightfall. It is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Bootes also contains a large void — a huge volume of space with almost no galaxies.

May 17: Moon and Venus
The planet Venus is in the west shortly after sunset this evening, close to the right of the crescent Moon. Venus is the brilliant “evening star,” so you can’t miss it.

May 18: Vega Rising
Vega, in Lyra, the harp, is climbing into the evening sky. It is low in the northeast as the sky gets fully dark, and climbs high overhead during the night. Vega is the third-brightest nighttime star visible from most of the United States.

May 19: VW Cephei
A pair of stuck-together stars is visible through binoculars in Cepheus, the king, which is low in the north at nightfall. VW Cephei is about 90 light-years away. Its two stars share their outer layers of gas, so they look like a glowing peanut.

May 20: Dragon’s Eyes
A pair of eyes stares down from the northeast as night falls right now — the brightest stars of Draco, the dragon. They are above brilliant Vega, one of the night sky’s most prominent stars. The brighter eye is Eltanin, the dragon’s leading light.

May 21: Moon and Regulus
The first-quarter Moon snuggles especially close to a bright companion tonight. Regulus, the heart of Leo, the lion, will stand just a degree or so from the Moon as night falls, which is less than the width of your finger held at arm’s length.

Source

StarDate

Your Daily Cosmic Calendar for Tuesday, May 15th

Stop, look and listen!

The new moon arrives at 4:49am (energizing 25 degrees of Taurus). This is usually a cosmic signal to earthlings to plant new seeds of creative, artistic and business achievements with a lot of confidence.

However, strange gyrations are also present right now as Uranus enters Taurus (8:18am) in a preliminary transit into this zodiacal sign lasting until November 6, 2018. On that day, Uranus will re-enter Aries until March 6, 2019 when this planet of revolution and lightning-like flashes of genius re-enters Taurus for an approximate 7-year cycle.

Adding to this day’s anything-goes, uncertainty vibrations is 13-minute void lunar cycle in Taurus that starts during a moon trine to Mars (1:31pm) and ends at 1:44pm when the moon enters Gemini. Several hours afterwards, another layer of potential chaos penetrates the psychic atmosphere of humanity as Mars enters Aquarius (9:56pm) while Juno in Aries squares Saturn in Capricorn only 2 minutes later (9:58pm). Be extra sensitive and kind-hearted to dear ones on the edge.

Throwing your hands up in despair is not an option as an ancient astrological affirmation — forewarned is forearmed — reminds you that knowledge of sky alignments before they occur can help you to remain calm while external conflicts temporarily seem to be in charge.

[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 Tuesday, May 15th

New Moon
Illumination: 0%

The Moon today is in a New Moon phase. During this phase the Moon is to close to the sun in the sky to be visible. The moon rises and sets with the sun and is not present in the night sky. Because of this the night sky is darker and an excellent time to view other celestial objects. Like the Full Moon, a New Moon happens at a very specific time when the sun and moon have the same ecliptic longitude and it can be measured down to the second it occurs.

PHASE DETAILS FOR – TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018
Phase: New Moon
Illumination: 0%
Moon Age: 0.00 days
Moon Angle: 0.54
Moon Distance: 371,893.42 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,249,056.62 km

Source

MoonGiant.com

Witches Moon Calendar for 2018

May 2018
Dark Moon: May 15th, 2018 4:49AM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​May 18th-19th, 2018
Full Moon: May 29, 2018 7:20AM Pacific Standard Time

June 2018
Dark Moon: June 13th, 2018 12:45AM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: June 16th-17th, 2018
Full Moon: June 27th, 2018 9:54PM Pacific Standard Time

July 2018
Dark Moon: July 12th, 2018 7:49PM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​July 15th-16th, 2018
Full Moon: July 27th, 2018 1:21PM Pacific Standard Time

August 2018
Dark Moon: August 11th, 2018 2:59AM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​August 14th-15th, 2018
Full Moon: August 26th, 2018 4:58AM Pacific Standard Time

September 2018
Dark Moon: September 9th, 2018 11:02AM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​September 12th-13th, 2018
Full Moon: September 24th, 2018 7:54AM Pacific Standard Time

October 2018
Dark Moon: October 8th, 2018 8:47PM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​October 12th-13th, 2018
Full Moon: October 24th, 2018 9:47AM Pacific Standard Time

November 2018
Dark Moon: November 7th, 2018 8:02AM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​November 10th-11th, 2018
Full Moon: November 22nd, 2018 9:41PM Pacific Standard Time

December 2018
Dark Moon: December 6th, 2018 11:21PM Pacific Standard Time
Witch’s New Moon: ​December 9th-10th, 2018
Full Moon: December 22nd, 2018 9:50AM Pacific Standard Time

Source

Dacha Avelin< Author
Old World Witchcraft

 

For all your magickal needs in 2018, think Magickal Necessities!

 

We have introduced a new line of Dragon Merchandise. We also have an ample supply of herbs coming in daily. Need anything, check us out! If we don’t have just ask, we can probably get it.