July 3rd
The Witch of Gaeta
On this day, some Wiccans like to honor the woman known as the witch of Gaeta, of whom the Italian writer Giovanni Pontano (1426? – 1503) writes in his dialog Antonius (c. 1487). Arriving at the Italian town of Gaeta, Pontano’s protagonist Suppatius meets this enterprising wise woman, who complains that the local monks are encroaching on her business of interpreting dreams, and of predicting that unmarried girls will marry handsome husbands, that pregnant women will bear sons, and that infertile ones will conceive.
The Dog Days
The Dog Days heralded by the heliacal rising of the Dog Star (Sirius) begin around now, ushering in a period of Summer heat that is said to last until August 11. An English handbook, The Husbandman’s Practice of 1729 advises us to ‘seeth (boil) well your meals and take heed of feeding violently’ during this unhealthy time.
Witches Of The Craft® 