Day: October 17, 2018

The Witches Current Moon Phase for Wednesday, October 17th

The Witches Current Moon Phase for Wednesday, October 17th

 

Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 57% 

Tomorrow the Moon will be in a Waxing Gibbous phase. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts round 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon will rise in the east in mid-afternoon and will be high in the eastern sky at sunset. The moon is then visible though most of the night sky setting a few hour before sunrise. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word “gibbous” meaning humpbacked.

Source

In the Sky This Month

In the Sky This Month

A giant mythological soap opera stretches up the eastern half of the sky on October nights, encompassing five major constellations: Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Cepheus, Cetus, and Perseus. In the tale, Cassiopeia, queen of Ethiopia, claimed that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. The nymphs complained to the god Poseidon, who sent the sea monster Cetus to ravage the country. To save his people, King Cepheus chained his daughter Andromeda at the seashore as a sacrifice. At the last second, though, she was rescued by Perseus, who flashed the snake-topped head of Medusa at Cetus, turning the monster to stone.

October 17: Moon and Mars

Look for the planet Mars to the left of the Moon as darkness falls this evening. It looks like a bright orange star. Mars will stand even closer to the Moon as they set, after midnight.

October 18: More Moon and Mars

The planet Mars stands to the right of the Moon at nightfall. Although it has lost a good bit of its luster since the summer, it remains one of the half-dozen brightest objects in the night sky, shining like a brilliant orange star.

October 19: Orionid Meteors

The Orionid meteor shower will be at its best this weekend. The Moon makes a pest of itself, though, especially on Sunday night, when the shower should reach its peak. It leaves a little better viewing window tonight and tomorrow night, though.

October 20: G Stars

Under a dark sky, far from city lights, the eye can see thousands of stars, yet only a few are like the Sun. Two of them are in view by about 10 p.m. 51 Pegasi is in the south, well above the Moon. At the same time, Tau Ceti is low in the southeast.

October 21: Gibbous Moon

The Moon stands almost due east at sunset. It’s in its “waxing gibbous” phase. “Gibbous” means that sunlight illuminates more than half of the hemisphere facing Earth, while “waxing” means that a greater percentage of the surface is lit each night.

October 22: Uranus at Opposition

The planet Uranus is putting in its best showing of the year. It lines up opposite the Sun, so it rises around sunset and is in view all night. It’s brightest for the year, too, although you still need binoculars to see it.

October 23: Hunter’s Moon

The Moon will be full the next couple of nights, as it passes opposite the Sun in our sky. October’s full Moon is generally known as the Hunter’s Moon. As the full Moon after the Harvest Moon, its light helped hunters scour the barren fields for game.

Source

StarDate

The sky this week for October 17 to 21

The sky this week for October 17 to 21

Longer nights bring familiar constellations, autumn meteors, and your last chance to see our solar system’s largest planet this year.
By Richard Talcott
Wednesday, October 17

The waxing gibbous Moon crosses into Capricornus this evening, where it has a magnificent encounter with magnitude –0.9 Mars. Once twilight fades away, the pretty pair stands some 30° above the southern horizon with Mars 6° to the Moon’s left. The two edge closer as the evening progresses. Unfortunately, North American observers won’t see their actual conjunction, which occurs at 9 a.m. EDT tomorrow when our satellite passes 2° due north of the planet. By the time darkness falls tomorrow evening, a slightly fatter Moon appears 6° to Mars’ left. A telescope shows several subtle surface features on the Red Planet’s 13″-diameter disk.

The Moon reaches apogee, the farthest point in its orbit around Earth, at 3:16 p.m. EDT. It then lies 251,175 miles (404,227 kilometers) from Earth’s center.

Wednesday, October 17

The waxing gibbous Moon crosses into Capricornus this evening, where it has a magnificent encounter with magnitude –0.9 Mars. Once twilight fades away, the pretty pair stands some 30° above the southern horizon with Mars 6° to the Moon’s left. The two edge closer as the evening progresses. Unfortunately, North American observers won’t see their actual conjunction, which occurs at 9 a.m. EDT tomorrow when our satellite passes 2° due north of the planet. By the time darkness falls tomorrow evening, a slightly fatter Moon appears 6° to Mars’ left. A telescope shows several subtle surface features on the Red Planet’s 13″-diameter disk.

The Moon reaches apogee, the farthest point in its orbit around Earth, at 3:16 p.m. EDT. It then lies 251,175 miles (404,227 kilometers) from Earth’s center.

Thursday, October 18

The days of viewing Jupiter in the evening sky are quickly running out. The giant planet now lies low in the southwest during twilight, hanging barely 10° above the horizon 30 minutes after sunset. Still, Jupiter shines brightly at magnitude –1.8 and should stand out if you have a clear and unobstructed horizon. The low altitude means a telescope won’t show much detail in the planet’s cloud tops.

Friday, October 19

Although autumn began a few weeks ago and the stars of winter’s Orion now rule the morning sky, the Summer Triangle remains prominent on October evenings. Look high in the west after darkness falls and your eyes will fall on the brilliant star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. At magnitude 0.0, Vega is the brightest member of the Triangle. The second-brightest star, magnitude 0.8 Altair in Aquila the Eagle, lies some 35° southeast of Vega. The asterism’s dimmest member, magnitude 1.3 Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, stands about 25° east-northeast of Vega. For observers at mid-northern latitudes, Deneb passes through the zenith around 8 p.m. local daylight time, just as the last vestiges of twilight disappear.

Saturday, October 20

The variable star Algol in Perseus reaches minimum brightness around 10:39 p.m. EDT, when it shines at magnitude 3.4. If you start tracking it this evening, you can watch it more than triple in brightness (to magnitude 2.1) by dawn. This eclipsing binary star runs through a cycle from minimum to maximum and back every 2.87 days. Algol remains visible all night, passing nearly overhead around 2 a.m. local daylight time.

Sunday, October 21

If you’re up early this morning, you should see a number of bright streaks peppering the sky. These are Orionid meteors, which belong to an annual shower that peaks before dawn. The waxing gibbous Moon sets around 4 a.m. local daylight time, leaving nearly two hours of dark skies for observers. At its peak, the shower should produce up to 20 meteors per hour radiating from the northern part of the constellation Orion the Hunter.

Source

What’s In Store By the Stars – Daily Astrology Trends

What’s In Store By the Stars – Daily Astrology Trends

 

The Moon finishes its transit of Capricorn at 3:36 AM EDT when it enters Aquarius. The Aquarius Moon is forward-looking, progressive, and inventive. We’re inspired to improve and grow.

A Pluto-Ceres square can point to the aggravation of tendencies to possessiveness or excessive attachment, however, which can drive the people or things involved away. We may worry about rejection or betrayal. We’re drawn to nurturing and supporting our partners these days, but fear of losing our position or power can interfere now. We should do our best to resist urges to stifle, control, and manipulate loved ones. The Moon’s square to Venus in Scorpio today can complicate matters with conflicting needs for emotional freedom and intimacy.

The Moon continues its void period until 3:36 AM EDT when it enters Aquarius.

About the First Quarter Moon Phase

About the First Quarter Moon Phase

The first quarter moon is when the moon appears half lit and occurs about a week after the new moon. It is considered the halfway point between the new moon and the full moon. In previous posts I have shared how the different moon phases affect us. This post will focus on how the first quarter moon affects us physically, mentally and emotionally.

The first quarter is considered the growth period of the moon cycle. The intentions that were set during the dark moon are beginning to take shape and during this time it is common to take on more than can be done. This is a great time to take classes or learn new skills that will help you to grow and accomplish your intentions and goals. It is also a great time to connect with God/Divine/Universe/Spirit to develop a deeper connection to ourselves and the world around us.

During the first quarter moon energy is more balanced than the other moon phases and energy increases during 10am and 2pm. It is common to feel emotionally balanced and more outgoing. Dreams tend to be more realistic and less symbolic during this phase and it is common to have prophetic dreams during this time. You may notice that you lose weight during this time and have an increased thirst and/or hunger.

Take it easy on yourself during this time, plans tend to develop easily, but we can often bite off more than we can chew so it is important to create a balance between taking action and overdoing it. This is a period for growth where we begin to see the fruits of the intentions we set during the new moon.

This phase is the most rational time for women. During this time logic is appealing and they are more interested in discussing issues. For men they tend to be more exocentric during this time. This is a great time for men to focus on their job or other mundanity because this period brings along the least emotion manifested.

Astrology of Today – Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Astrology of Today – Wednesday, October 17, 2018

 

Today’s Moon:

  • The Moon is in Capricorn until 3:35 AM, after which the Moon is in Aquarius.
  • There is a void Moon until 3:35 AM (since 5:49 PM yesterday).
  • The Moon is waxing and in its First Quarter phase.
  • The First Quarter Moon occurred yesterday, and the Full Moon will occur on the 24th.

Retrogrades/Stations:

  • Venus is retrograde (Venus is retrograde from October 5th to November 16th). There’s about a month left of the retrograde Venus cycle.
  • Current retrogrades: Venus Rx, Uranus Rx, Neptune Rx, and Chiron Rx.

Your Sun & Moon Data for Wednesday, October 17th

Your Sun & Moon Data for Wednesday, October 17th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 122.22° ESE
Sun Altitude: 22.49°
Sun Distance: 92.636 million mi
Next Solstice: Dec 21, 2018 4:22 pm (Winter)
Sunrise Today: 7:04 am↑ 101° East
Sunset Today: 6:14 pm↑ 259° West
Length of Daylight: 11 hours, 10 minutes

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 57.67° ENE
Moon Altitude: -62.59°
Moon Distance: 251157 mi
Next Full Moon: Oct 24, 201811:45 am
Next New Moon: Nov 7, 201810:01 am
Next Moonrise: Today2:44 pm
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 58.1%

Source

timeanddate.com

May The Goddess Bless You & Yours This Glorious & Beautiful Wenesday Morn’!

Rose & Butterfly Celtic Blessings

Why I Love The Dark

 

Tis the coldest place imaginable,
this void within the heart,
the place most adventurers wander,
expecting to be torn apart.

Some have walked there for eternity,
seeking to find some Light,
a small glimmer or a flicker,
to end the endless night

The fowl wind howls insanity,
it passes through the body like a ghost,
the chill can freeze the very Soul,
survive if you are more skilled than most.

Despite the hideous experience,
which one encounters in the Dark,
the journey is very worth it,
make sure to leave your mark.

So listen up weary traveler,
strike with all your might,
but rejoice in the journey,
in the Dark you’ll find the Light.

 

Gerald del Campo, Author
Originally posted on Pagan Library