Choosing a Rune Set: A Beginner’s Guide

Thinking about taking up the runes? Mastery of the runes can take many years, but it is not difficult for a beginner to learn the basics. (Much as young children can quickly learn their ABCs.) The first learning tool you’ll need is a rune set of your own, to begin familiarizing yourself with this ancient system of knowledge.

First, some background: Runes are archaic European letters used in magick and divination. The best-known runic alphabet is the Elder Futhark, which contains 24 symbols.There are other rune systems, such as the Younger Futhark, Northumbrian runes, and Witches’ runes. But most of the time, when people talk about reading runes, they are referring to the Elder Futhark, which fell out of use as an alphabet around the 8th century AD.

Each rune has a threefold meaning: A phonetic sound (as a letter of the alphabet), a mundane object or action that it stands for, and a mystical or abstract significance. Rune-casting—or reading the runes—is a way to activate intuition and gather information about the past, present and future. Runic symbols have powerfully condensed meaning. Sometimes, a single letter says something that paragraphs cannot.

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A Laugh for Today

Spell for Today – A Healing Prayer

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence for Wednesday

WEDNESDAY CORRESPONDENCES

Mercury/Neptune/Air/North/West/Southwest/Female/Male/Gemini/Virgo

Magickal Intentions: Communication, Divination, Writing, Knowledge, Business Transactions, Debt, Fear, Loss, Travel, Money Matters

Color: black, light blue, brown, gray, green, magenta, orange, peach, purple, red, silver, turquoise, violet, white, yellow; orange is the primary color

Number: 3, 5

Metal: mercury

Charm: distaff, rod, runes, staff, iridescent garments

Stone: moss agate, amethyst, bloodstone, emerald, hematite, lapis lazuli, lodestone, pearl, ruby, sapphire, sodalite, all blue stones

Animal: bear, dog, fox, magpie, swan, weasel

Plant: almond, bayberry, chamomile, cherry, cinnamon, cinquefoil, clove, coltsfoot, ginger, hazel, hazelnut, jasmine, lavender, millet, oak, peppermint, periwinkle, rosemary, sage, St. John’s wort, sweet pea, tamarind, lemon verbena, violet

Incense: cassia, cedar, cinnamon, clove, frankincense, jasmine, lavender, mastic, mint, rosemary, sage, sandalwood, storax, dried and powdered citrus peel, and all incense made from aromatic bark, wood, and seeds

Goddess: Carmenta, Hecate (Queen of Crossroads), Hel, Ishtar, Ma’at, the Morrigan, Nike

God: Anubis, Bragi, Elath-Iahu. Enki, Garuda, Hermes, Maximon (Black Magician), Mercury, Nebo (Wise God of Wednesday), Odin, Shango, Ullr, Vishnu, Wayland, Woden

Evocation: Agrat Bat Mahalat, Michael, Miel, Raphael, Seraphiel, Tiriel

Source

Moonlight Musings

21 February 2023 Southern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link  

For Your Local Time and Date 

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

21 February 2023
06:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:02 Pisces 50
Moon:23 Pisces 09
Mercury:15 Aquarius 03
Venus:01 Aries 45
Mars:16 Gemini 21
Jupiter:10 Aries 16
Saturn:28 Aquarius 21
Uranus:15 Taurus 20
Neptune:24 Pisces 17
Pluto:29 Capricorn 18

True Lunar Node:06 Taurus 01 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:07 Taurus 28 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):04 Leo 57

Chiron:13 Aries 29
Ceres:05 Libra 48 Rx
Pallas:10 Cancer 34
Juno:20 Aries 02
Vesta:06 Aries 00

Eris:24 Aries 04

Fire:7
Earth:4
Air:4
Water:4
Cardinal:9
Fixed:6
Mutable:4

Southern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

21 February 2023
01:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM SAST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:02 Pisces 37
Moon:20 Pisces 04
Mercury:14 Aquarius 44
Venus:01 Aries 29
Mars:16 Gemini 17
Jupiter:10 Aries 14
Saturn:28 Aquarius 19
Uranus:15 Taurus 19
Neptune:24 Pisces 17
Pluto:29 Capricorn 17

True Lunar Node:06 Taurus 03 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:07 Taurus 28 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):04 Leo 56

Chiron:13 Aries 29
Ceres:05 Libra 50 Rx
Pallas:10 Cancer 34
Juno:19 Aries 55
Vesta:05 Aries 55

Eris:24 Aries 04

Fire:7
Earth:4
Air:4
Water:4
Cardinal:9
Fixed:6
Mutable:4

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

21 February 2023
04:00 am GMT 3:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:02 Pisces 15
Moon:14 Pisces 29
Mercury:14 Aquarius 09
Venus:01 Aries 02
Mars:16 Gemini 09
Jupiter:10 Aries 09
Saturn:28 Aquarius 17
Uranus:15 Taurus 19
Neptune:24 Pisces 16
Pluto:29 Capricorn 17

True Lunar Node:06 Taurus 06 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:07 Taurus 30 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):04 Leo 53

Chiron:13 Aries 28
Ceres:05 Libra 53 Rx
Pallas:10 Cancer 33
Juno:19 Aries 43
Vesta:05 Aries 45

Eris:24 Aries 04

Fire:7
Earth:4
Air:4
Water:4
Cardinal:9
Fixed:6
Mutable:4

A Thought for Today – Printable

A Laugh for Today and for Your Listening Pleasure

“It’s just another manic Monday…”

The Bangles – Manic Monday

Spell for Today – Gratitude Salt Spell: Attract More Good Luck in the New Moon

From Spells8.com

 

To attract luck to your life, you must vibrate in faith, joy, and gratitude. This Wiccan “Good Luck” spell was designed to attract abundance and success, whether you use it for work and career opportunities, for love and relationships or to solve money problems. If you believe in your Witch Powers and trust that your Higher Self is listening, then all the doors that are locked now, will open for you.

Why this Spell Works

Salt will be the main ingredient of this ritual and will act as a cleansing agent. Salt has traditionally been used to clear and purify negative energies. It will help bring new energies and offer protection.

Rose petals are the perfect offering for this powerful request. The rose is considered the sacred flower of the West and represents the wheel of life, a symbolism paralleled by the Lotus flower in the East. It represents the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Roman Catholicism and it has inspired writers, painters, musicians, architects, philosophers, and spiritualists for hundreds of years. Its powers of Manifestation are uniquely effective. 🌹

🌑 Cast this spell on the New Moon to welcome the lunar cycle that begins with the best intentions.

🌘 If you are casting it on the Waning Crescent Moon, focus less on attracting good luck and more in giving closure to a cycle with gratitude.

Difficulty: Easy

Attract Good Luck by promoting Gratitude with a simple candle ritual. This New Moon spell for Luck can be done really at any time and it is totally Wiccan-safe Witchcraft.

INGREDIENTS

white candle

red rose petals (dried or fresh)

Coarse salt

Dish

HOW TO CAST THE SPELL

Place the dish on your altar.

Use a handful of salt to make a protective circle on the dish.

Place 7 petals of a red rose on top of the circle of salt.

In the center of the dish, light a white candle.

Sit, breathe slowly, and relax. Visualize all the paths in your life clearing and all the doors opening for you.

When you’re ready, say this chant out loud:Gratitude Guidance Moon spell

For seven days, repeat this same ritual, using the same ingredients and candle. On the last day, let it go out on its own

Goddess of The Day – Minerva

Goddess of The Day: MINERVA

Terminalia (Rome)

Themes: Earth; Home 0

Symbols: Owl; Geranium

About Minerva: This Etruscan/Italic Goddess blended the odd attributes of being a patroness of household tasks, including arts and crafts, and also being the patroness of protection and of war. Today she joins in pre-spring festivities by helping people prepare their lands for sowing and embracing the figurative lands of our hearts, homes, and spirits with her positive energy.

To Do Today: In ancient times, this was a day to bless one’s lands and borders. Gifts of corn, honey, and wine were given to the earth and its spirits to keep the property safe and fertile throughout the year. In modern times, this equates to a Minerva-centered house blessing.

Begin by putting on some spiritually uplifting music. Burn geranium-scented incense if possible; otherwise, any pantry spice will do. Take this into every room of your home, always moving clockwise to promote positive growing energy. As you get to each room, repeat this incantation:

Minerva, protect this sacred space and all who live within. By your power and my will, the magic now begins!

Wear a geranium today to commemorate Minerva and welcome her energy into your life.

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By Patricia Telesco and GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast Archives

Witchcraft Symbols, Terms and Definitions

From thoughtcatalog.com

Sun Wheel

The sun wheel is another form of a sun cross as it is also a circle bisected by four lines. It can be used as a calendar with each section of the circle representing the time between an equinox or solstice and also represents the balance of the four seasons. This symbol is sometimes called the eight-spoked wheel.

Represents: sun, four seasons, fire, masculine energy, south.

Used in rituals for: celebrating seasons, invoking the sun.

February 20, 2023 Daily Horoscopes

Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The New Moon is in Pisces.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

You are an initiator. You love to begin or start new things. Today’s New Moon might trigger profound thoughts within you. Because you’re feeling good about your life, you might give thought to what makes everything tick.? What “cause and effect” is going on?

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

This has been a popular time for you, which makes today’s New Moon the perfect time to think about your friendships. What do your friends truly mean to you? How do you think your friends perceive you? Would you want to have you as a friend? Think about this.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

The New Moon today is at the top of your chart. This is the only time all year this happens. This means it’s the perfect time for you to think about the general direction that you are headed. For starters, are you headed where you want to go? Is where you’re headed your idea or someone else’s?

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Each New Moon is a chance to make resolutions. Today’s New Moon is your opportunity to think about what further education, training or travel would be meaningful to enrich your life. Knowledge can civilize one because it provides context.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Today’s New Moon is about money and shared finances. It’s perhaps the best day of the year for you to think about how to reduce debt and skilfully deal with shared property, taxes, insurance matters and inheritances. Don’t procrastinate. Do it.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

The only New Moon directly opposite your sign all year is taking place today. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to more objectively see your closest relationships and how they work – or not. You can also see how you can improve them – or not.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

This is the perfect day to think about how you can improve your health. Because it’s easier to stop something, than it is to start something, what harmful habits might you stop? If you have the discipline – what beneficial habits might you begin?

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Today’s New Moon is the perfect time to observe your lifestyle to see whether or not you have a healthy balance between work and play. We are a work obsessed society. Do you give yourself permission to play every day? Do you value your creative activities and talents? So many do not.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Because the New Moon each month is a chance to make resolutions, this is the perfect day for your sign to think about how you can make improvements at home. What might you do? Also, what can you do to introduce improvements in family relationships? Think about this.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Humans are gregarious creatures. We need to have contact with each other. What kind of communicator are you? Do you reach out to others, or do you wait for them to contact you? Are you clear in your communications with others? Reach out to someone today.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

This is the perfect day to think how you can take better care of what you own. First, you have to decide what is worth taking care of? Are you burdened with possessions you no longer need or want? Think about how to make your life easier through what you own.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

The only New Moon all year that takes place in your sign is happening today. Take a realistic look in the mirror and ask yourself what you can do to improve your image. Hey — you never get a second chance to make a first impression!

If Your Birthday Is Today

Singer-songwriter Rihanna (1988) shares your birthday today. You are thoughtful and sensitive. However, you are so sensitive, you often pick up the feelings and vibes of the people around you. This is a slower paced year. It’s your chance to rejuvenate your energy and focus on relationships that concentrate on your needs and bring you happiness.

February 20, 2023 Moon Goddess Current Phase

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.

From MoonGiant.com

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a New Moon phase. During this phase the Moon is too 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.

Visit the February 2023 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s New Moon Phase

The New Moon on February 20 has an illumination of 0%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On February 20 the Moon is 0.23 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

Phase Details

Phase: New Moon
Illumination: 0%
Moon Age: 0.23 days
Moon Angle: 0.54
Moon Distance: 365,686.18 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,934,442.62 km

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Useful Moon Resources

February 20, 2023 Northern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions

Scene from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglus Adams

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link  

For Your Local Time and Date 

Northwestern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Los Angeles, California, USA

February 20, 2023
11:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM PST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:02 Pisces 02
Moon:11 Pisces 22
Mercury:13 Aquarius 50
Venus:00 Aries 46
Mars:16 Gemini 04
Jupiter:10 Aries 06
Saturn:28 Aquarius 15
Uranus:15 Taurus 18
Neptune:24 Pisces 16
Pluto:29 Capricorn 16

True Lunar Node:06 Taurus 07 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:07 Taurus 30 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):04 Leo 52

Chiron:13 Aries 27
Ceres:05 Libra 54 Rx
Pallas:10 Cancer 32
Juno:19 Aries 36
Vesta:05 Aries 39

Eris:24 Aries 04

Fire:7
Earth:4
Air:4
Water:4
Cardinal:9
Fixed:6
Mutable:4

Northern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA

February 20, 2023
09:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM CST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:01 Pisces 57
Moon:10 Pisces 07
Mercury:13 Aquarius 42
Venus:00 Aries 40
Mars:16 Gemini 02
Jupiter:10 Aries 05
Saturn:28 Aquarius 15
Uranus:15 Taurus 18
Neptune:24 Pisces 15
Pluto:29 Capricorn 16

True Lunar Node:06 Taurus 08 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:07 Taurus 31 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):04 Leo 51

Chiron:13 Aries 27
Ceres:05 Libra 55 Rx
Pallas:10 Cancer 32
Juno:19 Aries 34
Vesta:05 Aries 37

Eris:24 Aries 04

Fire:7
Earth:4
Air:4
Water:4
Cardinal:9
Fixed:6
Mutable:4

Northeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

20 February 2023
02:00 pm GMT 3:00 PM CET
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:01 Pisces 39
Moon:05 Pisces 43
Mercury:13 Aquarius 15
Venus:00 Aries 19
Mars:15 Gemini 56
Jupiter:10 Aries 01
Saturn:28 Aquarius 12
Uranus:15 Taurus 18
Neptune:24 Pisces 15
Pluto:29 Capricorn 16

True Lunar Node:06 Taurus 11 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:07 Taurus 32 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):04 Leo 49

Chiron:13 Aries 26
Ceres:05 Libra 57 Rx
Pallas:10 Cancer 31
Juno:19 Aries 24
Vesta:05 Aries 29

Eris:24 Aries 04

Fire:7
Earth:4
Air:4
Water:4
Cardinal:9
Fixed:6
Mutable:4

February 20 Tody in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1792 US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance

1872 New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opens

1873 British Naval Officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and claims it for the United Kingdom

1938 UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany

1944 Battle of Eniwetok: US forces take Enewetak Atoll at the cost of 37 Americans killed or missing and 94 wounded, Japanese losses were 800 dead and 23 prisoners

1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma appointed as last viceroy of India to oversee the move to independence

1962 John Glenn becomes the 1st American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7

Today’s Historical Events

1280 Japanese Imperial Court orders all temples and shrines to pray for victory in the impending second Mongol invasion

1472 Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment

1525 Swiss & German mercenaries desert Francois I’s army

1547 King Edward VI of England crowned following the death of his father Henry VIII

1613 Gerard Reynst appointed Governor-General of Dutch East Indies

1619 Trial against Johan van Oldenbarnevelt begins in The Hague for alleged crimes against the federal government

1653 Defeat of Dutch fleet under Adm Van Tromp by Admiral Blake off Portsmouth

1673 1st recorded wine auction held in London

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1944 Batman & Robin comic strip premieres in newspapers

1952 “African Queen” film directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn is released in the US

1956 WOSU TV channel 34 in Columbus, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting

1958 Adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov”, starring Yul Brynner and featuring William Shatner‘s film debut, premieres at Radio City Music Hall, NYC

1971 National Emergency Center erroneously orders US radio & TV stations to go off the air. Mistake wasn’t resolved for 30 minutes

1978 4th People’s Choice Awards: John Wayne and Barbra Streisand (Motion Picture), and James Garner and Mary Tyler Moore (TV) win

1978 Bob Backland beats “Superstar” Billy Graham in NYC, to become WWF wrestling champion

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1724 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” premieres at the King’s Theatre in Haymarket, London

1816 Gioachino Rossini‘s comic opera “Barber of Seville” premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, Italy

1917 Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton & P.G. Wodehouse’s musical “Oh, Boy!” opens at the Princess Theatre, NYC; runs for 463 performances

1934 Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s opera “Four Saints in Three Acts” opens on Broadway at the 44th Street Theatre, NYC

1940 Larry Clinton & his Orchestra record “Limehouse Blues”

1959 Jimi Hendrix (16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle; fired from the band after the 1st set due to “wild” playing

1965 Beatles record “That Means A Lot”; unhappy with the results, it was given to P.J. Proby to record, the Beatles version was unreleased until 1996 on Anthology 2

1977 Revival of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s musical “My Fair Lady” closes at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC, after 377 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1912 Argentina beats the MCC in their inaugural 1st-class cricket fixture at the Buenos Aires Cricket Club; lose the second and third games of the series

1919 Foundation NHL club Toronto Arenas are permitted to cease operations due to financial difficulties; later become Toronto St. Patricks and then Maple Leafs

1923 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson becomes President and owner of Boston Braves; buys the team for $300,000 with NY attorney Judge Emil Fuchs and Bostonian James McDonough

1926 Montreal and Ottawa battle out just the second 0-0 tie in NHL history; dominant goalies are Clint Benedict (Maroons) and Alex Connell (Senators)

1929 Boston Red Sox announce they will play Sunday MLB games at Braves Field; Fenway Park located too close to a church

1952 American alpine skier Andrea Mead-Lawrence is only multi-gold medallist at the Oslo Winter Olympics when she wins the slalom, after taking out the inaugural giant slalom

1952 Britain’s Jeannette Altwegg wins the Olympic women’s figure skating gold medal at the Olso Winter Games ahead of American Tenley Albright, who goes on to win in Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956)

1952 Emmett Ashford is certified to be first black umpire in organised baseball; has to wait until 1966 for MLB debut