Day: May 25, 2023

International Towel Day 2023: Dates, History and Significance

I do not know how many of you are a fan of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but it is one of my all-time favorite books. The movie is ok but, in my opinion, it does not do justice to Douglas Adams classic story. I had no idea there was or is a television series based on the book.

Anyway, today is TOWEL DAY!

International Towel Day 2023: Dates, History and Significance

Why do you need a towel? The towel is said to play an important role in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The day has become a sort of ”nerd holiday” over time due to its association with the popular television series.

Towel Day on May 25 is an annual celebration created by Douglas Adams’s admirers in his honour. Adams is the author of the classic science fiction novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” This day was created in his honour after he died of a cardiac attack at the age of 49. His fans desired a means to commemorate his life’s work, and after one successful towel day, it became an annual event. On this particular day, fans tote towels wherever they go.

HISTORY OF TOWEL DAY

Towel Day is observed on May 25, two weeks after Adams’s passing on May 11, 2001. The day has become a sort of ”nerd holiday” over time due to its association with the popular television series.

Why do you need a towel? The towel is said to play an important role in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Adams described towels as the most useful item for interstellar travellers. In chapter three of the book, he writes, “According to the book, a towel is the single most useful item for an interstellar voyager.

Adams’s most important piece of advice was, “Never leave home without a towel.” This day has been observed for the past 19 years and is a great opportunity for science fiction fans from around the globe to celebrate… with their towels. It is said that Adams was a humorous author and witty individual, and that this day commemorates his endearing foolishness.

5 FACTS ABOUT DOUGLAS ADAMS

An asteroid bears his name

In 2001, the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research initiative discovered click here to read the rest of this article

Moon’s Current Phase and Northern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions

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 Waxing Crescent Phase. Best seen in the west after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. This is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon’s surface. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

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

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on May 25 has an illumination of 30%. 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 May 25 the Moon is 5.47 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: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 30%
Moon Age: 5.47 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 405,406.05 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,537,476.78 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

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

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

This local time is in Los Angeles, California, USA

May 25, 2023
11:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM PDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:04 Gemini 29
Moon:16 Leo 06
Mercury:10 Taurus 09
Venus:19 Cancer 31
Mars:03 Leo 03
Jupiter:02 Taurus 05
Saturn:06 Pisces 47
Uranus:19 Taurus 52
Neptune:27 Pisces 20
Pluto:00 Aquarius 14 Rx

True Lunar Node:03 Taurus 34 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:02 Taurus 32 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):15 Leo 24

Chiron:18 Aries 34
Ceres:25 Virgo 01
Pallas:09 Leo 46
Juno:14 Gemini 00
Vesta:18 Taurus 01

Eris:25 Aries 00

Fire:6
Earth:7
Air:3
Water:3
Cardinal:3
Fixed:11
Mutable:5

Northern Hemisphere

This local time is in Chicago, Illinois, USA

May 25, 2023
09:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM CDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:04 Gemini 24
Moon:15 Leo 07
Mercury:10 Taurus 05
Venus:19 Cancer 26
Mars:03 Leo 00
Jupiter:02 Taurus 04
Saturn:06 Pisces 47
Uranus:19 Taurus 52
Neptune:27 Pisces 20
Pluto:00 Aquarius 14 Rx

True Lunar Node:03 Taurus 34 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:02 Taurus 32 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):15 Leo 23

Chiron:18 Aries 34
Ceres:25 Virgo 00
Pallas:09 Leo 44
Juno:13 Gemini 57
Vesta:17 Taurus 59

Eris:24 Aries 59

Fire:6
Earth:7
Air:3
Water:3
Cardinal:3
Fixed:11
Mutable:5

Northeastern Hemisphere

This local time is in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

25 May 2023
02:00 pm GMT 4:00 PM CEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:04 Gemini 07
Moon:11 Leo 39
Mercury:09 Taurus 52
Venus:19 Cancer 08
Mars:02 Leo 50
Jupiter:02 Taurus 00
Saturn:06 Pisces 46
Uranus:19 Taurus 51
Neptune:27 Pisces 20
Pluto:00 Aquarius 14 Rx

True Lunar Node:03 Taurus 35 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:02 Taurus 33 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):15 Leo 21

Chiron:18 Aries 33
Ceres:24 Virgo 58
Pallas:09 Leo 36
Juno:13 Gemini 47
Vesta:17 Taurus 51

Eris:24 Aries 59

Fire:6
Earth:7
Air:3
Water:3
Cardinal:3
Fixed:11
Mutable:5

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Thursday

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY COROSPONDENCES POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER)

Thursday

Thursday (Thor’s day)

Planet: Jupiter

Colors: Purple, Deep Blue

Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Tin

Aroma: Melissa, Clove, Oakmoss, Jupiter Oil, Cinnamon, Musk, Nutmeg, and Sage

Herb: Cinquefoil Ruled by the planet Jupiter and dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas.

Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.

Thursday is the day of Jupiter, the largest of the planets and said to be the most powerful. Spellcasters would be wise to use this day for attempting wealth, success and prosperity spells.

Thursday is also associated (in Greek mythology) to Thor – Thor’s day – and some even say that Jupiter and Thor are one in the same. Both are strong and powerful, yet wise and just. Try a small prayer to Jupiter before commencing any ritual on Thursday as a sign of respect. This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving luck, happiness, health, legal matters, male fertility, treasure, wealth, honour, riches, clothing, money, desires, business, group pursuits, joy, laughter, and expansion.