The Witches Astronomy Journal for Friday, June 22

The Witch Remembers Her Last Incarnation

I Remember, O Fire,
How thy flames once’ enkindled my flesh,
Among writing Witches caught close in the flame,
Now tortured for having beheld what secret.

But to those who saw What We Had Seen
Yea, The Fire Was Vaught.

Ah, well I Remember the buildings ablaze
With the light that our bodies had lit.
And we smiled, to behold the flames wind about us.

The faithful, among the faithless and blind
To the chanting of prayers
In the frenzy of flame
We sang Hosannas to Thee, Our Gods,
Midst the strength giving fire,
Pledged our Love to Thee from the Pyre.

–Author Unknown
Originally Published on Pagan Library

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Friday, June 22

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 44.04° NE
Sun Altitude: -15.02°
Sun Distance: 94.470 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2018 8:54 pm (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 5:35 am↑ 59° Northeast
Sunset Today: 8:17 pm↑ 301° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 42 minutes

 

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 280.83° W
Moon Altitude: -22.54°
Moon Distance: 240853 mi
Next Full Moon: Jun 27, 201811:53 pm
Next New Moon: Jul 12, 20189:47 pm
Next Moonrise: Today3:12 pm
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination:70.1%

Reference

timeanddate.com

Astrology of Today – Friday, June 22

The Moon is in Libra until 3:10 PM, after which the Moon is in Scorpio.
The Moon is void until 3:10 PM (since yesterday at 9:33 PM).
The Moon is waxing and in its First Quarter phase.
The First Quarter Moon occurred on the 20th, and the Full Moon will occur on the 27th.
Mars is in its pre-retrograde shadow (Mars will retrograde from June 26th to August 27th).

 

WHY VOID MOONS ARE COOL

I’m on a mission to change the way folks think about the Void of Course Moon. Because Void Moons are cool.

Full disclosure. I was banned from talking about Void Moons by a popular horoscope publisher for which I wrote. Not once, but twice.

The reasoning: folks who follow horoscopes aren’t sophisticated enough to understand what a Void Moon is. Ergo, best to ignore it.

Now that I’m the managing editor of Astrology Hub, I say we talk about them. Because I believe you’ll understand just fine.

And, by the time I’m done, maybe you’ll realize how they can help you. And then you’ll love them too.

Our Magical Moon
So let’s start at the beginning. Back in 200 BCE or so when the Hellenistic Greeks were inventing “horoscopic” astrology, planets, signs and houses didn’t mean exactly the same things that modern astrologers are familiar with today.

The planets were Gods. Or at least, they were avatars of the gods. According philosophers such as Plato (remember him, the fellow who wrote The Republic?), it was the planets’ job to spin out Time. They set the meter and rhythm for the dance that creates Nature in all its forms.

Of these seven “Celestial Governors” (the Greeks of course could only see seven — the Sun, Moon and the five visible planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), it was the Moon that was seen as the most Earth-like. In fact the entire natural world was also called the “sub-Lunar realm.”

Consequently, one of the Moon’s jobs was to serve as emissary for all the other planets. Since she produced no light of her own, she helped the other planets carry their light down to the physical plane. In so doing, heavenly will was made manifest. (Truly, the mistress of magic she was!)

When those early Greek astrology innovators envisioned a system of 12 houses, each of the seven planets took their “joy” in one of them. The Moon’s Joy was the Third house — which became known as the “House of the Moon Goddess.”

(And here you probably thought that the Third House was the house of messages and messengers because of Mercury (or Gemini). Nope. It’s because it’s the Moon’s Joy. If you’re eager to delve deeper into the planetary joys, I suggest Chris Brennan’s recent scholarly paper on the subject.)

What’s a Void of Course?
There’s a reason for all this backstory. It’s to help you understand what a Void Moon actually represents.

So, let’s imagine the Moon performing her duties, pouring the planetary rays down to the Earth. She makes a trip around the solar Zodiac every 27 -1/4 days (called a sidereal month). That means approximately every 2- 1/3 days she enters a new Zodiac sign.

Along her trek across a sign, Luna aligns with some of the other planets. Astrologers call these aspects, which derives from a Latin word that means “to see” or “to behold.” The aspects they believed most aligned with the perfectly mathematical symmetries of the divine mind are conjunctions, sextiles, squares, trines and oppositions; we call these Ptolemaic aspects.

Once the Moon has made the last Ptolemaic aspect to a visible planet within a Zodiac sign, she’s called “Void of Course.” She’s traveling along with an empty mail bag, so to speak, with no other heavenly missives to deliver — until she enters the next sign that is.

So, the Moon turns Void of Course once every 2-1/4 days. Void periods of a few minutes to a few hours are not uncommon. Void Moons of a half-day or more are rare. The longest Void Moon I’ve ever seen was almost 48 hours — we may only see a few of those a decade.

Why You Should Care
Void of Course Moons (that’s VC for short) are marked on astrological calendars for a reason.

If you have a magical bone in your body, you’ll want to pay attention.

Since the planets’ light is what gives Divine “Oomphiness” to creation, a Void Moon is akin to a celestial lacuna. A trough between the waves on the cosmic ocean.

In a sense, Void Moons are like the Moon’s equivalent of a retrograde. Of course, the Moon can’t actually retrograde. (It would be a very bad day for all earthlings if it did.) But it carries a similar tone — one of Nature’s built-in times for reflection and consideration.

By now I hope you can see where I’m going with this…

Traditionally speaking, Void Moon’s are a lousy time to make magic. That’s because your undertaking won’t get the usual energetic boost from the Moon’s translated planetary light. Workings tend to fizzle before coming to fruition. They just run out of gas.

By modern analogy, that means Void Moons aren’t the optimal time for starting a new project. A new relationship. A new anything really.

However, Void Moons are an excellent opportunity to do some Deep Work. Without the typical frenetic planetary buzz, things are just a little quieter. You can spend hours working on one of your existing projects with fewer distractions.

Void Moons are also amazing times to commune with the deeper forces of the psyche. Energies turn inward toward the movements of soul and spirit. We meditate. Float. Or just sleep and rejuvenate.

See, what did I tell you? Void Moons are cool.

How to Find Void of Course Moon Times
I mark all the really long Void Moons on my own calendar. I know my phone will ring less, and my inbox won’t fill up quite so fast. Therefore, I can more easily slip away and get some amazingly productive work done on projects that require my undivided attention.

I bet you want to know when the next Void of Course Moon times are for yourself…

As I mentioned, most Astrological calendars will have them listed — including the Astrology Hub Planning Calendar. (Sign up for the Astrology Hub email newsletter, and it’s yours free.)

If you don’t have a calendar easily accessible, just Google “Void of Course Moon Tables” for the month or year you need. There will always be several websites with tables available.

And, yes, there’s an app for this, too. Several in fact. Search for “Void of Course Moon app” and see what strikes your fancy. (Or, if folks leave a comment below, maybe I’ll write a post on my favorite Moon smartphone apps.)

So, have I changed your mind? See I told you — Void Moons are cool.

Reference:

Donna Woodwell, Author
Published on Astrology Hub

Moon in Libra

Creating order is the focus, not necessarily through tidying or organizing as was the case while the Moon was in Virgo, but rather through pleasing interactions with others and aesthetics in our environment. We tend to solve problems through diplomacy, and we are more able to put aside our own emotions in order to achieve the peace we crave. The tendency now is to avoid direct confrontations. Decisions do not come easily. Seeing both sides to any given situation is the main reason for hesitation. Fear of losing others’ approval is another.

The Moon in Libra generally favors the following activities: Relationship and partnership issues, activities involving teamwork and cooperation, activities that involve self-examination, activities related to beauty.

A Look At Your Planets And Stars for Friday, June 22

The Moon continues its transit of Libra until 3:11 PM EDT, after which the Moon moves through Scorpio. With the Moon in Libra, we tend to weigh all our options, while under the influence of the Scorpio Moon, we’re more deliberate and decided.

We move towards a sextile between the Sun and Uranus, exact early tomorrow, which encourages us to focus on making improvements and progress today. We’re embracing new and unfamiliar circumstances, ideas, and situations, and seeking out creative solutions to problems. Flexibility is the key to success under this creative, adaptive, and innovative influence.

Even so, we’re also heading towards a Mercury-Pluto opposition, and there can be some mental agitation and a tendency to seek out uncomfortable truths at all costs. However, if we can harness this investigative energy in positive ways, we can develop strategies to get to the bottom of a matter.

The Moon is void until it enters Scorpio today at 3:11 PM EDT.

The sky this week for June 22 to 24

Saturn approaches peak visibility, Neptune reverses course, and the Summer Triangle dominates the night sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Friday, June 22

Mars rises shortly after 11 p.m. local daylight time and climbs nearly 30° high in the south by the time morning twilight starts to paint the sky. Although it is still more than a month away from its late July opposition, the Red Planet appears noticeably brighter than it did just a week ago. Shining at magnitude –1.9, it is the third-brightest point of light in the night sky after Venus and Jupiter. If you point a telescope toward Mars this morning, you’ll see its 19″-diameter disk and perhaps some subtle surface features — though many of these may be obscured by the planet’s major ongoing dust storm.

Saturday, June 23

The waxing gibbous Moon passes near Jupiter tonight. From North America, the two were closest this afternoon (when they were below the horizon), though they remain within 5° of each other after darkness falls. Despite Luna’s brilliance dominating the scene, you should have little trouble picking out the magnitude –2.4 planet to its lower right. The best time to observe Jupiter through a telescope is when the Moon doesn’t lie so close. This week, the gas giant spans 42″ and displays a wealth of detail in its cloud tops.

Sunday, June 24

The conspicuous Summer Triangle asterism dominates the eastern sky in late evening. Vega, the triangle’s brightest member, shines at magnitude 0.0 and stands highest of the three stars. To its lower left lies Deneb; at magnitude 1.3, it’s the faintest of the trio. Magnitude 0.8 Altair completes the bright asterism. Despite its name, the Summer Triangle appears prominent from late spring until winter begins.

Reference

The Astronomy Magazine

In the Sky This Month

The planets seem especially busy this month, highlighting both morning and evening skies. Venus reigns as the Evening Star, and points out some interesting sights in Gemini and Cancer during the month. Saturn puts in its best showing of the year, with Jupiter just past its best. And Mars climbs inexorably across the sky, toward its best appearance next month.

June 22: Moon and Companions
The Moon and two bright lights form a wide, flat triangle tonight. The bright planet Jupiter is to the lower left of the Moon at nightfall, with Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, about the same distance to the lower right of the Moon.

June 23: Moon and Jupiter
Brilliant Jupiter stands to the lower right of the Moon as night falls. Although it looks like a bright star, it’s actually the largest planet in the solar system. It is about 11 times Earth’s diameter and more than 300 times Earth’s mass.

June 24: Saturn at Opposition
The planet Saturn is low in the southeast as night falls, and looks like a bright star. Its luster is dimmed by the gibbous Moon, far to Saturn’s upper right. Even so, Saturn outshines all but a few other objects in the night sky, so it’s hard to miss.

June 25: Moon and Antares
Antares, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, is not far to the lower right of the almost-full Moon at nightfall. Antares is near the middle of the curved body of Scorpius, which is in the south-southeast.

June 26: Delphinus
Delphinus, the dolphin, glides through the Milky Way on summer evenings. Tonight it rises not long after sunset and arcs high overhead. Look for it below the Summer Triangle, which is well up in the east a couple of hours after darkness falls.

June 27: More Saturn at Opposition
Saturn lines up opposite the Sun today, so it rises at sunset and is in view all night. A planet is closest to Earth at opposition, so it shines brightest for the year. Tonight, Saturn will stick close to the Moon.

June 28: Colorful Arcturus
Arcturus, the leading light of Bootes, the herdsman, stands high in the south as twilight turns to darkness. It is the brightest true star in the sky during the evening hours, so it’s hard to miss. It shines yellow-orange.

Reference

StarDate

Your Daily Cosmic Calendar for June 22

With the lunar orb in Libra continuing a void cycle until the moon enters Scorpio (12:12pm), revelations about solving major problems can occur around the time of a significant Mercury-Pallas conjunction at 19 degrees of Cancer (2:32am). Use strategic thinking to look back at your ancestral heritage and past events with an eye for uncovering long-buried truths. In addition, subjects that inspire women are particularly energized as Ceres in Leo and Vesta in Sagittarius form a harmonious trine (10:54am). Once the moon is transiting through the highly psychic eighth sign of the zodiac, learn more about the secret teachings of ancient cultures and civilizations. Don your Sherlock Holmes disguise as detective skills are reinforced during a trine between the moon and the sun in Cancer (2:51pm). Don’t be surprised if ingenious ideas flourish in your thought process this evening as the sun makes a supportive, 60-degree alliance to lightning-like prognosticator Uranus (10:59pm).

[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 Friday, June 22

Waxing Gibbous
80%

Tomorow 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 “gibbosus” meaning humpbacked.

PHASE DETAILS FOR – FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2018
Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 71%
Moon Age: 9.44 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 383,814.90 km
Sun Angle: 0.52
Sun Distance: 152,046,879.19 km

Reference:

MoonGiant.com

About The Waxing Gibbous Moon

 

This intermediate Moon phase starts after the First Quarter Moon and lasts until the Full Moon.

50.1% to 99.9% Illuminated

Just after the First Quarter Moon, when we can see exactly half of the face of the Moon illuminated, the intermediate phase called Waxing Gibbous Moon starts.

Waxing means that it is getting bigger. Gibbous refers to the shape, which is less than the full circle of a Full Moon, but larger than the semicircle shape of the Moon at Third Quarter.

With some exceptions, the Waxing Gibbous Moon rises during the day, after noon. It is usually visible in the evening and sets after midnight.

During this period, the lit up portion of the Moon increases from 50.1% to 99.9%.

Technically, this phase lasts until the moment of Full Moon. However, it can be difficult to differentiate the last stage of a Waxing Gibbous Moon from a Full Moon when as much as 98% to 99% of the Moon’s surface is illuminated.

Sun Lights Up the Moon
The Moon does not radiate its own light, but the Moon’s surface reflects the Sun’s rays. Half of the Moon’s surface is always illuminated by direct sunlight, except during lunar eclipses when Earth casts its shadow on the Moon. Just how much of that light we can see from Earth varies every day, and we refer to this as a Moon phase.

Primary and Intermediate Moon Phases
In Western culture, we divide the lunar month into 4 primary and 4 intermediate Moon phases.

The Moon phases start with the invisible New Moon. The first visible Moon phase is the thin sliver of a Waxing Crescent Moon. Around a week later, half of the Moon’s surface is illuminated at First Quarter Moon.

The illuminated part continues to grow into a Waxing Gibbous Moon, until 14 to 15 days into the cycle, we see the entire face of the Moon lit up at Full Moon.

The illuminated part then gradually shrinks into a Waning Gibbous Moon, and when it reaches Third Quarter, the opposite half from the First Quarter is illuminated. From there, it fades into a Waning Crescent Moon. Finally, the Moon disappears completely from view into another New Moon phase, only to reemerge and repeat this cycle over and over.

Same Phase Looks Different
Moon phases are the same all over the world. The same percentage and area of the Moon are illuminated no matter where on Earth you are. However, the Moon is rotated in different ways depending on the time, the date, your location, and the Moon’s position in the sky. Therefore, the illuminated part of a Waxing Gibbous Moon can appear on the left, the right, the top, or the bottom.

The line–or curve–dividing the illuminated and dark parts of the Moon is called the terminator. The terminator of a Waxing Gibbous Moon can be on the right side, the left, the top, or the bottom.

Source

timeanddate.com

Planetary Positions for the Rest of 2018

 

Jun 21, 2018 6:07 AM Sun enters Cancer
Jul 22, 2018 5:00 PM Sun enters Leo
Aug 23, 2018 12:08 AM Sun enters Virgo
Sep 22, 2018 9:54 PM Sun enters Libra
Oct 23, 2018 7:22 AM Sun enters Scorpio
*** Daylight Saving Time ends ***
Nov 22, 2018 4:01 AM Sun enters Sagittarius
Dec 21, 2018 5:23 PM Sun enters Capricorn

 

 

Oh, how true it is,

I AM HOME!

Blessed Be To Our Almighty Mother & Divine Goddess,

Love you,

Lady A

 

Good morning, my sweets! Yes, it is really me, Lady A. Been a while, huh? I can tell you right now, I haven’t been having a ton of fun either. But we won’t go into that right now. We won’t be with you on this wonderful & blessed Summer Solstice this year. We are currently on our way back to Western Kentucky. We have been up in Eastern Kentucky for a day or two. I wanted to visit some family up there. I also wanted to take a spiritual break, get my head back on straight (you know hospitals mess with your head?) and talk to a few Elder witches up there. We had a good time and enjoyed the visit. We will be back later on this afternoon. Tomorrow, we are going to rest up, maybe! Then Friday, we will be back in full force and I am not planning on anymore hospital visits for a while. I am going to start eating a bushel of apples a day. You know an apple a day keeps the doctor away (keep your brooms crossed, lol!).

 

I also want to thank everyone for your prayers, your energy, your love, and your donations. I really can never, ever thank you enough for everything you have done for me. Like I have always said you are the best family a witch could ever want. From the bottom of heart, thank you and my love for you is so deep and boy did I miss the hell out of you. It is good to be back amongst family and what a family it is.

 

Now for our gift to you…..We have opened the store back up. Magickal Necessities is now up and running again. Unfortunately it had to be rebuilt because I had the cost charged to one of my credit cards and when I was in the hospital it was sort of declined. It seems you don’t make payments on those things that tends to happen. Joseph has worked his fingers to the bone. Jacob brought a laptop to the hospital and when I felt like it I worked on it off line and then they uploaded it to the store. This new store will carry only merchandise and products made in the U. S. A.  We have tons of new items. It is amazing how fast the new comes in and out the old goes. But it is our gift to you this Solstice Day. We worked hard to get it ready to open it this day. Opening a store on such a wonderful day as today means only success can come. Now back to the merchandise, the prices are reasonable, top quality. We are also carrying several items that you won’t find on other stores on the net. So please, since this is the longest day, take a moment to check it out.  If you thumb through the pages and don’t see what you want, let us know, we will get it for you.

 

We are getting ready to leave up here now. We will be resting up tomorrow (maybe) and we will see you Friday. I promise you that. I have been gone way too long that is for sure. Remember one thing, I thought of each of you every day I was out. I missed you and most of all I love each and everyone of you.

 

May Our Almighty Goddess Bless You On This Glorious Litha,

Love ya, my sweets,

Lady A

 

You’ve shopped the rest, now shop the best….

Visit the new Magickal Necessities today!

Message from Jacob:

 

I promised I would get the site up-dated yesterday like my mother does but I didn’t. I am sorry for that. Just as I started to try to track down all the books she uses, the phone rang. It was the hospital or my uncle calling. It scared me at first, then he told me mom was beginning to wake up. She is in ICU and you can only see her for so many minutes every 4 hours. I dropped everything and went straight to the hospital. But the time I got there, the visiting time was up. I had to wait 2 1/2 more hours to see her but I didn’t care. I have come to decide the Lady A(as you know her) was meant to be the mother I was suppose to have all along. I know that might seem horrible to say about my first mother but Lady A has a loving glow about her. She never thought twice what was going to happen to my brother and myself after our mother was killed in the car wreck. She told us, not to worry, we belonged to her now. I have grown up with Lady A always around and thought of her as my second mother. I never really knew what a deep connection we would come to form. She is loving, she is caring, she wants you to experience the world as she experiences it. She wants you to see the world through her eyes. In what little time, we have been with her, we have learned a lot and we love her very deeply. I cannot imagine anything happening to her. I pray and pray please don’t take her away too.

 

When it was time to visit, my uncle and I went in together (only two visitors at a time). She asked my uncle if he would mind leaving, she wanted to talk to me. She reached for my hand and I took her hand. She patted the bed for me to sit down and I did. She started to talk about how she had grown to love my brother and I. She wanted me to know how she felt about both of us in case anything happened. I stopped her and told her she wasn’t going any where. We were meant to be family and I saw that now. But she told me, “Jacob, you have to prepare yourself in case something does happen.” I told her I wasn’t listening to it. She was getting out of the hospital and going to make a full recovery. I told her she had a lot to look forward to and never forget it. The cabin being rebuilt for one thing. All of us finally getting to go home and live a happy life before the fire. I don’t know if she heard all of what I had to say because she is still pretty drugged up. She did ask if the doctors had took out her spleen while she was in surgery. I told her no and that upset her. I tried to explain to her what kind of life she would have if they did. I told her I had did some research and found out about it. There would be no existence for her if she had that done. I also told her we were trying to raise the money to get the first treatment of the medicine she needed raised. She asked if I knew how expensive that would be. That upset me, I lend over the bed and told her, “do you think I care, there is no price I can put on your life, none. Get that through your thick skull. You are my mother and I be damned if I am going to lose you.” She smiled and went back out. The doctors are suppose to start easing up on the strong pain medicine today. If things keep going the way they are she should be out on the floor by Tuesday. I just want to keep her spirits up right now.

We have had two sizable donations come in and I deeply appreciate them. I found a pharmacy company that if you make an attempt to purchase the first round of medicine and can prove you can’t afford your medicine, they will supply the rest of it at no cost. We are a little ways off from being able to pay for that first bottle. I believe we won’t have a problem proving we can’t afford the rest especially at $738 a bottle, who could. Your donations are an answer to my prayers. You don’t know how the thought of losing mom has haunted me for the last few days. I couldn’t go through it. Again, I am not asking for money, I am begging for my mother’s life.

 

Thank you for giving my mother a fighting chance,

Jacob

i will eventually make an account of my own instead of using Mom’s all the time, maybe. If she passes, I won’t need to because I will never be back on this site again.

 

I was getting ready to update the site like Mom does every month. She ain’t here this month, I figured I would try to do it for her. Then I read Eleanor’s post. All Eleanor knows how to do is scream and shout and call people names and get angry. She doesn’t relay any of the facts to anyone. She just screams and is angry. I can understand her anger, I am angry too. I might lose another mother in little over a year. Mom is back in the hospital again. She seems to be sicker now than she was before. There was some complications with the hernia surgery. The doctors had to go back in and repair something, I don’t know what. While they were doing surgery, the one surgeon told us he had thought about going ahead and removing Mom’s spleen. I have read up on that and Mom wouldn’t have any quality of life after that.

My uncle is back in the picture again. He told Eleanor he didn’t give a damn what she said, he was going to be beside Kit one way or the other. He is the only one that knew Mom’s family’s health history. Come to find out all the problems she is having run throughout her family. They are all hereditary diseases.

Perhaps the medicine Eleanor keeps hollering about, you think is $50 or $60 a bottle. It isn’t, it is more like $738.00 a bottle. It isn’t cheap and it might as well be a million dollars to a kid like me. All I can do is hope and pray for a miracle or else watch my mother slowly slip from this life. I can’t stand to lose another mother. Watching her slowly wither away from this life to the next, I keep praying for that miracle. But if she should pass, I don’t even want to go there.

Now you know what Eleanor should have told you to start with instead of getting mad and screaming and shouting at everyone.

 

Sincerely,

Lady A’s son,
Jacob

 

So far we have had one donation to save my mother’s life and that was from Lady Beltane and Coven Life. I am not asking for money, I am asking for my mother’s life to be saved.

The Wisdom of Buddha

To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

Hooded Crows appear to be wearing the latest in vests, found in the UK.