Author: ladyoftheabyss

The Pagan Book of Days for Wednesday, January 25th

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The Pagan Book of Days for Wednesday, January 25th

Old Disting/Burns’ Night/St. Paul’s Day

Important in old runic calendars, Disting is the feast of the Disir, the Norse guardian goddesses. On this day a major festival of the gods was held at the temple in Uppsala, Sweden. Burns’ Night celebrates Robert Burns, the Scots poet. Burns’ Night revels are a modern continuation of Disting. The day is also a weather marker:

If St. Paul’s Day be fair and clear,
It do betide a happy year.
But if it chance to snow or rain,
Then will be dear all kinds of grain.
If clouds or mists do dark the sky,
Great store of birds and beasts will die.
And if the winds do bly aloft;
Then wars shall vex the kingdom oft.

If it should thunder on St. Paul’s Day, great winds are predicted.

Source

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

On Wednesday, January 25th, We Celebrate….

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On Wednesday, January 25th, We Celebrate….

Vietnamese New Year
MOTHER OF TEN THOUSAND THINGS

Theme: Luck

Symbol: Any Lucky Token

About the mother: This goddess represents the unknowable and uncontrollable things we face daily. In Indo-Chinese tradition, she is part of the Universe’s ebb and flow, ever changing and ever the same. Turn to her when you feel as if ten thousand things in your life were up in the air.
To Do Today: Take out any item that you associate with good fortune. Name it after the one area of your life in which you need more luck (naming something designates its purpose and powers). Hold the token to the night sky (symbolic of the Universe’s vastness), saying,

Mother, see this symbol of my need.
Empower it with your fortunate influence to fill my year with _____ [fill in with the name of your token].

Carry this with you as often as possible to manifest that energy in your life.

In Vietnam, this holiday, known as Tet, is filled with ceremonies for luck over several days, including an offering to the goddess and ancestors to give good fortune a boost. Eating rice today invokes the spirit of prosperity. Or you can try a traditional divinatory activity instead. Make note of the name of the first person you meet today. If the name has an auspicious meaning (check a baby-name book), your meeting presages a wonderful year filled with the Mother’s serendipity.


365 Goddess: A Daily Guide To the Magic and Inspiration of the goddess
Patricia Telesco

Today is Wednesday, January 25th

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Today is Wednesday, January 25th

 

Wednesday is the day of the Teutonic deity known as Wodin or Odin, an aspect of the Allfather, god of knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment and combat, the parallel of Hermes, the planet Mercury.

Deity: Woden

Zodiac Sign: Gemini & Virgo

Planet: Mercury

Tree: Ash

Herb: Cinquefoil

Stone: Emerald & Sardonyx

Animal: Raven & Cat

Element: Air

Color: Red & Blue

Number: 6

Rune: Odal(O)

 

Celtic Tree Month of Luis (Rowan) – January 21 – February 17

The Runic Half Month of Peorth (womb, dice cup) January 13 – 27

Goddess of the Month of Bridhe – January 22 – February 19th

 

Source

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

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Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Wednesday, January 25th

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Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Wednesday, January 25th

 

The Sun

Sun Direction: ↑ 155.73° SSE

Sun Altitude: 30.42°

Sun Distance: 91.523 million mi

Next Equinox: Mar 20, 2017 5:28 am (Vernal)

Sunrise Today: 7:02 am↑ 113° Southeast

Sunset Today: 5:12 pm↑ 247° West

Length of Daylight: 10 hours, 10 minutes

 

The Moon

Moon Direction: ↑ 188.09° S

Moon Altitude: 32.88°

Moon Distance: 247256 mi

Next New Moon: Jan 27, 20176:07 pm

Next Full Moon: Feb 10, 20176:32 pm

Next Moonset: Today3:21 pm

Current Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

Illumination: 5.5%

 

Source

 

timeanddate.com

Good Wednesday Morning To All Our Dear Brothers & Sisters of the Craft! Have A Very Blessed Day!

Goddess 3Oh, If Belief Was Wind

If Belief was wind, dreams would be fulfilled;
not a tear shall stain a cheek to blush,

If belief was wind, hearts would mend anew;
no pain will crease thy mouth to frown;

If belief was wind, eyes be clear to see;
no burdens alight the shoulders to slump,

If belief was wind, ears bear the good news;
no worries of illfate or hurt drag all down,

If belief was wind, clear is the head to think;
all that is of experience be not pain by Love,

If belief was wind, it comes from everywhere, never lost;
all may drink of its well and be satisfied anew forever,

If belief was wind, may we all believe the truth
all around us, through us, it is us, it is God, believe…

—GentleMountainLion
Originally published on PaganLibrary

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‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for January 24th

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
We have to believe that the courage to do the impossible is possible. We have to have courage before we give up, thinking we are always going to be in the middle of difficult situations.

Lasting courage comes by refusing to judge everything by appearances and by hearsay. The world is rife with rumors about anything and everything. Those who never intend to do anything of consequence will tell us how bad things are and how much worse it is going to get.

Others will take heart and ride out the storm. There may not be any signs that promise better times, but there is that glimmer of inner-light, that knowledge that those who make it are the ones that kept going when everyone said it couldn’t be done.

If we can bear defeat and not lose heart, we will know it was no defeating life, but only one small part that went awry.

 

_____________________________________________________

Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org

 

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – January 24

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – January 24

“Always listen to what the Elders say.”

–Dona Josefa Medrano, HUICHOL, SIERRA MADRE, MEXICO

In school we have been taught to go to the encyclopedia when we need information about certain subjects. From the time we are little, we have a natural tendency to seek out role models. When we need information about living we tend to seek out books about living. These maybe self help books. The world is full of information. For the Native people, we have our Elders. All races have Elders. Our lives will run much smoother when we listen to the Elders. They don’t always tell us what we want to hear but they always tell us what we need to hear. The Elders have the ability to make the truth sweet.

Creator, thank You for the Elders. Help me this day to listen to them.

January 24 – Daily Feast

January 24 – Daily Feast
Volume II

Homecoming is not just a certain hour but a feeling, an attitude, an an na li – a friend. One phase of the day has been completed, so now back to the reasons for it – home. Home with its familiar fragrances, its lighted warmth and peace of mind. At least, home ought to be this way – though it isn’t always. Too little time, too much weariness, too many complaints. Too little, too late, too bad. Real homecoming is a state of mind. Someone needs to be comforted, someone needs a gentle touch, someone needs to think of others. It may not be perfect, but working together makes homecoming a celebration.

~ Do not touch the money of the white man or his clothes. We do not fight for these things. The Seminole is fighting for his hunting grounds. ~

OSCEOLA – SEMINOLE CHIEF

“A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II” by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

The Daily Motivator for Jan. 24th – Work where you are

Work where you are

by Ralph Marston

You don’t need a particular setup to do good work. You just need to do it.

You don’t need conditions to be perfect to make progress. Any situation, any condition, is an opportunity.

Work where you are, with what you have, no matter what has happened. Whether your tools are old or new, whether resources are abundant or scarce, what matters most is what you do.

Your best work might very well be done during the most challenging times. For those times will drive you, inspire you, make you more determined to create value.

If you’re waiting for things to be perfect, stop waiting and start working. Even with all its flaws, you have this moment, so use it.

Whatever else this day may hold, it holds for you the opportunity to make a difference. Stop waiting, stop wishing, stop wondering and start working to get it done.

© 2017 Ralph S. Marston, Jr.
From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/motivate/170124.html

Daily OM for Tuesday, January 24th – Things that Annoy Us

Things that Annoy Us

by Madisyn Taylor

 

There will always be factors and people that we cannot control; how we respond can determine the quality of our lives.

There are many stories of spiritual masters embracing the presence of an annoying student in their community. There is even one story that documents a teacher paying an irritating person to live among his students. From an everyday perspective, this is difficult to comprehend. We generally work hard to avoid people and things that we find annoying so they don’t bother us.

From a deeper spiritual perspective, however, irritation can be an important teacher and indicator that we are making progress on our path. Being able to remain centered and awake even when we feel uncomfortable is much more impressive than doing so in an environment where everything is to our liking. No matter how good we are at controlling our circumstances, there will always be factors and people that we cannot control. How we respond to these experiences to a great degree determines the quality of our lives. The goal of spiritual development is not to learn to control our environment–which is more of an ego-driven desire. And while having some measure of control over our external reality is important, it is when we are confronted with a person or situation that irritates us and we can choose not to react that we know have made progress spiritually. It is when we have mastered our internal reality that we will have become the masters of our lives.

The more we try to eliminate annoyances, instead of learning to handle them gracefully, the further we get from developing the qualities that come with spiritual growth, such as patience, tolerance, and acceptance. It is often in the presence of people and experiences we find annoying that we have an opportunity to develop these qualities. Fortunately for most of us, our lives offer an abundance of opportunities to practice and cultivate these traits.

Source
Daily OM

Astronomy Picture of the Day – Orion Dust Reflections

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2017 January 24

M78 and Orion Dust Reflections
Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Burali, Tiziano Capecchi, Marco Mancini (MTM observatory, Italy)

 

Explanation: In the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured here are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas – dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded stars. The more famous nebula is M78, in the image center, cataloged over 200 years ago. To its left is the lesser known NGC 2071. Astronomers continue to study these reflection nebulas to better understand how interior stars form. The Orion complex lies about 1500 light-years distant, contains the Orion and Horsehead nebulas, and covers much of the constellation of Orion.

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Earth Sky News for Tuesday, January 24th: Asteroid to pass between Earth and moon

Asteroid to pass between Earth and moon

By in Space | January 24, 2017

It’ll be Tuesday night or Wednesday, depending on your time zone. Asteroid 2017 BX – found just days ago – is maybe about as big as a house.

An asteroid designated 2017 BX – found just days ago, on January 20 – will pass between the Earth and moon on late Tuesday night according to clocks in the Americas, early Wednesday morning according to clocks in Europe and Africa and Wednesday afternoon for Asia. Closest approach is 11:45 ET on January 24, 2017 (04:45 UTC on January 25; translate to your time zone). It’ll come within 0.68 lunar distances, or about 162,252 miles (261,120 km). This is the second time in just three weeks that a small asteroid will pass between our Earth and moon.

The asteroid’s estimated size is between 13 and 46 feet (4 and 14 meters). It’s Apollo-class asteroid, that is, an asteroid with an orbit that crosses Earth’s orbit.

At the time of its closest approach to Earth, its estimated velocity is 4.62 miles per second (7.44 km/s).

Slooh will broadcast about this asteroid, beginning at 5 p.m. ET (22:30 UTC; translate to your time zone). Slooh says that asteroid 2017 BX has been nicknamed:

… Rerun in honor of the beloved, late actor Fred Berry.

Click here to watch Slooh’s show

2017 BX was first observed at Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala on January 20, 2017.

The next time this object will close to Earth will be on January 12, 2070, when it’ll pass 37.9 lunar distances away.

Bottom line: Asteroid 2017 BX – found just days ago – will pass between the Earth and moon tonight or Wednesday according to your time zone. Closest approach is 11:45 ET on January 24, 2017 (04:45 UTC for January 25; translate to your time zone).

 

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.

Article published on EarthSky