Weekday ruled by Venus: Friday
Stones: Rose Quartz, moonstone, Pink tourmaline, peridot, emerald, jade.
Herbs/Plants: Pink rose, ivy, birch, heather, clematis, sage, violet, waterlily
Magickal Intentions: Love, romance, marriage, sexual matters, physical beauty, friendship and partnership, strangers and heart matters.
Friday (Venus): Love, friendship, reconciliation, and beauty.
Waning Moon
The Waning Moon (from the Full Moon to the New) is a time for study, meditation, and little magical work (except magic designed to banish harmful energies).
Moon Phase: Fourth Quarter
Moon Sign: Gemini
Gemini: Things begun now are easily changed by outside influence. Time for shortcuts, communication, games, and fun.
Moon enters Cancer 11:06 pm
Cancer: Stimulates emotional rapport between people. Pinpoints need, supports growth and nurturance. Tends to domestic concerns.
Incense: Rose
Color: Coral
Love magick is a perennial popular topic. However, there is more to this topic than meets the eye. There are many enchanting layers here for us to explore on this day of the week. What about creating a loving home, or producing a loving and nurturing family? What about keeping your intimate relationships vital and on track? How about promoting happy, healthy, and enduring friendships? See, there is more to be considered than just the “You shall be mine…” type of fictional love spell.
Don’t forget that many of the deities associated with Fridays are also parents. So, yes, while this is the day to work on romance, sex, and love spells, there is additional magick to be considered here, which makes Fridays a more well-rounded and bigger opportunity for witchery than many folks ever truly realize. The truest, strongest magick always comes from the heart.
Book of Witchery – Spells, Charms & Correspondences For Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan
Ruler: Freya, Venus
Colors: Emerald green or pink
Power Hours: Sunrise and the 8th, 16th, and 24th hours following.
Key Words: Love, money, health
It is easy to spot the ruler of this day by its name. In the word Friday, we see the roots of the name of the Norse goddess Freya, a goddess of love and fertility, and the most beautiful and propitious of the goddesses thus the verse “Friday’s child is loving and giving.”
In Spanish this day of the week is called Viernes and is derived from the goddess Venus. Matters of love, human interaction, the fluidity of communication, sewing and the creation of artistic garments, household improvement, shopping, and party planning all fall under the aspects of Friday and its ruling planet, Venus.
Friday’s angels are Ariel/Uriel, Rachiel, and Sachiel. Rachiel also concerns himself with human sexuality and is a presiding spirit of the planet Venus.
On Fridays, the hour of sunrise and every eight hours after that are also ruled by Venus, and that makes these times of the day doubly blessed. These four hours are the strongest four hours for conducting ritual.
Check the local newspaper, astrological calendar, or almanac to determine your local sunrise.
The name Friday come from the Old English Frigedag, meaning the “day of Frigg.” Frigg is known as a prophetess and wife of Odin in Norse mythology. In Scandinavia, Friday is called Fregad after the goddess Freja, who is known as a sorceress. The Romans associated Friday with Venus, goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility and prosperity. In most of the Indian languages, Friday is Shukravar, after the planet Venus.
Birthday of Krishna (India)
KAMALA
Themes: Spirituality; Love; Relationship; Passion; Pleasure
Symbols: Yellow; Lotus
About Kamala: The Hindu “lotus girl” of pleasure promotes ongoing faithfulness in our relationships inspired by mutual enjoyment and an abundance of love. Kamala also makes us aware of the spiritual dimensions in our physical exchanges that sometimes get overlooked.
To Do Today: In India, today is a time to celebrate the birth of Krishna, the most charming and kind incarnation of Vishnu. Kamala, as one of Lakshimi’s incarnations, joins in this festivity as his lover and companion. To participate in the gala, eat Indian food, especially hot, spicy items that ignite passion (although you may want to follow this meal with breath mints and antacids). Anything that includes cinnamon, garlic, or saffron is a good alternative choice, as these items bear Kamala’s lusty energy.
To improve your ability to give and receive love, including self-love, wear yellow-colored clothing today, especially an item that is worn near the heart chakra (a blouse, shirt, tie, bra, or perhaps a gold necklace or tie tack). As you don that item, say,
Let pleasure flow freely from my heart;
Kamala, abide there—your love impart.
Wear this same piece of clothing or jewelry again anytime you enact spells or rituals focused on sexuality or relationships.
365 Goddess: A Daily Guide To the Magic and Inspiration of the goddess
Patricia Telesco
Feast Day of Ilmatar or Luonnotar, Finland’s Water Mother who created the Earth from chaos. She is also Nu Kwa, Nina, Yemaya, Tiamat, Chalchiuhtlique, Bacchue, Atargatis, Ix Chel, and Spider Woman. In Japan, end of season for climbing Mt. Fuji, who is the Fire Goddess. (Pele, Mehuea, Vesta, Hestia, Brigid, Amaterasu, Arinna.)
The Goddess Book of Days
Diane Stein
Ilmatar is a Finnish Goddess, known as the Water Mother. According to tradition this Goddess is the creator of the world.
The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick
Friday is the day of Venus. It takes it name from Frigg, the Goddess of love and transformation. She rules the spiritual side of a person that manifests in the physical. Because of this, Friday is often thought of as dangerously unpredictable. This is expressed in an old East Anglian adage:
Friday’s day will have its trick
The fairest or foulest day of the week.
Deity: Frigg
Zodiac Sign: Taurus/Libra
Planet: Venus
Tree: Apple
Herb: Vervain
Stone: Sapphire/Chrsolite
Animal: Bull/Serpent
Element: Earth
Color: Yellow/Violet
Number: 7
Rune: Peorth(P)
Celtic Tree Month of Coll (Hazel) – August 4 – September 1
The Runic Half Month of As (August 13 – August 28)
Goddess of the Month of Hesperis – August 9 – September 5
The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick
Lust
Romance
Happiness
Travel
Friends
Beauty
Sexuality
Harmony
Growth
Planet: Venus
Colors: Pink, Aqua, Seafoam
Crystals: Coral, Emerald, Rose Quartz
Planets, Pallas, and the Big Dipper will all make wonderful viewing this week
By Richard Talcott
Friday, August 26
• Distant Neptune reaches opposition and peak visibility one week from today, but the view now is essentially the same. The ice giant planet rises during evening twilight and climbs nearly halfway to the zenith in the southern sky by 1:30 a.m. local daylight time. The magnitude 7.8 planet lies in Aquarius, 1.1° southwest of 4th-magnitude Lambda (l) Aquarii. You’ll need binoculars to spy Neptune and a telescope to see its blue-gray disk, which spans 2.4″.
Saturday, August 27
• Venus and Jupiter lie closer to each other today than at any time since May 2000. At their tightest, just 4.2′ separate them. Unfortunately, this happens in late afternoon from North America. By twilight, the two worlds have pulled slightly apart — 5.5′ from the East Coast and 12.1′ from the West Coast. Still, that’s close enough that many people will see the two merge into one. Binoculars will provide spectacular views, clearly splitting the pair and revealing Mercury 5° to their lower left and just above the horizon. Most telescope-eyepiece combinations will show Venus and Jupiter in the same field, with Jupiter spanning 31″ and Venus 11″.
Sunday, August 28
• Evenings this week are great times to explore the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. This star group lies due south and at peak altitude around 9 p.m. local daylight time, just as the last vestiges of twilight fade away. The brightest stars within the constellation form the shape of a teapot — a distinctive asterism once you’ve found it. The central regions of the Milky Way pass through Sagittarius, so it’s always worth exploring the area through binoculars or a telescope.
The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 111.70° ESE
Sun Altitude: 41.25°
Sun Distance: 93.926 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2016 9:21 AM (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 6:21 AM↑ 77° East
Sunset Today: 7:31 PM↑ 283° West
Length of Daylight: 13 hours, 10 minutes
The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 240.03° WSW
Moon Altitude: 58.36°
Moon Distance: 232611 mi
Next New Moon: Sep 1, 20164:03 AM
Next Full Moon: Sep 16, 20162:05 PM
Next Moonset: Today3:13 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 33.7%
Earth Mother
Giver of life
Strengthen me during my life-long strife.
Teach me Your ways of perfect love,
peace, and wisdom true.
Spawn from my purest heart
These words to You
May this prayer help me to better
myself in word and deed,
To a higher plane I shall succeed.
Beautiful Light of Goodness Fair
Lore of old we both do share
A Witch’s brew, I drink to You
My love for You, by day, by night
In thought and in sight
Will my soul learn
the meaning of this life again.
—Author Unknown
Originally published on Pagan Library
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.
2016 August 25
Closest Star has Potentially Habitable Planet
Image Credit & License: Y. Beletsky (LCO), ESO, Pale Red Dot Team
Explanation: The star closest to the Sun has a planet similar to the Earth. As announced yesterday, recent observations confirmed that this planet not only exists but inhabits a zone where its surface temperature could allow liquid water, a key ingredient for life on Earth. It is not yet known if this planet, Proxima b, has any life. Even if not, its potential ability to sustain liquid water might make it a good first hop for humanity’s future trips out into the Milky Way Galaxy. Although the planet’s parent star, Proxima Centauri, is cooler and redder than our Sun, one of the other two stars in the Alpha Centauri star system is very similar to our Sun. The featured image shows the sky location of Proxima Centauri in southern skies behind the telescope that made many of the discovery observations: ESO’s 3.6-meter telescope in La Silla, Chile. The discovered planet orbits close in — so close one year there takes only 11 days on Earth. The planet was discovered by theESO’s Pale Red Dot collaboration. Although seemingly unlikely, if Proxima b does have intelligent life, at 4.25 light years distance it is close enough to Earth for two-way communication.
Tonight, see if you can find the constellation Cepheus, which represents a King. This constellation is faint, but its distinctive shape makes it easy to locate if you look in the north on August and September evenings.
At nightfall Cepheus appears to the upper right of Polaris, the North Star. Then this constellation rotates around Polaris in a counter-clockwise direction during the night. It swings high over Polaris after midnight, and then sweeps to the left side of Polaris around dawn.
Cepheus resembles the stick house we all drew as children – and that children today still draw – with a square for the base and a triangle for the roof. In the case of Cepheus, the tip of the roof (a star known as Gamma Cephei, or Errai) points generally northward.
In the sky, “northward” always means “toward the sky’s north pole,” or toward Polaris. Thus the roof of the house in Cepheus is pointing mostly north, even though – as darkness falls – that means it’s pointing sideways and downward.
In Greek mythology, Cepheus represents a King of Ethiopia. To find Cepheus, you might want to locate a more prominent constellation, Cassiopeia the Queen.
Originally published on EarthSky
Today’s Meaning:
You will find you have within you the ability to resolve all conflicts and disagreements with regard to this aspect. You will find an eloquence you did not realize before.
General Description:
The staff of Mercury was given to him by Apollo in exchange for the lyre. The rod was endowed with the remarkable power of deciding all quarrels and bestowing wonderful eloquence upon its possessor. Mercury proved this when he saw two serpents fighting. Placing the rod between them and using his eloquence he reconciled the serpents, who then embraced each other, and becoming attached to the rod formed the caduceus. The pine cone is credited with health giving power, and the wings symbolize speed and the flight of thoughts between friends. This ancient talisman was supposed to be a charm fo prosperity, rendering its possessor healthy, wealthy and wise.
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