This is a good point in the calendar to remind you that solar and planetary cycles on one day don’t completely disappear the day after. Thus, yesterday’s main alignments — including Mars motionless and shifting from reverse to direct — are still rippling through the ethers, although more from beneath the surface of consciousness than wide out in the open. The Sun — almost ready to leave earthy Taurus for airy Gemini (8:00PM) — attempts to provide a large dose of healing across the board via an inspirational, 72-degree liaison with Chiron (3:03AM). The Moon in Aquarius making a supportive, 60-degree tie with Venus in Aries (1:07PM) and a flowing trine of 120-degrees with Mercury in Gemini (3:22PM) try to ameliorate some of Monday’s psychic storms. However, the Moon-Mercury connection also begins a void lunar cycle that lasts until 5:19AM tomorrow. It doesn’t help that the Sun and Pluto form a frictional contra-parallel (6:07PM) and that the Sun makes an abrasive, 45-degree contact with often irascible, unpredictable Uranus (9:07PM). Do everything in your power to make the solar entry into Gemini (8:00PM) happy and cheerful since the overall vibrations coming from two of the three outer planets are far from soothing. [Note to readers: All times are 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.]
Calendar of the Moon for Tuesday, May 20th
Calendar of the Moon
20 Huath/Thargelion
Day of Diancecht
Colors: Red and white
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of red and white set out the medical supplies for the house to be blessed, with a red candle, incense of soothing herbs, a pitcher of clean water, and healing stones.
Offerings: Take some kind of medical training.
Daily Meal: Vegan.
Invocation to Diancecht
Healer of wounds, we call to thee,
Bless our flesh that tears,
Bless our blood that spills,
Bless our bones that break,
Bless our body that succumbs to invaders.
Bless the hands that bind and stitch,
Bless the voice that soothes and calms,
Bless the medicine that pits itself
Against pain, against fever, against invasion
By all that would devour us.
Bless the tools of the healer’s trade,
That they may be clean and whole.
Bless the mind of the healer,
That it may clearly see what must be done.
Bless the spirit of the healer,
That it may not flinch from ugliness or pain.
Bless the heart of the healer,
That no matter how great the wounds
Nor how sorrowful the plight
They will not harden their heart
And treat the wounded without compassion
In order to protect their own softness.
Help us to remember, O Diancecht,
Healer of the Druid’s grove,
That healers must have their own courage,
Which is much harder to bear
Than that of any warrior.
(Those in the House who are healers of any kind should come forward and be anointed with the water, cleansed with the fire and incense and stones, and bear the supplies to their place.)
Calendar of the Sun for Tuesday, May 20th
Calendar of the Sun
Media Ver
Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set growing herbs and flowers in pots, a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of late-sowed seeds such as lettuce (as many as there are people), a flower wreath, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian
Media Ver Invocation
Earth, you have awakened to our touch!
The winds have stirred you,
The rain has nourished you,
The sun has opened your eyes.
Your million mouths open
On the unfolded leaves of every tree.
We glory in your abundance,
In the dance of your youth,
And we dance for your brilliant life
And your new season.
Yet now is the time when the real work begins.
If we would keep what we have sown,
We must not stop here,
But we must labor for the sustenance
Of our creation, as it has always been.
For the first growth is a miracle from the Gods,
But the second growth is the miracle unseen,
From the labor of our hands,
Which is also sacred.
Chant:
Green growing
Green Man knowing
Path of striving
Way of opening
(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds. Weeding should also be done at this time, and the care for plants that have already broken the surface.)
Current Moon Phase for May 20th – Waning Gibbous
Gibbous Moon
(waning /60% of Full)
This is a tremendous time of transmutation. All of the prior elements are coming together for a final burst of creative output. You have seen a clear view of your own needs and the posture of significant others. Now the accumulation of that input is leading to a deep, core change within you. In this phase, you will naturally be inclined to seek higher guidance so that you can emerge from this transformation successfully. The Gibbous Moon favors sharing what you have learned (and are learning) with others.
Lady A’s Spell of the Day for May 20th – A Spell for Wisdom and Knowledge
A Spell for Wisdom and Knowledge
Time: best done on a full moon.
Cast a circle your normal way, but with an altar facing to your corresponding direction.
(i.e. October birth=east watchtower) have at hand dragon’s blood, sandalwood and rain mist incense. Burn them as you call upon the Goddess and the God. Explain to them your situation and ask for wisdom, courage, strength, and knowledge to be bestowed upon yourself.
Once you have done this, do a chant of thanks. Thank the Goddess and God for their assistance then close the circle thanking all deities that assisted in your endeavors by making it easier to speak to the Goddess and God. Ensure that you close your circle well.
Sit there and meditate on your request a little longer whilst allowing the incense to burn out naturally. Once this is done thank yourself and the area that was bestowed upon you to allow you to perform such a nurturing ritual.
WOTC Extra – A simple and powerful affirmation
A simple and powerful affirmation
Every morning for at least one week, before you begin the activities in your day, take one minute to stand still in front of a mirror.
Take three deep, slow breaths, taking the air to the bottom of your lungs as you do so. Breathe in through your nose pushing your stomach out, and out through your mouth, pulling your stomach in. Look yourself straight in the eyes and say out loud:
“I am loved. All my needs are met. Everything is as it should be. Challenges I do not understand now I will in due course. I start this day with love in my heart for all creation. I love my family, my friends and my community. I love myself. I am a beautiful living aspect of the Divine. So be it.”
Keep at it and see how you feel after one week.
Source:
Spirit Guide Author: Raym RichardsLet’s Talk Witch – The Power of Meditation and Prayer
The Power of Meditation and Prayer
The power of meditation and prayer Meditation takes many forms. It can loosely be described as a method of stilling the mind in order to experience inner peace or to connect with inner or higher guidance. Meditation frequently involves inner reflection but it can also be used to focus healing energies for self and others. It can be used to alter consciousness and access other realities. There are many schools of meditation or yoga and it is not difficult to find and learn a technique that suits your personality or to develop your own personal method of meditating. Any activity that stills the constant chatter of the busy mind can be described as meditation. Dance, cycling, knitting, and gardening may all be used as meditation to still the mind.
When people meditate for a specific purpose it is often in a still, quiet place and it usually involves standing, sitting or lying, with spine straight, in a comfortable position and following a set routine which will close down the conscious mind. Many people grossly underestimate the power of individual and particularly group meditations to affect the world around us. When a group of people sit together with a clear group focus and shift their consciousness as one, then it is possible to work miracles.
Prayer is a powerful way of clarifying and expressing your concerns directly to your own Higher Self, the Creator or the Oneness you are. It is best done with a little preparation in a special place that is still, beautiful and free of distractions. This can be a room or part of a room, or if you can access it, a private place in nature. You do not need to go to church to pray, nor do you need an intermediary. It is your birthright to talk to the Divine or the Oneness, however you perceive Her/Him, in the way that you feel most comfortable.
Affirmations spoken out loud, alone or in groups are one of the most powerful tools for personal transformation available to humans. Affirmations work by clearly and positively stating your intentions to both the superconscious and your own subconscious. The spoken word has the power to create its intention and when made repeatedly and with clear intent, affirmations will directly affect the reality of the person making them.
Both your own subconscious and the Universe will respond to repeated affirmations whether they be positive or negative. Consider the person who repeatedly tells themselves and others, “I am useless, I will never amount to anything, nothing ever goes right for me.” These statements often repeated become a self fulfilling prophecy. How can anyone else believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself?
As the Universe exists to serve us, it will respond automatically to our stated beliefs. Consider the person who states out loud, “What a magnificent day! I feel great! Everything is going splendidly!” How much easier it is for us to support and encourage someone in this frame of mind, how much easier it is for them to believe in themselves. Of course the Universe and their own subconscious respond accordingly.
If we hold images of perfection, health, abundance, peace and harmony in our minds and express them through our words, then they are registered in the superconscious mind as already existing and will come into our lives on this plane. This is the key to creating your own reality – a harmonious life full of abundance, joy and love.
Never underestimate the power of the spoken word! Affirmation combined with meditation and prayer create a mighty trinity. If practised in the ways outlined in this book they will create positive change in your life and the lives of your loved ones, that will assist your own evolution and planetary healing.
Source:
Spirit Guide Author: Raym RichardsTuesday Is Ruled By Mars
Tuesday Is Ruled By Mars
Archangel: Samael
Candle colour: Red
Incenses: Dragon’s blood or cinnamon
Crystals: Jasper or garnet
Use Tuesdays for spells for courage, change, independence in home or business life, for overcoming seemingly impossible odds and for passion.
Where possible, work near a fire or a bonfire or with a huge red beeswax candle as a focus; alternatively work next to a flowerbed or large vase of red, orange and/or yellow flowers.
The Witches Correspondence for Tuesday, May 20th
The Witches Correspondence for Tuesday, May 20th
Magickal Intentions: Courage, Physical Strength, Revenge, Military Honors, Surgery and the Breaking of Negative Spells, Matrimony, War, Enemies, Prison, Vitality and Assertiveness
Incense: Dragon’s Blood, Patchouli
Planet: Mars
Sign: Aries and Scorpio
Angel: Samuel
Colors: Red and Orange
Herbs/Plants: Red Rose, Cock’s Comb, Pine, Daisy, Thyme and Pepper
Stones: Carnelian, Bloodstone, Ruby, Garnet and Pink Tourmaline
Oil: (Mars) Basil, Coriander, Ginger
Mars rules Tuesday. The energies of this day best harmonize with efforts of masculine vibration, such as conflict, physical endurance and strength, lust, hunting, sports, and all types of competition. Use them, too, for rituals involving surgical procedures or political ventures.
What Does It Mean for the Sun to Be in Gemini?
Sun in Gemini
The Dates:
May 22nd through June 21st
Keywords:
engaging, curious, childlike, versatile, witty, entertaining, charming
The Shadow Side:
superficial, duplicitous, flaky, restless, nervous, chatty
Quality and Element:
and
Famous People with Sun in Gemini:
Jamie Oliver, John F. Kennedy, Boy George, Patrick Henry, Walt Whitman, Marilyn Monroe, Jacques Cousteau, Stevie Nicks, Kathleen Turner, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ian McKellan, Jacques Cousteau, Alanis Morisette, Che Guevara, Dante Alighieri
Personality Profile:
The Gemini Sun is a chameleon, which makes their personality hard to describe since it changes all the time. Those born under the sign of the “Twins” have at least two personalities, but often many more. Their insatiable curiosity keeps them learning new things, and this makes many of them like walking encyclopedias of knowledge.
You might hear the laughter of Gemini Suns before you see them, since they’re always finding something absurd to giggle over. They’re great wits and their interest in people often puts them in the role of social ice breaker.
Those with Sun in Gemini might be hard to pin down, but if you accept this shape-shifting quality, they’re excellent friends. This can even be true in a relationship, where they need an intellectual rapport with their mate. The ideal companions for them are those that think at their same speed of light, and don’t tie them up in one dull topic.
They need a certain kind of space to grow, and those close to them don’t try to hold on too tightly. The knows that the world is vast and full of endless fascinations to explore. If the door is open in a relationship for them to come and go at will, they’ll prove their own brand of loyalty over time.
The Gemini needs to be able to reinvent themselves many times and to follow the threads of inspiration wherever they lead. This can make them seem restless and inconsistent – another name for it is flaky. They’re always called the dilettante of the Zodiac because they’ll try anything once, and usually do! But once the Gemini finds a subject through that is worthy of that incredible kaleidoscopic mind, a deeper mastery can be sought and achieved.
The Gemini is a charmer and a clown. And often they wear a silly grin, as if they get the cosmic joke that all is well and it’s okay to sample everything from the smorgasbord of life.
Oh, one important thing I forgot…..
I meant to mention it at the first but forgot. In case you find the site hard to load or slow to load, I requested WordPress to clean out our Spam category in the back. Most of the time when they are cleaning and I am posting, the site does slow down. I don’t know what time they will show up but you and I will both know it when they do. So, please have patience, it won’t take but a few minutes for them to clean it out. Just keep refreshing and eventually, you won’t have to because they will be through working and things will be back to normal (hmm, that normal thing again).
Just wanted to let you know before, I had people complaining about the site loading slow. Now back to work!
The Witches Almanac for Tuesday, May 20th
The Witches Almanac for Tuesday, May 20th
Tuesday (Mars): Passion, sex, courage, aggression, and protection.
Pardon of the Singers (British)
Waning Moon
The Waning Moon is a time for study, meditation, and little magickal work (except magick designed to banish harmful energies).
Moon Phase: Third Quarter
Moon Sign: Aquarius
Aquarius: Rebellious energy. Time to break habits and make abrupt changes. Personal freedom and individuality is the focus.
Sun enters Gemini 10:59 pm
Gemini: Things begun now are easily changed by outside influence. Time for shortcuts, communication, games, and fun.
Incense: Geranium
Color: Black
The Element Of Water, I Now Invoke Thee
I invoke and welcome you
Element of Water
And honor your presence
With these symbols of your power
You who rule the twilight, the autumn and the west
Emotions and intuition
Bless my heart
That I might love and be loved
And gift me with flexibility and compassion
So I might go with the flow of life
Purify and cleanse me
With your rushing waters
And watch over me as I walk my Path.
So Mote It Be.
Wishing All My Dear Loved Ones, A Very Happy & Blessed Tuesday!
Good morning, my sweets! How are you doing today? I hope great. My morning has started out with the damn phone ringing off the wall. And you know I wonder why I actually pay the phone bill (still scratching my head over that one, lol). But life goes on and the phone continues to ring, oh, brother!
As we start this new day together, I would like to leave you with an old Irish blessing. Enjoy, my precious ones!
Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.
Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.
Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.
May you have many a blessing to follow you all your life long,
May the Goddess Bless You & Keep You,
Love,
Lady of the Abyss
‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for May 19th
‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
If you don’t know what to do about a situation – wait awhile, the answer will come. If weariness overcomes you before you’ve completed a difficult job, wait awhile, you’ll get your second wind.
If you do not agree with someone else’s philosophy, don’t fret, perhaps later you will come to know that the same philosophy can be reached from many different directions.
If you think the activities of another person or group are frivolous and unnecessary, wait a bit, they most likely will feel the same way about you sometime.
If you don’t like what others have to say, wait, they may clarify it – or you may change your mind.
If life hasn’t dished you unhappiness, wait a bit, if you’ve planted any happiness seeds, you will also reap.
We can’t always wait, but sometimes waiting is action, and action of the hardest kind. It is difficult to keep quiet when you have something to say, but it more often saves your face later and sometimes your life.
_________________________________________________
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 May 19
Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 19
“To be able to greet the sun with the sounds from all of Nature is a great blessing, and it helps us to remember Who is the real provider of all of our benefits.”
–Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
The Elders say we should pray to the East every morning. Just try it! Get up early in the morning, watch the sun and listen to the morning sounds, the birds, the winds; smell the air, feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun. Your mid will expand and you will experience oneness with the Great Spirit. You’ll realize who is really in charge. You’ll realize an interconnectedness. You’ll realize how much the Creator loves you! Just try it!
Great Spirit, today, let me feel the Earth, the Father Sun and your presence.
May 19 – Daily Feast
May 19 – Daily Feast
If there is one thing that scares us, it is the thought that any part of life has been wasted. We look back and ask why we let it happen – what was so important that it could steal our youth, our strength, our capacity to be somebody – to just be happy. Is it too late to begin again? Never. It may be with a different set of rules, a standard of values that has changed drastically, but begin again? Yes, Many have started over and have had more happiness and contentment in a short time than in all of what is known as the wasted years. Anyone who has ever traveled a trail of tears wishes they had known then what they know now. But we did not know, and life is not lived by hindsight. We did what we knew to do – sometimes with great ignorance. But if we know the difference now and want to begin again – then why not? And why not now?
~ Years of trial and anxiety, of danger and struggle, have maintained the ….Cherokee people as a distinct community….and such must continue. ~
CHIEF JOHN ROSS
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
The Daily Motivator for May 19th – Enjoy this very moment
Enjoy this very moment
You don’t need ideal conditions in order to enjoy an ideal life. You can simply make the choice to do so.
You don’t have to wait until the perfect moment to be happy. Any moment and every moment will do, including this one.
Whatever you’re doing, add a smile and a positive attitude to it. Life’s beauty is everywhere, so make the empowering choice to see it everywhere.
You can choose to complain about your lot in life and to feel sorry for yourself, or you can choose to enjoy the wonder that’s all around you. Keep in mind that there’s valuable opportunity in everything, and a positive perspective enables you to tap into that opportunity.
There are plenty of problems to be fixed, wrongs to be made right, and obstacles to overcome. And the most effective way to move forward is with joy, not with bitterness.
Challenge yourself to enjoy this very moment, fully, completely, sincerely, authentically. And learn to put the power of joy in everything you do.
— Ralph Marston
Source:
The Daily Motivator
The Daily OM for May 19th – Moving through Darkness
Moving through Darkness
The Places We Go
Often it takes something major to wake us up as we struggle to maintain an illusion of control.
In life, most of us want things to go to the places we have envisioned ourselves going. We have plans and visions, some of them divinely inspired, that we want to see through to completion. We want to be happy, successful, and healthy, all of which are perfectly natural and perfectly human. So when life takes us to places we didn’t consciously want to go, we often feel as if something has gone wrong, or we must have made a mistake somewhere along the line, or any number of other disheartening possibilities. This is just life’s way of taking us to a place we need to go for reasons that go deeper than our own ability to reason. These hard knocks and trials are designed to shed light on our unconscious workings and deepen our experience of reality.
Often it takes something major to wake us up, to shake us loose from our ego’s grip as it struggles to maintain an illusion of control. It is loss of control more than anything else that humbles us and enables us to see the big picture. It reminds us that the key to the universe lies in what we do not know, and what we do know is a small fraction of the great mystery in which we live. This awareness softens and lightens us, as we release our resistance to what is. Another gift gleaned from going to these seemingly undesirable places is that, in our response to difficulty, we can see all the patterns and unresolved emotional baggage that stand in the way of our unconditional joyfulness. Joy exists within us independently of whether things go our way or not. And when we don’t feel it, we can trust that we will find it if we are willing to surrender to the situation, moving through it as we move through our difficult feelings.
We can take our inspiration from any fairy tale that finds its central character lost in a dark wood, frightened and alone. We know that the journey through the wood provides its own kind of beauty and richness. On the other side, we will emerge transformed, lighter and brighter, braver and more confident for having moved through that darkness.
Source:
Daily OM
Pagans with Training and Those Self-taught
Pagans with Training and Those Self-taught
Author: Peter Beckley
The various paths we tread contained under the “umbrella” of Paganism can benefit greatly from structured, formal training. Several of the benefits from having a structured system of passing knowledge from teacher to student include the following:
1. Being able to track progress along a charted plan can provide a beneficial sense of achievement. To know that you are making progress along your chosen path isn’t just a spiritual need; it is also a significant psychological one. Everyone likes to know that they are making gains whenever they embark on a quest. It is especially important when topics such a sympathetic magick are involved since everything one does either helps or hinders the focus that is placed and required to perform this type of magick. Whether spiritual or educational, the nature of the quest doesn’t matter either, although these two are seldom mutually exclusive anyway. Even during a physical journey, it is always nice to know that you’re going in the right direction to get where you want to go.
2. Another need that most people have is the one of tribe or group membership, otherwise known as identification. Many people have a desire to identify themselves as part of a group, from those who go to a ritual solely to socialize afterwards, to those who are interested in achieving planned results and raising specific energies. Even those who identify themselves as solitary are doing it. They belong to a group, and label themselves and that group. The need of tribe or group membership may be strongest during childhood and young adulthood, but people never really outgrow the need to belong to something. One of the most common questions we ask when meeting someone for the first time who we know to be Pagan is, “What are you?” or “What is your path?”. This also explains the reason we wear symbols of our faith, be it pentacle, Thor’s hammer or whatever, and even why we put bumper stickers, signs and other such things on and in our cars.
3. When you are part of a Pagan group that has a formal training program in place, whether face to face or by correspondence, you have opportunities to gain a sense of order to the mysterious world beyond the mundane one that self-teaching might not be able to provide. It can be comforting to know that there is someone you can turn to when you have a question that can be answered within the construct of your chosen “path”.
4. Using a system of responsibly passing knowledge from teacher to student helps to make sure that the information is not lost or forgotten. The programs usually have a specific form that the knowledge is in, a Book of Shadows for example, that gets copied bit by bit as the person learns more of the knowledge. In oral traditions, great care is taken to emphasize remembering the entire breadth of knowledge as it gets passed from student to teacher.
There are also benefits that need to be mentioned when approaching Paganism and its knowledge from the self-taught point-of-view.
1. One of the benefits to teaching yourself about the path you choose to walk is that, if it turns out to not be what you spiritually identify with, it is very easy to start exploring another one. There is not the guilt which is sometimes associated with leaving a spiritual group, nor are there the hurt feelings members of that group might feel if you choose to leave.
2. Following that same line of thought, being self-taught probably increases the amount of convenient exposure to other paths for you to explore. Eclectic Pagans, whether Wiccan, Druid or whatever, use this idea to their advantage by using parts, concepts, ideas and even pantheons from various paths they’ve walked or read about to create their very own, personal Pagan path.
3. While not exclusive to those identifying themselves an eclectic, the idea of being self-taught lends itself most readily to the idea of eclectic Paganism. There is also something to be said for being “your own person” and that can be developed more easily when you aren’t compelled to follow a specific path of structured traditions.
Bringing a third point of view to the table, not all people who belong to groups with formal instruction believe that they should solely rely on the formal teachings as a source for magickal/spiritual instruction. There are folks who feel that self-teaching or exploring topics related to your chosen path should be viewed as a supplement to the knowledge you gain from “inside” your path. Still others have the exact opposite view, seeing the knowledge outside of what their own path teaches as less valuable, perhaps even flawed.
Quite often, it is the source of the information that can bring the question of self-taught vs. formal training to the forefront. Those who believe that, if it didn’t come from someone they regard as an authoritative figure or expert on the subject, then the information isn’t accurate or at all to be considered for use, argue that self-teaching runs the risk of diluting the accurate information in the world. Some go so far as to refuse certain sources of information entirely. On the other hand, there are those who will assume the “good faith” of the sources they find until proven otherwise. These folks will take information from many sources, whether books at the library, stories and training from a teacher, or even the internet, and gather them all up to cross-reference, double-check and verify to find the useful and most accurate information from it all and apply it to their purpose. They may even go so far as to tell others what they find “good” and “bad” about the sources of information. By using the paradigm of the laws of supply and demand, this invariably leads to better resources
While this essay is certainly geared toward the positive side of both choices, there are drawbacks to both as well. This essay doesn’t seek to be complete in the discussion of such a broad subject, but I hope that it has provided some useful and thought-provoking information for you to consider. The most important thing to remember, and I’m sure even those just starting out on any Pagan path have heard it, is that as long as it doesn’t hurt anything, and you feel the spiritual connection you desire, then you’re on the right path.
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