Category: Daily Posts

Your Astronomy for Wednesday, September 20th

The Moon is in Virgo until 6:05 AM, after which the Moon is in Libra.
The Moon is void from 1:29 AM to 6:05 AM.
The Moon is waning and in its Waning Crescent phase until 1:29 AM, after which the Moon is waxing and in its New phase.
The New Moon occurs early today, at 1:29 AM, in the sign of Virgo.
Venus spends its first full day in Virgo (Venus is in Virgo September 19-October 14).

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.

The Sky This Week for September 20 to 24

A new moon, a glimpse at the Summer Triangle in fall, and other cool things in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Wednesday, September 20

New Moon occurs at 1:30 a.m. EDT. At its new phase, the Moon crosses the sky with the Sun and so remains hidden in our star’s glare.

Thursday, September 21

Although you can’t see the Moon around its New phase, its absence from the morning sky these next two weeks provides observers with an excellent opportunity to view the zodiacal light. From the Northern Hemisphere, early autumn is the best time for viewing this elusive glow before sunrise. It appears slightly fainter than the Milky Way, so you’ll need a clear moonless sky and an observing site located far from the city. Look for a cone-shaped glow that points nearly straight up from the eastern horizon shortly before morning twilight begins (around 5 a.m. local daylight time at mid-northern latitudes). The Moon remains out of the morning sky until October 4, when the waxing gibbous world returns and overwhelms the much fainter zodiacal light.

Friday, September 22

With the days growing shorter and kids back in school, it shouldn’t be surprising that summer’s reign is just about over. The warmest season comes to an official close at 4:02 p.m. EDT, when Earth reaches the autumnal equinox. This marks the moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator traveling south. Our star rises due east and sets due west today. If the Sun were a point of light and Earth had no atmosphere, everyone would get 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. But the air and finite size of our star make today a few minutes longer than 12 hours.

The Moon appears as a waxing crescent low in the west-southwest during evening twilight. Tonight, you can use it as a guide for finding Jupiter. Although the gas giant planet has been a conspicuous evening object for the past several months, it’s now nearing the end of its reign. The giant planet lies 8° to the lower right of the Moon but just 6° above the horizon a half-hour after sundown. Still, at magnitude –1.7, Jupiter shines brightly enough to appear prominent against the twilight glow.

Saturday, September 23

The variable star Algol in Perseus reaches minimum brightness at 2:56 a.m. EDT. Observers on the East Coast who start watching around midevening on the 22nd can see the star’s brightness diminish by 70 percent over the course of about five hours. Those in western North America will see Algol brighten noticeably from late evening until dawn starts to paint the sky, when the star passes nearly overhead. This eclipsing binary system runs through a cycle from minimum (magnitude 3.4) to maximum (magnitude 2.1) and back every 2.87 days.

Sunday, September 24

Although autumn arrived with the equinox two days ago, the Summer Triangle remains prominent in the evening sky. Look high in the west after darkness falls and your eyes will fall on the brilliant star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. At magnitude 0.0, Vega is the brightest member of the Triangle. The second-brightest star, magnitude 0.8 Altair in Aquila the Eagle, lies some 35° southeast of Vega. The asterism’s dimmest member, magnitude 1.3 Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, stands about 25° east-northeast of Vega. For observers at mid-northern latitudes, Deneb passes through the zenith around 9:30 p.m. local daylight time, more than an hour after the last vestiges of twilight disappear.

Source

The Astronomy Magazine

Mabon to Samhain

Wiccans and Witches observe the autumnal equinox with a lesser sabbat that many call Mabon. The day and night may briefly be of equal length, but from now on the hours of darkness will grow steadily longer, with the signs of natural life fading a pace. With harvest over, the Goddess of the Waning Moon now descends to the Otherworld, where she will reign alongside the Horned God, who has battled hideous being in his quest to become Lord of Death.

—The Wicca Book of Days
Selena Eilidh Ash

Ritual Magick for Wednesday, September 20

Perfumes: Sweetpea, Lavender, Mastic, Frankincense, Cloves

Incense: Cinnamon, Cinquefoil

Color: Yellow or Grey

Influences: Conjurations, Predictions, Knowledge, Writing, Eloquence

Reference:

A Book of Pagan Rituals
Herman Slater

Elements of Celebration for Mabon

Herbs of Mabon:
Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon’s seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.

Foods of Mabon:
Bread, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions.

Incense of Mabon:
Autumn Blend – benzoin, myrrh and sage.

Colors of Mabon:
Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown and gold.

Stones of Mabon:
Sapphire, lapis lazuli and yellow agates.

Today is Wednesday, September 20

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 Muin (Vine) September 2 – September 29

Runic Half-Month of Ken (September 13 – September 27)

Goddess of the Month of Mala (September 6 – October 2)

Reference

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

On Wednesday, September 20, We Celebrate Mabon

From the moment of the September Equinox, the Sun’s strength diminishes, until the moment of the Winter Solstice in December, when the Sun grows stronger and the days once again become longer than the nights…

During this time Mabon, Young Son, Divine Youth, Son of Light also disappears. He is taken at birth when only three nights old.

His Mother Modron laments…

With the help of the wisdom and the memory of the most ancient of living animals – (the Blackbird , the Stag, the Eagle, the Salmon, and the Owl), Mabon is eventually found. His seeker asks the ritual question of each totem animal: “Tell me if thou knowest aught of Mabon, the son of Modron, who was taken when three nights old from between his mother and the wall?”

All along, Mabon has been dwelling, a happy captive, in his mother Modron’s magical Otherworld / her womb. Modron is Gaurdian of the Otherworld, Protector, Healer, the Earth herself. Her womb is nurturing and enchanted, but also filled with challenges. Only in so powerful a place of renewable strength can Mabon be reborn as his Mother’s champion, the source of joy and Son of Light.

Once reborn Mabon’s light is drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom enough to become a new seed.

During this time we celebrate Mabon’s death and his return to Modron’s womb, where he will soon be reborn.

The Faeries roam this land and mournful
music fills the air this day, at this hour.
Modron, O! great Queen and Earth Mother,
we call you here to share your sorrow.

O! shadowed God, great son of Modron,
we plead your return from the mysterious world that keeps you.
The power of your brilliance is the joy of your mother.
Modron is Earth and the Mother we all attend.
Her bittersweet lament
nurtures your return to be born again and again.

The Witches Guide to Wednesday

Ruler: Wodin, Mercury

Colors: Orange, light blue, and gray

Power Hours: Sunrise and the 8th, 16th, and 24th hours following

Keywords: Success, creativity, communication

The word Wednesday is reminiscent of the Norse wind god Wodin, which is referenced in the popular rhyme verse “Wednesday’s child is full of woe.” This does not mean that those born on this day are full of sorrow or trouble. To be full of Woden (Wodin) means to be full of wind, to be spirited. Woden was such a powerful pagan god that the German church fathers changed the name of his day to Mittwoch, meaning midweek, in an attempt to exorcise his influence.

In the Spanish word for Wednesday, miercoles, we clearly see its connection to Mercury. Under the guidance of Mercury; Wednesday is a day of swift activity, communication, correspondence, and phone calls. This is a good day for journalists, writers, poets, bargaining, hiring employees, and visiting friends.

On Wednesdays, the hour of sunrise and every eight hours after that are also ruled by Mercury, making these times of the day doubly blessed. These are the strongest four hours for ritual work. Check your local newspaper, astrological calendar, or almanac to determine when sunrise occurs.

Source

Mabon Lore

Autumn Equinox, around September 21, is the time of the descent of the Goddess into the Underworld. With her departure, we see the decline of nature and the coming of winter.This is a classic, ancient mythos, seen the Sumerian myth of Inanna and in the ancient Greek and Roman legends of Demeter andPersephone.

In September, we also bid farewell to the Harvest Lord who was slain at Lammas. He is the Green Man, seen as the cycle of nature in the plant kingdom. He is harvested and his seeds are planted into the Earth so that life may continue and be more abundant.

Mabon (“Great Son”) is a Welsh god. He was a great hunter with a swift horse and a wonderful hound. He may have been a mythologized actual leader. He was stolen from his mother, Modron(Great Mother),when he was three nights old, but was eventually rescued by King Arthur (other legends say he was rescued by the Blackbird, the Stag, the Owl, the Eagle, and the Salmon). All along, however, Mabon has been dwelling, a happy captive, in Modron’s magickal Otherworld — Madron’s womb. Only in this way can he be reborn. Mabon’s light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom enough to become a new seed. In this sense, Mabon is the masculine counterpart of Persephone — the male fertilizing
principle seasonally withdrawn. Modron corresponds with Demeter.

From the moment of the September Equinox, the Sun’s strength diminishes, until the moment of Winter Solstice in December, when the Sun grows stronger and the days once againbecome longer than the nights.

Symbols celebrating the season include various types of gourd and melons. Stalk can be tied together symbolizing the Harvest Lord and then set in a circle of gourds. A besom can be constructed to symbolize the polarity of male and female. The Harvest Lord is often symbolized by a straw man, whose sacrificial body is burned and its ashes scattered upon the earth. The Harvest Queen, or Kern Baby, is made from the last sheaf of the harvest and bundled by the reapers who proclaim, “We have the Kern! ”The sheaf is dressed in a white frock decorated with colorful ribbons depicting spring, and then hung upon a pole (a phallic fertility symbol).

In Scotland, the last sheaf of harvest is called the Maiden, and must be cut by the youngest female in attendance.

*From “Celebrate the Earth” by Laurie Cabot,Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura, Llewellyn’s Witches’ Calendar 1998, and The Witches’ God by Janet and Stewart Farrar.

Today’s Witchery

Be bold and daring today! Expand your knowledge of the Craft by working with the planetary energies of Mercury on this multifaceted day of the week. Consider the Greco-Roman gods Mercury and Hermes and all of the many lessons they have for you. Embrace change and movement, and work on your communication techniques. Conjure up a little good luck for yourself with that Mercury dime spell. Call on Athena to inspire you to try magickal arts and crafts and to be more creative in your own spellwork and witchery.

Meditate on Odin and see what you can discover about him. I wonder what sort of fabulous and fascinating magickal wisdom you will uncover? Odin is a shaman, after all; he may appear in many guises and faces. I guarantee that he will make you laugh at yourself before he is through with you, but you will learn. It’s up to you what you do with that knowledge. Will you let it shapeshift into wisdom?

Wednesday is the wild and wily day of the week, so try to go with the flow; don’t fight the quirky energies of the day. Most importantly, follow your heart, and always keep a good sense of humor, because of Wednesdays you will really need it.

Source

Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

About Mabon

A guide to the Sabbat’s symbolism

Date: September 20-23 (usually, the date of the calendar autumn equinox).

Alternative names: The Autumn Equinox, the Second Harvest Festival, the Feast of Avalon, Equizio di Autunoo and Alban Elfed.

Primary meanings: The Fall Equinox falls exactly opposite the Spring Equinox of March 20 to 23. Both are times of equal night and equal day. The Equinox is the time of equality between the God and Goddess–the God represented by the Sun, the Goddess by the Moon; fruitfulness of the land results from their connection, and now the harvest’s bounty is brought in and stored against winter and dark times. The key action at Mabon is giving thanks. At the Autumn Equinox, the Sun’s strength also begins markedly to diminish, even disappear, until Winter Solstice in December.

Symbols: Garlands, corn, apples, pinecones, gourds, acorns, wheat, dried leaves and horns of plenty (cornucopias). Foods include corn, beans, squash, nuts, apples and root vegetables; drink includes cider, wine and beer.

Colors: Red, orange, yellow, deep gold, brown, russet, maroon, indigo and violet.

Gemstones: Amethyst, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire, yellow agate and yellow topaz.

Herbs: Acorns, aloe’s wood, asters, benzoin, cedar, chrysanthemums, cinnamon, cloves, ferns, frankincense, hazel, honeysuckle, hops, ivy, jasmine, marigold, milkweed, musk, myrrh, oak leaves, passionflower, pine, pomegranate, roses, sage, Solomon’s seal, thistles, tobacco and vines.

Goddesses and gods: Goddesses include Morgon, Snake Woman, Epona, the Muses and Demeter; gods include Thoth, Hermes, Thor, Dionysus, Bacchus and Herne. The Sabbat is named for a god, the Mabon ap Modron, who symbolizes the male fertilizing principle in Welsh myths. His full name (depending on the translation) means Great Son of the Great Mother, Young Son, Divine Youth or Son of Light. Modron, his mother, is the Great Goddess, Guardian of the Otherworld, Protector and Healer. She is Earth itself.

Customs and myths: In the myth of Mabon, the god disappears, taken from his mother, Modron, when only three nights old. Mabon is freed with the help of the wisdom and memory of the most ancient living animals — the blackbird, stag, owl, eagle and salmon. All along, Mabon has been quite happy, dwelling in Modron’s magickal Otherworld — Modron’s womb — to be reborn as his mother’s champion, the Son of Light. Mabon’s light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom to become a new seed. In a Greek myth associated with the season, autumn begins when Persephone leaves her mother, the earth goddess Demeter, to return to the Underworld to live with her husband, Hades, lord of the dead.

Mabon is rather like Thanksgiving for pagans. The foods of Mabon consist of the second harvest’s gleanings, so grains, fruit and vegetables predominate. Pagan activities for the Sabbat include the making of wine and the adorning of graves. It is considered taboo to pass burial sites and not honor the dead. Another traditional practice is to walk wild places and forests, gathering seedpods and dried plants to decorate home or altar or to save for future herbal magick. The sounds of baying hounds passing through the sky, the “Hounds of Annwn” in the Welsh mythos, are associated with fall and winter.

Spell-work for protection, wealth and prosperity, security and self-confidence are appropriate for Mabon, as are spells that bring into balance and harmony the energies in a room, home or situation. Ritual actions might include the praising or honoring of fruit as proof of the love of the Goddess and God. River and stream stones gathered over the summer can be empowered now for various purposes.

–Arwynn MacFeylynnd, Author

The Witches Almanac for Wednesday, September 20th

Feast of St. Eustace

Waning Moon

New Moon 1:30 am

Moon Sign: Virgo

Moon enters Libra 6:06 am

Incense: Lavender

Color: Topaz

Mabon Activities and Correspondences

Symbolism of Mabon: The completion of the Harvest begun. Day and night are equal and the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen.

Symbols of Mabon: all harvest symbols, corn, autumn flowers, red poppies,nuts, grains, leaves, acorns, pine and cypress cones, oak sprigs, wreaths, vine, grapes, cornucopia, horns of plenty, burial cairns, apples, marigolds, harvested crops. wine, gourds

Colors : Orange, Dark Red, Yellow, Indigo, Maroon and Brown.

Goddesses: Modron(Welsh), Bona Dea, Harvest Deities, Persephone, Demeter/Ceres, Morgan(Welsh- Cornish), Snake Woman(Aboriginal), Epona (Celtic-Gaulish), Pamona(Roman), the Muses(Greek).

Gods: Mabon, Modron(Welsh), Sky Father, John Barleycorn , the Wicker-Man, the Corn Man, Thoth(Egyptian), Hermes, Hotei(Japanese), Thor, Dionysus(Roman), Bacchus(Greek) and all wine Deities.

Tarot Cards: Judgment and The World

Altar Decorations: acorns, pinecones, autumn leaves, pomegranate, statue of the Triple Goddess in her Mother phase.

Mabon Herbs: Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile, almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense, rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.

Foods of Mabon: cornbread, wheat products, bread, grains, berries, nuts, grapes, acorns, seeds, dried fruits, corn, beans, squash, roots (ie onions, carrots, potatoes, etc), hops, apples, pomegranates, carrots, onions, potatoes, roast goose or mutton, wine, ale and ciders, breads, apples, pomegranates

Animals: dogs, wolves, stag, blackbird, owl, eagle, birds of prey, salmon & goat, Gnomes, Sphinx, Minotaur, Cyclops, Andamans and Gulons.

Element: water.

Incense : pine, sweetgrass, apple blossom, benzoin, myrrh, frankincense, jasmine, sage wood aloes, black pepper, patchouly, cinnamon, clove, oak moss

Mabon Stones : During Mabon, stones ruled by the Sun will help bring the Sun’s energy to you.clear quartz, amber, peridot, diamond, gold, citrine, yellow topaz, cat’s-eye, adventurine.

Customs: offerings to land, preparing for cold weather by bringing in harvest, cutting willow wands( Druidic), leaving apples upon burial cairns & graves as a token of honor, walks in forests, gather seed pods & dried plants, fermenting grapes to make wine,picking ripe produce, stalk bundling

Spellworkings of Mabon: Protection, prosperity, security, and self- confidence. Also those of harmony and balance. Taboos:It was considered unlucky to cut down the very last of the Harvest, and so was also left to stand in the field by some traditions.

Activities of Mabon: Select the best of each vegetable, herb, fruit, nut, and other food you have harvested or purchased and give it back to Mother Earth with prayers of thanksgiving. Hang dried ears of corn around your home in appreciation of the harvest season. Do meditations and chanting as you store away food for the Winter. Do a thanksgiving circle, offering thanks as you face each direction – – for home, finances, and physical health (North); for gifts of knowledge (East); for accomplishments in career and hobbies (South); for relationships (West); and for spiritual insights and messages (Center). Decorate the table with colorful autumn leaves in a basket. Display the fruits of the harvest – corn, gourds, nuts, grapes, apples – preferably in a cornucopia. Or decorate with wildflowers, acorns, nuts, berries, cocoons, anything that represents the harvest to you. Like its sister equinox, halfway across the Wheel of the Year, the Autumn Equinox is a good occasion for a ritual feast. Plan a meal that uses seasonal and symbolic fruits and vegetables. You can serve bread, squash, corn, apples, cider and wine. Make some homemade wine or cordial gather and dry herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods. Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter-sweet herb for protection. Use ribbons of gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow or cinnamon sticks. Make a protection charm of hazelnuts (filberts) strung on red thread. Make a witch’s broom. Tie dried corn husks or herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender, peppermint, rosemary) around a strong, relatively straight branch of your choice. Make magic Apple Dolls Gifts of the Harvest can be used to make tools and emblems that will remind us of their bounty all year round. Look for colored leaves. Collect fallen leaves and make a centerpiece or bouquet for your home. Save the leaves to burn in your Yule fire. Vist an apple orchard and, if possible, pick your own apples. Hang apples on a tree near your home. Watch the birds and other small animals who will enjoy your gift. This is also the time for replacing your old broom with a new one. As the broom corn is ripe now, besom making is traditional and magickal this time of year. Begin the festival with a vineyard or orchard harvest. You might check the farm lands in your area to see if there’s an orchard or pumpkin patch that allows customers to harvest produce for themselves. Traditionally Sabbat festivals begin at sun set on the eve of the Holiday. You can use the daytime hours of this holiday eve to prepare baskets for harvesting the next day. Baking a pumpkin pie (from scratch if possible) is a wonderful way to bring in the fragrance of the holiday season

Wednesday’s Correspondences

Dedicated to the Teutonic god Woden or Odin, an aspect of the “All-Father” god of knowledge wisdom enlightenment and combat, the parallel of Hermes.

Element : Air

Planet: Mercury

Zodiac Sign : Virgo / Gemini

Angel : Raphael

Metal : Mercury

Incense / Perfumes : Jasmine, Lavender, Sweet Pea

Oil: Benzoin, Clary Sage, Eucalytus, Lavender

Color : Red, Orange, Light Blue

Stones : Bloodstone,Garnet, Aventurine, Hematite, Moss Agate and Sodalite

Plants/Herbs : Almond, Anise, Cherry, Clover, Dandelion, Dill, Fern, Hazel, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemongrass, Lilac, Mace, Peppermint, Rosemary, Vervain

Magick to Work: the conscious mind, study, travel, divination, consulting oracles, wisdom, communication ,cleverness, contracts, creativity, information, intellect, memory, perception, science, wisdom, writing

Mabon History: The Second Harvest

By Patti Wigington, ThoughtCo.com

The Science of the Equinox:

Two days a year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight. Not only that, each receives the same amount of light as they do dark — this is because the earth is tilted at a right angle to the sun, and the sun is directly over the equator. In Latin, the word equinox translates to “equal night.” The autumn equinox takes place on or near September 21, and its spring counterpart falls around March 21. If you’re in the Northern hemisphere, the days will begin getting shorter after the autumn equinox and the nights will grow longer — in the Southern hemisphere, the reverse is true.

Global Traditions:

The idea of a harvest festival is nothing new. In fact, people have celebrated it for millennia, all around the world. In ancient Greece, Oschophoria was a festival held in the fall to celebrate the harvesting of grapes for wine. In the 1700’s, the Bavarians came up with Oktoberfest, which actually begins in the last week of September, and it was a time of great feasting and merriment, still in existence today. China’s Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the night of the Harvest Moon, and is a festival of honoring family unity.

Giving Thanks:

Although the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving falls in November, many cultures see the second harvest time of the fall equinox as a time of giving thanks. After all, it’s when you figure out how well your crops did, how fat your animals have gotten, and whether or not your family will be able to eat during the coming winter. However, by the end of November, there’s not a whole lot left to harvest. Originally, the American Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on October 3, which makes a lot more sense agriculturally.

Thanksgiving was originally celebrated on October 3. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued his “Thanksgiving Proclamation”, which changed the date to the last Thursday in November. In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelt adjusted it yet again, making it the second-to-last Thursday, in the hopes of boosting post-Depression holiday sales. Unfortunately, all this did was confuse people. Two years later, Congress finalized it, saying that the fourth Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving, each year.

Symbols of the Season:

The harvest is a time of thanks, and also a time of balance — after all, there are equal hours of daylight and darkness. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead.

Some symbols of Mabon include:

Mid-autumn vegetables, like squashes and gourds
Apples and anything made from them, such as cider or pies
Seeds, nuts and seed pods
Baskets, symbolizing the gathering of crops
Sickles and scythes
Grapes, vines, wine

You can use any of these to decorate your home or your altar at Mabon.

Feasting and Friends:

Early agricultural societies understood the importance of hospitality — it was crucial to develop a relationship with your neighbors, because they might be the ones to help you when your family ran out of food. Many people, particularly in rural villages, celebrated the harvest with great deals of feasting, drinking, and eating. After all, the grain had been made into bread, beer and wine had been made, and the cattle were brought down from the summer pastures for the coming winter. Celebrate Mabon yourself with a feast — and the bigger, the better!

Magic and Mythology:

Nearly all of the myths and legends popular at this time of the year focus on the themes of life, death, and rebirth. Not much of a surprise, when you consider that this is the time at which the earth begins to die before winter sets in!

Demeter and Her Daughter

Perhaps the best known of all the harvest mythologies is the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter was a goddess of grain and of the harvest in ancient Greece. Her daughter, Persephone, caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld. When Hades abducted Persephone and took her back to the underworld, Demeter’s grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and so was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld. These six months are the time when the earth dies, beginning at the time of the autumn equinox.

Inanna Takes on the Underworld

The Sumerian goddess Inanna is the incarnation of fertility and abundance. Inanna descended into the underworld where her sister, Ereshkigal, ruled. Erishkigal decreed that Inanna could only enter her world in the traditional ways — stripping herself of her clothing and earthly posessions. By the time Inanna got there, Erishkigal had unleashed a series of plagues upon her sister, killing Inanna. While Inanna was visiting the underworld, the earth ceased to grow and produce. A vizier restored Inanna to life, and sent her back to earth. As she journeyed home, the earth was restored to its former glory.

Modern Celebrations

For contemporary Druids, this is the celebration of Alban Elfed, which is a time of balance between the light and the dark. Many Asatru groups honor the fall equinox as Winter Nights, a festival sacred to Freyr.

For most Wiccans and NeoPagans, this is a time of community and kinship. It’s not uncommon to find a Pagan Pride Day celebration tied in with Mabon. Often, PPD organizers include a food drive as part of the festivities, to celebrate the bounty of the harvest and to share with the less fortunate.

If you choose to celebrate Mabon, give thanks for the things you have, and take time to reflect on the balance within your own life, honoring both the darkness and the light. Invite your friends and family over for a feast, and count the blessings that you have among kin and community.

Ten Ways to Celebrate Mabon

By Patti Wigington, ThoughtCo.com

Mabon is the time of the autumn equinox, and the harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly bare, because the crops have been stored for the coming winter. Mabon is a time when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. On or around September 21, for many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops or other blessings. It is also a time of balance and reflection, following the theme of equal hours light and dark. Here are some ways you and your family can celebrate this day of bounty and abundance.

1. Find Some Balance

Mabon is a time of balance, when there are equal hours of darkness and light, and that can affect people in different ways. For some, it’s a season to honor the darker aspects of the goddess, calling upon that which is devoid of light. For others, it’s a time of thankfulness, of gratitude for the abundance we have at the season of harvest. Because this is, for many people, a time of high energy, there is sometimes a feeling of restlessness in the air, a sense that something is just a bit “off”. If you’re feeling a bit spiritually lopsided, with this simple meditation you can restore a little balance into your life. You can also try a ritual to bring balance and harmony to your home.

2. Hold a Food Drive

Many Pagans and Wiccans count Mabon as a time of thanks and blessings — and because of that, it seems like a good time to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. If you find yourself blessed with abundance at Mabon, why not give to those who aren’t? Invite friends over for a feast, but ask each of them to bring a canned food, dry goods, or other non-perishable items? Donate the collected bounty to a local food bank or homeless shelter.

3. Pick Some Apples

Apples are the perfect symbol of the Mabon season. Long connected to wisdom and magic, there are so many wonderful things you can do with an apple. Find an orchard near you, and spend a day with your family. As you pick the apples, give thanks to Pomona, goddess of fruit trees. Be sure to only pick what you’re going to use — if you can, gather plenty to take home and preserve for the coming winter months. Take your apples home and use them in rituals, for divination, and for delicious recipes that your family can enjoy all season long.

4. Count Your Blessings

Mabon is a time of giving thanks, but sometimes we take our fortune for granted. Sit down and make a gratitude list. Write down things that you are thankful for. An attitude of gratefulness helps bring more abundance our way — what are things you’re glad you have in your life? Maybe it’s the small things, like “I’m glad I have my cat Peaches” or “I’m glad my car is running.” Maybe it’s something bigger, like “I’m thankful I have a warm home and food to eat” or “I’m thankful people love me even when I’m cranky.” Keep your list some place you can see it, and add to it when the mood strikes you.

5. Honor the Darkness

Without darkness, there is no light. Without night, there can be no day. Despite a basic human need to overlook the dark, there are many positive aspects to embracing the dark side, if it’s just for a short time. After all, it was Demeter’s love for her daughter Persephone that led her to wander the world, mourning for six months at a time, bringing us the death of the soil each fall. In some paths, Mabon is the time of year that celebrates the Crone aspect of a triune goddess. Celebrate a ritual that honors that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Call upon the gods and goddesses of the dark night, and ask for their blessings this time of year.

6. Get Back to Nature

Fall is here, and that means the weather is bearable once more. The nights are becoming crisp and cool, and there’s a chill in the air. Take your family on a nature walk, and enjoy the changing sights and sounds of the outdoors. Listen for geese honking in the sky above you, check the trees for changing in the colors of the leaves, and watch the ground for dropped items like acorns, nuts, and seed pods. If you live in an area that doesn’t have any restrictions on removing natural items from park property, take a small bag with you and fill it up with the things you discover along the way. Bring your goodies home for your family’s altar. If you are prohibited from removing natural items, fill your bag with trash and clean up the outdoors!

7. Tell Timeless Stories

In many cultures, fall was a time of celebration and gathering. It was the season in which friends and relatives would come from far and near to get together before the cold winter kept them apart for months at a time. Part of this custom was storytelling. Learn the harvest tales of your ancestors or of the people indigenous to the area in which you live. A common theme in these stories is the cycle of death and rebirth, as seen in the planting season. Learn about the stories of Osiris, Mithras, Dionysius, Odin and other deities who have died and then restored to life.

8. Raise Some Energy

It’s not uncommon for Pagans and Wiccans to make remarks regarding the “energy” of an experience or event. If you’re having friends or family over to celebrate Mabon with you, you can raise group energy by working together. A great way to do this is with a drum or music circle. Invite everyone to bring drums, rattles, bells, or other instruments. Those who don’t have an instrument can clap their hands. Begin in a slow, regular rhythm, gradually increasing the tempo until it reaches a rapid pace. End the drumming at a pre-arranged signal, and you’ll be able to feel that energy wash over the group in waves. Another way of raising group energy is chanting, or with dance. With enough people, you can hold a Spiral Dance.

9. Celebrate Hearth & Home

As autumn rolls in, we know we’ll be spending more time indoors in just a few months. Take some time to do a fall version of spring cleaning. Physically clean your home from top to bottom, and then do a ritual smudging. Use sage or sweetgrass, or asperge with consecrated water as you go through your home and bless each room. Decorate your home with symbols of the harvest season, and set up a family Mabon altar. Put sickles, scythes and bales of hay around the yard. Collect colorful autumn leaves, gourds and fallen twigs and place them in decorative baskets in your house. If you have any repairs that need to be done, do them now so you don’t have to worry about them over the winter. Throw out or give away anything that’s no longer of use.

10. Welcome the Gods of the Vine

Grapes are everywhere, so it’s no surprise that the Mabon season is a popular time to celebrate winemaking, and deities connected to the growth of the vine. Whether you see him as Bacchus, Dionysus, the Green Man, or some other vegetative god, the god of the vine is a key archetype in harvest celebrations. Take a tour of a local winery and see what it is they do this time of year. Better yet, try your hand at making your own wine! If you’re not into wine, that’s okay — you can still enjoy the bounty of grapes, and use their leaves and vines for recipes and craft projects. However you celebrate these deities of vine and vegetation, you may want to leave a small offering of thanks as you reap the benefits of the grape harvest

How To Hold a Hearth and Home Rite for Mabon

By Patti Wigington, ThoughtCo.com

Mabon is a time of balance, and it is the time to celebrate the stability of the hearth and home. This ritual is a simple one designed to place a barrier of harmony and security around your property. You can do this as a family group, as a coven, or even as a solitary. If you live in an apartment, feel free to adapt the rite as necessary. The key here is to focus on the perimeter of your personal space, whether you have a half-acre yard, a big rural spread, or a downtown condo.

Here’s How:

You’ll need the following items:
A bowl of fresh earth from your yard
An assortment of iron nails* (railroad spikes work nicely if you can get them)
A brown or green candle to represent the land

There is no need to cast a circle before beginning this rite, because you will be casting a magical perimeter as part of the working.

Begin at the entrance to your property that sees the most traffic. If you have a yard and house, this will likely be the end of the driveway, where it connects to the street. If you live in an apartment or town home, you may wish to use your front door, or the hallway in front of your door. You may want to put your supplies on a tray or in a bag, if you’re doing this alone. If you have other people participating, give each person some items to carry.

You can do this rite at any time of the day, although evening may be better if you don’t want your neighbors to come over and ask what you’re up to.

Place the bowl of earth at the entrance to your property. If you like, you can place it on a table, or you can just set it on the ground. Place your hands into the bowl, and feel the cool soil on your fingertips. Feel the energy of the earth, traveling from the ground, up into the bowl, through the dirt, and into you.

Focus on the bowl of earth, and say:

Earth, symbol of security and stability, bring peace and harmony into my home at this season of thanksgiving. May my family be well, my house be a haven, and my table be one of hospitality. May the earth, the soil, the land, ground me and protect me and those whom I love, and that which I call mine. My property shall be a safe place, a secure place, a harmonious place for all those who enter. As I will, so it shall be.

Leave the bowl in place, and begin slowly walking around the perimeter of your property, traveling in a deosil, or clockwise, direction. Feel the energy of your land, and the way in which you connect with it. Is there a tree you particularly love? Or the big rock where the kids always sit? Or that weird piece of root that you trip over every time? Consider why your property is home instead of just a place to live. Even if you live in an apartment, you can do this — what about that creaky spot by the door that your mom always hears when you come in late? All of these make a house personal and connect us to it.

Periodically — and depending on how many iron nails or railroad ties you’ve got — stop and touch the ground. Drive a nail or spike into the dirt – iron is known as a protective material throughout many cultures. As you push it into the earth, say:

Iron spike, in the ground, protect my home, my family and me. Keep out that which would cause us harm.

Repeat this with each iron nail or spike, until you’ve placed a protective barrier around your property. By now, you should have returned to your bowl of earth at the entrance.

Light the green or brown candle, and place it within the bowl. Pack the earth lightly around it so that the candle doesn’t topple over. Say:

Dark and light, equal parts at the time of Mabon. Fire and earth, together. Balance, harmony, security, these things shall be mine.

If there is a particular deity of your tradition that represents hearth and home, now might be a good time to call upon them asking for assistance. If you do so, be sure to make an offering in their honor. If you choose not to call upon deity at this time, just take a few moments to reflect on your home life, and the things that mean security to you. When you are finished, bring the bowl with the candle inside, and place it in a spot where all can see — on your hearth, or the kitchen table — and allow it to sit until the candle goes out. When the candle has burned away, return the earth to your property.

Tips:

Even if you just live in one room of a home, you can still do this rite. Simply adapt it so that you’re going around the perimeter of the room, beginning with the doorway. Instead of pounding iron spikes into the ground, you can tuck a small nail up under the edge of the carpet.
It has been pointed out that in some areas, the ground may freeze enough to push iron nails out of the ground, which could cause problems once things warm up – no one wants a small child to step on a rusty nail! If you live in an area where this may be a problem, you may wish to remove the nails at certain times of year, or at the very least, check to make sure they are securely in the ground.

What You Need

A bowl of earth
Iron nails or railroad spikes
A green or brown candle

Mabon Harvest Incense

You’ll need:

2 parts sandalwood
2 parts pine
1 part rosemary
1 part cinnamon
1 part dried apple
1 part dried oak leaf

Add your ingredients to your mixing bowl one at a time. Measure carefully, and if the leaves or blossoms need to be crushed, use your mortar and pestle to do so. As you blend the herbs together, state your intent. You may find it helpful to charge your incense with an incantation, such as:

Mabon, a season of dark and light,
balance of day turning to night.
Counting my blessings in all I have and do,
love and harmony, and gratitude too.
Mabon herbs, bring balance to me,
As I will, so it shall be.

Store your incense in a tightly sealed jar. Make sure you label it with its intent and name, as well as the date you created it. Use within three months, so that it remains charged and fresh.

Mabon Oil

4 drops Rosemary
4 drops Frankincense oil,
2 drops apple oil,
1 drop chamomile oil.
Use almond oil as a base here

Mix well and bottle. Use in Mabon rituals

Autumn Equinox Ritual Potpourri

45 drops Honeysuckle Oil
1 cup Oak Moss
6 small Acorns
2 cups dried Oak Leaves
2 cups dried Honeysuckle
1 cup dried Passionflower
1 cup dried Rosebuds and Petals
½ cup dried Pine Needles
1 tablespoon Sage

Mix the honeysuckle oil with the oak moss and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container

(The above recipe for “Autumn Equinox Ritual Potpourri” is quoted directly from Gerina Dunwich’s book “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes”, page 162, A Citadel Press Book, Carol Publishing Group, 1994/1995)

Mabon Ritual for Solitary Witches

Stand before the center of the altar. Hold your ritual goblet toward the sky with both hands, saying:

Lord of the Harvest, Lady of Crops,
I thank you for your gifts freely given,
and now return wine from this bounty
to the soil with a grateful heart.

Pour out the wine into the soil or the secondary container. If you’re using the latter, you must take this outside after the ritual and pour it into the earth.

Accept my offering as a gift to you and Earth.
Let this libation nourish and sustain the land
as the Wheel moves on.

Put down the cup, and take up the cornucopia with both hands while reciting:

Providence, while my table is rich with the harvest,
soon the crops fall to the snows.
Let each silver piece be used kindly to help others,
then return thrice-fold in times of need.
Bless these coins that I,
and all within my home, might not want for food,
nor comfort, while the land lies fallow.
By your power, let it be so.

Return the coins to the altar. After the ritual keep them in an accessible place and use them for random acts of kindness, such as putting a quarter into an expired parking meter. Your gifts to others, as the prayer says, will return to you three times over to meet your needs.

The Wheel has turned.
The sun no longer reigns.

Blow out the sun candle.

It is a time of increasing darkness…
a time to look within at shadows of my soul
and face them bravely.
May the Powers be with me in this Underworld journey,
that like the sun I will return from my meditations
with the brightness of enlightenment as a guide.

Linger before the altar and consider any negatives in your life. Be honest with yourself here. Choose one on which to work for the remainder of the winter so that by Imbolc, it will be banished with growing light.

Family Mabon Ritual

At one end of your table put a bunch of dried ears of corn and something harvested from your garden. Put the sun candle in the center with the bread next to it. When all the food is ready and the table set with your best dishes, establish sacred time. Then an adult says:

“Today the wheel has come to a special point.
For half the year now
there has been more light than dark.
Since Midsummers, though, the light
has been fading
and today dark and light are equal
and tomorrow the dark half of the year will begin.
That is why we celebrate today.
It is the balance point between light and dark.
It is the beginning of the return of cold and dark.
To the light time as it leaves we say:
Hail and farewell!

Light the sun candle and then continue:

“To the dark time as it comes in we say Welcome!
Be gentle with your cold, be loving in your dark.”

Hold up the bread, the corn, and some of the harvest, and say:

All summer the food has been growing
and now Harvest is here.
These are both sacred grains:
Corn, the sacred grain of this country
Wheat, the sacred grain of our ancestors.
We bless them.
May they bless us.

Pass the bread around, each person taking a pieces and eating some. Then eat your meal. Afterwards, hang the corn on your front door, saying:

Hang here till Samhain comes
and the world grows darker still.
Hang there and bless our house
and all our coming in
and all our going out.

You may actually want to leave them there at least until Thanksgiving, the Harvest Home of American culture. In fact, the first, solar part of the ritual can be celebrated on the equinox, and the second, harvest part on Thanksgiving.

Save part of the bread for offerings to your household guardians and also for the spirits of the wild.

After the meal, blow out the sun candle, saying:

The sun has gone into the fruits of summer
and now it fades from the sky.

From The Pagan Family by Ceisiwr Serith

Celebrating Legends, Folklore & Spirituality 365 Days a Year for September 20 – 23

Autumn Equinox/ Alban Elfed/Mabon

Name Alban Elfed by the Druids and Mabon by the Welsh, the Autumn Equinox marks the completion of the harvest. Once again, day and night stand in balance with equal hours of light and darkness. As do most celebrations held around this time of the year, the Autumn Equinox focuses on the harvest, vest, the waning sun, and the onset of Winter. In the rural countryside, those who work the land come together to cut the last stalk of corn and sheaf of wheat. Following the gathering in of the last sheaf is Harvest Home, a huge supper or feast of roast beef, chicken, a stew of harvest vegetables, home-baked bread and cheese, and plenty of ale and cider. In Scotland, and parts of England, the man who cuts down the last sheaf is honored as lord and master of the harvest. The young woman who plaited the sheaf would be seated next to him and regarded as his consort.

In Wicca, the Autumn Equinox marks the waning of the year when the Goddess descends into the Underworld. As she withdraws, we see the decline of Nature and the onset of Winter. Now is the time we count up our blessings, give thanks for our bounty, and look within. As the God’s shadowy presence begins to emerge, we remember what it took to achieve our goals and what is needed to maintain them.

Magickal Activity for Mabon

The Corn Baba or Dolly

To make a Corn Baba, strip the off the husks from a dried ear of corn and soak them in water until pliable. Drain the strips on a paper towel and press flat with a warm iron. Take one strip and wrap around a cotton or foam ball to form the head. Attach the head to the cob with tape or glue. Use several long strips to cover the head and body. Cut a narrow strip of husk for arms and roll into 7″ length. Tie off at the ends with string. Attach to cob and then fashion dress from strips of corn husks. Finish off the doll using the silk or yellow yarn for hair. Embellish with colored ribbon, buttons, hats, and a basket.

Home Protection Prayer to the Morrighan for Mabon

This incantation calls upon the goddess Morrighan, who is a Celtic deity of battle and sovereignty. As a goddess who determined kingship and land holdings, she can be called upon for assistance in protecting your property and the boundaries of your land. If you’ve been robbed lately, or are having trouble with trespassers, this prayer comes in particularly handy. You may wish to make this as martial as possible, with lots of banging drums, clapping, and even a sword or two thrown in as you march around the boundaries of your property.

Mabon Home Protection Prayer

Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Protect this land from those who would trespass upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Guard this land and all those who dwell within it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Watch over this land and all contained upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Goddess of battle, great goddess of the land,
She who is the Washer at the Ford, Mistress of Ravens,
And Keeper of the Shield,
We call upon you for protection.
Trespassers beware! The great Morrighan stands guard,
And she shall unleash her displeasure upon you.
Let it be known that this land falls under her protection,
And to do harm to any within it
Is to invite her wrath.
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
We honor and thank you this day!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!

Patti Wigington
Published on ThoughtCo.com

The Witches Current Moon Phase for Wednesday, September 20th

New Moon
Illumination: 0%

The Moon today is in a New Moon phase. During this phase the Moon is to close to the sun in the sky to be visible. The moon rises and sets with the sun and is not present in the night sky. Because of this the night sky is darker and an excellent time to view other celestial objects. Like the Full Moon, a New Moon happens at a very specific time when the sun and moon have the same ecliptic longitude and it can be measured down to the second it occurs.

Phase Details for – Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Phase: New Moon
Illumination: 0%
Moon Age: 0.29 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 385,880.01 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,201,456.04 km

Source

Cosmic Weather Horoscope:

by Jane Lyle

Friday 1st September – Monday 25th September:

It’s All About Virgo

‘By putting our house in order, we can live in our natural state. We choose those things that bring us joy and cherish what is truly precious in our lives. Nothing can bring greater happiness than to be able to do something as simple and natural as this.’

– ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying’ by Marie Kondo

Yet, on the other hand, what about this? :

“I accept chaos, I’m not sure whether it accepts me.”

– Bob Dylan

When Mercury re-enters its home sign, Virgo, on 10th September there will be three planets in the earthy sign of Virgo, the Harvest goddess of the Northern hemisphere. Sun, Mercury and Mars encourage us to pay attention to the house of Virgo in our natal charts. At the same time, the opposite house of fishy Pisces needs attention, most of all to our intuition, any vivid dream images, and sticking with a conscious determination to be kind to each other and to the Earth itself.

Asteroid goddess Vesta boosts detailed, meticulous Virgo vibes too, travelling through Virgo until 17th September. Vesta is named for the virginal Roman goddess of the hearth, powerful sacred centre of every ancient (and some modern) home. So in astrology, Vesta shows us a place of focus and devotion. Vesta guards that flame somewhere in each of us – it’s subtle, but we have a kind of special duty to tend to it and keep those symbolic home fires burning inside ourselves.

Positive Virgo energy fosters action, communication, and thoughts about well-being, service to others, and the nature of order and creative chaos in everyday life. Some slippery chaos is inevitable, as Neptune in Pisces washes away Virgo’s boundaries and our best-laid plans melt round the edges. Interesting possibilities are revealed when the tide goes out. We’ll need to be very philosophical and flexible.

It’s also worth asking what ideas may have been milling about in our thoughts since late July, when Mercury first entered Virgo. And, inevitably, some kind of ‘putting our house in order’ project is in tune with all these subtle, yet earthy influences. It’s one practical way of preparing for the annual Equinox turning-point on 22nd September.

‘The oldest and deepest element in any religion is the cult of the earth spirit in her many aspects.’

– John Michell, ‘The Earth Spirit, It’s Ways, Shrines and Mysteries’

Planets entering Virgo in September:

5th September: Mars – in Virgo until 22nd October

10th September: Mercury – in Virgo until 30th September

20th September: Venus – in Virgo until 14th October

20th September: New Moon in Virgo

The Sun and asteroid Vesta are in Virgo too – Sun enters Libra on 22nd September, Vesta enters Libra on 18th September.

September’s Melting Moments

Particularly confusing, dreamy, or utterly peculiar times to be aware of this month arise when Virgo planets meet dissolving Neptune in Virgo’s opposite sign, emotional Pisces.

The Sun opposes Neptune as September begins, while Mars waits until 20th – 25th September to close the month with some mystifying shape-shifting or possibly a flood of sex, lies, and videotape.

Source

The Astrology Room

Moon Diary
Something Old, Something New.

by Jane Lyle

The New Moon in Virgo, 27 degrees, 20th September 2017

Restless, inventive, and mad as a spoon, September’s new Moon in Virgo offers fresh – sometimes startling – insights into current situations.

A new Moon is always a time for fresh starts. In Virgo, those might be about well-being, organisation, routines, or even how we take care of our beloved pets. This new Moon encourages us to think about how all our little everyday rituals add up to influence our experience of daily life.

Disruptive Uranus, planet of change, connects with the Moon, bringing unusual ideas and unexpected feelings to the surface. The Moon with Uranus represents unconventional families, challenges our assumptions about emotional relationships, and favours innovative swerves and intuitive light-bulb moments.

None of these gifts come easily – we’ll need to experiment to find ways to balance things. Throwing out everything old and traditional isn’t necessarily a wise thing to do right now, but stubbornly refusing to try something new isn’t very helpful either. It’s an ongoing conversation with plenty of Virgo details and analysis during the month ahead.

Whatever family means to us is emphasised by dwarf planet Ceres in the watery and caring sign of Cancer, making a dynamic aspect with the new Moon.

Ceres in the Moon’s own sign makes a powerful statement about nourishment of mind, body, and spirit. Eating well is a big theme here, and maybe Ceres points towards the love and pleasure of food while challenging more rigid ideas about whether food is ‘clean’ or ‘dirty’. It’s time for a fresh look at food rituals and routines.

Chiron in Pisces chips in here too, opposing the Sun and Moon and calling attention to that Virgo-Pisces service and sacrifice theme. The victims of unthinking conventions or outdated ideas can benefit from considering radical new solutions and embracing some imaginative problem solving.

If we can work with this new Moon, some exciting changes to daily life can be seeded during September. Stunning insights are there for us, we just have ask ‘why not?’ and see where that might take us.

Source

The Astrology Room

The New Moon in Virgo Is Your Turning Point

Read your sign’s New Moon in Virgo Horoscope now

The New Moon in Virgo on September 20, 2017, is a special turning point, since it not only represents the beginning of one cycle and the end of another — this New Moon also marks the completion of summer.

Like all New Moons, this one asks us to plant a seed that grows to fruition at the next Full Moon. Practicing conscious intention enables us to direct our thoughts with incredible intensity. Our ability to focus on details improves our efficiency and increases our chances to achieve our goals. A rare cluster of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars all in exacting Virgo demands precision, leaving little room for making mistakes. Thankfully, our aim can be perfect when we rely on Virgo’s penchant for accuracy.

Aries Horoscope (March 21 – April 19)

While it’s true that adopting a more methodical approach to your work mutes your natural gift for spontaneity, the potential for progress is well worth the sacrifice now. The industrious Virgo New Moon puts your 6th House of Habits on notice, adding an element of emotional integrity to the crowded cosmic landscape. It might feel like your current all-work-and-no-play lifestyle is dulling your sparkle, but it would be foolish to miss this wave of productivity when so much good can be accomplished. Reset your priorities, organize your resources, and apply a healthy dose of self-discipline to create the future you want. Failure is not an option when your dreams are at stake.

Taurus Horoscope (April 20 – May 20)

You are treading on solid ground now, empowering you to reveal your heart to a friendly audience. The earthy Virgo New Moon lands in your 5th House of Self-Expression, inspiring you to demonstrate your creative streak. A planetary gathering in the hardworking sign of Virgo may not sound like fun and games at first but, with delicious Venus in the mix, you are bound to discover pleasure in the most unlikely of places. Your ability to make the best out of any situation earns you admiration and praise.

Gemini Horoscope (May 21 – June 20)

Your innate need for flexibility takes a backseat to your current craving for familiarity. The busy planetary mix in your 4th House of Roots nudges you to create more stability in your personal life, and the virtuous Virgo New Moon drives home the point. Acting footloose and fancy-free tends to be your default mode, but now there is a new sheriff in town and playing by the rules suddenly sounds like an excellent idea. The cosmic energy is shifting over the next few days, and you are wise to shift your behavior as well. However, in your haste to conform, do not misplace your sense of humor. Talk less, laugh more.

Cancer Horoscope (June 21 – July 22)

Life is a conundrum lately as distractions of every shape and size challenge your skills of concentration. On one hand, you are enchanted with the myriad of possibilities dangling in front of you. But on the other hand, you recognize that if you attack one project with singular focus, you will make much more progress. A plethora of planets and this no-nonsense New Moon rattle your 3rd House of Immediate Environment, demanding that you think first and feel later. Discerning the difference between trivial and critical is your ticket to success.

Leo Horoscope (July 23 – Aug. 22)

Money can’t buy you happiness, but it does provide a certain sense of freedom if you allocate your funds wisely. Your generosity is most likely well-intended, but keeping your pride in check allows you to give without expectation of something in return. The meticulous Virgo New Moon takes stock of your 2nd House of Personal Resources, collaborating with a pack of planets in picky Virgo on the final analysis of your worth. Don’t allow an overly critical outlook to dampen your enthusiasm; a temporary freeze on exorbitant purchases will only boost your bottom line. The gift of your time is priceless to those who love you.

Virgo Horoscope (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22)

You are receiving a rare gift from the cosmos — a precious second birthday wish so you can reset your intentions for the exhilarating new year ahead. The perfectionist Virgo New Moon joins the planetary party in your 1st House of Self, infusing a celebratory air into the mix. Cake and candles are fun, but if you want to reach your goals you must seize this fertile opportunity to manifest your dreams. Although the Sun moves out of your sign on September 22, it will take some time for the other planets to follow. Consider this an extra bonus round where you get to finetune your personal strategy for success.

Libra Horoscope (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)

Making time for contemplation and rest is key to your emotional wellbeing now. The Virgo New Moon shadows your 12th House of Privacy, urging you to withdraw from the daily hustle and bustle to quiet your mind. In a couple of days, the pace of life will quicken when the Sun leads a parade of planets into Libra and your 1st House of Self. Grab this temporary respite to recharge your batteries while you can. A disciplined meditation practice and a few nights of good sleep will change your world.

Scorpio Horoscope (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)

You are happiest working as an integral member of a group now, but only if there are tangible results produced. There are too many planets in hardworking Virgo pushing their agenda to just hang out for the sake of camaraderie now. The Virgo New Moon’s presence in your 11th House of Community only intensifies the connection you feel to your work. You want to impress others with what you bring to the table, but try not to judge yourself too unfairly in the process. Playing comparison games takes the shine off your unique set of skills, so don’t bother wasting your time competing for the title of most valuable player on the team. Being your best self inspires others to do the same.

Sagittarius Horoscope (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)

You may not appreciate the message being sent from the cosmos now. You typically prefer to trip the light fantastic, so the fussy Virgo New Moon and this planetary traffic jam in your 10th House of Public Status are making you cranky. The truth is you won’t be able to fit in all the amazing things you hoped to do now, and the sooner you face that sobering fact, the better. Eliminating the extraneous noise enables you to narrow your options down to the most practical ones.

Capricorn Horoscope (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19)

Your mind is working on overdrive, envisioning all the possibilities for your future and the consequences of each scenario. The discriminating Virgo New Moon and its planetary allies are hard at work in your 9th House of Big Ideas, encouraging you to sharpen your mental acuity by heading back to school or learning a new language. Gathering useful information from a variety of sources enables you to make the best choices possible. However, waiting until you find the perfect plan is a self-defeating strategy. At some point, you will have to trust yourself to make the right decision.

Aquarius Horoscope (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18)

Buckle your seatbelt and prepare for a bumpy ride full of spills and thrills. The Virgo New Moon fusses over your 8th House of Intimacy, and you can’t help but wonder if others are seeing you in a positive light. Clearly, the gaggle of planets in orderly Virgo are striking a nerve now, triggering your rebellious nature for possibly no valid reason. Your key planet Uranus is ready to strike at the littlest provocation now; watch out for overreactions on your part, unless you really want to rock your world. Preparing for the unexpected is nearly impossible, but joyfully dancing with the element of surprise separates you from the rest of the pack.

Pisces Horoscope (Feb. 19 – March 20)

You need to put in the work if you hope to strengthen the bonds of your relationships. However, a musical serenade or poetry recital is not going to impress anyone while the results-oriented Virgo New Moon and its planetary cohorts are taking up all the oxygen in your 7th House of Others. Practical actions count when it comes to deepening the trust between you and someone you admire. But Neptune could easily seduce you into believing you are following your heart, only to discover you are simply dazed and confused. There’s no reason to rush anything when all you need to do is just show up with an open heart.

Your Daily Horoscopes for Wednesday, September 20th

Aries

You have a powerful desire or need to pay more attention to details and/or to your work and health now, dear Aries, but these things can sometimes interfere with your feeling of freedom and independence. Working on finding a balance can help you tremendously when it comes to turning over a new leaf. This morning’s New Moon points to such a new beginning or turning point related to your habits, routines, health, and work. Consider what needs to go, whether this is about literal clutter or an attitude that hasn’t been serving you well. Find ways for getting on top of daily schedules and routines. However, keep in mind that while there is an excellent opportunity now for starting fresh, it’s important that your goals are gently challenging and reasonable enough that you don’t psyche yourself out before even starting! Pace yourself, but also believe in yourself.

Taurus

You may be holding onto or romanticizing something (or someone) from the past, and this is taking up psychic space that could be reserved for allowing something new and happy enter your life, dear Taurus. The New Moon occurring early today can bring opportunities to begin anew along romantic, creative, and playful levels, so any help you can give yourself now will bring rewards. In the coming weeks, you’re encouraged to explore your passions and creativity more heartfully, and it’s an excellent time for new love or a revamp of your roman for some. A new creative focus or a renewed interest in a hobby or creative activity can emerge and take over in a good way. This is the kind of energy that gets you out of bed more quickly in the morning. New opportunities or channels for expressing and enjoying yourself can open up to you. Venus has just entered this same sector, helping you along as you naturally attract who and what you want into your life.

Gemini

You may be feeling conflicted about whether to take a risk and move out of your comfort zone or stick what who and what you know today, dear Gemini. This dilemma is something you’d be wise to straighten out as a New Moon occurring today provides you the opportunity to start a new chapter of your life or to reach a critical turning point, particularly in your personal affairs, with family, and in your home life. This is an important time for taking charge and latching onto a solid goal or direction for making improvements to your support system and domestic world. For some of you, this can be a time for home projects or improved routines around the home. Matters of the heart, security, and comfort are in focus. If you need to reconnect with family, the coming days and even weeks are excellent for doing so.

Cancer

You’ve recently awakened to a stronger desire to reach out, learn, connect, and share your ideas, dear Cancer, and with today’s New Moon, you’ll feel more directed and in charge in these areas of life. Launching new projects and putting ideas into action will get the green light, but with the New Moon today, objectivity is not yet with you. Learning new or improving current skills can be in focus. For others, this is about making new acquaintances or connecting with others more meaningfully. Errands, emails, and other daily details are in the picture. You’re likely to feel more in charge and good about contributing. This can be a strong cycle for writing, speaking, and schooling, or for breathing new life into an old project. You’re making a difference with what you say or how you connect with others this month.

Leo

There is a tendency to feel a little torn between the promise of life experience and the appeal of getting down to business today, Leo. However, even with some chaotic energy around you, there is a fresh feeling in the air. With a New Moon occurring early today, the coming week is active for beginning a new business, project, money-making idea, savings account, or budget — anything that helps you build up, manage, or take charge of your resources. This New Moon cleans the slate and opens doors for you in the areas of personal finances, talents, and resources. You have Venus transiting your house of resources now, and this helps move things along well.

Virgo

The New Moon early today occurs in your sign, Virgo, and it’s all about you! Venus has moved into your sign, and there is a tremendous showing in your sign today. In fact, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all in Virgo. You receive a big power boost with today’s lunation. Personal plans will soon get the green light. As exciting as this fresh energy feels, be sure you don’t burn yourself out by pushing too hard or expecting instant results. If you don’t pace yourself, you could end up running out of steam and encountering opposition. This is a time for reinventing yourself in some meaningful way, or for a personal new beginning. Take charge of your life! However, do watch for a tendency to put yourself on the defensive today, as this will not get you anywhere. This is an excellent day, however, for learning something new.

Libra

A New Moon occurs early today in the sign just behind yours, Libra, pointing to an excellent time ahead for cleaning house on an emotional or mental level. Events happening now remind you to slow down, reconsider, and process. You can come to meaningful conclusions about what projects or areas of life have run their due course. This is a time for freeing up emotional space to allow new energy into your life. Both mental and physical health are in focus now, and this is a time to start fresh on a new course of substantial improvements. Also today, someone can throw you off center with their actions, remind you of the past, or leave you feeling insecure. It’s a temporary issue, so try not to take things to heart! Today holds great energy for sorting out finances or debts.

Scorpio

Venus has moved into your social sector, sweetening or smoothing out your social life, Scorpio. The weeks ahead can be good for connecting with friends, existing or new. The New Moon today occurs in the same sector, pointing to the chance for a fresh start or another form of a new beginning with friendships. Over the coming week, you can feel compelled to reach out to others or connect in new, improved ways with people you enjoy. This is also a time for a stronger focus on aspirations that feed your sense that you’re making a meaningful contribution to the world around you or that increase your optimism and feeling of satisfaction and happiness about your life. You are recognizing the value of the team, cooperating, and sharing. Worries about work can seep into your personal or social life today, and it can be difficult to enjoy yourself as a result, however. If you can find a way to enjoy a creative escape from stress, you’ll be in far better shape.

Sagittarius

Adjustments may be necessary when it comes to dealings with a boss, parent, or family member, dear Sagittarius, but doing so helps you start fresh. A New Moon today points to the need to take charge and begin a new chapter of your life when it comes to your reputation, career, responsibilities, and how you present yourself to the world. It’s a good time for new goals, projects, and attitudes towards taking care of business. You have a strong showing of energy at the top of your solar chart, and with Venus here now, you’re in exceptionally good shape for smoothing over relationships with a boss, teacher, parent, or the public.

Capricorn

Concerns about family or your insecurities can prevent you from straying too far from your routine today, yet you instinctively need to get away from it all, dear Capricorn. Working on satisfying your needs for both domesticity and exploration helps clear the path for new beginnings. The New Moon occurring early today motivates or prompts you to widen your experiences and deepen your understanding of your life’s purpose in the coming weeks. A change in the routine will refresh you now. Educational interests or travel may be in focus. This can be a time for pulling yourself out of your shell in pleasant ways and for building your faith in a plan for the future or gaining perspective on your life. Meeting people who introduce you to new ideas, concepts, and even lifestyles can be in focus now, helped along by Venus now in this same sector of your solar chart, facilitating pleasant connections and meetups.

Aquarius

Try not to allow misunderstandings or discrepancies negatively impact your day, dear Aquarius, but if a tricky matter does surface, don’t shy away from it altogether, or you are likely to meet it again in the future in a bigger way. Things accumulate! As well, this is a time for a clean slate with a New Moon occurring early today that is a powerful motivator or prompter to start fresh. This lunation activates a part of your solar chart that rules many of the things that go on behind closed doors or deep inside of you. It can stir up your need or desire for intimacy and closeness, and also a willingness to get to the bottom of matters, including increased self-understanding. This is a good time for analysis, research, and investigation, as well as the beginnings of a project that requires dedication and concentration. Alternatively, something occurring around now can open your eyes to the need to handle debts or manage support and the sharing of responsibilities more effectively.

Pisces

Sorting out problems related to income can be important now, dear Pisces, as it can help clear the path for new beginnings with your relationship situation. This morning’s New Moon pushes a new burst of energy in the direction of close relationships and especially partnerships, which can be personal, professional, or in between! The weeks ahead are powerful for getting things sorted and clarified, and, for some of you, the next major level or step in a close connection. It’s also a time for pairing up for a common goal or working on your ability to balance, harmonize, and compromise with others for mutual benefits. There can be some impulsiveness today, so it would be wise to distinguish between making changes for the sake of change, and making changes that will truly propel you forward on an improved path. Venus has just moved into your partnership sector, and this transit, lasting until October 14th, can enhance relationships further.

Source

If You Were Born Today, September 20

You seek security and harmony in your life, preferring to keep the peace than to deal with too much conflict. You have a gentle, peaceable manner. Intelligent and analytical, your opinions are strong although rarely forced upon others. Although generally quiet and likable, you have a strength of character that others sense. You have a straightforward manner, yet you are also magnetic and intuitive. Idealistic in love, it can take some time before you see a partner clearly.

Famous people born today: Sophia Loren, Upton Sinclair, Alexander the Great, Jon Bernthal, Moon Bloodgood, Asia Argento, Anne Meara.

Source

Cafe Astrology

Birthdays on the Virgo-Libra Cusp

Learn all about the personality of “The Cusp of Beauty”

If you were born on the Virgo-Libra cusp, from about September 19 to September 25, you’re a beautiful individual, inside and out! The energies of Virgo and Libra work nicely together to create very balanced people who are both intellectual and artistic.

Individuals born on “The Cusp of Beauty” are ruled by communication planet Mercury and love planet Venus, which lends them the rational qualities of Virgo as well as the creative and social attributes of Libra — it’s the best of both worlds!

Beauty cuspers are always up to date on the latest trends, and they love all things of beauty, including people, art and nature. They strive to keep their personal appearance and their home aesthetically pleasing, but they must avoid taking this too far at the risk of becoming superficial.

In fact, most Virgo-Libra cuspers are not superficial at all! They are deep thinkers with sharp analytical skills and a strong work ethic, and that combination is a thing of beauty, indeed.

Learn more about the beautiful Virgo-Libra cusp:

Name of Cusp: The Cusp of Beauty

Date Range: September 19 to September 25

Strengths: Attractive, intellectual, communicative, artistic, social, sensuous.

Weaknesses: Superficial, materialistic, detached, perfectionist, nervous, jaded.

How Virgo-Libra energy works together: Virgo’s analytical skills and attention to detail combine nicely with Libra’s social skills and love of beauty to create balanced individuals who are both intelligent and artistic. Both signs share a love of beauty that meshes nicely.

What they love: Objects of beauty, including people, art, fashion, home décor, nature and anything pretty you can look at, buy or adorn yourself with.

What they need: Virgo-Libra cuspers need to keep their lives in order and everything running smoothly and looking good in order to prevent anxiety.

Advice: Be careful of becoming too preoccupied with appearances and spending too much money on material things. Focus more on your spiritual side!

Famous people born on the Virgo-Libra cusp: Trisha Yearwood, Adam West, Jeremy Irons, Twiggy, Jimmy Fallon, Sophia Loren, Upton Sinclair, Alexander the Great, Faith Hill, H. G. Wells, Larry Hagman, Leonard Cohen, Stephen King, Bill Murray, Ricki Lake, Nicole Richie, Tommy Lasorda, Joan Jett, Scott Baio, Andrea Bocelli, Mickey Rooney, Jason Alexander, Julio Iglesias, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jim Henson, Phil Hartman, Will Smith, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Heather Locklear, Mark Hamill, Christopher Reeve, Michael Douglas, Barbara Walters, William Faulkner.

Get A Jump on Tomorrow….

Your Daily Horoscopes for Thursday, September 21st

Aries

Venus is transiting your work and health sector until October 14th, Aries. Even though this means Venus is no longer in a harmonious position relative to your sign, it’s a useful cycle for bringing more beauty, harmony, and enjoyment to your daily life, routines, or work environment. This can also be a time of better relationships with health professionals, employees, co-workers, and even pets! It can be a good time for partnering up to get work done or to pursue fitness programs with Venus and Mars in this sector of your chart, and eventually aligning in the first week of October, as well as for meeting friends or even a lover who has similar goals or work. There is an unusual focus on your routines, habits, health, and work these days. Cooperating with others brings work rewards. Today, you may be seeing problems or feeling overwhelmed, but could be hiding your difficulties from others. Try to share the load, or, if you just can’t bring yourself to do it, look for ways to reduce stress.

Taurus

The coming weeks bring new energy to your love life, dear Taurus, with yesterday’s New Moon clearing the slate as well as a Venus transit of your romance and creativity sector until October 14th. This is an excellent time for romance, dating, hobbies, self-expression, and sharing fun times with others. Your appeal is building. You not only share your affection more freely, but you also receive love and compliments more confidently. Mars is also in this sector, and especially as Venus and Mars build to a conjunction until the first week of October, you are powerfully creative and ready to make something exciting. Today, however, your desire for appreciation and admiration from others is so strong that it leaves you vulnerable to manipulation. Watch for repeating old patterns in relationships today. You need to breathe new life into your creative work and your relationships now for best results.

Gemini

Until October 14th, Venus transits your home and family sector, Gemini, where a New Moon just occurred. This augurs very well for your life at home! This can be a stable, cautious, or play-it-safe period for love, the pursuit of pleasure, and attitude towards money. You’re likely to bring more harmony, comfort, or beauty to your home. Real estate matters could be favorable now. In love, intimacy, familiarity, and trust are more important to you than change or excitement during this cycle. This is a great period for healing relationships and bonding with family. This can be a sentimental time, but watch today for excessive attachment to the past to the point that you don’t enjoy the positives of the present.

Cancer

With Venus in your communications sector until October 14th, Cancer, you have a stronger need and ability to share your thoughts and feelings with someone special. It’s also a time for more charming and diplomatic communications. You seem to have special sway with others now. Mars is already in this sector of your solar chart, motivating you, and Venus here now helps boost the charm factor. The desire to create something special is building, and communicating is integral to your feelings of excitement, love, and appreciation. You may thoroughly enjoy your studies, games, learning, and connecting during this period. Today, watch for holding onto an idea or opinion too tightly, however.

Leo

With Venus in your resources sector until October 14th, Leo, you’ew focusing on enjoying yourself, getting comfortable, and developing or building your resources. Love is more about security and comfort in the coming weeks. Getting along well with others can be one way to boost your business or income, and relationships already in place can benefit from steadier, patient energy. This is a great time of year for finding pleasure in the world of the five senses, enjoying simple pastimes and entertainment, and taking special care of prized personal possessions. There can be increased income for some of you, and for others, it’s a great time to enjoy, explore, and develop your talents. This morning, however, it may be difficult to see your desires clearly as you may be fixating on what you don’t have or short-term goals that are not particularly satisfying.

Virgo

Venus is now in your sign, Virgo, and will be your guest until October 14th. Not only was there a New Moon in your sign just yesterday, but this Venus transit also endows you with more confidence to express yourself and your affections. As well, people find you interesting and intriguing. Generally speaking, others are drawn to your natural qualities and personality traits quite naturally at this time. With Mars already in your sign, Venus helps to soften your manner and bring you an increase in attention of the positive variety! Love becomes far clearer and less past-focused. This is a time of living well and putting out the right kind of vibes that attract pleasant people and circumstances into your life. This morning, however, it can be difficult to see beyond immediate desires and sensations, and this can lead to chasing short-term goals that are unlikely to satisfy. As the day advances, though, patience increases and opportunities do, too.

Libra

Venus is the latest of planets to move into your privacy and soul sector, Libra, and will stay here until October 14th. This cycle brings a little more mystery to your love life, feelings, and affections. It may not be the most upfront period for your love life or personality, but it’s the perfect time for releasing outdated attitudes and clearing space for new experiences and feelings to enter your life. There can be a greater love of private moments with a partner or secret admirers. You may be a little more tentative than usual about feelings and even purchases during this cycle as you instinctively sense that you’re not quite ready for brand new beginnings. You’ll have the Sun move into your sign tomorrow, pulling you out of your shell on some levels, but you’re keeping some things to yourself now. This is a time for sorting out your feelings. This morning, there is a tendency to make poor emotional decisions. Try to look past immediate desires, as these may be misleading. As well, avoid putting too much weight in hunches or observations until you get more proof.

Scorpio

Venus is now transiting your friendship sector, Scorpio, and this helps soften your disposition with friends and networks. This transit is an enhancing one. You are a little more likable or attractive now, and generally framed well! Venus’ transit lasts until October 14th. Giving yourself and partners and friends freedom and emotional space is vital now. Downplaying ego needs comes a little more naturally than it did when Mars was here without Venus. Teamwork is favored, and friendships can get a nice boost. You are more willing than usual to accommodate, change, and grow in your interactions, and far less likely to stick with old patterns. This can pull some of you out of a rut on a social or romantic level. It can also be a good time for business income. This morning, however, you may be looking at situations through a suspicious or negative lens. Try not to make big decisions based on the feelings of the moment. As the day advances, you tap into your impressive ability to strategize.

Sagittarius

The weeks ahead can be most successful for your career or reputation, dear Sagittarius, with Venus at the top of your solar chart and the energy of yesterday’s New Moon affecting this area as well. Your ability to cooperate with and accommodate others can help advance your goals, smooth out relations with bosses, parents, and co-workers, and improve your public image, as well. You’re now bringing more charm and polish to relations on the job. Assertive Mars has been in this sector, and the addition of charming Venus here until October 14th can help balance out your approach to pursuing your goals. In fact, you’re sure to get very creative in the coming weeks. Social opportunities can emerge through your business or professional dealings, or you could be employing more diplomacy and people skills in the work you do. This morning, however, with Venus in minor challenging aspect to Pluto, it can be a little difficult to be objective when assessing the value of things, situations, projects, and even yourself, as your viewpoint can be skewed by insecurities, fears, and strong emotions. As the day advances, though, this tendency fades.

Capricorn

Venus is now moving through your solar ninth house, Capricorn, and you can feel as if your feelings or love life is emerging into the light. In this cycle that lasts until October 14th, you’re less likely to linger or dwell on your feelings — or overthink them — as you tend to embrace the moment and express or act upon your affections. With Venus moving in harmony with your sign now, your natural qualities are more appreciated by others. You’re attracted to people, entertainment, art, and studies that feed your sense of adventure or excitement. You are more inclined to seek out the things and people that/who make you happy. Relationships are learning experiences to you during this cycle. Do be careful that you don’t set your goals so high that you can’t get any particular project off the ground, however. This morning, tension is likely as you wrestle with the desire to explore on the one hand and a compulsion to oversee what’s going on around you.

Aquarius

With Venus transiting your solar eighth house until October 14th, Aquarius, you’re in a favorable position to work through the more complicated, intricate areas of your relationships that involve sharing and intimacy. As well, you can see more clearly into your own desires and motivations and arrive at a far better understanding of yourself. On a financial level, backing or support may be easier to come by, and this can also extend to emotional support. You might arrive at an attractive agreement now. You have far less interest in the surface of things in your relationships, and you’re inclined to dig deeper, looking for answers. While this is a good time to do this kind of digging, today you may be taking this too far. Try not to read so deeply into a situation that you lose objectivity. You’ll find you’re much more patient as the day advances.

Pisces

Venus is now transiting your partnership sector, Pisces, where she will visit until October 14th. A New Moon just occurred in this area of your solar chart, and with both of these events, you’re in an excellent position to make a fresh start in the relationship department. This is the perfect time for attracting the right people into your life or for enhancing your relationships — putting more of yourself, energy, and attention into your interactions. Others are more likely to help and support you. In turn, your sense of what people need is high. If you have any need for peace-making with others, this is a great time for doing so. People entering your life during this phase can be especially charming. You have a strong desire to please, but this morning, this may go a little too far. Keep in mind that this leaves you vulnerable to manipulation. As the day advances, your approach is far less superficial as you want to make deep, lasting improvements.

Source

Tarot Card of the Day

Knight of Swords

September 20th, 2017

This card is traditionally entitled The Knight, but in some modern decks appears as The Prince. Traditionally, this card portrays the restless mind, aroused by thoughts of offense and defense, storming around searching for a target to pounce on. He often feels slighted, has a chip on his shoulder and bristles with a hostile attitude. His usual method is to look for someone to blame for his irritation.

Furthermore, in an attitude of righteousness, he may assign himself the job of correcting the offender. Jumping easily to conclusions, he shoots first, asks questions later and is therefore often guilty of overkill. This is not to say that he does not have his heroic side; a single-minded combativeness can have its value. However, even when he is doing the right thing, he is likely to be doing it for the wrong reasons. Apt advice for this card is to deeply question your motives for what you are thinking about doing. Forethought will assist you in discriminating between righteous and unrighteous causes. Control any traces of impulsive judgement!

Occasionally you will notice in the detail on the card, that the person can be a woman rather than the expected man. There is some evidence that the tradition of knighthood included a certain number of “anonymous knights” who took mythic names and veiled their true identities. Living on the road with few or no servants, they served as freelance defenders of travelers, champions of the little people against the exploitation of both highway robbers and the wealthy classes. Odds are that some of these knights-errant were camouflaged women, and that idea is preserved with the traditional representation of the Sword Knight.

Your Daily Love Tarot Card

The Hanged Man

September 20th, 2017

The Hanged Man selected you today because you need to look for the reasons why you are hung up or why your life is on hold. Perhaps you are with the right person but you can’t make love work? Possibly the two of you don’t know how. Or, you are with the wrong person and aren’t getting the love you want and need. Action is necessary. Just hanging around and thinking only complicates things.

Your Daily Tarot Power Card

The Pope

September 20th, 2017

You may feel like a rebel without a clue, ready to speak up against those who are in power who are wielding it inappropriately. But beware, as you buck authority during this time you might also be susceptible to bad advice that can turn your gentle eccentricity into abnormally unethical actions. If you must reject tradition, do so through creative outlets such as music, art, fashion, or the causes that you choose to support in your personal time.

Psychic Tip of the Day

September 20th, 2017

DIRECTION DAY

It is time to make a lover understand where you are going. It is time for you to understand where your lover wants to go in life. Will you go there together?

Your Daily Rune for September 20th

Berkano

“Burr-can-oh”

Literally: “Birch Goddess”

Esoteric: Birth, Sanctuary

Rune of continued growth and continual rebirth or renewal in all things. The rune of becoming.

Psi: secrecy, silence, safety, mature wisdom, dependence

Energy: container/releaser, female fertility, trees and plantlife

Mundane: motherhood, healing, gardening, child raising, the womb

Divinations: Birth, becoming, life changes, shelter, liberation, sanctuary, secrets; or blurring of consciousness, deceit, sterility, stagnation, conspiracy, insecurity

Governs:
Rebirth in the spirit
Strengthens the power of secrecy
Works of concealment and protection
To contain and hold other powers together
Realization of stillness, the Now-ness of all things
Bringing ideas to fruition in the creative process

Your Crowley Thoth Tarot Card for Today

Art

Art denotes balance and harmony. The forces behind Art are those that keep us from succumbing to temptation or over-indulgence; steer us away from developing unhealthy addictions or behaviors. The Art driven Spirit avoids extremes, spreads harmony and brings opposing sides together. They find a happy, healthy median between what they want and what they need. Art provides an environment in which most will thrive, and a haven where the injured may heal, re energize. Through Art success and contentment are found by practicing self-restraint, and using balance to create your own “shelter from the storm.”.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Open Door

The Open Door signifies the presence of new opportunities. However, to reap the benefits of these prospects you will have to move beyond where you are now–forsake the comforts and safety of your current life and head out in new directions. Moves like those symbolized by The Open Door require courage, because fresh opportunities signify the chance of gain, but do not guarantee they will be realized. Regardless of the benefits that may be reaped, with the transitions like those required to explore these new found opportunities, something is always lost. Before launching on a voyage down new paths it is a good idea to objectively assess your current state of being and decide whether what you have now is worth jeopardizing.

As a daily card, The Open Door indicates a time that is primed for you to pursue new goals and dreams. For you opportunity exists, but there are no assurances that they will lead to a richer life. Weigh your current circumstances carefully, and if you feel there is a more fulfilling path for you, then this is the moment for you to begin your walk down that path–the moment for you to walk through The Open Door before you.

Your Daily Tile
September 20, 2017

Circles 1
Symbol: Pearl
The Pearl tile denotes the attainment of wealth and a life of luxury. The task will be to balance your spiritual self with your physical self.

Your Animal Spirit for Today
September 20, 2017

Woodpecker

Wake up! Woodpecker is tired of trying to get your attention, and will peck and peck and peck until you hear the message. You have received the answer to a major question time and again, but refuse to act on it. It’s okay to ignore a solution—but be forewarned that woodpecker will keep making racket until you make some movement forward!

Your Daily Domino
September 20, 2017

One/Six
Now is a time for you to “sew up lose ends”. It will benefit you to finish any projects you have avoided completing, so you can move on to new and more fulfilling ventures.

Crack the Cookie

The Wisdom of Buddha

Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.

Your Earth Sky News for Wednesday, September 20th: All you need to know: September equinox

By Deborah Byrd

2017’s September equinox arrives on the 22nd. Happy autumn (or spring)!

The September equinox arrives on September 22, 2017 at 20:02 UTC. Although the equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, your clock times will depend on your time zone. For time zones in the continental U.S., this equinox comes at 4:02 p.m. EDT, 3:02 p.m. CDT, 2:02 p.m. MDT or 1:02 p.m. PDT. Translate to your time zone. At the equinox, days and nights are approximately equal in length. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is rising later now, and nightfall comes sooner. We’re enjoying the cooler days of autumn. Meanwhile, south of the equator, spring is about to begin. Learn more about this equinox by following the links below:

What is an equinox? The earliest humans spent more time outside than we do. They used the sky as both a clock and a calendar. They could easily see that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shift in a regular way throughout the year.

Our ancestors built the first observatories to track the sun’s progress. One example is at Machu Picchu in Peru, where the Intihuatana stone, shown above, has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods. The word Intihuatana, by the way, literally means for tying the sun.

Today, we know each equinox and solstice is an astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and ceaseless orbit around the sun.

Because Earth doesn’t orbit upright, but is instead tilted on its axis by 23-and-a-half degrees, Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres trade places throughout the year in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly.

We have an equinox twice a year – spring and fall – when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and Earth’s orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis is inclined neither away from nor toward the sun.

Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays about equally around equinox-time. The sun is overhead at noon as seen from the equator. Night and day are approximately equal in length.

The name equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night).

Of course, Earth never stops moving around the sun. So these days of approximately equal sunlight and night will change quickly.

Where should I look to see signs of the equinox in nature? The knowledge that summer is gone – and winter is coming – is everywhere now, on the northern half of Earth’s globe.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can easily notice the later dawns and earlier sunsets.

Also notice the arc of the sun across the sky each day. You’ll find it’s shifting toward the south. Birds and butterflies are migrating southward, too, along with the path of the sun.

The shorter days are bringing cooler weather. A chill is in the air. In New York City and other fashionable places, people have stopped wearing white. Creatures of the wild are putting on their winter coats.

All around us, trees and plants are ending this year’s cycle of growth. Perhaps they are responding with glorious autumn leaves, or a last burst of bloom before winter comes.

Does the sun rise due east and set due west at the equinox? Generally speaking, yes, it does. And that’s true no matter where you live on Earth, because we all see the same sky.

Everywhere on Earth, except at the North and South Poles, you have a due east and due west point on your horizon. That point marks the intersection of your horizon with the celestial equator – the imaginary line above the true equator of the Earth.

At the equinoxes, the sun appears overhead at noon as seen from Earth’s equator, as the illustration at right shows. This illustration (which is by Tau’olunga) shows the sun’s location on the celestial equator, every hour, on the day of the equinox.

That’s why the sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us. The sun is on the celestial equator, and the celestial equator intersects all of our horizons at points due east and due west.

This fact makes the day of an equinox a good day for finding due east and due west from your yard or other favorite site for watching the sky. Just go outside around sunset or sunrise and notice the location of the sun on the horizon with respect to familiar landmarks.

If you do this, you’ll be able to use those landmarks to find those cardinal directions in the weeks and months ahead, long after Earth has moved on in its orbit around the sun, carrying the sunrise and sunset points southward.

Bottom line: Enjoy the 2017 equinox – a seasonal signpost in Earth’s orbit around the sun!

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded 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.

Published on Earth Sky News

A Little Humor for Your Day

You Might Be Giving Pagans A Bad Name If…

You insist that your boss call you “Rowan Starchild” because otherwise you’d sue for religious harassment.
(Score double for this if you don’t let that patronizing bastard call you “Mr. or Ms. Starchild.”)
You’ve ever confused the Prime Directive with the Wiccan Rede.
You’ve ever cast a spell with twenty-sided dice.
You said it was bigotry when they didn’t let you do that ritual in front of city hall. It had nothing to do with the skyclad bit.
You picketed The Craft and Hocus Pocus, but thought that the losers who picketed The Last Temptation of Christ needed to get lives.
You’ve ever publicly claimed to be an elf, alien, vampire, faerie, or demigod, and been genuinely surprised when not everyone took you seriously.
You’ve ever publicly claimed to be the reincarnation of Gardner, Merlin, Aleister Crowley, King Arthur, Cleopatra, Morgana Le Fay, or Jim Henson, and been genuinely surprised when not everyone took you seriously.
You’ve suddenly realized in the middle of a ritual that you weren’t playing D&D.
You’ve failed to realize at any point in the ritual that you weren’t playing D&D.
You’ve suddenly realized that you are playing D&D.
Your Book of Shadows is a rulebook for Vampire: The Masquerade with notes in the margins.
You’ve ever effected an Irish or Scottish accent and insisted that it was real.
You talk to your invisible guardians in public.
(Score double if you save places for them in crowded restaurants)
(Score triple if you admit to having sex with them)
You’ve ever claimed to have met the Vampire Lestat or Dracula.
(Score double if you got into a fight and escaped)
(Score triple if it was no contest)
You own a ceremonial bong.
You’ve ever tried something you saw on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
You’ve ever had to go along with someone’s ludicrous story because it was twice as likely to be true than most of the crap you spout.
You expect your employer to exempt you from the random drug testing because of your religion.
You’ve won an argument by referencing Drawing Down the Moon, knowing damn good and well they haven’t read it either.
You’ve ever referenced the Great Rite in a pick-up line.
Someone has had to point out to you that you do not enter a circle “in perfect love and perfect lust.”
(Score double if you argued the point.)
You claim to be a famtrad (hereditary), but you’re not.
(Score double if you had to tell people you were adopted to pull this off.)
You claim to be a descendant of one of the original Salem Witches.
(Score to a lethal degree if you don’t get this one.)
Someone once lost their boat delivering your ritual incense from Mexico.
You’ve ever used tongue delivering the fivefold kiss.
(score double if you did it more than once.)
You’ve ever used reincarnation as the intro for a pick up line.
(You may deduct this point if it worked.)
You think it’s perfectly reasonable to insist that, since every tradition is different, and no one tradition is right, there’s no reason not to do things your way.
You request Samhain, Beltaine, and Yule off and then bitch about working Christmas.
The thing that drew you to the Craft was the potential to dance with naked members of the opposite sex.
You strip in a club like the one in Porky’s under your craft name, and consider it highly appropriate.
You’ve ever been psychically attacked by someone who conveniently held a coven position you crave, and suddenly had a glimpse into their mind so you could see how evil they were.
You’ve ever achieved position or influence in a coven by sleeping with half of it.
You claim yourself as a witch because how early you were trained by the wise and powerful such-and-such. Of whom nobody has heard.
You complain about how much the Native Americans copied from Eclectic Wiccan Rites.
You’re not a hereditary witch but you have a good disposition to it because your ancestors (the ones before your German parents) were Native American or Irish.
You don’t know the difference between Irish and Scottish, and you alternately claim to be both.
You think it’s your Pagan Duty to support the IRA, not because of any political beliefs you might share, but because, damn it, they’re IRISH.
You think the number of Wiccan books you own is far more important than the number you have read, regardless of the fact that most of your books are for beginners.
You hang out with people who each match at least fifteen of these traits.
You recognize many of these traits in yourself, but this test isn’t about you. But, boy, it’s right about those other folks.

Cather Steincamp, Author

Published on Pagan Library

Good Monday Morning Brothers & Sisters of the Craft! Wishing You A Very Beautiful & Blessed Week Ahead!

The Witches Digest for Monday September 18th, 2017

The Cauldron Chant

We form the Circle,
The Circle most round.
We form the Chalice,
The Chalice now found.

We call the Goddess,
to meet the great need.
We call the God,
To plant His fertile seed.

We call the quarters,
which we call four.
We summon the powers,
that contain the force.

We stir the Cauldron,
from which we were born.
We call the Gods,
from whom we were torn.

We say the words,
which lead us round.
We pass the kiss,
with our lovers found.

We face our dreams,
in nights psychic flight.
We face our hopes,
in bright moon of the night.

We face our fears,
on the Dark Lords Horn.
We face our failure,
in the Mothers new planted corn.

We live our lives,
druming and dancing on the meadow.
We confront our Death,
in the dancing moon light shadow.

Our paths run quickly,
on fleet foot and wing.
Our Circle is joyous,
with our Queens and our Kings.

Let our little Circle be happy,
with Bell, Bowl or Bow.
And form now this Circle,
with gracious Love, Joy and Hope.

Blessed Be

—Ammond ShadowCraft, Author
Originally published on Pagan Library

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Monday September 18th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 101.28° ESE
Sun Altitude: 17.24°
Sun Distance: 93.397 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2017 3:01 pm (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 6:39 am↑ 87° East
Sunset Today: 6:56 pm↑ 272° West
Length of Daylight: 12 hours, 17 minutes

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 107.30° ESE
Moon Altitude: 37.33°
Moon Distance: 234152 mi
Next New Moon: Sep 20, 201712:29 am
Next Full Moon: Oct 5, 20171:40 pm
Next Moonset: Today6:19 pm
Current Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 3.4%

Lunar Calendar
Moon Phase Tonight: Waning Crescent
New Moon: Sep 20, 2017 at 12:29 am
(Next Phase)
Third Quarter: Sep 13, 2017 at 1:24 am
(Previous Phase)

Source

Your Astrology for Monday, September 18th

The Moon is in Leo until 12:52 AM, after which the Moon is in Virgo.
The Moon is void until 12:52 AM (since yesterday at 8:54 PM).
The Moon is waning and in its Waning Crescent phase.
The Last Quarter Moon occurred on the 13th, and the New Moon will occur on the 20th.
Mercury is in its post-retrograde shadow until tomorrow.

Moon in Virgo

We instinctively gravitate towards practical activities under the influence of a Virgo Moon. In order to set things right, we might easily find ourselves re-organizing and rethinking plans. Emotional satisfaction comes from solving problems, making order out of confusion, and helping others. Health matters might come into focus. We notice the smaller parts that make up the whole, and instead of letting nagging details bother us, we might work on ironing them out so that we can feel more confident moving ahead.

The Moon in Virgo generally favors the following activities: Mental pursuits, work activities, services, and routines. Activities that would benefit from tending to details.

The Sky This Week for September 18 to 24

A new moon, a glimpse at the Summer Triangle in fall, and other cool things in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Monday, September 18

The predawn fireworks appear even more spectacular this morning. A wafer-thin crescent Moon hangs below Venus and above the Mercury-Mars pair. The latter two worlds are now separated by 1.5°.

Tuesday, September 19

Uranus reaches opposition one month from today, but it already has become a tempting evening target. The ice giant world rises before 9 p.m. local daylight time and climbs some 30° above the eastern horizon by 11 p.m. The magnitude 5.7 planet lies in Pisces, 1.1° northwest of magnitude 4.3 Omicron (o) Piscium. Although Uranus glows brightly enough to see with the naked eye under a dark sky, binoculars make the task much easier. A telescope reveals the planet’s blue-green disk, which spans 3.7″.

Wednesday, September 20

New Moon occurs at 1:30 a.m. EDT. At its new phase, the Moon crosses the sky with the Sun and so remains hidden in our star’s glare.

Thursday, September 21

Friday, September 22

Saturday, September 23

Sunday, September 24

Source

The Astronomy Magazine

Today is Monday, September 18th

Monday is the sacred day of the Moon, personified as the Goddesses Selene, Luna, and Mani. The moon is ruler of flow, affecting the changeable and impressionable aspects of people. If a full moon falls on a Monday, then the powers of the moon are at their most potent.

Deity: Mani

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Planet: Moon

Tree: Willow

Herb: Chickweed

Stone: Agate

Animal: Crab

Element: Water

Color: Gold

Number: 5

Rune: Lagu(L)

Celtic Tree Month of Muin (Vine) September 2 – September 29

Runic Half-Month of Ken (September 13 – September 27)

Goddess of the Month of Mala (September 6 – October 2)

Reference

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

On Monday, September 18th, We Honor the Goddess Hella

Goddess Hella

Areas of Influence: Hella and her siblings were banished from Asgard by Odin, to the remotest lands. He gave her dominion over the nine worlds of the dead that make up Helheim. Here the Goddess decides the fate of all the people who have died from sickness and old age.

Helheim is not the Hell of the Christian world, where the sins of man are punished. Instead it represents the nine different stages of the transition the soul goes through after death. It was here that the ancestors resided in village like settings. Seers and shamans would journey to these realms to consult with them.

This Goddess is Queen of the underworld and despite her banishment the other Gods have to respect her judgement as shown when she refuses to let Baldr return to the living.

Other spellings of her name include Hell, Hel, Hela and Halja. Her name means one who covers up.

Her hall was called Elivdnir (Sleet Cold).

She represents the Crone aspect of the Goddess in the Pagan tradition.

Origins and Genealogy: She was the youngest child of Loki and the giantess Angurboda. She had two siblings Fenri and Jormungand. There are no surviving accounts that suggest she had any children of her own.

Strengths: Strong, powerful and fierce.

Weaknesses: Her loneliness makes her hard and vindictive.

Hella’s Symbolism

Hella is often depicted as being one half beautiful woman and the other side a blue black rotting corpse.She is sometimes depicted with bones growing on the outside of her body.

She therefore represents both the ugliness and peacefulness of death.

Sacred Animal: Dogs, as the gates to her realm are guarded by Garnr the watch dog.

Sacred Plants: Several plants and trees are associated with this Goddess including holly, yew and elder.

Hella’s Archetype

The Crone

In the Pagan tradition the Goddess is often split into three to depict the different stages of a woman’s life: mother, maiden and Crone.

The Crone represents the wise old woman whose child bearing days are behind her. Other associations with this Archetype include: compassion, transformation, healing and bawdiness death and endings. She is the respected older woman or grand parent at the heart of family who enjoys life and sharing her experience.

Unfortunately the word Crone or Hag often has negative connotations as many wise woman and midwives were persecuted as witches in the middle ages.

Shadow Crone is the bitter, old woman who has failed to learn from her life. She blames all her failings and unhappiness on a society that no longer respects the elders. As a result she becomes increasingly isolated and fearful.

Hella is a Crone as she is Goddess of the underworld. Despite her role and her appearance she is still a powerful woman who is respected by the Other Gods.

How to Recognize This Archetype

The Crone:

The Crone maybe one of your Archetypes if you have gained wisdom, leart from your mistakes and showed a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances.

You are experiencing the Crone’s shadow if you are rigid in your beliefs, stuck in a rut, and lost all ability to let go of those areas of your life which no longer serve you.

Source

Goddess-Guide.com

Ritual Work Associated with Monday

Perfume: White Poppy, White Rose, Wallflower

Incense: Myrtle

Wood: Willow

Color: Silver, Grey-white

Influences: Agriculture, Domestic, Long life, Medicine, Travels, Visions, Theft (new moon)

Reference:

A Book of Pagan Rituals
Herman Slater

The Magickal Day of Monday

Monday is the day of the moon itself, and it’s a day that’s connected to lunar colors like silver, white, or even a pale blue. Metals and gemstones like silver, pearl, opal and moonstone all come into play today.

There are plenty of deities associated with the moon – Thoth and Diana for instance – and herbal correspondences include many members of the mint family. Utilize wintergreen or peppermint, as well as catnip, comfrey, sage and chamomile in your workings.

When it comes to Monday magic, because of that lunar connection, it’s a good time to focus on workings related to childbearing and family life, purity and virginity, healing, wisdom, and intuition. Do a little bit of self exploration and work on developing your intuition – learn to trust your gut. Celebrate birth and life, and make some magic to fix what is broken.

Author

Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article published on & owned by ThoughtCo.com

The Witches Guide to Monday

In the word Monday, we can see part of the word Moon. In the romance languages such as Italian or Spanish, this day of the week is called Lunes and clearly relates to the word lunar. On Mondays, a variety of magick may be worked. Because Monday centers on the energies of the Moon, things like dreams, feminine energy, health, success in spiritual pursuits, domestic matters, and things of family origin are especially important this day.

Mondays are best for love magick and anything concerning home or family, thus old saying, Mondays child is fair of face, which seems clearly to relate to the themes of love and health.

Angels of Monday are Gabriel, Arcan, Missabu, and Abuzaha. Arcan is known as the king of the angels of air and the “ruler” of Monday. Abuzaha (Abuzohar) serves Monday, and is very responsive to invocations and ritual magick. Missabu is a ministering angel of Arcan.

Check whether the moon is waning or waxing to determine what your spell will be. During waning moons, do spells to rid yourself of obstacles or for wisdom and protection. During waxing moons do magic for increase of any kind or to draw something into your life.

On Mondays, the best hour to work is moonrise. Get this information from your local newspaper, astrological calendar, or almanac.

Source

Monday’s Witchery

Think for a moment on all of the witchery, magick and enchantments that you have discovered. Don’t be afraid to adjust spells to suit your own specific needs. Any gentle, illusory, and dreamy charms and spells can be enhanced when you work on the day of the week that is dedicated to the moon. Mondays are a fantastic day to boost your psychic abilities and to tune in to your intuition and empathy. It also gives you the opportunity to work with a different lunar phase each and every Monday, which means in one month you could work four different types of moon magicks on Mondays. How’s that for adding to your repertoire? You are going to have mad skills in no time at all.

So light up those lunar scented candles and add a little mystique to your outfit by wearing an enchanting lunar color. Wear your sparkling silver jewelry and maybe add a pair of dangling silver earrings or a pendant shaped like a crescent moon. Create lunar potions and philters; make a dream catcher and give it as a gift to someone you love. Burn some sandalwood or jasmine-scented incense today to inspire the glamour and magick of the moon. Slice up a favorite variety of fruit that is in season for a snack or share it with your love and enjoy his or her lunar and romantic qualities. Brew up a cup of chamomile tea, enchant it with a little moon magick, and relax and get a good night’s sleep.

Most importantly, get outside tonight and watch the moon for a while. What phase is she in? What color was the moon as she rose? Why not start a journal and write down at what location the moon rises and sets for a few seasons? This is a great way to teach you to tune in and to become more aware of the moon and the influence that she pulls into our lives. Try calling on Selene for her magickal assistance, and call Thoth for wisdom and strength. Get to know the Norse Mani and the Latvian Meness. These gods of the moon have plenty to teach, and if you allow their influence to cycle through your life, you’ll receive many blessings. Be imaginative, and create your own personal lunar magick and witchery. Go on….the moonlight becomes you.

Source

Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week

Ellen Dugan

The Witches Almanac for Monday, September 18th

Constitution Day

Waning Moon

Moon Phase: Fourth Quarter

Moon Sign: Leo

Moon enters Virgo 12:52 am

Incense: Clary Sage

Color: Ivory

Correspondences for Monday, September 18th

Day: Monday ( Moon-day)

Planet: Moon

Colors: Silver and White and Grey

Crystals: Moonstone, Pearl, Aquamarine, Silver, Selenite

Aroma: Jasmine, Lemon, Sandalwood, Moon Oil, African violet, Honeysuckle, Myrtle, Willow, and Wormwood

Herb: Moonwart

The sacred day of the Moon, personified by such goddesses as Selene, Luna, Diana, and Artemis. The Moon is ruler of flow affecting the changeable aspects of people. If a full moon falls on a Monday, its powers are at theirmmost potent. Magical aspects: peace, sleep, healing, compassion, friendships, psychic awareness, purification, and fertility

Monday is ruled by the moon – an ancient symbol of mystery and peace. Monday is a special day for mothers as the cycle of the moon has long been associated with the female menstrual cycle. Those wishing to conceive a baby would be wise to try on a Monday as the magic of motherhood is strong and pregnancy is in the air.

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving agriculture, animals, female fertility, messages, reconciliation’s, theft, voyages, dreams, emotions, clairvoyance, home, family, medicine, cooking, personality, merchandising, psychic work, Faerie magic, and Goddess rituals

Monday Is Ruled By the Moon

This day of the week is dedicated to the moon and all of her magic and mystery. Mondays are for women’s mysteries, illusion, prophetic dreaming, emotions, travel, and fertility.

Some suggestions for Monday enchantments would include:

*Getting outside and looking for the moon in the heavens. Sit under her light and absorb a little glamour. Call on the moon goddess Selene for practical help in magical issues.

*Invoking the god Thoth for wisdom and insight

*Empowering your silver jewelry under the light of the moon. Wear moonstone or pearl jewelry today to add a lunar and magical shimmer to your outfit. Be mysterious and subtle and wear moon-associated colors such as white, silver, and blue.

*Working spells for safe travel with a simple moonstone

*Gathering bluebells, jasmine, gardenias, or white roses to create a little garden witchery with the flowers that are associated with the moon

*Setting up a lunar Tarot spell today to increase your psychic powers

*Eating a lunar fruit such as a melon to be healthy, serene, and at peace

*Br ewing up a cup of chamomile or mint tea and enchanting it for sweet dreams and restful sleep

The Energy of the Moon

Planet: Moon

Day: Monday

Color: Silver, white, light blue, purple

Metal: Silver

Associations: Childbearing and family life, purity and virginity, healing, wisdom, intuition

Let’s Talk Witch – What is Magic?

Wiccans and other followers of modern religious Witchcraft use magic extensively. Wiccans and Witches define magic in many different ways and use it for a number of different purposes, but despite that diversity of opinion finds that the general result upon the practitioner is a positive one. Its power may come mainly by suggestion and the focusing of attention.

It can be characterized as assertion of the will. Working of magic is often dependent upon being part of a social group which supports the belief. We tap into the essence of the divine when we attempt to get closer to our gods, or when we work magic.

In “Power of the Witch”, Laurie Cabot writes:

Certain things are everlasting. Magic is one of them. It comes from the Persian and Greek roots Magus and Magos which means wise. The English word “magi” meaning wise men, comes from them. (1)

She also writes:

Magic is knowledge and power that come from the ability to shift consciousness at will into a nonordinary, visionary state of awareness. Traditionally certain tools, song, music, colors, cents, drmming, fasting, vigils, meditation breathing exercises, certain natural foods and drinks and forms of hypnosis. Dramatic, mystical environments, such as sacred groves, valleys, mountains, churches, or temples will also shift consciousness. In almost every culture some form of visionary trance is used for the sacred rituals that open doorways to the Higher Intelligence or for working magic. (2)

Wikipedia.com offers this explanation:

Natural forces that cannot be detected by science at present, and in fact may not be detectable at all. These magical forces are said to exist in addition to and alongside the four known forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force.

Intervention of spirits similar to these hypothetic natural forces, but with their own consciousness and intelligence. Believers in spirits will often see a whole cosmos of beings of many different kinds, sometimes organized into a hierarchy.

A mystical power, such as mana, that exists in all things. This power is often said to be dangerous to people.

A mysterious interconnection in the cosmos that connects and binds all things, above and beyond the natural forces.

Manipulation of symbols. Adherents of magical thinking believe that symbols can be used for more than representation: they can magically take on a physical quality of the phenomenon or object that they represent. By manipulating symbols, one is said to be able to manipulate the reality that this symbol represents.

Like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not.

Concentration or meditation. A certain amount of restricting the mind to some imagined object (or will) produces mystical attainment or an occurrence in the brain characterized essentially by the uniting of subject and object. Magic, as defined previously, seeks to aid concentration by constantly recalling the attention to the chosen object (or Will), thereby producing said attainment. For example, if one wishes to concentrate on a God, one might memorize a system of correspondences (perhaps chosen arbitrarily, as this would not affect its usefulness for mystical purposes) and then make every object that one sees “correspond” to said God.

The magical power of the subconscious mind. To believers who think they need to convince their subconscious mind to make the changes they want, all spirits and energies are projections and symbols that make sense to the subconscious. A variant of this belief is that the subconscious is capable of contacting spirits, who in turn can work magic. (3)

However you define it magic requires dedication, concentration, and belief. Prayer, miracles, and magic are all pretty much the same thing. Whether you pray to God in a church or cast a circle and invoke the Goddess, you are still directing divine attention.

References

WiccanOne
1. The Power of the Witch: The Earth, the Moon, and the Mgical Path to Enlightenment ~ Laurie Cabot (with Tom Cowan) Pg.9
2. Ibid pg.16
3. Magic (paranormal), Theories of Magic
http://en.wikipedia.org/

Monday & The Perfect Corresponding Spell

When dealing with a weekly spell guide, Mondays are thought to be the logical day for money, love, time and meditation spells. Since Mondays are thought to be the start of the work week, it gives plenty of time for a Monday spell to gain strength throughout the rest of the week.

Time Spells – Hands of Time Spell

Items you will need:

Both hands
6 fingers

Hold both of your hands in front of you. Stare at your hands, noticing your palms and fingers, for about thirty seconds. Then, say this chant one time:

“Palms sweaty,
From watching clocks.
No more.
One finger,
For every ten docked.
Seconds in a minute
1440 in a day.
Stop a few,
For singing birds
And trees that sway.”

This should feel like time has slowed-down and allowed you to appreciate life more.

Source

A Witch’s Week of Spells and Activities
Helga C. Loueen

Home & Hearth Magick for Monday, September 18th

On Monday, casts for matters concerning the home, emotions and nurturing.

Planetary Influence: The Moon

Household Symbols: Silver platters and bowls, moon shapes

Color: White and Silver

Kitchen Spices: Lemon rind and wintergreen.

Source

Cottage Witchery, Natural Magick for Hearth and Home
Ellen Dugan

Celebrating Folklore, Legends & Other Spirituality 365 Days a Year for September 18th -Laguna Indian San Jose Day

18 and 19 September

Laguna Indian San Jose Day

During the late Summer and early Fall, the southwestern part of the United States supports an array of fiestas that honor various Catholic saints and feature elaborate processions, markets, dancing, and entertainment. The Laguna festival honoring Saint Joseph is a prime example. The pueblo of Laguna, some 45 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was established in 1697. Soon after, a Catholic mission was built there and became the official site of the festival. The origins of the festival have been lost over time, but more than likely they revolved around the mission’s patron Saint Joseph and the plentiful late Summer harvest. Today the festival still attracts thousands of people for the two-day celebration. The fiesta begins with a procession for Saint Joseph from the mission to the fairgrounds, which is followed by a noontime harvest and corn dance. After the official opening of the festival, the adults flock to the enormous market for the exchange of local products and food, while the children enjoy carnival rides and games. The fiesta concludes with demonstration dances performed by local Indian tribes and the return of the statue of Saint Joseph to the mission.

The Witches’ Current Moon Phase

Waning Crescent
Illumination: 4%

The Moon today is in a Waning Crescent phase. In this phase the Moon’s illumination is growing smaller each day until the New Moon. During this phase the Moon is getting closer to the Sun as viewed from Earth and the night side of the Moon is facing the Earth with only a small edge of the Moon being illuminated. This phase is best viewed an hour or 2 before the sunrise and can be quite beautiful if you’re willing to get up early. It can also be a great time to see the features of the Moon’s surface. Along the edge where the illuminated portion meets the dark side, the craters and mountains cast long shadows making them easier to observe with a telescope or binoculars.

Phase Details for – Monday, September 18, 2017

Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 4%
Moon Age: 27.75 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 376,367.15 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,284,237.63 km

Source

The New Moon in Virgo Is Your Turning Point

Read your sign’s New Moon in Virgo Horoscope now

By Rick Levine

Virgo, Videos, New-moon, Horoscopes, Astrology

Aries Horoscope (March 21 – April 19)

Taurus Horoscope (April 20 – May 20)

Gemini Horoscope (May 21 – June 20)

Cancer Horoscope (June 21 – July 22)

Leo Horoscope (July 23 – Aug. 22)

Virgo Horoscope (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22)

Libra Horoscope (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)

Scorpio Horoscope (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)

Sagittarius Horoscope (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)

Capricorn Horoscope (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19)

Aquarius Horoscope (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18)

Pisces Horoscope (Feb. 19 – March 20)

Your Love Horoscopes for the Week of September 18th

by Sarah Bartlett

With Venus moving into logical Virgo, and a new moon in Virgo too this week, you may find others are sceptical of love’s mysteries, yet certain they can win your heart too.

With such a paradoxical influence, this could be the time for radical reform or changing the way you look at your love relationships too.

ARIES

This week, you feel like love personified and someone is certainly getting heated under the collar about you. But, there’s something stopping you from getting close, and that’s the fear of committing yourself too soon. Radiating charisma, you can now truly realise those love goals.

TAURUS

Sometimes we feel ‘at one’ with the universe. This happens when we fall in love and that’s when everything else becomes meaningless. If single, you may experience those moments again this week, and if attached, it’s timely to rekindle your passion. You will be at one, not only with another, but with yourself and life too.

GEMINI

Commit yourself to a current quest so that you can really engage with love like you’ve never done before. This week, that little thing called love is calling you on to adventure forth and navigate the chilly waters of feeling and head for warmer shores. Don’t rock your love boat. Jump in, take the helm, and honour your quest.

CANCER

You want to escape, to where, you’re not sure. But it does feel as if you need to get out and do something new and exciting. This week, lovers or partners are at last ready to join you on a new mission. The change you seek is on its way, and the freedom you need is exciting everyone, rather than being ignored.

LEO

A week or so back, you might remember, the change of planetary energy was supposed to augur the bright, enchanting new you that everyone would love and desire? Well, funnily enough through all the melodrama, it will now begin to work its magic. Get ready to show how loveable and loving you are.

VIRGO

Didn’t your partner or admirer say, ‘it’s nothing important,’ about something you felt was actually quite important to you? So what does that say about you? Is your importance nothing in their eyes? Luckily, this week you can take things less personally and see that although intimate relationships can be hard work, they’re only going to get better and better.

LIBRA

Think of the present as an adventure. Embrace adventure. Let adventure love you back, and you can continue through the coming weeks with a smile on your face. Enjoy the unexpected rather than retreat from it or try to control it. You never know what might happen on the way to love’s open door.

SCORPIO

Sometimes we feel like we’ve known someone in some other life, and at the same time, they make us look at life from a new perspective. It’s often with those who are apparently so unlike ourselves that we become more than just friends. So your catchphrase this week has to be, ‘vive la difference.’

SAGITTARIUS

This week, you begin to find a way to enjoy yourself without relying on anyone else. If attached, you have new plans, adventurous joint projects and a chance to build a grand future together, so take advantage of Mercury’s great ideas that come to you in the coming weeks.

CAPRICORN

The worst thing for you is to feel tied up in emotional knots. But this week, you’re thinking straight and feeling good, so if you’re more excited about saving money than attending to your partner’s crazy feelings, well, why not? It doesn’t mean you adore money more than you adore your partner, but it does mean it’s time to respect your autonomy.

AQUARIUS

If single, you may be thinking, ‘well, I’m attracting moths to a flame, but why are they always the wrong types that I find so disappointing or unavailable?’ Yet as the planets start to change for the better in your chart, the fear of merger will seem less scary, and the desire to get on with life and love will be far more enticing.

PISCES

Although most of your friends believe that love is about settling down, you’re currently feeling like a dose of freedom. So are you really going to conform to the expectations of others, or follow your true desires? Make a decision based on what you truly want, not what others want you to be.

Source

The Astrology Room

Your Daily Horoscopes for Monday, September 18th

Aries

The Moon moves into your work and health sector today, Aries, where there is already quite a bit of activity in your chart, with more to come! Work, health, and habits are strong themes in your life now. Today, your relationship with any of these things can be complicated. There may be a sidetracking or delayed situation on the job or a minor health matter that interferes with productivity. Fortunately, a positive attitude and the determination to not let the little things get you down will save the day. While Mercury is challenged tomorrow, it’s also coming to the end of its post-retrograde shadow in this sector of your chart, and more clarity plus a new beginning for your health, work, and routines are in the pipeline.

Taurus

The Moon moves into your romance and creativity sector today, Taurus. This is a bustling area of your solar chart, and it’s set to get even more busy in the coming days. However, today’s energies are a little tricky in the social or romantic department. It can be difficult to put complete faith into something or someone right now, and probably advisable not to until you have more confidence about the matter. In just two days, a New Moon will occur in your creative and romantic solar fifth house, and a romance, creative project, or hobby may very well turn a corner. This is a chance for a fresh start in some way, and today, it would be wise to handle feelings of guilt or insecurity to help clear the path forward.

Gemini

The Moon moves into your home and family sector today, Gemini, where there is already quite a bit of attention. Life is settling in for you, or you’re seeking more peace or predictability. Even so, today can be tricky as uncertainty or insecurities related to work, career, or life direction can interrupt or obscure your enjoyment of downtime, family, or home life. If something — or someone — touches a nerve, pay particular attention, as this may be exactly what you need to work on to make your life more comfortable, less guilt-ridden, and secure. This is a period for seeking out more comfort and nurture without feeling wrong for doing so! In just two days, a New Moon will occur in this same sector, and you’ll begin to feel more in charge of your domestic world.

Cancer

The Moon moves into your communications sector today, dear Cancer, where there is already quite a bit of cosmic attention, with even more to come. This brings even further power to the themes of communication, learning, sharing, and connecting in your life. Decisions are not easy to come by today, however, as much as you’d like them to be, with a complicated Sun-Chiron opposition in play. Circumstances can almost seem to be riling you up or pulling out buried frustration, particularly related to intelligence, ideas, and beliefs. Something communicated can get to you. Do your best to learn about why these things are pushing your buttons, as this can bring an emotional release of sorts. In just two days, a New Moon will occur in your communications sector, launching a new beginning or turning point for learning and connecting.

Leo

The Moon moves into your resources sector today, dear Leo, where there is already quite a bit of cosmic activity, with more to come! Strong themes of building, development, security, money, talents, and resources continue to grow in your life now. However, today and tomorrow can be a little confusing when it comes to ownership or sharing matters. Differing core values can be glaring now, or feelings of indebtedness could interfere with healthy interactions. However, this is a time for learning from the vulnerabilities that seem to be revealed now, especially since the New Moon in two days points to the chance for a fresh start, new beginning, or turning point regarding how you manage your resources and value yourself. For now, tricky money issues or questions of ownership and power can reach a head, and it would be a good idea to seek out grounding, earthy activities that help you heal and center yourself.

Virgo

With so much activity in your sign these days, Virgo, your personal plans, needs, and agenda are in strong focus. However, this also means that all these cosmic bodies in Virgo oppose Chiron and Neptune in Pisces at some time or another, and this points to some struggles with your relationships, attachments, and sense of independence. There are times when you also struggle with whether you want attention or not, but it probably boils down to disliking the feeling of being overlooked, but slightly uncomfortable when you’re completely in the spotlight! You tend to become frustrated if others are not seeing things the way you want them to. However, no matter how hard you argue, ultimately, you may be only fighting yourself and your vulnerability. While Mercury is challenged tomorrow, it’s also coming to the end of its post-retrograde shadow in your sign, and this brings a little more order or clarity to your life (after today and tomorrow’s hump). Plus, you’re closing in on a New Moon in your sign, which will help you make a fresh start wherever you need it most.

Libra

The Moon moves into your privacy sector where there is quite a bit of activity these days, dear Libra, with even more on its way. This points to a strong need to recover, relax, heal, and renew your strength. It can also be a time for reassessing a few things before you begin your birthday year. Perhaps there’s a project or particular mindset that has outworn its purpose or is dragging you down. At different points throughout September, including today and tomorrow, you may be struggling with finding a balance between work and rest. Today, some old wounds may open, and while the process can be a little weighty, the results should be excellent. Watch for guilt eroding your actions, decisions, and relationships now. Do your best to work through this.

Scorpio

The Moon moves into your solar eleventh house, encouraging you to branch out and seek out others, dear Scorpio. In fact, there is considerable focus on this sector of your chart, and by tomorrow and the next, even more so. Friendship, networking, and happiness goals are in strong focus for you now, but there can be some complications from time to time. Today and tomorrow, you may be struggling with whether to go it alone or enlist help on a matter, or you may find it difficult to see a friend or lover clearly, or there can be doubts or insecurities raised about or by a friend or lover. An old problem area can emerge, and although this can weigh you down, it’s an important time for coming to a better understanding of yourself and others. You might feel driven to express your deeper feelings creatively or artistically, and this would be a good way to channel frustrations or anger — by creating something stirring.

Sagittarius

You have a lot going on at the top of your solar chart, Sagittarius, where you meet the world on a public or professional level. This theme will not only continue, but it will grow further. However, from time to time during this period when career, ambition, performance, and reputation are prominent in your life, there can be some challenges balancing all of this with your personal life, living situation, or family affairs. Today and tomorrow especially, you can struggle with the work-home balance. Watch for defensiveness today and aim to learn from your interactions with others, even if people seem to be hitting a nerve! Do your best to sort out any guilty feelings you may have that are interfering with going after what you want.

Capricorn

The Moon moves into your spirit sector today, Capricorn, where there is already quite a bit of activity (with even more to come!). You’re in an excellent position to explore different options, settings, and ideas these days. Even so, you can wrestle with taking care of business or daily affairs from time to time, and today and tomorrow may be one of those times. Today, insecurities may be in the mix, likely related to speaking your mind, communications, or learning something new. Some of you may be tempted to take a roundabout approach to getting answers or what you want rather than pursue a matter directly. Interactions with others tend to trigger old problem areas, but what emerges now may very well need your attention before moving along. Do your best to address issues related to guilt or insecurities today.

Aquarius

The Moon moves into your intimacy sector today, Aquarius, where there is a whole lot of attention already (and more of this to come). This is a powerful time of your year for getting to the heart of a matter, exploring an intimate relationship, or pouring your energies into a project you truly care about. It can be a great period for sharing activities or combining resources with others. Even so, there can be times this month when you are struggling with some insecurities or uncertainties related to your income, talents, or what you have to offer in the equation, and today and tomorrow could stimulate some of these themes. Troubled areas surrounding values, money, intimacy, and ownership can emerge in unusual ways, and likely through loaded interactions with others. Keep in mind that everyone’s a little sensitive, and possibly even sore, but also consider that it’s time to address problem areas before they grow bigger.

Pisces

The Moon moves into your partnership sector where you have a lot of activity already, Pisces, adding more emphasis to your relationships, negotiations, and connections. There can be some challenges coordinating or balancing your sense of independence with others today and tomorrow, and you could experience some tricky energy. While you may not want to stir up past matters, it can be cleansing to do so with some willingness to grow and move past problem areas. In just two days, a New Moon will occur and bring the chance for a new beginning, so you’ll do well for yourself to work on cleaning the slate now.

Source

If You Were Born Today, September 18

You are someone who can be “hard to know” because of your fluctuations between sociability and independence–you’re friendly when others have you, and aloof or unavailable at other times. You need time to yourself to refuel. You’re highly intuitive, helpful, and a natural teacher. While worry and self-doubt can be issues in youth, you get better with age! You are at once peace-loving and hard-working. You appreciate the comforts of home and family, but you are also enthusiastic about your work. You cling to your lifestyle and don’t make sweeping changes easily. An overall feeling of stability is important to you. You may be drawn to partners who are emotional and a tad dramatic.

Famous people born today: Lance Armstrong, Greta Garbo, Frankie Avalon, James Gandolfini, Robert Blake, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Marsden.

Source

Cafe Astrology

Get A Jump On Tomorrow…..

Your Daily Horoscopes for Tuesday, September 19th

Aries

There are a few good reasons to wind down rather than wind yourself up today, Aries. One is that it’s a day before a New Moon, which is best used for reflection and tying up loose ends than for new beginnings. Interests and direction can change after tomorrow. Another is a Mercury-Neptune opposition, which can point to imaginative thinking but some confusion or misunderstandings about the facts. Your mind is likely to wander and take some detours, which can certainly be interesting, but not excellent for concentration. Stretching the truth and coverups are best avoided now, even though they can be attractive. Look for creative, healthy ways to escape the routine, and seek out a better balance between work and rest.

Taurus

This is a good day for taking it easy and engaging your imagination, dear Taurus. A New Moon will occur tomorrow, setting you off in a new direction, and today is a great time for considering what you’d like to improve, particularly related to creativity, romance, and play. An opposition between Mercury and Neptune can point to a need to pull back from overthinking things, as well. Do your best to avoid misunderstandings and double check your facts. It’s also a good idea to seek out harmless ways to engage your imagination and need for drama in your life. Watch that you don’t get carried away by an idea or vision that takes you too far away from what needs to get done, but do find ways to satisfy your itch for new options and possibilities when it’s appropriate to do so.

Gemini

Do your best to keep things simple today, Gemini, as the Balsamic Moon points to the need to wind down rather than wind up. As well, your ruler, Mercury, opposes Neptune today, and this suggests some tendency to confront possible misunderstandings or disappointments. Keep in mind that something you say or do today could be relayed or interpreted in the wrong way, but this can also be a day when all that is imaginative, fantastic, or spiritual engages you. Seek out people you trust for opinions on your practical affairs or anything that requires some objectivity but look within for answers to matters of the heart. You may feel that you have too many choices right now, which probably means you are not truly ready to come to a solid conclusion. Uncertainty about your career or goals can interfere with the enjoyment of the moment. However, this is a time of reflection rather than action.

Cancer

Your imagination may take you to interesting places today, dear Cancer, but watch that it doesn’t take you too far or away from the things you need to get done. A Mercury-Neptune opposition can make it hard to concentrate when you need to most, and this can be disruptive. Watch for misunderstandings in your conversations. You can have a hard time arriving at definites and conclusions. Let your imagination go, but do so in the right places, and not so far that you set yourself up for a letdown. Productivity can suffer if you focus too closely on facts or if you go the opposite route and allow your imagination to take over – a combination of the two is preferred! Since it’s also a Balsamic Moon, it’s best not to begin something brand new as the New Moon tomorrow will redirect your attention.

Leo

If you’re dealing with facts and figures or precise directions and instructions, you may want to double check information today, dear Leo. You can have a hard time getting all the facts straight regarding a financial or ownership matter, and uncertainties about others’ support or debts can obscure the picture even further. When it comes to energy, money, and time, try not to overcommit today. Let your imagination loose when it’s appropriate to do so, as you’re likely to see more possibilities than you might on a regular day. However, be vigilant with lending and spending today or, if possible, save it for a clearer day.

Virgo

Tomorrow’s New Moon is in your sign, setting you on a new path, dear Virgo, and today is best used for reflection. A Mercury-Neptune influence can magnify misunderstandings or confused directions today. Others may seem a little too vague or situations are ambiguous when you’re seeking definite answers. It may appear that others are trying to avoid your questions or keeping secrets from you. Try not to juggle too many things at once today. With Mercury in your sign, you are projecting more strength in your communications generally speaking, but today there can be some frustration that others are not responsive or precise. Explaining, pushing, or questioning will not make anything better at the moment. It may be that you need to wait things out a while longer.

Libra

You’ll be clearing the decks in the coming weeks with great results as well as increased focus and clarity, dear Libra, but today, it’s best to settle for a state of not knowing. For one, the Moon is Balsamic, and we’re symbolically in the dark until after the New Moon tomorrow. For another, Mercury opposes Neptune today, reminding us that we can’t always have clear answers — and don’t always need them. A chaotic or disrupted routine or lack of directions can be distracting today, but the detour your mind takes as a result of this can be enlightening, ultimately. Enjoy dreaming up possibilities, but avoid firm commitments for the time being. Watch for miscommunication today as it’s quite likely that signals get crossed.

Scorpio

A Mercury-Neptune opposition active today can have the effect of opening up your mind to new possibilities, Scorpio. This can be helpful, ultimately, but you may be a little vulnerable to delusion or confusion in the meantime. Imagination is big, but it may serve you poorly today. Misunderstandings and distractions are possible, particularly in your social life. This is not the time for make or break decisions – give things time before arriving at firm conclusions. Missed connections or instructions can be part of the picture now, but it might also be that you need to let go of a “need to know” or overthinking for a while anyhow. This will give you the chance to process things and allow intuition to kick in.

Sagittarius

You’ll need some time to process what you see today, dear Sagittarius, particularly when it comes to your home, family, and personal life. This way, you won’t jump to premature conclusions. A Mercury-Neptune opposition active now can be frustrating if you’re anxious to see a situation clearly or if your work demands concentration. Distractions are plenty, and the chance of misunderstandings runs high today. Dreaming up new possibilities can figure strongly, but it’s not the time to commit to something solid. On top of things, the Moon is Balsamic with a New Moon occurring early tomorrow. This suggests that it’s much better to wind yourself down than to start something new. Uncertainty with family, living conditions, or ambiguous situations can be at the heart of restlessness or distractions today, so do your best to rest, recoup your energy, and wait things out.

Capricorn

Regarding your practical affairs today, try to keep your wits about you or allow for the genuine possibility that you don’t have all the facts to make a firm decision, Capricorn. It’s unlikely you’ll get particularly helpful or straight answers from others, or if you do, you may not be honing in on the right information. Such is the energy of a Mercury-Neptune opposition that influences the day. There is a tendency for self-deception as well. Allow for this influence’s mind-expanding benefits, as you’re entertaining some interesting possibilities now, but it’s not the best idea to bank on anything. In addition to this challenging aspect, the Moon is Balsamic, and it’s better to take things easy, tie up loose ends, and reflect than to get yourself all wound up or excited about something new.

Aquarius

While you can be very anxious to bring more order, structure, or knowledge to a project or endeavor, Aquarius, you may not have all the facts or information to go on now, which can be frustrating. Uncertainty about your income or abilities can weigh on your mind or distract you from doing what you want to do. Do your best to avoid letting doubt and insecurities interfere with happiness or dictate your behavior and responses today. The compelling need to organize your thoughts, especially about finances, projects, and relationships, is real, but you need to take a step back and allow your intuition to kick in before you move forward. People and information can be elusive now. Note also that the Moon is Balsamic today with a New Moon set to occur early tomorrow. This Moon phase requires you to wind down, rest, and reflect rather than start something brand new.

Pisces

Questions or requests from others could awaken the escapist in you today, Pisces, as you are no mood to be pressured. In truth, you may not have the answers. Be careful if you give answers that unintentionally mislead as these may fix things at the moment but lead to long-term problems. While you do need to take some time to get to conclusions, consider whether you can give a little and give others something to go on. Leaving your options open too often can be exhausting for others! Some of you could experience a mental disconnect with someone today, likely because wishful thinking skews perceptions. However, given some space and freedom, you can come up with something very imaginative today. As well, the Moon is Balsamic, and it’s better to reflect than take action.

Source

This Week’s Tarot Card Reading

A one-card reading gives you a glimpse at what’s coming

For the week of September 18, I chose the Ace of Wands!

This week, you may feel trapped, stuck, or restricted in some way. You may be feeling as if you are the victim here and you’re pointing the finger of blame toward others who have put you in this position. But take a closer look.

The woman in this card is bound and blindfolded, yes, but she can in fact free herself if she so chooses. While you may feel that you are the victim, you always have the free will and power to change your circumstances.

Is your job boring and tedious? Then find another one. Is your relationship tense and dramatic? Then leave. There is always an option — it may just be more difficult to see when you’re in the thick of it.

Ask the Tarot, “How can I release myself from my limitations?”

Your Daily Tarot Card for September 18th

King of Cups

September 18th, 2017

Traditionally, representing the energy of a King, this card usually portrays a watery background, with a man seated on a throne, holding the Cup of Mystery in his hand. Occasionally, his cup is fulminating like the mouth of a volcano, emanating light, but never boiling over.

The man in this card doesn’t need to speak to communicate strength, passion and commitment. Sometimes he is robed like a priest or shaman. Intense and intuitive, he is a force to be reckoned with.

Your Daily Love Tarot Card for September 18th

Temperance

September 18th, 2017

Promises? Promises? Are promises past due and payable? People make them to get what they want, you know. People say, “I’m sorry for what I did. I promise not to do it again.” Now is the time to take an objective look. You find insight into motivations. Promises are sacred. If single and dating, even the simplest of them reneged upon is a heads-up warning you can’t ignore today.

Your Daily Erotic Tarot Card for September 18th

The Fool

September 18th, 2017

The Fool chuckles and tells you that while some of you sexual antics have been foolish lately, they’re almost always fun and entertaining. This card signifies your sexual potential and abilities, and cheers on enthusiasm for all things erotic while still encouraging you to pay attention to the potential dangers and consequences along the way. The Fool says that all things are possible, but just because certain sexual pleasures are being offered doesn’t mean you have to partake in them.

Your Daily Thoth Tarot Card for September 18th

The Lovers

September 18th, 2017

The Lovers indicates both the most powerful of unions and the most of challenging conflicts humans must face. On one side The Lover’s embodies love and union on a cosmic scale—a love so strong, so inherently good that it actually makes the lovers better, more than they really are. All of the elements are there for the perfect union. The Lovers represent all powerful unions in general, and the elements that create/sustain them. The problem The Lovers face is temptation and the decision to act morally or abandon their ethics to take advantage of other opportunities that would be defined as transgressions.

Your Daily Influences for the Week of September 18th

Tarot Influence

Seven of Coins Reversed

After much labor, little gain may be realized

Astrological Influence

Aries

The Ram is energetic, courageous, optimistic and obstinate. The Ram is not a quitter! He will get his way!

Element Influence

Air reversed

Air reversed denotes a lack of freedom to move through life as you want.

Your Daily Ancient Symbol Card for September 18th

The Hourglass

September 18th, 2017

The Hourglass is a gentle reminder that time passes and with it goes opportunity. Every moment is a moment we cannot retrieve or relive, and there are no guarantees that what we put off today really can be done tomorrow. The Hourglass urges us to make every second of our lives as rich and fulfilling as we possibly can.

As a daily card, The Hourglass suggest you may be allowing opportunities to pass you by. If you’ve been procrastinating or putting too much of your precious time into activities with no lasting value to you, now is the time for you redirect your energies into actions that will enrich your life.

Your Daily Animal Spirit Guide for September 18th

Sasquatch

September 18th, 2017

Is Big Foot real or a hoax? It doesn’t really matter, because he has ambled into your reading to remind you of life’s mysteries. Not everything can be explained, not everything can be touched—but that doesn’t mean it don’t exist. Suspend your logic for a bit, and be open to the mystery

Your Daily Charm for September 18th

The Caduceus

September 18th, 2017

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 of prosperity, rendering its possessor healthy, wealthy and wise

Crack the Cookie

The Wisdom of Buddha

The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.

Your Earth Sky News for September 18th – Occultations galore on September 18

By Bruce McClure

Above photo: Lunar occultation of Venus by Ravindra Aradhya on February 26, 2014

Tomorrow – September 18, 2017 – the moon will occult (cover over) three planets (Venus, Mars and Mercury) and one first-magnitude star (Regulus) in less than 24-hours time. This will be the first time since March 5, 2008, that three planets have been occulted by the moon in less than one day. The next time won’t be until July 24, 2036. Overall, this string of planetary occultations may be more of an academic than observational interest, because much of the world is not particularly well-situated for watching even one of these four occultations.

But don’t let that stop you from waking up early – say 90 to 60 minutes before sunrise – to get an eyeful of the moon, morning planets and Regulus all lining up in your eastern sky. We give you fair warning. Only the moon and Venus will be easy to spot in the predawn/dawn sky, though it shouldn’t be all that difficult to spot Regulus a short hop below Venus before dawn. It’ll take a more deliberate effort to catch Mercury and Mars near the horizon as the predawn darkness is giving way to morning twilight.

You’ll almost certainly need binoculars to see Mars – and possibly Mercury.

Click here for recommended almanacs; they can give you the rising times of the sun, moon, planets ainto your sky.

On September 18, the moon will occult Venus first (1 UTC), the star Regulus next (5 UTC), then Mars (20 UTC) and finally Mercury (23 UTC). To see any one of these occultations, however, you have to be at just the right spot on Earth. Even at that, the occultations of Regulus, Mars and Mercury will be extremely hard to observe because they occur in a daytime sky. Undoubtedly, you’ll need a telescope to see any of one these lunar occultations – that is, if any one of them even takes place in your sky.

Although the occultation of Venus happens during the daylight hours, as well, sharp-eyed observers can actually see the moon and Venus at daytime with no optical aid. We’re expecting some of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere – Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand – to see this occultation in their daytime sky on September 18. Remember, if you can see the moon – but not Venus – in the daytime sky, aim binoculars at the moon to spot nearby Venus in the same binocular field. Click here to find out the occultation times for numerous localities in Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand in Universal Time. Here’s how to convert Universal Time to local time.

Use the waning crescent moon and the dazzling planet Venus, the brightest and second-brightest heavenly bodies of nighttime, respectively, to seek out the grand alignment of the moon, planets and Regulus in your eastern sky some 90 to 60 minutes before sunrise. Good luck!

Bruce McClure

Bruce McClure has served as lead writer for EarthSky’s popular Tonight pages since 2004. He’s a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also writes and hosts public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.

Published on EarthSky.org

A Little Humor for Your Day

Learning your ABC’s for Witches and Pagans

To learn your letters you must start
With a clever mind and a willing heart
Each one is special, just like you
And you will learn them all by the time we are through!

A is Athame, the knife that we use
B is for Beltaine, when partners we choose
C is for Circle where we all are one.
D is for Deosil, path of the Sun.
E is for Esbat, when we gather round
F is for Fire and its crackling sound
G is the Goddess in beauty and love.
H is the Horned One, our Father above.
I is for Imbolg, candles light the way,
J is for June when it’s Midsummer’s Day
K is for Karma, the things that we do
L is for Lammas, harvest’s almost through!
M is for Moon, riding way up so high,
N is for Nighttime, which darkens the sky
O is for Ostara, when we hunt for eggs,
P is for Pan, with hairy goat legs
Q is the Quarters and there are just four,
R for the Rites when we open the Door
S is for Samhain, end of the year,
T is for Tarot cards, futures to hear
U is Undines from the watery West
V is Vervain for protection and rest
W’s Widdershins, the path of the moon.
X is the sign that’s the sign of the God
Y is for Yule and the sun’s return
Z is the Zodiac, 12 signs to learn

To learn them all you will have to try
And now it is time to say goodbye
Merry have we met, and Merry have we been
Merry shall we part and Merry meet again!

Author Unknown

Published on PaganLibrary.com

The Law of Return

The Law of Return
The Law of Return means that what you do affects what happens to you. If you do good, good is going to happen to you; if you do evil, evil will happen. The Law of Return exists in every religion in one form or another. In some it’s given a multiplier. Good and bad are said to come back upon you three- or tenfold.

The Ethic of Self-responsibility
Simply put, We and only we, are responsible for our own actions. In Wicca, there is no “The devil made me do it.” We don’t believe in devils.

The Ethic of Constant Improvement
The desire to improve the world around us, guided in part by the Law of Return.
Ecology, teaching and preaching tolerance, racial harmony and reverence for the arts and history, and living one’s life toward peace are important examples. Only by being constant in our learning, and growth, do we help prevent intolerance.

The Ethic of Attunement
Divinity is within us and around us, and becoming in-tune with this power is a major facet of Wicca.

1. We, in our Self, are divine. No one is in control of us except us.

2. The Gods/other powers are divine. The gods/goddesses are more like parents,
and less like the god of Christianity.

3. Earth is a living being. Each individual being, plant, animal or mineral on Earth is a part of that being. Everything has a spirit of its own.

taken from ” The Five Points of Wiccan Belief,” laid out by Universal Eclectic Wicca

Till tomorrow, my sweets…..

Have a very beautiful & blessed Monday!

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Welcome to the Witches Digest for Saturday, September 16th

The Witches Digest for Saturday, September 16th

A Witch’s Tale

What is it like
To cast a spell?
To chant a charm?
To ring a bell?
To cast a circle?
To praise the moon?
To love the Earth?
To read the rune?
To love the Goddess?
To live her way?
To ebb and flow
Every day?
The trees, the grass,
The clouds and hills;
All these things
Witchcraft fills.
Every laugh,
Every cry,
Need you ask
The reason why?
The power can be found
From deep within
When you find it
You’re ready to begin.

—By The Light Of The Crystal Moon: A Book of Pagan Poetry and Short Stories
Elizabeth Gardiepy

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Saturday, September 16th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 104.22° ESE
Sun Altitude: 21.89°
Sun Distance: 93.447 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2017 3:01 pm (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 6:37 am↑ 86° East
Sunset Today: 7:00 pm↑ 273° West
Length of Daylight: 12 hours, 22 minutes

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 135.68° SE
Moon Altitude: 63.61°
Moon Distance: 231251 mi
Next New Moon: Sep 20, 201712:29 am
Next Full Moon: Oct 5, 20171:40 pm
Next Moonset: Today4:57 pm
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 15.7%

Lunar Calendar
Moon Phase Tonight: Waning Crescent
New Moon: Sep 20, 2017 at 12:29 am
(Next Phase)
Third Quarter: Sep 13, 2017 at 1:24 am
(Previous Phase)

Source

Your Astronomy for Saturday, September 16th

The Moon is in Leo.

The Moon is waning and in its Last Quarter phase until 12:32 PM, after which the Moon is in its Waning Crescent phase.
The Last Quarter Moon occurred on the 13th, and the New Moon will occur on the 20th.
Mercury is in its post-retrograde shadow until September 19th.

Moon in Leo

The Moon is traveling through Leo today. Shine and be proud! You rule right now!

The Moon in Leo speaks to our “inner child”. It’s a warm, generous, whole-heartedly loving position. Pride keeps us from pettiness, but it can also prevent us from opening up and revealing how we are truly feeling. We are on stage, our feelings are grand, and we appreciate some drama in our lives. We are easily threatened by anything that seems to be impersonal. This is a time when we seek attention–when we want to stand out for our special qualities. It’s a strong time for romance and any creative activity as well.

The Moon in Leo generally favors the following activities: Creative activities, activities involving children, generous undertakings, undertakings in which personal recognition is desired, and risk-taking.

The Sky This Week for September 16 to 17

The Big Dipper, a crescent Moon, and other cool things to look for in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Saturday, September 16

Mercury and Mars have appeared near each other in the predawn twilight all week, but they make their closest approach this morning. For North American observers, they slide just 0.25° (half the Full Moon’s diameter) apart and lie in the same low-power field through a telescope. (Mercury spans 6.4″ and is about two-thirds lit; Mars is 3.6″ across and full.)

Sunday, September 17

The waning crescent Moon points toward three planets and a star this morning. The slim crescent stands 6° above Venus with Leo the Lion’s luminary, magnitude 1.4 Regulus, 3° below the planet. Mars and Mercury huddle 11° below Venus.

This evening provides a nice opportunity to see Saturn’s seven brightest moons through a telescope. The toughest to spot normally are the two inner ones — Mimas and Enceladus — which never stray far from the rings’ glare. But tonight, the two satellites reach greatest western elongation within two hours of each other. Tethys, Dione, Rhea, and Titan show up more clearly because they glow brighter and lie farther from the planet. Distant Iapetus rounds out Saturn’s “magnificent seven” satellites on display. If you draw a line from Saturn to 8th-magnitude Titan and extend it an equal distance, 11th-magnitude Iapetus will be right there.

Source

Astronomy Magazine

Today Is Saturday, September 16

Saturday is dedicated to the shadowy Anglo-Saxon God Saetere or Seater, July 15equivalent to the God Saturn. It is a day also associated with the Norns, the Norse equivalent of Three Fates, and the trickster God Loki. It is connected generally with apprehension, austerity, caution, and excessive self-limitation.

Deity: Saetere

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Planet: Saturn

Tree: Alder

Herb: Daffodil

Stone: Amethyst

Animal: Eagle

Element: Earth

Color: Dark Blue

Number: 4

Rune: Dag(D)

Celtic Tree Month of Muin (Vine) September 2 – September 29

Runic Half-Month of Ken (September 13 – September 27)

Goddess of the Month of Mala (September 6 – October 2)

Reference

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

On Saturday, September 16th, We Honor The Egyptian Goddess Ma’at

Ma’at is the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice. She is married to Thoth, and is the daughter of Ra, the sun god. In addition to truth, she embodies harmony, balance and divine order. In Egyptian legends, it is Ma’at who steps in after the universe is created, and brings harmony amidst the chaos and disorder.

While many Egyptian goddesses are presented as tangible beings, Ma’at seems to have been a concept as well as an individual.

Ma’at is not just a goddess of truth and harmony – she IS truth and harmony. Ma’at is also the spirit in which law is enforced and justice applied. The concept of Ma’at was codified into laws, upheld by the kings of Egypt. To the people of ancient Egypt, the notion of universal harmony and the role of the individual within the grand scheme of things was all part of the principle of Ma’at.

According to EgyptianMyths.net, “Ma’at is depicted in the form of a woman seated or standing. She holds the sceptre in one hand and the ankh in the other. A symbol of Ma’at was the ostrich feather and she is always shown wearing it in her hair. In some pictures she has a pair of wings attached to her arms. Occasionally she is shown as a woman with an ostrich feather for a head.”

In her role as goddess, the souls of the dead are weighed against the feather of Maat. The 42 Principles of Ma’at were to be declared by a deceased individual as they entered the underworld for judgment.

The Divine Principles included assertions such as:

I have not told lies.
I have not stolen food.
I have not worked evil.
I have not stolen that which belongs to the gods.
I have not disobeyed the law.
I have not falsely accused anyone.

Because she is not just a goddess, but a principle as well, Ma’at was honored all throughout Egypt.

She is often depicted, like Isis, with wings on her arms, or holding the feather of an ostrich in her hand. She typically appears holding an ankh as well, the symbol of eternal life. It was a Pharaoh’s job to ensure law and order were enforced, so many of them were known by the title Beloved of Maat.

Ma’at appears regularly in Egyptian tomb art. Tali M. Schroeder of Oglethorpe University says, “Ma’at is particularly ubiquitous in tomb art of individuals in the upperclass: officials, pharaohs, and other royals. Tomb art served numerous purposes within the funerary practice of ancient Egyptian society, and Ma’at is a motif that helps fulfill many of these purposes. Ma’at is an important concept that helped create a pleasant living space for the deceased, evoke everyday life, and convey importance of the deceased to the gods. Not only is Ma’at essential in tomb art, but the goddess herself plays a pivotal role in the Book of the Dead.”

Patti Wigington, Author
Published on ThoughtCo

Goddesses Associated with Saturdays

Ops, Rhea, Tellus Mater, Gaia, Eartha, Ge, Tonantzin, Ashera, Anath, the Shekinah, the Matronit, Mary, Gula, Herodias, Oddudua, Demeter

Source

The Goddess Book of Days
Diane Stein

Ritual Influences for Saturday, September 16

Planet: Saturn

Perfumes: Hyacinth, Pansy

Incense: Pepperwort, Assodilious, Black Poppy Seeds, Henbane, Lodestone, Myrrh

Wood: Oak

Color: Black

Influences: Duties, Responsibilities, Finding Families, Works of Magic, Buildings, Meditation, Life, Doctrines.

Reference

A Book of Pagan Rituals
Herman Slater

The Witches Guide to Saturday

The planetary correspondence for Saturday is Saturn. Matters dealing with the public, farming, family ties, legal matters (such as wills and estates), taking care of debts, dealing with lawyers, financing, joint money matters, real estate, older people, banishing or binding negativity, and getting rid of bad habits all fall under the charge of Saturn. It’s easy to see why “Saturday’s child works hard for his living.”

Saturday’s angels are Cassiel, Machatan, Uriel, and Orifiel. Cassiel is the angel of solitudes and tears. He is one of the rulers of the planet Saturn and occasionally appears as the angel of patience. Cassiel links himself to dragon energy. Regarding Machatan, the only information we get is that he works well with Cassiel and is also a power of Saturn. Orifiel is an angel of the wilderness, a ruler of the second hour of the day, and also associated with Saturn.

On Saturday, the hour of sunrise and every eight hours after that are also ruled by Saturn, 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.

Source

Saturday’s Witchery

Saturday is a day filled with opportunities to clean up and clear out. So if you are wondering why Hecate is assigned to this day, take another look at what she symbolizes and the magick that is associated with her. That should answer the question.

Hecate was the oldest form of the Greek Triple Goddess, as she presided over heaven, the underworld, and earth. Crossroads where three roads met were especially sacred to Hecate, earning her the title of Hekate of the Three Ways. It’s interesting to note that even after the worship of other goddesses waned, ancient people still worshiped Hecate as the Queen of the Underworld and the Guardian of the Three-Way Crossroad. It was also believed that if you left her an offering of food there, she would grant you her favors. As Hecate Trivia, her triple images were often displayed at these crossroads, where she was petitioned on the full moon for positive magick and on the dark of the moon for cursing and dark magick.

While this last bit of information sounds a little ominous, keep in mind that Hecate/Hekate was known by many titles and is a shapeshifter. Her appearance could and did change often. As a dark moon goddess, her faces are many. To some she may appear as a old crone, hunched over a smoking cauldron and draped in a midnight cape. To others she may appear as a dark beautiful, mysterious, and mature woman wearing a shimmering crown. To some she may be perceived as a maiden priestess. She was called the “most lovely one,” the Great Goddess of Nature, and the Queen of the World of Spirits. This dark goddess knows her way around the earth and the underworld. All the powers of nature, life, and death are at her command.

Source

Book of Witchery Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

Custom Made Magick for Saturday

Protection, removing negativity, justice and balance have been the theme today. As we have just seen you can indeed a perform a binding and not cross the ethical line. Bindings are a more ethical route than cursing someone. But are there other options? Why, of course. I know of some Witches who, when they see a criminal’s face on television or read about them in the paper, mentally pain a white X over a criminal’s face while they say the phrase “I neutralize that person” with intention. This neutralizes the power and harm that the stranger causes.

If there is someone that you personally know who is causing you or your family harm, it is possible to use a photograph of the destructive person. Simply wrap white ribbon around their photo to symbolize you binding them up as you say, “I neutralize any physical or emotional harm that you are causing.”

But if you feel magickal bindings are the way to go, then perhaps your best course of action is to remove all emotion from yourself and the spell when you perform the binding. Just as I stated before, justice—like magick—is a neutral force. For lack of a better term, be businesslike. Wild swings of emotion only make for an uncontrollable magickal energy. Therefore, your best bet is to be neutral. If there was ever a time to be calm and in control, this is it. If you are not sure that you can pull off being neutral, then I suggest that you leave magick alone. It is essential to be in control. How much karma drama are you willing to pull into your life?

Source

Book of Witchery Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

The Witches Almanac for Saturday, September 16th

Independence Day (Mexican)

Waning Moon

Moon Phase: Fourth Quarter

Moon Sign: Leo

Incense: Patchouli

Color: Gray

The Witches Correspondences for Saturday, September 16th

Magickal Intentions: Spirit Communications, Meditation, Psychic Attack or Defense, Locating Lost Things and Missing Persons, Building, Life, Doctrine, Protection, Knowledge, Authority, Limitations, Boundaries, Time and Death

Incense: Black Poppy Seed and Myrrh

Planet: Saturn

Sign: Capricorn and Aquarius

Angel: Cassel

Colors: Black, Grey and Indigo

Herbs/Plants: Myrrh, Moss, Hemlock, Wolfsbane, Coltsfoot, Nightshade and Fir

Stones: Jet, Smokey Quartz, Amethyst, Black Onyx, Snowflake Obsidian, Lava, Pumice

Oil: (Saturn) Cypress, Mimosa, Myrrh, Patchouli

Saturn lends its energies to the last day of the week. Because Saturn is the planet of karma, this day is an excellent time for spellwork involving reincarnation, karmic lessons, the Mysteries, wisdom, and long-term projects.

It is also a good time to being efforts that deal with the elderly, death, or the eradication of pests and disease.

Saturday Is Ruled By Saturn

This day of the week got it’s name from the god of karma and time, Saturn. This day is obviously associated with the planet Saturn and is our last day of the week. Traditionally Saturdays are great days for protection, banishing a negative situation, and generally a good time to clean up any magical messes that you have been ignoring. Some suggestions for Saturday enchantments would include:

Wearing the colors of the day, black and deep purple. Here’s your perfect excuse to be dramatic and witchy. Empower these dramatic pieces of your wardrobe for protection and strength.

Burning black candles to absorb negativity and burning purple ones to increase your magical wisdom and boost your spirituality

Adding a touch of garden witchery to your Saturday spells by working with the pansy (in black or purple of course), the morning glory flowering vine, or the cypress tree.

Carrying an obsidian, hematite, or jet tumbled stone in your pocket to reinforce your personal protection and to ward off bad vibes and sour feelings. You can also add these crystals to a candle spell on a Saturday night to really increase the punch of your spellcasting.

Cleaning your house and cleansing it while you are at it. Tap into those obstacle-removing vibes and the positive, concluding energies.

Closing up the final day of the bewitching week with a bang by calling on Hecate for protection and guidance.

Shielding

There are many reasons to shield. When practicing the craft or even just exercising your psychic gifts you will come across those who will drain your energy or unintentionally send out harmful energies.

Emotions are a powerful energy. Anger and Fear are two of the most powerful emotions. That wave of negative energy projected out from a person can effect or drain you.

Sickness.. When someone is sick, they can unknowingly drain someone close to them. They don’t intend on doing so. It just happens.

Magick attack. Well, this is very rarely done. But it is also a possibility. When we shield ourselves properly, it protects us from others harming via magick.

Exercise in Shielding

When someone surrounds themselves in white light without grounding they run the mistake of doing what I call “Flaring the Aura” This is not a good thing. Not only does it use your own energies to “power” the shield around you but makes for a bright target on the astral planes for any nasties that are drawn to bright beings. If anything hits your shield you will be drained anyway in the reflection of the attack because you used your own energies to power it. In other words…. not good at all!

1. Do the grounding exercise above.

2. After you have completed the grounding exercise do not let go of the earth.

3. See yourself in a dark room.

4. Hold your hands out and visualize a bright ball of energy drawn up from the earth. Do not discard it if you don’t get white. Each person’s energy that they draw from the earth is different and resonates with them. Allow it to grow in your hands till it is too heavy to hold. Let it drop and grow till it is big enough to walk into.

5. Walk into the energy. Feel it surround you.

6. See it seal around you and become an unbreakable sphere around you.

7. Come back to yourself refreshed.

Saturday & Some Perfect Corresponding Spells

Saturday is the sixth day of the work week. It’s officially the weekend. Some see it as one of the luckiest days for gambling. It’s one of those days where you can do what you need around your home and relax, as well. You can take care of a little business then, reap the rewards. It’s a really good day to do collect, courage, reap, gamble and exercise spells.

Collect Spells – Collect My Debt Spell

Items needed:
1 sheet of paper
1 pen or pencil
1 gray ribbon
1 white candle
1 penny
1 bottle of glue
1 lighter or match

Light a white candle and close your eyes. Think about the money that is owed to you and how you feel about that situation. If you are angry at the person who owes you money, get rid of that anger now. Get the sheet of paper, bottle of glue, and a penny, and place them in front of you. Now, write down how much is owed to you on the sheet of paper. After that, below where you wrote the figure, glue the penny to the paper. Allow the glue to dry. Without breaking the penny from the paper, roll the paper up and tie the gray ribbon around it. Place the scroll you just made under your bed. Soon, you should be able to collect the debt. Once you collect the debt, remove the penny, give it away, and discard the scroll.

Courage Spells – Courage Bracelet Spell

Items you will need:
1 foot of orange yarn
3 white jewelry beads
1 pinch of orange peel spice
2 ounces of warm water

Fill a glass with two ounces of warm water. Add a pinch of orange peel. Let this soak for an hour. Then, soak the orange strand of yarn for about thirty minutes. Take out the yarn, discard the water, and hang the yarn out to dry. Once it has dried, string the three beads onto the yarn. Lastly, tie the yarn around your wrist and cut off the excess. From this moment on, whenever you feel scared, look at the bracelet and you should feel courageous.

Reap Spells – Bring in the Sheep Spell

Items you will need:
3 cotton balls
1 green sheet of paper or cloth
1 brown candle
1 lighter or match

Light a brown candle on a fire-proof surface. Nearby, lay out a sheet of green paper or cloth in front of you. At the far end of the paper or cloth, place three cotton balls. These cotton balls represent sheep.
Say this chant:

“I’m bringing in the sheep
And reaping my rewards.
One step back,
But another two forwards.
They’ve been out in the pastures
All day.
I’ve worked them hard.
Now, it’s time to pay.”

Bring the cotton balls toward you and blow out the candle. Whatever you’ve been working on should bring you good rewards.

Source

A Witch’s Week of Spells and Activities
Helga C. Loueen

Celebrating Legends, Folklore & Spirituality 365 Days A Year for September 16th – Rosh Hashana

September 16th

Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is a time of new beginnings. On this day, the best clothes were worn and “Good Year” greetings are exchanged. Originally this was a one-day festival and the Fast of Trumpets, at which the shofar was sounded. For the Jewish community this is a time of judgment, repentance, soul-searching, and also of augury for the coming year. This is an entirely public festival, in contrast to the domestic nature of most Jewish holidays. In earlier times, a ritual cleansing was enacted by casting one’s sins into the waters. Today, when possible, Orthodox Jews still assemble near the water for this rite.

The Witches Current Moon Phase for Saturday, September 16

Waning Crescent
Illumination: 16%

Phase Details for – Saturday, September 16, 2017

Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 16%
Moon Age: 25.62 days
Moon Angle: 0.54
Moon Distance: 368,451.98 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,366,169.84 km

Source

Click here for more information about the occultation of Venus.

Your Daily Horoscopes for Saturday, September 16th

Aries

This can be an excellent, if impatient, time for getting going on a health, wellness, or work project, Aries, as you’re tired of only thinking about things – you want to get things moving. The pace picks up surrounding work or daily routines now, and there can be some tension as you become fed up with a situation that has been dragging on too long! The urge to sort out little problems, iron out flaws, and eliminate waste or excess is strong, so use this extra energy boost to clear up the clutter in your daily life. Watch for sharp or rude words — or communications that can be misconstrued as such. While it’s important to express yourself, watch that you don’t push it too far. Others may not be working quite as quickly as you are, or contributing as much, and this can be frustrating. Overall, however, this is an active day for tending to practical affairs with enthusiasm.

Taurus

A tremendous urge to express yourself in a creative, unique manner grabs hold of you today, Taurus. You’re ready to make quick and sharp decisions, particularly concerning love relationships, entertainment, pleasure, dating, creativity, and children. Mental excitement may cross the line into irritation or aggravation, so watch for this. Try to tap into your courage to make a move rather than give in to impulsive communications or steps. Decisions tend to be sharp and come rather quickly but could be lacking an emotional element, so watch for getting ahead of yourself, but do put a creative idea into motion with confidence today.

Gemini

Mercury and Mars join in the sign of Virgo today, dear Gemini, and while this can push an issue forward, because it’s occurring in challenging aspect to your sign, tension is also possible now. Stress in small — not prolonged — doses can be good for you, so if you find yourself worked up today, do something productive about it. If you feel cooped up and restless, you’re more likely to either stew about a frustrating matter or get yourself into a disagreement. Take a detour from your usual routine just to keep emotional excitement levels high. For some of you, family, home, or inner life is animated, vivid, and exciting. Again, however, this can border on agitation, so be sure to find channels for expressing yourself constructively now. Solve rather than make problems today!

Cancer

This is a high energy day on a mental level, dear Cancer, and you can very easily become all wound up! It’s a time when something that has been dragging on too long frustrates you, and you do something about it. It’s also a “last straw” time. Keep in mind that a lot is going on in your head, and you may end up talking ahead of yourself and possibly misrepresenting yourself as a result. You’re passionate about what you do today, and probably very excited about sharing ideas or stating your case. Learning is quick and easy now. New ideas can be all-consuming and exciting. News that you were waiting for can finally arrive.

Leo

This is a great day for exciting ideas about business, money, practical matters, learning, and studies, dear Leo. You want to solve problems now, and you’re not content with merely thinking about something — you want to do something about it! Keep in mind that the energy that generates so much enthusiasm today can also lead to impatience, so as sharp as you are today, watch for skipping necessary steps. If you’ve been in a situation where you feel someone is taking advantage of you in some way, you’re likely to get to the “last straw” moment today, and what comes out your mouth can be intense, surprising even you. Channel all this mental energy into an important project if you can.

Virgo

Mercury and Mars join in your sign, dear Virgo, giving you a powerful voice and the courage to say your piece. Even so, this is an impatient energy, and it’s important to avoid getting ahead of yourself. You are filled with energy and vision today, so try not to waste it on arguing a point. The temptation to blurt something out can be overwhelming now. As well, it can be a little too easy to push your buttons! Quick conclusions may lead to regrettable commentary or decisions. Be careful that you don’t push something to a breaking point, or push yourself too hard. Apply your tremendous mental energy to something productive and useful. You’re moving a little bit outside of your comfort zone these days, and this is an important process.

Libra

A lot is going on inside of you today, dear Libra. Your thoughts could race at times, and your dreaming mind is active as well! Unless you’re channeling it into something creative and positive, avoid letting your imagination run away from you. You may want to gather all the facts before jumping to communicate about a new observation. Watch also for an overactive curiosity — you may think you’re ready for something, but you haven’t checked in with your heart on the matter. On the other hand, it’s possible that you get to the point of frustration and this acts as a push to say something that needs to be said. There can be new and exciting developments in your private life or a breakthrough related to your attachments or insights into a long-standing problem.

Scorpio

Mercury and Mars join forces in a sign that’s compatible with yours today, Scorpio, and this can be an excellent opportunity to put a great idea into motion or to settle a long-standing problem, once and for all. You’re motivated and inspired by new visions of your future, and you can be gathering exciting ideas through your connections to others. On the other hand, there can be some impatience or aggravation with an associate, group, or friend. A rude awakening may or may not work in your favor, so choose your battles wisely now, or if you feel compelled to bring up a touchy subject, take extra time to express yourself mindfully (although this can be hard to do today). If you channel energy with you today well, you can team up to make something exciting happen. This is also a time to act on your wish list.

Sagittarius

Your words and actions are more noticeable and seem to come with more consequences than usual both good and bad these days, dear Sagittarius. This is because both Mercury and Mars are at the top of your solar chart, attracting a lot of attention. Today, they join forces, and this aspect not only stimulates your impulsive side, but it can also give you a real competitive edge. What’s important now is that you avoid blurting something out or pushing your limits (and others’ limits) too far. Your heart may not be in the equation today, which can point to some form of misrepresentation if you’re not careful. However, you can use this energy to your advantage. In fact, it’s a great time to pour yourself into a project that gets you somewhere, and you’re in a fabulous position to tear down obstacles in your path and solve problems. This is a time for being forthright yet also sensitive to your audience, especially in public or professional arenas.

Capricorn

You can feel as if you’re on a mission to find out the truth of a matter now, Capricorn, but as you do your seeking, watch where you step, both literally and metaphorically. You’re certainly mentally sharp now, and this is excellent for intellectual and business-related endeavors. However, you’ll probably need to pay extra attention to emotional cues when it comes to relating to others on a personal level, as you are living in the mind today. You might easily defend a cause or express an opinion, and possibly get into a heated debate. Educational, work, or travel news may be forthcoming now, mainly things that were left up in the air earlier this month. You can be excited to learn a subject more deeply. It’s an excellent time to pursue anything that involves healing the mind or paying particular attention to the mind-body connection. Share your joie de vivre with others now and watch for the opportunities that open up as you do. Watch, however, for impatience if others are not moving as quickly as you are, and for sharp words.

Aquarius

This is a day of high emotional and mental energy, Aquarius. A Mercury-Mars alignment can get your mind reeling and pulse quickening. Ideas work you up, and you may feel a little fed up with a situation that’s been dragging on too long. Tap into the motivation to do things that you’ve been letting slide. An important conversation occurs, or news can arrive on financial or relationship matters. An intimate conversation can be very revealing, and you express your feelings more courageously than usual today. Your desire to get to the truth of a matter can work for or against you, depending on how you handle it. In your conversations, watch that you respect your limits and others’ limits, too. Fortunately, you are sharper than usual, and this can help you make the right choices. Treat impatience as your enemy, and you’ll be in a good position now.

Pisces

Mercury and Mars join in your partnership sector today, Pisces, and you can easily become all riled up, or you experience this through someone close to you. There can be a strong need for taking action today, or possibly an aggravation or assertion from a partner who wants to take the lead. Someone may be very intent on getting under your skin or could be trying to turn you on to an idea or plan. It’s very easy to get yourself into an argument, even if you are not doing so intentionally, so choose your battles wisely! You could find you’re attracting disagreement or conflict today, but a confrontation may be just what a relationship needs right now. Try to channel the extra energy you have into truly productive activities.

Courtesy of Cafe Astrology

If You Were Born Today, September 16

You have great facility with words–for good or for bad! While you can be highly entertaining and witty, sometimes your words bite, and you may come across as too opinionated. However, you are exceptionally kind and helpful to people you love. Security is extremely important to you, and you resist change as a result, preferring the tried and true. You are at once determined and emotional, so that there is a distinct tough side to your nature, yet a deeper, more sensitive and intuitive side as well. You love to learn, and will constantly seek out experiences that add to your knowledge throughout your life.

Famous people born today: Lauren Bacall, B. B. King, Peter Falk, Mickey Rourke, Jennifer Tilly, Molly Shannon, David Copperfield, Ian Harding, Amy Poehler, Alexis Bledel.

Get a Jump on Tomorrow….

Your Daily Horoscopes for Sunday, September 17th

Aries

The Moon joins with Venus in your romance and creativity sector today, Aries, and this points to a party mood as well as great personal appeal. Boosting this further is a Venus-Uranus trine. With Uranus in your sign, your independence and unique style are playing a significant role in your appeal today. You’re particularly open to experimenting with feelings, cravings, and ideas, and you’re drawn to pastimes, pleasures, and people that/who break the mold today. Your willingness to detach yourself just enough to enjoy new experiences is quite attractive to others right now. As well, losing the unhealthy expectations of people you love does wonders for your interactions. Today is perfect for following your heart, expressing your affections through your sense of fun, and treating yourself to some extra time to play and create something special. A surprise attraction may be part of your day or a partner could bring a pleasant surprise into your life.

Taurus

The Moon in your home and sector all day certainly stimulates your need to lay down roots today, dear Taurus, but this doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, the Moon aligns with Venus in this sector, and Venus forms a lively, harmonious aspect to Uranus, prompting you to shake things up just enough to enjoy yourself more thoroughly. This can be a day for a pleasant surprise on an emotional level, a blast from the past, or an increased sense of confidence about the future. You’re more accepting of any unusual or new feelings you’re experiencing now, embracing them fully. There can be a fun secret to keep or an exciting line of thought that motivates you today. It can be a good time to do or explore something different, particularly with family or other close loved ones. Emotional blocks free up today! Be willing to break down barriers.

Gemini

The Moon spends the day in your communications sector again today, Gemini, and this stimulates your desire to learn, connect, and share rather than do the same old, same old. Your curiosity is encouraged even further with a Venus-Uranus trine today that prompts you to think, speak, and learn outside of the box. You’re in need of a breath of fresh air, and monotony simply won’t do! You could have a surprising new crush, craving, or interest. Unusual or unconventional advice may be part of your day. You may be pushing boundaries just a little in your conversations and interactions, and this can lead to exciting discoveries. People are particularly enamored with your unusual ideas and progressive outlook today. It’s a great time for personal appeal on a mental level.

Cancer

On some levels with the Moon in your resources sector all day, you are seeking more predictability and comfort than usual, dear Cancer. However, with a Venus-Uranus aspect in play today, there is a distinct part of you that wants to do things differently nevertheless. This works for you now – you can combine comfort with excitement in creative ways. You’re particularly willing to try on a new feeling, method, idea, or interest related to money, business, or work, but this can apply to your personal life, too. Unexpected developments at or with work or with plans can prompt you to do something out of the ordinary and tend to lead to pleasant surprises or discoveries. Your intuition regarding business and financial matters is excellent, and there could be a great buy or find now. For many of you, this is a time for having more courage than usual to draw on a talent and share it with others.

Leo

This can be a time for sudden or unusual attractions, experiences, and good will, dear Leo. The Moon is in your sign, emphasizing your emotional needs and spontaneous side, and aligns with Venus, highlighting your most likable and attractive qualities. As well, Venus in your sign connects with Uranus, encouraging you to connect with people who inspire you — or experience different pleasures and pastimes with the same effect. You’re in the mood to try something new. It’s a great time to experiment rather than lock something down, and thoroughly enjoy the process. Opportunities emerge from breaking out of your routine, and this breath of fresh air inspires you to discover unusual methods, solutions, and experiences. People are attracted to your originality right now, particularly your intelligence, ideas, and beliefs.

Virgo

There is a retiring quality to you today, dear Virgo, as the lunar cycle winds down and you approach a New Moon in your sign (on the 20th). Even so, there is excitement in the air, and you’re likely to want to do something — or feel something — out of the ordinary now. You may very well break out of an emotional rut or pattern in inspired ways now, as you tend to come at things from a new angle, and perhaps even release a burdensome secret or decide to let go of an attachment that has been dragging you down. It’s easier to approach private or confidential matters with less attachment or concern about outcomes today, and this puts you in a more enjoyable, free-spirited mood. This can also be a great day for experimenting in a relationship.

Libra

The Moon spends another full day in your friendship sector, Libra, and connects with your ruler, Venus here, highlighting benefits from attention to your social life. Mix things up today, as a Venus-Uranus aspect encourages you to experiment, think (and feel) outside of the box, or lose some self-consciousness and enjoy yourself more thoroughly as you do. It’s a perfect time for connecting with people who inspire you or who you inspire — a mutual fan club situation, perhaps. Inner restlessness doesn’t always lead to trouble. In fact, today, it can nudge you in the direction of pleasant change. You may be liberating yourself from a burden or embracing the idea of progress and new approaches and attitudes, particularly in your relationships. Love can bring pleasant surprises today.

Scorpio

A Venus-Uranus transit can stimulate a desire for a change in routine today, dear Scorpio, and you’ll likely get a pleasant one now. There is good energy with you today for social pleasures and inspiring interactions but also for professional networking. The social mood is friendly, progressive, and detached just enough to that you forget your troubles and enjoy yourself a little more than usual. This is not always your favorite atmosphere, but it’s great right now as a change of pace. When it comes to career, work, reputation, and health, you’re up for a bit of adventure or new ideas, and possibly quite willing to change up your methods in the process, and this can open up new opportunities. Venus is your partnership ruler, suggesting that a partner may be a harbinger of change today, or can be more open than usual to make changes.

Sagittarius

The Moon spends another day in your adventure sector, Sagittarius, and today, you’re in a great position to enjoy this brief but inspiring transit. Try to get all of the important stuff done before the evening, after which it’s a good time to wind down. A Venus-Uranus trine in fellow Fire signs gives you a taste for something different, particularly when it comes to self-expression, personal enjoyment and entertainment, pleasures, and learning. Your spirit for adventure may show itself in your imagination, cravings, and dreams, but you’ll be at your best if you can share it with others or find channels for expressing yourself today. A break from the routine is important now as it helps your intuition kick in more completely. Attractions and desires can be sudden, unusual, and possibly temporary, but that doesn’t mean you can’t thoroughly enjoy them and take the experience forward with you. As you entertain the new, opportunities or cool finds can emerge.

Capricorn

The Moon spends another day in your intimacy sector, dear Capricorn, and this stimulates the desire to attach yourself to something or someone. However, you’re craving some variety and perhaps a bit of detachment from the usual feelings today with a Venus-Uranus transit active, stimulating your emotional sectors. You can find unusual feelings, interests, and sensations particularly attractive. The idea today is to open your heart and mind to allow for new and different possibilities to flow in. From time to time, you can benefit from playing with new flavors and thinking a little outside of the box on an emotional level. This way you can break out of emotional ruts. You could solve a mystery or problem now. You might experiment or learn something new on an intimate level, or learn about your own psychology.

Aquarius

The Moon joins with Venus in your partnership sector today, Aquarius, boosting your relationships. As well, Venus harmonizes with your ruler, Uranus, adding more punch to the mix. Good feelings can prompt friendly gestures today, which in turn can lead to wonderful experiences. Open up and enjoy yourself today. Communication channels open up, and if they don’t, find new ways to connect and communicate with others now. Problem-solving is enhanced, especially when inspired by a friend or partner. Communications or projects that are progressive are most appealing and especially favored, as well. Love is easy, although a little detached. Freedom and acceptance are key themes in relationships right now. This is not the time to fall back on old habits in your writing, speech, and interactions.

Pisces

While the Moon spends the day in your work and health sector, and these areas are in stronger emotional focus, dear Pisces, you’re also craving a little more than the usual routine. A Venus-Uranus transit inspires you to shake things up, try new things, and think outside of the box. You’ll find it natural to combine work and play, and this can involve bringing more fun or creativity to your chores, job, and routines. This can be a time for dreaming up a new business idea, stumbling upon a fabulous find, making a fun purchase, or redesigning something. You need a change of pace and monotony is uninspiring today. Taking a more relaxed and creative approach to your life now leads to improvements and opportunities. Be flexible and willing to entertain the unusual now for best results. Relationships on the job can benefit for some of you.

Courtesy of Cafe Astrology

Tarot Card of the Day

Nine of Earth

September 16th, 2017

The Nine of this suit points to a person who is financially secure enough to live comfortably. This is about someone supported by her own business, inheritance or property. This is one person in a thousand.

This fortunate individual has turned a historical accident into a personal opportunity. This is one who has the vision and strength of character to hold onto gains against all odds. Do not be fooled at the apparent ease displayed on this card — the person pictured is at the tail end of a long and stressful process of winning the right to be taken seriously. All of this grace has been paid for several times over.

Your Love Tarot Card of the Day

The Emperor

September 16th, 2017

Are you involved in a relationship with a dominating personality? Does this person just keep on taking just as much as you can give? Let the image of a ‘steamroller approaching a bruised peach’ flash through your mind. Do you really want to be either the former or the latter? The Emperor card selected you to urge you to get back in touch with your inner strength and power.

Your Past Life Tarot Card of the Day

Strength

September 16th, 2017

Overnight you may have discovered a heightened awareness of everything around you. This might be happening because the spirit of the famous poet you once were has returned to you. Where daily existence was once less defined, now every little detail holds a deeper meaning for you and this makes the mystery of life even greater. Of all the poets, only a chosen few can capture the minds of others. As you nurture this more sensitive awareness of the world, you may be inspired to create your own poem or work of art.

Your Crowley Thoth Tarot Card for Today

Adjustment

September 16th, 2017

Adjustment denotes an inner power, mastery of will and development of inner might. Through mastering one’s emotions and learning from both success and failure the person Adjustment represents has reached a place where they are influential without applying physical force, able to weather the roughest of storms, and not likely to abandon the less fortunate. Adjustment also denotes a large capacity for forgiveness and compassion. Adjustment is not as much about winning as it is about achieving balance, overcoming hardship, and using well crafted persuasion to gain allies. Adjustment suggests the need and ability to make our decisions based on objective perceptions of events, and good or bad, accepting responsibility for our actions.

Psychic Tip of the Day

September 16th, 2017

GROUP ACTION

This is a great time to get out of the house and meet people in group settings. Perhaps you can volunteer to help others. After all, when do you ever meet anyone just sitting on the couch?

Your Daily Rune for Today

Gebo

Key Concepts: gifts, giving, taking, trade, sacrifice, process of exchange, balance, compensation, equilibrium, law of reciprocation, altruism, the gravity of equals and opposites, generosity, hospitality, honor

Psi: gratitude, forgiveness, appreciation

Energy: Exchanged powers, sacrifice, dissolution of barriers through gifting

Divinations: Generosity, gift, magical exchange, honor, sacrifice, divine vision; or influence buying, greed, loneliness, dependence, over-sacrifice, unbalanced behavior, dishonesty

Mundane: material gifts, thankfulness, trade

Governs:
Sex magic
Mystical union and ‘Sacred Marriage’ between partners
Understanding of the true meaning of gifting and binding
Giving of oneself from within
Harmony between brothers and sisters and lovers
Favours, contracts, obligations, debt and oath-taking

Your Karmic Number for Today

Stop worrying about everything so much. The number 2 represents an overabundance of yin energy. Relax in any way you can today! Have faith that everything is going to work out. Soon, yin will reach a balance with yang energy again, but you can’t keep going at this rate. Being an exposed nerve is repelling what you’ve been waiting for. Waiting is a process. Good things do happen when you are patient. You are shedding more karma as your patience strengthens. But don’t rush to celebrate yet. Wait until your gift arrives and tensions ease up.

Your Animal Spirit Guide for Today

The Crane

Cranes have been revered for centuries in many Oriental cultures, symbolizing good fortune and long life. If Crane has flown into your reading today, he brings a message of good tidings. Be prepared for something special today—emotional balance, good health, a spiritual “ah-ha!”, or simply pure joy.

Your Daily Charm for Today

The Amulet Box

Today’s Meaning:

There are papers in your near future. This aspect is affect by legal papers of some kind–a contract, a deed or a license of some kind. These papers will bring improvement to your life.

General Description:

The people of Tibet are most superstitious. It is the custom for almost everyone to wear charms. The Amulet-box illustrated contains small inscribed scrolls covered with magical characters. These magical formulae are written and blessed by their Lamas. The scrolls are believed to be all powerful spells for appeasing evil spirits, keeping the wearers from all physical harm, safeguarding them from every kind of danger, and protecting them from the blinding effects of the evil eye. Many of these charm boxes are of gold elaborately chased, and encrusted with turquoise.

Consult the Psychic Eight Ball Oracle

Query: How will our weekend be?

Hmm, I really, really should know better by now!

Crack the Cookie

The Wisdom of Buddha

A jug fills drop by drop.

Your Earth Sky News for Sept. 16th: Moon and Venus next 2 mornings

By Bruce McClure

Before dawn in the next two mornings – September 17 and 18, 2017 – the waning crescent moon and dazzling planet Venus pair up in the east before sunrise. Given clear skies, it’ll be hard to miss them. The moon and Venus rank as the second-brightest and third-brightest celestial bodies, respectively, after the sun.

Some sharped-eye people might even see the moon and Venus after sunrise.

If you get up before dawn, or about 120 to 90 minutes before the sun, you should have little trouble spotting the star Regulus a short hop below Venus. Although Regulus is a 1st-magnitude star, it pales next to Venus, which outshines this star by a good hundredfold. Watch for Venus to pass about 0.5^o of Regulus on the mornings of September 19 and 20. For reference, 0.5^o is the equivalent of one moon diameter.

Given an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunrise, people in the Northern Hemisphere also have a good chance of spotting the planet Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, near the sunrise point on the horizon. As the predawn darkness is first giving way to dawn, look for Mercury more or less on line with the moon and Venus. Mercury is quite bright – some 8 times brighter than Regulus – so it may be visible even after Regulus fades. Binoculars always come in handy for your Mercury search, especially if the view is murky near your horizon.

A third planet, red Mars, is also up before the sun. It lodges very close to Mercury on the sky’s dome, but is considerably fainter than Mercury. In fact, Mercury outshines Mars by about 12 times. We’ve been seeing photos of the pair, so telephoto lenses are catching them. Lacking a camera, you might also try your binoculars. They might let you to see Mars, and, if so, Mars and Mercury may well be in the same binocular field of view.

Click here for recommended almanacs. An almanac can help you find the rising times of the sun, moon and planets in your sky.

By the way, if you live in Indonesia, Australia or New Zealand, the moon will occult (cover over) Venus during the daylight hours on September 18.

Bottom line: The moon and Venus will be spectacular on the mornings of September 17 and 18, 2017. Given clear skies and an unobstructed eastern horizon, you might also catch Mercury and Mars below the moon and Venus. Good luck!

Bruce McClure

Published on EarthSky.org

THE WITCHES’ REDE OF CHIVALRY

(Adapted from Rites From The Crystal Well)

Insofar as The Craft Of The Wise is the most ancient and most honourable creed of humankind, it behoves all who would be witches to act in ways that give respect to the Old Gods and Goddesses, to their brothers and sisters of The Craft, and to themselves

Chivalry is a high code of honour, which is of most ancient Pagan origin and must be lived by all who follow the Old Ways.

Know well that thoughts and intent put forth will wax strong on many planes of existence and return, bringing into creation that which has been sent forth. For this reason the adept must exercise discipline over his or her thoughts. Remember, ” as you sow, so shall you harvest”

It is only by preparing our minds to be as Gods that we may one day unite with the Godhead.

“This above all … to thine own self be true…”

A witch’s word must have the validity of a signed and witnessed document. It is only by developing such mental discipline that great power may be controlled and directed

It is well to refrain from speaking ill of others for not all truths of the matter may be known

Pass not unverified words about another. For the most part hearsay is a thing of falsehoods

Be honest with others. Have them know that honesty is likewise expected of them

The fury of the moment plays havoc with the truth. Strive always to keep your head

Harm not another. Think always of the consequences of your actions

Dignity, a gracious manner, and a good humour are much to be admired

As a witch you wield much power. Therefore exercise much discretion in its use

Courage and honour endure forever.

Offer friendship only to those worthy of it. To associate with younger souls will only pull you down

Those who follow the mysteries must be above reproach in the eyes of the world

Keep pride in thyself. Seek perfection in body and in mind

A Little Humor for Your Day

And Goddess Made Dogs & Cats

Man said, “Goddess, when I was in the garden, you walked with me every day. Now I do not see you anymore. I am lonesome here, and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me.”

And the Goddess said, “No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever, who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be at times, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself.”

And the Goddess created a new animal to be a companion for Man. And it was a good animal. And the Goddess was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Man, and he wagged his tail a lot.

And Man said, “Goddess, I have already named all the animals on your Earth. I cannot think of a name for this new animal.”

And the Goddess said, “No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a partial reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.”

And DOG lived with Man, was a companion to him, and loved him. And DOG was beside Man, all the day long. And Man was comforted. And the Goddess was pleased. And DOG was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that Man’s spirit guide came to the Goddess and said, “Mother, Man has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock, and he believes he is worthy of adoration. DOG has indeed taught him that he is loved, but perhaps too well.”

And the Goddess said, “No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever, who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not always worthy of adoration.”

And the Goddess created CAT to be a companion to Man.

And CAT would not obey Man. And CAT would love Man when CAT chose to love Man, and not when Man chose CAT to share affection.

And when Man gazed into CAT’s eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Man learned humility.

And the Goddess was pleased. And Man was greatly improved. And DOG was happy, and wagged his tail.

EagleStar, Author

Originally published on Pagan Library

….And that’s all Folks! Have a very blessed Saturday!

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Good Friday Morning Brothers & Sisters of the Craft! TGIF! Thank The Goddess It is Finally Friday! Enjoy!

The Witches Digest for Friday September 15th, 2017

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, how sweet the Earth
that bore a witch like me!
I once was burned, now I survive,
was hung and now I sing.

T’was grace that drew down the moon
and grace that raised the seas.
The magic in the people’s will
will set our Mother free.

We face the East and breathe the winds
that move across this earth.
From gentle breeze to hurricane
our breath will bring forth the change.

Turn towards the South and feel the fire
that burns in you and me.
The spirit’s flame will rise again
and burn eternally.

We greet the West, our souls awash
in tides of primal birth.
Our tears and blood, our pain and love
will cleanse and heal the earth.

Reach into the North and know your roots
down deep ancestral caves.
We find the wisdom of the Crone,
Of circles we are made.

Amazing earth, enduring life,
from death into rebirth.
T’is earth I am and earth I love
and earth I’ll always be.

Amazing grace, how sweet the Earth
that bore witches like we.
We once were burned, now we survive,
were hung and now we sing.

Goddess bless, so mote it be,
Our magic spirals on.
Merry meet and merry part
and merry meet again.

–Verna Knapp, Author
Originally published on Pagan Library

Your Earth & Sky Data for Friday, September 15th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 107.00° ESE
Sun Altitude: 25.53°
Sun Distance: 93.471 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2017 3:01 pm (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 6:36 am↑ 86° East
Sunset Today: 7:01 pm↑ 274° West
Length of Daylight: 12 hours, 24 minutes

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 177.95° S
Moon Altitude: 71.38°
Moon Distance: 230419 mi
Next New Moon: Sep 20, 201712:29 am
Next Full Moon: Oct 5, 20171:40 pm
Next Moonset: Today4:08 pm
Current Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 24.8%

Lunar Calendar
Moon Phase Tonight: Waning Crescent
New Moon: Sep 20, 2017 at 12:29 am
(Next Phase)
Third Quarter: Sep 13, 2017 at 1:24 am
(Previous Phase)

Source

Your Astronomy for Friday, September 15th

The Moon is in Cancer until 9:08 PM, after which the Moon is in Leo.
The Moon is waning and in its Last Quarter phase.
The Last Quarter Moon occurred on the 13th, and the New Moon will occur on the 20th.
Mercury is in its post-retrograde shadow until September 19th.

Moon in Cancer

The Moon is traveling through Cancer today. Beware of mood swings. Cook some soul food. Cuddle up with someone.

The restlessness of the Gemini Moon gives way to an instinctive need for peace and quiet. Feelings of belonging and safety are what motivate us under this influence. The Moon feels right at home in the sign of Cancer, as it rules the sign. This Moon position has much healing potential. Although insular by nature, our feelings run deep, making it an ideal time to get in touch with what motivates us.

The Moon in Cancer generally favors the following activities: Domestic activities, those that involve awareness of personal needs. Home decor, family get-togethers.

The Sky This Week for September 15 to 17

The Big Dipper, a crescent Moon, and other cool things to look for in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Friday, September 15

Although Saturn reached opposition three months ago today, it remains a tempting target in the evening sky. The ringed world stands some 25° high in the south-southwest as twilight fades to darkness and doesn’t dip below the horizon until close to midnight local daylight time. Saturn shines at magnitude 0.5 against the backdrop of southern Ophiuchus, a constellation whose brightest star glows six times fainter than the planet. When viewed through a telescope, Saturn’s globe measures 17″ across while its spectacular ring system spans 38″ and tilts 27° to our line of sight. As you gaze upon Saturn from afar this evening, it’s the first time in more than 13 years that the Cassini spacecraft is not observing the ringed planet from up close. The robotic probe burned up in the gas giant’s atmosphere earlier today.

Saturday, September 16

Sunday, September 17

Source

Astronomy Magazine

Today Is Friday, September 15

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 Muin (Vine) September 2 – September 29

Runic Half-Month of Ken (September 13 – September 27)

Goddess of the Month of Mala (September 6 – October 2)

Reference

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

On Friday, September 15th, We Honor the Goddess Freyja

IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY, GODS and goddesses are divided into two groups, known as the Vanir and the Aesir. The peaceful Vanir grew food from the earth and were worshiped during the agricultural Bronze Age. Later, during the Iron Age, when human beings developed the first weapons and hunting tools, the combative Aesir were honored.

Not surprisingly, the Aesir brought war into the serene world of the Vanir. To settle this discord, the Vanir agreed to give the Aesir the goddess Freyja, the incomparably beautiful daughter of Njord, god of fair winds. In this way, Freyja became the link between the old world, before the invention of iron tools, and the new, where weapons were often used to create might over right. She can be seen as a mediator between peace and violence.

Freyja also presided over the living and the dead. As such, the goddess was responsible for the souls of half the warriors who perished in battle. After their death, these men were taken to Freyja’s grand hall in Asgard, the home of the Aesir gods and goddesses. Their afterlife was filled with numerous joys and pleasures. The warriors were brought delicious food and drink by Freyja’s graceful serving maidens. They listened to the goddess’s favorite poems about brave deeds of honor, and favorite songs about love.

Despite the cheerful company of her warriors, Freyja was often sad. Freyja was married to Od, the god of ecstasy, but he vanished soon after the birth of their daughter, Noss, whose name means “delight.” When Freyja missed her husband too much she wept tears of gold. Sometimes she looked for Od, riding through the sky in her golden chariot drawn by two gray cats. At other times, she wore a falcon-skin cloak, which enabled her to fly through the air.

Source

The Book of Goddesses: Expanded Anniversary Edition
Kris Waldherr

Goddesses Associated With Friday

Friday For Freya: Astarte, Aphrodite, Erzulie, Aida Wooo, Eve, Venus, Diana, Isis, the Witch of Gaeta, Chalchiuhtlique

Source

The Goddess Book of Days
Diane Stein

Friday’s Magick

Magickal Intent:

Lust
Romance
Happiness
Travel
Friends
Beauty
Sexuality
Harmony
Growth

Planet: Venus

Colors: Pink, Aqua, Seafoam

Crystals: Coral, Emerald, Rose Quartz

The Magickal Day of Friday

Friday falls at the end of the work week for many of us, and that means we get a chance to relax for a little bit! Mark your Fridays with colors like pink and aqua, and metals such as copper. This is a day ruled by the planet Venus, so it should be no surprise that Venus and Aphrodite – goddesses of love and beauty – are associated with Fridays. This is a day named for the Norse goddess Freyja, so be sure to take a moment to honor her as well.

Gemstones associated with Friday include coral, emerald and rose quartz, and plants like strawberries, apple blossoms and feverfew are also related. This is a good day to do spellwork associated with family life and fertility, sexuality, harmony, friendship, growth. Take advantage of Friday’s correspondences and plant a seed, make something grow, and enjoy your blessings

*Note: There are a lot of disputes as to the origins of the word Friday, because there is still a great deal of discussion as to whether it was named for Freyja or Frigga, and whether they were the same deity or two separate ones. Some scholars believe that while they may have eventually become two distinctly different goddesses, they could have had their origins in a single, common Proto-Germanic deity.

Author

Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article published on & owned by ThoughtCo.com

The Witches Guide for Friday – Freya’s Day

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.

Source

Friday’s Witchery

Friday is named after the Norse goddesses of love, Freya and Frigga. There seems to be some debate as to whom the day is actually named after, so I thought I would share a little information so you can decide for yourself.

In Latin, this day is known as Dies Veneris, “Venus’s day.” In Greek, it’s Hermera Aphrodites, which translates to the “day of Aphrodite.” In Old English, this day is called Frige- daeg, or “Freya’s day.” This day has the Germanic title of Frije-dagaz, which, once again, could be Freya’s day or Frigga’s day.

Both Freya and Frigga were Norse goddesses of love and were the Teutonic equivalent of the Greco-Roman Venus/Aphrodite. However, Freya was one of the Vanir—the gods of fertility who supervised the land and sea—and she was the leader of the Valkyries. Frigga, Odin’s wife, was the goddess of the heavens and of married love. She was one of the Aesir—the gods associated with battle, magick and the sky. Freya and Frigga could be looked upon as different aspects of the same goddess. They both were called on to assist in childbirth and then in naming of the new baby. Frigga represented the faithful wife and loving mother, while Freya, who really captured the hearts and imagination of the Norse people, was the passionate mistress and lover.

Fridays classically are days for love, fertility, romance, and beauty magick, as well as working for happiness, harmony in the home, and friendship. So let’s take a look at some of the mythology involved with this loving, voluptuous, passionate, and luxurious day of the week, and see where it leads us.

Source

Book of Witchery – Spells, Charms & Correspondences For Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

The Witches Almanac for Friday, September 15th

International Day of Democracy

Waning Moon

Moon Phase: Fourth Quarter

Moon Sign: Cancer

Moon enters Leo 9:09 pm

Incense: Thyme

Color: Pink

FRIDAY CORRESPONDENCES

Venus/Water/East/West/South/Dawn/Female/Libra/Taurus

Magickal Intentions: Love, Romance, Marriage, Sexual Matters, Physical Beauty, Friendship and Partnerships, Strangers, Heart

Color: aqua, blue, light blue, brown, green, pale green, magenta, peach, pink, rose, white, all pastels

Number: 5, 6

Metal: copper

Charm: green or white garments, scepter

Stone: alexandrite, amethyst, coral, diamond, emerald, jade, jet, black moonstone, peridot, smoky quartz, tiger’s-eye, pink tourmaline

Animal: camel, dove, elephant, goat, horse, pigeon, sparrow

Plant: apple, birch, cherry, clematis, clove, coriander, heather, hemlock, hibiscus, ivy, lotus, moss, myrtle, oats, pepperwort, peppermint, pinecone, quince, raspberry, rose, pink rose, red rose, rose hips, saffron, sage, savin, stephanotis, strawberry, thyme, vanilla, verbena, violet, water lily, yarrow, and all flowers

Incense: ambergris, camphor, mace, musk, myrrh, rose, saffron, sage, sandalwood, sweetgrass, vanilla, violet, all floral scents

Goddess: Aphrodite, Asherah, Baalith, Brigid, Erzulie, Freya (Passionate Queen), Frigg, Gefion, Harbor (Beautiful One), Hestia, Inanna, Ishtar (Lady of Passion and Desire), Lakshmi, Lilith, Mokosh, Nehalennia, Nerthus, Ostara, Pombagira, Sarasvati, Shakti, Shekinah, Sirtur, Al Uzza, Venus (Queen of Pleasure), Vesta

God: Allah, Bacchus, Bes, Cupid, the Dagda, Dionysus, El, Eros (God of Love), Freyr, Frit Ailek, Shukra

Evocation: Agrat Bat Mahalat, Anael, Hagiel, Mokosba, Rasbid, Sachiel, Uriel, Velas

Courtesy of Moonlight Musings

Friday Is Ruled By Venus

Friday belongs to Venus, both the planet and its namesake Roman goddess of love. This day is sacred to many other gods and goddesses of love such as Eros, Venus, Aphrodite, and the Norse goddess that gave the day its name, Freya. This day of the week is for magical topics such as love, birth, fertility, and romance. Colors for today include pink and aqua. Some suggestions for Friday enchantments would include:

Carrying a rose quartz with you today to send out some gentle and loving vibes to those crabby co-workers

Working a loving Tarot spell to charm a friend’s pregnancy with good health and safety

Working a little flower magic to enchant a single pink rose for friendship and inner beauty, and setting it on your desk. Or try empowering a red rose for passion and placing it in your bedroom.

Burning rose-scented candles to encourage the same effect. Call on Eros to “bring a passion for life” to your days.

Sharing a romantic snack with your partner. Feed each other ripe, red strawberries. Those strawberries are love-inducing food, and are sacred to many love goddesses, including today’s patroness, Freya.

The Energy of Venus

Weekday ruled by Venus: Friday

Stones:
Rose quartz
Moonstone
Pink tourmaline
Peridot
Emerald
Jade

Herbs and Plants:
Pink rose
Ivy
Birch
Heather
Clematis
Sage
Violet
Waterlily

Magickal intentions: Love, romance, marriage, sexual matters, physical beauty, friendship and partnerships, strangers and heart matters.

Charmed, I’m Sure
The Ethics Of Love Spells

Mike Nichols, Author

To gain the love of someone: On a night of the full moon, walk to a spot beneath your beloved’s bedroom window, and whisper his/her name three times to the nightwind.
–Ozark love spell

It seems to be an immutable law of nature. You are interviewed by a local radio or TV station, or in some local newspaper. The topic of the interview is Witchcraft or Paganism, and you spend the better part of an hour brilliantly articulating your beliefs, your devotion to Goddess and nature, the difference between Witchcraft and Satanism, and generally enlightening the public at large. The next day, you are flooded with calls. Is it people complimenting you on such a splendid interview? No. People wanting to find out more about the religion of Wicca? Huh-uh. People who are even vaguely interested in what you had to say??? Nope. Who is it? It’s people asking you to do a love spell for them!

This used to drive me nuts. I’d take a deep breath and patiently explain (for the thousandth time) why I won’t even do love spells for myself, let alone anyone else. This generally resulted in my caller becoming either angry or defensive, but seldom more enlightened. ‘But don’t you DO magic?’, they ask. ‘Only occasionally,’ I answer. ‘And aren’t most magic spells love spells?’, they persist. That was the line I really hated, because I knew they were right! At least, if you look at the table of contents of most books on magic, you’ll find more love spells than any other kind. This seems as true for the medieval grimoire as for the modern drugstore paperback.

Why? Why so many books containing so many love spells? Why such an emphasis on a kind of magic that I, personally, have always considered very negative? And to make matters even more confusing, the books that do take the trouble of dividing spells between ‘positve’ and ‘negative’ magic invariably list love spells under the first heading. After all, they would argue, love is a good thing. There can never be too much of it. Therefore, any spell that brings about love must be a GOOD spell. Never mind that the spell puts a straightjacket on another’s free will, and then drops it in cement for good measure.

And that is why I had always assumed love magic to be negative magic. Years ago, one of the first things I learned as a novice Witch was something called the Witch’s Rede, a kind of ‘golden rule’ in traditional Witchcraft. It states, ‘An it harm none, do what thou will.’ One uses this rede as a kind of ethical litmus test for a spell. If the spell brings harm to someone — anyone (including yourself!) — then don’t do it! Unfortunately, this rule contains a loophole big enough to fly a broom through. It’s commonly expressed, ‘Oh, this won’t HARM them; it’s really for their own good.’ When you hear someone say that, take cover, because something especially nasty is about to happen.

That’s why I had to develop my own version of the Witch’s Rede. Mine says that if a spell harms anyone, OR LIMITS THEIR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT OR ACTION IN ANY WAY, then consider it negative, and don’t do it. Pretty strict, you say? Perhaps. But there’s another law in Witchcraft called the Law of Threefold Return. This says that whatever power you send out, eventually comes back to you three times more powerful. So I take no chances. And love spells, of the typical make-Bobby-love-me type, definitely have an impact on another’s free will.

So why are they so common? It’s taken me years to make peace with this, but I think I finally understand. The plain truth is that most of us NEED love. Without it, our lives are empty and miserable. After our basic survival needs have been met, we must have affection and companionship for a full life. And if it will not come of its own accord, some of us may be tempted to FORCE it to come. And nothing can be as painful as loving someone who doesn’t love you back. Consequently, the most common, garden-variety spell in the world is the love spell.

Is there ever a way to do a love spell and yet stay within the parameters of the Witch’s Rede? Possibly. Some teachers have argued that if a spell doesn’t attempt to attract a SPECIFIC person into your life, but rather attempts to attract the RIGHT person, whomever that may be, then it is not negative magic. Even so, one should make sure that the spell finds people who are ‘right’ for each other — so that neither is harmed, and both are made happy.

Is there ever an excuse for the make-Bobby-love-me type of spell? Without endorsing this viewpoint, I must admit that the most cogent argument in its favor is the following: Whenever you fall in love with someone, you do everything in your power to impress them. You dress nicer, are more attentive, witty, and charming. And at the same time, you unconsciously set in motion some very powerful psychic forces. If you’ve ever walked into a room where someone has a crush on you, you know what I mean. You can FEEL it. Proponents of this school say that a love spell only takes the forces that are ALREADY there — MUST be there if you’re in love — and channels them more efficiently.

But the energy would be there just the same, whether or not you use a spell to focus it.

I won’t attempt to decide this one for you. People must arrive at their own set of ethics through their own considerations. However, I would call to your attention all the cautionary tales in folk magic about love spells gone awry. Also, if a love spell has been employed to join two people who are not naturally compatible, then one must keep pumping energy into the spell. And when one finally tires of this (and one will, because it is hard work!) then the spell will unravel amidst an emotional and psychic hurricane that will make the stormiest divorces seem calm by comparison. Not a pretty picture.

It should be noted that many spells that pass themselves off as love spells are, in reality, sex spells. Not that there’s anything surprising in that, since our most basic needs usually include sex. But I think we should be clear from the outset what kind of spell it is. And the same ethical standards used for love spells can often be applied to sex spells. Last year, the very quotable Isaac Bonewits, author of ‘Real Magic’, taught a sex magic class here at the Magick Lantern, and he tossed out the following rule of thumb: Decide what the mundane equivalent of your spell would be, and ask yourself if you could be arrested for it. For example, some spells are like sending a letter to your beloved in the mail, whereas other spells are tantamount to abduction. The former is perfectly legal and normal, whereas the latter is felonious.

One mitigating factor in your decisions may be the particular tradition of magic you follow. For example, I’ve often noticed that practitioners of Voudoun (Voodoo) and Santeria seem much more focused on the wants and needs of day-to-day living than on the abstruse ethical considerations we’ve been examining here. That’s not a value judgement — just an observation. For example, most followers of Wicca STILL don’t know how to react when a Santerian priest spills the blood of a chicken during a ritual — other than to feel pretty queasy. The ethics of one culture is not always the same as another.

And speaking of cultural traditions, another consideration is how a culture views love and sex. It has often been pointed out that in our predominant culture, love and sex are seen in very possessive terms, where the beloved is regarded as one’s personal property. If the spell uses this approach, treating a person as an object, jealously attempting to cut off all other relationships, then the ethics are seriously in doubt. However, if the spell takes a more open approach to love and sex, not attempting to limit a person’s other relationships in any way, then perhaps it is more defensible. Perhaps. Still, it might be wise to ask, Is this the kind of spell I’d want someone to cast on me?

Love spells. Whether to do them or not. If you are a practitioner of magic, I dare say you will one day be faced with the choice. If you haven’t yet, it is only a matter of time. And if the answer is yes, then which spells are ethical and which aren’t? Then you, and only you, will have to decide whether ‘All’s fair in love and war’, or whether there are other, higher, metaphysical considerations.

—Mike Nichols, Author

Originally published on Pagan Library

The Witches Magick for Friday, September 15th – Drawing Love and Romance Spell

This candle spell is designed to draw a little romance and love into your life. Fridays are linked to the planet Venus and to all the love deities, and this is the most opportune day of the week to work your witchery for love and romance. Like always, remember not to target anyone specific here. We want to pull a little romantic fun and excitement into your life, not take away another’s free will.

Gather the following supplies:
1 pink floral-scented votive
1 pale green, apple-scented votive
2 votive cups
A rose and a bud vase or fresh, loose rose petals (match the color of the flower to your magickal intention:)
Lighter or matches
A safe, flat surface on which to set up the spell

Arrange the candles and the flower or flower petals in a way that pleases you. Try scattering the petals in a circle around the outside of the votive cups or setting the flower in a bud vase off to the side. Please note that you can call on either the Norse goddesses Freya and Frigga or you may petition the Roman Venus or the Greek Aphrodite with this spell-whoever you feel more of a connection to. Light the candles dles and repeat the following spell three times:

Roses and candles, symbols of desire and love
Venus/Freya, hear my call, send your help from above
Send to me a lover who is fun, faithful, and true
Guide my magick and assist me in all the I do.

Close the spell by saying:

For the good of all, with harm to none
By candle and rose, this spell is done!

Let the candles burn until they go out on their own. Keep the rose in the vase until it begins to fade, then crumble apart the petals and allow them to air-dry. If you used loose petals, allow those to dry out as well. After the petals have dried, you may add them to a charm bag and keep it with you to encourage loving vibrations or return them to nature as an offering to the Goddess.

Note: If you decide to reword this spell to suit your own needs, then please be very specific. If you go overboard on the “love me” theme and work for an existing spouse or lover to become more passionate or devoted to you, you could suddenly find yourself self with an obsessive partner who never leaves your side. They may become jealous or never allow you any privacy. And no, I am not trying to spook you. Just think of this as a friendly reminder and consider yourself warned-and be very careful what you spell-cast for, especially when it comes to love.

Reference

Book of Witchery – Spells, Charms & Correspondences For Every Day of the Week
Ellen Dugan

Celebrating Legends, Folklore & Spirituality 365 Days A Year for September 15th

Birthday of the Moon

In Japan, the Birthday of the Moon is an annual event of great importance. To many Eastern cultures the moon represents the supreme feminine aspect (Yin) of the universe – Yang being the supreme masculine counterpart.

Legend has it that the emperor Ming Wond and his dedicated monk were strolling one night in the palace gardens. Ming, gazing upon the moon, questioned his friend as to what the moon was made of. Rather than trying to explain, he magickally transported Ming to the moon. The emperor was so overwhelmed by the experience that upon his return, he showered his people with gold. When questioned about the event, Ming Wong explained that the miracle had happened because it was the moon’s birthday.

The Current Moon Phase for Friday, September 15th

Waning Crescent
Illumination: 26%

Phase Details for – Friday, September 15, 2017

Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 26%
Moon Age: 24.54 days
Moon Angle: 0.54
Moon Distance: 365,678.50 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,406,787.96 km

Source