Category: All Regular Daily Posts
The Witches Correspondences for Monday, February 1
The Witches Correspondences for Monday, February 1
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: Moonwort
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 their most 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.
The Witches Almanac for Monday, February 15th
The Witches Almanac for Monday, February 15th
Presidents’ Day (observed)
Waxing Moon
Second Quarter 2: 46 am
Moon Sign: Taurus
Moon enters Gemini 9: 35 am
Incense: Clary sage
Color: Gray
Monday Is A Day of Witchery, Magick and Enchantment
Monday Is A Day of Witchery, Magick and Enchantment
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.
—Ellen Dugan, Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week
Monday
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:
Gypsy Magic
Monday’s Conjuring
Monday’s Conjuring
Monday – is associated with the Moon
Candle colors – white or gray
Magickal Applications for the Day – Crossroads work to learn to read cards, dealing with family matters, Protection, Truth, Peace, Justice
–Starr Casas, Old Style Conjure Wisdoms, Workings and Remedies
Your Sun & Moon Data for Monday, February 15th
Your Sun & Moon Data for Monday, February 15th
The Sun
Daylight: 6:44 a.m. – 5:34 p.m.
Sun Direction: ↑ 153.89° SSE
Sun Altitude: 36.33°
Sun Distance: 91.812 million mi
Next Equinox: Mar 19, 2016 11:30 PM (Vernal)
Sunrise Today: 6:44 AM↑ 105° East
Sunset Today: 5:34 PM↑ 255° West
The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 64.00° ENE
Moon Altitude: -8.38°
Moon Distance: 232613 mi
Next Full Moon: Feb 22, 2016 12:19 PM
Next New Moon: Mar 8, 2016 7:54 PM
Next Moonrise: Today11:28 AM
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Source:
timeanddate.com
Deity Closely Associated With The Day of Lupercalia – Faunus
Deity Closely Associated With The Day of Lupercalia – Faunus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan.
Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the di indigetes. According to the epic poet Virgil, he was a legendary king of the Latins who came with his people from Arcadia. His shade was consulted as a god of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles in the sacred grove of Tibur, around the well Albunea, and on the Aventine Hill in ancient Rome itself.
Marcus Terentius Varro asserted that the oracular responses were given in Saturnian verse. Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that were communicated to those who came to sleep in his precincts, lying on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs. W. Warde Fowler suggested that Faunus is identical with Favonius, one of the Roman wind gods (compare the Anemoi).
In fable Faunus appears as an old king of Latium, grandson of Saturnus, son of Picus, and father of Latinus by the nymph Marica (who was also sometimes Faunus’ mother). After his death he is raised to the position of a tutelary deity of the land, for his many services to agriculture and cattle-breeding.
A goddess of like attributes, called Fauna and Fatua, was associated in his worship. She was regarded as his daughter, wife, or sister. The female deity Bona Dea was often equated with Fauna.
As Pan was accompanied by the Paniskoi, or little Pans, so the existence of many Fauni was assumed besides the chief Faunus. Fauns are place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland. Educated, Hellenizing Romans connected their fauns with the Greek satyrs, who were wild and orgiastic drunken followers of Dionysus, with a distinct origin.
With the increasing Hellenization of literate upper-class Roman culture in the 3rd and 2nd–centuries BC, the Romans tried to equate their own deities with one of the Greeks’, applying in reverse the Greeks’ own interpretatio graeca. Faunus was naturally equated with the god Pan, who was a pastoral god of shepherds who was said to reside in Arcadia. Pan had always been depicted with horns and as such many depictions of Faunus also began to display this trait. However, the two deities were also considered separate by many, for instance, the epic poet Virgil, in his Aeneid, made mention of both Faunus and Pan independently.
The Christian writer Justin Martyr identified him as Lupercus (“he who wards off the wolf”), the protector of cattle, following Livy, who named his aspect of Inuus as the god who was originally worshiped at the Lupercalia, celebrated on the anniversary of the founding of his temple, February 15, when his priests (Luperci) wore goat-skins and hit onlookers with goat-skin belts.
Two festivals, called Faunalia, were celebrated in his honour—one on the 13th of February, in the temple of Faunus on the island in the Tiber, the other on the 5th of December, when the peasants brought him rustic offerings and amused themselves with dancing.
A euhemeristic account made Faunus a Latin king, son of Picus and Canens. He was then revered as the god Fatuus after his death, worshipped in a sacred forest outside what is now Tivoli, but had been known since Etruscan times as Tibur, the seat of the Tiburtine Sibyl. His numinous presence was recognized by wolf skins, with wreaths and goblets.
In Nonnos’ Dionysiaca, Faunus/Phaunos accompanied Dionysus when the god campaigned in India.
Faunus was worshipped across the Roman Empire for many centuries. An example of this was a set of thirty-two 4th-century spoons found near Thetford in England in 1979. They had been engraved with the name “Faunus”, and each also had a different epithet after the god’s name. The spoons also bore Christian symbols, and it has been suggested that these were initially Christian but later taken and devoted to Faunus by pagans. The 4th century was a time of large scale Christianisation, and the discovery provides us with evidence that even during the decline of traditional Roman religion, the god Faunus was still worshipped.
In Gaul, Faunus was identified with the Celtic Dusios.
Source:
Wikipedia
Lupercalia: Celebrate the Coming of Spring
Lupercalia: Celebrate the Coming of Spring
February was considered the final month of the Roman year, and on the 15th, citizens celebrated the festival of Lupercalia. Originally, this week-long party honored the god Faunus, who watched over shepherds in the hills. The festival also marked the coming of spring. Later on, it became a holiday honoring Romulus and Remus, the twins who founded Rome after being raised by a she-wolf in a cave. Eventually, Lupercalia became a multi-purpose event: it celebrated the fertility of not only the livestock but people as well.
To kick off the festivities, an order of priests gathered before the Lupercale on the Palatine hill, the sacred cave in which Romulus and Remus were nursed by their wolf-mother. The priests then sacrificed a dog for purification, and a pair of young male goats for fertility. The hides of the goats were cut into strips, dipped in blood, and taken around the streets of Rome. These bits of hide were touched to both fields and women as a way of encouraging fertility in the coming year. Girls and young women would line up on their route to receive lashes from these whips. There is a theory that this tradition may have survived in the form of certain ritual Easter Monday whippings.
After the priests concluded the fertility rites, young women placed their names in a jar. Men drew names in order to choose a partner for the rest of the celebrations — not unlike later customs of entering names in a Valentine lottery.
To the Romans, Lupercalia was a monumental event each year. When Mark Antony was the master of the Luperci College of Priests, he chose the festival of Lupercalia in 44 BC as the time to offer the crown to Julius Caesar.
By about the fifth century, however, Rome was beginning to move towards Christianity, and Pagan rites were frowned upon. Lupercalia was seen as something only the lower classes did, and eventually the festival ceased to be celebrated.
Author
Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article published on & owned by About.com
Symbols and Customs of Lupercalia
Symbols and Customs of Lupercalia
Blood
Blood played an important role in the observation of the Lupercalia. The blood of the animals sacrificed at the festival was smeared across the foreheads of two young priests with a knife-perhaps to symbolize death without actually killing anyone. Some accounts of the early observation of this festival say that the youths had to laugh after the blood had been wiped off, which may have been another symbolic act designed to prove that they had been reborn or revived.
Red, the color of blood, is still closely identified with the celebration of VALENTINE’S DAY on February 14. There is reason to believe that what started out as a pagan fertility ritual was eventually transformed into a Christian feast in honor of St. Valentine. Then the Christian festival gradually turned into a secular celebration of young lovers. If this is the case, then the red that dominates so many modern Valentine cards may have derived from the sacrificial blood of the Lupercalia.
Februa
The skins of the goats sacrificed at the Lupercalia were cut into long, thin strips, from which whips were made. The loinskin-clad youths ran through the streets, whipping everyone they met. Women in particular were eager to receive these lashes, as they believed that the whipping would cure infertility and ease the pains of childbirth.
The goatskin thongs used as whips were called februa. Both this name and the name of the month in which the festival was observed, February, were derived from the word februum, which was an ancient instrument of purification. Whipping certain parts of the body with an instrument believed to possess magical powers was considered an effective way of driving off the evil spirits that interfered with human fertilization. The goatskin thongs were believed to possess such powers.
Running around the settlement on the Palatine Hill in Rome wearing the skins and carrying the februa appears to have been an attempt to trace a magic circle around the city to shut out evil influences. This would make the Lupercalia a precursor of the ceremony that came to be known as “beating the bounds.”
Goat
In pre-Christian times, the goat was a symbol of virility and unbridled lust. Christians saw the goat as an “impure, stinking” creature in search of gratification. In portrayals of the Last Judgment, the goat is the creature who is eternally condemned to the fires of Hell, and it’s no coincidence that the devil has many goatlike characteristics. In the Middle Ages, witches were often shown riding through the air on goats, and the devil appears as a male goat whose rump the witches kiss.
If the Lupercalia was primarily a fertility ritual, it makes sense that the women were whipped with thongs made from the skins of an animal identified with lust and virility. But why was a dog sacrificed as well? It is important to remember here that the Lupercalia was both a fertility rite and a purification rite, held to protect the fields and herds from evil. Perhaps dogs were involved in the sacrifice because they are the traditional guardians of the sheepfold.
Goats today are considered a symbol of sexual drive, and February is the month during which they mate.
Milk
After the Luperci were smeared with the blood of the sacrifice, the blood was wiped from their foreheads with wool dipped in milk. Just as the blood symbolized death, the milky wool was symbolic of new life, because milk represents the source of life. Some scholars have theorized that the milk was a symbol of sperm and the red symbolized menstrual blood. According to an ancient theory of procreation, new life came from the union of white sperm with red menses.
Today, red and white are the colors associated with VALENTINE’S DAY.
Wolf
The Latin word for wolf is lupus, from which both the Lupercal (cave) and the Lupercalia derived their names. While the festival may originally have been held in honor of the she-wolf who cared for Romulus and Remus, wolves also represented a threat to the herds on which the early Romans depended for food. The wolf is therefore a symbol not only for the wild, unrestrained forces of nature but also for the benevolent guardian of helpless creatures like Romulus and Remus.
Why were the priests called Luperci? The word Lupercus might have come from a phrase meaning “to purify by means of a goat”; or it might have come from a combination of lupus and arcere, meaning “he who wards off wolves.” Whether the Luperci were protectors from wolves or wolf-priests who took the form of wolves as a means of bringing them under control is a question that has never been satisfactorily answered. Some scholars suggest that the dead revealed themselves in the form of wolves, against whom the community had to be defended.
FURTHER READING
Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them. New York: Meridian Books, 1994. Fowler, W. Warde. The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. New York: Macmillan Co., 1925. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. James, E.O. Seasonal Feasts and Festivals. 1961. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1993. Lemprière, John. Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary. Revised ed. London: Bracken, 1994. Santino, Jack. All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. Scullard, H.H. Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1981.
Origins of Lupercalia
Origins of Lupercalia
Type of Holiday: Ancient
Date of Observation: February 15
Where Celebrated: Rome
Symbols and Customs: Blood, Februa, Goat, Milk, Wolf
Colors: Red and white, in the form of BLOOD and MILK , both played a part in the earliest observance of the Lupercalia. Nowadays these are the colors associated with Valentine’s Day, to which this ancient festival has been linked.
Related Holidays: Valentine’s Day
ORIGINS
The Lupercalia was a festival in the ancient Roman religion, which scholars trace back to the sixth century B . C . E . Roman religion dominated Rome and influenced territories in its empire until Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in the third century C . E . Ancient Roman religion was heavily influenced by the older Greek religion. Roman festivals therefore had much in common with those of the ancient Greeks. Not only were their gods and goddesses mostly the same as those in the Greek pantheon (though the Romans renamed them), but their religious festivals were observed with similar activities: ritual sacrifice, theatrical performances, games, and feasts.
The Lupercalia festival was held in honor of the WOLF who mothered Romulus and Remus, the legendary twin founders of Rome. During the original Roman celebration, members from two colleges of priests gathered at a cave on the Palatine Hill called the Lupercal-supposedly the cave where Romulus and Remus had been suckled by a she-wolf-and sacrificed a GOAT and a dog. The animals’ BLOOD was smeared on the foreheads of two young priests and then wiped away with wool dipped in MILK . The two young men stripped down to a goatskin loincloth and ran around the Palatine, striking everyone who approached them, especially the women, with thongs of goat skin called FEBRUA . It is believed that this was both a fertility ritual and a purification rite. It may also have been a very early example of “beating the bound, or reestablishing the borders of the early Palatine settlement.
There is some confusion over which god the Luperci or priests served; some say it was Faunus, a rural deity, and some say it was Pan, the god of shepherds who protected sheep from the danger of wolves. All that is certain is that by Caesar’s time, the annual ceremony had become a spectacular public sight, with young men running half-naked through the streets and provoking much good-natured hysteria among the women. February 15 was also the day when Mark Antony offered Julius Caesar the crown. Thanks to this historic event, and Shakespeare’s account of it in his play Julius Caesar, the Lupercalia is one of the best known of all Roman festivals.
It is interesting that such a rustic festival continued to be celebrated in Rome for centuries after it had been Christianized. Its survival can be partially credited to Augustus, who rebuilt the Lupercal in the first century B . C . E ., thus giving the celebration a boost. It continued to be observed until 494 C . E ., when Pope Gelasius I changed the day to the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. There is some reason to believe that the Lupercalia was a forerunner of the modern VALENTINE’S DAY: Part of the ceremony involved putting girls’ names in a box and letting boys draw them out, thus pairing them off until the next Lupercalia.
Source:
The Free Dictionary
Happy Lupercalia To All Those Celebrating Today!
Lupercalia
This was an ancient Roman festival during which worshippers gathered at a grotto on the Palatine Hill in Rome called the Lupercal, where Rome’s legendary founders, Romulus and Remus, had been suckled by a wolf. The sacrifice of goats and dogs to the Roman deities Lupercus and Faunus was part of the ceremony. Luperci (priests of Lupercus) dressed in goatskins and, smeared with the sacrificial blood, would run about striking women with thongs of goat skin. This was thought to assure them of fertility and an easy delivery. The name for these thongs— februa —meant “means of purification” and eventually gave the month of February its name. There is some reason to believe that the Lupercalia was a forerunner of modern Valentine’s Day customs. Part of the ceremony involved putting girls’ names in a box and letting boys draw them out, thus pairing them off until the next Lupercalia.
Fun Facts About Our Presidents, We’ll Let You Decide, lol!
Fun Facts About Our Presidents
In honor of President’s Day we’ve put together some of our favorite fun facts about presidents:
George Washington was the only president unanimously elected. Meaning all of the state representatives voted for him.
John Adams died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson, July 4th, 1826. This day was also the 50th anniversary of the approval of the Declaration of Independence!
Thomas Jefferson was also an accomplished architect. He designed his famous home at Monticello as well as buildings for the University of Virginia.
James Madison and George Washington are the only presidents who signed the Constitution.
James Madison was the shortest president at 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 100 pounds. Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president at 6 feet 4 inches tall (Lyndon B. Johnson was also 6′ 4″).
James Monroe was the 5th president, but the 3rd to die on the 4th of July.
On the day he was shot, Lincoln told his bodyguard that he had dreamt he would be assassinated.
Abraham Lincoln often stored things like letters and documents in his tall stove-piped hat.
Franklin D. Roosevelt met President Grover Cleveland when he was five years old. Cleveland said “I am making a wish for you. It is that you may never become president of the United States”.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to appear on television during a 1939 broadcast from the World’s Fair.
At 42 years, 10 months, 18 days old Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest man to hold the office of president.
Ronald Reagan was the oldest at 69 years 11 months. John F. Kennedy was the youngest to be elected president.
Teddy Roosevelt was blind in his left eye due to an injury in a boxing match.
When Ronald Reagan was shot by an assassin in 1981, he joked “I forgot to duck”.
The “S” in Harry S. Truman does not stand for anything.
John F. Kennedy was the first president who was a Boy Scout.
Woodrow Wilson was buried at the Washington National Cathedral. He is the only president buried in Washington D.C.
Andrew Jackson was shot in the chest during a gun dual, but managed to stay standing and shoot and kill his opponent. The bullet could not be safely removed and remained in his chest for the next 40 years.
George W. Bush is the only president to have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Barack Obama won a Grammy Award in 2006 for his voice on the audio book Dreams From My Father.
After working at a Baskin-Robbins as a teen, President Obama no longer likes ice cream. Bummer!
Bill Clinton enjoys playing the saxophone and was a member of a band called “Three Blind Mice” in high school.
Martin Van Buren was the first president to be born as a citizen of the United States. The presidents before him were born as British subjects.
Martin Van Buren was the only president to speak English as a second language. His first language was Dutch.
William Henry Harrisons was the 9th president. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd president.
John Tyler had 15 children. The White House must have been hopping!
James K. Polk was the first president to have his photograph taken while in office.
William Henry Harrison died just 32 days after becoming president. He died from a cold he got while standing the rain giving his inauguration speech.
Source:
Ducksters
Wishing You A Very Blessed & Happy Presidents’ Day To All Our Precious Family & Friends!
President’s Day
Lincoln and Washington
They are remembered on
Presidents’ Day.
Two men in history
Who gave us liberty.
Honor their memories
on this great day!
Happy Presidents’ Day!
Till tomorrow, my sweets….
Now as promised…..
I had several requests for the daily correspondence pages that we have been publishing. I was ask if I minded putting them all in correct order and in one spot. I can understand that when I want something I hate digging and hunting for it.
So that is what we are getting ready to do, list all the daily correspondence in the proper order and in one spot. Also after doing that, if we find any beautiful spell pages, we will put them on too. It seems the Printable Spell Page section has been a hit. I am very grateful for that. Personally, I love these pages and have always wanted a place to collect them. And besides, they look great in our BOS.
Now off to work or else we won’t get anything done!
Have a very blessed weekend and please stay warm (it is 3 below here, brrr, to cold to do anything)!
Love ya,
Lady A
A Little Thought From Me to You…..
A Little Humor for Your Day – “How to Recognize Humour”
How to Recognize Humour
A Guide for the Genetically Disadvantaged
By Everfool
From Chamber’s English Dictionary (1989 edition):
Humour (Us: Humor) ‘a mental quality which appreciates and delights in the ludicrous or mirthful: that which causes mirth and amusement: playful fancy’
Humourless ‘petulant’
Irony ‘the Socratic method of discussion by professing ignorance: conveyance of meaning (generally satirical) by words whose literal meaning is the opposite.’
Sarcasm ‘a bitter sneer: a satirical remark in scorn or contempt, often but not necessarily ironical’
Brain ‘in vertebrates, that part of the central nervous system that is contained within the skull…intelligence, common sense’
It has recently become apparent that some viewers of the fine website that is The Witches of the Craft have missed out on one of the exciting developments in the evolution of bipedal mammals: the ability to notice when someone is not being entirely serious. Because most of the people behind the website are kind, generous people, who would not say a bad word about anyone, the writing of this article has rather naturally fallen to me.
With the intent of making many lives more wholesome and enjoyable, it is my hope to help you to separate ironic humour articles from hideously idiotic editorials. This is a basic course, however, so don’t get cocky and start reading the transcripts of political speeches.
Useful Clues
1) The presence of the word ‘humour.’ One would think that this is an obvious sign, and certainly I think so, but apparently I’m out of step with the world. I blame the stuff they put in the water supply.*
Read the article. Look all over the page. Examine the web address even. If anywhere appears the word ‘humour’ in a label format, you should probably move onto deciding whether the article is funny or not. If you can’t decide on that, please order my new book Is It Funny? retailing at £30.95.
* Shopping trolleys mainly.
2) ‘Tone’ When you read the article, is your first instinct to laugh at how bizarre it is? Congratulations, it’s probably a humour piece! While some people are unintentionally funny, most people have to work hard at it. Come to that, some people have to work hard at basic cognitive functions, but I’m digressing.
3) Content of the rest of the site: Possibly your most useful guide. The most basic point links back to number one: is this article stored within a section labelled as ‘humour’? If you can’t handle the ramifications of this one, please see your doctor immediately and tell him you’re not allowed to reproduce. More time consuming is the examination of the rest of the site. Do all of the pages seem in keeping with the item that originally inflamed your anger? If you think the article encourages an absurdly ‘fluff bunny’ attitude, the intelligent article on controversies within the Pagan community may change your mind. May.
4) Ask the people who run the website whether they’re being serious. This may save you the effort of remembering all those interesting words your dad/uncle/priest used to use when they smelled of domestic bleach, and will save you embarrassment if you ever planned on holding a conversation with representatives of the site.
This concludes the basic guide to spotting humour.
Remember to look out for:
- Convenient label systems.
- Tone.
- Context/accompanying content.
- Hints from the owner of the site that it’s frigging humour.
And if this doesn’t help, frankly we’re going to send the flying monkeys after you.
Article published on The Cauldron
Astronomy Picture of the Day – Yutu on a Little Planet
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2016 February 13
Yutu on a Little Planet
Image Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese National Space Administration,
Emily Lakdawalla (Planetary Society) – Stitched by: Andrew Bodrov
Explanation: Tracks lead to a small robot perched near the top of this bright little planet. Of course, the planet is really the Moon. The robot is the desk-sized Yutu rover, leaving its looming Chang’e 3 lander after a after a mid-December 2013 touch down in the northern Mare Imbrium. The little planet projection is a digitally warped and stitched mosaic of images from the lander’s terrain camera covering 360 by 180 degrees. Ultimately traveling over 100 meters, Yutu came to a halt in January 2014. The lander’s instruments are still working though, after more than two years on the lunar surface.
Earth Sky News for Feb. 15th: Moon receding tonight in 2 ways
Moon receding tonight in 2 ways
Tonight – February 13, 2016 – you might or might not see the rather faint constellation Aries and its brightest star, Hamal, to the north of the wide waxing crescent moon. When you see tonight’s moon, you might also enjoy knowing it’s in the part of its orbit that’s carrying it away from Earth. What’s more, over the long course of time, the moon’s mean distance from Earth is increasing as well.
So, in both ways, we have a receding moon on this night!
Like virtually all orbits in space, the moon’s orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle, even though it’s very nearly circular. In February, 2016, the moon sweeps to perigee – its closest point to Earth – on February 11 (364,360 kilometers), and then it swings out to apogee – its farthest point – on February 27 (405,383 km).
In a sense, we can regard the moon as receding from Earth right now, because the moon was at perigee a few days ago, and is now heading for its February 27 apogee.
Back in stock! Lunar calendars 2016. Order today. Supply limited
On the other hand, when astronomers talk about a receding moon, they are usually referring to the moon’s increasing mean distance from Earth.
Yes, it’s true. The moon’s mean distance from Earth is increasing over time.
How do we know? First of all, Edmund Halley’s studies of ancient solar and lunar eclipses suggested the possibility. More recently, Apollo astronauts placed laser reflectors on the moon from 1969 to 1972, which enabled astronomers to measure the moon’s distance with great accuracy since then.
The moon’s mean distance has been found to be increasing at the rate of about 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) per year.
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Tidal friction with the Earth’s oceans is responsible for this long-term increase of the moon’s distance from Earth. It’s causing the moon to spiral into a more distant orbit. Tidal friction also slows down the Earth’s rotation, lengthening the day by about 1 second every 40,000 years. Hence, the number of days in a year is slowly diminishing over the long course of time.
Simulations suggest that at the time of the moon’s formation some 4.5 billion years ago, the moon was only about 20,000 to 30,000 kilometers (12,000 to 18,000 miles) from Earth. Way back then, Earth’s day might have been only 5 or 6 hours long. That would mean over 1,400 days in one year!
Geologic evidence indicates that much more recently, some 900 million years ago, there were about 480 18-hours days in one year. At that time the moon was about 90% of its present distance from Earth.
In our day and age, the moon’s mean distance is 384,400 kilometers (238,855 miles). Sometime in the distant future, the moon will recede far enough from Earth so that the moon’s disk can no longer completely cover the sun during a solar eclipse. That means total solar eclipses will become a thing of the past.
As you view our companion world tonight, ponder on the rich history and intriguing future of our planet Earth and its wayward moon!
Bottom line: We have a receding moon on the night of February 13, 2016, in two ways. The moon has passed its monthly perigee or closest point, so is now moving farther from Earth again. Over the long course of time, the moon’s mean distance from Earth is also increasing.
Author
Bruce McClure
Bruce McClure is the chief writer for the popular EarthSky Tonight pages. Since joining EarthSky in 2004, he has written thousands of astronomy articles, enjoyed here by millions. He also writes, gives planetarium shows and hosts a wide assortment of public astronomy programs in and around his home in upstate New York. If you ask an astronomy question on our site, it’s likely to be Bruce that answers it. His love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, and he has sailed the North Atlantic, earning his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. Bruce is also a sundial aficionado. He says his number one passion – besides his wife Alice – is stargazing.
Article published on EarthSky
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