Be prepared for upcoming psychic turbulence. The Moon in Scorpio forms a supportive, 60-degree alliance with the Sun in Capricorn at 3:32AM PST, but this positive rapport of the two lights also begins a long void uncertainty zone that lasts until 12:29AM PST tomorrow. Pallas making an inspirational, 72-degree contact with Vesta (8:32AM PST) seems to encourage investments and business plans, but the void condition of the Moon is unsettling rather than reassuring. You now need to be on your best behavior as a quartet of discordant aspects enters the scene. Mercury makes an off-kilter, 150-degree link with Vesta (10:00AM PST) while giant Jupiter makes the same kind of off-kilter, 150-degree tie with Juno (11:18AM PST). Before you can catch your breath, the red planet Mars is on the warpath again as it tries to bully Saturn via a 90-degree square (11:34AM PST). Adding insult to injury, the void Moon chimes in as it parallels Mars (2:13PM PST). To have this group of challenging aspects occur in only 4+ hours is to concentrate their capacity for all-around mischief-making. Put business matters on the back burner. Slow your tempo in sensitive love bonds. Keep your John Hancock completely under wraps and stay away from temperamental individuals.
The Celtic Tree Month of The Birch
The Celtic Tree Month of The Birch
The Celtic meaning of the birch tree deals with:
- Growth
- Renewal
- Stability
- Initiation
- Adaptability
Listen closely and you will detect whispers of transformation and growth in the midst of the birch groves within your soul.
The birch is highly adaptive and able to sustain harsh conditions with casual indifference. Proof of this adaptability is seen in its easy and eager ability to repopulate areas damaged by forest fires or clearings. Bright and beautiful, the birch is a pioneer, courageously taking root and starting anew to revive the landscape where no other would before.
This is a powerful metaphor for our lives. The birch asks us to philosophically go where no other will go (voluntarily or otherwise). The birch asks us to take root in new soils and light our lives with the majesty of our very presence. The birch sings to us: “Shine, take hold, express your creative expanse, light the way so that others may follow.”
Paradoxically, while the birch is a brilliant symbol of renewal, it is also symbolic of stability and structure. The druids also held the birch as the keepers of long-honored traditions.
Associated with the sun, the birch is a solar emblem, and facilitates passion, energy, as well as growth. This solar association is paralleled when we learn the druids carried birch bark with them as kindling. Birch serves as a perfect igniter as it will start to burn even when damp. This makes it a prized fire starter over most other wood types.
Here again, this makes for a perfect analogy. The birch asks us to serve our fellow man with a fire in our hearts. In this respect, the birch reminds us that even if our spirits are dampened by the set backs in life, we can always catch fire from the spark of passions that drive us to divinity.
Calendar of the Moon for Monday, January 7th
Calendar of the Moon
Beth/Poseideion II
Birch Tree Moon
Color: White
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of white set the budded birch branches, a single white candle, the rune Berkana carved onto a piece of birch wood, and a bowl of clear water.
Offerings: White cakes with the Berkana rune carved upon them.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian with dairy and eggs.
Beth Invocation
Call: Now is the beginning of the year.
Response: Now is the time of stillness and cold.
Call: Now all is still and waiting upon the earth.
Response: Now the earth sleeps beneath her many blankets.
Call: Now is the time of patience.
Response: Now is the time of our longest wait.
Call: We are at peace with the Earth and with each other.
Response: We are at peace with the Earth and ready to begin.
Call: This is the month of indrawn breath.
Response: This is the time of all beginnings.
Call: May the year grow strong before us!
Response: May we grow strong before the year!
Call: For as the birch tree steps forth into the burned fields,
Response: So do we step forth into the aftermath of our own burning.
Call: For as the soft branches of the birch beat away the old year,
Response: So do we lower our heads for the strokes of the future.
Call: For as the pheasant hunts the snow for food,
Response: So do we seek through the ruins of the past.
Call: For as Frigga spins the clouds into thread,
Response: So do we circle like the spinning whorl,
Call: So do we take up the fiber of what has been,
Response: So do we bring forth the new year from our very hands.
Call: From our open hands,
Response: From our open hearts,
Call: From our open bodies,
Response: From our open souls.
Chant: Silver tree, in your branches
White of snow, stars are dancing
Tree of clouds, like thread of silver
Time runs through our hands.
Calendar of the Sun for Monday, January 7th
Calendar of the Sun
7 Wolfmonath
Justicia I: Themis’s Day
Color: Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a blue cloth place three candles, a goblet of white wine, and any book related to the study of social rules.
Offerings: Go out into the community and do service.
Daily Meal: All food must be ethically and sustainably grown.
Invocation to Themis
(To be said Call And Response)
Lady of the All-Seeing Eyes,
Advisor to Kings and God-Kings,
Themis Eubolos, Good Counselor,
You who are always on the winning side,
Guardian of Propriety and Civic Duty,
Lady of the Public Assembly,
Keeper of Order,
Builder of Correct Ceremony,
Teacher of the Discipline of Graciousness,
You who know the value of Procedure,
Mother of Rules,
Mother of Justice,
Mother of Peace,
From you sprang the Hours,
From you sprang the Graces,
From you sprang the foundation of our Order.
You who took pity on humanity
And showed them how to save themselves
With the bones of their Mother,
Creating life from stone,
Show us, too, the proper way of things,
That we might always honor your name.
Hail Themis!
(Pour out the libation and all exit. Immediately upon leaving the service, go out into the community and do some visible service in Themis’s name.)
Current Moon Phase for January 7th: Last Quarter
Last Quarter Moon
(waning/30% illumination)
The time of reaping is at hand. There is a feeling of completion infused into the atmosphere during the Last Quarter Moon. The opportunity opens to recognize how far you’ve come in various parts of your life. This is not a good time for new beginnings, but rather a reflective period suited to evaluating how you have been using your time and what has been accomplished. Issues of authority may arise. This Moon phase supports taking responsibility for actively tying up the loose ends of projects that are already underway.
Life As The Witch – Things That Can Weaken or Ruin Our Spellcasting
Things that Weaken or Ruin Spellcasting
There are some circumstances that can weaken or even destroy the spell you have worked so hard to cast, so you want to be aware of and avoid the following:
*Drug or alcohol use: You should never cast a spell with anything other than a clear head. For one thing, it is insulting to the Gods to come into sacred space under the influence of mind-altering substances. For another, it interferes with focus. (Yes, there are some folks who believe in the use of drugs deepens spiritual practice, they are entitled to their opinions, and I would never argue with them, but it has been my experience that nothing destroys magickal concentration and focus faster than coming into a circle high or drunk.)
*Extreme emotional states: As I said above, you need to have a clear head in order to do your best spell casting. Coming in to your sacred space filled with anger or fear or any other very strong emotion will not only stand in the way of clarity and focus, but you may cast a spell you later wished you hadn’t. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do spell work when things are bad–sometimes this is when we need magick the most. But try to achieve as calm a state as possible before starting the work. Do some meditation, take a long bath or walk, repeat some calming affirmations. At the very least, take slow, deep breaths and concentrate on the light and love of the Gods until your head is in a better place.
*Mixed feelings about the spell work: If you’re not sure whether the spell you are casting is the right thing to do or not, that doubt may undermine the will you need to feed the spell. Never cast a spell unless you are certain of your path in that instance. This is also true of the times when you are uncertain of your goal. That confusion will sap your spell of strength, so it is better to wait until you have a solid goal in mind, and the will to back it up.
*Negative intent: This is not to say that you can’t cast a spell that would have a negative impace on someone else, for better or for worse, free will allows for this. However, you should be in mind that not only do the powers of the Universe often not allow these types of spells to work, it is not unusual for them to rebound on the one what casts them–either immediately or sometime down the line.
*Lack of focus: This is the main reason for not coming into circle under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or heavy emotions, they will simply make it too difficult to maintain the focus needed to create a powerful spell and send it out into the world. But other thing can get in the way of focus, too. If you can’t find a quiet, private place to cast your spell (the kids are running around screaming, the dog is barking, the neighbors ae arguing at the top of their lungs) you are better off waiting for a different time. It is almost impossible to get good results when you cast a spell in the midst of chaos.
Reference:
Excerpt from:
“Writing and Casting Spells For the Best Results” By Deborah Blake Llewellyn’s Magical 2013 Magical AlmanacMore Fantasy Comments
The Witches Correspondences for Monday, January 7th
The Witches Correspondences for Monday, January 7th
Magickal Intentions: Psychic Sensitivity, Women’s Mysteries, Tides, Waters, Emotional Issues, Agriculture, Animals, Female Fertility, Messages, Theft, Reconciliations, Voyages, Dreams and Merchandise
Incense: African Violet, Honeysuckle, Myrtle, Willow, Wormwood
Planet: Moon
Sign: Cancer
Angel: Gabriel
Colors: Silver, White and Gray
Herbs/Plants: Night Flowers, Willow Root, Orris Root, Birch, Motherwort, Vervain, White Rose and White Iris
Stones: Carnelian, Moonstone, Aquamarine, Pearl, Clear Quartz, Fluorite, Geodes
Oil: (Moon) Jasmine, Lemon, Sandalwood
Monday belongs to the Moon. Monday’s energy best aligns itself with efforts that deal with women, home and hearth, the family, the garden, travel, and medicine. It also boosts rituals involving psychic development and prophetic dreaming.
The Witches Almanac for *Monday, January 7th
The Witches Almanac for *Monday, January 7th
*Monday (Moon): Peace, sleep, healing, compassion, friends, psychic awareness, purification and fertility.
Moon Sign: *Scorpio
*Scorpio: Increases awareness of psychic power. Precipitates psychic crises and ends connections thoroughly. People tend to brood and become secretive.
*Waning Moon
*The Waning Moon is a time for study, meditation, and little magickal work (except magick designed to banish harmful energies).
Moon Phase: Fourth Quarter
Incense: Rosemary
Color: Gray
More Fantasy Comments
Good Glorious Monday Morning, dear family & friends!
Facts You Might Not Know About This Monday, January 7th
January 7 : The Day of Unusual Interests Ancient Egyptian : dedicated to the ‘Goddess Sekhmet’, ‘guardian of the dead’, one of the ‘Seven Kine Deities’.
‘St. Distaff’s Day’ : rurally and traditionally known as a day dedicating to spinning wool after the holiday in England.
Celtic feast day of ‘Brannoc’ : Believed to be from Brittany, and according to legend came to Cornwall across the seas in a stone coffin (or a ship laden with such ballast). Alleged to have seen a vision, of white piglets feeding on a white sow, which later led him to work to build a church (where he is also believed to be buried) at Braunton, Devon, England.
References:
More Monday Comments
Calendar of the Sun for January 6th
Calendar of the Sun
6 Wolfmonath
Day of Kore Underground
Colors: Dark brown and white
Element: Earth
Altar: Set with a brown cloth, a white candle, a bowl of earth saved from the Day of Kore’s Descent, a cup of well water fed by an underground stream, a dead twig, and the figure of a serpent.
Offerings: Dried flowers. Shed skins of snakes. Seeds that will be planted in spring. A promise to bring joy into a dark place, even at the peril of your own life or happiness.
Daily Meal: Dark, coarse bread. Root vegetables. Poppy seeds. Millet. Nuts and seeds.
Invocation to Kore Underground
Cold lies the Earth
And all things upon it,
And our spirits are chilled
With the sight of Earth asleep.
The Maiden of Spring lies
Deep underground with her bridegroom,
Lying with the Lord of Death,
Lying with the ghosts of our ancestors,
Lying with all that is forgotten,
And we are called merely to endure
Cold and darkness
As She willingly goes below the Earth
To bring comfort and light
To the realm of cold and darkness.
Let us never forget
That even in the time of winter
We can, as She does,
Give of ourselves
To bring light to the darkest places,
To endure them with faith in the cycle of life
And never to fail in our hope
Of the coming of the Spring.
Chant:
Kore Kore Kore Proserpina
(Let one chosen for the work of the daily ritual carry the bowl of earth from person to person about the hall, and let each one take a bit of the earth and rub it on their faces, and let it remain until the evening ablutions. Then let the water be poured as a libation to Kore into the remainder of the earth, and be carried outside and poured onto the Earth itself. Gather new earth, which will be saved until the day of Kore’s return.)
Current Moon Phase for January 6th: Last Quarter
Last Quarter
(waning/90-45 degrees)
January 6, 2013 — The time of reaping is at hand. There is a feeling of completion infused into the atmosphere during the Last Quarter Moon. The opportunity opens to recognize how far you’ve come in various parts of your life. This is not a good time for new beginnings, but rather a reflective period suited to evaluating how you have been using your time and what has been accomplished. Issues of authority may arise. This Moon phase supports taking responsibility for actively tying up the loose ends of projects that are already underway.
Daily Cosmic Calendar for Sunday, January 6th
The inner universe is eager to reveal its secrets as the Moon in Scorpio combines forces with a Moon-Neptune trine in water signs (12:16AM PST) and a somewhat frictional, 45-degree link between the Sun and Neptune (1:20AM PST). Think more about your higher destiny as a soul-infused personality on Spaceship Earth than on fulfilling personal needs. A Mercury-Pluto union at 10 degrees of Capricorn (8:45AM PST) and flowing Moon-Chiron trine (8:56AM PST) amplify the instinct to go within for guidance. Hit the psychology and metaphysical books with a flourish. Healing vibrations are back on the march. Learn more about advances on the cutting edge of alternative medicine. Research projects and in-depth studies are in the spotlight later on as the Moon makes its monthly union with Saturn (3:11PM PST) while Mercury forms a supportive, 60-degree tie with Saturn (3:45PM PST). Your abilities as a problem-solver and strategist are enhanced this evening — courtesy of an inspirational, 72-degree rapport between the Sun and knowledge-illuminator Pallas (9:29PM PST).
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