Category: Articles

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Wednesday, January 4th

Winter Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Wednesday, January 4th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 136.10° SE
Sun Altitude: 16.15°
Sun Distance: 91.404 million mi
Next Equinox: Mar 20, 2017 5:28 am (Vernal)
Sunrise Today: 7:08 am↑ 118° Southeast
Sunset Today: 4:51 pm↑ 242° Southwest
Length of Daylight: 9 hours, 42 minutes

 

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 72.45° ENE
Moon Altitude: -26.13°
Moon Distance: 234949 mi
Next Full Moon: Jan 12, 20175:33 am
Next New Moon: Jan 27, 20176:07 pm
Next Moonrise: Today11:08 am
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 37.0%

Source

timeanddate.com

 

A Very Beautiful & Blessed Wednesday Morning To All Our Dear Family & Friends! May The Goddess Shine Her Blessings on You & Yours!

WINTER TIME.The Wiccan Witch

The Wiccan Witch is kind and fair,
Her love for nature everywhere,
She’s guided by the spirits high,
And sees the world through caring eyes.

The Wiccan Witch thanks all around,
The Green Man here upon the ground,
The spirits that rise into the air,
The Wiccan Witch will truly care.

The Wiccan Witch will celebrate,
And to the God and Goddess will dedicate,
Her offerings and her joyous praise,
And ask for guidance on her way.

The Wiccan Witch will fill your heart,
And from her love, you’ll never part,
But on you a spell has not been cast,
You’ve been guided by spirits, so bound to last.

The elements from the Earth and Air,
Has set you on the path to where,
You’ll find your Wiccan Witch to be,
It’s true my friends, it’s happened to me.

 

—Pagan Ways
Alan Faraway

 

A Little Commentary Before We Go…..

This just happens to be one of my favorite sayings. I believe with the Goddess and our Ancestors all things are possible. Oh, for those of you just joining us, any material we publish you are free to use on your site. We believe there are not enough Pagan, Witchcraft, Wiccan or any other sites such as these on the net anymore. When we first started, you couldn’t turn around without bumping into one. Now, it is sad to say, there are lots of dead ones but not that many active ones. We believe in promoting those sites trying to get started, supplying them with information, doing anything we can, we need more Pagan sites on the net.

I think most of you know we took one heck of a hit not too long ago. We are starting to get back to normal, I hope. It will just take time but to stop and think about all the work we put into the old site. Then a trifling little witch (no witch is too good for her, more like bi*ch) to just take it on herself to wipe it all out. Every time I think about it, it still blows my mind. Why? I don’t understand why people do the things they do. I honestly try not to dwell on the past. I hope and pray that the events in my past and the WOTC’s past only makes us stronger and more determined.

This coming year is going to be our best year ever. We have three more sites to rebuild when that is over with, we are going to run like our tails are on fire. I made a commitment to the Goddess many years ago and what has happened has made me more determined than ever to spread Her word. I want you to stand beside the WOTC and myself as we honor our commitment to the Goddess. I want us to spread her message like never before. I think most of you know one of my dreams is for Witchcraft to take its rightful place in mainstream religion. It would be wonderful if we could make that happen in our lifetime. We have come a long way but we have a long way to go. We have to stand together to make it happen.

Spread Her Word, Spread Her Love, Set This World on Fire for the Goddess in 2017!

Goddess Bless Each and Everyone of our Brothers & Sisters,

We Love You,

Lady of the Abyss & The WOTC Staff

Earth Sky News for January 3rd: Latest sunrises happen in early January

Latest sunrises happen in early January

By

So you like to sleep late, but don’t want to miss the sunrise? This time of year is for you. Sleep on – if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, that is. The latest sunrises of 2017 are happening around now for mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, sunrise time in the central U.S. – say, around Wichita, Kansas – for the next several days will be around 7:45 a.m..

Meanwhile, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, your latest sunsets are happening around now, assuming you’re at mid-southern latitudes.

Many sky watchers notice this phenomenon, which is part of an unvarying sequence each year. For us at mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the sequence is: earliest sunset in early December, shortest day at the solstice around December 21, latest sunrise in early January.

At middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the sequence is: earliest sunrise in early December, longest day at the December solstice, latest sunset in early January.

This natural order is part of what we can expect, every year, from nature.

The December solstice always brings the shortest day to the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day to the Southern Hemisphere. But, clearly, the latest sunrise doesn’t coincide with the day of least daylight, and the latest sunset doesn’t happen on the day of greatest daylight. Why not?

The main reason is that the Earth’s rotational axis is tilted 23.5o out of vertical to the plane of our orbit around the sun. A secondary reason is that the Earth’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle. Due to our eccentric orbit (that’s an orbit shaped like a squashed circle, with the sun slightly off its center), Earth travels fastest in January and slowest in July.

Clock time gets a bit out of sync with sun time – by about the tune of 1/2 minute per day for several weeks around the December solstice.

Because solar noon (midday) comes later by the clock today than on the solstice, so do the times of sunrise and sunset. The table below helps to explain:

For Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date Sunrise Solar Noon (Midday) Sunset Daylight Hours
December 7 7:09 a.m. 11:52 a.m. 4:35 p.m. 9 hours 26 minutes
December 21 7:19 a.m. 11:59 a.m. 4:39 p.m. 9 hours 20 minutes
January 3 7:23 a.m. 12:05 p.m. 4:48 p.m. 9 hours 25 minutes

The exact date for the latest sunrise or latest sunset varies by latitude. At present, mid-temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere have their latest sunrises, while the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-temperate latitudes are watching their latest sunsets. At latitudes closer to the equator, the latest sunrise or latest sunset has yet to come. Closer to the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the latest sunrise and latest sunset have already come and gone.

But in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, the sequence is always the same:

1) earliest sunset, winter solstice, latest sunrise
2) earliest sunrise, summer solstice, latest sunset

Bottom line: Notice the time of sunrise and sunset at this time of year. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, your latest sunrises are happening around now at mid-northern latitudes. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, mid-latitudes are watching the year’s latest sunsets. Enjoy them!

 

 

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.

Article originally published on Earth Sky

 

Your Charm for January 3rd is The Menat

Your Charm for Today

Today’s Meaning:
A few prayers to your deity of choice would serve you well when dealing with this aspect. Your questions or requests stand a better chance of being answered in the next few days if you do so.

General Description:
This elaborately ornamental charm, worn by Egyptian women, was supposed to bestow upon them all the blessings of their powerful Hathor, goddess of the sunrise, whose worship was universal in Egypt. Health, strength, happiness – all these were the gifts of this their goddess of love. She was regarded as a loving, protecting mother, both of the living and of the dead; was the deity who filled both heaven and earth with her beneficence, and the dispenser of all the blessings of life.

Your Ancient Symbol Oracle for January 3rd is Justice

Your Ancient Symbol Oracle for Today

Justice



Justice represents the expression of fairness without bias. Simply put, Justice embodies the notion that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. Justice denotes the need to remedy situations lacking equality for all. Depending on the circumstances, Justice may be asking us to curb our partiality, or conversely, Justice may indicate a time for you to demand fair treatment.