The Witches Almanac for Friday, June 24th

Friday (Venus): Love, friendship, reconciliation, and beauty.

St. John’s Day

Waning Moon
The Waning Moon (from the Full Moon to the New) is a time for study, meditation, and little magical work (except magic designed to banish harmful energies).

Moon Phase: Third Quarter

Moon Sign: Aquarius
Aquarius: Rebellious energy. Time to break habits and make abrupt changes. Personal freedom and individuality is the focus.

Moon enters Pisces 10:30 pm
Pisces: The focus is on dreaming, nostalgia, intuition, and psychic impressions. A good time for spiritual or philanthropic activities.

Incense: Orchid

Color: Rose

Magickal Fridays

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 About.com

Pagan Friday

Friday is traditionally considered the sixth day of the week, falling between Thursday and Saturday, as it does in countries that adopt a Sunday-first convention (see Days of the week for more on the different conventions). In countries adopting the Monday-first, and, in work-based conventions, it is the fifth day of the week.

 

The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigg, the Germanic goddess of beauty. In most Germanic languages it is named after Freyja—such as Freitag in Modern German, vrijdag in Dutch, fredag in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish—but Freyja and Frigg are frequently identified with each other. The word for Friday in most Romance languages is derived from the name of Venus such as vendredi in French, venerdì in Italian, viernes in Spanish, and vineri in Romanian. In Hindi, Friday is Shukravar, named for Shukra, the Sanskrit name of the planet Venus. Russian uses an ordinal number for this day of the week– piatnítsa, meaning “fifth.” Similarly, the Portuguese is sexta-feira.

 

The modern reason why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky is said to come from Friday October the 13th, 1307. On this date, the Pope of the church in Rome in conjunction with the King of France, carried out a secret death warrant Against “the Knights Templar”. The Templars were terminated as heretics, never again to hold the power that they had held for so long. The Grand Master, Jacques DeMolay, was arrested and before he was killed, was tortured and crucified. The destruction of the Templar Knights was so complete and terrible that it will always be remembered as an unlucky day.

 

Astrology
In astrology Friday is connected with the planet Venus. This associates Friday with love, peace, and relaxation, as well as, with emotional intensity and quashed dreams. And also is connected with the Astrological sign Libra.

Source

Pagan Calendar

Goddesses Associated with Friday, The Day of Freya

Astarte, Aphrodite, Erzulie, Aida Wooo, Eve, Venus, Diana, Isis, the Witch of Gaeta, Chalchiuhtlique

Source

The Goddess Book of Days
Diane Stein

The Goddess Book of Days for Friday, June 24th

In Egypt, the day of the Burning of the Lamps at Sais, for Isis and Neith/Nut/Mut. (Star Girl, Vega, Sothis, Sirius, Arianrhod, Anatha, Athena, Io, Ishtar, Sarasvati, Sophia, Minerva.) In Puerto Rico and Spanish America, San Juan Day, from Inti Raymi, the Feast of the Sun, dedicated to Quetzalcoatl (Christ, St. John, Apollo, Pan, Dionysus, Bacchus, Adonis, Attis, Heme, Izanagi, the Sun Father, Tammuz, Damuzi, Osiris, Ra, Lugh, Damballah, Yoko-Hoo).

 

Source

The Goddess Book of Days
Diane Stein

The Pagan Book of Days for June 24th

Fortuna/St. John the Baptist/Old Midsummer

A sacred day of the goddess fortuna, Lady Luck. As St. John the Baptist’s Day, it is also the official Midsummer’s Day. It is customary to light midsummer bonfires on high points to celebrate the high point of the year and of solar light. Traditional locations for St. John’s Day fires are of ten place where the sun was observed in former times.

Source

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

Friday, June 24th

 

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/Chrysolite

Animal: Bull/Serpent

Element: Earth

Color: Yellow/Violet

Number: 7

Rune: Peorth(P)

Celtic Tree Month of Duir(Oak) – June 10 – July 7. Oak month is a time for protection and strength, fertility, money and success, and good fortune.

Runic Half-Month of Dag(day) – June 14 – June 28

Goddess of the Month of Rosea – June 13 – July 10
 

Source

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

 

Friday’s Conjuring

Friday – is associated with Venus

Candle colors – Green, Red, Blue, White, Purple

Spellwork for the Day: Love, Marriage, Money, Attraction, Luck, Healing, Prosperity, Change, Road Opening work, Bring Peace, Relationships, Power and Success
 

—Old Style Conjure Wisdoms, Workings and Remedies, Starr Casas

The Sky This Week for June 24 to July 3

Go on the hunt for Pluto, see a quiet meteor shower, or go on the hunt for the Big Dipper this week.

Friday, June 24

• Look high in the northwest after darkness falls this month, and you’ll be greeted by the familiar sight of the Big Dipper. The Dipper is the most conspicuous asterism — a recognizable pattern of stars that doesn’t form a complete constellation shape — in the entire sky. It forms the body and tail of Ursa Major the Great Bear. Use the Pointers, the two stars at the end of the Dipper’s bowl, to find Polaris, which lies due north for everyone north of the equator. Polaris marks the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. On June evenings, the relatively faint stars of this dipper arc directly above Polaris.

Saturday, June 25

• Neptune rises a few minutes past midnight this week and climbs more than 30° above the southeastern horizon by the start of morning twilight. The magnitude 7.9 planet lies in Aquarius, some 0.5° southeast of 4th-magnitude Lambda (l) Aquarii. You’ll need binoculars to spy Neptune and a telescope to see its blue-gray disk, which spans 2.3″.

Sunday, June 26

• If ever there was a good time to track down Pluto, this is the night. The distant world passes just 2.7′ due south of the 3rd-magnitude star Pi (p) Sagittarii in northeastern Sagittarius, making the task of finding the dwarf planet much easier than usual. Pluto glows dimly at magnitude 14.1, however, so you’ll need an 8-inch or larger telescope to spot it visually.

Monday, June 27

• Last Quarter Moon occurs at 2:19 p.m. EDT. Look for it either before dawn this morning (when it lies among the background stars of southern Pisces and looks slightly more than half-lit) or after it rises around 1:30 a.m. local daylight time tomorrow (when it stands on the border between Pisces and Cetus and appears as a fat crescent).

• The typically minor June Boötid meteor shower occasionally reminds us of its presence. After decades of inactivity, the shower produced up to 100 meteors per hour in 1998. It then returned with about half that number in 2004. Although astronomers aren’t predicting an outburst this year, veteran observers know that the only way to be sure is to actually watch the sky. The shower peaks before dawn today, though any “shooting stars” will have to compete with the light of the Last Quarter Moon. The meteors appear to radiate from a point, called the “radiant,” located in the northern part of the constellation Boötes the Herdsman.

Tuesday, June 28

• For people who live near 35° north latitude, today marks the latest sunset of the year. Although Earth’s summer solstice and the Northern Hemisphere’s longest day occurred last week (on the 20th), latest sunset happens several days after and earliest sunrise several days before. The specific dates depend on your latitude, however — latest sunset at 40° north took place yesterday. In general, latest sunset occurs closer to the solstice the farther north you live.

Wednesday, June 29

• Observers of the outer solar system get their first good views of Uranus before dawn during June. The best time to look for it is shortly before twilight begins around 4 a.m. local daylight time. Uranus then lies nearly 25° high in the east among the background stars of Pisces the Fish. This morning, use binoculars to find the magnitude 5.8 planet about 4° west of 4th-magnitude Omicron (o) Piscium and 3° north of 5th-magnitude Mu (m) Psc. A telescope reveals Uranus’ blue-green disk, which spans 3.5″.

Thursday, June 30

• Mars remains a stunning sight all week. The Red Planet reaches its stationary point today, which means that its westward motion relative to the background stars of Libra comes to a halt and it begins moving eastward again. This westward push happens to stop just 20′  of the 8th-magnitude globular star cluster NGC 5897. Mars shines at magnitude –1.4 and appears almost due south and at its highest position in late twilight. When viewed through a telescope, Mars’ orange-red disk spans 16″.

Friday, July 1

• Brilliant Jupiter appears striking in the western sky as darkness falls and remains on display until nearly midnight local daylight time. The giant planet shines at magnitude –1.9 against the backdrop of southern Leo the Lion. Jupiter appears equally dazzling through a telescope, which reveals a wealth of atmospheric features on a disk that spans 34″. Tonight, observers also can see the giant moon Ganymede cross the planet’s northern hemisphere. The transit begin at 10:48 p.m. EDT (best for eastern North America) and lasts for more than three hours (giving western observers good views).

• The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, at 2:40 a.m. EDT. It then lies 227,411 miles (365,983 kilometers) away from us.

Saturday, July 2

• Perhaps no month better epitomizes summer in the Northern Hemisphere than July. And this month finds the season’s namesake asterism, the Summer Triangle, on prominent display. The trio’s brightest member, Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp, stands nearly overhead shortly after midnight. The asterism’s second-brightest star, Altair in Aquila the Eagle, then lies more than halfway from the southeastern horizon to the zenith. Deneb, the luminary of Cygnus the Swan, marks the Summer Triangle’s third corner. Although it is this asterism’s dimmest star, it’s the brightest point of light in the northeastern sky.

Sunday, July 3

• Although Saturn reached its peak exactly one month ago, it remains a lovely sight. It is on display among the background stars of southern Ophiuchus from nightfall until the start of morning twilight. You can find the planet in the southeast during evening twilight and highest in the south around 11 p.m. local daylight time. Saturn continues to shine brightly, too, at magnitude 0.2. When viewed through a telescope, the planet measures 18″ across while its dramatic ring system spans 41″ and tilts 26° to our line of sight

 

Source

Astronomy Magazine

 

 

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Friday, June 24th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 95.32° E
Sun Altitude: 47.80°
Sun Distance: 94.486 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2016 9:21 AM (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 5:36 AM↑ 59° Northeast
Sunset Today: 8:18 PM↑ 301° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 42 minutes

 

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 255.83° WSW
Moon Altitude: -1.11°
Moon Distance: 236676 mi
Next New Moon: Jul 4, 20166:00 AM
Next Full Moon: Jul 19, 20165:56 PM
Next Moonrise: Today11:21 PM
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 82.2%

 

Source

timeanddate.com