June 16th

Sun Festival

In some of the more remote areas of Mexico, fragments of this ancient Peruvian festival can be found. To the ancients, the sun represented the supreme cosmic power and an all-seeing deity. When it was coupled with the rain, it gave life to the earth. The Sun Festival was a celebration of power and beauty when the Sky Father and Earth Mother were conjoined in sacred marriage. Great bonfires, ecstatic dancing and offerings were made to the Gods. Today, these festivals are less elaborate and usually end up being family picnics. However, one custom still remains; to burn one’s old clothing to banish sickness and bad luck.

Meeting the Animal of Strength

The animal of strength you will meet in this meditation may be the animal you expected – or may not be. You are therefore advised not to have expectations. It is important not to think of a particular animal before beginning the meditation, so that you can be open to all possibilities. If the animal that you imagine to be your animal of strength is indeed your animal of strength during this period of your life, it will appear by itself.

Perform the meditation in a quiet, calm place with quiet and clean energies. Clear your mind of all thoughts. Relax your body. (You can use the Jacobson technique – contracting and relaxing all the muscles from your toes upward, or you can project light onto every organ until you feel totally relaxed.)

Close your eyes. Take two deep, slow breaths. Inhale through your nose and hold your breath as long as you can – without feeling uncomfortable – and exhale through your mouth. Ignore any irrelevant thought that may pop into your mind. Behind your closed eyes, see a white screen. Concentrate on it. You may see some pleasant color or shape beginning to emerge in your mind’s eye. In your thoughts, ask your animal of strength to show itself on the screen. Concentrate hard on your request.

Wait patiently and don’t let any thoughts distract you. Within a certain amount of time, the image of an animal will appear before your eyes. It may advance slowly toward you, or you may see it in a sharp, clear flash. It may reveal itself from behind, the side, or the front. It may even be an animal that you don’t like – don’t let this bother you. Let the image emerge in your mind’s eye.

The moment you see the animal, look at it quietly, and notice what it is doing, if it is performing any actions. Direct your thoughts to picking up messages telepathically from the animal. These could occur as a voice speaking inside you, as other pictures, or as the intuitive knowledge of the animal’s words or messages. As we said before, the message may be in a human language that is familiar to you. Sometimes the animal appears as part of an occurrence or event that is familiar to you. Of course, this situation also bears an individual message.

Concentrate as hard as you can. Notice the colors that surround the animal and then open your eyes slowly. In your heart, thank the universal force for letting you channel with your animal of strength, and write down your experiences and sights in your awareness notebook. You can also draw what you saw. Sometimes it happens that you see more than one animal, or an animal that exists in the real world along with some kind of mythological animal. Similarly, another time, a different animal may appear, bearing a different message.

After the meditation, you should think of the following things: Have you ever dreamed of a particular kind of animal? What happened in that dream? You can ask that animal to appear in your dream at night and channel with it. To this end, you can use crystals for channeling and dreaming. After you have seen the animal in the meditation, ask yourself why that particular animal appeared in front of you.
 

Source

Day-by-Day Wicca: A complete guide to Wicca from Beliefs and Rituals to Magic and Witchcraft
Tabatha Jennings

Your Animal of Strength – The Totem Animal

The concept of an animal of strength, or a totem animal, is widespread in many cultures. In the Jewish culture, there are examples of the use of animals as symbols of a personality or behavior type. Some of the pennants of the tribes of Israel bore pictures of the animal that represented the tribe. The most famous is the Lion of Judah. The writings of one of the sages, in which he suggested that it is preferable to be a lion’s tail rather than a fox’s head, describes the way in which our animal of strength is supposed to help us. In the Native American culture, every tribe, clan, and nuclear family had a totem. Today, too, in various organizations and companies, animals are used as symbols that represent the group that participates in a particular type of activity, mainly in the USA (such as the “Lions” organization, “The Generous and Protected Order of the Antelope”, etc.). Sports teams also adopt totem animals, such as the Chicago Bulls. Christianity adopted two “totem” animals – the lamb, which symbolizes Jesus, and the fish.

As we said, in Judaism, too, every animal represents a particular kind of energy. The fish is a symbol of fertility, the lion is the symbol of power and strength, the deer is a symbol of speed, and so on.
The second type of totem animal is the personal and individual one. These animals are energies, and, according to certain beliefs, spirits that protect and guide us in life. It is interesting that to this day, many parents give their children some kind of fluffy animal – a bear, for instance – to make it easier to fall asleep and help them feel protected. They are not aware of it, generally speaking, but this is also a totem animal.

The signs of the Zodiac also contain animals that attest more than once to the energy that influences the person’s life.

Frequently, we unconsciously identify the totem animal of a particular person. We look at him, and he seems to “remind” us of a certain animal. We also use animal descriptions to describe various people.
Animals hold a place of honor among the shamans. The first task of the future shaman is to learn to travel in other worlds and dimensions and discover his own totem animal, his animal of strength. This knowledge is necessary for starting the young shaman’s protracted learning process.

Personal animals of strength are generally the reflection of the self, and also represent qualities needed in this world, which are often hidden, concealed, and not yet expressed. Sometimes, people feel somewhat disappointed when they discover that their animal of strength is a “small” animal that seems to lack strength, such as a rabbit or a mouse. This error derives from a lack of understanding that the spirit of the animals, or their energies, is neither “small” nor “big” – it is not limited to the boundaries of this world and the physical reality and size of the animal, or to its strength in the physical world. None of those factors is relevant. Whether your animal of strength is “big” or “small,” you will quickly discover that in time of need, it will help you exactly to the extent that you need help.

According to the Native American tradition, the personal totem animal, in contrast to family, clan, or tribal totem animals, may change several times during the person’s lifetime, according to his specific needs. At times when you feel weak, exhausted, and depressed, your totem animal is far away from you, and you have to bring it back or find a new one. We all have a totem animal – an animal of strength, energy that is represented by a certain animal – that is linked to us and protects us. Many animals of strength serve as our guards and protectors, and exist in other dimensions. Certain animals were with us in previous lives, but they may have had a different physical form. Occasionally, a particular animal of strength of ours may appear in our lives in a different form and establish physical contact with us by coming into the world as a cat, a dog, and so on.

When you go on the journey to discover your animal of strength, it is almost certain that forces, or certain energies (as we said, according to the Native American tradition, those are the spirits of the animal; I personally prefer to define them as the energy of the animal), will introduce themselves as your animal of strength. If you already know and are familiar with your animal of strength, the animal you meet on your journey will bless you and grant you additional power.

According to the Native American tradition, all birds and mammals are positive totem animals. Any positive totem animal can be your animal of strength. However, not only familiar and well-known animals are our animals of strength. Insects and reptiles can serve as transmitters of messages or give us a certain insight that will support us during the rest of our mental and spiritual development. Sometimes, the animal of strength may be an extinct animal (such as the Australian bird, the dodo), a mythological animal (such as the unicorn or Pegasus, the winged horse), or even a centaur (half man and half horse, one of Sagittarius’ symbols). Sometimes, it can be an animal that does not exist in any mythology or in any zoological textbook – a unique animal, or an animal from another world.
 

Source

Day-by-Day Wicca: A complete guide to Wicca from Beliefs and Rituals to Magic and Witchcraft
Tabatha Jennings

The Witches Correspondences for Thursday, June 16

 

Thursday (Thor’s day)

Planet: Jupiter

Colors: Purple, Deep Blue

Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Tin

Aroma: Melissa, Clove, Oakmoss, Jupiter Oil, Cinnamon, Musk, Nutmeg, and Sage

Herb: Cinquefoil

Ruled by the planet Jupiter and dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas.

Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.

Thursday is the day of Jupiter, the largest of the planets and said to be the most powerful.

Spellcasters would be wise to use this day for attempting wealth, success and prosperity spells.

Thursday is also associated (in Greek mythology) to Thor – Thor’s day – and some even say that Jupiter and Thor are one in the same. Both are strong and powerful, yet wise and just. Try a small prayer to Jupiter before commencing any ritual on Thursday as a sign of respect.

This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving luck, happiness, health, legal matters, male fertility, treasure, wealth, honour, riches, clothing, money, desires, business, group pursuits, joy, laughter, and expansion

 

Aspects of Scorpio

Attributes: Perfectionist, flexible, jealous, clever, intense

Herbs: Basil, holly, tobacco, vanilla, ginseng

Stones: Topaz, jet, ruby, opal, obsidian

Element: Water

Day: Thursday

Colors; Red, black, brown

Planet: Mars, Pluto
 

Source

A Spell Crafter’s Compendium
Terri Paaganen

 

The Witches Almanac for Thursday, June 16th

Thursday (Jupiter): Expansion, money, prosperity, and generosity.

Bloomsday (Irish)

Waxing Moon
The Waxing Moon is the ideal time for magic to draw things toward you.

Moon Phase: Second Quarter

Moon Sign: Scorpio
Scorpio: Increase awareness of psychic power. Precipitates psychic crises and ends connections thoroughly. People tend to brood and become secretive.

Incense: Myrrh

Color: Purple

Magical Days of the Week – Thursday

Thursday is a day of royal blues and greens, associated with the planet Jupiter and metals like tin. When it comes to deities, look at leader type gods like Thor, Zeus, and Jupiter. Gemstone correspondences for Thursday include turquoise, amethyst and lapis lazuli, and plant associations can be found in honeysuckle, cinquefoil, and even oak trees.

This is a day for honor, fealty and family loyalty, as well as harvesting, success, and prosperity.

Take advantage of Thursday’s different aspects and do spellwork that brings abundance to you, declares your allegiance, and embraces prosperity.
 

Author

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

 

Thursday’s Witchery

 

Today is the day for prosperity work of all kinds. It can also be used for healing work, whether that is a physical healing of an illness or an emotional healing. Also remember that you have to follow up your healing work and prosperity magick and physical action.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have met new witches who complain to me that their prosperity spell or “I need a better job” spell did not work as they expected. They’ll ramble on and on about how much time and money they spent working their magick….but, alas, they had no glorious manifestation of wealth or fabulous job that suddenly dropped out of the sky and landed in their laps.

Then, when I gently ask them, “Did you enchant your resume or application when you filled it out? Did you do a little confidence-boosting spellwork when you went to apply for the job or went to the interview?” typically they give me a blank, confused stare.

Nine times out of ten, their response is, “You mean I have to go out and actually look for the job too?” Um, yes, my dear, you certainly do. Magick follows the path of least resistance, which means it’s going to manifest along the simplest, quickest route. Get out there and hit the pavement. See what you can find. Times are tough and competition for good jobs is fierce, so you need whatever edge you can get. For folks like us, we’re going to get the edge by using our magick and our spellcraft.

Thursdays have such a rich source of magick for us to draw upon that, honestly, the sky is the limit. This is the day associated with the gods of the sky and heavens, after all. Get to know these deities and add their wisdom and magick into your days

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

 

Thursday

 

Thursday is the fifth day of the week in the Judeo-Christian calendar, falling between Wednesday and Friday. In countries that adopt the Sunday-first convention, it is considered the fifth day of the week. However, in ISO 8601 it is the fourth day of the week. In Slavic languages and in Chinese, this day’s name is “fourth” (Polish czwartek, Russian четверг, pronounced CHET-vierg). Portuguese, too, uses a number for this day: quinta-feira, “fifth day”, (see Days of the week for more on the different conventions).

The contemporary name comes from the Old English Þunresdæg (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr), meaning “Day of Thunor”, this being a rough Germanic equivalent to the Latin Iovis Dies, “Jupiter’s Day”. Most Germanic and Romance-speaking countries use their languages’ equivalents: German Donnerstag, torsdag in Scandinavia, Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi, Catalan dijous, and Romanian joi. The Hindi word for Thursday is Guruvar, with Guru being the Sanskrit name for the planet Jupiter.

In Thailand, the color associated with Thursday is orange, see Thai solar calendar.

Thursday in religion
In the Hindu religion, Thursday is Guruvaar, from Guru, the Sanskrit name for Jupiter, the largest of planets. Guruvaar fasting is very common in the various parts of north India.

Quakers traditionally refer to Thursday as “Fifth Day” eschewing the pagan origin of the name “Thursday”. The name of the day is also called by words meaning “fifth day” in Icelandic, Modern Greek, Portuguese, and modern Semitic languages.

In the Christian tradition, Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter — the day on which the Last Supper occurred. Ascension Thursday is the day 40 days after Easter, when Christ ascended into Heaven.
In the United States, Thanksgiving Day is an annual festival celebrated on a Thursday in November, currently the fourth Thursday.

A religion (which is a joke version of omphalism) known as Last Thursdayism teaches that the world was created last Thursday, but with the appearance of age: people’s memories, history books, fossils, light already on the way from distant stars, and so forth.

Astrological and Astronomical sign
The astrological and astronomical sign of the planet Jupiter (Jupiter) represents Thursday with similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the French Jeudi. In English, this became “Thor’s Day,” since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thor in northern Europe.

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the character Arthur Dent says “This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays”. A few minutes later the planet Earth is destroyed. Thor, for whom the day was named, also appears later in the Hitchhiker’s series and in other Adams books. Appropriately, in The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, one of the characters says to Thor: “I’m not used to spending the evening with someone who’s got a whole day named after them”.

Source

Pagan Calendar

Goddesses Associated With Thursday, The Day of Thor

Juno, Hera, Kwan Yin, Mary, Cybele, Tara, Mawu, Mbaba Mwana Waresa, Ishtar

 

Source

The Goddess Book of Days
Diane Stein

The Goddess Book of Days for Thursday, June 16th

Feast of the Waters of the Nile in Egypt, Night of the Drop, dedicated to the star of the Mother Goddess, Hathor: Sirius, Sothis, Neith/Net/Mut, Star Girl, Venus, Vega. The sixteenth day of the Moon/month belongs to Levanah, Selene, Luna, Semele, and Chalchiuhtlique.

 

Source

The Goddess Book of Days 
Diane Stein

 

Thursday, June 16th

 

Thursday is the day of the planet Jupiter, dedicated to Thunor(Thor), God of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European traditions are Zeus, Taranis, Perun, Perkunas and St. Olaf. The faith of the Northern Tradition holds Thursday sacred, just as Islam reveres Friday, Judaism the Sabbath(calculated from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday), and Christianity, Sunday. This is why almost all adages about Thursday are positve, such as “Thursday’s child has far to go,” “Sneeze on Thursday, something better,” or “Cut nails on Thursday for wealth.” Thursday rules controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being and material success.

Deity: Thor

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn/Pisces/Sagittarius

Planet: Mercury

Tree: Oak

Herb: Henbane

Stone: Turquoise/Bloodstone/Topaz

Animal: Fish/Goat/Aurochs

Element: Fire

Color: Brown/White/Orange

Number: 3

Rune: Thorn

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

Thursday’s Conjuring

Thursday – is associated with Jupiter

Candle colors – Green, Purple, Orange, or Blue

Conjure for: Business, Gambling, Power, Material Wealth, Luck, Road Opening

 

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

 

The Sky This Week for June 16 to June 19

A virtual who’s-who of our planetary neighbors will be out in the sky this week for you to find.

Thursday, June 16

• The conspicuous Summer Triangle asterism dominates the eastern sky in late evening. Vega, the triangle’s brightest member, shines at magnitude 0.0 and stands highest of the three stars. To its lower left lies Deneb; at magnitude 1.3, it’s the faintest of the trio. Magnitude 0.8 Altair completes the bright asterism. Despite its name, the Summer Triangle appears prominent from late spring until the onset of winter.

Friday, June 17

• The waxing gibbous Moon forms the apex of a flat isosceles triangle with Mars and Saturn tonight. The Moon stands highest and about 10° from both planets; Mars and Saturn lie approximately 18° apart.

Saturday, June 18

• The Moon passes 3° due north of Saturn at 8 p.m. EDT. For observers in North America, the two appear between 3° and 5° apart throughout the night.

Sunday, June 19

• Full Moon officially arrives at 7:02 a.m. EDT tomorrow morning, but it looks completely illuminated throughout the night. It appears low in the southeast as the Sun sets and reaches its peak in the south around 1 a.m. local daylight time. For North American observers, the Full Moon crosses from Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer into Sagittarius the Archer during the evening hours.

 

Source

Astronomy Magazine

 

Daily Sun & Moon Data for Thursday, June 16th

Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 89.57° E
Sun Altitude: 40.56°
Sun Distance: 94.436 million mi
Next Solstice: Jun 20, 2016 5:34 PM (Summer)
Sunrise Today: 5:34 AM↑ 59° Northeast
Sunset Today: 8:16 PM↑ 301° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 42 minutes

 

Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 335.84° NNW
Moon Altitude: -63.01°
Moon Distance: 251282 mi
Next Full Moon: Jun 20, 20166:02 AM
Next New Moon: Jul 4, 20166:00 AM
Next Moonrise: Today4:51 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 86.2%

 

Source

timeanddate.com