May 5
Waning Crescent
Illumination: 3%

The Moon today is in a Waning Crescent phase. In this phase the Moon’s illumination is growing smaller each day until the New Moon. During this phase the Moon is getting closer to the Sun as viewed from Earth and the night side of the Moon is facing the Earth with only a small edge of the Moon being illuminated. This phase is best viewed an hour or 2 before the sunrise and can be quite beautiful if you’re willing to get up early. It can also be a great time to see the features of the Moon’s surface. Along the edge where the illuminated portion meets the dark side, the craters and mountains cast long shadows making them easier to observe with a telescope or binoculars.

PHASE DETAILS FOR – THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016

Source

May 5 and 6

Cinco de Mayo

For several days, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans commemorate the defeat of the French by General Ignacio Zaragoza at the Battle of Pueblo in 1862. His defense of the city dealt a major blow to Napoleon III’s attempt to establish a permanent French colony in Central America, which eventually led to the expulsion of the French from Mexico.

In California, Cinco de Mayo is still celebrated and serves to perpetuate Mexican nationalism in a foreign land. All of the pageant’s activities, speeches, songs, and events are played out in Spanish, usually beneath the American flag that is flown alongside the Mexican flag.

When the Moon is in Taurus

Back to the Senses
The Moon sets the emotional tone as it transits through the Zodiac signs. It changes signs every 2 1/2 days. You can work with this rhythm to “go with the flow” of the Moon. You can use it to know the general feeling tone to expect.

Strength and Sensuality
The Moon is exalted in Taurus, and that means its an easy-going fit. The Taurus lunar mood is mellow, calm and low-to-the-ground. You can go barefoot, languish in the Sun, draw out the enjoyment of a particularly tasty meal. It’s easier to feel the weight of who you are, on the Earth, rather than just being “in your head.” It’s great for tending to practical matters, since your two hands are ready to dig in.

Being at Home in the Body
When the Moon is in Taurus, it’s easier to sink into the moment, be in the body, and enjoy delights of the five senses. This earth sign brings out our capacity to revel in earthly life! Some languid intimacy in a cozy atmosphere sounds good! Taurus is the slow mover of the Zodiac, and everything is savored thoroughly.

The Sign Taurus in Astrology
That might mean dancing, and really feeling the groove of the music. It’s also great for relaxing deeply, like taking an afternoon siesta.

Slow and Steady Steps
The grounded nature of Taurus allows us to be focused on one thing. It’s a fixed sign, that inspires us to go into something fully, to flesh it out. The Taurus energy helps you discover your natural talent. And you might find it easier to practice your craft or hobby. You can get in the zone of work, and take pleasure in making real progress. It’s an excellent time to be in the studio or with your musical instrument. You can earth your dreams in real ways.

Activities Favored Under the Taurus Moon:
Massages given and received; baking and cooking; singing or dancing; gardening; building structures; considering steps of a plan, experimenting with home aromatherapy, stretching (especially the neck), try new fruits, concoctions, cocktails and dishes; make pottery or sculpture; sound therapy.
 

Source

Molly Hall, Astrology Expert
Article published on & owned by About.com

The Witches Almanac for Thursday, May 5th

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

Cinco de Mayo (Mexican)

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: Fourth Quarter

Moon Sign: Aries
Aries: Good for starting things, but lacks staying power. Things occur rapidly, but quickly pass. People tend to be argumentative and assertive.

Moon enters Taurus 1: 10 pm
Taurus: Things begun now last the longest, tend to increase in value, and become hard to alter. Brings out appreciation for beauty and sensory experience.

Incense: Carnation

Color: Crimson

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

Source

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

Thursday

Jupiter’s (Thor’s) day

⦁ Middle English – thursday or thuresday
⦁ Old Norse– thorsdagr – Thor’s day
⦁ Old English– thunresdæg – Thunder’s day
⦁ Latin – dies Jovis – “Day of Jupiter”
⦁ Ancient Greek – hemera Dios – “day of Zeus”

The name is derived from Old English and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr) meaning “Thor’s Day”. Thunor, Donar (German, Donnerstag) and Thor are derived from the name of the Germanic god of thunder, Thunraz, equivalent to Jupiter in the interpretation romance.

In most Romance languages, the day is named after the Roman god Jupiter, who was the god of sky and thunder. In Latin, the day was known as Iovis Dies, “Jupiter’s Day”. In Latin, the genitive or possessive case of Jupiter was Iovis/Jovis and thus in most Romance languages it became the word for Thursday: Italian giovedì, Spanish jueves, French jeudi, Sardinian jòvia, Catalan dijous, and Romanian joi.

This is also reflected in the p-Celtic Welsh dydd Iau.

The astrological and astronomical sign of the planet Jupiter is sometimes used to represent Thursday.
Since the Roman god Jupiter was identified with Thunor (Norse Thor in northern Europe), most Germanic languages name the day after this god: Torsdag in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, Hósdagur/Tórsdagur in Faroese, Donnerstag in German or Donderdag in Dutch. Finnish and Northern Sami, both non-Germanic (Uralic) languages, uses the borrowing “Torstai” and “Duorastat”. In the extinct Polabian Slavic language, it was perundan, Perun being the Slavic equivalent of Thor.

There are a number of modern names imitating the naming of Thursday after an equivalent of “Jupiter” in local tradition. In most of the languages of India, the word for Thursday is Guruvar- var meaning day and guru being the style for Bṛhaspati, guru to the gods and regent of the planet Jupiter. In Thai, the word is Wan Pharuehatsabodi—referring to the Hindu deity Bṛhaspati, also associated with Jupiter. En was an old Illyrian deity and in his honor in the Albanian language Thursday is called “Enjte”. In the Nahuatl language, Thursday is Tezcatlipotōnal meaning “day of Tezcatlipoca”.

Thursday, May 5th

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 Saille (Willow) – April 15th and runs through May 12

Runic Half Month of Lagu (flowing water) – April 29th -May 13

Goddess of the Month for April 18 to May 15 is Maia
 

Source

The Pagan Book of Days
Nigel Pennick

The Sky This Week: May 5 – May 8

Mars heads toward peak visibility, a young Moon shines faintly, and the Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks.

Thursday, May 5
One of this year’s best meteor showers reaches its peak today. The Eta Aquariid shower derives from bits of debris ejected by Comet 1P/Halley during its many trips around the Sun. When Earth crosses this debris stream, our planet’s atmosphere incinerates the tiny dust particles and we see the streaks of light called meteors, or “shooting stars.” With New Moon arriving tomorrow, conditions are ideal. Shortly before dawn today and tomorrow, an observer at a dark site can expect to see up to 20 meteors per hour — an average of one every 3 minutes. Viewers in the Southern Hemisphere, where the shower’s radiant (in the constellation Aquarius) passes nearly overhead, should see twice as many.

Friday, May 6
New Moon occurs at 3:30 p.m. EDT. At its New phase, the Moon crosses the sky with the Sun and so remains hidden by our star. Because the Moon reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, only 15 hours earlier (at 12:13 a.m. EDT), residents in coastal areas can expect higher than normal tides for the next few days. At perigee, the center of the Moon lies 222,344 miles (357,827 kilometers) from Earth’s center.

Mars passes 1.2° north of the 7th-magnitude globular star cluster M80 tonight. The view through binoculars or a telescope at low power should be impressive.

Jupiter sports a pair of “black eyes” tonight as the shadows of two of its large moons cross the jovian cloud tops. The shadow of outermost Callisto treks across the planet’s north polar region from 11:18 p.m. until 1:42 a.m. EDT. Innermost Io’s shadow crosses the gas giant from 12:39 a.m. to 2:53 a.m. EDT. It’s easy to tell the two shadows apart because Io’s will appear much closer to Jupiter’s equator.

Saturday, May 7
With an age of 4.5 billion years, “young” might not seem an appropriate word to describe our Moon. But tonight, you have an exceptional opportunity to see what astronomers call a “young Moon” — a slender crescent visible low in the west some 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. With New Moon having occurred yesterday afternoon, only 2 percent of our satellite’s disk appears illuminated this evening. You should notice an ashen light faintly illuminating the Moon’s dark side. This is “earthshine,” sunlight reflected by Earth that reaches the Moon and then reflects back to our waiting eyes. Use binoculars for the best view. The young Moon will be much easier to see tomorrow evening, when it appears significantly higher and some 7 percent illuminated.

Sunday, May 8
Although the calendar says May, the sky’s Summer Triangle returns to prominence this month. The asterism’s three bright stars — Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila — all clear the horizon by midnight local daylight time. An hour later, they rule the eastern sky. Vega shines brightest and appears at the apex of the triangular asterism. Look for Deneb to Vega’s lower left and Altair to the lower right of the other two. The Summer Triangle will grace the Northern Hemisphere’s evening sky from now through the end of the year.
 

Source

Astronomy Magazine

Your Sun & Moon Data for Thursday, May 5th

Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 113.05° ESE
Sun Altitude: 52.11°
Sun Distance: 93.773 million mi
Next Solstice: Jun 20, 2016 5:34 PM (Summer)
Sunrise Today: 5:55 AM↑ 69° East
Sunset Today: 7:48 PM↑ 292° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 13 hours, 52 minutes

Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 141.99° SE
Moon Altitude: 54.94°
Moon Distance: 222513 mi
Next New Moon: May 6, 20162:29 PM
Next Full Moon: May 21, 20164:14 PM
Next Moonset: Today6:38 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 2.2%

Source

timeanddate.com