Category: Daily Posts
February 16 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 16
Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun
Eiffel Tower Prominence on the Sun
Video Credit & Copyright: Hawk WolinskiExplanation: What’s that on the Sun? Although it may look like a flowing version of the Eiffel Tower, it is a solar prominence that is actually much bigger — about the height of Jupiter. The huge prominence emerged about ten days ago, hovered over the Sun’s surface for about two days, and then erupted — throwing a coronal mass ejection (CME) into the Solar System. The featured video, captured from the astrophotographer’s backyard in Hendersonville, Tennessee, USA, shows an hour time-lapse played both forwards and backwards. That CME did not impact the Earth, but our Sun had unleashed other recent CMEs that not only triggered Earthly auroras, but puffed out the Earth’s atmosphere enough to cause just-launched Starlink satellites to fall back. Activity on the Sun, including sunspots, prominences, CMEs and flares, continues to increase as the Sun evolves away from a deep minimum in its 11-year magnetic cycle.
Birthday Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
February 15 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 15
Terminator Moon
Image Credit: NASA, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, SVS; Processing & Copyright: Jai & Neil Shet
Explanation: What’s different about this Moon? It’s the terminators. In the featured image, you can’t directly see any terminator — the line that divides the light of day from the dark of night. That’s because the image is a digital composite of 29 near-terminator lunar strips. Terminator regions show the longest and most prominent shadows — shadows which, by their contrast and length, allow a flat photograph to appear three-dimensional. The original images and data were taken near the Moon by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Many of the Moon’s craters stand out because of the shadows they all cast to the right. The image shows in graphic detail that the darker regions known as maria are not just darker than the rest of the Moon — they are flatter.
Dial-A-Moon: Find the phase of the Moon on your birthday.
The Witch Said What?!
Until we merry meet again blessed be dear Sisters, Brothers, and Honored Guests
Casting a Circle
Casting a Circle
I cast a circle
flowing out from deep within
circling me in pale blue flame
power
I see it stretching before me
growing out to spread for miles and miles hours
and days
I see the joined hands of my grandmothers my
mother my daughter
my systers
I see it encompassing all which I love all that is
will be
I see faces new and dear
long forgotten
smiling
Making it grow making it stretch
forming a perfect ring of light
and hope and love
protection
Illuminating the room the night
the house the sky
my soul
I see the circle going on and on
girdling the earth
embracing her
I feel it stretching out from my heart and soul
Flowering from my blood my womb my breath
Spinning stretching dancing out on and on unbreakable
and unbroken eternal.
Seasonally Defective: Poetry for Goddesses and Mortal Women
Aly Sebastian
February 14 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 14
In the Heart of the Heart Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Adam JensenExplanation: What excites the Heart Nebula? First, the large emission nebula dubbed IC 1805 looks, in whole, like a human heart. Its shape perhaps fitting of the Valentine’s Day, this heart glows brightly in red light emitted by its most prominent element: excited hydrogen. The red glow and the larger shape are all created by a small group of stars near the nebula’s center. In the heart of the Heart Nebula are young stars from the open star cluster Melotte 15 that are eroding away several picturesque dust pillars with their energetic light and winds. The open cluster of stars contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, many dim stars only a fraction of the mass of our Sun, and an absent microquasar that was expelled millions of years ago. The Heart Nebula is located about 7,500 light years away toward the constellation of the mythological Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).
The Law of Return
The Law of Return
by Amanda Silvers
The threefold law of return: We hear much about this, but do we really comprehend the meaning? What you put out comes back times three (or more), means unequivocally that, good or bad, you reap what your actions have sown.
How do we define “putting something out”? A thought, a deed, a word are all actions that contain energy. Think about this: If you disburse money willingly, with the focus that you are contributing to the prosperity of the community, the prosperous energy returns to you. Not always in the exact way that you want; sometimes in the most unexpected ways!
If you choose to live in lack, feel like there is never an adequate amount of anything and attempt to hoard and hold onto everything, the flow stops. It’s akin to putting a dam on the energy flow. If you are broke, give a little away, whether it’s time or energy or money. Doing so will create a vacuum effect, which will then help to get the flow started back toward you instead of away from you.
Money is only paper with numbers on it, it is used to represent energy. You expend your energy for some of it and then give it away for something someone else put energy into. Just like everything else, it goes around in a never-ending cycle; there is an ebb and flow to it. Sometimes you have more, sometimes less, but there is always a coming and going of cash; that’s why it’s called cash flow!
This philosophy also works in other areas of life, love for instance. Do you suppose that you have only a limited amount of love? Is it to be rationed out as you go through life? Will you run out? I think not. The more affection you give, the more you generate, the more you experience, the more you give! Just like that. The cycle turns the wheel.
Try this in another area. Have you ever been frightened of having something happen and then had it happen just as you hoped it would not? Or have you ever said “I will never ______ (fill in the blank)” and found yourself doing just that shortly thereafter? Magickal components are a part of everyday life. You have an intent, put emotion (energy) into it, take action and bring it into being. You begin to create with nothing more than a word or thought. It works remarkably well for those things that you say never about, because you feel intensely about them and put a lot of energy into them. What do you think would have more power: “I wish I could win the lottery!” or “I will never have enough money!”?
Your subconscious mind does not recognize the word “not”; it’s a non-word. When you say “I do not want to do that,” it is a direct command to your brain; you are basically saying that you really do want to do whatever it is. If someone says to you, “I do not want to hurt you,” be careful!
If you sit around all the time, agonizing about your bills, your job, your health, your love life… what kind of energy are you putting out? How might that energy be contributing in a magickal sense to your circumstances? Would you do a spell to get a job you hate, or to get into a bad relationship? Of course not! So why sit around and put energy into negative crap when you could be furthering your positive wishes? The universe is a bountiful place; the Goddess is generous with her gifts. There is plenty for all. Does this ring true for you? If not, you might ask yourself, “Why not?” What beliefs that you hold to be true are sabotaging you?
“Try” is another one of my pet peeves. When a person says they will try to do something, it is just an excuse for not doing it, as in “I tried! I just couldn’t.” Think about what you say. Instead of saying “I will try,” see how much power there is in actually committing. Say “I will do it!” Also, how much power is there in saying no to those things you really don’t intend to do. Wow, what an enormous amount of energy you free up by just saying no in the first place! Then you don’t have to worry till the last minute whether you should actually do it, then have to make an excuse for not doing it – not to mention maybe having to do something you’d really rather not. You will find people will respect you more and value your energy more when you can be believed and counted upon to do what you say, as well as for your being in control of your boundaries.
Finally, be careful what you wish upon someone else, because just as positive thoughts come back to you, so do the negative ones aimed at others. Don’t wish on someone else something you would not like to have happen to you and yours. Be careful of those things said thoughtlessly or in jest. How might you feel if the nasty thought you thought when you were angry at your friend or mate were to happen?
Make your statements in the positive. Strive to be conscious of your every thought and word and the energy around them. Focus on the here and now and what’s happening. If you can accomplish this, the law of return will work in your favor and only good things will come to you.
Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it!
A Thought for Today
We may walk a path the other people do not consider “normal” but the word normal can mean different things to different people. I am so far out of the broom closet that I cannot even see the door anymore and to me this is my normal life to walk the path of the Great Mother and Great Father.
Blessed be dear Sisters, Brothers, and honored guests.
February 13 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 13
Earth at Night
Image Credit: NASA, Suomi NPP VIIRS; Data: Miguel Román (NASA GSFC); Processing: Joshua Stevens
Explanation: This is what the Earth looks like at night. Can you find your favorite country or city? Surprisingly, city lights make this task quite possible. Human-made lights highlight particularly developed or populated areas of the Earth’s surface, including the seaboards of Europe, the eastern United States, and Japan. Many large cities are located near rivers or oceans so that they can exchange goods cheaply by boat. Particularly dark areas include the central parts of South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The featured image, nicknamed Black Marble, is actually a composite of hundreds of pictures remade in 2016 from data taken by the orbiting Suomi NPP satellite.
February 12 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 12
Aurora by Moonlight
Image Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)
Explanation: The ice was singing as light from a bright gibbous Moon cast shadows across this frozen lake, about 20 kilometers north of Stockholm, Sweden, planet Earth. In the alluring night skyscape captured on February 10, shimmering auroral curtains of light dance in the evening sky. On that northern night nature’s performance included the auroral displays fostered by a minor geomagnetic storm. Stormy space weather was the result of a coronal mass ejection, erupting from a solar prominence days earlier and brushing our fair planet’s magnetosphere.
February 11 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 11
IC 342: The Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Feller
Explanation: Similar in size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood, IC 342 is a mere 10 million light-years distant in the long-necked, northern constellation Camelopardalis. A sprawling island universe, IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky, but it is hidden from clear view and only glimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust clouds along the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy. Even though IC 342’s light is dimmed and reddened by intervening cosmic clouds, this sharp telescopic image traces the galaxy’s own obscuring dust, young star clusters, and glowing pink star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far from the galaxy’s core. IC 342 may have undergone a recent burst of star formation activity and is close enough to have gravitationally influenced the evolution of the local group of galaxies and the Milky Way.
Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Thursday
From A Magickal Path
Planet – Jupiter
Spells/Magic – money, prosperity, holiday, travel, business, luck, growth, self improvement, generosity, health, wealth
Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.
Oils – lime, magnolia, strawberry, vanilla
plants and trees – sage, nutmeg,oak tree,meadowsweet, hyssop,borage,butterfly weed,clove,dandelion chestnut,maple tree, anise .
Stones – Amethyst, laptis lazuli, sapphire
Colours – blue, metallic colours, green, turquoise, white, purple.
Metal – Tin
Energy Type – Male
Dieties – dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. his parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas.
Thursday is the best time to deal with such matters as: Business, Gambling, Logic, Social Matters, Political Power, Material Wealth, Publishing, Collage Education, Long Distance Travel, Foreign Interests, Religion, Philosophy, Forecasting, Broadcasting, Publicity, Expansion, Luck, Growth, Sports, Horses, The Law, Doctors, Guardians, Merchants, Psychologists, Charity, Correspondence Courses, Self-improvement, Researching, Reading and Studying.
Altar, Incense and Candle Magick
Your Altar
You may use anything that has a flat top.. I use an old trunk with a piece of plywood on it. Be creative.. As for a cover I use white because of its kind of a multipurpose color. Although some magic specifies a color then whatever color is specified should be used. Again, be creative… Keep in mind that candle magic is usually done in condensed areas so keep things as simplistic as you can, especially your candlesticks and censors.
Incense
There are some who believe that incense is unimportant in candle magic. I cannot imagine performing candle magic without the incense. The type that you use may be specified in a specific spell, if that is the case by all means use that. Generally, I use three kings incense as well as vervain. Vervain gives the spell working a little umph. But then again nothing is set in stone.. Be creative.
Incense symbolizes Air… as the smoke rises our thoughts are carried up into the universe.
February 9 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 9
Eta Car: 3D Model of the Most Dangerous Star Known
Video Credit: NASA, CXC, April Hobart; Text: Michael F. Corcoran (NASA, Catholic U., HEAPOW)Explanation: What’s the most dangerous star near earth? Many believe it’s Eta Carinae, a binary star system about 100 times the mass of the Sun, just 10,000 light years from earth. Eta Carinae is a ticking time bomb, set to explode as a supernova in only a few million years, when it may bathe the earth in dangerous gamma rays. The star suffered a notorious outburst in the 1840s when it became the brightest star in the southern sky, only to fade to obscurity within decades. The star was not destroyed, but lies hidden behind a thick, expanding, double-lobed structure called the Homunculus which now surrounds the binary. Studies of this ejecta provide forensic clues about the explosion. Using observations from NASA satellites we can now visualize the 3D distribution of the shrapnel, all the way from the infrared, through optical and UV, to the outermost shell of million-degree material, visible only in X-rays.
Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Tuesday
From mycrystalaura.com.au
Tiw’s-day
Planet: Mars.
Colours: Red and Autumn Shades.
Metal: Iron.
Crystals: Ruby, Garnet, Bloodstone, Flint, Rhodonite, Hematite.
From Ancient Pathway
| Magickal Intentions: Courage, Physical Strength, Revenge, Military Honors, Surgery and the Breaking of Negative Spells, Matrimony, War, Enemies, Prison, Vitality, Assertiveness |
Incense: Dragon’s Blood Patchouli |
|
| Planet: Mars |
Sign: Aries Scorpio |
Angel: Samuel |
| Colors: Red Orange |
Herbs/Plants: Red Rose Cock’s Comb Pine Daisy Thyme Pepper |
Stones: Carnelian Bloodstone Ruby Garnet Pink Tourmaline |
From witchswap.com
Planet Mars
Zodiac signs of both Aries and Scorpio, and although Scorpio is a water sign, this day is assigned the elemental correspondence of Fire.
All of these factors lead to a favorable time for energy work, creativity, justice work, spells for assertion—even to the extent of aggression. This would be a great day for any social justice advocacy spells, or even a baneful working if the need calls for it. Also, summoning courage, strength and passion for yourself or someone else would be favorable on this day.
Color orange for any candle magick.
Gods/Goddesses: Mars, the God of War, gives this day that added confrontational vibe. He is a god who takes no crap from anyone. Channeling him to help you tap into the assertive aspect of yourself will be helpful, especially if you are a person who struggles with implementing boundaries.
Angel: Raphael
From Numerologist.com – Tuesday’s Angel
Archangel Chamuel is the resonant Angel of Tuesdays.
Known as the angel of love, peace and omniscient vision, she sees the connections between everything and everyone.
She is known for her gift of higher perspective, so if you are stuck in a situation you see no way out of, especially if it involves a relationship, she is your go-to Angel.
She is peaceful, reassuring and incredibly loving. One of her chief functions is assisting us to lead lives of peace and acceptance, especially within loving relationships through the practice of unconditional love.
Archangel Chamuel is often depicted with a heart, the symbol of love, which she uses to remind us of this underlying force of nature which connects us all. She is here to teach you that with love as your guiding light, you’re capable of breaking through any difficulties, and her presence will help you to resolve any conflict you face.
Invoke her presence and she’ll remind you of your place of belonging – at the heart of your personal world. She will re-connect you to those you love and bring peace and balance. Archangel Chamual can also be asked for help in reuniting you with people and things you have lost.
Archangel Chamuel resonates with the color pink, with the planet Venus and the number 9.
Moon Phases Simplified
Moon Phases Simplified
It’s probably easiest to understand the moon cycle in this order: new moon and full moon, first quarter and third quarter, and the phases in between.
As shown in the above diagram, the new moon occurs when the moon is positioned between the earth and sun. The three objects are in approximate alignment (why “approximate” is explained below). The entire illuminated portion of the moon is on the back side of the moon, the half that we cannot see.
At a full moon, the earth, moon, and sun are in approximate alignment, just as the new moon, but the moon is on the opposite side of the earth, so the entire sunlit part of the moon is facing us. The shadowed portion is entirely hidden from view.
The first quarter and third quarter moons (both often called a “half moon”), happen when the moon is at a 90 degree angle with respect to the earth and sun. So we are seeing exactly half of the moon illuminated and half in shadow.
Once you understand those four key moon phases, the phases between should be fairly easy to visualize, as the illuminated portion gradually transitions between them.
An easy way to remember and understand those “between” lunar phase names is by breaking out and defining 4 words: crescent, gibbous, waxing, and waning. The word crescent refers to the phases where the moon is less than half illuminated. The word gibbous refers to phases where the moon is more than half illuminated. Waxing essentially means “growing” or expanding in illumination, and waning means “shrinking” or decreasing in illumination.
Thus you can simply combine the two words to create the phase name, as follows:
After the new moon, the sunlit portion is increasing, but less than half, so it is waxing crescent. After the first quarter, the sunlit portion is still increasing, but now it is more than half, so it is waxing gibbous. After the full moon (maximum illumination), the light continually decreases. So the waning gibbous phase occurs next. Following the third quarter is the waning crescent, which wanes until the light is completely gone — a new moon.
Source
Moon Phases – Waning Moon
Moon Phases – Waning Moon
The shrinkage of the Moon from full to dark is called the waning phase, and it offers an energy suitable for recession, peaceful separation, or elimination. Use the waning Moon to end undesirable eating patterns, break bad habits, or to remove yourself from dysfunctional partnerships or stressful situations. Its energies favor any magickal effort requiring decrease or removal.
To seal spells performed during the waning Moon, use this chant or one of your own choosing:
Oh Aging One of grace, now hear:
With your guidance, this spell steer.
Remove all blocks and hesitation,
And take it to its destination.
Moon Phases – Dark Moon
Moon Phases – Dark Moon
Some practitioners use this phase as a period of rest. They find it useful for regeneration, relaxation, and gathering for the creative phase of the waxing Moon.
Others prefer to use it for meditation, psychic power enhancement, or for delving into past life memories to help them better understand current difficulties. Dark Moon energy also lends itself to divination and matters where truth is an issue.
To seal spells performed during the dark Moon, use this chant or one of your own choosing:
I call on You, Oh Crone so wise—-
One Who rules the darkest skies.
Come and be my treasured Guest,
And aid me on this magickal quest.
February 8 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 8
Aurora and Light Pillars over Norway
Image Credit & Copyright: Alexandre Correia
Explanation: Which half of this sky is your favorite? On the left, the night sky is lit up by particles expelled from the Sun that later collided with Earth’s upper atmosphere — creating bright auroras. On the right, the night glows with ground lights reflected by millions of tiny ice crystals falling from the sky — creating light pillars. And in the center, the astrophotographer presents your choices. The light pillars are vertical columns because the fluttering ice-crystals are mostly flat to the ground, and their colors are those of the ground lights. The auroras cover the sky and ground in the green hue of glowing oxygen, while their transparency is clear because you can see stars right through them. Distant stars dot the background, including bright stars from the iconic constellation of Orion. The featured image was captured in a single exposure two months ago near Kautokeino, Norway.
Favorite sky half: Left half (aurora) | Right half (light pillars)
February 6 Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2022 February 6
Blue Marble Earth
Image Credit: NASA, Apollo 17 Crew
Explanation: Welcome to planet Earth, the third planet from a star named the Sun. The Earth is shaped like a sphere and composed mostly of rock. Over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is water. The planet has a relatively thin atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. The featured picture of Earth, dubbed The Blue Marble, was taken from Apollo 17 in 1972 and features Africa and Antarctica. It is thought to be one of the most widely distributed photographs of any kind. Earth has a single large Moon that is about 1/4 of its diameter and, from the planet’s surface, is seen to have almost exactly the same angular size as the Sun. With its abundance of liquid water, Earth supports a large variety of life forms, including potentially intelligent species such as dolphins and humans. Please enjoy your stay on planet Earth.
Witches Of The Craft® 
You must be logged in to post a comment.