Tag: Atmosphere of Earth

Environmental Magic

Environmental Magic

The Return Of Wonder

by Eric Lethe

When I undertook the writing of this article, I didn’t want it to be a technical treatise on industrial processes or a political rant about environmental laws and regulations.

The feeling of wonder is a doorway to the elemental power that we utilize in magic. In order to gain an impression of this feeling, think back to childhood. Remember when you looked up at the clouds, or how you felt when you saw a shooting star, or really looked at a brilliant sunset. This sensation is the feeling of wonder. To recall this feeling is to make yourself open to the essential environmental energies that surround us. I feel that to lose touch with the earthly energies is to “take a vacation” from being alive. So many things influence us to disregard the expressions of the Goddess in this world.

It takes a conscious effort to regain this wonder-full perspective.

Yesterday I saw the crocuses had emerged from their winter sleep and had flowered in a purple greeting to the Spring. This then was my inspiration. All of us, as pagans, have a need to continually refresh the sense of wonder that comes from our recognition of the seasons, of natural phenomenon, and of those expressions of the Goddess that present themselves to us. This is of especial importance to those of us who live in the city. Our power, our magic, are expressions of Earthly energy, and need to be recognized and regenerated.

The First Peoples of this land knew the importance of renewing their connection with the Mother Earth at every opportunity. Why? Because their Shamans knew that the Earth, Fire, Water and Air were the sources of spirit power that the people drew upon, and needed to be replenished by ritual and sacrifice.

I’m not suggesting cutting or burning your household pets, but to emphasize the importance of recognizing and replenishing the sources of your personal power. I cannot recommend strongly enough the importance of regaining the energy, the wonder of feeling the connection with the Earth. The textbook definition of ecology is the study of the connectedness of all living things and their environments. These things that are living include the Earth herself.

Other than during ritual, when was the last time you did an Earth or element feeling meditation? It is my opinion that we who “walk between the worlds” owe a special debt to Gaia, or the Goddess, or whichever manifestation of the Great Mother Earth presents herself to you.

Consider the law of threefold return, and what you may do for the healing of the planet. Volunteer for an environmental clean-up or a reforestation project. Help restore a salmon stream, or devote some time to distributing literature for a good environmental cause. These are things which can be done on the material plane. Probably the most important thing you can do is include the conscious effort toward healing the Planet in all your rituals. Make time to experience the joy and wonder of those things as simple as the opening of a Spring flower, or the colors of a sunrise or sunset.

These things are the roots, branches and fruit of our spirituality. To lose touch with them is to lose the reason for our being.

Our power, our magic (again, my opinion) lies in the ability to come into contact with these wonder-full energies and utilize them in accordance with our will. The success of these utilizations depends upon their effect upon the natural world…in all its dimensional forms.

I will share one of my favorite meditations for connection to the essential energies: Imagine yourself lying on a raft with your eyes closed. The air is warm and the sun is shining. You begin to float downstream, with the water lapping at the raft. With your eyes still closed, you see the sun dappled by the tree branches overhead. You smell the trees, and the water plants, and the warm day. Your attention focuses upon the water sound: gentle, lapping and flowing around you. The water is all around you, and you feel it within you, pumping and flowing as blood. The smell of all the plants around you enter your senses, and you breathe deeply. Each breath suggests a gift, a blessing of life. The breath, the air, the smells are enveloping and enrapturing to you.

The raft passes from beneath the trees, and you feel the warm sun upon your face. Feel the fiery sun giving energy to you and to all living things the rays fall upon. You can almost feel your hair growing, plant-like in the sun. Your face feels radiant, as the sun beats down. There is an awareness that this gift will also burn and consume you with passionate, wonder-full heat.

The raft has come to rest in a small pool, out of the stream’s main flow. Reaching out, you touch the bank and sink your hand into the cool mud. It feels slimy and refreshing both. You open your eyes, and look at the handful of wet earth you hold. The prehistoric fishes and amphibians crawled out onto just such mud as this a billion years ago. Are we still so different? It is time to return to yourself in the here and now. Be aware though, that this place of wonder is one that is within each of us, just as assuredly as each of the elements are part of us.

Blessed Be!

An Air Ritual For Calling the Wind

An Air Ritual For Calling the Wind

The first step to working with the Elements is remembering what it felt like in the past when you encountered that Element. Remember and focus on as many details as you can. What did the wind feel like on your skin? Was your hair tousled? What smell was in the air? Did the wind whistle or howl? As much as you can, relive the experience in your mind. This puts out to the Cosmos that you are ready for this experience. You are open.

Practice going through your day noticing what the wind and the air around you feel like. In the evening, try to recall as much of the experience as you can. This is like an ongoing meditation. The more you do this, the easier it will become to call up the Wind. You are focused.

The first few times you call up the Wind, do it alone. Company can distract you from your magick. Also, these things take practice and your first few attempts might not put you in the Witches’ Hall of Fame, it’s between you and the Wind.

Go to an open place outdoors. Higher ground is better. Use an athame, if you have one – or your extended arm, if you don’t – and draw a magick circle around yourself to mark you sacred space. Open to the experience of the Wind moving around you. Focus your mind and bring up images of more Wind blowing all around you.

Try to incorporate as many senses as possible when you remember wind and visualize Wind. Now reach down and pick up a handful of dust or grass. Holding your arm out to your side and slightly above eye level, slowly let your hand’s contents filter through your fingers. Watch the air between your hand and the earth catch the offering. You may want to quietly chant, “I call the wind. I call the air. I call the mother’s breath.”  Now concentrate hard on experiencing wind. Focus as hard as you can. Hold the feeling for several minutes, and then stop. Clear your mind of your wind images completely. Wait for the breeze to pick up and the wind to answer your call. Be confident.

Lunar Eclipses – The Science Behind These Events

Lunar Eclipses

The Science Behind These Events

By John P. Millis, Ph.D

What Is A Lunar Eclipse?

Simply put, a lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon. (This means that lunar eclipses, by definition, can only occur during a full Moon.) The result is that direct sunlight from the Sun does not strike the lunar surface. However, this does not mean that no light reaches the surface.

Under certain types of eclipses, light from the Sun can actually be bent by Earth’s atmosphere, casting the Moon in a red or orangish color. Other types of eclipses will simply block a percentage of the Sun’s rays, making the Moon appear darker. And of course, some eclipses are a combination of the two phenomenon (see below).

How Does This Differ From The Normal Lunar Cycle?

While the Moon does go around the Earth, it’s path is actually normally tilted with respect to the Sun. Therefore the different phases of the Moon that we observe during the normal lunar cycle are a result of only half of the Moon getting sunlight at any given time. Then depending on where you are on Earth, you see the Moon at an angle.

The Different Types of Lunar Eclipses

Boiling lunar eclipse down to the Earth’s shadow being cast over the surface of the Moon is quite an over simplification. As already stated, some of the Sun’s light can still reach the surface because of the bending of the light around the Earth. But to complicate the matter further, the Earth’s shadow is actually broken up into two distinct parts (see image).

The umbra is the portion of the Earth’s shadow that does not contain any direct radiation from the Sun. The focus of the umbra is the point at which all three celestial bodies are properly aligned. Despite this, the eclipse does not completely drape the Moon in darkness because light from the Sun can actually be refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere and find its way to the Moon.

The result of this refraction is that the Sun’s light will be separated into individual colors. The more directly aligned the Earth, Moon and Sun are the Moon’s color will transition to more of an orange hue, then red. This is actually the same phenomenon that causes the sky to appear reddish at sunset and sunrise.

When the Moon is fully contained within the umbra, the Moon is said to be in total eclipse. This event can last nearly two hours, while the Moon can be in at least partial eclipse for nearly four hours.

The penumbra is the region of space where the Earth is only partially blocking the light from the Sun. As the Moon moves from outside the shadow toward the umbra the Moon will begin to appear darker and darker. Again, the Moon never appears in complete darkness because some of the light from the Sun is always reaching the surface up until the Moon reaches the umbra.

Normally the Moon will lie only partially in the penumbra area (known as a penumbral eclipse), but occasionally, the Moon will find itself completely in the penumbra. These events, called total penumbral eclipses, are rare. And they are typically characterized by one side of the Moon appearing darker than the other due to one side approaching or receding from the umbra.

These total penumbral eclipses can immediately precede or follow a partial eclipse where the Moon is partially in each of the umbra and penumbra regions.

The Danjon Scale For Lunar Eclipse Brightness

There are obviously a variety of lunar eclipses, causing a variety of different Lunar appearances. In order to classify what kind of lunar eclipse is occurring a scale known as the Danjon scale was developed by André-Louis Danjon.

Essentially an L value is determined based solely on the appearance of the Moon. Using only the naked eye, the observer estimates which category the eclipse falls into to.

    • L=0, This represents the darkest eclipse, and is probably what most people imagine when they think of a lunar eclipse.

 

    • L=1, While still very dark, there is a grey or brown hue to the Moon. However, details of the Moon are still difficult to identify.

 

    • L=2, During this type of eclipse the Moon will appear dark red, possibly with a slight hint of orange. The Moon still appears very dark at this value.

 

    • L=3, The Moon is now brick-red and noticeably lighter than the previous value. Also, the edges can appear lighter, possibly with a yellowish hue.

 

  • L=4, The Moon now appears bright red or orange, while the edge of the Moon appears almost bluish

The problem with the Danjon scale is that it is not based on an absolute flux or color level, meaning that scientific instruments aren’t used to decide what L value the eclipse represents. Therefore, different people observing the same eclipse can arrive at different L values. So, it’s not very precise, but typically it yields a fairly good idea of what kind of eclipse you are observing.

When Is the Next Lunar Eclipse?

There are always at least two lunar eclipses per year. However, these are sometimes penumbral eclipses which can be difficult to see because the Moon simply appears slightly darker. And given atmospheric conditions, no noticeable different may be apparent.

Total and partial eclipses are far more exciting however, although these are more rare. Typically there are anywhere from zero to three total or partial eclipses each year. To determine when the next eclipse will occur, NASA has put together a handy online tool, which will tell you the date and time of the next lunar eclipse given your location on the Earth.