Tag: Earth

Current Moon Phase for August 22: Waxing Crescent Moon

Crescent Moon

(waxing/38% illumination)

During this Moon phase, there is a slight slowing down of enthusiasm due to an emerging desire to produce tangible results from the energy being expended. The issue of values enters into the equation and an urge to tie together the data available so that you can utilize current opportunities. There is still plenty of forward motion, and this is a great time to continue initiating and progressing forward. This Moon phase favors gaining more information and the input of others to further your plans.

Living As The Witch – Sanctifying the Temple of the Body

Sanctifying the Temple of the Body

Of all the spaces that surround us, of all the blessings we send out into the world, of all the things we honor and consider sacred, it is often our own bodies that are most in need of honor and celebration. Considered by many to be the behicle through which our soul experiences the physical world, our bodies are indeed worthy of recognition as the spiritual temples they are. Too frequently we focus on our perceived physical imperfections, forget the miracle of the body’s ability to  heal itself when we are ailing, or take for granted the fragile balance our bodies need to sustain us, instead choosing to abuse ourselves with excess, deprive ourselves of adequate sleep or nourishing food, and engage in other physically and psychologically damaging behaviors.

For women especially how we carry ourselves and think about our body is incredibly emotionally charged. We are constantly being bombarded with messages telling us how we are supposed to look and what we are supposed to wear. Women’s bodies have been objectified by a culture that has also programmed us to believe they are objects of sin and shame. Reclaiming the sacred nature of our physical form is a service both to our selves and to our sisters – it is a rejection of the old paradigm and a reframing of how women think about themselves on their own terms.

There is a Hermetic Axiom that states: “As above, so below. As within, so without.” Our treatment and reverence for our body both reflects upon, and is a reflection of, the spirit that dwells within. How can you bring a sense of the sacred to your physical self? Perhaps you can incorporate a daily routine of self-anointing with oils you have blessed for this purpose and choose to consciously eat wholesome foods to power your body-temple. Indulge in sacred spa days and pamper yourself with a luxurious bath scented with herbs and flowers that stimulate the essence of the Divine within. Wear colors and styles that reflect your personality and make you feel beautiful, rather than feeling like a slave to the trends of fashion. Adorn yourself with stones and symbolic jewelry that serve as reminders of your holy nature. And perhaps most importantly, support other women in cultivating a sense of the self as sacred: discourage self-deprecating remarks, do not engage in disempowering body behaviors, and praise your sisters and brothers as the beautiful and perfect beings they are.

While it is useful and beneficial to create a physical sacred space, such as a hearth or garden, creating sacred space within yourself may be the best thing you can do for your spirit.

Excerpt from:

Making Space Sacred
Jhenah Telyndru
Llewellyn’s 2012 Witches’ Companion

Wish Upon A Leaf Spell For Love

Wish Upon A Leaf Spell For Love

What You Will Need:

  • Bay leaf
  • Pen
  • New Moon (especially powerful if done while the sun is in the sign Leo July 23-August 2

The Spell:

On the night of a new moon, write your wish on a bay leaf. Simply take the bay leaf outside and look at the moon, then kiss the leaf three times and sleep with it under your pillow.

Daily OM for August 21 – We Are Beings of Light

We Are Beings of Light

Beyond the Physical

by Madisyn Taylor

It is through our connection to our light that we know things beyond what the visible world can tell us.

We are all beings of light. Put another way, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. As children, most of us know this, but other human beings who have forgotten what they really are and who cannot help us to know ourselves train us to forget. As a result, we are led to believe that magic is not real, that our invisible playmates do not really exist, and that we are limited beings with only one earthly life to live. There is enormous pressure to conform to this concept of ourselves and so we lose touch with our full potential, forgetting that we are beings of light.

At this time, many of us are reawakening to the truth of who we are, because we are living amidst such large-scale changes in the world. We need to access this light in order to not only survive but thrive as we shift into a new order of consciousness. As the changes around us proceed in rapid progression, we will want to be able to trust our own ability to sense what is happening and how we can best respond. We are no longer living in a predictable world in which we can trust external authority figures and prior ideas about reality to guide us. We need to be able to access the information that will help us navigate these uncertain waters, and the ultimate authority resides in our awareness of ourselves as beings of light.

It is through our connection to this light that we know things beyond what the visible world can tell us, and we see things beyond what the physical world reveals. In order to access this wisdom, we can simply allow ourselves to remember that we are not limited, as we have been taught. In fact, we are filled with divine grace and power that is ours for the asking. A daily practice of tuning into this vast potential, conversing with it, and offering ourselves up to it opens the door through which we can reclaim our true identity, taking ownership of the calling that the time has come to create bliss on earth.

Calendar of the Sun for August 21

Calendar of the Sun

21 Weodmonath

Consualia: First Harvest of Rome

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown a cloth display the preserved fruits of the harvest thus far. There should be a pot of fruit that has been cooked to charring as a traditional offering, a wreath of flowers, and a chalice of wine. Outside, the underground stone altar of Consus is dug open and revealed.
Offering: Burned fruits.
Daily Meal: Food out of the garden.

Consualia Invocation

Hail, Consus, Lord of the Storehouse!
As our ancestors stored things deep underground,
So we have opened the earth
To give you what is your due.
For it is not enough to grow what must be grown.
Our sustenance must also be cultivated,
Plucked from vine and stem,
Cleaned and prepared,
And if necessary preserved.
You are the keeper of next year’s seeds
Which we must save as if our lives
Depended on those tiny cradles of life.
You are the keeper of next year’s grain,
And may we all come to love and understand
The cycle of seed and fruit on which
Our table, and our bellies, depend.
Hail Consus, keeper of the seeds,
May your blessing carry through
To next year’s garden, and each year forever.

(All go out to the garden, where the open hole reveals the carved stone of Consus’s altar. The burned fruits are laid in as an offering, and the wine poured in on top. Then the altar is covered again with earth, and the wreath of flowers is laid over it.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Current Moon Phase for August 21: Waxing Crescent Moon

Crescent Moon

(waxing/30% illumination)

The Moon is in zodiac sign Libra

Current Moon Phase is from August 17th to 24th

During this Moon phase, there is a slight slowing down of enthusiasm due to an emerging desire to produce tangible results from the energy being expended. The issue of values enters into the equation and an urge to tie together the data available so that you can utilize current opportunities. There is still plenty of forward motion, and this is a great time to continue initiating and progressing forward. This Moon phase favors gaining more information and the input of others to further your plans.

Witches Almanac for Tuesday, August 21

 

Witches Almanac for *Tuesday, August 21

*Tuesday (Mars):  Passion, sex, courage, aggression, and protection.

Consualia (Roman)

Moon Sign: *Leo

*Leo: Draws emphasis to the self, central ideas or institutions, away from connections with others and other emotional needs. People tend to be melodramatic.

*Waxing Moon

*The Waxing Moon: is the ideal time for magick to draw things toward you.

Incense: Cedar

Moon Phase: First Quarter

Color:  Gray

Calendar of the Moon for August 20

Calendar of the Moon

20 Coll/Metageitnion

Nemetona’s Day

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of green lay twigs from each of the trees of the Sacred Grove, a knife, a cup of milk, and a cup of animal blood mixed with wine.
Offerings: Plant trees, especially the ones of the Sacred Grove.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Invocation to Nemetona

Lady of the Sacred Grove
Whose footprints mark the soft moss
Wherever gather the trees of the Sacred Grove.
Silver are your words as the birch,
Bright is your smile as the berries of rowan,
Tall is your height as the ash,
Hot is your frown like the ashes of alder,
Graceful is your walk as the willow,
Cruel is your blade as the thorn,
Strong is your grasp as the oak,
Sharp is your prick like the holly,
Hard is your shell like the hazel,
Sweet is your mouth as the grapevine,
Twisted is your hair like the ivy,
Eerie is your song as the reed,
Wise is your touch as the elder.
Long ago, they came to you,
Goddess of the grove, Lady of leaf and blood,
And your blade took their short lives
And added it to those of the long-lived trees,
Whose Earth this was first.
So we give you blood today, Lady,
That you shall understand, even now,
That we do not forget your gifts.

Song: Song of the Trees

(All shall come forth to the altar, and the cups shall be taken up and carried outside in procession, until all are standing and singing under the trees. Then shall the libations be poured out onto the Earth.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for August 20

Calendar of the Sun

Media Aestas

Colors: Gold and blue
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a golden cloth set a single blue candle, a bunch of herbs from the garden, lengths of twine, a bowl of rainwater, a bucket of manure tea, and several empty baskets.
Offering: Water and fertilizer, to be added to the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Media Aestas Invocation

Earth, your bounty is showered upon us!
We walk amid your green leaves
And cut down what you give us,
And the harvest begins in earnest.
Bless us with a full pantry
As the Sun begins to wane,
Let us eat his light in the food
You gift to our table.
We now enter the time of year
When we do take more than is given,
Yet even now we will water and feed you,
For this is the dance of giving.
And we shall do the sacred act of cultivation,
Weeding that which hinders our harvest,
Bringing the first death that Life may go on.

Chant: Gift given
Hands receive you
Earth’s bounty
Brings the sheaf to you

(Two who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual take up the rainwater and the manure tea, and carry them out tot he garden, where they are ceremonially poured around the roots of the herbs and vegetables, and especially into any plots of land where everything has been harvested. All others follow with empty baskets to harvest some thing from the garden, or twine to cut herbs and hang them to dry. After this, each should do some weeding, as weeding is the sacred cultivation work of this season. The weeds should be placed in a compost heap with all due reverence; we take their perfectly legitimate lives that our own plants may grow.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Current Moon Phase for August 20: New Moon

Current Moon Phase for August 20

New Moon

(waxing 0 – 45 degree)

The moon is in zodiac sign Libra

by Jan Spiller

The New Moon is a time best suited to making new beginnings! For the first 48 hours following the exact time of the New Moon each month, a window of opportunity opens for making wishes that, if written down, come true in the days and months ahead. There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm in the atmosphere and a feeling of Springtime. This is a great time to go forward and begin projects that you feel instinctively attracted to initiating. Follow your impulses and let yourself make new starts in areas that are important to you.

Current Moon Phase for August 18th: Waxing Crescent

Waxing Crescent

(1% of Full)

The Moon is in sign Zodiac Virgo

The New Moon is a time best suited for new beginnings! For the first 48 hours following the exact time of the New Moon each month, a window of opportunity opens for making wishes that, if noted, come true in the days and months ahead. There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm in the atmosphere, making it a great time to go forward and begin projects that you feel instinctively attracted to initiating. Follow your impulses and let yourself make new starts in areas that are important to you.

Gemstone of the Day for Aug. 17: Hematite

Hematite

Hematite meaning and properties

Hematite is used to improve relationships. If you need your personal relationship to be better, carry a hematite with you always.

The name comes from the Greek word for blood. It has been used as an amulet against bleeding, and so is known as the “blood stone”. When arranged like the petals of a flower, it is referred to as the “iron rose”. Native American folklore states that war paint made from hematite will make one invincible in battle. People in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries wore hematite jewelry during mourning.

Scientists of the Mars Exploration Rover Project believe that deposits of hematite on Mars may help prove whether large amounts of liquid water ever flowed on Mars’ surface. They say that where water was, life may have had a chance to thrive as well.

Hematite is good for increasing intuition. In jewelry it is best in a ring worn on the left hand.

Healing properties of Hematite

Hematite stimulates iron absorption in the small intestine, which in turn improves oxygen supply to the body. It can be in direct contact with the skin, but results in inflammation for some people, so test it carefully on yourself before use.

Sources of Hematite

Brazil is the most important source of hematite. Other sources include: China, Canada, England, and Germany.

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Aug. 17 is The Crystal

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Today

The Crystal

The Crystal glows with the power of mystical truths transformed into material realities. The Crystal denotes a self with a powerful connection to the spiritual world that allows them to literally soak up cosmic wisdom and apply it favorably to their everyday life. It suggest a tremendous growth of one’s spiritual self that will greatly impact the querant’s secular life.

As a daily card, The Crystal indicates a time when you are likely to be well served by allowing your spiritual self to guide your day to day behavior.

Current Moon Phase for August 17: New Moon

New Moon

(waxing/0-45 degrees)

The Moon is in the zodiac sign Leo

 

The New Moon is a time best suited for new beginnings! For the first 48 hours following the exact time of the New Moon each month, a window of opportunity opens for making wishes that, if noted, come true in the days and months ahead. There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm in the atmosphere, making it a great time to go forward and begin projects that you feel instinctively attracted to initiating. Follow your impulses and let yourself make new starts in areas that are important to you.

The Witches’ Almanac for Friday, August 17

The Witches’ Almanac for *Friday, August 17

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

Feast of the Hungry Ghosts (Chinese)

Moon Sign:  *Leo

*Leo:  Draw emphasis to the self, central ideas, or institutions, away from connections with others and other emotional needs. People ten to be melodramatic.

*Waning Moon

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

Moon enters *Virgo 8:33 pm

*Virgo:  Favors accomplishment of details and commands from higher up. Focuses on health, hygiene, and daily schedules.

Moon phase:  New Moon 11:54 am

Incense: Rose

Color:  Pink

Spells to Cast Once in a Blue Moon

Spells to Cast Once in a Blue Moon

Just what is a Blue Moon? There are two definitions for a Blue Moon. According to the more recent definition, a Blue Moon is the second Full Moon in a calendar month. For a Blue Moon to occur, the first of the Full Moon must appear at or near the beginning of the month so that the second will fall within the same month (the average span between two moons is 28 days). That second one is called a Blue Moon.

An older definition for the Blue Moon is recorded in early issues of the Maine Farmer’s Almanac. Between 1932 and 1957, instead of the calendar year running from January 1 through December 31, the almanac relied on the tropical year, defined as extending from one winter solstice (“Yule”) to the next. Most tropical years contain 12 Full Moons-3 each in winter, spring, summer and fall-and as in the previous chart, each is named for an activity appropriate to the time of year. But occasionally a tropical year contains 13 Full Moons so that one season has 4 Moons rather than the usual 3. That fourth Moon of the season is the Blue Moon.

Many practitioners regard a Blue Moon as a special gift from the Goddess and look upon it as a good time to set new goals for themselves. Write your goals on a piece of paper, fold the paper in half, and place it the light of the Full Moon. Ask the Goddess for the strength and endurance to work toward your goals successfully. In the morning, burn the paper in the flame of a candle you have anointed with an oil you especially enjoy. The smoke will help carry your goals to the ears of the Goddess. Your resolve to get started on them will amaze you.

Blue Moon

Blue Moon

Your geographic location can make a difference to your experience of a Blue Moon. Depending on your longitude you may go through a date change prior to other locations which means the full moon is at the first of your new month and falls at the end of the preceding month somewhere else. The “blue” one is always the 2nd full moon in the same month. The regular full moons of each month all have their own individual names as follows: Moon after Yule, Wolf Moon, Lenten Moon, Egg Moon, Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Hay Moon, Grain Moon, Fruit Moon, Harvest Moon, Hunters’ Moon and Moon Before Yule.

Historically the Blue Moon was considered unlucky and a real nuisance when it occurred at various times of the year and upset scheduling of church festivals. In love songs the Blue Moon is often a symbol of sadness and loneliness.

The first appearance in print of this expression goes back to the time of Shakespeare, when some folks felt that sometimes the moon visually appeared blue in the sky. Although the expression dates all that way back, it has only recently come to mean the second Full Moon in one month. Blue Moon seems to be a truly modern piece of folklore, old folklore it is not, but real folklore it is.

Current Moon Phase for Aug. 16: Waning Crescent

Crescent Moon

(waning /6% illumination)

This is a time to rest, reevaluate and reflect, pulling back into yourself to reconnect with inner sources of strength. Now is not a time to initiate anything new. It’s a phase suited to spending time with friends and getting in touch with the “big picture.” A window of opportunity exists for seeing your life objectively and becoming aware of what is important to you. At this point, what are your dreams and aspirations? What larger goals can you aspire to that will bring vitality and excitement into your life? This is a time for resting and gaining inner strength to prepare for a new cycle.

Witches’ Almanac for *Thursday, August 16th


Witches’ Almanac for *Thursday, August 16th

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

Mexican Independence Day

Moon Sign:  *Virgo

*Virgo:  Favors accomplishment of details and commands from higher up. Focuses on healthy, hygiene, and daily schedules

*Waxing Moon

*Waxing Moon is the ideal time for magick to draw things toward you.

Moon enters Libra 8:55 am

Moon phase:  First Quarter

Incense: Almond

Color:  Gold

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for August 15

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Have you considered the effect your presence may have on people around you? Do they need you? The answer is yes. We are somewhat selfish with our presence at times. We want to withdraw and think our own thoughts and read quietly rather than entertaining someone or just listening to them. But we never really know how much they need us, not to perform good deeds for their good, but only to be company to share a happening of the day.

Perhaps within their minds we can quiet some restlessness, assure them that they are needed or give them a feeling of tranquility. To many lie is no simple matter, and to hear them out may be the remedy.

It has been said by a very wise man that if you never make a mistake you’re not doing anything.

It is a relief to know that every day, without fail, we come in contact with people who put such confidence in us that we strive ever harder to never fail. Such people build human beings – and there is no job more worthy, or more creative.

Building character and confidence in fellow human beings is a delicate task….for no two people respond in the same way. Challenges may be the way to boost up some individuals, while others may need encouragement and praise to guide them on their way. But, oh, how human we all are having the need for accomplishment….for attention….for approval.

And how great the responsibility for leaders who must have the wisdom to inspire….the integrity to trust….the heart to understand. The race is hard for leader and follower, for each must understand the other – and there must be compassion for the slow, courage for the weak, and appreciation for the loyal. To follow one must be secure; to lead one must be very wise.

It should be the practice of all of us that when we hear something complimentary about someone to tell them. It is so true that man does not love by bread alone, and to be recognized in having done something that rated approval is a very great reward.

Nothing so builds character in children than to let them know someone believes they have a fine potential. That feeling that “someone believes in me” can be the very thing that will anchor their faith deep in hope for humanity.

To be able to see the good acts of others renders service to ourselves. Swiss theologian Johann Casper Lavater once said, “He is incapable of a truly good action who finds not a pleasure in contemplating the good actions of others.”

Appreciation for the achievement of others is akin to sunshine – we simply can’t help it shine on other people without feeling the glow ourselves.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet:

 

http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org