Tag: House

Calendar of the Moon for December 18th

Calendar of the Moon

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant: In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for December 18th

Calendar of the Sun

18 Yulmonath

Saturnalia Day 2: Saturn’s Release

Colors: Black and Gold
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black place eight gold candles, each surrounded by gold coins, a bottle of good wine and many cups, and the figure of a seated man, wrapped in a chain.
Offerings: Throw over routines and take joy.
Daily Meal: Anything that the folk of the House want, correct or otherwise.

Invocation of Saturn’s Release

Hail to the Lord of Discipline,
Saturn bound in chains.
Hail to the Old Man of Time
With your fearsome sickle,
Lord of the Hourglass, the Sundial,
All that places restrictions on the bright,
The beautiful, the free and easy.
You live an existence bound in chains,
But at this time of the year, dark and cold,
We release you from your bonds!
We acknowledge that order cannot be held
Without respecting that which is chaos,
And so we pay for the blessed order of our lives,
The gift of Saturn, and Eunomia, and many others,
By these days of release from that Order.
We release you, O Lord of Limitations,
And pray that you, and we, shall be glad
Once more to place these chains about you
And about ourselves. Hail Saturn!

(All cry out “Hail Saturn!” The chain is unwound from about the seated statue of Saturn, and the wine is poured. All toast to the Gods and to many other things, and go off to do what they will. From this point until Arktos of the night of Yule, rules are loosened if not entirely done away with. There is no work today during Akte and Elete, and folk may do what they will until Hesperis. All work done, and all hours attended to, will be by choosing and not by rule. Waking and sleeping will come as they will. For many folks, this will be a time to leave the House and visit family.)

Song: Any that the House chooses.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 27th

Calendar of the Moon

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant: In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 16th

Calendar of the Moon

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant: In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 4th

Calendar of the Moon

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant: In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for November 4th

Calendar of the Sun

4 Blutmonath

Saga’s Day

Color: Parchment
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth the color of parchment place all the books that those of the House wish blessed, plus burning sticks of recaning herbs.
Offerings: Donate books to libraries or to people who need them.
Daily Meal: A small light lunch of any sort, eaten not in the main kitchen but alone with a book.

Invocation to Saga

We hail you, Keeper of the Records of the Past!
Lady of Sokkvabek, the Hall of Books
Where the stream of Knowledge passes
Under the dangling feet of those who sit
Sharing words and ale on your porch.
Daughter of Valkyrie and Dwarven Emperor,
You chose instead of war
To live a life of peace, surrounded by the words,
The histories, the lays, the information
That you love, and love to pass on.
Lady who loves all libraries,
Teach us to honor all spaces where knowledge
Is hoarded like treasure, and like treasure
Given out to the hungry and the needy,
As your sacred temples, your rivers of gold.
Tell us the stories if those who have gone before us,
And give us the gems new-discovered
From the world around us
And from the worlds within others.
Hail, Lady who shares her ale with all
Who love to share knowledge as much as yourself,
May your hands guide our searches
As we sift through the dust of the past
For gems to inspire our yearning hearts.

(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual recanes the books thoroughly with the burning mugwort sticks, and says, “Hail Saga!” All reply “Hail Saga!” and come forward to take the books from the altar. The rest of the day up until Hesperis will be spent reading, save for those necessary tasks which must be done, and for those workers one will be chosen to read to them as they work.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 16th

Calendar of the Sun

16 Winterfyllith

Laufey’s Day

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of pale green set a miniature willow tree in a pot, a goblet of fruit wine, five yellow and green candles, many mugs of some nourishing herbal tea, and many plates of nourishing oat-cakes.
Offerings: Plant trees.
Daily Meal: Tree fruits, soup and bread, herbal tea from tree-leaves.

Invocation to Laufey

Laufey, Wise Goddess, I hail You.
Mother of Loki, Nurturer of the flame,
I honor You.
You are rooted and ancient wisdom,
The strength of the trees that wind their roots
Deeply into the earth,
Of rich dark soil,
Of solitude, and seasons,
Dissolution and quiet change.
You are patient endurance,
Wise weaver of the threads of fate,
Luck-warder, mother of warriors,
Fierce defender, skilled healer.
All of these things You have been.
You restore and rebalance.
You sustain
And grant to Your children
The enduring strength of the forest,
The quickness of flame,
The swiftness of light, liquid and untouchable.
Lady of the Leafy Isle, no ornament
To Farbauti’s hall but to Your own alone
Wherein You shine, ever shall I speak Your praises.
Hail, Laufey.

(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual shall bring forth the oat-cakes and herbal tea, and all shall eat and drink of Laufey’s generosity. The wine shall be poured out as a libation, and then all should go forth from the House to plant trees in some place that is needful of them.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Your Weekly Love Horoscopes for January 21st

 

Aries Horoscope
Aries Horoscope (Mar 21 – Apr 19)

Thursday and Friday are relatively quiet days, but then you get a blast on Saturday that is bound to heat up your love life. A bold Leo Full Moon shines in your 5th House of Romance to light up your fiery personality. You’re ready to take chances, express your feelings without restraint and attract all the attention that your heart desires. Giving generously to others is the best way to get back the affection and appreciation you desire.

Taurus Horoscope
Taurus Horoscope (Apr 20 – May 20)

Your home could be the most fun place in the world this Saturday when the enthusiastic Leo Full Moon brightens your domestic 4th House of Roots, supplying you with tons of excitement and energy. Your comfort level rises when you play host or hostess even if it takes some creative effort to put on a good show. Restoring passion to your current relationship comes when you put your heart fully into it or a new one grows with your display of playful self-confidence.

Gemini Horoscope
Gemini Horoscope (May 21 – Jun 20)

Engaging in a serious discussion to work out a misunderstanding may slow your social life on Friday. But if an intervention isn’t necessary, taking a hard, cold look at your romantic aspirations is a useful way to refine your personal plans. A sassier you returns on Saturday with an audacious Leo Full Moon occupying your 3rd House of Communication. Your ability to entertain others and to strike up conversations anywhere and at any time makes you the life of the party wherever you go.

Cancer Horoscope
Cancer Horoscope (June 21 – Jul 22)

The evocative Moon’s shift into your sensitive sign on Wednesday night puts you in a reflective mood. If you’re attracted to someone, you should feel comfortable enough to make the first move. But when you encounter a person who doesn’t feel right, pulling back into your shell is completely appropriate. On Saturday morning, the energy changes dramatically. The lively Leo Moon inspires you to play for the rest of the weekend, wearing a colorful look and a confident attitude.

Leo Horoscope
Leo Horoscope (Jul 23 – Aug 22)

This could be a memorable week with Saturday’s scorching Full Moon occurring in your dramatic sign. Emotions are flowing with passions that will not cool until you’re finished expressing them. Those strong feelings tend to run the gamut from anger to ecstasy, requiring some self-control on your part to manage them appropriately. Putting yourself in a safe and acceptable place where you’re free to play, dance, and shout with joy is an ideal way to celebrate being alive during this celestial high-energy event.

Virgo Horoscope
Virgo Horoscope (Aug 23 – Sep 22)

You might feel like you’re on the fringes of the action this weekend. This cosmic break is better for enjoying quiet time alone or with one easygoing individual rather than putting yourself in the middle of a crowd. Friday is an excellent time to tackle tough emotional issues with a partner. Different values and expectations need to be ironed out to maintain harmony. If you’re single, a talk with a trusted friend will provide practical advice about your potential prospects.

Libra Horoscope
Libra Horoscope (Sep 23 – Oct 22)

It’s great to be optimistic about people but there’s a risk of over-estimating someone this Friday. Being attracted to a person and buying into what he or she says is appealing now, but things could fall short of your hopes if you’re not careful. Picking and choosing who you’re with and what you do is not about satisfying others’ desires, but it’s the best way to take care of yourself. Exercising a little bit of cautious self-restraint will go a long way toward keeping you safe and sound.

Scorpio Horoscope
Scorpio Horoscope (Oct 23 – Nov 21)

You are not likely to be in a casual mood this weekend when both of your intense ruling planets Mars and Pluto clash on Saturday. It’s better to be choosy about your company instead of trying to cooperate by agreeing to do something that’s not in your comfort zone. You might find yourself in the spotlight for a while, but you will probably be more content in a quiet corner. Focus your time and energy on one task you enjoy and one person who really matters.

Sagittarius Horoscope
Sagittarius Horoscope (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Don’t wait for the weekend to play because Monday and Tuesday look like wonderful days for having fun with others. The chatty Gemini Moon in your 7th House of Partners joins your lucky planet Jupiter on Monday night, making it easy to end up in a fascinating conversation. This communicative trend continues the next day when you gracefully bounce from a sharing a humorous moment to intelligently discussing more serious matters. Others can’t help but notice the way you sparkle when you talk.

Capricorn Horoscope
Capricorn Horoscope (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

If trust issues are a concern in your relationships, then Thursday is an excellent day to address them with others. You have an almost ideal combination of sensitivity and logic that can help you to iron out differences in a partnership or enable you to get off to a solid start with someone new. Sharing your vulnerable side won’t make you look weak now; quite the opposite, it can make you appear much more attractive. You’re almost irresistible to your admirers when you can be both strong and soft.

Aquarius Horoscope
Aquarius Horoscope (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Saturday night should be special with the bold Leo Full Moon landing in your 7th House of Relationships. You are craving adventure and looking for a romance that will rock your world. Make this a memorable day with your partner, if you’re lucky enough to have someone who loves you in return. The joy the two of you share can warm your hearts for a very long time. If you’re single, be brave and dare to express your feelings with passion instead of playing it cool. You will never know what might happen if you don’t put yourself out there and try.

Pisces Horoscope
Pisces Horoscope (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

The promise of romance grows stronger with the cuddly Cancer Moon’s presence in your amorous 5th House from Wednesday night until Saturday morning. Breaking away from routine tasks to enjoy the pleasures of life is healthy for you now. If you’re in a long-term relationship, this is a perfect time to spice it up by surprising your partner with something special. If you’re single, pleasing yourself will make you even more desirable to others.

Calendar of the Sun for December 31st

Calendar of the Sun

31 Yulmonath

Hogmanay

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set symbols of all the projects around the house that need to be finished, as well as a bottle of wine or beer and cups.
Offerings: Cleaning and finishing projects.
Daily Meal: Leftovers.

Hogmanay Invocation

We stand at the turning of the year,
In the place predicted by the Fates.
We are here because this time, this place
Is where we were destined to be,
Though we never knew before this moment,
We could not have seen this time and place.
Yet here we are, standing together with each other,
Hand to hand, soul to soul, with open eyes.
Yet well we know that nothing lasts forever,
And things well begun should not be left half done.
So it is that we shall take up the tools
And finish those things left undone,
Tying up the strings of our existence
Before the turning of the New Year
And the coming of the Fates yet again.
Hail to the Fates! We await your day,
And the next year, to see what it may bring.

(Each goes forth and takes up the symbol of some thing that is yet undone around the House, and declares that they will do it, and what it will mean for them to complete that task. Then the wine is shared around, a toast is made to the new year, and the rest is poured out as a libation.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for December 18th

Calendar of the Sun

18 Yulmonath

Saturnalia Day 2: Saturn’s Release

Colors: Black and Gold
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black place eight gold candles, each surrounded by gold coins, a bottle of good wine and many cups, and the figure of a seated man, wrapped in a chain.
Offerings: Throw over routines and take joy.
Daily Meal: Anything that the folk of the House want, correct or otherwise.

Invocation of Saturn’s Release

Hail to the Lord of Discipline,
Saturn bound in chains.
Hail to the Old Man of Time
With your fearsome sickle,
Lord of the Hourglass, the Sundial,
All that places restrictions on the bright,
The beautiful, the free and easy.
You live an existence bound in chains,
But at this time of the year, dark and cold,
We release you from your bonds!
We acknowledge that order cannot be held
Without respecting that which is chaos,
And so we pay for the blessed order of our lives,
The gift of Saturn, and Eunomia, and many others,
By these days of release from that Order.
We release you, O Lord of Limitations,
And pray that you, and we, shall be glad
Once more to place these chains about you
And about ourselves. Hail Saturn!

(All cry out “Hail Saturn!” The chain is unwound from about the seated statue of Saturn, and the wine is poured. All toast to the Gods and to many other things, and go off to do what they will. From this point until Arktos of the night of Yule, rules are loosened if not entirely done away with. There is no work today during Akte and Elete, and folk may do what they will until Hesperis. All work done, and all hours attended to, will be by choosing and not by rule. Waking and sleeping will come as they will. For many folks, this will be a time to leave the House and visit family.)

Song: Any that the House chooses.

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for December 14th

Calendar of the Sun

14 Yulmonath

Day of Iuventas and Hebe

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of red place figures of male and female youths, bedecked with flowers and candles of many colors, and two cups of spring water. Let youths from the community come forth to be blessed on this day, and process in with the folk of the House, and stand before the altar.
Offerings: Give aid to youths who have just come of age.
Daily Meal: Anything that the youths wish, within the strictures of the House.

Invocation to Iuventas and Hebe

Call: Let the children come to us who are no longer children.
Response: Let them come forth, those on the brink of manhood and womanhood.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with health, in the name of Hebe.
Response: May Hebe bless them with strong bodies and long lives.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with vitality, in the name of Iuventas.
Response: May Iuventas bless them with brightness and joy.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with minds sharp as blades.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with hearts full of courage.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with hands full of compassion.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with good judgment.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with new worlds to explore.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with faith in the Universe.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with knowledge of the Gods.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let them come forth and be blessed with peace in their souls.
Response: May they be so blessed.
Call: Let us lift up our eyes to them in hope, for they are the future.
Response: Our blessing on them all.
Call: Let us lift up our voices to Iuventas and Hebe in praise!
Response: Hail Iuventas and Hebe!

(The cups of water are poured out as a libation. The rest of Sponde is spent with the youths, teaching them and giving them what wisdom can be given in this short time.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 7

Calendar of the Moon

 

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant:

In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 6th

Calendar of the Moon

 

Elder Tree Month

Color: Russet
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a russet cloth set three black candles, a cauldron filled with water, a vase filled with elder branches, a cup of dried elderberries, and a knife.
Offerings: Give aid to the elders in the House, and outside.
Daily Meal: Soups and stews, and soft foods.

Ruis Invocation

Call: Hail the month of passing.
Response: For all things pass away.
Call: Hail the month of waning.
Response: For all things must fade and die.
Call: Hail the month of creaking wood.
Response: Hail the month of creaking bones.
Call: Hail the month of the dwindling Sun.
Response: Hail the time of all endings.
Call: For even as we began the year in silence,
Response: So we shall end the year in silence.
Call: For even as we began the year with chill winds of newness,
Response: So we shall end the year with chill winds of darkness.
Call: May the raven croak his warning from the bare branches.
Response: May the deer leave her footprints in the wake of the first snows.
Call: We will surrender ourselves to the darkness.
Response: Yet even with that surrender, we shall not pass away.
Call: For the seed that was grown in the spring still lives.
Response: Its life force is given back to the Earth.
Call: Its life force is given back to the Maker of new life.
Response: And new life shall spring forth in time.
Call: This is the moment of waiting for the end.
Response: This is the moment of bowed heads.
Call: Elder Goddess, teach us to praise loss, death, and the passing of all things.
Response: For from this flux we know your blessings flow.

Chant:

In the eye of the Moon
We walk willingly
Into the darkness.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 4

Calendar of the Moon

4 Ngetal/Maimakterion

Night of Wild Winds

Colors: Black, white, grey
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of swirling white, grey, and black place incense, fans, pens, and small pieces of paper. All windows in the House should be opened throughout the night.
Offering: Give your wishes to the winds.
Daily Meal: Raw, cold food.

Invocation to the Wild Winds

This is the Night of Wild Winds!
We have opened ourselves to the still cold waters,
And tonight we open ourselves to their counterpart,
The ever-flying bitter winds that rush
Through all things! Open all the windows,
Let them run through the House,
Let them tear through our hair and our heads,
Let them flay us clean of all impurities!
For on the winds ride the souls of our ancestors,
And the spirits of the Air itself!
Listen to their songs, their whispers,
And learn the wisdom they speak.
Spirits of the Air, Powers of the Winds,
Be with us tonight!
Be with us in our beds,
Be with us in our dreams,
Be with us until the dawn!
Hail, Night of Wild Winds!
May we breathe in your inspiration
And may it blow us through to a new day!

Chant:

Spirit of the Wind, carry me,
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home,
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home to myself.

(The incense is carried throughout the house, and all windows are thrown open. They shall stay that way, regardless of cold, until after sunrise the next day.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for December 3rd

Calendar of the Moon

3 Ruis/Poseideion

Pandora’s Day

Colors: Grey and white
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a grey cloth set a large wooden box covered with carvings of horror, blight, and disease. It should be filled with two layers of rolled papers, separated by a cloth. The first layer is rolled papers tied with black string, which are assignments as to what offering of aid to the unfortunate should be given. The bottom layer is rolled papers tied with silver string, each of which has a saying of hope written upon it. Aside from the box, the altar should be starkly empty.
Offerings: Give aid and hope to those who are suffering outside the House. The following day should be a day of helping other organizations.
Daily Meal: Give food to others; the House fasts tonight.

Invocation to Pandora

Sweet Pandora,
Lady All-Gifted,
You were made like a toy by the Gods
To take revenge on the world,
Yet you hold your own mystery.
You were constructed with all gifts,
Yet we must never forget
That suffering, too, is a gift.
Though it may seem like the greatest of evils,
The pain that you bring hones us,
Tries us, trials us, tests our mettle,
And teaches us the limits of Life.
Help us to honor these gifts of yours,
These thorns and hails and lightning strikes,
This pain and weakness and suffering.
And help us to always remember,
Lady All-Gifted,
The final gift in the bottom of your box,
Which is hope for the future.

(All come forward and kneel before the altar. The keeper of the box says, “Choose your suffering.” One at a time, each comes forward and takes a paper from the top layer of the box. Then the keeper of the box says, “Choose hope,” and each comes forward and takes another paper from the bottom. The box is closed and all leave in silence.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]