February 19 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 19

Peculiar Galaxies of Arp 273

Image Credit & CopyrightJason Guenzel

Explanation: The spiky stars in the foreground of this backyard telescopic frame are well within our own Milky Way Galaxy. But the two eye-catching galaxies lie far beyond the Milky Way, at a distance of over 300 million light-years. Their distorted appearance is due to gravitational tides as the pair engage in close encounters. Cataloged as Arp 273 (also as UGC 1810), the galaxies do look peculiar, but interacting galaxies are now understood to be common in the universe. Nearby, the large spiral Andromeda Galaxy is known to be some 2 million light-years away and approaching the Milky Way. The peculiar galaxies of Arp 273 may offer an analog of their far future encounter. Repeated galaxy encounters on a cosmic timescale can ultimately result in a merger into a single galaxy of stars. From our perspective, the bright cores of the Arp 273 galaxies are separated by only a little over 100,000 light-years.

PSYCHIC PROTECTION SPELL

 

It is best to find a work area that you can leave untouched for 3 days.
If you must put away your tools, try to leave the spell candle out in the open.
Prepare your work area by setting up any tools you may be using in addition to your spells candle.
(Black) Love or protection incense is recommended.
While setting up your area, concentrate on the purpose of the work.
Bathe or cleanse your self. Do not let negative thought enter your mind.
Go your work area. Cast the Circle, light incense.
Envision a large, white ball of light surrounding you, your work area, and your home.
Hold the candle between the palms of your hand and direct all positive energy into it.
Place the candle and prior to lighting say,
“This candle represents protection over me in all things.”
Light the candle and say,
“As the light of this flame grows, I feel the light and positive energy around me.
As this candle burns, everything around me is blessed with light and love.
I am blessed with light and love. Negative energy is banished.”
Sit back and watch the candle burn.
Keep visualizing the white ball of light and protection around you..
Evision your higher self blessing you and protecting you from harm.
When the candle has burned 1/3 of the way down say,
“As the flame of the candle is extinguished…
Evil, negativity, and harm towards me is banished!
Any entity, ghost or spirit her by mistake go into the light and pass on to the world of spirit,
be not afraid as many wait for you there who you have loved and who love you.
Extinguish the candle. But don’t blow it out!
Repeat this for 2 more nights. Bury or throw away the left over wax.

Printable House Blessing to Hang Up

Spring House Blessing


Spring House Blessing

To encourage the return of Spring, tie a bunch of snowdrops with green ribbon and hang over the main entrance of your home as you repeat:

Candlemas Bells, snowdrops so white,
Cast away shadows, bring forth the light.

February 18 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 18

Three Clusters in Puppis

Image Credit & CopyrightDave Doctor

Explanation: Galactic or open star clusters are young. The swarms of stars are born together near the plane of the Milky Way, but their numbers steadily dwindle as cluster members are ejected by galactic tides and gravitational interactions. Caught in this telescopic frame over three degrees across are three good examples of galactic star clusters, seen toward the southern sky’s nautical constellation Puppis. Below and left, M46 is some 5,500 light-years in the distance. Right of center M47 is only 1,600 light-years away and NGC 2423 (top) is about 2500 light-years distant. Around 300 million years young M46 contains a few hundred stars in a region about 30 light-years across. Sharp eyes can spot a planetary nebula, NGC 2438, at about 11 o’clock against the M46 cluster stars. But that nebula’s central star is billions of years old, and NGC 2438 is likely a foreground object only by chance along the line of sight to youthful M46. Even younger, aged around 80 million years, M47 is a smaller and looser star cluster spanning about 10 light-years. Star cluster NGC 2423 is pushing about 750 million years in age though. NGC 2423 is known to harbor an extrasolar planet, detected orbiting one of its red giant stars.

Printable To Undo a Spell

Casting A Circle

Casting A Circle

 

Purify yourself first. You can do this by meditating, or taking a ritual bath. One way is to, try to keep the water flowing, possibly by leaving the bath plug half in, or by having a shower. This reinforces the idea of washing away any impurities so you are not sitting in your own psychic rubbish. (Scent your bath water with your selection of a sacred or special herb or oil.) Ideally, your towel – if you choose to use one – should be clean and used only for the purpose of your ritual bath.

 

• • Wear something special if you can, something that you only wear during a ritual or working. You can always add a pretty scarf or a throw in the correct color for your working. This sets apart spell working from everyday confusion.

 

• • Decide on the extent of your circle, which should be formed in front of your altar. Purify this space by sprinkling the area with water followed by salt – both of these should have been blessed.

 

• • Sit quietly for as long as you can inside the area that will become your circle.

 

• • Imagine a circle of light surrounding you. This light could be white, blue or purple. If you are in a hurry and cannot purify and cleanse fully, reinforce the circle of light by visualizing it suffused with the appropriate color for your working.

 

• • Circle the light around, above and below you in a clockwise direction, like the representation of an atom. Feel it as a sphere or as a cone of power. Sense the power Remember to leave a ‘doorway’ through which your magic energy may exit. You should always feel warm and peaceful within your circle.

 

• • Use your own personal chant or form of words according to your own belief system to consecrate your circle and banish all evil and negative energy, forbidding anything harmful to enter your space. Remember, you are always safe within your circle if you command it to be so.

 

• • If appropriate, invite the Gods and Goddesses to attend your circle and magical working.

 

• • Relax and be happy.

 

If you wish, you can use objects on the ground to show the boundaries of the circle, such as candles, crystals, cord, stones, flowers or incense. The circle is formed from personal power. This may be felt and visualized as streaming from the body to form a bubble made of mist, or a circle of light. You can use the athame (ritual dagger) or your hands to direct this power.

 

The cardinal points of the compass may be denoted with lit candles, often white or purple. Alternatively, place a green candle at the North point of the circle, yellow candle at the East, red candle at the South and blue candle at the West. The altar stands in the centre of the circle, facing North in the direction of power.

Printable Spell to Stop Gossip and Slander

February 17 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 17

Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud

Image Credit & CopyrightAcquisition: Stas Volskiy (Chilescope.com), Processing: Robert Eder

Explanation: Dark markings and bright nebulae in this telescopic southern sky view are telltale signs of young stars and active star formation. They lie a mere 650 light-years away, at the boundary of the local bubble and the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex. Regions with young stars identified as dusty reflection nebulae from the 1946 Cederblad catalog include the C-shaped Ced 110 just above and left of center, and bluish Ced 111 below it. Also a standout in the frame, the orange tinted V-shape of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula (Cha IRN) was carved by material streaming from a newly formed low-mass star. The well-composed image spans 1.5 degrees. That’s about 17 light-years at the estimated distance of the nearby Chamaeleon I molecular cloud.

Printable Good Luck Spell

For Your Listening Pleasure

Mountain Witches of Appalachia

February 2022 Full Moon Details

one Moon because by this point, the tribe’s winter food supplies had usually dwindled to the point where people had to gnaw on bones and cook bone marrow soup in order to survive. For the same reason, the Kalapuya tribe called this moon the Out of Food Moon. Appropriately, it’s also known as the Hunger Moon and the Little Famine Moon. Perhaps due to this month’s association with death, the Cherokee tribe would commune with their dead ancestors during the Bone Moon. A didanawiskawi, or a medicine person, would host a medicine dance for the community. Fasting and rituals for the dead were also common practices.

However, not all cultures associate February’s full moon with extreme cold and death. The Hopi tribe calls it the Moon of Purification and Renewal, which is very fitting because the Full Snow Moon is usually the very first full moon of the year according to the lunar calendar. Cultures that follow the lunar calendar, especially East Asian cultures, tend to associate the Full Snow Moon with new beginnings for this very reason. The ancient Chinese, for example, called it the Budding Moon.

As a matter of fact, celebrations of February’s full moon are the climax of Lunar New Year festivities in various East Asian countries. In China, the Full Snow Moon is celebrated during the Lantern Festival, also known as the Yuanxiao Festival, which is the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. During this festival, the Chinese release kongming lanterns into the sky as they admire the full moon and eat tangyuan, glutinous rice balls that are usually filled with sweet paste. The round shape of the balls symbolize family togetherness and bring good luck to the whole family.

Many East Asian cultures in general also light lanterns and bonfires to celebrate February’s full moon. According to an ancient Chinese legend, not long after Buddhism was brought into China, 17 deities were witnessed flying through the sky during the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. Shocked and excited, the populace lit fires and lanterns to see the godly beings better. They continued to do so year after year, but for more practical reasons – to chase away pests and to pray for a good crop in the upcoming spring.

In Korea, where February’s full moon is known as Daeboreum, these fiery structures are called “Houses of the Burning Moon”. During Daeboreum, Koreans hike mountains despite the freezing temperatures in order to catch a glimpse of the first rise of the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. According to legend, the very first person to accomplish this feat will have their dearest wish come true.

 

Local Date and Time for February 2022 Full Moon in major cities around the world:

Los Angeles,
San Francisco,
Vancouver
February 16, 2022
8:57am PST

Denver,
Salt Lake City,
Calgary
February 16, 2022
9:57am MST

Chicago,
Houston,
San Antonio
February 16, 2022
10:57am CST

New York,
Toronto,
Atlanta
February 16, 2022
11:57am EST

London,
Manchester,
Dublin
February 16, 2022
4:57pm GMT

Paris,
Rome,
Berlin
February 16, 2022
5:57pm CET

Athens,
Istanbul,
Helsinki
February 16, 2022
6:57pm EET

Dubai,
Abu Dhabi,
Muscat
February 16, 2022
8:57pm +04

Bangalore,
Mumbai,
New Delhi
February 16, 2022
10:27pm IST

Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur
February 17, 2022
12:57am +08

Perth,
Hong Kong,
Beijing
February 17, 2022
12:57am AWST

Sydney,
Brisbane,
Melbourne
February 17, 2022
3:57am AEDT

Click here to read the rest of this article about the ebruary 2022 Moon Details

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 HendersonvilleTennessee, 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 sunspotsprominences, 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)

Printable Healing Spell

The Mirror and Moon Spell

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: NASALunar Reconnaissance OrbiterSVSProcessing & 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).

Weekly Horoscope Sunday, February 13 to Saturday, February 19, 2022

Click here for Georgia Nicols’ Daily Horoscopes

All Signs

Monday is Valentine’s Day. Sometimes astrological influences are lovely for this day; sometimes not so much. Unfortunately, this week, relationships are tense. Leo is the sign that typifies the theatricality of Valentine’s Day – flowers, sentimental cards, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and special gifts. But there is a Full Moon in Leo on Wednesday. Aggh! Take heart. Although problems always intensify as the Full Moon approaches, after it peaks, these same problems diminish or disappear. Meanwhile, this week the Sun changes signs, ushering in a very different vibe. By the end of the week, starry eyed, swooning energy, romance and sweetness will thrive! Therefore, adjust your expectations for the beginning of the week because by the end of the week, all is well. (“Did you want that gift wrapped?”)

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Your personal year is coming to an end, but your new year won’t begin until your birthday. This means that in the next four weeks, you’re sort of in limbo. You will still schmooze with others, especially younger people. Venus and your ruler Mars at the top of your chart will make you look good to others, especially bosses, parents and teachers. And Mars will continue to rev your ambitions. Therefore, you will happily handle this low-key journey. However, be smart and use this window of time to write down some goals for your new year ahead. Goals work! They keep you on track and make it harder to kid yourself.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

In the next four weeks, you’ll be more popular. To the extent that you are able, schmooze with friends and get involved with groups and organizations. (You might do this in person or on-line.) Some of you will strike up a romance with someone “different.” While you’re busy talking to others, remember to share your hopes for the future because someone’s feedback will help you. Meanwhile, you want to travel or make travel plans. Mars and Venus are in a part of your chart that makes you want to expand your world, learn new things and seek adventure. If you can’t travel, then make an effort to learn more through courses, school, reading or watching documentaries. You need a change of scenery!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Ta da! Once a year, the Sun sits at the top of your chart for four weeks, which is a wonderful benefit for you because this thrusts you into a flattering spotlight. This means bosses, parents and people in authority admire you, even if you don’t do anything special. (It’s smoke and mirrors.) Please be aware that in the next four weeks, you have this wonderful advantage! Obviously, this is the time to make your pitch or advance your agenda. Meanwhile, both Mars and Venus are in one of your Money Houses, encouraging resources and money to come your way. You will more easily get a loan or a mortgage. This is a fortuitous window of time for you. Use it!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Grab every chance to broaden your horizons in the next four weeks. Seek out new and unfamiliar experiences. Travel if you can. Explore hobbies. Discuss philosophy, religion and politics because intellectual stimulation will interest you. Obviously, travel will be exciting. With Venus opposite your sign, relations with others are smooth. However, Mars opposite your sign might indicate conflict with others, especially someone who is closest to you. Remember to focus more on what you share with this person instead of your differences. You must share a lot – or how else did they get so close to you?

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

You will feel more passionately about everything (including intimacy) in the next four weeks, which is why certain compulsions might surface. You might feel obsessed about something, especially getting your own way. You might also feel obsessed about being right. Well, these are just ego trips, aren’t they? What’s really going on is that you want to experience life at a more feeling, passionate level. Conversations are not enough. Words, words, words. You want to experience something more deeply. Some of you might meet someone who provokes psychological self-inquiry in you. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

The Sun is opposite your sign for the next four weeks. This happens only once a year and when it does, it means that symbolically, the Sun is as far away from you as it can get all year, and since the Sun is your source of energy – you will need more sleep. Furthermore, this polarized position of the Sun to your sign will make you focus on your closest one-to-one relationships. The good news is you will have more objectivity about these relationships, which will give you a better chance of seeing how well these relationships fill your needs or the needs of someone else. This is also an excellent time to consult experts. (“What’s the number for Ghostbusters?”)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

For the next four weeks, you will work hard to manage your life. You will focus on tasks that need to be done, and you will do them as efficiently as possible – making every action count. You might have to work on behalf of someone else. Fear not. This is not necessarily a time of self-denial. Ironically, you will derive satisfaction by doing a good job for yourself and others. You will take pride in your work. Because there is increased chaos on the home front, this attitude will serve you well. I remember that my mother-in-law had a white and blue serving plate with the script, “It’s a joy to labour for those you love.”

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Once a year, the Sun travels through the most fun part of your chart and this event begins this week. Lucky you! Your attitude toward your relationships will be lighter and more playful. Your focus will be on amusing recreations, games, sports, social outings, holidays and fun times with kids. Personally, you will feel free to express yourself without fear or apology because you want to be exactly who you are. How liberating and empowering! Some of you might encounter a new romance. If so, it will be a lighthearted relationship. (Let us not forget that you are a playful sign.) Enjoy your good fortune!

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

This week your focus will start to shift to your most intimate, personal life and the people who affect it the most. This is why you will cocoon at home more than usual and relax among familiar surroundings. Your interaction with a parent might be more significant in person or in your dreams. Meanwhile, welcome any chance to contemplate your navel and profound philosophical concepts, like why kleptomaniacs take things literally. Naturally, as you ponder family and your personal life, memories from the past will bubble up in your mind. This is why psychological self-evaluation will promote personal growth in the next few weeks. Sounds kind of heady, but we are always growing.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Beginning this week, the pace of your days will accelerate because suddenly, you’ve got places to go, things to do and people to see! Fortunately, with fiery Mars in your sign, you have the energy to accomplish all this. Meanwhile, this restless, eager influence will last for four weeks and is an excellent time for you to learn more about how you handle your casual relationships. Examine your style of communicating to others. It will be easy for you to clearly state your wants and needs to others; however, remember to listen as well. Good communications are a two-way street. If you can get out and travel for even a short trip – this will please you, because you’re eager for new knowledge and a change of scenery.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself reflecting upon your values and defining the things that are important to you in the next four weeks. Likewise, you might take a deeper look at what you own, and your relationship to your belongings. Maybe you have to ask yourself, “Why do I keep this stuff?” Obviously, in some way, you feel what you own defines you. Possibly, you want to show off what you own to others? However, at a deeper level, what you seek is a way to gain greater control over your life through the things that you own. But remember – you are the owner. Don’t want them own you. Don’t be a slave to your possessions. Meanwhile, a secret love affair might be bubbling on the back burner.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

This week, the Sun moves into your sign to stay for four weeks, which is fabulous news for you! This is your chance to recharge your batteries for the rest of year! After all, the Sun is the source of energy in your chart, and now it’s in your sign! This means you will project yourself more successfully onto your world. You will be more confident, more courageous and more proactive. Naturally, you will feel a great need to express yourself. (This is the one time of year when it is appropriate to put your own needs first.) The Sun will also attract favourable situations and important people to you. Oh yes, this is a winning time for you! Be passionate about your work. Be passionate about your play!