Tag: Online coven

Printable Money Jar Spell for Monday

 

May 9 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 May 9

A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses the Sun

Video Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU MSSS, SSIExplanation: What’s that passing in front of the Sun? It looks like a moon, but it can’t be Earth’s Moon, because it isn’t round. It’s the Martian moon Phobos. The featured video was taken from the surface of Mars a month ago by the Perseverance rover. Phobos, at 11.5 kilometers across, is 150 times smaller than Luna (our moon) in diameter, but also 50 times closer to its parent planet. In fact, Phobos is so close to Mars that it is expected to break up and crash into Mars within the next 50 million years. In the near term, the low orbit of Phobos results in more rapid solar eclipses than seen from Earth. The featured video is shown in real time — the transit really took about 40 seconds,as shown. The videographer — the robotic rover Perseverance (Percy) — continues to explore Jezero Crater on Mars, searching not only for clues to the watery history of the now dry world, but evidence of ancient microbial life.

 

New Social Mirror: APOD now available on mastodon

May 9 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1386 Treaty of Windsor between Portugal and England (oldest diplomatic alliance in the world still in force)

1865 President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance in the South is virtually at an end; this is the commonly accepted end date of the American Civil War

1901 The First Australian Parliament opens in Melbourne, though the first working session will not be until 21 May

1941 British intelligence at Bletchley Park breaks German spy codes after capturing Enigma machines aboard the weather ship Muenchen

1945 World War II: The Soviet Union marks Victory Day

1960 US becomes the first country to legalize the birth control pill

2018 Historic win in Malaysian general election by opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan led by 92 year old former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, defeating Prime Minister Najib Razak and ending 61 years of rule by the Barisan Nasional coalition

Today’s Historical Events

328 Athanasius is elected Patriarch bishop of Alexandria

1092 Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated in Lincoln, England

1386 Treaty of Windsor between Portugal and England (oldest diplomatic alliance in the world still in force)

1450 ‘Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) is assassinated

1460 Courtyard of the episcopal palace in Atrecht (akak Arras) has witch burnings

1502 Christopher Columbus leaves Spain on his 4th and final trip to the New World

1519 Austrian adel and burgerij in uprising against central government

1573 Polish Parliament selects Duke of Anjou as king

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1754 1st newspaper cartoon in America-divided snake “Join or Die”

1946 1st hour long entertainment TV show, “NBC’s Hour Glass” premieres

1958 “Vertigo”, American film noir psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, is released

1971 23rd Emmy Awards: All in the Family, Jack Klugman & Jean Stapleton win

1980 Slasher horror film “Friday the 13th” is released in US cinemas

1991 Italian actress Laura Antonelli found guilty of cocaine possession (conviction overturned 2006)

1992 Final episode of “Golden Girls” airs on NBC-TV

1992 Michelle McLean, 19, of Namibia, crowned 41st Miss Universe

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1868 Anton Bruckner‘s 1st Symphony in C, premieres

1944 Country singer Jimmie Davis becomes Governor of Louisiana

1950 Norman Dello Joio’s opera, “The Triumph of St. Joan”, premieres in Bronxville, New York

1962 The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone

1964 Peter & Gordon release “A World Without Love”

1965 The Beatles attend a Bob Dylan concert, at the Royal Albert Hall in London

1976 “So Long 174th St” closes at Harkness Theater NYC after 16 performances

1978 “Ain’t Misbehavin'” opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 1604 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1889 15th Kentucky Derby: Thomas Kiley aboard Spokane wins in 2:34.50

1901 Cleveland’s Earl Moore no-hits Chicago White Sox 9 inn but loses in 10th 4-2

1914 40th Kentucky Derby: John McCabe aboard Old Rosebud wins in 2:03.4

1927 52nd Preakness: Whitey Abel aboard Bostonian wins in 2:01.6

1930 55th Preakness: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:00.6

1931 56th Preakness: George Ellis aboard Mate wins in 1:59

1932 57th Preakness: Eugene James aboard Burgoo King wins in 1:59.8

1937 Reds beat Phillies 21-10 (Ernie Lombardi goes 6 for 6)

10 May 2022 Southern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions Digest

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

 For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

10 May 2022
03:00 pm GMT 12:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:19 Taurus 57
Moon:08 Virgo 29
Mercury:04 Gemini 51 Rx
Venus:09 Aries 06
Mars:19 Pisces 15
Jupiter:29 Pisces 56
Saturn:24 Aquarius 44
Uranus:15 Taurus 06
Neptune:24 Pisces 49
Pluto:28 Capricorn 34 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 40 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 52

Chiron:14 Aries 30
Ceres:28 Gemini 06
Pallas:04 Taurus 30
Juno:06 Pisces 48
Vesta:25 Aquarius 42

Eris:24 Aries 37

Fire:3
Earth:7
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:7
Mutable:7

Southern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

10 May 2022
10:00 am GMT 2:00 PM SAST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:19 Taurus 44
Moon:05 Virgo 50
Mercury:04 Gemini 51
Venus:08 Aries 52
Mars:19 Pisces 06
Jupiter:29 Pisces 53
Saturn:24 Aquarius 43
Uranus:15 Taurus 05
Neptune:24 Pisces 49
Pluto:28 Capricorn 34 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 41 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 50

Chiron:14 Aries 29
Ceres:28 Gemini 01
Pallas:04 Taurus 25
Juno:06 Pisces 44
Vesta:25 Aquarius 37

Eris:24 Aries 37

Fire:3
Earth:7
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:7
Mutable:7

Southwestern Hemisphere Same day at posting for 1200 PM AEST GMT 0200

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

May 10, 2022
02:00 am GMT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:19 Taurus 25
Moon:01 Virgo 38
Mercury:04 Gemini 51
Venus:08 Aries 29
Mars:18 Pisces 51
Jupiter:29 Pisces 50
Saturn:24 Aquarius 43
Uranus:15 Taurus 04
Neptune:24 Pisces 48
Pluto:28 Capricorn 34 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 42 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 48

Chiron:14 Aries 28
Ceres:27 Gemini 53
Pallas:04 Taurus 16
Juno:06 Pisces 37
Vesta:25 Aquarius 30

Eris:24 Aries 37

Fire:3
Earth:7
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:7
Mutable:7

May 8, 2022 Current Moon Phase Digest

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.

From Moongiant.com

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon’s surface. During this phase the Moon can be seen in the wester sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

Visit the May 2022 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on May 8 has an illumination of 45%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On May 8 the Moon is 6.92 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 45%
Moon Age: 6.92 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 400,367.49 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,015,001.90 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

Spell for Today – Printable

May 8 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1660 English parliament declares Charles Stuart to be King Charles II of England

1835 1st installment of Hans Christian Andersen “Fairy Tales” published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark

1895 China cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty of Shimonoseki

1902 Mount Pelée on the French overseas island of Martinique erupts, wiping out the city of Saint-Pierre, killing 30,000 and leaving only two survivors

1945 V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender

1980 World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated

2007 A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister

Today’s Historical Events

535 John II’s reign as Catholic Pope ends

589 Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo

615 St Boniface IV’s reign as Catholic Pope ends

685 St Benedict II’s as Catholic Pope ends after 11 months with his death

1254 University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hispanic.

1348 Ship from Bordeaux carrying the plague, lands in Melcombe Regis (now Weymouth), Dorset. The beginning of the Terrible Pestilence (Black Death) in England.

1360 Treaty of Brétigny signed by English & French, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War

1450 Jack Cade’s Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt begins against King Henry VI and they march towards London

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1912 Film and television production and distribution studio Paramount Pictures is founded

1952 5th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): “La Ronde” Best Film

1953 WIPB TV channel 49 in Muncie, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting

1958 Classic Hammer horror film “Dracula” film starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire alongside Peter Cushing, directed by Terence Fisher released

1963 1st James Bond film, “Dr. No”, starring Sean Connery, premieres in US

1970 Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, “Let It Be”, in conjunction with the film of the same name

1978 ABC TV airs “Stars Salute Israel at 30”

1993 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Phil Ware

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1823 “Home! Sweet Home!” by John Howard Payne is 1st sung in London

1924 Arthur Honegger‘s orchestral tribute to steam locomotives “Pacifica 231” premieres

1952 Revival of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin’s musical “Of Thee I Sing” opens at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC; runs for 72 performances

1952 Revival of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s musical “Shuffle Along” opens at Broadway Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances

1960 1st performance of Ferde Grofé’s “San Francisco Suite”, with Grofé conducting, in San Francisco

1962 Stephen Sondheim‘s musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” starring Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford, and directed by George Abbott, opens at Alvin Theater, NYC; runs for 965 performances, and wins 6 Tony Awards

1971 Courtney, Courtney, and Link’s musical “Earl of Ruston” closes at Billy Rose Theater, NYC, after 5 performances

1976 Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner’s musical “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” closes at Mark Hellinger, NYC, after 7 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1878 1st unassisted triple play in organized baseball, by Paul Hines

1896 Yorkshire Cricket all out for 887 against Warwickshire

1897 22nd Preakness: T. Thorpe aboard Paul Kauvar wins in 1:51¼

1906 Philadelphia A’s pitcher Chief Benders plays outfield & hits 2 HRs

1907 Boston’s Big Jeff Pfeffer no-hits Cincinnati Reds, 6-0

1907 Canadian Tommy Burns retains his world heavyweight boxing title after beating “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien on points in 20 rounds in Los Angeles, California

1909 American Albert Raines runs world record marathon (2:46:04.6) in NYC

1909 British runner Henry Barrett runs world record marathon (2:42:31) in the Polytechnic Marathon in London

May 9, 2022 Southern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions Digest

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

 For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

9 May 2022
03:00 pm GMT 12:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Taurus 59
Moon:25 Leo 54
Mercury:04 Gemini 50
Venus:07 Aries 57
Mars:18 Pisces 30
Jupiter:29 Pisces 44
Saturn:24 Aquarius 41
Uranus:15 Taurus 03
Neptune:24 Pisces 48
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 43 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 45

Chiron:14 Aries 27
Ceres:27 Gemini 42
Pallas:04 Taurus 04
Juno:06 Pisces 28
Vesta:25 Aquarius 21

Eris:24 Aries 36

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

Southern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

9 May 2022
10:00 am GMT 12:00 PM SAST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Taurus 46
Moon:23 Leo 20
Mercury:04 Gemini 49
Venus:07 Aries 43
Mars:18 Pisces 21
Jupiter:29 Pisces 42
Saturn:24 Aquarius 41
Uranus:15 Taurus 02
Neptune:24 Pisces 47
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 44 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 43

Chiron:14 Aries 26
Ceres:27 Gemini 37
Pallas:03 Taurus 58
Juno:06 Pisces 24
Vesta:25 Aquarius 17

Eris:24 Aries 36

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

9 May 2022
02:00 am GMT 12:00 PM AEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Taurus 27
Moon:19 Leo 14
Mercury:04 Gemini 46
Venus:07 Aries 20
Mars:18 Pisces 06
Jupiter:29 Pisces 38
Saturn:24 Aquarius 40
Uranus:15 Taurus 01
Neptune:24 Pisces 47
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 45 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 41

Chiron:14 Aries 25
Ceres:27 Gemini 29
Pallas:03 Taurus 49
Juno:06 Pisces 18
Vesta:25 Aquarius 10

Eris:24 Aries 36

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

May 7, 2022 Current Moon Phase Digest

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.

From Moongiant.com

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon’s surface. During this phase the Moon can be seen in the wester sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

Visit the May 2022 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on May 7 has an illumination of 36%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On May 7 the Moon is 6.02 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 36%
Moon Age: 6.02 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 402,997.90 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,979,668.32 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

May 7 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 May 7

Firefall by Moonlight

Image Credit & Copyright: Tara Mostofi

Explanation: On certain dates in February, an elusive firefall can be spotted at sunset in Yosemite National Park, when water flows, the weather cooperates and the direction to the setting Sun is just right. Often photographed from vantage points below, at the right moment the park’s seasonal Horsetail Fall is isolated in the shadows of the steep walls of El Capitan. Then, still illuminated with rays of reddened sunlight the waterfall briefly takes on a dramatic, fiery appearance. But a Horsetail firefall can be photographed by moonlight too. Even more elusive by moonlight, the firefall effect can also be seen when a bright Moon sets at the right direction along the western horizon. And skies were clear enough for this well-planned imaging of an ephemeral Horsetail firefall, lit by a bright gibbous Moon setting in the early morning hours of April 15.

May 7 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1429 English siege of Orleans broken by Joan of Arc and the French army

1867 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel Patents Dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material

1912 Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories, after established by Joseph Pulitzer

1915 RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off the southern coast of Ireland; 1198 lives lost

1939 Germany and Italy announce an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis

1945 World War II: Unconditional German surrender to the Allies signed by General Alfred Jodl at Rheims

1952 The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by G

eoffrey Dummer

2017 Emmanuel Macron wins France’s presidential election defeating Marine Le Pen

Today’s Historical Events

558 In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders the dome rebuilt.

1274 2nd Council of Lyons (14th ecumenical council) opens, convened by Pope Gregory X

1355 1,200 Jews of Toledo, Spain killed by Count Henry of Trastamara

1416 Monk Nicolaas Serrurier arrested because of heresy at Tournay

1429 English siege of Orleans broken by Joan of Arc and the French army

1579 Congress of Cologne forms in Netherlands

1624 Admiral Hermites conquering fleet reaches Callao the Lima, Peru

1638 Cornelis S Goyer takes possession of Mauritius (uninhabited)

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1947 “Kraft Television Theater” premieres on NBC

1965 WAOW TV channel 9 in Wausau, WI (ABC) begins broadcasting

1987 Diane Chambers’ (Shelley Long) final episode on TV comedy “Cheers”

1996 Comedian Martin Lawrence suffers a nervous breakdown

1997 Science fiction film “The Fifth Element” written and directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich is released. Then the most expensive European film ever made.

2006 52nd British Academy Television Awards: “Help” Best Comedy, “Doctor Who” Best Drama

2011 “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, directed by Rob Marshall, starring Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz, premieres in – opening weekend makes $350.6m

2017 MTV becomes 1st major awards show to adopt gender-neutral categories – Emma Watson best film actor, Millie Bobby Brown best TV actor

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1824 Ludwig van Beethoven‘s 9th (Choral) Symphony, often regarded as his greatest work, premieres in Vienna

1888 Édouard Lalo’s opera “Le roi d’Ys” premieres in Paris

1941 Glenn Miller records “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA, it becomes 1st record to be designated “gold”

1953 Cole Porter‘s musical “Can-Can” opens at the Shubert Theatre, NYC; runs for 892 performances

1960 Webster and Fain’s musical “Christine”, based on Hilda Wernher’s novel “My Indian Family”, closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 12 performances

1960 Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical “Flower Drum Song” closes at St James Theater. NYC, after 602 performances and 1 Tony Award

1960 Musical review “From A to Z” closes at Plymouth Theater, NYC, after 21 performances

1961 “Young Abe Lincoln” closes at Eugene O’Neill NYC after 27 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1910 35th Preakness: R Estep aboard Layminster wins in 1:40.6

1917 In a testament to his pitching ability, future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth leads Boston Red Sox to a 1-0 victory against Washington Senators legend Walter Johnson

1921 47th Kentucky Derby: Charles Thompson on Behave Yourself wins 2:04.2

1922 Belgian soccer team defeats Netherlands: 1-2

1922 NY Giant Jesse Barnes no-hits Phillies, 2-0

1925 Phillies have their 8th game postponed in a row

1925 MBA Pittsburgh Pirate shortstop Glenn Wright makes an unassisted triple play

1932 58th Kentucky Derby: Eugene James aboard Burgoo King wins in 2:05.2

Making Room for all Genders in Paganism

Making Room for all Genders in Paganism

Author: Maggi Setti

In this age of women’s liberation, we still find a deep wound surrounding gender differences in our culture. How is gender expressed differently in the pagan community? Is there still a use for gender specific ritual spaces? Many of these questions are ongoing with many answers, but it is high time that we see these issues with new eyes as we approach a second generation of Pagan feminists, both male, female, and spectrum of gender identification in between.

At a public class I taught a couple weeks ago on developing energetic and psychic skills, I was surprised that that there was an equal number of male and female attendants. For Wicca, this is a rarity, as you will find the vast majority of Wiccans are women. The easy explanation for this is that women are more hurt by the patriarchal approach of mainstream religions and need the feminine divine more acutely than men.

In a personal conversation, a male Wiccan offered the idea that there are more women than men interested and involved in spirituality and religion in general. He used the example that most church functions, other than the priesthood itself, are run by women and often women are dragging their husbands to church rather than the men being self-motivated in attending. I think that if this premise is true, that women as a group are more spiritually focused than men in mainstream religions as well as Pagan denominations. We can infer that this phenomenon comes from at least two influences as follows.

1. Men are discouraged from being in touch with their soft emotions. It’s hard to be in touch with the greater picture and how one fits in to that greater whole, and at the same time, this suppresses much of one’s internal reality as well.
2. Much of adherence to the Christian religion, as it is currently expressed, depends on guilt and fear. There is more room for men to assert themselves, their ideas, opinions and what they want on other people in their lives. While this may be lopsided, it also allows for a greater development on one’s power and ego especially for men as a group more so than women. Women are more likely to struggle with fear and guilt, and feeling powerless, are therefore more susceptible to the disempowerment and subversion of the religions tenants.

Both of my points above would support that it is not the nature of women or men that make women more spiritually focused, but another example of how our culture is unhealthy and imbalanced. Unfortunately how the pagan community during the past 40 years has approached this is by creating overblown false egos for women and small-scale fiefdoms that breed infighting, confusion, and mistrust. I saw this in Sunday school as a kid, in the choir in high school, and still see it.

Women’s empowerment and healing the gap between the genders is not about the segregation of the sexes anymore though. It’s about building healthy egos, empowerment, self-esteem and ending the war of the sexes. Women’s only spaces were intended to be safe havens in which women felt supported rather than competing with other women. These spaces were meant as healing spaces to use ritual as a forum to connect with the feminine divine within each woman there, as well as the feminine divine of the group, the culture, and the Great Goddess Herself. Therefore these spaces are not about reliving the pain and hurt of what has been wrong with the system, but to encourage alchemical change within individuals so that they can build new paradigms of how they approach and express gender, but power, sexuality, self-expression, and self-worth.

All of this is about self-love and acceptance. Not acceptance that makes excuses for maladaptive behavior that is permissive our faults, but rather an acceptance to be gentle with ourselves so that we can motivate change, growth, and healing. “I love my body as uniquely my own. I am not flawed. I am as I should be.” Affirmations such as these help to let go of the cultural myth of the perfect feminine, youthful woman that does not exist.

Please note that I am referencing cultural expectations. Our culture oversimplifies definitions of qualities into white and black categories. If you can’t label someone, force him or her to go into a category until you are comfortable that you have him or her pegged. Much of the path of the witch embraces the grays of twilight and dawn and the myriad of shades of gray within continuum of many things. Where we fall on the continuum for many things including how we express gender, sexuality, our relationships, our connection to the Gods, will be different for all of us.

As Pagans we embrace our differences and still are able to work together, to manifest a new humanity. We need to be very cognizant of embracing each individual’s true expression of himself or herself: whether it be the gender labels they use for themselves in this case, or other expressions of self.

We can’t just look at women though. Women are not the only ones that have suffered from the imbalance of this “war of the sexes.” At Fall Frolic in Milford PA, I’ll be teaching a women’s empowerment class and leading a women’s only ritual. I’ve suggested to the organizers of Fall Frolic that we also run a men’s ritual at the same time. In fact, these rituals can do real magick upon the higher planes to interact in a spiritually fertilizing and polarizing way in order to heal the gender schism of the group mind of humanity. In my opinion, this magickal healing is the next step for building bridges for healthy intragender relationships.

How do we interest men in a way that retains their sense of strength, self-worth, respect, and power? How do we incorporate men into a religion that includes sparkly purple fairy glitter and witch Barbie? (Not my personal taste, but still an active stereotype) . How do we rebuild the archetype of the warrior for both men and women, working, fighting for a cause, and protecting their tribe?

I hope that there are Pagan men interested and willing to forge the way for answering these questions. We need all genders working together and creating new ways of relating to one another so that we can create a balanced future for our religion, our children, and our culture.

A Laugh for Today

Wishing you a sizzling Saturday!

May 8, 2022 Southern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions Digest

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

 For Your Local Time and Date 

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

8 May 2022
03:00 pm GMT 12:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Taurus 01
Moon:13 Leo 38
Mercury:04 Gemini 43
Venus:06 Aries 48
Mars:17 Pisces 45
Jupiter:29 Pisces 32
Saturn:24 Aquarius 39
Uranus:14 Taurus 59
Neptune:24 Pisces 46
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 46 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 38

Chiron:14 Aries 24
Ceres:27 Gemini 18
Pallas:03 Taurus 37
Juno:06 Pisces 09
Vesta:25 Aquarius 00

Eris:24 Aries 36

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

Southern Hemisphere Same day at posting for 1200 SAST GMT 1000

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

8 May 08, 2022
10:00 am GMT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:17 Taurus 48
Moon:11 Leo 06
Mercury:04 Gemini 41
Venus:06 Aries 34
Mars:17 Pisces 35
Jupiter:29 Pisces 30
Saturn:24 Aquarius 38
Uranus:14 Taurus 58
Neptune:24 Pisces 46
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 47 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 37

Chiron:14 Aries 23
Ceres:27 Gemini 13
Pallas:03 Taurus 32
Juno:06 Pisces 05
Vesta:24 Aquarius 56

Eris:24 Aries 36

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

8 May 2022
02:00 am GMT 12:00 PM AEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:17 Taurus 29
Moon:07 Leo 05
Mercury:04 Gemini 37
Venus:06 Aries 11
Mars:17 Pisces 20
Jupiter:29 Pisces 26
Saturn:24 Aquarius 37
Uranus:14 Taurus 57
Neptune:24 Pisces 45
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 48 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 35

Chiron:14 Aries 22
Ceres:27 Gemini 05
Pallas:03 Taurus 23
Juno:05 Pisces 58
Vesta:24 Aquarius 49

Eris:24 Aries 36

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

May 6, 2022 Current Moon Phase Digest

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.

From Moongiant.com

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon’s surface. During this phase the Moon can be seen in the wester sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

Visit the May 2022 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on May 6 has an illumination of 27%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On May 6 the Moon is 5.12 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 27%
Moon Age: 5.12 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 404,714.30 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,943,925.09 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

May 6 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 May 6

NGC 3572 and the Southern Tadpoles

Image Credit & Copyright: Carlos Taylor

Explanation: This cosmic skyscape features glowing gas and dark dust clouds along side the young stars of NGC 3572. A beautiful emission nebula and star cluster it sails far southern skies within the nautical constellation Carina. Stars from NGC 3572 are toward top center in the telescopic frame that would measure about 100 light-years across at the cluster’s estimated distance of 9,000 light-years. The visible interstellar gas and dust is part of the star cluster’s natal molecular cloud. Dense streamers of material within the nebula, eroded by stellar winds and radiation, clearly trail away from the energetic young stars. They are likely sites of ongoing star formation with shapes reminiscent of the Tadpoles of IC 410 better known to northern skygazers. In the coming tens to hundreds of millions of years, gas and stars in the cluster will be dispersed though, by gravitational tides and by violent supernova explosions that end the short lives of the massive cluster stars.

May 6 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1626 Dutch colonist Peter Minuit organizes the purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 guilders worth of goods, believed to have been Canarsee Indians of the Lenape

1840 World’s first adhesive postage stamp, the “Penny Black“, is first used in Great Britain

1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris opens with the recently completed Eiffel Tower serving as the entrance arch

1937 German airship Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 on board and 1 on the ground

1941 Joseph Stalin becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, replacing his foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov

Today’s Historical Events

878 Battle of Edington: Alfred the Great and his West Saxon army defeat Viking army of Guthrum the Old [earliest possible date]

1312 Pope Clement V closes Council of Vienna

1432 Renaissance masterpiece The Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck is consecrated at St Bravo’s Cathedral, Belgium, commissioned by wealthy merchants

1527 Spanish and German Imperial troops sack Rome, ending the Renaissance

1529 Battle at Gogra: Mughal Emperor Babur beats Afghans and Bengals

1541 King Henry VIII orders a bible in English be placed in every church in England

1542 Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, then capital of Portuguese India

1598 Archduke Albrecht & Isabella become rulers of the Southern Netherlands

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1935 KTM-AM in Los Angeles California changes call letters to KEHE (now KABC)

1941 At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show

1956 WRCB TV channel 3 in Chattanooga, TN (NBC) begins broadcasting

1957 Last broadcast of “I Love Lucy” on CBS-TV

1977 “Beatles at Hollywood Bowl” released in UK

1990 Tom Cruise is ticketed for careless operation of a vehicle in South Carolina

1994 Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait sets fire to the couch on The Tonight Show

1995 Classic Sports Network begins on cable TV

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1948 Revival of Jerome Kerns and Clifford Grey’s rags-to-riches musical “Sally” opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC; runs for 36 performances

1950 “Great to Be Alive” closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 52 performances

1966 The Rolling Stones release “Paint it Black” in the US

1974 Stolen “Guitar Player” painting by Jan Vermeer found in London

1974 American composer Roger Sessions receives special Pulitzer Prize for his life’s work in music

1981 “Inacent Black” opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 14 performances

1989 34th Eurovision Song Contest: Riva for Yugoslavia wins singing “Rock Me” in Lausanne

1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Bee Gees; Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills and Nash; The Jackson Five; Joni Mitchell; Parliament-Funkadelic; The (Young) Rascals; Mahalia Jackson; Bill Monroe; and Syd Nathan

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1733 First international boxing match: Local fighter Bob Whittaker beats “The Venetian Gondolier”, Tito di Carni at James Figg’s academy amphitheatre in Marylebone, London

1895 21st Kentucky Derby: James “Soup” Perkins aboard Halma wins last KD run over a distance of 1.5 miles (2.4km)

1896 22nd Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Ben Brush wins first Derby held at the current distance of 1.25 miles (2.0km)

1903 Chicago White Sox commit 11 errors against Detroit Tigers but win 10-9 at South Side Park. Chicago

1907 33rd Kentucky Derby: In muddy conditions and against a reduced field Andy Minder aboard Pink Star wins in a slow 2:12.6

1915 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth hits his first MLB home run; pitches 12 frames in Boston Red Sox 4-3 extra innings loss to New York Yankees

1917 St Louis Browns pitcher Bob Groom no-hits Chicago White Sox, 3-0 at Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis

1921 Teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League merge to form the American Soccer League (ASL); collapses 1933

7 May 2022 Southern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions Digest

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

 For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

7 May 2022
03:00 pm GMT 12:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:17 Taurus 02
Moon:01 Leo 35
Mercury:04 Gemini 30
Venus:05 Aries 40
Mars:17 Pisces 00
Jupiter:29 Pisces 20
Saturn:24 Aquarius 36
Uranus:14 Taurus 56
Neptune:24 Pisces 44
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 50 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 31

Chiron:14 Aries 21
Ceres:26 Gemini 54
Pallas:03 Taurus 11
Juno:05 Pisces 49
Vesta:24 Aquarius 39

Eris:24 Aries 35

Fire:4
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:5
Cardinal:5
Fixed:8
Mutable:6

 

Southern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

7 May 2022
10:00 am GMT 12:00 PM SAST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:16 Taurus 50
Moon:29 Cancer 06
Mercury:04 Gemini 27
Venus:05 Aries 25
Mars:16 Pisces 50
Jupiter:29 Pisces 18
Saturn:24 Aquarius 36
Uranus:14 Taurus 55
Neptune:24 Pisces 44
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 32
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 50 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 30

Chiron:14 Aries 20
Ceres:26 Gemini 49
Pallas:03 Taurus 05
Juno:05 Pisces 45
Vesta:24 Aquarius 35

Eris:24 Aries 35

Fire:3
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:6
Cardinal:6
Fixed:7
Mutable:6

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

7 May 2022
02:00 am GMT 12:00 PM AEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:16 Taurus 31
Moon:25 Cancer 07
Mercury:04 Gemini 22
Venus:05 Aries 02
Mars:16 Pisces 35
Jupiter:29 Pisces 14
Saturn:24 Aquarius 35
Uranus:14 Taurus 54
Neptune:24 Pisces 44
Pluto:28 Capricorn 35 Rx

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 31
Mean Lunar Node:22 Taurus 51 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):02 Cancer 28

Chiron:14 Aries 19
Ceres:26 Gemini 41
Pallas:02 Taurus 56
Juno:05 Pisces 38
Vesta:24 Aquarius 28

Eris:24 Aries 35

Fire:3
Earth:6
Air:4
Water:6
Cardinal:6
Fixed:7
Mutable:6

A Thought for Today

A Voodoo quote.

Until we meet again dear sisters, brothers, and honored guests may you blessed be.

Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Thursday

 

Thursday (Thor’s day)

Planet: Jupiter

Colors: Purple, Deep Blue

Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Tin

Aroma: Melissa, Clove, Oakmoss, Jupiter Oil, Cinnamon, Musk, Nutmeg, and Sage

Herb: Cinquefoil Ruled by the planet Jupiter and dedicated to Thor, god of thunder and agricultural work. His parallels in various European Traditions include Zeus, Taranis, Perun, and Perkunas.

Magical aspects: controlled optimism, energetic growth, physical well-being, material success, expansion, money/wealth, prosperity, leadership, and generosity.

Thursday is the day of Jupiter, the largest of the planets and said to be the most powerful. Spellcasters would be wise to use this day for attempting wealth, success and prosperity spells.

Thursday is also associated (in Greek mythology) to Thor – Thor’s day – and some even say that Jupiter and Thor are one in the same. Both are strong and powerful, yet wise and just. Try a small prayer to Jupiter before commencing any ritual on Thursday as a sign of respect. This is the proper day of the week to perform spells and rituals involving luck, happiness, health, legal matters, male fertility, treasure, wealth, honour, riches, clothing, money, desires, business, group pursuits, joy, laughter, and expansion.