Tag: Pagan Knowledge

July 31 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 July 31

Starburst Galaxy M94 from Hubble

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Explanation: Why does this galaxy have a ring of bright blue stars? Beautiful island universe Messier 94 lies a mere 15 million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici). A popular target for Earth-based astronomers, the face-on spiral galaxy is about 30,000 light-years across, with spiral arms sweeping through the outskirts of its broad disk. But this Hubble Space Telescope field of view spans about 7,000 light-years across M94‘s central region. The featured close-up highlights the galaxy’s compact, bright nucleus, prominent inner dust lanes, and the remarkable bluish ring of young massive stars. The ring stars are all likely less than 10 million years old, indicating that M94 is a starburst galaxy that is experiencing an epoch of rapid star formation from inspiraling gas. The circular ripple of blue stars is likely a wave propagating outward, having been triggered by the gravity and rotation of a oval matter distributions. Because M94 is relatively nearby, astronomers can better explore details of its starburst ring.

July 31 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

30 BC Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves minor victory over Octavian, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to Octavian’s invasion of Egypt

1620 Pilgrim Fathers depart Leiden, Netherlands for England on their way to America

1917 World War I: Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins, goes on to cause approximately 500,000 casualties

1961 Israel welcomes its one millionth immigrant

2007 Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end

Today’s Historical Events

30 BC Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves minor victory over Octavian, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to Octavian’s invasion of Egypt

432 St Sixtus III begins his reign as Catholic Pope

768 [Philip] begins and ends his reign as Catholic Pope

781 The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781)

1291 Egyptian Mamelukken occupies Akko, crusaders driven out of Palestine

1415 The Southampton plot to assassinate English king Henry V and put Edmund Mortimer on the throne is uncovered

1423 Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Cravant – the French army is defeated by the English on the banks of the river Yonne in Burgundy

  • 1451 Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1912 US government prohibits movies and photos of prize fights (censorship)

1955 KRNT (now KCCI) TV channel 8 in Des Moines, Iowa (CBS) 1st broadcast

1955 WHIS (now WVVA) TV channel 6 in Bluefield, West Virginia (NBC) 1st broadcast

1960 KSOO (now KSFY) TV channel 13 in Sioux Falls, SD (NBC) 1st broadcast

1969 KWIH TV channel 44 in Winona, MN (IND) begins broadcasting

1970 Chet Huntley retires from NBC, ends “Huntley-Brinkley Report”

1974 6th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at El Cortez Hotel

1984 Leeza Gibbon’s 1st appearance on Entertainment Tonight

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1786 “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect” by Robert Burns is published by John Wilson in Kilmarnock, Scotland

1948 “Brigadoon” closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 581 performances

1959 Cliff Richard and the Shadows have their 1st British No. 1 single with “Living’ Doll” (biggest British single of 1959)

1966 Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon‘s anti-Jesus remark

1967 Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end 1 month jail sentence

1968 The Beatles close Apple Boutique in London, giving clothes away for free

1979 “But Never Jam Today” opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 7 performances

1980 John Phillips of Mamas and Papas is arrested on drug charges

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1910 Tour de France: Octave Lapize of France wins by just 4 points from Team Alcyon teammate François Faber of Luxembourg

1928 Halina Konopacka of Poland hurls discus world record 39.62m to win first gold medal in women’s Olympic athletics at the Amsterdam Games; American Lillian Copeland and Ruth Sveberg of Sweden take minor medals

1928 In the first women’s Olympic track event, American sprinter Elizabeth Robinson equals her own world record 12.2s to win 100m gold medal in Amsterdam; Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld & Ethel Smith dead-heat (12.3s)

1930 NY Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig drives in 8 runs with a grand slam and 2 doubles in a 14-13 win over the rival Boston Red Sox

1932 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Paris, France: Home team wins 6th straight title as Jean Borotra beats American Wilmer Allison 1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 for unassailable 3-1 lead; ends 3-2

1932 Cleveland Indians christen their new home, Municipal Stadium before more than 76,000 fans; lose opener, 1-0 to the Philadelphia A’s

1932 26th Tour de France: French cyclist André Leducq wins after tallying 6 stage victories; his second Tour triumph (1930)

1934 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon: Fred Perry beats American Frank Shields 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 15-13 to give Great Britain unassailable 3-1 lead to retain title; ends 4-1

July 30 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 July 30

The Eagle Rises

Image Credit: Apollo 11, NASA – Stereo Image Copyright: John Kaufmann (ALSJ)

Explanation: Get out your red/blue glasses and check out this stereo view from lunar orbit. The 3D anaglyph was created from two photographs (AS11-44-6633, AS11-44-6634) taken by astronaut Michael Collins during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. It features the lunar module ascent stage, dubbed The Eagle, rising to meet the command module in lunar orbit on July 21. Aboard the ascent stage are Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first to walk on the Moon. The smooth, dark area on the lunar surface is Mare Smythii located just below the equator on the extreme eastern edge of the Moon’s near side. Poised beyond the lunar horizon is our fair planet Earth.

July 30 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1178 Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor, crowned King of Burgundy

1419 First defenestration of Prague: anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, storm Prague town hall and throw the judge, mayor and several city council members out the windows. They die in the fall or killed by crowd outside.

1619 House of Burgesses Virginia forms, 1st elective American governing body

1863 Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah

1869 The Charles, considered the world’s first “oil tanker”, departs from the United States headed for Europe with a bulk capacity of 7,000 barrels of oil

1935 1st Penguin book is published, starting the paperback revolution

1937 Russian Politburo issues NKVD Order no. 00447, to repress former kulak and anti-soviets, 269,100 to be arrested, 76,000 to be shot. Part of the Great Purge.

Today’s Historical Events

101 BC Battle of Vercellae: Roman army under Gaius Marius defeats the Cimbri in Cisalpine Gaul, ending the Celto-Germanic threat on Italy’s border with over 100,000 Cimbri killed

579 Benedict I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

657 St Vitalian begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I

762 City of Baghdad founded by abbasid caliph Al-Mansur, just north of ancient Baghdad

1178 Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor, crowned King of Burgundy

1419 First defenestration of Prague: anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, storm Prague town hall and throw the judge, mayor and several city council members out the windows. They die in the fall or killed by crowd outside.

1537 Resistant of Bomy: French Dutch cease fire

1601 Spanish garrison of Rhine birch surrenders to Earl Mauritius

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1930 1st broadcast of “Death Valley Days” on NBC-radio

1948 Professional wrestling premieres on prime-time network TV (DuMont)

1953 Rikidōzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance

1969 Barbra Streisand opens for Liberace at International Hotel, Las Vegas

1969 KAEC TV channel 19 in Lufkin, Texas (ABC) begins broadcasting

1975 7th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at El Cortez Hotel

1976 Future TV personality (‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’) and transgender figure, Bruce Jenner (now Caitlin Jenner) sets WR 8,618 points to win decathlon gold at Montreal Olympics

1977 “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” by Andy Gibb reaches number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1792 500 Marseillaisian men sing France’s national anthem for 1st time

1824 Gioachino Rossini becomes manager of Theatre Italian, Paris

1954 Elvis Presley joins the Memphis Federation of Musicians, Local 71

1965 Charles Ives‘ “From the Steeples & the Mountains” premieres

1965 Duke Ellington‘s “Golden Brown & the Green Apple” premieres

1966 Beatles’ “Yesterday… & Today” album goes #1 & stays #1 for 5 weeks

1971 George Harrison releases single “Bangladesh”

1972 “Ain’t Supposed to Die Death” closes at Barrymore NYC after 325 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1844 1st US yacht club – NY Yacht Club organized by John Cox Stevens and 8 friends aboard the Gimcrack

1874 1st baseball teams to play outside US, Boston-Philadelphia in British Isles

1884 Nonpareil Dempsey [John Edward Kelly] fights George Fulljames, possibly the 1st middleweight fight with boxing gloves

1905 3rd Tour de France won by Louis Trousselier of France

1908 Around the World Automobile Race ends in Paris

1909 John Heyder becomes president of baseball’s National League

1911 9th Tour de France won by Gustave Garrigou of France

1930 1st FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay: Uruguay beats Argentina, 4-2 in the inaugural event

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Saturday

 

Magickal Intentions: Spirit Communications, Meditation, Psychic Attack or Defense, Locating Lost Things and Missing Persons, Building, Life, Doctrine, Protection, Knowledge, Authority, Limitations, Boundaries, Time and Death

Incense: Black Poppy Seed and Myrrh

Planet: Saturn

Sign: Capricorn and Aquarius

Angel: Cassel

Colors: Black, Grey and Indigo

Herbs/Plants: Myrrh, Moss, Hemlock, Wolfsbane, Coltsfoot, Nightshade and Fir

Stones: Jet, Smokey Quartz, Amethyst, Black Onyx, Snowflake Obsidian, Lava, Pumice

Oil: (Saturn) Cypress, Mimosa, Myrrh, Patchouli

Saturn lends its energies to the last day of the week. Because Saturn is the planet of karma, this day is an excellent time for spellwork involving reincarnation, karmic lessons, the Mysteries, wisdom, and long-term projects.

It is also a good time to being efforts that deal with the elderly, death, or the eradication of pests and disease.

Pagan and Magickal Terms and Definitions

Today’s Word is

Ankh

From moonlitpriestess.com

An ancient Egyptian symbol resembling a cross with a loop at the top. It symbolizes life and cosmic knowledge. Most Egyptian Gods and Goddess are shown carrying one. Also known as the crux ansata, the Ankh is used in modern craft for fertility and health.

Pagan and Magickal Terms and Definitions

Today’s Word is

Solitaire or Solitary

From moonlitpriestess.com

A witch who practices alone and is not or no longer associated with a specific Tradition, coven, or group.

July 29 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 July 29

SOFIA’s Southern Lights

Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Griffin (Otago Museum)

Explanation: SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a large reflecting telescope into the stratosphere. The ability of the airborne facility to climb above about 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere has allowed researchers to observe from almost anywhere over the planet. On a science mission flying deep into the southern auroral oval, astronomer Ian Griffin, director of New Zealand’s Otago Museum, captured this view from the observatory’s south facing starboard side on July 17. Bright star Canopus shines in the southern night above curtains of aurora australis, or southern lights. The plane was flying far south of New Zealand at the time at roughly 62 degrees southern latitude. Unfortunately, after a landing at Christchurch severe weather damaged SOFIA requiring repairs and the cancellation of the remainder of its final southern hemisphere deployment.

July 29 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1588 The Battle of Gravelines – Spanish Armada damaged and scattered by the English fleet

1609 Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs at Ticonderoga, New York setting the stage for French-Iroquois conflicts for the next 150 years

1848 Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt – an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule put down by police

1905 US Secretary of War William Howard Taft makes secret agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Katsura agreeing to Japanese free rein in Korea in return for non-interference with the US in the Philippines

1921 Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party

1949 Moscow ends the blockade of West Berlin

Today’s Historical Events

362 Emperor Julianus of Constantinople’s “School Edict” prohibited Christian teachers from using pagan literature which were standard texts for classical education at the time

626 Avars under khagan Bajan begin siege of Constantinople (fails, preserving the eastern Roman empire)

904 Thessalonica is sacked by Saracen pirates led by renegade Leo of Tripoli

1014 Battle of Strumitsa-valley: Byzantine destroys Bulgarian armies

1030 Battle of Stiklestad – Norwegian King Olaf II killed trying to reclaim the throne. One of the most famous Norwegian battles

1179 Lando Sittino proclaimed (anti-)pope Innocent III

1221 Emperor Go-Horikawa aged only 10 years old ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan

1279 Five emissaries dispatched by Kublai Khan from the Mongol Yuan dynasty are beheaded by Japan

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1928 Test footage first created for Walt Disney‘s “Steamboat Willie” with Mickey Mouse

1954 Publication of “Fellowship of the Ring” 1st volume of “Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien by George Allen and Unwin in London

1956 WCKT (now WSVN) TV channel 7 in Miami, Florida (IND) begins broadcasting

1957 Jack Paar‘s “The Tonight show” premieres on NBC

1965 Beatles movie “Help” premieres, Queen Elizabeth attends

1983 “Friday Night Videos” premieres on NBC TV

1988 South African government bans anti-apartheid film “Cry Freedom”

1992 Ray Sharkey, actor (Wiseguys), arrested for narcotic possession

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1961 Bob Dylan is injured in car accident

1966 Bob Dylan hurt in motorcycle accident near Woodstock, New York

1973 Led Zeppelin has more than $200,000 in cash stolen from a safety-deposit box at the New York Hilton

1980 David Bowie stars in dramatic stage play “The Elephant Man” at the Auditorium Theater in Denver, Colorado

1987 Ben & Jerry’s and Jerry Garcia agree on new flavor: Cherry Garcia

1992 “Chinese Coffee” closes at Circle in the Square Theater, NYC, after 18 performances

1994 American minister and anti-abortionist Paul Jennings Hill murders Dr. John Britton and Britton’s bodyguard, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Barrett, outside of an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida

2019 Record for longest run at the top of US singles chart made by country rap single “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X remixed with Billy Ray Cyrus, No. 1 for 17 weeks

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1751 1st international world title prize fight: Jack Stack of England, beats challenger M. Petit of France in 29 mins in England

1874 Major Walter Copton Wingfield patents a portable tennis court

1899 Southern California Golf Association forms

1906 4th Tour de France won by René Pottier of France

1908 St Louis Browns’ future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Waddell strikes out 16 Philadelphia A’s in 5-4 win against his previous team at Sportsman’s Park II, St. Louis

1911 Boston Red Sox Joe Wood no-hits St Louis Browns, 5-0

1915 Pirate Honus Wagner at 41, hits a grand slam HR

1921 Cleveland’s 125th anniversary celebration: Cy Young, 54, pitches 2 inn

July 28 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1794 French Revolutionary figure Maximilien robespierre and 22 other leaders of “the Terror” guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris

1914 Austria-Hungary decides against mediation and declares war on Serbia – first declaration of war of WWI

1917 Silent Parade organised by James Weldon Johnson of 10,000 African-Americans who march on 5th Ave in NYC to protest against lynching

1943 Operation Gomorrah: RAF bombing over Hamburg causes a firestorm that kills 42,600 German civilians

1976 Tangshan Earthquake, 8.2 in magnitude kills over 240,000 Northern China in the largest loss of life from an earthquake in the 20th century

2005 The Provisional Irish Republican Army call an end to their thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland

Today’s Historical Events

388 Battle at Aquileja: Emperor Theodosius beats emperor Magnus Maximis

754 Pope Stephen II, [III] makes Pippin de Korte, King of France

1148 Second Crusade: Crusaders abandon their siege of Damascus

1330 Battle of Velbuzd: Serbian forces defeats Bulgarian army

1434 Navigator Gil Eanes leaves Cape Bojador for Lisbon

1579 Cardinal Granvelle returns to Madrid

1586 Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe on return to England

1609 Admiral George Somers settles in Bermuda

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1932 “White Zombie” – 1st feature length zombie film directed by Victor Halperin and starring Bela Lugosi is released in the US

1951 Walt Disney‘s animated musical film “Alice In Wonderland” released

1954 “On the Waterfront”, directed by Elia Kazan starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1955)

1957 Jerry Lee Lewis makes his 1st TV appearance (Steve Allen Show)

1971 Dutch ends censorship of “Blue Movie”

2014 Linda Ronstadt receives the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony. [1]

2019 Meghan Duchess of Sussex, revealed as the first guest editor for UK Vogue in 103 years for its September 2019 issue

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1914 Foxtrot 1st danced at New Amsterdam Roof Garden, in NYC, by Harry Fox

1933 1st singing telegram delivered (to Rudy Vallee), NYC

1951 Cole Porter‘s musical “Kiss Me, Kate”, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ” The Taming of the Shrew”, closes at New Century Theater NYC after 1077 performances

1954 Ernest Bloch’s 4th string quartet premieres

1978 600,000 attend the “Summer Jam” rock festival at Watkins Glen, New York, at the time the largest ever audience at a pop festival

1989 Gloria Estefan releases her debut solo album “Cuts Both Ways”

1991 “Gypsy” closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 105 performances

1992 R&B singer Mary J. Blige releases her debut album “What’s the 411?”, with production by Puff Daddy

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1906 Yankees turn triple-play, beat Cleveland 6-4

1912 10th Tour de France won by Odile Defraye of Belgium

1928 IX Summer Olympic Games open in Amsterdam, Netherlands

1929 Chicago Cardinals become 1st NFL team to train out of state (Michigan)

1929 24th Davis Cup: France beats USA in Paris (3-2)

1929 23rd Tour de France won by Maurice De Waele of Belgium

1929 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Paris, France: Home team wins 3 straight titles as Henri Cochet beats American George Lott 6-1, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 for a 3-2 victory

1931 White Sox score 11 in 8th to beat Yankees 14-12

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Thursday

Planet: Jupiter
Element: Earth
Colors: Deep blue, purple green
Keywords: Expansion, Luck, Abundance, Protection, Stability, Joy, Pleasure, Employment, Leadership

Thursdays are perfect for spells for money and abundance. Anything that you are wanting to bring in more of will benefit from the expansive and abundant energy of Jupiter.

From APaganMess.com

Pagan and Magickal Terms and Definitions

Today’s Word is

Projective Hand

From moonlitpriestess.com

Dominant hand; generally used to send energy from the body in magick.

July 27 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1586 Walter Raleigh brings the 1st tobacco to England from Virginia

1689 Battle of Killicrankie: Jacobite Scottish Highlanders under Viscount Dundee defeat royalist force under General MacKay

1789 US Congress establishes Department of Foreign Affairs now referred to as the State Department

1866 transatlantic telegraph cable successfully in second attempt comes ashore at Heart’s Content, Newfoundland laid out by Isambard Kingdom Brunel‘s Great Eastern steamship (1,686 miles long)

1921 Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto

Today’s Historical Events

432 St Celestine I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

1214 1st battle of Bouvines – King Philip II of France vs Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV and King John of England; as a result John lost Normandy and his other possessions in France (hence his nickname John “Lackland”)

1230 Treaty of San Germano between Emperor Frederik II & Pope Gregory IX

1280 Sogen Mugaku, founder of Engakuji temple, arrives in Japan from China

1298 Albert (Albrecht) I, son of Rudolf of Habsburg, crowned King of the Germans

1360 Danish King Waldemar IV destroys Visby, Gotland

1377 First example of quarantine in Rugusa (now Dubroknik); city council passes law saying newcomers from plague areas must isolation for 30 days (later 40 days, quaranta in Italian)

1501 Nicolaus Copernicus formally installed as a canon of Frauenberg Cathedral

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1940 Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Tex Avery, Bob Givens (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in “Wild Hare”

1990 Zsa Zsa Gabor begins a 3 day jail sentence for slapping a police officer in Beverly Hills

1993 NBC TV awarded 1996 Olympic coverage for $456 million

1995 28th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center

2007 Two News helicopters from Phoenix, Arizona television stations KNXV and KTVK collide over Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix while covering a police chase; there were no survivors. Worst civil aviation incident in Phoenix history.

2018 CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves is accused of sexual misconduct in the “New Yorker” by journalist Ronan Farrow

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1940 Billboard magazine starts publishing bestseller charts

1957 St James’ Theatre in London closes

1977 John Lennon is granted a green card for permanent residence in US

1979 “Broadway Opry ’79” opens at St James Theater NYC for 6 performances

1982 Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s musical “Little Shop of Horrors” opens Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in NYC

1997 “Candide” closes at Gershwin Theater NYC after 103 performances

1997 “Victor/Victoria” closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 738 performances

2018 American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond gives a small thank-you concert to firefighters near his home in Colorado

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1913 11th Tour de France won by Philippe Thys of Belgium

1913 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon, England: Maurice McLoughlin beats Charles Dixon 8-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give US an unassailable 3-1 lead over the British Isles; US wins, 3-2

1914 Roda JC soccer team forms in Kerkrade

1919 13th Tour de France won by Firmin Lambot of Belgium

1920 Resolute beats Shamrock IV (England) in 14th running of America’s Cup

1920 14th Tour de France: Belgian rider Philippe Thys becomes first to win the race 3 times

1924 VIII Summer Olympic Games close in Paris, France

1927 Mel Ott, 18, hits his 1st league home run (inside the park)

July 27 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 July 27

Crepuscular Moon Rays over Denmark

Image Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov (astrorms)

Explanation: This moon made quite an entrance. Typically, a moonrise is quiet and serene. Taking a few minutes to fully peek above the horizon, Earth’s largest orbital companion can remain relatively obscure until it rises high in the nighttime sky. About a week ago, however, and despite being only half lit by the Sun, this rising moon put on a show — at least from this location. The reason was that, as seen from Limfjord in Nykøbing Mors, Denmark, the moon rose below scattered clouds near the horizon. The result, captured here in a single exposure, was that moonlight poured through gaps in the clouds to created what are called crepuscular rays. These rays can fan out dramatically across the sky when starting near the horizon, and can even appear to converge on the other side of the sky. Well behind our Moon, stars from our Milky Way galaxy dot the background, and our galaxy’s largest orbital companion — the Andromeda galaxy — can be found on the upper left.

 

Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator

Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence Digest for Tuesday – Printable

Pagan and Magickal Terms and Definitions

Today’s Word is

Receptive Hand

From moonlitpriestess.com

Opposite of the projective hand; generally used to receive energy or sense information in the body in magick.

July 26 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 July 26

Comet NEOWISE Rising over the Adriatic Sea

Comet NEOWISE Rising over the Adriatic Sea
Video Credit & Copyright: Paolo GirottiExplanation: This sight was worth getting out of bed early. Two years ago this month, Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) rose before dawn to the delight of northern sky enthusiasts awake that early. Up before sunrise on July 8th, the featured photographer was able to capture in dramatic fashion one of the few comets visible to the unaided eye this century, an inner-Solar System intruder that has become known as the Great Comet of 2020. The resulting video detailed Comet NEOWISE from Italy rising over the Adriatic Sea. The time-lapse video combines over 240 images taken over 30 minutes. The comet was seen rising through a foreground of bright and undulating noctilucent clouds, and before a background of distant stars. Comet NEOWISE remained unexpectedly bright until 2020 August, with its ion and dust tails found to emanate from a nucleus spanning about five kilometers across.

Astrophysicists: Browse 2,800+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library

July 26 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

657 Battle of Siffin during the first Muslim civil war between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah I beside Euphrates River

1519 Francisco Pizarro receives royal charter for the west coast of South America

1533 Francisco Pizarro orders the death of the last Sapa Inca Emperor, Atahualpa

1803 The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world’s first public railway, opens in south London

1908 United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation)

1945 Declaration of Potsdam: US, Britain and China demand the unconditional surrender of Japan during WWII

1953 Fidel Castro leads a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, intended to spark a revolution in Cuba

Today’s Historical Events

657 Battle of Siffin during the first Muslim civil war between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah I beside Euphrates River

811 Battle of Pliska: Bulgarians under Krum beat Byzantines

920 Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at Pamplona

1267 Inquisition forms in Rome under Pope Clement IV

1309 Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V

1469 Wars of the Roses: Battle of Edgecote Moor – Pitting the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of King Edward IV

1497 “Edward IV‘s son” Perkin Warbeck’s army lands in Cork

1499 Spanish conquistador Alonso de Ojeda discovers Curacao Island

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1896 Vitascope Hall, 1st permanent for-profit movie theatre, opens in New Orleans

1938 1st radio broadcast of “Young Widder Brown” on NBC

1948 1st black host of a network show-CBS’ Bob Howard Show

1949 WCPO TV channel 9 in Cincinnati, OH (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 WCET TV channel 48 in Cincinnati, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting

1966 WRLH TV channel 31 in Lebanon, NH (NBC) begins broadcasting

1978 11th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at El Cortez Hotel

1982 Karen Dianne Baldwin, 18, of Canada, crowned 31st Miss Universe

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1882 Richard Wagner‘s opera “Parsifal” premieres in Bayreuth, Germany

1973 Peter Shaffer‘s musical “Equus” premieres in London

1992 “Man of La Mancha” closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 108 performances

2018 Sir Paul McCartney performs a “secret” gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles began

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1914 12th Tour de France won by Philippe Thys of Belgium

1928 In only his second and final defence of his world heavyweight boxing title, Gene Tunney scores an 11-round TKO win over Tom Heeney at Yankee Stadium, NYC

1928 Yanks score 11 runs in 12th beating Tigers 12-1

1931 LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Midlothian CC: June Beebe beats Mrs. Melvin Jones, 3 & 2 for golf’s only major title

1931 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Paris, France: Henri Cochet beats Fred Perry 6-4, 1-6, 9-7, 6-3 to give France 3-2 win over Great Britain and 5th straight title

1931 25th Tour de France won by Antonin Magne of France

1933 Joe DiMaggio ends 61 game hitting streak in Pacific Coast League

1939 Yankee catcher Bill Dickey hits 3 consecutive HRs

July 25 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 July 25

Find the New Moon

Image Credit & Copyright: Mohamad Soltanolkotabi

Explanation: Can you find the Moon? This usually simple task can be quite difficult. Even though the Moon is above your horizon half of the time, its phase can be anything from crescent to full. The featured image was taken in late May from Sant Martí d’Empúries, Spain, over the Mediterranean Sea in the early morning. One reason you can’t find this moon is because it is very near to its new phase, when very little of the half illuminated by the Sun is visible to the Earth. Another reason is because this moon is near the horizon and so seen through a long path of Earth’s atmosphere — a path which dims the already faint crescent. Any crescent moon is only visible near the direction the Sun, and so only locatable near sunrise or sunset. The Moon runs through all of its phases in a month (moon-th), and this month the thinnest sliver of a crescent — a new moon — will occur in three days.

Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence for Sunday

Magickal Intentions: Growth, Advancements, Enlightenment, Rational Thought, Exorcism, Healing, Prosperity, Hope, Exorcism, Money

Incense: Lemon, Frankincense
Planet: Sun
Sign: Leo
Angel: Michael
Colors: Gold, Yellow, Orange and White
Herbs/Plants: Marigold, Heliotrope, Sunflower, Buttercup, Cedar, Beech, Oak
Stones: Carnelian, Citrine, Tiger’s Eye, Amber, Clear Quartz and Red Agate
Oil: (Sun) Cedar, Frankincense, Neroli, Rosemary

The first day of the week is ruled by the Sun. It is an excellent time to work efforts involving business partnerships, work promotions, business ventures, and professional success. Spells where friendships, mental or physical health, or bringing joy back into life are an issue work well on this day, too.