Calendar of the Sun for January 6th

Calendar of the Sun

6 Wolfmonath
Day of Kore Underground

Colors: Dark brown and white
Element: Earth
Altar: Set with a brown cloth, a white candle, a bowl of earth saved from the Day of Kore’s Descent, a cup of well water fed by an underground stream, a dead twig, and the figure of a serpent.
Offerings: Dried flowers. Shed skins of snakes. Seeds that will be planted in spring. A promise to bring joy into a dark place, even at the peril of your own life or happiness.
Daily Meal: Dark, coarse bread. Root vegetables. Poppy seeds. Millet. Nuts and seeds.

Invocation to Kore Underground

Cold lies the Earth
And all things upon it,
And our spirits are chilled
With the sight of Earth asleep.
The Maiden of Spring lies
Deep underground with her bridegroom,
Lying with the Lord of Death,
Lying with the ghosts of our ancestors,
Lying with all that is forgotten,
And we are called merely to endure
Cold and darkness
As She willingly goes below the Earth
To bring comfort and light
To the realm of cold and darkness.
Let us never forget
That even in the time of winter
We can, as She does,
Give of ourselves
To bring light to the darkest places,
To endure them with faith in the cycle of life
And never to fail in our hope
Of the coming of the Spring.

Chant:
Kore Kore Kore Proserpina
(Let one chosen for the work of the daily ritual carry the bowl of earth from person to person about the hall, and let each one take a bit of the earth and rub it on their faces, and let it remain until the evening ablutions. Then let the water be poured as a libation to Kore into the remainder of the earth, and be carried outside and poured onto the Earth itself. Gather new earth, which will be saved until the day of Kore’s return.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Today’s Tarot Card for December 28th is The High Priestess

The High Priestess

Friday, Dec 28th, 2012

For the accused heretics who were burnt at the stake for revering her in the 14th and 15th century, she symbolized the prophecy of the return of the Holy Spirit, which was perceived as the female aspect of the Holy Trinity.

In the sequence of cards in the major arcana, the High Priestess appears as soon as the Fool decides he wants to develop his innate powers, making a move toward becoming a Magus. The High Priestess is his first teacher, representing the Inner Life and the method for contacting it, as well as the contemplative study of Nature and the Holy Mysteries.

Fertility Deities

Gods/Goddesses– Bel, Sucellus, Hecate, Thalia, Cronus, Hades, Hermes, Zeus, Ops, Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter, Pluto, Dis Pater, Isis, Bes, Osiris, Arianrhod, Brigit, Cerridwen, Brigantia, Macha, Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, Bel, Epona, Manannan mac Lir, Mab, Nantosuelta, Druantia, the Horned God, Anu, Arianrhod, Rhiannon, the Dagda, Ostara, Eostre, Apollo, Cronus, Hera, Artemis, Maia, Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Gaea, Rhea, Pan, Dionysus, Poseidon, Antheia, Bendis, Cabari, Cabiri, Charities, Derceto, Europa, Pontia, Priapus, Hermes, Persephone, Hecate, Juno, Bona Dea, Diana, Fauna, Flora, Pales, Venus, Tellus Mater, Faunus, Bacchus, Vertumnus, Apollo, Cybele, Lupercus, Ops, Pomona, Saturn, Nerthus, Bast, Heqet, Selqet, Min, Osiris, Amen, Khnemu, Bes, Hapi, Bast, Isis, Attis, Mut, Selkhet, Tlazolteotl, Itzamna, Tlaloc, Chantico, Centeotle, Quetzalcoatl, Ishtar, Kuan Yin, Lilith, Inanna, Astarte
Color– True Pure Blue
Incence/Oil– Lily of the Valley
Animals– Dolphin, Whales
Spirits– Mermaid
Stones– Azurite, Torquoise
Metal– Aluminum
Plants– Carnation, Honeysukle, Vervain
Wood– Bramble
Planet– Neptune
Tarot Cards– Four Kings, Four Twos
Magickal Tools– Cauldron, Wand
Direction– South
Rituals- Achieving Equilibrium, Spiritual Manifestations, Creative Force, Divine Inspiration

Goddesses for every occasion

——————————————————————————–
Sunday Sunne, Frau Sonne, Aditi, Amaterasu, Arinna, Izanami, Ochumare

Monday Luna, Selene, Diana, Re, Gealach, Ida, Artemis, Yemaya, Erzulie

Tuesday Pingalla, Anna, Aine, Danu, Yngona, Bellona, Aida Wedo, Sun Woman

Wednesday Isis, Demeter, Ceres, Spider Woman, Bona Dea, Oya, Devi-Kali, Hella, Rhiannon, Coatlique

Thursday Juno, Hera, Kwan Yin, Mary, Cybele, Tara, Mawu, Waresa, Ishtar

Friday Freya, Astarte, Aphrodite, Erzulie, Eve, Venus, Isis, Diana, Chalchiuhtlique

Saturday Ops, Rhea, Tellus mater, Gaia, Eartha, Ge, Ashera, the Shekinah, Mary, Demeter, Herodias

Goddesses of the Zodiac:

Aries = Athena, The Morrigan, Minerva
Taurus = Hathor, Isis, Io, Venus, Selene
Gemini = Kali, Parvati, Tefnut, Leda
Cancer = Ix Chel, Ida, Selene, Luna
Leo = Arinna, Cybele, Neshto, Juno
Virgo = Kwan Yin, Bel, Inanna, Diana, Ishtar
Libra = Ishtar, Aphrodite, Dike, Themis
Scorpio = Pele, Tiamat, Ishara, Selket
Sagittarius = Artemis, Diana, Pingala
Capricorn = Awehai, Ida, Amalthea, Vesta
Aquarius = Mawu, Cybele, Sophia, Iris, Juno
Pisces = Nammu, Anuit, Aphrodite, Dione

Goddesses of the Month:

January = Juno, Hera, Hestia, Brigid
February = Brigid, White Buffalo Woman, Juno Februa
March = Ra-Nuit, Artemis, Minerva
April = Aphrodite, Ishtar, Artemis, Astarte, Eostre
Venus, Terra , Erzulie
May = Maia, Flora, Tanith, Bel, Mary, Hera
June = Ishtar, Athena, Demeter, Juno, Persephone,
Luna, Hera, Mawu
July = Ishtar, Apet, Athena, Demeter, Persephone,
Spider Woman.
August = Ishtar, Ceres, Lakshmi, Hesperus
September= Hathor, Ishtar, Yemaya, Menkhet, Pomona
October = Hathor, Demeter, Ceres, the Horae
November = Sekhmet, Demeter, Diana, Kali, Astrae
December = Vesta, Hestia, Befana, Sekhmet, Oya

Hestia        26 December   – 22 January
Bridhe        23 January    – 19 February
Moura         20 February   – 19 March
Columbina     20 March      – 17 April
Maia          18 April      – 15 May
Hera          16 May        – 12 June
Rosea         13 June       – 10 July
Kerea         11 July       – 8 August
Hesperis       9 August     – 5 September
Mala           6 September – 2 October
Hathor         3 October    – 30 October
Cailleach/
Samhain       31 October    – 27 November
Astraea       28 November   – 25 December

Goddesses for the days of the Moon/month:

1 (new moon) Hathor, Isis, Anahit, Selene, Juno, Lucina, Luna, Re,
Blodeuwedd.

2 Selene, Luna, the Mothers, Gos, Arstat, Saoka

3 Athena, the Witch of Gaeta, Rata

4 Hathor, Isis, Selene, Luna

5 Maat, the Erinyes, Eric, Terra, the Eumenides

6 Artemis, Erzulie, the Mothers

7 the Sabbatu, Leto, Luna, Arstat

8 Selene, Luna, Ata Bey

9 Rhea, Selene, Spider Woman

10 Anahit, Anaitis, White Buffalo Calf Woman

11 Kista, Athena, Minerva, Sophia, Changing Woman

12 Demeter, Oddudua, Dikaiosune

13 The Muses, Diana, Oya, the Corn Mothers

14 Ishtar, Selene, Gos, Aida Wedo, the Lady, the Great Mother

15 Ishtar, Luna, Mene, Anna Perenna, Mary, Hina, Arianrhod, Aradia, Diana, Cybele, Mah

16 Levanah, Selene, Luna, Kwan Yin, Chalchiuhtlique

17 Ashi Vanguhi, Arstat, Kista, Demeter, Luna, Aida Wedo

18 Ochumare, Mawu, Copper Woman

19 The Manes, Ashi Vanguhi, Minerva

20 Selene, Tonantzin, Coatlique, Mary

21 Drvaspa, Hera, Athene, Medusa

22 Re, Gealach, Rhiannon, Selene, Mayauel

23 Venus, Aphrodite, Oshun, Erzulie, Freya, Xochiquetzl

24 Daena, Kista, Ochumare, Maat, Sophia, Chang-O

25 Ashi Vanguhi, Ard, Kista, Athena

26 Arstat, Cerridwen, Copper Woman, Mother Holle

27 Diana, Hecate, Maman Brigette, Oya

28 Zamyad, Tellus Mater, Hemera, Eos

29 Hecate, Tonantzin, Nyx, Rhiannon, Eurydice

30 Hecate, Mene, Hecate Prosmna, the moon Goddess, the Dark Maiden, the Crone.

Today’s Tarot For Oct. 9 is The High Priestess

The High Priestess

Traditionally called the High Priestess, this major arcana, or trump, card represents human wisdom. She can be viewed as a kind of female Pope, the ancient Egyptian Priestess of Isis, the even older snake and bird Goddesses, the Greek Goddess Persephone, or the Eve of Genesis before the Fall.For the accused heretics who were burnt at the stake for revering her in the 14th and 15th century, she symbolized the prophecy of the return of the Holy Spirit, which was perceived as the female aspect of the Holy Trinity.

How To Honor the Dark Mother at Mabon

By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide

Demeter and Persephone are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox. When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the triple goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.

The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months.

Here’s How:

This ritual welcomes the Dark Mother, and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Decorate your altar with symbols of Demeter and her daughter — flowers in red and yellow for Demeter, purple or black for Persephone, stalks of wheat, Indian corn, sickles, baskets. Have a candle on hand to represent each of them — harvest colors for Demeter, black for Persephone. You’ll also need a chalice of wine, or grape juice if you prefer, and a pomegranate.
If you normally cast a circle, or call the quarters, do so now. Turn to the altar, and light the Persephone candle. Say:The land is beginning to die, and the soil grows cold. The fertile womb of the earth has gone barren. As Persephone descended into the Underworld, So the earth continues its descent into night. As Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter, So we mourn the days drawing shorter. The winter will soon be here.
Light the Demeter candle, and say:In her anger and sorrow, Demeter roamed the earth, And the crops died, and life withered and the soil went dormant. In grief, she traveled looking for her lost child, Leaving darkness behind in her wake. We feel the mother’s pain, and our hearts break for her, As she searches for the child she gave birth to. We welcome the darkness, in her honor.
Break open the pomegranate (it’s a good idea to have a bowl to catch the drippings), and take out six seeds. Place them on the altar. Say:Six months of light, and six months of dark. The earth goes to sleep, and later wakes again. O dark mother, we honor you this night, And dance in your shadows. We embrace that which is the darkness, And celebrate the life of the Crone. Take a sip of the wine, and savor the taste upon your lips. If you are doing this rite with a group, pass it to each person in the circle. As each person drinks, they should say:Blessings to the dark goddess on this night, and every other.
As the wine is replaced upon the altar, hold your arms out in the Goddess position, and take a moment to reflect on the darker aspects of the human experience. Think of all the goddesses who evoke the night, and call out:Demeter, Inanna, Kali, Tiamet, Hecate, Nemesis, Morrighan. Bringers of destruction and darkness, I embrace you tonight. Without rage, we cannot feel love, Without pain, we cannot feel happiness, Without the night, there is no day, Without death, there is no life. Great goddesses of the night, I thank you.
Take a few moments to meditate on the darker aspects of your own soul. Is there a pain you’ve been longing to get rid of? Is there anger and frustration that you’ve been unable to move past? Is there someone who’s hurt you, but you haven’t told them how you feel? Now is the time to take this energy and turn it to your own purposes. Take any pain inside you, and reverse it so that it becomes a positive experience. If you’re not suffering from anything hurtful, count your blessings, and reflect on a time in your life when you weren’t so fortunate.When you are ready, end the ritual.
You may wish to tie this rite into a celebration of the Harvest Moon.

What You Need

A candle to represent Demeter
A candle to represent Persephone
Wine or grape juice
A pomegranate (and a bowl)

Calendar of the Moon for September 21

Calendar of the Moon

21 Muin/Boedromion

Greater Mysteries Day 7: Plemokhoai

Colors: Gold and black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black and gold set a single white candle to burn, with incense of myrrh, and two round-bottomed jugs of water. Before the altar lay the Kistai, the round box of holy objects.
Offerings: Pork and grains.
Daily Meal: Pork and grains.

Mysteries Invocation VII: Plemokhoai Invocation

Hail to those who have come through the dark!
Blessed art thou on Earth who have seen
These mysteries with their own eyes!
Hail to those who have come forth with wisdom
And who no longer fear death and losses!
Let us return the sacred objects to their hiding place,
As Persephone is hidden underground for the next year,
But will always return!
Hail to that which falls, and rises again.
Hail to that which will always give us hope.
Hail to that which is the proof of sacredness.
Hail to the Gods;
May we see them in all things!

(All respond, “Hail to the Gods! May we see them in all things!” At least one new sacred item is added to the box, and it is held high and its story told. Then all seal up the Kistae again, process out of the room, and return it to its hiding place. Two carry the jugs of water, and they are taken outside and placed on the earth, and let fall so that one falls to the east and one to the west, and the flowing out of the water is read as an omen of the coming year and the losses to be had. Then other divination may be done, by any method, for the rest of Hesperis.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for September 20

Calendar of the Moon

20 Muin/Boedromion

Greater Mysteries Day 6: Ritual

Colors: Gold and black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black and gold set a single white candle to burn, with incense of myrrh, and a great pitcher of mint-barley tea, with many cups around it. Before the altar lay the Kistai, the round box of holy objects, and a basket with a sheaf of grain in it. The curtains are drawn, and a single torch lights the room.
Offerings: Oneself, as an initiate.
Daily Meal: Fasting until Mesembria of the next day, except for the “kykeon” tea.

Mysteries Invocation VI:

(The invocation opens with a wordless, many-toned chant that all sing.)

We have walked in the footsteps of Demeter,
Who understands the mourning of the loss so terrible
That you think you may die from it.
We have walked in the footsteps of Persephone,
Who understands being taken against your will
To a dark place where only love can change things.
We are come to the moment of seeing, of knowing,
Of bringing together what has been parted,
Yet knowing also that both are changed,
And will never be what they were before.
Mother and daughter must find a new relationship,
As we must find a new way after each of our losses.

(The chant is repeated. Then the Kistai is opened, and each of the holy objects is removed, and explained to the folk. They come forth to touch them as they are brought forth.)

Hail to Demeter, Lady of the Earth,
Giver of nourishment!
As Demeter in her mourning, in her barrenness
Was given kykeon to drink by Metaneira,
Was given shelter and care by mortals
Who would not see an old woman weary on the road
Without offering comfort, so we see
That mortals can offer comfort to the Gods, and to each other.
Here, take, drink of Comfort in the time of darkness.

(Then the kykeon is passed to drink, and all speak in turn of their losses, and how they came forth to find a new path. If this ritual takes longer, it may go late into Arktos without trouble, as there is no dinner; it is important that all get the chance to speak, and weep if necessary. When all have finished, the officiant says:)

Remember always this:
That darkness yields to light, and light to darkness,
And out of every woe comes some good thing,
Even if it is not given to the sufferers.
For lo, Persephone the ravished maiden is now Queen,
And Counselor to the sorrowing Dead,
Bringing healing to the pain of others.
How will you, too, heal from the memory of wounds?

(Each speaks of how they will bring healing to the world, and the rest of the kykeon is poured out as a libation.)

Hail to Persephone, Maiden who goes down into the dark,
And has learned to love the Dark, and its center!
Hail to She who arises again in the spring,
Reminding us that spring will always come again,
No matter how long and cold the winter!
Hail to Hades, Lord of the Underworld,
Who gives the Dead their food, their shelter,
And what care and love he can,
Who gave them the greatest gift of all:
The gift of Persephone, Maiden of the Spring,
To succor them and give them hope.
For lo, they have birthed them a child,
And his name is Brimos, and he is given back to all of us,
Given to the living for our sustenance,
Nourishment born of tears, Birth born of Death,
As all life feeds on Death, as all things turn on the wheel.
Hail to Brimos, born in the darkness,
And may we follow you back to the light!

(End with the wordless chant again, lasting for some time as the torch is put out. Then all should go out into the light as if for the first time, and sing while they work for the rest of the work-hours.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Demeter, Dark Mother of the Harvest

Perhaps the best known of all the harvest mythologies is the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter was a goddess of grain and of the harvest in ancient Greece. Her daughter, Persephone, caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld. When Hades abducted Persephone and took her back to the underworld, Demeter’s grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and so was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld. These six months are the time when the earth dies, beginning at the time of the autumn equinox. Each year, Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter for six months. At Ostara, the greening of the earth begins once more and life begins anew.

In some interpretations of the story, Persephone is not held in the underworld against her will. Instead, she chooses to stay there for six months each year so that she can bring a little bit of brightness and light to the souls doomed to spend eternity with Hades.

Calendar of the Moon for September 17

Calendar of the Moon

17 Muin/Boedromion

Greater Mysteries Day 3: Mother And Daughter

Colors: Gold and black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black and gold set a single white candle to burn, with incense of myrrh, and two cups of mint tea with barley in it. Before the altar lay the Kistai, the round box of holy objects, and the figures of pigs.
Offerings: Pork and grains.
Daily Meal: Pork and grains.

Mysteries Invocation III:

Hail to Demeter, Great Mother of the Fields!
Lady of the corn-golden hair,
You sent your only daughter, jewel of your heart,
Forth to play in the fields with the fair daughters of Oceanus,
Trusting for her return, for you loved no one as you loved her.
Hail to Persephone, Daughter of Demeter!
You went forth, a maiden on the brink of womanhood,
And forth in the field grew, to your wonder,
A great white flower, like unto none other.
You stepped forth to pluck it – you could not have said,
Later, who you were so compelled.
But it was your destiny, and forth from that hole
That cracked the ground in two came black smoke,
The scent of the underworld, and Hades came forth
In his black chariot and took you away,
For so it was destined that you would be his bride.
Hail to Demeter, Mourning Mother left behind!
You searched the Earth for your daughter,
Only to hear from Hecate where she had been taken.
In despair, you wandered the land
And no crops grew; the white barley was cast
Upon the earth many times in vain, and the plow
Curved into the earth to no avail, and the whole race
Of men would have starved, had great Zeus not noticed it.

Chant: Ancient Mother, I hear you calling,
Ancient Mother, I hear your song,
Ancient Mother, I hear your laughter,
Ancient Mother, I taste your tears.
(The tea is poured out as a libation for both goddesses.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

How To Honor the Dark Mother at Mabon

Demeter and Persephone are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox . When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the triple goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.

The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months.

Difficulty:

Average

Time Required:

Varied

Here’s How:

This ritual welcomes the Dark Mother, and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Decorate your altar with symbols of Demeter and her daughter — flowers in red and yellow for Demeter, purple or black for Persephone, stalks of wheat, Indian corn, sickles, baskets. Have a candle on hand to represent each of them — harvest colors for Demeter, black for Persephone. You’ll also need a chalice of wine, or grape juice if you prefer, and a pomegranate.

If you normally cast a circle, or call the quarters, do so now. Turn to the altar, and light the Persephone candle. Say:

The land is beginning to die, and the soil grows cold.
The fertile womb of the earth has gone barren.
As Persephone descended into the Underworld,
So the earth continues its descent into night.
As Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter,
So we mourn the days drawing shorter.
The winter will soon be here

Light the Demeter candle, and say:

In her anger and sorrow, Demeter roamed the earth,
And the crops died, and life withered and the soil went dormant.
In grief, she traveled looking for her lost child,
Leaving darkness behind in her wake.
We feel the mother’s pain, and our hearts break for her,
As she searches for the child she gave birth to.
We welcome the darkness, in her honor.

Break open the pomegranate (it’s a good idea to have a bowl to catch the drippings), and take out six seeds. Place them on the altar. Say:

Six months of light, and six months of dark.
The earth goes to sleep, and later wakes again.
O dark mother, we honor you this night,
And dance in your shadows.
We embrace that which is the darkness,
And celebrate the life of the Crone.

Take a sip of the wine, and savor the taste upon your lips. If you are doing this rite with a group, pass it to each person in the circle. As each person drinks, they should say:

Blessings to the dark goddess on this night, and every other.

As the wine is replaced upon the altar, hold your arms out in the Goddess position, and take a moment to reflect on the darker aspects of the human experience. Think of all the goddesses who evoke the night, and call out:

Demeter, Inanna, Kali, Tiamet ,Hecate, Nemesis, Morrighan.
Bringers of destruction and darkness,
I embrace you tonight.
Without rage, we cannot feel love,
Without pain, we cannot feel happiness,
Without the night, there is no day,
Without death, there is no life.
Great goddesses of the night, I thank you.

Take a few moments to meditate on the darker aspects of your own soul. Is there a pain you’ve been longing to get rid of? Is there anger and frustration that you’ve been unable to move past? Is there someone who’s hurt you, but you haven’t told them how you feel? Now is the time to take this energy and turn it to your own purposes. Take any pain inside you, and reverse it so that it becomes a positive experience. If you’re not suffering from anything hurtful, count your blessings, and reflect on a time in your life when you weren’t so fortunate.

When you are ready, end the ritual.

**You may wish to tie this rite into a celebration of the Harvest Moon.

What You Need:

A candle to represent Demeter

A candle to represent Persephone

Wine or grape juice

A pomegranate (and a bowl)

Healing Prayer To Hecate

By Mystic Amazon

.
O Sweet Dark Mother of the Night,
please turn your sympathy toward us
and send us your deep healing.

Lady, let your glimmering Moon
lighten all the dark places in our hearts
that need your bright clarity.

Send your dark hounds to protect us
and sleep near us, so we feel safe;
heal our pains of body and mind.

Please bring your fiery torches
as we walk beside you in the night time;
teach us more understanding.

Enfold us with the strength of your love;
as you teach us, let us share with others
the love and healing of your Light.

(Mystic Amazon)

The Wicca Book of Days for July 19 – The Adonia

The Wicca Book of Days for July 19

The Adonia

The Adonia, a festival dedicated to Adonis was once celebrated today in parts of Greece. One story tells that this handsome youth was much loved by Aphrodite (Venus in Rome), and that when he was killed by the jealous Ares (Mars), the grief-stricken Goddess of Love persuaded Persephone (Proserpina), Queen of the Underworld, to let him spend a third of the year with her. His reappearance on Earth was feted to Spring, while women mourned his return to the underworld at the end of Summer, during the Adonia

Adonis’s Flowers

An ancient Greek myth relates that an Adonis’s blood soaked into the ground, anemones or windflowers, sprung up. Either pick some anemones today, or do as women once did during the Adonia, and plant such quick growing, but short lived, herbs as fennel and basil in pots to create “gardens of Adonis.”

Calendar of the Moon for July 12

Calendar of the Moon

12 Duir/Skirophorion

Skirophoria

Colors: Grey and brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Divide the altar in half, with one grey cloth and one brown cloth. On the grey side place a ship and a fish for Poseidon, and for Athena a stack of books selected for their wisdom, the figure of a small city, and a glass cup of wine. On the brown side lay a sickle, a hoe, a basket full of poppies, many small bowls of grain, a cup of ale, and the figure of a small peasant’s hut. On the line between them, place the figure of a golden sun. Before it should be a bowl containing Pentaploa, a mixture of wine, honey, cheese, grains, and olive oil.
Offerings: If you are rural, visit the city. If you are urban or suburban, visit a farm. Do so in the spirit of discovery and appreciation. Also, the day’s exercise at Gymnastika should be running a race, and the runners should carry grapevines in their arms, in honor of the boughs brought to the temple of Athena by ancient runners. Deposit the grapevines before Athena’s shrine.
Daily Meal: Eat food on your trip, wherever you go.

Skirophoria Invocation

(To be given by five people, one each representing Athena, Poseidon, Demeter, Persephone, and Helios. They should wear white, blue, green, red, and gold respectively. They should come together under a white canopy.)

Athena: On this day, long ago, so tradition says, the first harvest was cut of the first grain that mankind ever sowed. Ever since then, the people have been fed from the land. Those of us whose hearts are in the city do come before you today to honor the givers of our nourishment.
Poseidon: From the metropolises of the coasts to the great gathering places of plateau and mountain we come on this day. For we could not live without you to support us. We feed from you, and give you little in return, save trinkets and trouble.
Demeter: We thank you for your honor, and we promise in turn that our abundance shall never cease, so long as you continue your respect. Our lands must remain clean and unfettered by disease and pollution. So long as you grant us that, and safety, and fair commerce, there will always be an equal exchange.
Persephone: We thank you for your honor, but you are wrong in that you give us nothing. You are the keepers of thought and culture. When darkness rushes across the land, as it sometimes must, it is in your domain that such things are kept. You are the memory of our people, as we in our eternal round of seasons cannot always be.
Helios: I have come before you to hear your oaths. Will you serve and protect each other?
All: We shall be as two hands on one body.
Helios: So it is witnessed by the overarching Sun. So shall it be written, so shall it be done.
All Present: So it is witnessed by the overarching Sun. So shall it be written, so shall it be done.

(The Pentaploa is passed and shared, and the ale and wine are poured as a libation.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 8th

8 Huath/Thargelion

Thargelia Day II: Festival of the First Fruits

Color: Green

Element: Earth

Altar: Upon a green cloth lay five stones of different colors, an urn of white wine, and a basket of the first produce of the year.

Offerings: The first fruits from the garden, some of which should be shared with outsiders.

Daily Meal: Vegan. Barley. Figs. Dates.

Demeter’s Thargelia Invocation

The road to which our feet are set
Is in a harvest way,
For to the fair-robed Demeter
Our comrades bring today
The first fruits of their harvesting
She on the threshing place
Great store of barley grain outpoured
For guardian of Her Grace.
O great earth-bound Demeter
Whose daughter is the spring,
Whose hands bring forth the golden grain,
These gifts to you we bring:
Our hands, our hearts, our bellies
Once empty and now filled,
The greening of the garden,
The flour of the mill,
We thank you for our sustenance
The bounty of field and hill,
Your touch upon the barren land
Will make it more fertile still.

Chant:
Demeter Demeter Mother of the Grain
Fruit of the Harvest come with the rain

(The produce is brought forward to the altar and laid in baskets, one at a time, kneeling. Afterwards it is shared with others brought in from outside, for generosity begets abundance. The wine is poured out as a libation for Demeter.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for May 29th

29 Thrimilchimonath

Ambarvalia – Sprouting Corn Day

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set a pot in which shoots of some kind of grain have surfaced, ready for transplanting.
Offering: Carefully nurture some fragile dream.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Ambarvalia Invocation

Great Demeter of the fields,
Mistress of all the crops
That are grown to the benefit of Man,
Kore, daughter of the springtime earth,
And the Lares of the home
Who watch over us all,
We honor you today in our work.
For some things are too tender
To be thrown to the cold earth
Exposed to frost and chill
In a place they were not born to walk.
Teach us that it is right and proper
To nurture these tender things,
To give them strength and protection,
To water them with what they need
To manifest themselves,
And never to chide them for their weakness.
And even if they live but for one season,
To cherish their short lives
And be glad that they once appeared on Earth.
Help us to nurture our most delicate dreams
That they may rise whole and sturdy
When the sun and the season allow it.

Chant:
We plant you with our love
We plant you with our hope

(The pots of green shoots are taken outside and carefully transplanted into the soil. Each touches them, waters them, and says, “So I nurture my dreams.”)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Thursday, May 24th

Willow Tree Month

Colors: Yellow, silver, and pale willow-green
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow, silver, and pale willow-green place three white candles, wreaths of willow-branches, a large clay bowl of water, flowers if they are available, and a silver moon.
Offerings: Contemplate an emotion, and how you use it, and how it uses you.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, preferably cold food. Fruits. Only spring water to drink.

Saille Invocation

Call: Now is the time of the Willow Goddess.
Response: Now is the time of the Green Man’s courting.
Call: Now is the time when leaves are full.
Response: Now is the time when gold gives way to silver.
Call: Now is the time when Sun gives way to Moon.
Response: Now is the time when Lord gives way to Lady.
Call: Now is the time of the search and the quest.
Response: Now is the time of magic dew on the fields.
Call: Now is the time of the phallus rising.
Response: He seeks the doorway that is wet with spring rains.
Call: He seeks the moon in the river.
Response: He seeks the fishes in the winnowing basket.
Call: He seeks the fruit of Persephone.
Response: He seeks the mountain of the Muses.
Call: We crown his head with flowers….
Response: That he may reach the sky.
Call: We crown his head with ribbons….
Response: That he may touch the earth.
Call: We bring forth the pole from earth to sky.
Response: We lay the line from earth to sky.
Call: We blow like the wind from earth to sky.
Response: We fall like the rain from sky to earth.
Call: We descend like the sunlight from sky to earth.
Response: We climb like the trees from sky to earth.
Call: We are the children of earth and sky.
Response: We are beloved of sky and earth.

Chant:
We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for May 18th

Calendar of the Moon

Willow Tree Month

Saille Invocation

Chant:
We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Friday, May 11

Calendar of the Moon

Willow Tree Month

Saille Invocation

Chant:
We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for May 10

Calendar of the Moon

Willow Tree Month

Saille Invocation

Chant:
We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

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