Tag: Pomegranate

A Little About January Birth Symbols

January Babies

“Little January, Tapped at my door today. And said, ‘Put on your winter wraps, And come outdoors to play.'” —Winifred C. MarshallZodiac: Capricorn until January 19 and Aquarius from January 20

Gemstone: Garnet
The garnet, from the Latin word granatum, means seed (think: pomegranate). The stone signifies eternal friendship and trust.

Flower: Carnation, Snowdrop
The carnation’s different hues suggest different meanings: red for love or pink for affection. Snowdrops imply hope and beauty.

Tree: Fir, Elm, Cypress

FROM: http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/photo-gallery/birth-signs-symbols#02

January’s birth flower, the carnation, comes in several different colors to convey different meanings, much like roses. A pink carnation means affection, while a red carnation means ‘I love you.’ White carnations mean pure love, striped carnations means regret that a love is not shared, and yellow means rejection or disappointment. The other January flower is thesnowdrop, which used to be considered bad luck due to the fact that it would always seem to appear to grow in graveyards. Nowadays, it signifies hope and beauty.

FROM: http://www.almanac.com/content/birth-month-flowers-and-their-meanings#

January Birthstone – Garnet

For those born in the month of January, the gemstone is garnet. Hindu religion will also recognize the serpent stone for this month, but for modern, Western society, the garnet is most familiar. Most people recognize this precious stone as a deep, almost blood red crystal. However, garnets can be found in brown, black, orange, pink, green, and yellow. With some more rare ones found with no color, though blues tend to be the most rare. Because they are more well-known for their red hue, the origin of the word, garnet, or, ´gernet´, is derived from Old English, meaning dark red. It has been adored for over five-thousand years. In Europe (where is was easily found), during the Victorian Ear, it was traditionally cut in the shape of a rose and linked with other delicately faceted gems.

Each month of the year brings in a new cycle. Each cycle represents a new season, has a renewed energy, and a new meaning. Throughout history, specific gemstones have been designated to symbolize our birth-month according to the Gregorian or Western Calendar. In the first century, a Jewish historian by the name of Josephus, stated there was a connection with the twelve stones on the breastplate of Aaron, and the twelve months of the year. In the earlier civilizations of Babylon and India, gemstones have been known to attribute magical properties in connection to their significance of the Zodiac calendar. It is believed that the gemstones for each month aligns with the season, our spiritual and mental energy, religion, magical powers, and even the power to aid in ailing health or allow us to maintain our health.

The Latin word “granatus”, meaning grain or seed, might make one think about the seeds of the pomegranate fruit. According to Greek mythology, Hades, god of the underworld, gifted Persephone a pomegranate before she returned to the earth to visit her mother, Demeter. As she had been a kidnapped goddess forced to be his queen, the gift of this fruit ensured that she would return to him safely after four months time.

In the Antique Roman period, garnets were also used to symbolize areas in which they had taken control. These stones were inlaid in cells of gold using the ´cloisonne´method, utilizing enamel to strengthen the inlay. The artifacts of what the Romans left behind have been found in Anglo-Saxon England to the Black Sea.

Some other interesting facts about the garnet: The darker, more opaque stones of the garnet family are used in ´garnet paper´as an abrasive, the favorite among cabinetmakers. When mixed with water and high pressure, they can also be used to cut steel. It is the state gemstone of Idaho and Arizona, but can be found in India, Russia, Africa, the rivers of Australia, and South America.

Garnets, the January birthstone, have been used to encourage a heightened sense of sensuality and sexuality, with Metaphysical properties strengthening regenerative powers of the body, commitment, and giving insight to healing thoughts.

More symbolically, as a gift it represents constancy, and it utilized to balance one´s yin and yang energy. If you are one that experiences restless sleep due to bad dreams, you might use a garnet under your pillow to ward off these bad dreams and the evil spirits that might the cause of them. It is also meant to cure any inflammatory disorders of the body, stops hemorrhaging, and brings a silence to anger and emotional discord. With these powerful, life-balancing abilities, it is no surprise that people born in the month of January are described as, ambitious, and natural-born leaders. People with these characteristics might be individuals who travel and explore. The gift of a garnet will be a protective gem of these journeyers, a gift of love and a desire that they have safe travels and return soon.

The January birthstone garnet have unique light transmission qualities, and some garnets seem to change color in various light conditions.  With daylight conditions some garnets have many different colors, but in incandescent light they generally appear reddish or pink/purple in color.  Garnets that are more opaque (less color) are often the ones used for industrial purposes instead of those that are used as gemstones most commonly those that appear in shades of green, red, orange, and yellow.

January Birth Flower:

The Snowdrop is the January birth flower representing love, fascination, and purity. Meanwhile, the carnation is the birth flower of January and symbolizes: love, pride, distinction, and beauty for those that follow British traditions.

January Birth Tree:

The Cypress tree is said to symbolize understanding the role of sacrifice and has been associated with the Hades, God of the underworld.

Famous People Born in January:

Oprah Winfrey – January 29, 1954

Tom Selleck – January 29, 1945

Eli Manning – January 3, 1981

Drew Brees – January 15, 1979

Benjamin Franklin – January 17, 1706

To learn more about your birthstone garnet check out Wikipedia.

– See more at: http://birthstonesbymonths.net/january-birthstone-garnet/#sthash.Zp2ax2EG.dpuf

Samhain Ritual

By Dorothy Morrison

This ritual was written at a time when I did not have a qualified Priest in my group. However, it may easily be adapted for those groups in which the Priestess and Priest work together. It may be just as easily adapted to solitary work.

Place an apple and pomegranate upon the altar. There should also be a “planted” pot of earth for each participant – these may be arranged on the altar as well, if there is ample space. Instruments of divination may be placed within the Circle perimeter for use during the ritual if you wish. Arrange the altar as usual and decorate with Autumn leaves, pumpkins, etc.

The Circle is cast and purified the Circle in the usual manner. Dancing around the Circle in a shuffle step (deosil), all chant three times:

The Moon is bright, the Crone is old
The body lifeless – the bones so cold
We all live and pay our dues
To die in ones and threes and twos.

Death, dance and play the harp
Piercing silence in the dark
The Woman’s old with withered limbs
Death beckons Her to dance with Him

As She accepts the Dance of Death
The Earth is cooled by ghostly breath
To lie in dormancy once more
To have Her strength and life restored

Go to the Western Quarter and draw an invoking pentagram with the athame to open the gate. Then evoke the dead by saying:

All ye spirits who walk this night –
Hearken! Hearken to my call!
I bid you in our Circle join!
Enter! Enter – one and all!

Come ye, spirits of the dead:
Be ye spirit of plant or pet
Or human being who still roams!
Into this Circle you are let!

Speak to us of things unknown!
Lend your energies to this rite!
To speed your journey, we have joined
On this sacred Samhain night!

All ye spirits who walk this night –
Hearken! Hearken to my call!
I bid you in our Circle join!
Enter! Enter – one and all!

Bestow blessings upon the dead, saying:

Oh Mighty Pan of the Summerlands:
Guardian of the beloved dead
We pour forth love on those you keep
Safely, in your peaceful stead
We bless those who have walked the path
That someday, we as well, shall rove
We offer peace unto their souls
While resting in your arms, below

Now is the time for divination (Ouija Board, pendulum, cards, etc.) and communication with those who have gone on before us. Allow plenty of time for this. [Note: I have found that it is helpful to have a tape recorder handy within the Circle for recording any communications that may be “channeled” during this time. Some people disagree with this suggestion, saying that the metal of this electronic device causes scattered energies in the Circle; however, if the recorder has been cleansed and purified as the rest of the ritual tools, the problem seems to be resolved.]

When the divinatory processes are completed, the Priestess goes to the Western Quarter and draw the banishing pentagram, saying:

Blessings be upon thee, oh wondrous Spirits of the
Summerlands. We humbly thank thee for your presence in our
Circle and honor you in celebration this sacred night. We
beseech thee, oh Pan, keeper of the sacred dead, embrace
once again those souls within your keep and hold tightly
to your breast those which have been lost and wandering.
Grant them safe passage to the Summerland, where they may
rest peacefully in your strength until they are refreshed
and reborn again in perfect love. We bid thee all a fond
farewell. So mote it be!

The gate is now closed.

The Priestess goes to the altar and hold up the pomegranate, saying:

Behold the pomegranate, fruit of Life…

The athame is plunged into the pomegranate, splitting it open to display the seeds. She says:

Whose seeds lie in the dormancy of Death!

The Priestess eats one of the seeds, saying:

I Taste the seeds of Death.

The pomegranate is then passed hand to hand through the participants of the ritual, each eating a seed and saying to the next person:

“Taste the seeds of Death.”

The Priestess then holds up the apple, saying:

Behold the apple: fruit of wisdom, fruit of Death…

She then cuts the apple crosswise, saying:

Whose symbolism rewards us with life eternal!

She holds up the apple, displaying the inner pentagram, and says:

Behold the five-fold star – the promise of rebirth!

Consecrate the fruit and wine. Each person then tastes of the apple and sips the wine, saying to the next person:

Taste the fruit of rebirth and sip from the cup of wine of Life.

After libation, the Priestess presents each member of the group with a small pot of earth, planted with three seeds [preferably rue or lavender]. She briefly explains to the group that this is the season of the seed – it is a time of dormancy, but also a time of re-generation for growth. Further, as the seed rests in the earth, they should also take time to rest and re-evaluate their lives, metaphorically planting only those values which will enrich and enhance the growth within the Divine Self. She then instructs them to name the seeds within their pots with three values they wish to incorporate into their lives, knowing that as the seeds sprout with new life, their lives will be new, as well.

After the presentation, all join hands and hold them skyward.

PRIESTESS:

Thus is the Circle of Rebirth.
All pass from this life through the great god, Pan
But through My love you are all reborn
In the cycles of nature – through the Cosmic Plan.

In living we die – in dying we live
The fruit is first seed, yet seed comes from the fruit
In the mystery of life and death and rebirth
The Circle turns ever, and I am its root.

ALL RESPOND:

The Sun conceived in Darkness, cold
In the Shadow of Death, a Life unfolds
A shred of Light begins to burn
From Death comes Life – the Circle turns.

Dismiss Quarters and Dissolve Circle.

PRIESTESS:

The rite is ended.

ALL:

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!

Outdoor libation to the Lord and Lady, and the spirits of the dead.

The Witches Magick for Oct. 30th – Solitary Samhain Ritual

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Solitary Samhain Ritual

Place upon the altar apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, squashes and other late autumn  fruits. Autumn flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums are fine too.  Write on a piece of paper an aspect of your life which you may wish to be free of; anger, a baneful habit, misplaced feelings, disease. The cauldron or some similar tool must be present  before the altar as well, on a trivet or some other heat-proof surface (if the legs aren’t long enough). A small, flat dish marked with an eight-spoked wheel symbol should also be there. [This is just what it sounds like. On a flat plate or dish, paint a large circle.  Put a dot in the center of this circle and paint eight spokes radiating out from the dot to the larger circle. Thus, you have a wheel symbol  – a symbol of the Sabbats, a symbol of timelessness.]

Prior to ritual, sit quietly and think of friends and loved ones who have passed away.  Do not despair. Know that they have gone on to greater things. Keep firmly in mind that the  physical isn’t the absolute reality, and souls never die.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle of Stones. Recite the Blessing Chant. Invoke the Goddess and God.

Lift one of the pomegranates and, with your freshly-washed Boline, pierce the skin of the  fruit. Remove several seeds and place them on the wheel-marked dish. Raise your wand, face the altar and say:

On this night of Samhain I mark Your passing,
O Sun King, through the sunset into the Land of the Young.
I mark also the passing of all who have gone before,
and all who will go after.
 
O Gracious Goddess, Eternal Mother,
You who gives birth to the fallen,
teach me to know that in the time of
the greatest darkness there is the greatest light.
 

Taste the pomegranate seeds; burst them with your teeth and savour  their sharp, bittersweet flavour. Look down at the eight-spoked symbol on the plate; the Wheel of the Year, the Cycle of the Seasons, the End and Beginning of all Creation.

Light a fire within the cauldron (a candle is fine).  Sit before it, holding the piece of paper, gazing at its flames. Say:

Wise One of the Waning Moon,
Goddess of the Starry Night,
I create this fire within
Your cauldron to transform
that which is plaguing me.
May the energies be reversed:
From the darkness, light!
From bane, good!
From death, birth!

Light the paper in the cauldron’s flames and drop it inside. As it burns, know that your ill diminishes, lessens and finally leaves you as it is consumed within the universal fires.  [The cauldron, seen as the Goddess.]

If you wish, you may attempt scrying or some other form of divination, for this is a perfect time to look into the past or future. Try to recall past lives too, if you will.  But leave the dead in peace. Honor them with your memories but do not call them to you. [Many Pagans  do attempt to communicate with their deceased ancestors and friends at this time, but it  seems to me that if we accept the doctrine of reincarnation, this is a rather strange practice. Perhaps the personalities that we knew still exist, but if the soul is currently incarnate in another body, communication would be difficult, to say the least. Thus, it seems best to remember them with peace and love – but do not call them up.] 

Release any pain and sense of loss you may feel into the cauldron’s flames. Works of magick, if necessary, may follow. Celebrate the Simple Feast. The circle is released.

 

The Sacred Herbs Of The Goddesses

The Sacred Herbs Of The Goddesses:

 

Aphrodite: olive, cinnamon, daisy, cypress, quince.  orris (iris), apple, myrtle

Arcadia: rue, vervain

Artemis:  silver fir, amaranth, cypress, cedar, hazel, myrtle, willow, daisy, mugwort, date palm

Astarte: alder, pine, cypress, myrtle, juniper

Athena: olive, apple

Bast: catnip, Vervain

Bellona: belladonna

Brigit: blackberry

Cailleach: wheat

Cardea: hawthorn, bean, arbutus

Ceres: willow, wheat, bay, pomegranate, poppy, leek, narcissus

Cybele: oak, myrrh, pine

Demeter: wheat, barley, pennyroyal, myrrh, rose, pomegranate, bean, poppy, all cultivated crops

Diana: birch, willow, acacia, wormwood, dittany, hazel, beech, fir, apple, mugwort, plane, mulberry, rue

Druantia: fir

Freya:  cowslip, daisy, primrose, maidenhair, myrrh, strawberry, mistletoe

Hathor: myrtle, sycamore, grape, mandrake, coriander, rose

Hecate: willow, henbane, aconite, yew, mandrake, cyclamen, mint, cypress, date palm, sesame, dandelion, garlic, oak, onion

Hekat: cypress

Hera: apple, willow, orris, pomegranate, myrrh

Hina: bamboo

Hulda: flax, rose, hellebore, elder

Irene: olive

Iris: wormwood, iris

Ishtar: acacia, juniper, all grains

Isis: fig, heather, wheat, wormwood, barley, myrrh, rose, palm, lotus, per sea, onion, iris, vervain

Juno: lily, crocus, asphodel, quince, pomegranate, vervain, iris, lettuce, fig, mint

Cerridwen: vervain, acorns

Minerva: olive, mulberry, thistle

Nefer-Tum: lotus

Nepthys: myrrh, lily

Nuit: sycamore

Olwen: apple

Persephone: parsley, narcissus, willow, pomegranate

Rhea: myrrh, oak

Rowen: clover, rowen

Venus: cinnamon, daisy, elder, heather, anemone, apple, poppy, violet, marjoram, maidenhair fern, carnation, aster, vervain, myrtle, orchid, cedar, lily, mistletoe, pine, quince

Vesta: oak

The Sacred Herbs Of The Gods

The Sacred Herbs Of The Gods:

Adonis: myrrh, corn, rose, fennel, lettuce, white heather

Aesculapius: bay, mustard

Ajax: delphinium

Anu: tamarisk

Apollo:  leek, hyacinth, heliotrope, cornel, bay, frankincense, date palm,

cypress

Attis: pine, almond

Ares: buttercup

Bacchus: grape, ivy, fig, beech, tamarisk

Baldur: St. John’s wort, daisy

Bran: alder, all grains

Cupid: cypress, sugar, white violet, red rose

Dagda: oak

Dianus: fig

Dionysus: fig, apple, ivy, grape, pine, corn, pomegranate, toadstools, mushrooms, fennel, all wild and cultivated trees

Dis: cypress

Ea: cedar

Eros: red rose

Gwydion: ash

Helios: oak

Horus: horehound, lotus, persea

Hypnos: poppy

Jove: pine, cassia, houseleek, carnation, cypress

Jupiter: aloe, agrimony, sage, oak, mullein, acorn,  beech, cypress, houseleek, date palm, violet, gorse, ox-eye daisy, vervain

Kernunnos: heliotrope, bay, sunflower, oak, orange

Kanaloa: banana

Mars: ash, aloe, dogwood, buttercup, witch grass, vervain

Mercury: cinnamon, mulberry, hazel, willow

Mithras: cypress, violet

Neptune: ash, bladderwrack, all seaweeds

Odin: mistletoe, elm, yew, oak

Osiris: acacia, grape, ivy, tamarisk, cedar, clover, date palm, all grains

Pan: fig, pine, reed, oak, fern, all meadow flowers

Pluto: cypress, mint, pomegranate

Poseidon: pine, ash, fig, bladderwrack, all seaweeds

Prometheus: fennel

Ra: acacia, frankincense, myrrh, olive

Saturn: fig, blackberry

Sylvanus: pine

Tammuz: wheat, pomegranate, all grains

Thoth: almond

Thor: thistle, houseleek, vervain, hazel, ash, birch, rowen, oak, pomegranate, burdock, beech

Uranus: ash

Woden: ash

Zeus: oak, olive, pine, aloe, parsley, sage, wheat, fig

 

As the Craft, we will take only that which we need from the green and growing things of the Earth, never failing to attune with the plant before harvesting, nor failing to leave a token of gratitude and respect.

Pomegranate Spell – Mabon

Pomegranate Spell

Mabon

 

PURPOSE  To advance spiritual development and attain wisdom

 

BACKGROUND  At Mabon, the hours of daylight and darkness are balanced before darkness prevails. Around this time, many trees shed leaves, fruits, and seed, and nature prepare for the deep cold of winter. There are numerous world myths to explain this seasonal change, many involving a descent into the underworld, to the land of the dead.

HOW TO CAST THE SPELL

TIMING  Cast this spell at Mabon

CASTING THE SPELL 

As part of your Mabon celebrations, and in a properly prepared circle, work as follows:

1.  Light the charcoal disk, then the candle saying:

“I call upon Inanna, Queen of Heaven

Earth, and the land of the dead.

Wise beyond reckoning

To bless my spirit quest

and guide my footsteps

through the darkness.”

2.  Sprinkle the dittany onto the charcoal.

3.  Slice open the pomegranate, then extract six stones and eat them.

4.  Close your eyes. Imagine yourself sinking into the darkness behind your eyelids, going deep into the dark, where there is nothing but silence. Remain there for as long as possible; then slowly return to the circle

5.  Blow out the candle, and burn it for an hour at each sunset until it is gone.

Bury the pomegranate deep in your garden, and keep a dream diary throughout the winter.

YOU WILL NEED

One charcoal disk in a fireproof dish

One purple candle

Matches

Two tablespoons of dried dittany of Crete

One whole pomegranate

One sharp knife

 

Reference:

“The Spells Bible”
Ann-Marie Gallagher

The Sacred Herbs Of The Gods

Adonis: myrrh, corn, rose, fennel, lettuce, white heather
Aesculapius: bay, mustard
Ajax: delphinium
Anu: tamarisk
Apollo:  leek, hyacinth, heliotrope, cornel, bay, frankincense, date palm, 
cypress
Attis: pine, almond
Ares: buttercup
Bacchus: grape, ivy, fig, beech, tamarisk
Baldur: St. John's wort, daisy
Bran: alder, all grains
Cupid: cypress, sugar, white violet, red rose
Dagda: oak
Dianus: fig
Dionysus: fig, apple, ivy, grape, pine, corn, pomegranate, toadstools, 
mushrooms, fennel, all wild and cultivated trees
Dis: cypress
Ea: cedar
Eros: red rose
Gwydion: ash
Helios: oak
Horus: horehound, lotus, persea
Hypnos: poppy
Jove: pine, cassia, houseleek, carnation, cypress
Jupiter: aloe, agrimony, sage, oak, mullein, acorn,  beech, cypress, houseleek, 
date palm, violet, gorse, ox-eye daisy, vervain
Kernunnos: heliotrope, bay, sunflower, oak, orange
Kanaloa: banana
Mars: ash, aloe, dogwood, buttercup, witch grass, vervain
Mercury: cinnamon, mulberry, hazel, willow
Mithras: cypress, violet
Neptune: ash, bladderwrack, all seaweeds
Odin: mistletoe, elm, yew, oak
Osiris: acacia, grape, ivy, tamarisk, cedar, clover, date palm, all grains
Pan: fig, pine, reed, oak, fern, all meadow flowers
Pluto: cypress, mint, pomegranate
Poseidon: pine, ash, fig, bladderwrack, all seaweeds
Prometheus: fennel
Ra: acacia, frankincense, myrrh, olive
Saturn: fig, blackberry
Sylvanus: pine
Tammuz: wheat, pomegranate, all grains
Thoth: almond
Thor: thistle, houseleek, vervain, hazel, ash, birch, rowen, oak, pomegranate, 
burdock, beech
Uranus: ash
Woden: ash
Zeus: oak, olive, pine, aloe, parsley, sage, wheat, fig

As the Craft, we will take only that which we need from the green and growing 
things of the Earth, never failing to attune with the plant before harvesting, 
nor failing to leave a token of gratitude and respect.

The Sacred Herbs Of The Goddesses

Aphrodite: olive, cinnamon, daisy, cypress, quince.  orris (iris), apple, myrtle
Aradia: rue, vervain
Artemis:  silver fir, amaranth, cypress, cedar, hazel, myrtle, willow, daisy, 
mugwort, date palm
Astarte: alder, pine, cypress, myrtle, juniper
Athena: olive, apple
Bast: catnip, Vervain
Bellona: belladonna
Brigit: blackberry
Cailleach: wheat
Cardea: hawthorn, bean, arbutus
Ceres: willow, wheat, bay, pomegranate, poppy, leek, narcissus
Cybele: oak, myrrh, pine
Demeter: wheat, barley, pennyroyal, myrrh, rose, pomegranate, bean, poppy, all 
cultivated crops
Diana: birch, willow, acacia, wormwood, dittany, hazel, beech, fir, apple, 
mugwort, plane, mulberry, rue
Druantia: fir
Freya:  cowslip, daisy, primrose, maidenhair, myrrh, strawberry, mistletoe
Hathor: myrtle, sycamore, grape, mandrake, coriander, rose
Hecate: willow, henbane, aconite, yew, mandrake, cyclamen, mint, cypress, date 
palm, sesame, dandelion, garlic, oak, onion
Hekat: cypress
Hera: apple, willow, orris, pomegranate, myrrh
Hina: bamboo
Hulda: flax, rose, hellebore, elder
Irene: olive
Iris: wormwood, iris
Ishtar: acacia, juniper, all grains
Isis: fig, heather, wheat, wormwood, barley, myrrh, rose, palm, lotus, persea, 
onion, iris, vervain
Juno: lily, crocus, asphodel, quince, pomegranate, vervain, iris, lettuce, fig, 
mint
Kerridwen: vervain, acorns
Minerva: olive, mulberry, thistle
Nefer-Tum: lotus
Nepthys: myrrh, lily
Nuit: sycamore
Olwen: apple
Persephone: parsley, narcissus, willow, pomegranate
Rhea: myrrh, oak
Rowen: clover, rowen
Venus: cinnamon, daisy, elder, heather, anemone, apple, poppy, violet, marjoram, 
maidenhair fern, carnation, aster, vervain, myrtle, orchid, cedar, lily, 
mistletoe, pine, quince
Vesta: oak

Daily Feng Shui Tip of the Day for December 15th

At this time of year you can easily find the mystical pomegranate, regarded by many global cultures and traditions as the fruit of fertility and prosperity. Pomegranates are considered to be completely lucky and fruitful and it’s been said that if you make a wish before eating one then that wish must come true. As well, other ages old legends tell us that to eat the pomegranate’s seed will promise progeny. These legends also say that carrying dried pomegranate skin will bring more money, and that hanging the branches of this fruit over the doorway will protect the inner space from anything wicked. Plus, the pomegranate makes a pretty seasonal decoration. All-purpose pomegranate filled with possibility, promise and potential. That’s quite a seasonal gift all by itself!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com