Calendar of the Moon for October 12

Calendar of the Moon

 

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 11

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 4

Calendar of the Moon

 

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 3

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for September 24

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for September 10

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

2nd Quiz of the Day – Your Favorite Color: What it Says About You

Your Favorite Color: What it Says About You

by Annie B. Bond

 

Whether we’re a vibrant Orange, or a peaceful Blue, our color preferences are  a key to understanding our personalities. Find out what this color expert has to  say about your favorite color. What does it reveal about who you really are?

White: Symbolic of purity, innocence and naivete, white has  strong connotations of youth and purity. If you are an older person, your  preference for white could indicate a desire for perfection and impossible  ideals, maybe an attempt to recapture lost youth and freshness. It may also  symbolize a desire for simplicity or the simple life.

Red: The color of strength, health, and vitality, Red is  often the color chosen by someone outgoing, aggressive, vigorous and  impulsive—or someone who would like to be! It goes with an ambitious nature but  those who choose it can be abrupt at times, determined to get all they can out  of life, quick to judge people and take sides. Red people are usually optimistic  and can’t stand monotony; they are rather restless and not at all introspective,  so they may be unaware of their own shortcomings. They find it hard to be  objective and may blame others for any mishaps. Quiet people with a preference  for red may feel the need for the warmth, strength and life-giving qualities of  the color, or they blanket their true feelings under a sober exterior. Red is  usually chosen by people with open and uncomplicated natures, with a zest for  life.

Maroon: Harsh experience has probably matured the Maroon  person into someone likable and generous. It is often a favorite color of  someone who has been battered by life but has come through. It indicates a  well-disciplined Red personality—one who has had difficult experiences and has  not come through unmarked but who has grown and matured in the process.

Pink: This color embodies the gentler qualities of Red,  symbolizing love and affection without passion. Women who prefer Pink tend to be  maternal. Pink desires protection, special treatment and a sheltered life. Pink  people require affection and like to feel loved and secure, perhaps wanting to  appear delicate and fragile. Pink people tend to be charming and gentle, if a  trifle indefinite.

Orange: This color of luxury and pleasure appeals to the  flamboyant and fun-loving person who likes a lively social round. Orange people  may be inclined to dramatize a bit, and people notice them, but they are  generally good-natured and popular. They can be a little fickle and vacillating,  but on the whole they try hard to be agreeable. Orange is the color of youth,  strength, fearlessness, curiosity and restlessness.

Yellow: The color of happiness, wisdom and imagination,  Yellow is chosen by the mentally adventurous, searching for novelty and  self-fulfillment. Yellow usually goes with a sunny and shrewd personality, with  a good business head and a strong sense of humor. It is the color of  intellectuality and all things to do with the mind. Yellow folks are usually  clear and precise thinkers who have a good opinion of their own mental  capacities and who have lofty ideals. They may at times tend to shun  responsibility, preferring freedom of thought and action.

Green: The color of harmony and balance, Green symbolizes  hope, renewal and peace, and is usually liked by the gentle and sincere. Greens  are generally frank, community-minded people, fairly sociable but preferring  peace at any price. Green people can be too self-effacing, modest and patient,  so they may get exploited by others. They are usually refined, civilized and  reputable.

Blue: Soft, soothing, compassionate and caring, Blue is the  color of deliberation and introspection, conservatism and duty. Patient,  persevering, conscientious, sensitive and self-controlled, Blues like to be  admired for their steady character and wisdom. They are faithful, but are often  worriers with somewhat inflexible beliefs and can be too cautious, and  suspicious of flamboyant behavior.

Blue-Green: Exacting, discriminating, poised and attractive,  the Blue-Green person tends to be sensitive, intellectual and refined,  persevering and stable if rather detached. Blue-Greens have excellent taste, and  are usually courteous and charming, capable but often refusing help or  guidance.

Turquoise: Complex, imaginative and original, Turquoise  people drive themselves hard and may be in a state of turmoil under their  outwardly cool exterior.

Lavender: This is often chosen by a person who lives “on a  higher plane,” who never notices anything sordid and who is always impeccably  and beautifully dressed. Lavender people may be on a continual quest for culture  and the refined things of life, high and noble causes but without the necessity  of getting their hands dirty. A Lavender person is usually creative, charming,  witty and civilized.

Purple: Purples are highly individual, fastidious, witty and  sensitive, with a strong desire to be unique and different. Temperamental,  expansive and artistic, a Purple person may become aloof and sarcastic when  misunderstood. If you chose Purple, you tend to be unconventional, tolerant and  dignified, likely to achieve positions of authority.

Brown: A Brown person has stamina and patience, tending to  be very solid and substantial, conscientious, dependable, steady and  conservative. Browns are not impulsive, and may be inarticulate and tactless but  they love responsibility and are reliable and kindly. If you chose Brown, watch  out for a tendency to be obstinate and inflexible.

Gray: The color of caution and compromise, diligent Grays  search for composure and peace and often work hard without reward. Older Grays  like life to run on an even keel with few ups and downs. Young Grays may be  withdrawing from life and suppressing their personalities. Grays often have good  business ability and tend to work too much.

Black: Dignified and impressive without being showy, Black  people want to give the appearance of mystery, but their preference may also  indicate a suppression of desires and worldly aims, suggesting hidden depths and  inner longings.

Adapted from The Healing Power of Color by Betty Wood (Inner  Traditions, 1998).

 

A Romp Through the Palette of Life

A Romp Through the Palette of Life

by Freya Ray

Personally, I love color. I’m not an especially visual person, and yet I am vibrantly aware of the magical properties of color every day. Since theory fails to fascinate me, and inspiration to play around with the possibilities of this luscious world always fascinates me, let’s have a romp through the rainbow, shall we? Here are some bright ideas for expanding the palette of your life, for fun and profit, color by color. And it’s my romp, so we’re not doing equal time — some colors are more fun than others.

Luscious, Bloody, Sexy Red

Red. The root chakra. The primal invitation to life. The blood of birth and death, the red clay of the mother between our toes, that haze that comes over your vision before you do something really really stupid, fire, rage, passion, life. Red is a color that knows it’s alive, that feels the heartbeat of its own jugular, that wants and demands more. More what? More of everything, most especially more life. Red does not ask why it’s here or if these pants make its butt look big. Red is too busy sinking its teeth deep, growling and getting lost in the sensations of the juice running down its throat. By all means, if your life has gotten a bit academic or routine lately, invoke red.

Wear lipstick of that shade fondly called “Fuck-Me Red.” Paint your nails to match, especially your toenails. Dye your hair.

Char a big slab of steak, leaving the center bloody. Cut it into strips, pile them in a bowl with the blood released by your knife, and eat it with your fingers. Drain the bowl, knowing in your mind you’re drinking the blood of the beast as you do it. No, tempeh cannot be substituted. Have dark chocolate for dessert.

Paint your body with tribal designs of your own delirious inspiration. Use red finger paint, or lipstick, or menstrual blood, or catsup. Dance naked, covered in slashes and spirals, to the beat of a drum.

In feng shui, red is the color of the “fame” corner. Red always screams “pay attention to me!” Wear the color and act as though you deserve to be noticed. Call attention to yourself in outrageous ways. Laugh loudly and refuse to be cowed.

Feel your heartbeat. Feel the blood pulsing just below the surface of your flesh, and know you are beast. Know you are life. Know you are passion, awaiting expression. Know your blood, your heartbeat, is the blood and heartbeat of all your ancestors, all the ancestors, all the peoples and creatures of this planet. Know that the pulsation of all life is one, in you.

Juicy, Tasty Orange

The belly chakra. Relationships, sexuality. It’s a great color, I’m sure, but it makes me look like I have hepatitis, so I have a slightly estranged relationship with orange. Nevertheless, I can make a couple recommendations.

Bake cookies with cinnamon in them. Add saffron to your rice. Make juice from fresh oranges — it takes what, five minutes, and what a difference! Better yet, let someone you love wake up to fresh-squeezed juice and your silent smile.

Meditate on a candle flame, letting the shifting play of tones awaken your memories of warmth, family or sexuality. Let the connection of the belly and the flame lead you back through the past, before this life, to the beds of all your wonderful lovers. Let the memories of loving bliss wash over you in waves of time and space. Light all those candles scattered about and make love to someone in a glow of shifting orange reflections.

Want what you can’t have, and then answer the question, “If I could have it, or the feelings that I believe it would evoke, how would I get it?”

Let lust — primal, unreasoning attraction — lead you to a new friend. Let yourself acknowledge the little belly flutters of lust you feel sometimes, in unguarded moments, for a dear friend. Know that all of life is about connection, and that lust and love are allies.

Yellow, the Sun of Shining Self

The light of all life. The shining disk of the solar plexus, the home of the will, of personal power. The gold glitter of success. Yellow evokes happiness, confidence and power.

Get some sun. I know it’s early spring in Seattle, but on those days when Father Sun emerges, go worship him properly. Get out your shades and tip your face up to the sky. Paint your entire body with gold glitter and go dancing. Have a power dinner: warm melty brie and crusty bread, crab legs and dripping yellow butter, champagne…

Meditate on your solar plexus chakra, seeing a shining sun at home there, and feeling the strength of your will, your ability to create the world of your choosing.

Abundant, Grass-Stained Green

The color of money. The wonderful power of our nation’s choice of paper currency. This color is also associated with healing and the heart chakra, but, truth be told, I think first of big wads of cash and second of doing summersaults down an immense hill.

Play with money. Do some fun work with your abundance issues: take $200 out of the bank in one-dollar bills. Scatter them all over your bedroom. Clear wads of them out of your bed so you can sleep at night. Find them everywhere. When they gather in the corners, pick them up in handfuls and toss them into the air. Money is energy crystallized. A truly magical photosynthesis, as the energy of work is stored in flat paper. Nothing more than love in material form.

Engage with life in a basic form — the creatures that photosynthesize so that the rest of us can live. Buy some houseplants, or more of them, and make a luscious jungle inside your home. Plant a garden in a couple of months. Grow wheatgrass and feed it to your cat. Notice the moss in the sidewalk. Find trees and hug them already!

Have a healing circle with some like-minded friends. Allow the healing color of green to travel where it is needed. Meditate on ideas of love and connection, your relationship with all life. Be in love, without concern for a suitable object. “I’m in love” is a sentence without referent, and a beautiful place to be.

I Ain’t Got No Chakra But Boy Do I Rock Pink!

Blushes. Where would we be without pink for blushes? Challenge yourself: find the compliment outrageously true enough to get every one of your associates to blush.

In feng shui as in Valentine’s Day, red, pink and white are the colors of love. Live it up! Decorate the back right corner of your home as a love altar with candles, ribbons, pictures of Hindu goddesses, massage oils, photos of your true love — whatever evokes the concept of loving connection for you.

Pink is your friend. Pink has never had a self-important moment in its entire career as a color on this planet. It is impossible to stand on your dignity or take yourself too seriously when wearing pink. This is good!

Calm, Cool Blue

Blue is a money color in feng shui. Adding an aquarium to your home or business is said to bring prosperity. Create an abundance altar in the back left corner of your home, including the colors of red, blue, and purple, along with candles, plants, lights, stones and pictures that evoke abundance for you.

Meditating on the color will put one in touch with calming influences and the state of mind where creativity can be expressed.

Water — deep, flowing blue water — is one of the most profound healers on the planet. Soak in it, bubble in it, stand under a moving stream of it and ask water to take away that which no longer serves you. Offer yourself naked to the ocean. I guarantee a rebirth as you emerge.

There are some very groovy blue stones, including sodalite and lapis lazuli.

Royalty Loves Purple

If red says, “Notice me,” purple says, “Respect me.” Perhaps even, “Obey me.” Purple is a power color, and wearing it is guaranteed to help you feel on top of your game.

Violet light is a strong tool for cleansing in visualization. Amethyst is known as the “sobriety stone” and has a remarkable ability to puncture denial.

Violet is the color of the third eye, of psychic awareness. Put some lavender oil in the bath, light a bunch of purple candles and see where your insight takes you. See that violet flame between your eyes, and let the images of your deeper mind flow into your awareness.

Basic Black

Black has been the color of choice for clergy in many traditions. It gives the sense that the person wearing it has access to mystical information, mysterious secrets. I could tell you more, but as my own wardrobe is mostly composed of black clothing, I’m going to leave this color as an exercise for the reader.

Champagne

I’m mentioning this vital color for two reasons. One: I look like crap in white and so ivory, champagne, whatever, is my best option for trying to look innocent. Not like anyone buys it anyway. Two: it’s the color of vanilla-scented candles, which are on the short list of reasons why this is a cool planet to live on. Put a vanilla bean in your sugar bowl.

Oh, and girls! Buy some pearls. Your grandmother knew about pearls, even if many of us have forgotten, and have caught the delusion that somehow diamonds are more important. It’s crap. Diamonds are the junkyard of stones, collecting every stray bit of energy that comes through their life and they can’t be cleared. But pearls, well, get enough strands of them so that you can feel their weight (cheapest method: gem show, buy a hank, string them yourself). Drape them on yourself, and you will know you are woman. Guys, by all means do this when you’re wanting to access your feminine side. But beware, they will bring up fonts of estrogen you didn’t know you had!

White

They say white contains all the colors together. Visualizing white light is a tree-hugging crystal freak cliché, but you know, it works. For healing, protection, and clarity, see that clear, bright, almost bluish light of a halogen bulb or clear sunlight on a brilliant day.

It’s also a reflection of the truth that all of life is a hologram, every part contains the whole, every individual is connected to all of the cosmos. The Akashic records are always available, and in every moment it is possible for you to know everything you need to. Practice believing that there is no separation. Even if you only pull it off for a moment. We are all one, the light of each soul shines brightly if we only choose to see.

Bathe yourself in moonlight. Put a jug of water outside at the full moon, and drink the essence of lunar wisdom. Know that everything happens in its own rhythm and in its own time. Know that the only guarantee is that all life is learning love, and that we will all find that loving union in time.

White is your canvas. Draw on it what you will, and harm none.