Ancient Light's Daily Stuff

Daily Stuff 1-28-23 Lênaia

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

[posting at 6pm] Rain gauge. – 0.4in. Mostly cloudy and 46F, wind at 0-9mph and gusting, AQI 11/36/53, UV1. Chance of rain 51% today and 54% tonight. 5 firespots.

Forecast – Ok, here come the cold nights. After today’s showers, it’s going to be dry for several days in a row and lows well below 40. It’s only going to get to a *high* of 40 on Sunday! We’ll be going back to 50/40’s and wet after Wednesday.

Today(45°/30°F) Showers, 0.12 in.
Tomorrow(40°/26°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Mon(44°/31°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Tue(45°/35°F) Cloudy, 0 in.
Wed(50°/38°F) Mostly Cloudy, 0 in.
Thu(51°/42°F) PM Showers, 0.18 in.
Fri(49°/41°F) Rain, 0.23 in.
Sat(52°/42°F) Showers, 0.19 in.
Sun(49°/42°F) Rain, 0.64 in.

Thursday evening we got home around 7pm and I went straight to bed and didn’t wake until past two. I got up and made a chicken salad with canned chicken, the rest of the marinated artichoke hearts, some onion, mayo, garlic powder and a little wasabi. I had some on the last hamburger bun, but it should be better when it’s had some time to blend a little. I slept plenty overnight, but I’m still groggy this morning. Maybe when I’ve had a 2nd cup of coffee? …yeah, that did it. 🙂

I started in on newspaper frames and filled in a couple of the files (astro and tides, mostly). Tempus had made us coffee and cheese toast and once he had eaten went to the pharmacy, bank and PO. That’s a short time to write, but it took up 3 hours. …and now another doctor visit….next Tuesday. Ugh. I know it’s better now than in the summer, but…. …and Tempus has to get a couple of appointments scheduled.

Right now I’m printing off some headers for the herbs that I’m bagging at home. I need to find my “printer basket” that I use when doing this. The printouts fit exactly and I can add a layer of bagged things between each and keep track that way.

Today is just a regular day at the shop. More books to check in, more plants to tend, more writing…. Normal!

Waves crashing into Tillamook Rock Lighthouse on the Oregon Coast – by Jim Scott (This is the lighthouse that needed a major repair after the ocean picked up a 2-ton rock and dropped it through that tower that you see on top, taking out the light’s Fresnel lens and mangling the stairway and tower underpinnings.)

Lupines are represented on the coast by the Large-Leaved Lupine, Lupinus polyphyllus, (which is often the common garden variety and all over out here) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus_polyphyllus and Kincaid’s Lupine, Lupinus sulphureus subsp. Kincaidii (which used to be called Oregon Lupine). The latter is threatened as they’re disappearing and are needed for an also disappearing butterfly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus_sulphureus We also get the yellow varieties of this one on the coast. More on the main lupin species here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupin These are tall showy flower spikes with a distinctive leaf pattern that bloom all summer into the fall. Some varieties of lupins (the “sweet lupins”) are eaten, but many require soaking in salt water for long periods of time to get the alkaloids out that could be poisonous. These were eaten by the indigenes, but no one has said how they were prepared. There’s a little here about the beans, which are being used as a vegan food, but have a high potential for allergic effects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupin_bean –Masculine, Fire, Moon – As far as magick goes, it’s not listed very many places, but its old name is “Blood from a head”. The word “lupine” derives from the word for wolf, as well. They are useful in magicks for any canine. In fact, I always include them in amulets for dogs or wolves. They can also be used to help with spirit communication with the canine/lupine totems. They have also been used in curse magicks for getting rid of things like cancers, or resistant viruses and bacteria or even for brain tumors.

The Festival of the Lênaia to Dionysus was held in ancient Greece beginning on approximately this date. The Lênaia, which was held at the coldest time of year, was for Dionysus Lênaios, celebrating his birth from Zeus’s thigh and his emergence from the Underworld. It was a festival with a dramatic competition but one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenaia (picture is the present-day remains of the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, Athens)

Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon., although we’re often here later. Need something off hours? Give us a call at 541-563-7154 or Facebook message or email at anjasnihova@yahoo.com If we’re supposed to be closed, but it looks like we’re there, try the door. If it’s open, the shop’s open! In case of bad weather, check here at the blog for updates, on our Facebook as Ancient Light, or call the shop.

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Taurus

Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or health, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends on 2/5 at 10:29am. Waxing Crescent phase – Keywords for the Crescent phase are: expansion, growth, struggle, opportunity. It is the time in a cycle that you gather the wisdom learned in the new phase and communicate your intention to move forward. Light a candle. Write or read an affirmation. LISTEN & ABSORB. Commit to your goal. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, energy and enthusiasm – Associated God/dess: Artemis & Apollo, Mayet/Djehuti, Freya/Frey. Phase ends at the Quarter on 1/28 at 7:19am. Waxing Gibbous Moon – From seven to fourteen days after the new moon. For spells that need concentrated work over a ¼ moon cycle this is the best time for constructive workings. Aim to do the last working on the day of the Full moon, before the turn. Keywords for the Gibbous phase are: analyze, prepare, trust. It is the time in a cycle to process the results of the actions taken during the First Quarter. During this phase you are gathering information. Give up making judgments; it will only lead to worry. Your knowledge is incomplete. Laugh. Analyze and filter. LOOK WITHIN. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, but in the uncommitted phase, the Warriors – Associated God/desses: Dion, Dionysius, Venus, Thor. Phase ends at the Full on 2/3 at 10:29pm.

Images of our lone natural satellite never fail to amaze either amateur astronomers or the general public. The large, dark, lava-filled maria contrast with the brighter highland regions, and everywhere it seems craters lie atop craters. – Philippe Moussette

First-quarter Moon (exactly so at 10:19 a.m. EST). The Moon is partway between Mars to its left and Jupiter farther to its lower right. During twilight, Venus and dim Saturn complete the lineup low in the west-southwest. A line from the Moon through Jupiter points to them — because the Moon and planets all lie nearly on the great circle of the ecliptic. Uranus and Neptune are also part of this evening lineup, though out of naked-eye sight.

Just over 12 hours later, at 11 P.M. EST, the Moon passes 0.9° north of Uranus. The pair are in Aries the Ram, which lies in the southwest after dark. This constellation doesn’t have many bright stars: Hamal (magnitude 2) and Sheratan (magnitude 2.6) are the most notable. The Moon sits about 11.5° southeast of these stars, and Luna is now nearly 2° due west of distant Uranus. The planet sits inside a triangle of three of the Ram’s fainter (5th to 6th magnitude) stars: Sigma (σ), Omicron, and Pi (π) Arietis. The half-lit Moon sits just outside the perimeter of this triangle. You’ll need binoculars or a telescope to view Uranus, which glows softly at magnitude 5.8. It will appear as a dim, “flat”-looking star, whose edges might appear sharply defined, rather than the formless pinprick of light shown off by stars. Uranus’ disk is just 4″ across, thanks to the planet’s distance from Earth: some 19.54 astronomical units (AU; where 1 AU is the average Earth-Sun distance), or 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers).

Constellation of Cetus. Menkar is near the top left.

Cetus the Whale stands above the southwestern horizon these winter nights. This large constellation — the fourth largest of all 88 — covers some 1,231 square degrees and contains several well-known stars. One such star is Mira, also cataloged as Omicron (ο) Ceti. An aging variable star, Mira changes in brightness between roughly 3rd and 10th magnitude over the course of just under a year (330 days). So, sometimes it is readily visible to the naked eye, taking its proper place in the center of the constellation, and sometimes it appears to have vanished! In fact, Mira’s last peak, when it was brightest, was July last year, and its next is June of this year. So, if you look for it with the naked eye tonight, you won’t see it — it’s simply too faint. But, of course, you can pick it up with binoculars or a telescope, some 12.7° southwest of our next stop: magnitude 2.5 Menkar, Cetus’ alpha star. Menkar marks the Whale’s head. This star is slightly younger than Mira but is now reaching the later stages of its life, no longer burning hydrogen into helium in its core. Astronomers believe that Menkar, too, will become a variable like Mira, before ultimately ending its life as a white dwarf. On the other side of the constellation to the southwest, marking the tail of Cetus is Deneb Kaitos (Beta [β] Ceti), also called Diphda. At magnitude 2, it is brighter than Menkar, despite its Greek-letter “rank” of second. This star is relatively close to Earth, just 96 light-years distant, compared with Menkar’s 220. Diphda gives off copious amounts of X-rays and appears to be fusing its helium into carbon as it, too, approaches the later stages of its life.

Neptune, magnitude 7.9 at the Aquarius-Pisces border, is getting ever lower about 11° to the lower right of Jupiter. Try for it immediately after dark, using the Neptune finder charts in last September’s Sky & Telescope, page 49.

Runic half-month of Perdhro/ Peorth, 1/12-1/27. – Feast of Brewing, Druidic, Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar. Runic half-month of Elhaz/Algiz, from 1/28-2/11. This half month: optimistic power, protection and sanctuary.

Sun in Aquarius

Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Black
Planting 1/28&9
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17, Luis (LWEESH)/rowan – The rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia L.) is related to servceberries. The red berries were historically used to lure birds into traps, and the specific epithet aucuparia comes from words meaning “to catch a bird”. Birds are also responsible for dispersing the seeds. Rowans thrive in poor soils and colonize disturbed areas. In some parts of Europe they are most common around ancient settlements, either because of their weedy nature or because they were planted. Rowans flower in May. They grow to 15 m (50 feet) and are members of the Rose family (Rosaceae). They are cultivated in North America, especially in the northeast.

Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Sa 28     High   5:25 AM     8.1   7:39 AM     Set 12:49 AM      40
~    28     Low 12:19 PM     1.4   5:20 PM    Rise 11:17 AM
~    28     High   6:14 PM     5.6
~    28     Low 11:43 PM     2.7

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Everybody gets at least one chance to do something great.

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Journal Prompt – What is? – What is an exciting or crazy trip you have taken?

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Quotes

~   A guest sees more in an hour than the host in a year. – unknown
~   If there was anything, anything more at all, after this crazy mix-up we call living, I could feel that there might be some point to the whole frantic business, even if I did not know and could not know the full answer while I was alive. And suppose there was not? Suppose that when a man’s body disintegrates, he himself disappears absolutely. I’m bound to say I find it a probable hypothesis. Well- It wouldn’t be cheerful knowledge, but it would be better than not knowing. You could plan your life rationally, at least. A man might even be able to get a certain amount of satisfaction in planning things better for the future, after he’s gone. A vicarious pleasure in the anticipation.” – Chapter 10, “-the only game in town”, p. 105 Robert Heinlein
~   You have got to be joking. Whether the Treasurer wished to go there or not, I would forbid him going to the Senate to account to this unrepresentative swill over there. – Paul Keating, refusing to allow Treasurer John Dawkins to appear before a Senate inquiry, November 4, 1992
~   The Warrior has to be ready to seize the opportunities that come and to follow the path down which intuition leads her. – Kerr Cuhulain

Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air,
Contending fierce for space supremacy. – Claude McKay (1889–1948)

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Imbolc Magick – Recipes – Scones – If you’re short on time, visit a local restaurant supply for plain scone mixes and then add your extras. You may have to do some figuring to cut down the batch size, but this is pretty cost-effective.

Cardamon and Pine Nut Scones – From: c508723@umcvmb.missouri.edu (Deva)

1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c oat flour
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp (to taste) ground cardamom
1/4 c pine nuts, ground
4 tbs butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c cream (as needed)

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix.
Add the pine nuts and the butter and cut into the flour mixture.
Stir in the eggs and add just enough cream to make a stiff dough.
Put the dough on a floured board and pat it out into a circle about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
Cut into wedges and place wedges on a cookie sheet at least one inch apart.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or till nicely browned.
Sprinkle with additional cardamom and serve with plum jam.

Note: You may increase the amount of cardamom or substitute coriander for a stronger flavor. You can also leave out the pine nuts and add a small amount of additional butter.

Cape Cod Cranberry Scones – From: ak399@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Carole A. Resnick) – Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/07/91

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
2 tsp grated orange peel
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F. In mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; cut in butter with pastry blended or two knives. Stir in cranberries, orange peel and sugar; stir in buttermilk just until ingredients are moistened. Working on floured surface, shape dough into two 8-inch circles, 1/2-inch thick. Cut each circle into eight wedges and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Herb Scones – from Kate’s (Vegan) Cookery Site

This is one I made up, based on a standard scone recipe. The nutritional yeast helps to make them cheesy-tasting without adding fat, and the combination of herbs is nicely-balanced to add a good, savoury flavour without being too dominating. Finely-chopped spring onion (green onion) might be a good addition to these, but I haven’t tested that yet; it might be good with the nutritional yeast doubled to make the scones even cheesier. I use my own celery salt in these – grind together equal volumes of celery seed and table salt. These are good hot with soya margarine, or cold with soup or stew. Eat them soon after they come out of the oven, or freeze them, as they go stale fast.

Makes 8

250g (9oz) self-raising flour
2 tsp dried chives
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp dried thyme
6 Tbsp (3/8 cup) nutritional yeast flakes
a pinch of celery salt (or ordinary salt)
40g (1 1/2 oz) soya margarine
about 125ml (4 1/2 fl oz) soya milk

1. Sift the flour into a bowl (this incorporates air). Add the herbs, salt and nutritional yeast, and mix well. Add the margarine in small blobs and mix again.

2. Rubbing-in: pick up the flour-coated blobs of margarine in your fingertips, hold your hands above the bowl, and rub the margarine into the flour with your fingertips, dropping the results into the bowl as you do so. Keep doing this until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add most of the milk and mix, first with a wooden spoon and then your hands. Add more milk if needed to form a soft non-sticky dough (be careful as it’s a lot easier to add more milk than take some away…). Don’t handle the dough too roughly, but don’t be scared of it, either.

4. Roll out the dough to about 2cm (3/4 inch) thick. Either cut into circles with a cutter, reroll the scraps and repeat, or slice into square or triangles. Either way, place on a baking try and cook in a pre-heated oven at Gas 8 (230C, 450F) for about 10 minutes until risen and golden.

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Silliness – Grounded

Brendan had spent a week visiting his family in Kentucky. His sister-in-law and seven-year-old nephew went with him when he returned to the airport. After verifying his seat number with the counter attendant, Brendan walked back to his relatives and stated that he’d have to wait an additional three hours in the airport.

“How come?,” his nephew asked.

“My plane has been grounded,” Brendan explained.

“Grounded?” the little boy said. “I didn’t know planes had parents.”

Posted in Newsletter | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Goddess Month, Grounded, Imbolc, Journal Prompt, Kincaid’s Lupine, Large-Leaved Lupine, lupines, Lupinus polyphyllus, Lupinus sulphureus subsp. Kincaidii, Lupinus_sulphureus, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Oregon Lupine, Pagan, Quotes, Runic Half Month, Silliness, Snow-fairies falling, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-27-23 Lewis Carroll

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

[posting at 6pm] Rain gauge. – Trace (it’s been dry for days!) Partly cloudy and 46F, wind at 0-11mph and gusting, AQI 23/29/43, UV1. Chance of rain 73% today and 47% tonight. 4 firespots, a lot of these are where fires were over the summer and they’re finally going out and smoking.

Forecast – We have a couple of damp days, then 4 dry ones with really cold nights (muhgawd, Sunday!), then back to wet.
Today(47°/40°F45°/30°F) Showers, 0.15 in.
Sun(39°/25°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Mon(43°/28°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Tue(46°/33°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Wed(49°/38°F) Cloudy, 0.02 in.
Thu(48°/39°F) Showers, 0.45 in.
Fri(49°/40°F) Showers, 0.2 in.
Sat(53°/42°F) Showers, 0.25 in.

Yes, mostly we slept all day on Wednesday. We were up for about 3 hours, doing chores, having coffee and some…. brlupper? …anyway bacon and eggs and toast, then we had sandwiches before Tempus took off for the paper route.

I spent time during the night working on amulet kits, but I’m going to have to get more jump rings, darned if I know where they went, but the drawer is empty. (…and I got ’em ordered late in the afternoon) …and I managed another scissor holder and a “bits” pocket for the bookcase, so I can reach my tools.

Thursday morning’s sky was lovely. It was about 1/2 cloud, but all high, white fluff. There were a few low bits, that were probably lifted fog along the bay. It was about 1/2 tide, so the inlets were mostly dry and I only saw a few ducks, but a lot of gulls, a couple of which were going after each other over the highway.

We swung by the laundromat and they’re still not open. <sigh> So we got the shop open, had coffee and cheese toast and then Tempus headed for Newport with the laundry. I worked online for a bit, got the newsletter out, set this up, then worked on the ritual of Crossing for quite some time. That got finished around 5 and I’ve been working on this, since. I’ll be putting together some herbs to pack at home or maybe some crystals and I have some more necklaces to assemble.

I’ll need to get things put away when we get home and I’m hoping to make a chicken salad. although I’m not sure I have all the ingredients. Today ought to be just a regular day.

A pic from 1/26/16 by Ken Gagne of the surf.

motif, tree celtic duir oregon white oak

Today’s Plant is Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana, also called Garry oak, or just Oregon oak. It doesn’t grow well out here on the coast, although supposedly there are some specimens. I’ve never seen one out here, but they’re *all* over the Willamette Valley, many of them hosting our local mistletoe, Phoradendron flavescens. This is the same relation of tree and herb that gave rise to the legends of the Golden Bough in Europe, although these are *far* different species. – Masculine, Sun ,Fire, Dagda, (Jupiter, Thor, Pan) – Use in magicks for protection, money, potency, fertility – Burn the bark to draw off illness, carry and piece of the for luck and protection, acorns are used to tip male power wands and worn as necklaces by some priests and can be carried to increase fertility and male potency to preserve health and long life. Place in windows to ward off lightning. Plant an acorn at the new moon if you need money. Fires of oak wood draw off illness. – Wiccaning or Seining – Wiccaning or Seining is the ceremony where we welcome a new child to the world. Holly water is used for girls and Oak for boys. Make by a tablespoon of powdered leaf brew in 1 cup of very hot water for about 10 minutes, then adding that to 2 cups of cold water. Sprinkle or wash baby with it. More here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_white_oak Mistletoe lore here :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe#Culture.2C_folklore.2C_and_mythologyand more about our variety here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoradendron

Today is the birthday of the English mathematician and author, Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson; d. January 14, 1898), in 1832. He wrote lots of wonderful nonsense verses, including the “Hunting of the Snark” and Jabberwocky, but is best known for his books “Alice in Wonderland” and the sequel “Through the Looking Glass”. This despite him being a mathematician and logician and teacher! These latter things were his life’s work, but he has been immortalized in his hobbies. There is a wonderful article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Aries

Use this photo to estimate Betelgeuse’s magnitude using Aldebaran and, with reservations, Bellatrix. Magnitudes are in parentheses. When Bob King took this photo on December 22nd, Betelgeuse was much more like Bellatrix than Rigel.

Orion is now high in the southeast right after dark, and he stands highest due south around 9 p.m. Orion is the brightest of the 88 constellations, but his main pattern is surprisingly small compared to some of his dimmer neighbors. The biggest of these is Eridanus the River to his west, enormous but hard to trace. Dimmer Fornax the Furnace, to Eridanus’s lower right, is almost as big as Orion! Even the main pattern of Lepus, the Hare cowering under the Hunter’s feet, isn’t much smaller than he is.

Do you know the constellation down below Lepus? It’s a tough one: Columba the Dove, faint, sprawly, and to my eye not a bit dove-like. See the constellation chart in the center of the February Sky & Telescope. Its brightest star, Alpha Columbae or Phact, is magnitude 2.6. To find it, draw a line from Rigel through Beta Leporis (the front of the bunny’s neck) and extend it an equal distance straight on.

The Teapot – Amateur astronomers created the asterism the Teapot of Sagittarius because the constellation is so big and doesn’t exactly resemble an Archer. – Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Mercury is growing more prominent in the morning sky, now magnitude 0 and rising nearly an hour and a half before the Sun. An hour before sunrise, Mercury sits about 5° high in the southeast, to the upper left (east-northeast) of the triangular top of Sagittarius’ Teapot asterism, which is just peeking above the horizon. Through a telescope, the tiny planet spans 7″ and appears just over half (57 percent) lit. Mercury is accompanied by several bright stars still visible against the growing twilight: the prominent red giant Antares in Scorpius stands to its upper right, with Altair in Aquila to its upper left. Some 34° above Altair blazes Vega in Lyra, matching Mercury in brightness at magnitude 0. Look to Vega’s left to locate Deneb in Cygnus the Swan. These three stars — Altair, Vega, and Deneb — form the famous Summer Triangle, which rises the morning during the winter but in the evening during the summer. Meanwhile, look to Vega’s far upper right to locate Arcturus, the bright alpha star in Boötes. Through binoculars or a telescope, this aging luminary appears distinctly golden.

Uranus, magnitude 5.7 in southern Aries, is high in the south in early evening. It displays a tiny, very slightly blue-greenish gray disk 3.6 arcseconds wide. It a telescope at high power it’s obviously non-stellar. See the Uranus finder charts in the November Sky & Telescope, page 49.

Sun in Aquarius

Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – ?
Planting Harvest
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
F   27    High   4:40 AM     8.1   7:40 AM    Rise 10:55 AM     30
~    27     Low 11:10 AM     1.5   5:18 PM
~    27      High   4:56 PM     6.2
~    27     Low 10:54 PM     1.7

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Abundance and joy enhance all my thoughts and feelings.

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Journal Prompt – Personal Interests and Experiences – Invent something that would make doing homework easier.

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Quotes

~   The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences – Eugene Wigner (1902-1995) Hungarian-born US physicist
~   Better beggar woman and single than Queen and married. – Queen Elizabeth I
~   Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise. – Ephesians 5:15
~   Man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart, ‘Tis woman’s whole existence. – Lord Byron

Then welcome cold, welcome, ye snowy nights!
Heaven midst your rage shall mingle pure delights.
And confidence of hope the soul sustain,
While devastation sweeps along the plain:
Nor shall the child of poverty despair,
But bless the Power that rules the changing year;
Assured, though horrors round his cottage reign,
That Spring will come, and Nature smile again. – Robert Bloomfield (1766–1823)

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Imbolc Magick – Meditation –

Summoner – In these lean months the food we harvested in the fall dwindles. Our God in his youth looks to the Great Mother for sustenance. She who is the Birch Tree has dropped her leaves and kept safe everything that he needs to grow strong, and she will help us through the last of the winter. Hear now the words of the Birch Tree!

Priestess – I have seen many long and cold winters. When my leaves drop in the autumn I take my sweet sap down into the ground and nourish the Roots of Life. In that time I hide the fallen seeds and nuts for the hungry times of the late winter. As the Wheel turns to Imbolc I see all Life struggling to survive and I bring my sap back up from the earth.

While the snow gently caresses your back, realize that I am watching over you. To me you look up to see the fine difference between life and death.

Understand that I will not always give you what you want. Instead I will give you what you NEED, for that is the lesson of this time in the Turning of the Wheel.

I see to your safety but you must sacrifice to me your weakness, and your infancy.

Shelter behind my trunk as the winds of winter blow! Bite my bark and drink my sap as it begins to flow again! Dig through my roots! Find the fallen seeds of the last harvest! Take them, and use them to survive.

I will always provide. Priestess lights Goddess candle.

Summoner – The Birch Tree holds our God safely till his power grows strong enough for spring. He is the Red Bird that searches her roots for food. He sleeps in Her branches for shelter. When He is strong enough his song will herald the coming spring. Hear now the words of the Red Bird.

Priest – In the cold and storms of winter I bring the lesson of trust in the Great Mother of us all. I listen, Birch Tree, and will survive remembering your words.

As the Wheel turns the cold winter will end, and I will sing the spring back to us. My song will ease the winter winds, strengthen the burning of the sun, calm the great waters, and release the life that the winter earth has safe guarded for us. Until then I ask the Birch Tree to help me find my strength. Priest lights the God candle.

Birch Tree Meditation for Imbolc 2009

The wheel turns, and with it ebb and flow many things. Life and death, God and Goddess, Light and Darkness… During this time of the Wheel’s turning, the Goddess is in Her full power, and the God’s light grows stronger every day. The plants which been waiting silently in the Underworld, and itching to be reborn into the Light in the coming months… And the trees are beginning to pull their sap back up from the ground, refilling themselves with their own nurturing juices.

Close your eyes… Breathe deep, and let your body relax… Relax your mind, and as you breathe let your breath calm your muscles… your fears… your worries… As you inhale, let your breath soothe your soul… As you exhale, let your tension and stress flow with your breath, out of you, and into the Earth.

As you begin to relax, let yourself drift in the dark place, the nurturing womb of the Goddess. Here you are safe and loved, beyond all bounds. Here, you are cradled in the amniotic fluid of the Mother of Life…

In the darkness, you realize that you are enclosed within a shell; An egg-shaped barrier surrounds you… You feel moist air around you… And the shell sucks up the water and cracks, exposing you to the fresh air in the soil that now envelops you…

You know which way is up… And you feel the magickal pull of some force… A force that wants you to rise up… You try, but you know you’re not strong enough. You continue to breathe in the air, and drink the water, and feel the force pulling you, making yourself stronger. You grow up into the darkness, waiting to break free from the shadowed womb that has nurtured you.

Continuing to gather strength from the elements around you, you fill yourself with energy, aching to answer the call to rise up, to discover what lives and thrives above you… And you thrust yourself up to greet the light of the Sun…

Feel the power of the Sun pouring down on you, and recognize that it was the Sun’s power that was pulling you up from the depths… As day turns to night, and the days go by, you continue to grow. You rise up. Your roots go deeper, and your trunk becomes wider, and your branches stretch out and bud with the promise of fertile seed…

But the Wheel turns, and you begin to loose your leaves… Your juices flow down and into the Earth and your roots, while the cold frost of Winter approaches… You stand, cold and alone, having lost your fertile seeds, feeling the cold breeze rush through your leafless branches, and waiting for the Sun to regain his Throne so that Life can renew itself…

One day you feel the shift in the air, and you know that the Light is coming back… It is the time of year that it is now… The time when the Goddess is in Her full power… So are you, who is the Mighty Birch Tree. A symbol of the Goddess. You who know the Goddess as Maiden, for you were a sapling… You who know the Goddess as Mother, for you bore fertile seeds… You who know the Goddess as Crone, for you shed the ability of producing life and survived the cold harsh winter… And just like the Goddess Herself, you were reborn to begin the cycle once more.

Take some time to listen for messages from the spirit of the Birch, and from the Goddess… Take some time to feel what it has been like to grow and wither as a Birch Tree… Thank the Birch Spirit and the Goddess, and let yourself drift back into the darkness, where you can once again rejoin this world… As you breathe, let the visualization drift away, and let your breath remind you of your physical body.

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Silliness – Shorties – Did you know you can’t run while camping? You can only ran because it’s past tents…..

Posted in Newsletter | Tagged Pagan, Astrology, Astronomy, Silliness, Magick, Affirmation, Tides, Journal Prompt, Oregon Coast, Wicca, Weather, Moon, Celtic Tree Month, Goddess Month, Runic Half Month, Quotes, Imbolc, Candlemas, Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana, Garry oak, Mistletoe, Oregon oak, Phoradendron flavescens, Today’s Plant, Today’s Feast, Then welcome cold, Shorties, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-26-23 Vaclav Havel

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

[posting at 2pm] Rain gauge. – Dry

Just trying to get the Stuff to you. I might update with a note, later.

A gull fly-by in Yachats by Ken Gagne on 1/23/19

Today’s Plant is the Linden Tree, tilia species. It is also called lime tree (no relation to the fruit) and basswood. It is the national tree of many countries, particularly in Central Europe, (the Czech Republic!) where at one time it was sacred and councils met at the sacred linden, just as in the British Isles they met at an oak. The wood is widely used for carving and for guitars. The inner bark of the tree has been used in making fabric. The flowers, which smell delicious, are used in teas and perfumes and a valuable honey is derived from them. The flowers, leaves, wood, and charcoal (obtained from the wood) are used for medicinal purposes.– Feminine, Jupiter, Water, Taurus – Bark used for protection, leaves and flowers for immortality. Good Fortune, Sleep and Love. Hang branches over the door for protection or grow in the garden. Use in love spells/mixtures and protection spells & incenses. Mix equal parts Linden and Lavender flowers and place in a sachet under your pillowcase to relieve insomnia. Keep Linden on a table to release the energies needed to keep the spirit alive and healthy.

Today’s feast is the anniversary of the day in 1993 that Vaclav Havel was elected President of the Czech Republic. How many playwrights, even dissident playwrights, become president? How many countries would *pick* a playwright as president? Maybe the country whose anthem is this:

Kde domov můj, kde domov můj?
Voda hučí po lučinách,
bory šumí po skalinách,
v sadě skví se jara květ,
zemský ráj to na pohled!
A to je ta krásná země,
země česká domov můj,
země česká domov můj!

feast 0126 Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg

Where is my home, where is my home?
Water roars across the meadows,
Pinewoods rustle among crags,
The garden is glorious with spring blossom,
Paradise on earth it is to see.
And this is that beautiful land,
The Czech land, my home,
The Czech land, my home!

feast 0126 Coat_of_arms_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg

No war, no battles, no glorious gore…. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaclav_Havel and on the republic here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic and the anthem here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_national_anthem A youtube of the anthem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPTwOZWnm6E and another with some lovely sights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn87PI9K99M Or even better still for today…. The version from Havel’s state funeral. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL1fBSyXI5U Can you tell that I love my ancestral home?

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Aries

Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or health, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends on 2/5 at 10:29am. Diana’s Bow – On the 3^rd day after the new moon you can (weather permitting) see the tiny crescent in the sky, the New Moon holding the Old Moon in her arms. Begin on your goals for the next month. A good time for job interviews or starting a project. Take a concrete step! God/dess aspect: Daughter/Son/Innocence – Associated God/dess: Vesta, Horus. Phase ends on 1/26 at 12:53am. Waxing Crescent phase – Keywords for the Crescent phase are: expansion, growth, struggle, opportunity. It is the time in a cycle that you gather the wisdom learned in the new phase and communicate your intention to move forward. Light a candle. Write or read an affirmation. LISTEN & ABSORB. Commit to your goal. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, energy and enthusiasm – Associated God/dess: Artemis & Apollo, Mayet/Djehuti, Freya/Frey. Phase ends at the Quarter on 1/28 at 7:19am.

Sky shapes – The Circlet of Pisces sits south of a line drawn between Algenib and Markab, which marks one side of the Great Square of Pegasus. – Astronomy: Roen Kelly

After dark the Great Square of Pegasus sinks in the west left of Jupiter. It’s tipped onto one corner. Meanwhile the Big Dipper is creeping up in the north-northeast, tipped up on its handle.

Astrology Alphabet: HEBE, asteroid #6. Hieroglyphics character sign (single symbol).

Asteroid 6 Hebe reaches opposition at 4 A.M. EST. The magnitude 8.7 main-belt world lies in Cancer, rising in the east after sunset. Look with binoculars for two 6th-magnitude field stars some 6.8° south-southwest of the Beehive Cluster (M44). Hebe lies midway between those stars, slightly west of a line connecting them.

Beehive descending – Cancer sets slowly after sundown on May evenings; this chart shows the view looking west about 2 hours after sunset, when you can easily find the Beehive Cluster (m44) between Leo and Gemini. – Alison Klesman (via TheSkyX)

Since you’re in the area, don’t ignore M44, a stunning open cluster visible even without any optical aid. The Beehive Cluster has been known since antiquity, thanks to its naked-eye magnitude of 3.7; it spans some 95′ and contains roughly 350 stars, many of which are visible with binoculars or a telescope. But M44 isn’t the only open cluster in Cancer by far. Just over 6° east of Hebe’s position (and about 8° southeast of M44) is M67, a fainter, more compact cluster that glows at magnitude 6.1 and spans 30′, similar to the apparent size of the Full Moon. Although it is also an open cluster of young stars, it’s one of the oldest in this category — astronomers estimate M67 is some 3.2 billion years old. Compare that with M44, which is an estimated 703 million years old! Because M67 is roughly the same age as our solar system, it’s a great place for researchers to study Sun-like stars.

Saturn, magnitude +0.8 in Capricornus, passes brilliant Venus this week in the twilit southwest. On Friday January 20th, Saturn is still 2° above Venus as shown at the top of this page. They go through conjunction on the 22nd, about ½° apart. Thereafter Saturn descends rapidly away to Venus’s lower right.

Sun in Aquarius

Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Green
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Th 26    High   3:56 AM     8.1   7:41 AM    Rise 10:35 AM      20|
~    26      Low 10:07 AM    1.7   5:17 PM     Set 11:38 PM
~    26    High   3:50 PM     7.1
~    26      Low 10:10 PM     0.8

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Swing as high as you can on a swingset..by moonlight…

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Journal Prompt – What do you think? – What do you think courage means?

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Quotes

~   My heart burnt within me with indignation and grief; we could think of nothing else. All night long we had only snatches of sleep, waking up perpetually to the sense of a great shock and grief. Every one is feeling the same. I never knew so universal a feeling. – Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) English writer
~   Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Spanish artist
~   An ancient script says, “Would you let a man rule the city who cannot even rule his own spirit?” Sometimes we do. – Jim Rohn
~   Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn’t buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure? – Anonymous

The sprawling Bear
Growled deep in the sky;
And Orion’s hair
Streamed sparkling by:
But the North sighed low,
“Snow, snow, more snow!” – –Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)

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Imbolc Magick – Crafts

Brigit Candles – adapted from Starhawk, Baker and Hill’s Circle Round – Honor Brigit with new special candles. These candles use molds made from coiled salt dough ropes so that each completely unique candle bears the spiral imprint of the coil.

You will need:
1 recipe salt dough clay
a bowl of water
8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper, one for each candle
wax paper, cut into 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheets, one for each candle tape
1 T vegetable oil
toothpicks
small bowl
candle making supplies

Taper Candles

Make ropes by rolling salt dough clay between your hands. Each rope should be two or three feet long and 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. If younger children can’t manage such lengths, have them make smaller segments that can be joined later with a little pressure and water. Dip your fingers into the bowl of water occasionally if the dough tends to crack.
Roll the paper into a 1 inch wide cylinder and tape it shut.
Around this cylinder, tape a piece of wax paper, coated with a thin layer of oil.
Lightly moisten a salt dough rope with water.
Lay the paper cylinder on its side at one end of the rope.
Roll it along the dough, wrapping the rope up the cylinder until it is six inches tall. Be sure the edges of the coiled rope always touch.
To provide extra support, at intervals stick several toothpicks vertically through the coils.
Make a bottom for the mold by shaping another piece of salt dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle that’s larger than the coiled tower in diameter.
Moisten the bottom’s surface, then carefully lift the coiled tower onto the bottom piece and press gently to make a seal.
Pull the paper cylinder out. This slides out easily, leaving the wax paper. Remove it by gently tugging on the wax paper with one hand while you support the clay coils with the others.
Inspect each part of the mold, looking for tiny cracks where melted wax could leak. Press these shut.
If the coils start to sag, quickly fashion a paper cylinder around the outside of the coils and tape it closed. Trim it to the same height as the clay, so it won’t get in the way when you are pouring wax.
Set the mold in an empty bowl, in case wax leaks through. You are ready to pour.
Pouring the wax is thrilling! Go very slowly up each level to make sure no wax is leaking through. If a leak appears, carefully pinch it shut and pour again.
Insert the wick.
The wax will harden within an hour, long before the clay dries.
To unmold, just unwind the clay. If some sticks, soak the candle in cool water and then gently rinse off the clay.

The candles have a wonderfully craggy spiral looping from bottom to top, and burn with a lovely strong flame.

Beehive Candles – You can also make beehive candles with great success by coiling ropes of salt dough in a small, deep bowl (a rice bowl is the perfect size)

Start with making a spiral, about 3 inches across, outside of the bowl, then transfer this into the bottom of the bowl.
Next coil the rope inside the bowl until you reach the top.
The candle is burned with the dome side up, so the wick has to be extended through the wax at the bottom of the bowl. When the wax is firm enough to insert the wick, use a bamboo skewer pointed end down, and push it firmly through the candle, into the dough beneath, straight to the bottom of the bowl. Twist the skewer occasionally to make sure the wax doesn’t stick it into place.
The candle unmolds easily: Lift candle and mold from the bowl and uncoil the mold.
Pull out the skewer and insert a prepared wick.

Brigit Candleholder – To echo the Goddess’s symbol of the serpent, make this candleholder, which resembles a coiled snake. Follow directions for making a mold for taper candles, with the following differences:

Size your holder by wrapping a paper cylinder around whatever candle you intend to use. Remove candle before proceeding further.
Dough ropes should be about 1/2 inch wide and a foot long. If candleholder is taller than 4 inches, use toothpicks for extra support.
Make the bottom by coiling a rope into a small circle.
After the paper cylinder has been removed, use your candle to gently test of the open end of the candleholder is large enough to accommodate the candle. If it’s too small, delicately press the opening wider. If it’s too large, fill in with bits of salt dough.
Bake the holder as directed. Turn after the first hour to be sure it does not stick to the pan.
6 Cool completely after baking. Then paint with snaky patterns, finishing with eyes on the end of the top coil.

From “Circle Round” By Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill, adapted by Anja Reed Bartlett 1/11

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Silliness – Voodoo Doll

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Basswood, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Goddess Month, Imbolc, Imbolc Crafts, Journal Prompt, Lime Tree, Linden Tree, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Runic Half Month, Silliness, The sprawling Bear, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Tilia species, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Voodoo Doll, Weather, Wicca | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-25-23 Disting

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Last Minus Tide of the cycle at 9:27 PM of -0.2 feet. The shop opens at 1pm on Thursday (we’re closed Tue/Wed). Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Greg Anderson.

[posting at 8pm] Rain gauge. – Dry. Clear and 44F, wind at 2-4mph, AQI 26/33/86, UV2. Chance of rain 8% today and tonight. 8 firespots. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY until 1pm.

Forecast – Partly cloudy, but dry today, then a few days with some showers. We’re still looking at cold nights. my goodness! Sunday! …and a bunch down near freezing. Be careful out there! Tempus said it was all frost Monday night, but some of these….
Today(52°/34°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Tomorrow(50°/41°F) Mostly Sunny, 0.03 in.
Fri(48°/41°F) Showers, 0.14 in.
Sat(45°/33°F) Showers, 0.28 in.
Sun(40°/23°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Mon(35°/26°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Tue(42°/32°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Wed(45°/34°F) AM Showers, 0.04 in.
Thu(47°/36°F) Showers, 0.24 in.

Monday evening class didn’t happen. Bad case of food poisoning…. So we finished up some chores, went home, had supper and fell into bed. It was *cold* in the house last night. I finally closed the door to the bedroom and left the heater running and it was past 6am when it got warm enough to turn it off!

I was up around noon, but crawled back in next to Tempus, then got up for real around 1:30. He followed, soon after and got us coffee and cheese sandwiches and we headed out pretty soon after. There was bright sunshine and the inlets were very full, still on the way into town. The river was blue and choppy, and the sun shone on mist across the bay. The thermometer on the phone compancy said, “64F” as we turned the corner to head into Newport.

I had my appointment and came home with a meal plan, suggestions for some new meds, a lot of papers and the counselor is going to see if she can find some work-arounds so that I don’t have to do finger sticks or blood tests.

We were done around 6pm, picked up dinner at Arctic Circle and rolled home. I watched the darkening sky decorated with Jupiter, Diana’s Bow and Venus. Saturn was hidden by cloud. We got to the shop 6:30-ish and I sat right down here.

Today is going to be our sleep-in day. I don’t think there’s going to be a newsletter until Thursday afternoon. We have a lot of chores to do at home, and some cooking!

The Yachats Wayside Spouting Horn. Photo by from 1/22/15

plant pic Rhododendron_occidentale_Strybing

Today’s Plant is the Western Azalea, Rhododendron Occidentale. Azaleas are a subset of the rhodys. This is the main one that grows around here. It’s hard to tell from the shape and size of the plant that it’s an azalea, or even from the flowers, although the branches are thinner and the leaves shorter and rounder than those of rhododendrons. It least it’s hard for those of us who are familiar with the showy garden hybrids, which tend to be small and compact. The other West Coast azalea is Rhododendron Albiflorum, and there’s not a whacking lot of info floating around about that one. The wiki is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron_occidentale The Chinese call azaleas “thinking of home bush”. Magickal uses for azalea are to encourage light spirits, happiness and gaiety.

Today is the eve of Disting, or Disablot, a festival in honor of the Disir, the female helper spirits. Here’s one version of a ritual. http://www.adf.org/rituals/norse/disting/disting.html and a link about the Disir here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disir …and here’s another link with related information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADsabl%C3%B3t

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Pisces .

Right after dark, face east and look very high, almost overhead. The bright star there is Capella, the Goat Star. To the right of it, by a couple of finger-widths at arm’s length, is a small, narrow triangle of 3rd and 4th magnitude stars known as “The Kids.” Though they’re not exactly eye-grabbing, they form a never-forgotten asterism with Capella.

Steadily working its way along the ecliptic, the Moon passes 3° south of Neptune at 1 A.M. EST, then makes a closer pass of magnitude –2.2 Jupiter in Pisces, moving 1.8° south of the solar system’s largest planet at 9 P.M. EST. You can catch those two in the south starting at sundown; in the Midwest, Jupiter’s innermost Galilean moon, Io, is about a quarter of the way through a transit at sunset. An hour later (around 6:10 P.M. CST — that’s 7:10 P.M. EST), Io is now about three-quarters of the way across the disk and its shadow has joined in the journey, making its way inward from the eastern limb.

Jupiter on January 15th, imaged by Christopher Go. South is up, east is right. Notice that Jupiter’s eastern limb is shadier than the western limb, Jupiter being near eastern quadrature with the Sun. Writes Go, “This is my first image of the year. Monsoon had been horrible. Imaging Jupiter has become very challenging. It is getting lower in the sky and closer to my hot roof. Seeing was very unstable.” The Great Red Spot is rotating onto the disk from the east. The black dot is the shadow of Io. “I used the new WinJupos feature of [Galilean] moon derotation [in addition to the standard derotation of the planet during a long series of stacked video frames], and it works perfectly!” The pair cross the planet together as it sinks lower in the sky. Io slips off the western edge of the disk around 7:45 P.M. CST, with Jupiter still some 35° high in the Midwest. Io’s shadow is now halfway across, finally disappearing just over an hour later, shortly before 9 P.M. EST (when Earth’s Moon slides exactly due south of the gas giant).

Jupiter, magnitude –2.2 in Pisces, shines high in the southwest in twilight, then sinks toward the west. It sets around 10 p.m. Telescopically, Jupiter has shrunk to 37 or 36 arcseconds wide. Look for the Great Square of Pegasus to Jupiter’s right. Extend the line of the Square’s upper left side down to the planet. Jupiter crosses this line on Monday January 23rd. To help judge this, hold a straightedge up to the sky or stretch a string tightly between your hands.

Sun in Aquarius

Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Yellow
Planting 1/24&5
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
W   25     High   3:14 AM     8.0   7:42 AM    Rise 10:14 AM      11
~   25      Low   9:08 AM     1.9   5:16 PM     Set 10:25 PM
~    25     High   2:52 PM     8.0
~    25      Low   9:27 PM    -0.2

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – I am grateful for the small things in my life!

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Journal Prompt – How do you feel? – How do you feel on the first day of winter? Why?

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Quotes

~   The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. – Albert Einstein
~   Without danger you cannot get beyond danger. – George Herbert
~   Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth. – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor
~   He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up. – Paul Keating

The night’s drifts
Pile up below me and behind my back,
Slide down the hill, rise again, and build
Eerie little dunes on the roof of the house. – James Wright (1927–1980)

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Imbolc Magick – Lore

Witchery Press – Imbolc Lore & Rituals: Let there be Light – January 25, 2017 – uliet Diaz – https://witcheryblog.wixsite.com/witcherypress/single-post/2017/01/25/Imbolc-Lore-Rituals-Let-there-be-Light

Let there be Light…

Imbolc is an ancient Celtic festival that marks midwinter in the solar calendar and is a time for preparation for coming out of the dark time of the year and into the light of spring. This is the time of celebration for the Goddess Brigid, which teaches us about healing, home, hearth, birth, inspiration, and the work we must do inside and outside ourselves to walk out of the cold of winter and into the warmth of spring.

The feeling of Imbolc is a fragile one, we often experience feeling uncertain and unsure. This could be related to the thousands of generations before us who felt unease at this time of year as there was great threats that the firewood and food supplies were running low. We can experience this unease of Imbolc throughout the year and even more so with our political climate threats on our environment which affects women, animals and the land who are all seen as resources to be used.

Brigid’s Day. One of the 4 Celtic “Fire Festivals. Commemorates the changing of the Goddess from the Crone to the Maiden. Celebrates the first signs of Spring. Also called “Imbolc” (the old Celtic name).

This is the seasonal change where the first signs of spring and the return of the sun are noted, i.e. the first sprouting of leaves, the sprouting of the Crocus flowers etc. In other words, it is the festival commemorating the successful passing of winter and the beginning of the agricultural year. This Festival also marks the transition point of the threefold Goddess energies from those of Crone to Maiden.

It is the day that we celebrate the passing of Winter and make way for Spring. It is the day we honor the rebirth of the Sun and we may visualize the baby sun nursing from the Goddess’s breast. It is also a day of celebrating the Celtic Goddess Brigid. Brigid is the Goddess of Poetry, Healing, Smith-craft, and Midwifery. If you can make it with your hands, Brigid rules it. She is a triple Goddess, so we honor her in all her aspects. This is a time for communing with her, and tending the lighting of her sacred flame.

WASH YOUR HANDS & YOUR SPIRIT

The word “February” comes from the Roman “februa” which translates roughly as “purification.” The Romans even celebrated a Februa Ritual, dedicated to the idea of purification. Imbolc is a wonderful opportunity to return to the original meaning of February and engage in some spiritual housecleaning.

After the hustle and bustle of Samhain and Yule, Imbolc can be a breath of cleansing sabbat air. Take advantage of the “down time*” to evaluate what’s working and not working in your own spiritual practice. Throw out or re-develop the parts that might be holding you back, and then do some inventory as to why the successful bits are that way. Clean out your ritual space, ridding it of any lingering negativity there from the previous year. “Spring cleaning” isn’t just for the home, it can be a part of our spiritual practice too.

Many of my Imbolc rituals over the years have stressed ridding one’s self of negative influences. Instead of asking for something at this stop on the Wheel, ask the gods to take something away. Looking inward and evaluating what tendencies need to go or be changed is difficult, but oh so rewarding when done properly.

BE PREPARED

Bless your candles for the upcoming year at Imbolc. Imbolc is the perfect opportunity. It’s also usually an indoor ritual, blessing a bunch of tools is easier when you don’t have to lug them into the woods.

This idea of preparedness can also be found in the Catholic holiday of Candlemass (a name still used by many Witches for Imbolc). Not surprisingly Candlemass tapped into the purification aspects of Februa and was also the date on the calendar when the Catholic Church blessed their candles for remainder of the calendar year.

Imbolc (February 2) marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God. The lengthening periods of light awaken Her. The God is a young, lusty boy, but His power is felt in the longer days. The warmth fertilizes the Earth (the Goddess), and causes seeds to germinate and sprout. And so the earliest beginnings of Spring occur.

This is a Sabbat of purification after the shut-in life of Winter, through the renewing power of the Sun. It is also a festival of light and of fertility, once marked in Europe with huge blazes, torches and fire in every form. Fire here represents our own illumination and inspiration as much as light and warmth. Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia, Feast of Pan, Snowdrop Festival, Feast of the Waxing Light, Brighid’s Day, and probably by many other names. Some female Witches follow the old Scandinavian custom of wearing crowns of lit candles, but many more carry tapers during their invocations.

CELEBRATE WHERE YOU ARE ON THE WHEEL

A lot of sources list Imbolc as the “start of Spring.” While that might be true in certain parts of the Western World, it’s certainly not true everywhere. Imbolc can be the start of Spring, but for others it’s the height of Winter.

For me, Imbolc is often a bitterly cold holiday, and snow was the norm. Instead of despairing over that ice and frost it’s better to think about what those elements mean in the long-term. All of that cold and snow set the table for the beauties of Spring, Summer, and Fall (and sometimes there really is nothing more beautiful than a snowy night). Snow fertilizes the fields and fills our rivers and streams when it melts. For so many places it’s a vital part of the eco-system. Instead of lamenting the reality of the situation, celebrate it!

HISTORY:

The Romans Celebrate

To the Romans, this time of year halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox was the season of the Lupercalia. For them, it was a purification ritual held on February 15, in which a goat was sacrificed and a scourge made of its hide. Thong-clad men ran through the city, whacking people with bits of goat hide. Those who were struck considered themselves fortunate indeed. This is one of the few Roman celebrations that is not associated with a particular temple or deity. Instead, it focuses on the founding of the city of Rome, by twins Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf — in a cave known as the “Lupercale”.

The Feast of Nut

The ancient Egyptians celebrated this time of year as the Feast of Nut, whose birthday falls on February 2 (Gregorian calendar). According to the Book of the Dead, Nut was seen as a mother-figure to the sun god Ra, who at sunrise was known as Khepera and took the form of a scarab beetle.

Christian Conversion of a Pagan Celebration

When Ireland converted to Christianity, it was hard to convince people to get rid of their old gods, so the church allowed them to worship the goddess Brighid as a saint — thus the creation of St. Brigid’s Day. Today, there are many churches around the world which bear her name.

The Goddess Brighid

Like many Pagan holidays, Imbolc has a Celtic connection as well, although it wasn’t celebrated in non-Gaelic Celtic societies. The Irish goddess Brighid is the keeper of the sacred flame, the guardian of home and hearth. To honor her, purification and cleaning are a wonderful way to get ready for the coming of Spring. In addition to fire, she is a goddess connected to inspiration and creativity.

Brighid is known as one of the Celtic “triune” goddesses — meaning that she is one and three simultaneously. The early Celts celebrated a purification festival by honoring Brighid, or Brid, whose name meant “bright one.” In some parts of the Scottish Highlands, Brighid was viewed in her aspect as crone as Cailleach Bheur, a woman with mystical powers who was older than the land itself. Brighid was also a warlike figure, Brigantia, in the Brigantes tribe near Yorkshire, England. The Christian St. Brigid was the daughter of a Pictish slave who was baptized by St. Patrick, and founded a community of nuns at Kildare, Ireland.

In modern Paganism, Brighid is viewed as part of the maiden/mother/crone cycle. She walks the earth on the eve of her day, and before going to bed each member of the household should leave a piece of clothing outside for Brighid to bless. Smoor your fire as the last thing you do that night, and rake the ashes smooth. When you get up in the morning, look for a mark on the ashes, a sign that Brighid has passed that way in the night or morning. The clothes are brought inside, and now have powers of healing and protection thanks to Brighid.

Origins of Brighid

In Irish mythological cycles, Brighid (or Brighit), whose name is derived from the Celtic brig or “exalted one”, is the daughter of the Dagda, and therefore one of the Tuatha de Dannan. Her two sisters were also called Brighid, and were associated with healing and crafts. The three Brighids were typically treated as three aspects of a single deity, making her a classic Celtic triple goddess.

Patron and Protector

Brighid was the patron of poets and bards, as well as healers and magicians. She was especially honored when it came to matters of prophecy and divination. She was honored with a sacred flame maintained by a group of priestesses, and her sanctuary at Kildare, Ireland, later became the home of the Christian variant of Brighid, St. Brigid of Kildare. Kildare is also the location of one of several sacred wells in the Celtic regions, many of which are connected to Brighid. Even today, it’s not uncommon to see ribbons and other offerings tied to trees near a well as a petition to this healing goddess.

Brighid’s Many Forms

In northern Britain, Brighid’s counterpart was Brigantia, a warlike figure of the Brigantes tribe near Yorkshire, England. She is similar to the Greek goddess Athena and the Roman Minerva. Later, as Christianity moved into the Celtic lands, St. Brigid was the daughter of a Pictish slave who was baptized by St. Patrick, and founded a community of nuns at Kildare.

In addition to her position as a goddess of magic, Brighid was known to watch over women in childbirth, and thus evolved into a goddess of hearth and home. Today, many Pagans honor her on February 2, which has become known as Imbolc or Candlemas.

Winter Cymres at the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, calls her a “complex and contradictory” sort of deity. Specifically, “She possesses an unusual status as a Sun Goddess Who hangs Her Cloak upon the rays of the Sun and whose dwelling-place radiates light as if on fire. Brigid took over the Cult of the Ewes formerly held by the Goddess Lassar, who also is a Sun Goddess and who made the transition, in the Isles, from Goddess to saint. In this way Brigid’s connection to Imbolc is completed, as the worship of Lassar diminished, only to be revived later in Christian sainthood.”

Crafts to Honor Brighid

In many Pagan traditions today, Brighid is celebrated with crafts that honor her role as the protector of the hearth. You can make a Brighid corn doll, as well as a Bride’s Bed for her to sleep in. Perhaps the best known decoration is the Brighid’s Cross, whose arms represent the place where a crossroads comes together, the space between light and dark.

Brighid and Imbolc

Like many Pagan holidays, Imbolc has a Celtic connection, although it wasn’t celebrated in non-Gaelic Celtic societies. The early Celts celebrated a purification festival by honoring Brighid. In some parts of the Scottish Highlands, Brighid was viewed as a sister of Cailleach Bheur, a woman with mystical powers who was older than the land itself. In modern Wicca and Paganism, Brighid is sometimes viewed as the maiden aspect of the maiden/mother/crone cycle, although it might be more accurate for her to be the mother, given her connection with home and childbirth.

http://lyanna.blog.cz/1105/bohyne-brigit

Imbloc (Candlemass, Imblog, Imbole) – February 2^nd
Pronounced: EE-Molc
Incense: Rosemary, Frankincense, Myrrh, Cinnamon
Decorations: Corn Dolly, Besom, Spring Flowers
Colours: White, Orange, Red

Name variations:

Brighid; Bride (Scotland), Brid, Brigit, Bridget, Briganta (England), Brigan, Brigindo (Gaul), Berecyntia, Brigandu (France) Name means Bright One, High One, Bright Arrow, Power. Christianized forms: St. Brigit (Irish), St. Ffraid (Welsh), St. Bridget (Swedish), Queen of Heaven, Prophetess of Christ, Mary.

Multicultural Parallels: Ground Hog’s Day (USA); Aztec New Year; Chinese New Year; Roman Lupercalia; Valentine’s Day (USA); Armenian Candlemas.

Flames: Sacred Fire

torchlit processions circling fields to purify & invigorate for the coming growing season (old Pagan)
lighting & blessing of candles (11th century, Christian)
sacred fire of Brigid (Celtic Pagan)
torchlit procession to honor Juno Februata/Regina (Pagan Rome; Christianized, 7th century)

Brigid: Celtic Goddess Triple Aspects:

Goddess of Inspiration – poets, poetry, creativity, prophecy, arts
Goddess of Smithcraft – blacksmiths, goldsmiths, household crafts
Goddess of Healing – healers, medicine, spiritual healing, fertility (crops, land, cattle)

Symbols:

Fire – flames, candle crown, hearth
Water – cauldron, springs, wells
Grain – Brigid wheels, corn/oat sheaf Goddess effigy, Brigid’s Bed
Creatures – white cow with red ears, wolf, snake, swan and vulture
Talismans – Shining Mirror to Otherworld, Spinning Wheel and Holy Grail

IMBOLC LORE

It is traditional upon Imbolc, at sunset or just after ritual, to light every lamp in the house – if only for a few moments. Or, light candles in each room in honor of the Sun’s rebirth. Alternately, light a kerosene lamp with a red chimney and place this in a prominent part of the home or in a window.
If snow lies on the ground outside, walk in it for a moment, recalling the warm.
The festival of calving. Sour cream dishes are fine. Spicy and full-bodied foods in honor of the Sun are equally attuned. Curries and all dishes made with peppers, onions, leeks, shallots, garlic or chives are appropriate.
Spiced wines and dishes containing raisins – all foods symbolic of the Sun – are also traditional.

Ritual for Imbolc/Candlemas

Supplies: Symbol of the season, such as a white flower, snow in a crystal container, also needed, an orange candle anointed with cinnamon, frankincense or rosemary oil (unlit), red candle to represent the elements, and your ritual supplies.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle.

Invoke the Goddess and God.

Say such words as the following:
“This is the time of the feast of torches,
When every lamp blazes and shines
To welcome the rebirth of the God.
I/we celebrate the Goddess,
I/we celebrate the God;
All the Earth celebrates
Beneath its mantle of sleep.”

Light the orange taper from the red candle on the altar. Slowly walk the circle clockwise, bearing the candle before you.

Say these or similar words:

“All the land is wrapped in winter.
The air is chilled and
Frost envelopes the Earth.
But Lord of the Sun,
Horned One of animals and wild places,
Unseen you have been reborn
Of the gracious Mother Goddess,
Lady of all fertility.
Hail Great God!
Hail and welcome!”

Stop before the altar, holding aloft the candle. Gaze at its flame. Visualize your life blossoming with creativity, with renewed energy and strength.

If you need to look into the future or past, now is an ideal time.

Works of magick, if necessary, may follow.

Celebrate the Simple Feast.

Thank the Goddess and God.

Release the Circle.

Simple ways to celebrate:

Make a Brigid straw doll (Brideog)
One way to bring the magic of Brigid into your homes at Imbolc is to make a Brideog (pronounced Bree-jog). This was traditionally undertaken by the men in the home and the little Brideogs were hung over the doors of people’s homes. Brideogs are made with straw or rushes twisted into the shape of a doll, wrapped in white fabric to represent a little dress and decorated with the first flowers, greenery from the garden, and other pretty things you find in nature.

Make a Brigid cross
Brigid crosses were also made at this time of year and may be familiar if you had a country childhood. Straw which has been soaked overnight is woven around a frame made of sticks. For younger kids you might want to use pipe cleaners. There are many different styles, some with three or four arms, Googling Brigid crosses comes up with various ideas for your family. Hang your Brigid cross wherever you like in your home, but children’s were usually hung over their bed. It was believed that a Brigid cross tucked under the mattress helped aid conception, and they were used to bless seed before planting in spring.

Feasts and fire
Another Imbolc tradition, as with many Celtic celebrations, is the lighting of fires. Fires celebrated not only the Fire Goddess Brigid, but also recognised the returning power of the sun. In the Christian calendar, Imbolc is known as Candlemas, when candles are lit for Virgin Mary. Lighting a fire is a good opportunity to gather with friends and family, and reflect, share and laugh together. Imbolc was also a time of feasting so you might want to make some food you can cook in the fire, and toast some marshmallows!

Spring clean your home
Now is the perfect time for a good spring clean of your home, usually undertaken before Imbolc Eve. Get rid of anything that is cluttering up your home and stagnating the energy, and scrub all the surfaces down thoroughly. If you can bear the cold, open all the windows and let some refreshing clean air flow through your home. Making it in to preparation for a celebration is also a great way to tempt kids to tackle their rooms and get rid of toys they don’t want any more!

Visit a stream, river or well
Traditionally, Imbolc was a time for visiting holy water; a spring or a well, to both purify us and bring fertility to our dreams. Why not set off on an adventure together as a family to find some water near your home: a river, stream, or well. If the water’s clean, splash some over yourself as you set your intention to cleanse and purify. Glennie Kindred suggests dipping a piece of ribbon in the water and then hanging it from a nearby tree (trees near water are especially sacred) to carry messages of hope and healing. She also reminds us to thank the spirits of the place you visit and pick up any rubbish you see nearby as an act of gratitude.

FOR MORE IDEAS SEE OUR School of Witchery Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/witcheryschool

References & Sources

Farrar, Janet & Stewart (1987). The Witches Goddess. Custer, WA: Phoenix. Chapter 14 & page 206.
Fox, Selena (1996). Weems-Wemyss-MacDuff Family History. work in progress. ancestral lineage chart.
Green, Miranda (1995). Celtic Goddesses. London: British Museum Press. Chapter 9.
Jones, Kathy (1991). The Ancient British Goddess. Glastonbury: Ariadne. pages 23-38. Monaghan, Patricia (1990). The Book of Goddesses and Heroines. St. Paul: Llewellyn. pages 59-60.
Moncreiffe, Sir Ian (1977). The Highland Clans. Bramhall House edition. pages 46, 101.
Walker, Barbara (1983). The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper. pages 166-118
http://paganwiccan.about.com/
http://thegreenparent.co.uk/articles/read/six-ways-to-celebrate-imbolc#

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Silliness – Laugh of the Day – What do you call airplanes that can’t fly? Stationary!

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Disting, Goddess Month, Imbolc, Journal Prompt, Laugh of the Day, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Rhododendron Albiflorum, Rhododendron Occidentale, Runic Half Month, Silliness, The night’s drifts, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Western Azalea, Wicca | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-24-23 Francis de Sales

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Minus Tide at 8:45 PM of -1.0 feet. The shop is closed on Tue/Wed. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

Abstract Clear night sky

[posting at 6pm] Rain gauge. – Dry. Clear and 45F. Sunset was amazing! Wind at 0-5mph and gusting, AQI 14/32/38, UV2. Chance of rain 8% today and tonight. 8 firespots. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY until 1pm Wed. (wind and seas)

Forecast – A couple of dry days, yet. Still some chilly nights coming, although not so much rain, but 31? 27? Eep!
Today(51°/37°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Tomorrow(52°/34°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Thu(51°/42°F) Partly Cloudy, 0.02 in.
Fri(48°/40°F) Showers, 0.16 in.
Sat(45°/33°F) Showers, 0.25 in.
Sun(40°/27°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Mon(42°/31°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Tue(44°/34°F) Rain/Snow Showers, 0.08 in.
Wed(46°/36°F) Showers, 0.21 in.

Sunday evening I was knackered by the time we were heading home. Tempus was going to make a sandwich for me, but I was too tired to even eat. I just crawled into bed and slept. I didn’t wake until after he had left on the paper run. I managed to do a little writing, but then went back to sleep and I’m still groggy now that we’re at the shop!

…. After some coffee I’m up and running. Mostly I have to start on mail, then plants. I didn’t realize how dry some of them are. …I asked Tempus to get a few things shifted around and worked on those for a bit. Later I worked on the files for taxes. Oof. I’ll be glad to get that done.

…and it stayed quiet. I finally asked Tempus to get me some water for soup and started on this, so as to be done in time for class. He went out and did some maintenance on the car and watered plants.

Today is our rest day, but I was forgetting that I have a diabetes “consultation” at the hospital this afternoon. We’re planning to stop by here on the way home, but there might not be a Wednesday newsletter. It depends on how tired I am. I think we’re planning some shopping while in town.

A Waldport Beach – Photo by Ken Gagne on 1/13/19 Used with permission

feast 0124 François_de_Sales_et_Jeanne_de_Chantal

Feast day of St Francis de Sales – Francis, Count of Sales, left a life of riches for poverty and became a preacher. Francis died in 1622, aged 55. Francis of Sales was beatified in 1661 by Pope Alexander VII, who then canonized him in 1665. More here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_de_Sales With Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, called the Salesian Sisters. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Visitation_of_Holy_Mary I went on a retreat at their convent in Georgetown. picture is Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, medal 1867

Flowering fern [Royal fern], Osmunda regalis, is today’s plant, dedicated to this saint. Osmunda regalis belongs to the oxymoronically named flowering fern family, so called because the densely-clustered sporangia resemble flowers. It is said by some to be one of the most handsome European ferns, hence the name. It is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and North America. The ‘Royal Fern’ is also known as the ‘Queen Flower’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmunda_regalis (pictures are the American variety of this fern)
According to Slavic mythology, the sporangia – called ‘Perun’s flowers’ – have assorted magical powers, such as giving their holders the ability to defeat demons, fulfil wishes, unlock secrets, and understand the language of trees. However, collecting the sporangia is a difficult and frightening process. In earlier traditions, they had to be be collected on Kupala night; later, after the arrival of Christianity, the date is changed to Easter eve. Either way, the person wanting to collect Perun’s flowers must stand within a circle drawn around the plant and withstand the taunting or threats of demons.

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Pisces .

Bring binoculars or a telescope not just for a fine view of the Saturn-Venus conjunction in twilight on Sunday the 22nd, but also for earthshine on the dark part of the slim crescent Moon.

The big Northern Cross in Cygnus, topped by Deneb, is roughly upright in the west-northwest after dark. By 6 or 7 p.m. it’s standing on the horizon. How upright it stands there depends on your latitude.

Algol should be at minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 9:16 p.m. EST.

Luna, January 24, 7 P.M. CST – The Moon shows off an odd face as it begins to wax this month. Some features that are usually hard to see will be more readily visible, while familiar landmarks may appear slightly dislocated from their usual spots. – NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Setting slowly after dark tonight, the crescent Moon sits 5° below Neptune. You can use it as a jumping-off point to enjoy that distant blue-gray planet, which remains magnitude 7.8, through binoculars or a telescope. But it’s also worth turning your gaze to the Moon itself, as our satellite repeats its strange libration from earlier this month. Libration is simply the apparent “nodding” motion our Moon goes through over time, as its slightly inclined orbit shows us more or less of certain regions as Luna circles the planet. Earlier this month, the Full Moon appeared distinctly odd thanks to a syncing up of the libration and illumination cycles. Now, the same process essentially repeats, just two days earlier as those cycles begin to fall out of lockstep. Look over the illuminated northeastern portion of our satellite for the dark blotch of Mare Humboldtianum, with the oval-shaped crater Endymion to its southwest. Mare Crisium appears farther south and west than usual — compare it to the view of the Full Moon from earlier this month, as well as a “typical” lunar map. Now, Mare Smythii and Mare Marginis are readily visible on the limb as well.

Mars imaged on January 16th by Christopher Go in the Philippines. He’s on the opposite side of Earth from the Americas. So, because Mars rotates halfway around in about 12 hours, we see the opposite side of Mars than the side he images on any given night. South here is up. Sinus Meridiani with its two downward prongs is at center. Sinus Sabaeus is the dark band running left from there. Through northern clouds, the whiter north polar cap is visible. Syrtis Major is departing on the left limb. Hellas Basin, above Syrtis Major, has turned bright with cloud or frost

Mars, in Taurus, shines very high toward the south in early to mid-evening. Mars continues to fade, from magnitude –0.6 to – 0.4 this week, as it shrinks from 12 to 11 arcseconds wide. Aldebaran, mag +0.8, is 8° below it.

Sun in Aquarius

Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Scarlet
Planting 1/24&5
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Tu 24     High   2:33 AM     7.9   7:43 AM    Rise 9:52 AM      5
~    24      Low   8:11 AM     2.2   5:14 PM     Set 9:08 PM
~    24     High   1:58 PM     8.7
~    24      Low   8:45 PM

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Life! Life! Only Life!

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Journal Prompt – What is? – What is the one food you would least like to give up for the rest of your life? Explain why.

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Quotes

~   Let go of your fear and seize the process of change, and it will work for you. – Kerr Cuhulain
~   The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it. – Mother Teresa
~   From my point of view, a great deal of openly expressed piety is insufferable conceit. – If This Goes On- (p. 431) Robert Heinlein
~   Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much. – Oscar Wilde

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice. –Robert Frost (1874–1963)

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Imbolc Magick – Recipes

Bacon and Leeks: Bacon is one of those foods that’s so good people like to wrap other foods in it. However, if you’re a purist and appreciate your bacon simple, this is a great recipe to whip up at Imbolc. The fiery taste of onions and garlic is offset by the smokiness of the bacon. Enjoy this heaped onto some nice warm Braided Bread. – Ravens magic broom

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of bacon (1/8 of a 3 lb pack)
3 fresh leeks, chopped (whites and light greens, only)
1 medium onion (1/2 a large)
2 cloves garlic, pressed (none)
Salt
Pepper (I used caraway and horseradish)

Preparation:

Fry the bacon and drain off excess fat. Remove from pan, and then chop into small pieces. Return to pan, and add garlic, leeks and onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When onions are opaque, remove from heat and serve scooped onto warm, soft bread.

**Note: If you’re a vegetarian, try this with strips of sliced zucchini or hash-brown style potatoes in place of the bacon. It’s still delicious!

Imbolc Macaroni and Cheese – author unknown

1 7-ounce package cooked elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups cubed Cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter and stir in flour to make a roux over medium heat.
Stir occasionally till smooth a bubbly.
Then add the milk, cream cheese and mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook and stir till cream cheese is melted and you have a lovely smooth white sauce.
Stir in the macaroni and cheese cubes.
Add the cubed ham and/or chopped broccoli if desired.
Pour into a casserole dish.
In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes to melt the cheese and heat through.

Candied Carrots: Carrots are a great food — they’re one of those root vegetables that our ancestors would have stored away for the cold winter months. Come February, they’d still be edible, even when everything else was gone. Raw or cooked, carrots are awesome. They correspond to the element of fire with their warm, sunny color, so why not cook some up to add to your Imbolc feast? The trick with this recipe is to not let your carrots get too soft — just heat them long enough that they’re hot, but still have some of the crunch in them. – Ravens magic broom

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb, raw carrots, cut into 1/4″ circles
1/2 stick butter
1/4 C. brown sugar
Salt & Pepper
A dash of ground ginger

Preparation:

Melt the butter over low heat. Once it’s melted, add the carrots, sauteeing until they begin to get a bit light in color. Add the brown sugar, and mix until dissolved. Allow the carrots to simmer over low heat for just a few minutes.
Add the salt, pepper and ginger to taste. The ginger adds a nice little bit of zing to an otherwise sweet recipe. Serve as a side dish with your favorite main course, or as part of an Imbolc potluck.

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Silliness – Horse or Chicken

A retiring farmer in preparation for selling his land, needed to rid his farm of animals. So he went to every house in his town.

To the houses where the man is the boss, he gave a horse. To the houses where the woman is the boss, a chicken was given.

He got toward the end of the street and saw a couple outside gardening. “Who’s the boss around here?” he asked.

“I am.” said the man.

“I have a black horse and a brown horse,” the farmer said, “which one would you like?”

The man thought for a minute and said, “The black one.”

“No, no, no, get the brown one.” the man’s wife said.

“Here’s your chicken.” said the farmer.

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Flowering fern, Goddess Month, Horse or Chicken, Imbolc, Journal Prompt, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Osmunda regalis, Pagan, Perun’s flowers, Queen Flower, Quotes, Royal fern, Runic Half Month, Silliness, Some say the world will end in fire, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-23-23 Hathor

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Minus Tide at 8:02 PM of -1.5 feet. The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Arthur Bartlett.

[posting at 6:30pm] Rain gauge. – 0.1in. Partly cloudy and 42F, wind at 0-5mph and gusting, AQI 15/37/52, UV2. Chance of rain 7% today and tonight. 0 firespots.

Forecast – Here come the cold nights! The lows are going to be in the 30’s for the next 10 days, with only Friday being at 40F and Sunday as low as 29F! There’s not much in the way of precipitation all week, but with those lows, watch out if you’re driving at night!
Today(49°/34°F) AM Clouds/PM Sun, 0 in.
Tomorrow(52°/36°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Wed(52°/35°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Thu(54°/38°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Fri(48°/40°F) PM Showers, 0.03 in.
Sat(46°/36°F) Showers, 0.12 in.
Sun(45°/29°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Mon(44°/34°F) Partly Cloudy, 0.07 in.
Tue(45°/33°F) Showers, 0.36 in.

We were really late getting home Saturday evening and crawled straight into bed. During the night I did some small chores, but mostly just read, although I did find a project that I’ve been working on to make pockets for scissors where I can reach them on side of the bookshelf and got a few more stitches into it.

The inlets were really full again yesterday, mirror-like, reflecting the sky with the dead grasses sticking up making it look like mist on the water. One of the herons was in the house-side pond of the place just east of Eckman Lake, east of the seasonal pond. As we crossed on the causeway I could see why. His usual standing spot was completely underwater!

The shop was very quiet. I wrote. Tempus puttered and then ran an errand, taking a paper to one of his customers that he missed overnight. I spent quite awhile listening to one of the “problem children” that comes into the shop every so often, and then I spent a couple of hours, off and on, talking to the lady that’s going to Cross soon. We’re working out her ritual.

Today is more of the same, plus more books and I have a few small amulet sets to make up.

A photo taken by Arthur Bartlett on 1/22/18 near Puget Sound.

And another from a different angle. 1/22/18

Today’s Plant is Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata (aka winter purslane, or Indian lettuce). It’s a plant native to our area, growing and blooming in our soggy spring and drying out and dying back in the summer. I’ve seen in re-bloom in the fall. It’s a leaf vegetable that can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach. It’s really choice in salads and very high in vitamin C. It got the name because the Gold Rush miners ate it to prevent scurvy, since they really weren’t eating right. Like any lettuce or most of the salad greens it’s Feminine and Water, but as any high Vitamin C food, its planet correspondence is the Sun. – Sprinkling it inside the home brings happiness, so it’s good in floor washes or new home blessings. Carry it with you for luck and to protect from violence. Put it into sleep pillows or add to a dream catcher to keep away nightmares. I’ve actually slipped it between the mattress and sheets for this purpose. More here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miner%27s_lettuce More on the genus here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytonia

Hathor is an Egyptian mother/death/sky goddess. She’s familiar to everyone as the cow-headed goddess whose symbol of cow horns as lunar crescents on either side of the disc of the sun/moon was worn by many other goddesses (and gods) in the pantheon. On her feast day offerings of cow’s milk are poured into the Nile. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hathor

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Aquarius enters Pisces at 9:36am.

Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or healthy, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends on 2/5 at 10:29am. New Moon –The beginning of a new cycle. – Keywords for the New phase are: beginning, birth, emergence, projection, clarity. It is the time in a cycle that you are stimulated to take a new action. During this phase the new cycle is being seeded by your vision, inner and outer. Engage in physical activity. Spend time alone. VISUALIZE your goals for the 29.6-day cycle ahead. The new moon is for starting new ventures, new beginnings. Also love and romance, health or job hunting. Phase ends on 1/23 at 12:53am. Diana’s Bow – On the 3^rd day after the new moon you can (weather permitting) see the tiny crescent in the sky, the New Moon holding the Old Moon in her arms. Begin on your goals for the next month. A good time for job interviews or starting a project. Take a concrete step! God/dess aspect: Daughter/Son/Innocence – Associated God/dess: Vesta, Horus. Phase ends on 1/26 at 12:53am.

Bring binoculars or a telescope not just for a fine view of the Saturn-Venus conjunction in twilight on Sunday the 22nd, but also for earthshine on the dark part of the slim crescent Moon.

Though out of view, the Moon passes first 4° south of Saturn at 2 A.M. EST, then slides 3° south of Venus an hour later, at 3 A.M. EST. Now Saturn glimmers 1.3° to Venus’s lower right in the fading twilight, while the crescent Moon looks on from the upper left.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) – Comet ZTF covers vast swaths of sky each night later this month. Visit our website for finder charts to locate and track the comet in early to mid-January – Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is continuing to brighten in the sky, recently recorded at magnitude 6.6. Now visible after dark for much of the U.S. and rising higher later in the evening, you can catch the glowing green fuzzball either early in the morning after midnight or several hours after sunset. Today you’ll find it in Draco, passing just 1.5° northwest of 3rd-magnitude Iota (ι) Draconis. Binoculars or any small scope will easily bring it out against the dark sky.

M102, Spindle Galaxy – Credits: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)

With enough power, you’ll also spot two stunning galaxies nearby: 10th-magnitude M102, also known as the Spindle Galaxy, lies 4° south-southwest of the comet this evening. And just 1.5° northeast of M102 is NGC 5907, the Splinter Galaxy. This edge-on spiral also glows around 10th magnitude. A wide-field view and long-exposure shot may let you capture all three together.

Venus, very bright at magnitude –3.9, shines low in the west-southwest in evening twilight. It sets just after twilight’s end. Dimmer Saturn passes it this week. They go through conjunction on January 22nd about ½° apart, as shown at the top of this page. Thereafter Saturn descends rapidly away to Venus’s lower right.

Sun in Aquarius

Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Lavendar
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
M   23     High   1:51 AM     7.6   7:44 AM    Rise 9:26 AM      1
~    23      Low   7:17 AM     2.5   5:13 PM     Set 7:48 PM
~    23     High   1:05 PM     9.3
~    23      Low   8:02 PM    -1.5

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Live life vibrantly and energetically.

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Journal Prompt – What is? – What’s your earliest holiday memory?

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Quotes

~   Man has an irrepressible tendency to read meaning into the buzzing confusion of sights and sounds impinging on his senses; and where no agreed meaning can be found, he will provide it out of his own imagination. – Arthur Koestler
~   Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness. – Mother Teresa
~   Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others. – Plato
~   After reading all that has been written, and after thinking all that can be thought, on the topics of God and the soul, the man who has a right to say that he thinks at all, will find himself face to face with the conclusion that, on these topics, the most profound thought is that which can be the least easily distinguished from the most superficial sentiment. – Edgar Allan Poe

When men were all asleep the snow came flying,
In large white flakes falling on the city brown,
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying,
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town. – Robert Bridges (1844–1930)

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Imbolc Magick – Ritual for Imbolc By AmberRain

Supplies:
White altar cloth
White candles –7 (One for the ritual bath)
Goddess Candle
White flowers
Jasmine incense
Usual altar supplies
Bath salts
Lavender oil
Chamomile oil
Milk & Honey
Corn cakes

First step is to take a ritual bath. Light a white candle, and use the bath salts, lavender and chamomile oils with your bath. Relax and cleanse yourself. Take time to focus on yourself, prepare my mind for re-newal.

Second step is to cleanse my working area. Then I ground myself by Listening to music and meditate.
When I am ready, I begin.

Cast the circle and call the elements. Light the incense and call upon the Goddess Brigid to join the circle and light her candle and say:

Blessed be this season of Imbolc
Mother Earth stirs from Her long sleep.
Everything is waiting for spring.
This is the season of purification, a renewing of life.
At this time and in this place between the worlds,
I come to the Lady that I may gain counsel.

Now I meditate while asking the Goddess for inspiration and guidance for the future… When I feel ready, I repeat…

I know my path is within your keeping.
Guide me in the year to come

Light all the Candles and say…

As there is a renewal within the plants and animals, so shall there be renewal in my life.

Kneel before the altar, Sit and reflect on the meaning of this day. When ready, raise the glass of milk
Say…
Great Goddess give my life good health, happiness, prosperity
And magical power.
I honor you.

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again
So Mote It Be!!!!

Drink and eat remembering to put some outside for the little people. Meditate to ground again. When I am finished, I release my circle. I then take the drink and cake outside, and say, “ enjoy, be blessed, and grow strong, so mote it be.

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Silliness – Shorties – Why did the man like to break his clocks? For alarming purposes.

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Claytonia perfoliata, Goddess Month, Imbolc, Imbolc Ritual, Indian lettuce, Journal Prompt, Magick, Miner’s Lettuce, Moon, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Runic Half Month, Silliness, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, When men were all asleep, Wicca, winter purslane | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-22-23 St. Vincent

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Minus Tide at 7:19 PM of -1.8 feet. The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

[posting at 6pm] Rain gauge. – 0.2in. Partly cloudy and 48F, wind at 1-23mph (Bayshore) and gusting, AQI 33/37/54, UV1. Chance of rain 15% today and 9% tonight. 3 firespots. BEACH HAZARDS through this afternoon (Sneaker waves)

Forecast – We have several dry days/chilly nights in a row here and then we’ll be back to showers.
Today(47°/35°F) Mostly Cloudy, 0 in.
Tomorrow(49°/35°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Tue(51°/34°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Wed(52°/35°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Thu(53°/40°F) Partly Cloudy, 0.06 in.
Fri(48°/38°F) Showers, 0.13 in.
Sat(48°/36°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Sun(46°/33°F) AM Showers, 0.14 in.
Mon(45°/35°F) Showers, 0.24 in.

Friday evening I started nagging at Tempus to get ready to go home right when I got the newsletter out. By 7pm we were finally starting the process. <sigh> He was fighting with an update on the old laptop. I wish I could get the *notebook* upgraded! Well, eventually we were headed home, to have soup and sandwich for supper. We were talking phone options.

Although…. it was just early enough that I did up a cheese and biscuit pull-apart, instead. I’ve had the ingredients for most of a month, but never got the time and equipment all together. There was still some cussing involved, but it turned out to be pretty good. It didn’t quite bake right, though, the inner side of the biscuits was still not fully cooked. I guess I’ll have to try it in a flan pan…. those are a little bigger… but it was very tasty.

It rained overnight, or rather early in the morning. I heard it coming down. Tempus said there were icy spots, but by the time we were heading for the shop things were just damp. While I was waiting for Tempus to get the last of the stuff that he needed for the day I watched hummingbirds on our neighbor’s feeder. He’s finally feeling well enough to keep it filled. I noticed a window open, a hand come out and take down the feeder that was there, then come right back out with a filled one, then the hand withdrew and the window closed. 🙂 Within seconds there were two hummingbirds on the feeder, both female Anna’s hummers.

…and just as we were ready to pull out of the driverway, two geese flew over, honking. On the way into town the inlets were really full…. It was high tide, the river’s been running high and it’s in a minus cycle, which means higher than usual highs. There were a number of ducks of various sorts. I know I saw mallards and buffleheads, at least one canvasback and a couple of the very small ducks….what are those? Teals?

We had a couple of boys in, shopping, right as we were getting the lights on, then Tempus headed off to make coffee and I started on this. I finally managed to get caught all the way up on mail and messages in the middle of the afternoon while Tempus was trying to do updates on the notebook. He started a bread batch, and then I got a nap. I had a few minutes, so I checked in a couple more books and then got started on this.

Today is a standard shop day. Hoping to do some outside work.

A photo from 1/18/17 by Ken Gagne – Looks like just a big wave until you realize those black or white dots are seagulls!

Today’s plant is St. John’s Wort, Hypericum perforatum, which traditionally blooms at mid-summer on the pagan festival that the feast of St. John the Baptist replaced. It is widely used in the treatment of depression and to ward off evil, both in a medical and magickal sense. Charms made of this herbs, harvested on the summer solstice (or on June 24 or July 7, depending on your culture) make some of the best protection charms (especially against lightning) and good prosperity charms.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John%27s_wort

Today is the feast of St. Vincent who is a thinly-veiled version of Apollo as the sun-god. It’s a little weird that so many of the saints end up having been gods, but the needs of humans for beings to work with that are a little more understandable than ”God the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful” dictate that we gotta have ‘em. Take away the old gods and we’ll invent new…. The plant associated with him is Draba Verna, Whitlow Grass. Today is a weather/prosperity prognostication day.

If on St Vincent’s Day the sky is clear
More wine than water will crown the year. – Traditional
Or….

Remember on St Vincent’s Day
If that the sun his beams display,
Be sure to mark his transient beam
Which through the window sheds a gleam;
For ’tis a token bright and clear,
Of prosperous weather all the year. – Traditional

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Aquarius

Bring binoculars or a telescope not just for a fine view of the Saturn-Venus conjunction in twilight on Sunday the 22nd, but also for earthshine on the dark part of the slim crescent Moon.

Coming close – On Jan. 22, Venus and Saturn sit 21′ apart. The planets’ sizes are shown here relative to each other but do not represent their brightness compared to the background stars. – Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Venus and Saturn reach conjunction ½° apart, as shown above. Use binoculars in bright twilight. And look too for the thin crescent Moon rather far below them. Both planets will fit together in a telescope’s low- to medium-power eyepiece. You will be struck by how radically different the surface brightnesses of Venus and Saturn really are! Saturn is 13.5 times farther from the Sun than Venus is, so its clouds are lit by sunlight that’s 13.5² or 180 times fainter than the sunlight striking Venus. If you gaze upward only one night this week, tonight should be it. That’s because at 3 P.M. EST today, Venus passes just 0.4° south of Saturn at 3 P.M. EST. By evening, they stand together in a beautiful conjunction you can catch amid the setting stars of Capricornus. An hour after sunset, a 1-day-old, 2-percent-lit Moon is sinking below the horizon, while Venus and Saturn are 8° high in the west. They are now a mere 21′ apart, with Venus southeast of the ringed planet. That means you can easily capture both in the same field of view of binoculars or a telescope. This is a must-see event, and astrophotographers will definitely want to snap a few shots, both with and without a telescope. The two planets remain visible nearly two hours after sunset, offering stunning views of their bright, mingled light just above the horizon. Zooming in, Venus is a 93-percent-lit gibbous that spans 11″ and shines a staggering magnitude –3.9. Saturn, by contrast, is magnitude 0.8. Its globe appears fully lit and stretches 15″, while the rings are some 35″ end to end. The planet’s largest, brightest moon, Titan, lies due west, nearly 2.5′ from the planet’s center.

Uranus stands stationary amid the stars of Aries at 10 P.M. EST. It now ends its retrograde (westward) path and will begin moving east.

Mercury is having a nice dawn apparition. Starting about 50 minutes before your local sunrise, look for it low in the southeast. It’s the brightest thing there, shining at about magnitude 0.0 all week. Don’t confuse it with Antares about three fists to its right or upper right. Or Altair a little farther to Mercury’s left or upper left.

Runic half-month of Perdhro/ Peorth, 1/12-1/27. – Feast of Brewing, Druidic, Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar.

Sun in Aquarius

Uranus Directs at 2:59pm.
Goddess Month of Hestia runs from 12/26 – 1/22
Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Gold
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Su 22     High   1:09 AM     7.3   7:44 AM    Rise 8:54 AM      0
~    22      Low   6:24 AM     2.9   5:12 PM     Set 6:24 PM
~    22     High 12:13 PM     9.6
~    22      Low   7:19 PM    -1.8

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day –

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Journal Prompt –

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Quotes

~   As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts’ desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. – HL Mencken, July 26, 1920
~   I suppose that the Honourable Gentleman’s hair, like his intellect, will recede into the darkness. – Paul Keating on Andrew Peacock
~   To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. Oscar Wilde
~   Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. – Jim Rohn

Winter is there, outside, is here in me:
Drapes the planets with snow, deepens the ice on the moon,
Darkens the darkness that was already darkness.
The mind too has its snows, its slippery paths. – –Conrad Aiken (1889–1973)

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Imbolc Magick – Crafts

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Silliness –

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Goddess Month, Hypericum perforatum, Imbolc, Journal Prompt, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Runic Half Month, Silliness, St. John’s Wort, Thyme for Thought, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Winter is there | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-21-23 Kings’ Crusade

Posted on January 21, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Minus Tide at 6:34 PM of -1.8 feet. The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

[posting at 6pm] Rain gauge. – Trace. Mostly clear and 45F, wind at 0-7mph and gusting, AQI 2/31/22, UV2. Chance of rain 85% today and 38% tonight. 6 firespots. BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT through this afternoon (Sneaker waves)

Forecast – A fairly dry and chilly week ahead, with short periods of showers.
Today(47°/40°F) AM Rain, 0.15 in.
Tomorrow(46°/35°F) Cloudy, 0 in.
Mon(49°/36°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Tue(51°/36°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Wed(52°/35°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Thu(51°/39°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Fri(51°/39°F) Partly Cloudy, 0.01 in.
Sat(49°/37°F) AM Showers, 0.01 in.
Sun(49°/35°F) Partly Cloudy, 0.02 in.

Thursday evening Mars was directly above us and very bright when we stepped out of the car. We were home by 7:30 and just fell into bed, although since it was bulk route night, Tempus was up and gone before I woke a little after 9pm…. and then I went right back to sleep. When I finally woke around 2am I got some supper: a sandwich, a chunk of cucumber and 3 of the mince turnovers from Wednesday night. At that point I worte for a bit….more planning than words… but a little writing, anyway, until I went back to sleep around 6am.

Tempus got a good long nap before we got up and headed to the shop. The dew was heavy enough that it was still hanging on every twig and grass blade. There’s no sunshine until around 2pm this time of year to dry it all up!

There were a bunch of juncos and towhees outside of one of the spaces in the park. I wonder if the folks in that spot have a bird feeder, or if they maybe just threw some seed outside.

Once we were at the shop I started trying to get caught up on mail. I think I managed it…. Tempus was writing some long e-mails. I finally got started on checking in some books and then it was time to start this, after just a few. …and I was getting sleepy again. What the heck? I *got* enough sleep!

At 5pm I looked out the door and the sun was just behind the trees across the way. The sky had turned an incredible orange color. It’s a month since the Solstice and you can see that the days are longer, finally.

Today is just another shop day. I have more books to work on, since a couple of tubs came down from storage and I unearthed a box of them in back. I want to take a few minutes to clean up some of the plants out front, if it’s warm enough, and to get Tempus to water indoors.

Another Ken Gagne photo from the morning of 1/21/15. Table Rock in Yachats. Used with permission.

Today’s plant is Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus, (not watercress, which is true nasturtium). It’s certainly not native to the PNW, but grows well here. I love the brilliant oranges, red and yellows of the flowers. They’re yummy, too, with a slightly peppery taste, both leaf and flower, and the seeds serve as a substitute for capers in pickles. The flowers stand for Victory in Battle; Patriotism and Affectation and are little used in magicks other than as symbols and foods for Ostara and Beltane celebrations because of their association with the Sun. They also can be used as a symbol for sacrifice to the larger good of soldiers, firemen and police, but are usually only seen at funerals in this context. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus

Today in 1189 the 3rd Crusade began, sometimes called the Kings’ Crusade since Richard Lionheart of England, Phillip II of France and Frederick Barbarossa put it together. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Crusade The Crusades were an odd phenomenon, part political, part religious and really caused more damage than they did any good. On the other hand, they set off the industrial revolution of the Middle Ages (wind and water power) and eventually the Renaissance. Also, there were a *lot* of crusades that didn’t include the holy land at all, hacking up heretics in Provence, anyone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades We’re still paying the price for the hubris that set the whole thing off.

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Capricorn enters Aquarius at 10:29am.

Waning Moon Magick – From the Full Moon to the New is a time for study, meditation, and magic designed to banish harmful energies and habits, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity. Remember: what goes up must come down. Phase ends at the tide change on 1/21 at 12:53pm. Dark of the Moon, End of the cycle – In the time leading up to the “New Moon” you may do banishings and other baneful magicks and healings that require blasting a disease away, as well as using the time for introspection and self-work. Do scrying, now. Good for reversing circumstances God/dess Aspect: The One Beyond, the Watchers in the Outer Dark, psychopomps. – Associated God/desses: Hecate, Kali, Arianhrod, Anja, Kore in the Underworld, Ereshkigal who was Inanna, Set/Seth, Hades, Osiris. Phase ends at the New on 1/21 at 12:53pm. Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or healthy, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends on 2/5 at 10:29am. New Moon –The beginning of a new cycle. – Keywords for the New phase are: beginning, birth, emergence, projection, clarity. It is the time in a cycle that you are stimulated to take a new action. During this phase the new cycle is being seeded by your vision, inner and outer. Engage in physical activity. Spend time alone. VISUALIZE your goals for the 29.6-day cycle ahead. The new moon is for starting new ventures, new beginnings. Also love and romance, health or job hunting. Phase ends on 1/23 at 12:53am.

Comet C2022 E3 ZTF – photo by Soumyadeep Mukherjee of Kolkata, India depicts what the photographer calls “Three Days in the Life of a Comet,” spanning from Dec. 27 to Dec. 29 2022.

Zero-magnitude Capella high overhead, and equally bright Rigel in Orion’s foot, have almost the same right ascension. This means they cross your sky’s meridian at almost exactly the same time: around 9 or 10 p.m. now, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. So, whenever Capella passes its very highest, Rigel always marks true south over your landscape, and vice versa. Capella goes exactly through your zenith if you’re at latitude 46° north: Portland, Oregon; Montreal; Portland, Maine; central France; Odesa.

New Moon occurs at 3:53 P.M. EST. The Moon also reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, a few minutes later at 3:57 P.M. EST. Our satellite will then sit just 221,562 miles (356,569 km) away.

Hello, neighbor – The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. Here, it is imaged with two of its many satellite galaxies — one to the upper left of its nucleus, and one to the lower right. – Stephen Rahn (Flickr

Let’s take advantage of the moonless skies to go extragalactic and enjoy the Milky Way’s largest neighbor: the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Have you ever managed to snag this sight with your naked eyes? Give it a try from a dark location tonight; two hours after sunset, Andromeda is high in the western sky, appearing to the upper left of the Little Dipper in Ursa Minor. The galaxy itself, which sits just 1.5° west of magnitude 4.5 Nu (ν) Andromedae, appears as a spread-out, 4th-magnitude smudge of light that may be best seen with averted, rather than direct, vision. Through binoculars or, better yet, at telescope, that smudge gets much easier to see. If possible, opt for a 4-inch or larger scope to start bringing out detail, such as its brighter core and perhaps even the thin, dark dust lane that cuts off starlight from the galaxy’s northeastern side. In all, Andromeda spans about 3° — that’s roughly six times the size of the Full Moon — and is accompanied by two bright satellites you may be able to pick up in a larger scope. Both dwarf elliptical galaxies, M32 sits just under ½° south of Andromeda’s center; NGC 205 is slightly more than ½° northwest of the bulge.

Venus & Saturn stand together
The photographer captured this beautiful view of Venus and Saturn together on Jan. 9, 2016, using a Celestron 9 and ASI 120MC color camera. This week, Venus and Saturn will again come close, offering a similar view.
Michael Karrer (Flickr)

Mars, in Taurus, shines very high in the east-southeast at dusk and near the zenith as you face south by 8 or 9 p.m. Mars continues to fade slowly, from magnitude –0.8 to – 0.6 this week, as it shrinks from 13 to 12 arcseconds wide. Mars-colored Aldebaran, mag +0.8, is 8° or 9° below it.

Runic half-month of Perdhro/ Peorth, 1/12-1/27. – Feast of Brewing, Druidic, Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar.

Sun in Aquarius

Uranus (1/22/23) Retrograde
Goddess Month of Hestia runs from 12/26 – 1/22
Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Brown
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Celtic Tree Month of Beth/Birch, Dec 24 – Jan 20, Beith – (BEH), birch – The silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) is the most common tree birch in much of Europe. It grows up to 30 m (100 feet) high, but is more often found in spreading clumps on sandy soils. It is one of the first trees to colonize an area after a mature forest is cut; this is probably a large part of its symbolic connection with new beginnings. It is cultivated in North America, often under the name of weeping birch. The three trees in my front yard form root sprouts that would take over the bed where they are planted if I didn’t cut them back. The common birch (B. pubescens Ehrh.) is almost as widespread as the silver birch, but grows primarily on acid or peaty soils. It can reach 20 m (65 feet) in height. Birches are members of the Birch family (Betulaceae). Curtis Clark

Beth – Birch – Ogam letter correspondences –
Month: November
Color: White
Class: Peasant
Letter: B
Meaning: New Beginnings; Changes; Purification.

Phagos – Beech Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Orange-brown
Class: Chieftain
Letter: PH, IO
Meaning: New experiences and information coming

Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Sa 21     High 12:26 AM     7.0   7:45 AM    Rise 8:12 AM      1
~    21      Low   5:30 AM     3.3   5:10 PM     Set 4:59 PM
~    21     High 11:21 AM     9.6
~    21      Low   6:34 PM    -1.8

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day –

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Journal Prompt – What do you think? – What would happen if people never co-operated? Why do you think it is important to co-operate?

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Quotes

~   It is curious how vanity helps keep the successful man and wrecks the failure. In old days half of my strength was my vanity. – Oscar Wilde, on his release from Reading Gaol, England, in a letter to his friend, Robert Ross, November 16, 1897
~   If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life. Oscar Wilde
~   Those who incite to violence should be punished whether or not freedom of speech is impaired. – Congressman Robert LF Sikes (Democrat, Florida), during debate on the ‘antiriot’ provisions of the 1968 Civil Rights Act
~   Life is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde

The sleet streams,
The snow flies;
The fawn dreams
With wide brown eyes. – William Rose Benét (1886–1950)

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Imbolc Magick – Lore – The Hidden Imbolc – February 1, 2011 by psufenasviriuslupus – http://www.patheos.com/blogs/pantheon/2011/02/the-hidden-imbolc/

Of the four Irish quarter-days (Samain*, Imbolc, Beltene, Lugnasad), Imbolc superficially seems like a fairly straight-forward festival. It is considered, even in modern Ireland, to be the beginning of Spring, and it is a festival that is particularly associated with the goddess Bríg or Brigid, who is considered to be fundamentally the same as the Christian St. Brigid of Kildare, who was feted on the same day (February 1). Various signs of the beginning of Spring, therefore, have been attached to the festival, and some of the folk customs that have survived into modern Ireland in connection with the saint have been adopted, adapted, and re-paganized by modern Pagans across a variety of traditions who celebrate the festival. There is still some debate within academic Celtic Studies on whether the characteristics of the festival have their origins in Christian notions of the saint, in certain practices associated with the adjacent Christian festival of Candlemas (in honor of the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of Jesus in the Temple), or whether these customs do reflect genuine survivals and continuations from pre-Christian Pagan religions in Ireland. While it does seem likely that Celtic cultures outside of Ireland had some sort of festival on or around this date, what their character may have been is probably beyond recovery, and has made little impact in the surviving records. Some stone circles in the southwestern part of Ireland, dating to the Bronze Age, mark only the sunrise on the quarter-days of Samain and Imbolc, suggesting that this dark quarter of the year was of particular significance, for example; but the situation is far less certain in other locations. Thus, to talk about Imbolc and its customs as in any sense “Celtic” (understood to mean something that includes several different Celtic cultures) is a bit of an exaggeration, unless one counts all of the ways in which Brigid’s Christian cultus spread to Scotland, Wales, and elsewhere. But that is a side issue for the moment…

A further debate remains to be had, not only amongst the (often monotheistic, or at least monistic-inclined) scholarly community but also amongst various groups within modern Paganism, in terms of Brigidine theology. There are various figures who are called Bríg, Brigid, or Bríd in both the ecclesiastical literature of Ireland and Scotland, as well as in the so-called “secular” tales of gods and heroes (“so-called” because both literatures were produced by the same group of authors for the majority of history, often with these disparate materials existing side-by-side in manuscript miscellanies). Are all of these various Bríg/i/d figures the same, or different? Is the Brigantia of Northern Britain the same as the Brigid of Ireland? Much depends on one’s theological standpoint–a limited monism would suggest that they are all one, while a less limited monism might suggest that they all derive from the same figure ultimately, but are distinguishable in latter ages; but, a hard polytheist viewpoint would suggest that, at very least, Brigantia and Brigid are different. Looking at the actual sources involved, however, can shed some further light on this. The ways in which Brigid is characterized as poetess, smith, and healer in modern Paganism certainly has roots in Irish sources–specifically, Sanas Cormaic (“Cormac’s Glossary”)–and it is also there that Brigid is said to be the daughter of The Dagda. However, in that case, Brigid is not a singular figure: in fact, it is three sisters who are The Dagda’s daughters, and each of them has a specific proficiency. The liturgical formulation of calling upon Brigid as poetess, smith, and healer, then, presupposes a singular being, when it would in fact be more appropriate, based on the original sources involved, to refer to her as “the Brigid who is smith, the Brigid who is poetess, and the Brigid who is healer,” which would then allow those who think of the Brigids as three beings to interpret it in that fashion, and those who think of a singular Brigid to do so equally well, even within the same ritual. Precise use of language in ritual speech and theology is something that is always useful, especially when more attention to doing so can include this sort of theological diversity!

But, the significance of the holiday also seems to have several possible lines of inquiry, which have not been explored very heavily in modern Paganism before. Many holy days have a significance that varies for different people in a given society–the way that a householder would celebrate a festival might be different than the way that a warrior might, for example. And, the warrior-specific significance of the holy-day of Imbolc has emerged in recent scholarship. The usual folk etymologies given for Imbolc attempt to make it a seasonal or agricultural festival; the variation on the name, Oímelc, said to mean “ewe’s milk,” is actually not linguistically viable, nor is i mbolg (“in the belly”), nor imb-fholc (“washing oneself”), though the latter does have some applicability to the occasion. One recently proposed etymology is to take it as it stands, and interpret it as imb olc, “butter of wolves.” While this might conjure images of a Red Riding Hood-like grandmother with a wolf’s head in the shape of a dark bottle of maple syrup–”Mrs. Butterwolf makes the best warriors because she takes her own sweet time!”–a closer examination of the material relating to Brigid demonstrates that this simplest and most linguistically viable option may have a very good viability in context.

The surviving hagiographies of St. Brigid include a huge number of miracles associated with food generally, but milk, butter, and other dairy products seem to get a particular emphasis at various points. She was said to have been baptized in milk, for example (at which mainstream Christian theology would balk, incidentally!), which suggests that milk was considered a spiritual cleansing product in Irish culture, which is borne out by examination of other narratives where milk is used in a similar fashion. Butter, and its obvious derivation from milk, was an extremely important food for the Irish, and was surrounded with many supernatural associations; it was used as a medium for certain spells, and as a general emollient and anointing agent, since oils of other types were not usually available. Butter was valuable, and could be preserved for much longer periods than milk, particularly if buried in a bog; and in fact, good stores of butter would have been essential in order to survive the winter in Ireland. Butter’s importance, and its connection to Brigid, therefore, are easy to establish. But, there are also a great many canid (meaning both canine and lupine) connections with Brigid–for example, one possible form of Brigid, Bríg Ambue (“Bríg of the Cowless/Outlaw Warrior”), is the only female listed in a group of people responsible for the innovation and patronage of particular types of dogs. Dogs and wolves are nearly interchangeable in Irish, with many of the terms used possibly meaning either one–cú can mean either “dog” or “wolf,” and cú allaidcan mean “wild dog” or “wolf,” as just a couple amongst many possible examples. Furthermore, there are names for the season around Imbolc in both Irish and Scottish sources that indicate that the period was a “wolf-month,” e.g. Scots Gaelic Faoilleach, which is matched by names found elsewhere in the calendrical traditions of Europe.

According to some sources, the warriors of the fíanna (roving, usually youthful, quasi-outlaw warrior-bands closely identified with dogs and wolves), and their close relations the díberga (“marauders”), were active during the summer and were settled during the winter; but, some other narratives suggest that the time of Samain to Imbolc was one particularly associated with warfare. The great medieval Irish heroic epic, Táin Bó Cúailnge, focuses upon a cattle-raid that becomes an inter-provincial war, and the raid starts just before Samain and lasts until after Imbolc. During this campaign, in which Queen Medb of Connacht’s army besieges Ulster, the young hero Cú Chulainn–whose very name connects him to hounds or wolves–single-handedly defends the province of Ulster from the invading army, and his single-combats last from Samain to Imbolc. Thus, his final fateful battle against his foster-brother Fer Diad likely had its culmination on or around Imbolc. In other sources, Cú Chulainn seems to be particularly linked with this quarter-day, in the same way that his divine father Lug was connected to the quarter-day at the opposite end of the year, Lugnasad–and that particular period of the year, in Irish as well as in other European cultures, was the “dog-days.” So the winter in late January/early February seems to be the “wolf-month,” just as the days of late July and early August are the “dog-days.”

But, what is the direct connection between butter, wolves, and Imbolc? The status of the fían-warrior or the díberg in Ireland was a temporary one; it was a state tied to one’s age-grade and property- and legal-status, and it was something that many people would eventually leave, or may unexpectedly enter if they fell on hard times. In some of her hagiographies, St. Brigid cleanses the díberga of their “diabolical signs,” which seem to have been worn on their heads, and it marked them as people with oaths to kill and do harm, thus removal of these signs changed their status and relieved their obligations. The medieval Christian church in Ireland considered both the fíanna and díberga to be inherently evil and Pagan (in every sense!) classes of society, which they ruthlessly tried to stamp out. This entire warrior class seemed to carry on some of the traditions of pre-Christian Pagan Irish religion longer than any other class in Irish society, and they were not fully suppressed until about the fourteenth century CE, when a number of conquering Norman English settlers began taking up their ways and their hairstyles, and they were formally outlawed, where up until then they still had limited rights under the native system of Irish law. Perhaps, in these accounts of St. Brigid, she was simply playing a role that she always had in the pre-Christian Pagan religion, and was cleansing the warriors returning from their díberg or fían status. If the cleansing was not done with milk, perhaps it was done with butter, or an anointing with butter in blessing happened afterwards. Thus, “butter of wolves”!

The youthful wolf- or dog-identified warband existed throughout Europe, and in Rome, the twins Romulus and Remus who founded Rome certainly existed as hunter/warriors before they went on to found the city. On the annual festival of Lupercalia, held on February 15, the Romans had a ritual in which a group of youthful priests helped to perform a sacrifice of a goat and a dog, then spread the blood of these on their foreheads. Another priest then dipped some wool in milk, and cleaned the blood from their foreheads, whereupon they laughed. The Romans did not understand what the significance of these rituals was in late antiquity, but the traditions were held to have come from Arcadia, a place in Greece that was considered to be quite archaic, and which was associated heavily with werewolves, which are often simply another form of the youthful wolf/dog-identified warband. What may be going on in the Lupercalia ritual is that the “diabolical signs” (blood on one’s forehead) was being removed–and even though it was not being removed with butter, the fact that milk was used in this manner suggests that Lupercalia may have a great deal of suggestive power in terms of how St. Brigid (and her pre-Christian goddess predecessor or her human representatives) performed their ritual; and likewise, the Irish evidence may shed a great deal of light on the significance, origin, and meaning of the Roman ritual.

In Rome, the sacrifice and rituals of the limited Luperci priesthood took place somewhat privately, whereas the rest of the festival was public, and involved the Luperci running a race around the old boundaries of the city, flogging passers-by on the hands, who thought being so flogged was auspicious and promoted fertility (particularly for women). The fierceness of the warriors, when re-integrated into society, could be turned into the flowering and fertility of wider society by its active protection. Likewise, the exterior and householder, agriculture-based celebrations of Imbolc may have appealed to the majority of society, while the individual warrior re-integrations took place on a more limited and private scale. The two activities work in concert with one another, and the warrior institution ultimately supports settled life, while likewise the settled people support the warriors.

An interesting further comparandum, though one that cannot be explained by direct contact nor common cultural descent in the manner that Lupercalia and Imbolc share, is found in the Shinto festival of Setsubun, which takes place around the beginning of February each year. Setsubun means “season division,” and it is celebrated in a particular fashion with a practice called Mamemaki, “soybean-throwing.” Shinto priests shoot misfortune-dispelling arrows in the auspicious direction of the particular year, and then roasted soybeans are thrown in various directions for purification and blessings. In some celebrations of the festival, people dressed as oni(often translated “demons”) attack from the inauspicious direction of the year, and are pelted with the roasted soybeans! So, the significance is similar, only the primary medium of purification is not milk or butter, but instead soy! For vegans, the Shinto alternative is certainly a viable one!

But, apart from the specific cultural and seasonal celebrations involved in Imbolc (and Lupercalia), perhaps a wider significance can be taken for this festival, which is desperately needed in today’s society. Currently, the U.S. is engaged in wars on two fronts (even though Iraq is “officially” no longer a war), and soldiers of all religions are trained in the U.S. and sent off to do their duties in these various places without always being given clear ethical standards or rules of engagement, nor are they given sufficient transitional rituals to facilitate their re-integration into society after returning from combat. The rules of the battlefront are not the same as the rules of settled society. Without such recognitions of changes in status, both going and coming, the likelihood of PTSD, general levels of stress and strain on non-military relationships and situations, and a variety of other things are not only likely, they’re nearly unavoidable. The number of suicides in the U.S. Armed Forces last year is slightly larger than the total number of U.S. servicemember casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan for the year. While some may think this is an indication of the unfitness of service of the people involved, I think a great deal could be gained by people in every religion honoring their warrior-classes more, giving them the proper spiritual support, and allowing them to contextualize their experiences in a spiritual manner through these rites of transition, which might in fact do a great deal in preventing PTSD, suicide, and other forms of distress and trauma experienced by servicemembers. One does not have to necessarily “believe” in the gods and spirits involved in order to get a psychological benefit from a good ritual of transition. Just as aspects of Imbolc that suggest particular warrior significance are hidden, so too is the plight of many of our currently serving warriors, as well as the returning and returned wounded warriors and veterans who live among us.

By all means, thus, make the Brigid’s crosses and the corn dollies on Imbolc, and welcome in the coming Spring with great joy; but do not forget that the Brigid who is the smith, the Brigid who is the healer, and the Brigid who is the poetess each serve the warriors as well, by making weapons and equipment, by tending to their wounds of every sort while in battle and when returning, and by recounting their deeds and their stories as they happen and afterwards. And, there is also a Brigid, Bríg Ambue, who is the patroness of the “Cowless Warriors,” the equivalent of which in our own society are the often young and disenfranchised men and women who make up the majority of the enlisted servicemembers in the U.S. Armed Forces. She will always be their guide and their supporter, and the one who joyfully receives them back when they return, tending to their visible wounds and cleansing their invisible scars. We should never forget them, nor should we neglect Her in our observances.

*: Note that I prefer to use the Old Irish spelling of this festival, as well as most of the other Irish terms employed in this article.

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Silliness – Laugh of the Day – Why did the doctor tell the nurse to walk past the pill cupboard quietly? So she wouldn’t wake the sleeping pills!

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Goddess Month, Imbolc, Imbolc Lore, Journal Prompt, Kings’ Crusade, Laugh of the Day, Magick, Moon, nasturtium, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Runic Half Month, Silliness, The sleet streams, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Tropaeolum majus, Weather, Wicca | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-20-23 St. Agnes eve

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Minus Tide at 5:47 PM of -1.5 feet. The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

[posting at 6pm] Rain gauge. – 1.4in. (for two days) Mostly clear and 47F, wind at 0-3mph and gusting, AQI 16/36/42, UV2. Chance of rain 7% today and 6% tonight. 6 firespots.

Forecast – It looks like we’re getting a break this week from the rain, but that means chilly nights. Cover your plants!
Today(51°/36°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Tomorrow(49°/40°F) Showers, 0.14 in.
Sun(47°/35°F) Mostly Cloudy, 0 in.
Mon(48°/35°F) Partly Cloudy, 0 in.
Tue(51°/36°F) Mostly Sunny, 0 in.
Wed(52°/36°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Thu(54°/38°F) Sunny, 0 in.
Fri(51°/39°F) Mostly Sunny, 0.02 in.
Sat(49°/38°F) AM Showers, 0.03 in.

Over Wednesday night I made some mince pie turnovers from the mince that I didn’t realize that Tempus had opened. They’re tasty.

It was a glorious morning! The sun was shining with just enough mist to give everything a silvery cast. Beautifully white puffs were parading through the sky in a stately manner. The river was mirroring the trees/hills to the north and the bay reflected the colors of the sky. There were sea and shore birds all over the inlets, mostly ducks, but I think a couple were pelicans. There were two herons and an egret in the Eckman outflow and a “floop” that was some kind of diving white bird. I only got a glimpse. …and it was still light at 5:30…. very different from a month ago!

We were late to the shop, since Tempus was sleepy and didn’t wake at the usual time, but we got there and got open and had customers withing 15 minutes! We had more people through later in the day, a couple of whom took awhile and went through everything.

I wrote, then got a nap, mid-afternoon, and Tempus got a nap, and then he headed for the PO and the bank to pick up some deliveries and our new checks. After I got the boxes open I got to working on this.

Today I’m hoping to get a few steps farther on the books, but first I need to get the files from 2022 boxed and sorted, and then make new folders for the file drawer.

This is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I spent a lot of time when I was growing up, going over and under this bridge. This is a pic from Moonrise on 103014 put up by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. See the moondog and the partial halo?

Today’s Plant is Big-leaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum. This tree has the largest leaves of any maple. I remember being startled by that when I first moved to Oregon. Have you ever played with the seeds? A twin pair, before they separate, is a good charm for separated lovers. Maple syrup can be made from the sap, although it is subtly different from the taste of sugar maple and a bit thinner. Masculine, Jupiter, Air – Maple leaves are used in prosperity and love spells. When doing a baby blessing, walk the child down a row of people with maple wands to help the child to a long life. Maple has long been used for wands, being easy to work and directing energies very well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_macrophyllum

St. Agnes eve is a traditional fire divination day. There are a bunch of marriage divinations, too. “You must lie in another county, and knit the left garter about the right legged stocking (let the other garter and stocking alone) and as you rehearse these following verses, at every comma, knit a knot.”

“This knot I knit,
To know the thing, I know not yet,
That I may see,
The man (woman) that shall my husband (wife) be,
How he goes, and what he wears,
And what he does, all days, and years.

plant feast 0120 herb flower Helleborus_niger

What that all comes from is a martyr from the 4th century, but more probably has to do with leftovers from the worship of Yngona/Annis. More here: http://ketutar.wordpress.com/2007/01/22/saint-agnes-annis-the-black-hag-2/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Annis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eve_of_Saint_Agnesand (text of poem) http://www.bartleby.com/126/39.html

The traditionally associated plant is Christmas Rose http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helleborus_niger

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Capricorn

Waning Moon Magick – From the Full Moon to the New is a time for study, meditation, and magic designed to banish harmful energies and habits, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity. Remember: what goes up must come down. Phase ends at the tide change on 1/21 at 12:53pm. Hecate’s Brooch – 3-5 days before New Moon – Best time for Releasing Rituals. It’s the last few days before the new moon, the time of Hecate’s Brooch. This is the time that if you’re going to throw something out, or sweep the floors, or take stuff to Good Will, do it! Rid yourself of negativity and work on the letting go process. Release the old, removing unwanted negative energies, addictions, or illness. Do physical and psychic cleansings. Good for wisdom & psychic ability. Goddess Aspect: Crone – Associated God/desses: Callieach, Banshee, Hecate, Baba Yaga, Ereshkigal, Thoth. Phase ends at the Dark on 1/20 at 3:53am. Dark of the Moon, End of the cycle – In the time leading up to the “New Moon” you may do banishings and other baneful magicks and healings that require blasting a disease away, as well as using the time for introspection and self-work. Do scrying, now. Good for reversing circumstances God/dess Aspect: The One Beyond, the Watchers in the Outer Dark, psychopomps. – Associated God/desses: Hecate, Kali, Arianhrod, Anja, Kore in the Underworld, Ereshkigal who was Inanna, Set/Seth, Hades, Osiris . Phase ends at the New on 1/21 at 12:53pm.

The Moon consorts with Antares early on Wednesday morning the 18th. Can you detect Mercury by that date? It’s about 27° lower left of the Moon. These scenes are always drawn for a skywatcher near 40° north latitude. Seen from south of there, Mercury will appear somewhat higher. Seen from north of 40°, Mercury will be lower.

The Moon, crossing Sagittarius now, passes 7° due south of Mercury at 3 A.M. EST.

Sirius and Orion – The main constellations of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter sky are on display in this scene that includes La Ventana Arch in El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico in the foreground. Orion the Hunter stands in the upper right corner and the sky’s brightest star, Sirius, lies in line with Orion’s Belt and just to the right of center. – John A. Davis

Sirius twinkles brightly after dinnertime below Orion in the southeast. Around 8 or 9 p.m., depending on your location, Sirius shines precisely below fiery Betelgeuse in Orion’s shoulder. How accurately can you time this event for your location, perhaps judging against the vertical edge of a building? Of the two, Sirius leads early in the evening. Betelgeuse leads later. Continue the line from Betelgeuse through Sirius on down, and it runs right along Canis Major’s back by another 10° to the dog’s rear end: Delta Canis Majoris, or Wezen.

A few hours later, Jupiter reaches perihelion, the closest point to the Sun in its orbit, at 7 A.M. EST. The gas giant will then be 460 million miles (740 million kilometers) from our star. You can catch the mighty planet in the evening sky. Look southwest to find Jupiter still more than 40° high an hour after sunset, floating in the constellation Pisces. It appears to the right (east) of the famous Circlet asterism. A bright magnitude –2.2, Jupiter is easily visible to the naked eye. With a telescope, the planet appears a whopping 37″ across. All four of its Galilean moons are strung out in a line to the planet’s west tonight. Appearing closest to the planet is Ganymede, followed by Io, Europa, and finally Callisto, some 8′ from Jupiter’s center. The planet and its satellites will remain visible for you to enjoy for several hours, finally setting around 10 P.M. local time.

Saturn is fast closing in on Venus. This evening, binoculars may show 3rd-magnitude Delta Capricorni forming a little triangle with them.

Venus, very bright at magnitude –3.9, shines low in the west-southwest in twilight. It sets around twilight’s end. Look for dimmer Saturn to Venus’s upper left, closer to it day by day. They’re 10° apart on the evening of the 13th, closing to 2° by the 20th. They’ll reach conjunction on the 22nd, about ½° apart.

Runic half-month of Perdhro/ Peorth, 1/12-1/27. – Feast of Brewing, Druidic, Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar.

Sun in Capricorn enters Aquarius at 12:30am.

Goddess Month of Hestia runs from 12/26 – 1/22
Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Beth Birch Dec 24 – Jan 20
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Coral
Planting 1/20
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Beth – Birch – Ogam letter correspondences –
Month: November
Color: White
Class: Peasant
Letter: B
Meaning: New Beginnings; Changes; Purification.

Phagos – Beech Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Orange-brown
Class: Chieftain
Letter: PH, IO
Meaning: New experiences and information coming

Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
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Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
F 20      Low   4:33 AM     3.6   7:46 AM    Rise 7:17 AM      6
~    20     High 10:27 AM     9.4   5:09 PM     Set 3:37 PM
~    20      Low   5:47 PM    -1.5

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Poise is the ability to continue speaking fluently while the other fellow is picking up the check.

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Journal Prompt – Wiki – Recall a place, person or event, what emotion do you remember feeling most strongly?

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Quotes

~   There is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness.” – Dave Barry
~   It is better to travel well than to arrive. Buddha
~   Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is Patience. – Emerson
~   He who is brave is free. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Suddenly with lifted eyes you said,
“Oh look!”
There, on the black bough of a snow flecked maple,
Fearless and gay as our love,
A bluejay cocked his crest!
Oh who can tell the range of joy
Or set the bounds of beauty? – Sara Teasdale (1884–1933)

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Imbolc Magick – Recipes – In honor of the various dismembered folks who have saint’s days in this vicinity.

Haman’s Ears

I think this recipe for Haman’s Ears would go nicely with Agatha’s breasts at a whimsical spring full moon feast.

Beat up 2 eggs and stir in 3 tablespoons oil. Then mix in sufficient flour to make a soft dough. Knead very thoroughly, break off small pieces and roll out on a floured board as thin as possible, to about the size of a meat patty to dry for an hour longer. Fry in hot oil until a very light brown. Drain and, if liked, sprinkle with castor sugar. Handle very carefully as they break easily.

Agatha’s Breasts

There are all sorts of irreverent pastries prepared in Italy, including nipples of the Virgin and St Lucy’s eyes, but one of the most outrageous is called St Agatha’s breasts. These sweets (sometimes nougat, sometimes pastry) show up in Sicilian pastry shops around February 4th in time for her feast day.

This is not a recipe for St. Agatha’s Breasts (it’s a recipe for Aphrodite’s Cakes from Petherwin of Ghost Cat Farm) but I think it will produce a similar effect.

Small can of peach halves in heavy syrup
Dark brown sugar
Pastry dough for two crust pie (store bought or homemade)

Heat oven to 350.

Roll the pastry dough on a floured surface to 1/4 thickness. Place a drained peach half face down on a circle of dough, about 1 inch bigger than the peach. Roll out the other half of the dough and cut circles to completely cover the peach halves. Add about a tablespoon of brown sugar under each top. Crimp the edges together to seal. Then poke a small hole in the top of the creation.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for at least 20 minutes, without opening the oven. As they cook the brown sugar and peach juice will bubble out and the finished cake will look like a breast and nipple. Continue to cook until the pastry looks done.

St. Agatha Loaves for Breast Disorders

St. Agatha, patron saint of breast disorders, is celebrated on February 5. The custom on February 4 is to bake loaves of bread called “Agathas” that are shaped like breasts. These loaves are blessed and distributed to friends of an ill woman. Use any bread recipe that will hold its shape when baked. Make as many of these loaves as you can. Hold your friend’s good health in your mind and heart as you mix the dough, knead, and shape it. When the Agathas are baked, distribute them to everyone who loves your friend. Tell them to hold her good health in their hearts as they eat. By: Lily Gardner

)0( From Llewellyn and GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast

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Silliness – Broken

On a visit to Boston, I noticed a parking meter with a paper sack over it upon which was written: “Broken.”

A skeptical parking officer removed the bag, inserted a quarter in the meter and turned the dial. It worked perfectly. As the officer began to write a parking ticket, the car’s owner rushed out of a nearby building.

“What are you doing?” he yelled after a quick glance at the meter, “There’s plenty of time left!”

Posted in Newsletter | Tagged Acer macrophyllum, Affirmation, Annis, Astrology, Astronomy, Big-Leaf Maple, Broken, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, Christmas Rose, Goddess Month, Helleborus_niger, Imbolc, Journal Prompt, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Rosie the Riveter, Runic Half Month, Silliness, St. Agnes eve, Suddenly with lifted eyes you said, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Yngona | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 1-19-23 Hera

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Minus Tide at 4:58 PM of -1.1 feet. The shop opens at 1pm. Winter hours are 1-6pm Thurs.-Mon. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

[posting at 2pm] Rain gauge. – 1.4in. (for two days, again.)

Class went well Monday evening, but I was really tired by the time we were done. Tempus needed to put gas in the car, so we sat while the cans were draining…and it was pushing midnight before we got home. I needed sleep! …not to mention Tempus needing sleep, but he was the one where things kept taking longer and longer.

Tuesday practically all we did was sleep. Tempus headed for the shop early, hoping to get more charge into his phone. I did some small chores at home.

On Wednesday we spent a good bit of time just talking, but also got more chores done…. none of the big projects, but still…..

…and some things went sideways on me over our weekend. I’m going to get this out, then go back and update later in the afternoon. I’ve already had several customers!

Ken Gagne – Oystercatchers in Yachats from 01/16/16

The local larkspurs, delphinium trollifolium, and delphinium pavonaceum (which the Wiki article says is confined to the Valley, but I’ve collected out here….) are pretty flowers in shade of white, blue and purple. They’re called delphiniums after the shape of the nectary. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphinium_trolliifolium and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphinium_pavonaceum Other names are Larksheal and Staggerweed – Feminine, Venus, Water – The flowers frighten away venomous creatures and ghosts. Sprinkle between your eyes and a Litha fire to keep your sight clear. Use in rituals to call upon Dolphin energy.

Today is the feast day of Hera, queen of the gods of Olympus and wife of Zeus. Her worship probably derives from the earlier forms of the Great Goddess and her name quite possibly is the female form of the word “hero”. Her symbols were peacocks, swans, pomegranates and poppy. More here:http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/book/jan18.html and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hera

Love & Light,
Anja

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Today’s Astro and other things

Moon in Sagittarius enters Capricorn at 11:11am.

Waning Moon Magick – From the Full Moon to the New is a time for study, meditation, and magic designed to banish harmful energies and habits, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity. Remember: what goes up must come down. Phase ends at the tide change on 1/21 at 12:53pm. Waning Crescent Moon –Best time for beginning introspective magicks that are more long term (full year cycle) A good time for beginning knot magicks to “bind up” addictions and illness (finish just before the Tide Change of Dark to New) and “tying up loose ends” God/dess aspects – Demeter weeping for her Daughter, Mabon, Arachne Tyr. Phase ends on 1/17 at 3:53am. Hecate’s Brooch – 3-5 days before New Moon – Best time for Releasing Rituals. It’s the last few days before the new moon, the time of Hecate’s Brooch. This is the time that if you’re going to throw something out, or sweep the floors, or take stuff to Good Will, do it! Rid yourself of negativity and work on the letting go process. Release the old, removing unwanted negative energies, addictions, or illness. Do physical and psychic cleansings. Good for wisdom & psychic ability. Goddess Aspect: Crone – Associated God/desses: Callieach, Banshee, Hecate, Baba Yaga, Ereshkigal, Thoth. Phase ends at the Dark on 1/20 at 3:53am.

The Big Dipper – The Big Dipper sets behind a windmill located in Show Low, Arizona. This week, observers can catch the bright asterism climbing higher in the evening sky. The Dipper is the most conspicuous part of the constellation Ursa Major the Great Bear. – John Vermette

As we enter the coldest depths of winter (on average), the bowl of the Little Dipper hangs straight down from Polaris around 7 or 8 p.m. — as if (per Leslie Peltier) from a nail on the cold north wall of the sky. The brightest star of the Little Dipper’s dim bowl is Kochab, the bowl’s lip. It’s the equal of Polaris. Kochab itself passes precisely below Polaris about 30 minutes before the center of the bowl. The Big Dipper, meanwhile, is creeping up low in the north-northeast. Its handle is low and its bowl is to the upper right.

The Lagoon and Trifid nebulae – Arguably the finest deep-sky objects in Sagittarius are the Lagoon Nebula (M8, at bottom) and the Trifid Nebula (M20, at top). Ruddy Mars passes between these two standouts this week. – James R. Dire

Let’s return to Sagittarius this morning to enjoy a beautiful tableau: Mercury and the Moon, with the gorgeous Lagoon Nebula (M8) between them. Our satellite is now a 27-day-old waning crescent, just 8 percent lit. It lies just over the border from Sagittarius in Ophiuchus and sits 4° high around 6 A.M. local time. To the Moon’s lower left (east) is Mercury, now magnitude 0.4 (already 0.1 magnitude brighter than yesterday) and 1° high at the same time. You’ll need a clear southeastern horizon to spot it so low this early — if you can’t quite see it, give it time. As the sky brightens, the planet will rise higher, offering a better view. But if you can see both objects this early — while the sky is still relative dark — look between them with binoculars or a telescope. About 6° east-northeast of the Moon is M8, commonly called the Lagoon Nebula. A bright star-forming region, the Lagoon glows at magnitude 4.6 and spans about 90′ by 40′. A young open cluster of stars, NGC 6530, glows within the eastern portion of the nebula.

Mercury emerges into dawn view late this week, climbing and brightening every day. By January 18th it should be in fairly easy view, low in the southeast at magnitude +0.5. Binoculars always help. On the morning of the 19th look for Mercury 13° left of the waning crescent Moon. Next week Mercury will be brighter and easier in the dawn.

Runic half-month of Perdhro/ Peorth, 1/12-1/27. – Feast of Brewing, Druidic, Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar.

Sun in Sagittarius

Uranus (1/22/23) Retrograde
Goddess Month of Hestia runs from 12/26 – 1/22
Goddess Month of Bridhe, runs from 1/23 – 2/19
Celtic Tree Month of Beth Birch Dec 24 – Jan 20
Celtic Tree Month of Luis/Rowan, Jan 21-Feb 17
Color – Purple
Harvest 1/18&19
©2022 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

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Beth – Birch – Ogam letter correspondences –
Month: November
Color: White
Class: Peasant
Letter: B
Meaning: New Beginnings; Changes; Purification.

Phagos – Beech Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Orange-brown
Class: Chieftain
Letter: PH, IO
Meaning: New experiences and information coming

Luis – Rowan Ogam letter correspondences
Month: December
Color: Grey and Red
Class: Peasant
Letter: L
Meaning: Controlling your life; Protection against control by others.

Quert – Apple Ogam letter correspondences to study this month
Month: None
Color: Green
Class: Shrub
Letter: Q
Meaning: A choice must be made

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Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Th 19      Low   3:31 AM     3.8   7:47 AM    Rise 6:10 AM      13
~    19     High   9:31 AM     9.0   5:08 PM     Set 2:27 PM
~   19      Low   4:58 PM    -1.1
~    19     High 11:40 PM     6.6

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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Life is too short to worry.

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Journal Prompt – Personal Experiences – What actor would you hire to play you in your TV movie biography, and why?

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Quotes

~   A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. – George S. Patton, Jr. (1885-1945) US general
~   Things work out for the best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out. – John R. Wooden
~   Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. – Lin Yutang (1895-1976) Chinese writer
~   I have loved flowers that fade, Within those magic tents Rich hues have marriage made With sweet unmemoried scents. – Robert Bridges (1844-1930) English writer

Winter for a moment takes the mind; the snow
Falls past the arc-light; icicles guard a wall;
The wind moans through a crack in the window;
A keen sparkle of frost is on the sill. – Conrad Aiken (1889–1973)

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Imbolc Magick – CANDLEMAS IMBOLC HERBS – This time is known by some as the “Feast of the Waxing Light” it is the time of year that we are beginning to notice the Sun Gods growth in that the days are becoming longer. This, like MayDay/Beltane, is another pagan holiday which has survived into the current time, now it is celebrated as Ground Hog Day.

ANGELICA–is best in the ritual cup. In this manner is considered to bring one in contact with the inhabitants of Atlantis and to bring Atlantean energies into their lives, visions and understanding.
BASIL–this is the traditional time of year for initiations and the initiate should have been taking daily tonics of basil for at least the last two weeks. It is given now to prepare the innerself for initiation to bring fortitude.
BAY–if the ritual is to be a solemn occasion then it is appropriate to chew one or two (no more than that!) Leaves and meditate upon the growing light and Sun God.
BENZOIN–is used in the incense.
CELANDINE–is used in the ritual cup and tossed into the fire.
HEATHER–is used to decorate the entire space.
MYRRH–is used in the ritual cup and/or incense. – GrannyMoon’s Herbal Course – http://goddessschool.com/courses/Herbs/herbology.html

Dream Tending Spell – Incense of the day: Sandalwood

This is a truly special day for Wiccans and some Witches. It is Imbolc, a high holiday that honors the triple goddess Brigit and one of the eight sabbats that mark the turning of the wheel of the year. Ground-hog day is also observed today.

This holiday incorporates the seasonal divination of the more ancient Imbolc, which uses the movement of a snake rather than the shadow of a ground-hog to divine how much longer winter will remain. It is the beginning of the Storm Moon and also the time of the Feast of Oya, the orisha of weather and changes. To the Iroquois people, it is Midwinter Ceremony, a time to bless the fields, tell your dreams, and pay tribute to your ancestors. Today is also the birthday of Marie Laveau II, New Orleans’ Voodoo Queen and diviner extraordinaire.

At bedtime now, light a braid of sweet grass. Extinguish the flame but allow the braid to smolder. Wave the braid lovingly and with great care around your bedroom, motioning with your hand to encourage the smoke to drift in a snake-like stream over your bed and pillow. Dip the braid in springwater, making absolutely sure no flame remains. Then put the braid away. Pour lavender water in a large bowl. Put your favorite seashell inside the bowl of water. As you sleep, the bowl will act as a conduit for messages from the ancestors, nature spirits, and the great beyond.

Place this under your bed or on your bed table. Replenish the water as needed over a period of two weeks. Write down your dreams in a journal. Read over them frequently. Messages revealed in the darkness of winter have special meaning. Work each day to lift the shroud of darkness so you can glimpse new growth and the coming light of spring. Understanding the mysteries of winter is at the heart of Imbolc and its celebrations.

By: Stephanie Rose Bird, Llewellyn and GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast

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Silliness – Shorties – How does the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it.

Posted in Newsletter | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Candlemas, Celtic Tree Month, delphinium pavonaceum, delphinium trollifolium, Goddess Month, Imbolc, Imbolc Studies, Journal Prompt, larkspurs, Magick, Moon, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Quotes, Runic Half Month, Shorties, Silliness, Tides, Tides for Alsea Bay, Today’s Color, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Winter for a moment takes the mind | Leave a comment

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