Hi, folks!
It’s 50 and drippy, quite dark, still, and very, very green. All the drab, late fall brown has been knocked off of the evergreens and the alder and now that beautiful deep green of the Oregon forest is showing through.
Today is 6 seconds longer than yesterday. We won’t see any movement until Chicken Step Day (Jan 6), but the Sun is Returning!
Yesterday went by pretty quickly. Tempus was exhausted, so he stayed at the shop for a couple of hours after we opened and got some small stuff done, then headed home. He and Robyne chatted quite a bit and snoozed more than they chatted, from the sounds of it. Robyne is feeling better.
We got the tumblers opened and some of the stones in the 2nd grit are absolutely beautiful! We’re running all obsidian at the moment. There’s some silver sheen in there and lots of mahogany along with plain black. I think there are a couple more sheens of various colors in there, but they’ll become more obvious when they’re through being polished. That’s going to be a job for today, to get those sorted and going again.
Marius was there for the afternoon and we talked quite a bit while I embroidered.
I didn’t close up until past 6:30, but it was very slow all day, just one couple in, shopping, and that wasn’t a sale! I’m hearing from a lot of crafters and other retail types that this has been a slow season, and it looks like it for us!
We’re still open today and tomorrow! Yes, we’re never open on Tuesday, but this week we actually will be… and we’ve changed our minds about Thursday. We’re just going to go back to regular hours and be open on Thursday, after all.
I have obsidian to sort today and the back class table and then I’m thinking about more sewing. I’m pretty sure that Tempus is going to come in with me for a few minuets and then come home, hopefully getting some time to work in the kitchen.
Today’s plant is Evergreen huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum, a small shrub that is native to the PNW. The berries were a staple food for the PNW indigines. The fruit is blue-black and tends to be small, but makes excellent jam and the leaves are smoked or made into tea for colds. Gender, Feminine – Planet, Venus – Element, Water – Carry for luck and health. This is a plant that will keep away evil and break hexes. Burn the leaves to bring visions and to make dreams come true. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_Huckleberry
Seeing the white stag, the hope that, if caught, you can have your three dearest wishes granted…. Even in the darkest night, there is hope that the Sun will rise.
Spinning? Actually today is the birthday in 1732 of the man whose spinning device revolutionized fabric manufacture. If you can afford more that one set of clothing, thank Richard Arkwright! He was the youngest of 13 children, son of a tailor, who rose in rank to “Sir” on the basis of his invention called the “water frame” and a yarn-making device, as well as improvements in carding machines that made possible the cheap calicoes. He was one of the entrepreneurs of the Industrial Revolution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Arkwright
The shop opens at 11am. Winter hours are 11am-5pm Thursday through Monday. Need something off hours? Give us a call at 541-563-7154 or Facebook us at Ancient Light or email at ancientlight@peak.org 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. The shop is closed on Tuesday/Wednesday! Shop is open on Tuesday, 12/24!
Love & Light,
Anja
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Today’s Astro & Calendar
The Moon is Waning Gibbous. 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 1/1/ at 3:14am. Waning Gibbous Moon – Best time for draining the energy behind illness, habits or addictions. Magicks of this sort, started now, should be ended before the phase change to the New Moon. , Associated God/dess: Hera/Hero, Cybele, Zeus the Conqueror, Mars/Martius, Anansi, Prometheus. Phase ends at the Waning Quarter on 12/25 at 5:48am.
With fall gone and winter here, the Great Square of Pegasus is again tipped up onto one corner after dinnertime, now descending on the western side of the sky. The main line of Andromeda’s stars extends up from its top corner.
Venus (magnitude –4.8) shines brightly in the southwest during dusk. It’s moving lower rapidly now, as it wanes to a thinner crescent: from 14% sunlit on December 20th to just 7% lit on the 27th. During this time the crescent enlarges from 51 to 57 arcseconds from horn to horn. The best time to observe it in a telescope is late afternoon, before sunset. Here’s our article See Venus’s Thin Crescent. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/See-Venuss-Thin-Crescent-236245001.html
Goddess Month of Astrea runs from 11/28 – 12/25
Goddess Month of Hestia runs from 12/26 – 1/22
Celtic Tree month of Secret of the Unhewn Stone, Dec 23
Celtic Tree month of Beth/Birch Dec 24 – Jan 20, Beith – (BEH), birch
Runic half-month of Jera/Jara 12/13-12/27 – Jara signifies the completion of natural cycles, such as fruition, and has a more transcendent meaning of mystic marriage of Earth and Cosmos. *Ø* Wilson’s Almanac free daily ezine | Book of Days | December 13
Sun in Capricorn
Moon in Virgo
Venus, Jupiter and Chiron Retrograde
Color: Silver
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©2013 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright
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Secret of the Unhewn Stone, Dec 23 – (This is the blank day in this calendar, the one day of the year that is not ruled by a tree and its corresponding Ogham alphabet character. Its name denotes the quality of potential in all things.)
Graves (1966) makes a case for an additional “blank” ogham, “the unhewn dolmen arch”, which he assigns to the mistletoe, a plant for which there is abundant evidence of its ritual importance to the Celts.
There are two common mistletoes in Europe, both of which live as parasites on trees. The common mistletoe (Viscum album L.) parasitizes many tree species, including oaks in the western part of its range. It forms white berries between Samhain and Yule. The yellow-berried mistletoe (Loranthus europaeus L.) does not extend to western Europe. It is found primarily on oaks. It is most likely the “golden bough”, being more common in the eastern Mediterranean than the common mistletoe. The common mistletoe has been cultivated in North American for the Yule trade, and there are several native mistletoes in the genus Phoradendron. Mistletoes are in the Mistletoe family (Viscaceae).
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Tides for Alsea Bay
M 23 High 4:23 AM 7.0 7:50 AM Set 11:06 AM 75
23 Low 10:19 AM 3.1 4:41 PM Rise 11:10 PM
23 High 3:43 PM 6.4
23 Low 10:18 PM 1.2
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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – You’ll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it sticks out its neck…
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Journal Prompt – What would you? – What would you fear most about moving to another country?
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Quotes
~ The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different. – Peter Drucker.
~ Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer
~ Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast. – Epicetus, Greek philosopher
~ Often the best thing that you can do is to get out of your own way. – Kerr Cuhulain
One cannot eat breakfast all day,
Nor is it the act of a sinner,
When breakfast is taken away,
To turn his attention to dinner;
And it’s not in the range of belief,
To look upon him as a glutton,
Who, when he is tired of beef,
Determines to tackle the mutton. – Sir William Gilbert (1836-1911) English Playwright and Poet.
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Yule
Kissing Ball
Items needed:
- red velvet ribbon, 1/2 inch and 1 inch
- 6 or 8 inch embrodery hoop
- mistletoe
- florist wire
- hot glue
Directions:
1. separate the two pieces of the embrodery hoops and fit them together, one inside the other, at a 90 degree angle. Secure in this position with florist wire or hot glue
2. Secure a piece of the 1/2 ribbon to the bottom of the hoop. Wind the ribbon around the edges of the hoop, wrapping each “arm” in a spiral motion until the wood is covered completely.Secure with hot glue.
3. Form two bows with the 1 inch ribbons, leaving the ends dangling. Secure one to the bottom of the joined hoops, the other to the top.
4. Gather the mistletoe into a ball, secure the ends with florist wire. Insert inside the globe and twist the florirst wire to the top of the ball.
5. Hang the ball somewhere you are sure to get kissed!
Driftwood Santas
Items needed:
- pieces of driftwood that approximate the shape of santa – can be carrying a bag, tree, etc
- acrylic paint
- acrylic sealer
- paintbrushes
Directions:
1. Using your mind’s eye, determine where Santa’s head, body, etc are.
2. Paint using the acrylic paints, working with the curves of the wood to determine what is what.
3. Seal with sealer after paint has dried.
Protective Pinecones – November 13th, 2007 – Color of the day: Maroon Incense of the day: Lavender
For a beautiful and functional arrangement, try this simple technique. Gather ten pinecones. Spray paint five of them gold. Take the other five and apply spray glue to the tips. Dust with ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and orange zest. Tie holly leaves and pine needles in little bundles with red ribbon. Attach the pinecones to a straw wreath with wire, and tuck the greenery, along with baby’s breath, into the open spaces. Place white candles nearby. As you hang the wreath, channel vibrations of protection into it. Visualize a blue light slowly surrounding the entire area. When you light the candles each night, call upon these energies and allow the blue bubble to form over the whole house. By: Tammy Sullivan
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Silliness – 
Ancient Light's Daily Stuff 
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